Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

Inn.

Shen Ye only leisurely stepped out of the carriage after it stopped directly at the inn.

"Rest well, come find me at the song and dance troupe tomorrow," Madame Daisy's voice rang out from inside the carriage.

"Yes," Shen Ye responded.

Lily, sitting beside Madame Daisy, smiled at him.

"Baxter, I look forward to rehearsing with you tomorrow," she waved to Shen Ye.

"See you tomorrow, Lily," Shen Ye let down the curtain of the carriage.

Only then did the carriage slowly drive away.

Shen Ye entered the inn, ascended the stairs at his leisure, and arrived at his room's door.

He took out the room card, swiped it on the door, and with a "click," it opened.

A strong body odor wafted from the room.

It was the scent of an orc!

...Last time it was an assassin, this time an orc, can't I get any rest?

Shen Ye pressed his hand into the void and used his other hand to activate the signet ring of the earl on his finger—

Summon!

Bang—

With a light sound, the protective force from Shadow Manor appeared before Shen Ye instantly.

It was a short-statured living corpse with sharp daggers hanging at his waist!

"Kevin!"

"Mr. Baxter!"

The two of them called out in unison.

"You summoned me? How do you have the right to summon me?" Kevin was brimming with murderous intent.

By then, Shen Ye's mind had already caught up.

Showing the signet on his finger, he said,

"This is by the count's decree—after all, my own strength is quite meager, while the count intends to protect me."

The living corpse Kevin stared at the signet on his hand, stunned for a moment, somewhat unable to react.

From inside the room came a deep, muffled voice,

"Respected Mr. Baxter, we have taken the liberty of visiting you, and we hope you won't mind."

—The other party already knew what was happening outside the door!

"Let's go inside," Shen Ye said, standing still, to Kevin.

By then, Kevin had digested the entire incident and silently opened the door, stepping in first.

An orc sat in the room.

A long scar ran across his face, from the forehead over the bridge of the nose, extending to the chin.

This made him appear even more fierce, as even his smile seemed somewhat terrifying.

His physique was quite burly, with the wide double sofa barely accommodating his seat.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am the second son of the Beastman Great Chieftain, E Mutu. I come with great respect, wishing to invite you to join our Orc Tribe's Sky Green Troupe," the orc E Mutu stated bluntly.

That was too direct.

Shen Ye was somewhat caught off guard and couldn't help but rotate the ring on his finger slightly.

The telepathy from the Great Skeleton immediately sounded in his ear,

"Strange, orcs have historically scorned song and dance, they have their own shamans."

Shen Ye then said,

"I recall that the Orc Tribe has shamans, and you've never held the diva profession in high regard."

E Mutu explained, "In the past, we gathered in front of the shaman's tent to sing, dance, and draw strength, striving to win the resonance of the Dharma Realm to enhance our strength."

"But now, we orcs have reached a time when we must change."

"Change?" Shen Ye repeated.

He looked at Kevin, only to see Kevin also looking baffled.

"Yes..."

E Mutu shifted in his seat, trying to appear more patient, "The shamans don't support 996; they say it goes against the spirit ancestors' will, is incompatible with the meaning of life itself, and will destroy orc hearts and futures."

Shen Ye said reflexively, "Your shamans are quite enlightened."

E Mutu grinned, revealing his sharp teeth, "The shamans are all dead."

Shen Ye was taken aback once more.

Could it be...?

Was there trouble within the orc ranks?

Yet, their presence was still so dominating, they didn't even regard the earls of the Undead Empire.

"The Great Chieftain seeks to conquer the world; how could he allow those noisy fools to disturb the army's morale?"

"So, we've abandoned the shamans."

"Respectable Mr. Baxter, I've long heard of the Dark Night Rose Dance Troupe's reputation, and you are Madame Daisy's premier diva—"

"I earnestly invite you to join us, to become the lead of our Sky Green Troupe!"

Sky Green...

You're even more ruthless than when I learned "Whispers of the Dark."

"Forget it, I'm a vampire; it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go to your orc lands, and Madame Daisy has shown me great kindness," Shen Ye said.

"No problem, we'll pay—how much Bone Coin do you earn in a month?" E Mutu asked.

"The earl treats me well, too, and has even assigned someone to protect me," Shen Ye said.

"We pay with gold," E Mutu emphasized.

Shen Ye raised an eyebrow.

Not bad!

If it weren't for the need to gather sufficient materials here for the great Skeleton to head to Hell...

Wait!

Actually, materials can also be procured from the Orc Tribe.

And without being monitored!

The voice of the great Skeleton suddenly rang out, "No can do, don't be tempted, the Orc Tribe doesn't have the spellcasting materials I need, only the Undead do!"

The door to earning gold was slowly closing.

Shen Ye felt a twinge of loss and coughed lightly, "E Mutu, thanks for thinking so highly of me, what do you think about this—"

"I'll work here regularly, and if you have any needs for song and dance, I will come over and help out, consider it overtime work."

"Overtime?" E Mutu said with a sarcastic tone, "Do you think that counts as overtime?"

"What else?" Shen Ye asked.

"In our Orc Tribe, you must start work at 8 in the morning and finish at midnight, working 7 days a week!" E Mutu stated.

Kevin couldn't help but interject, "That's not 996 though!"

Shen Ye was shocked and blurted out, "807!"

—This was a work system even crueler than 996, reigning supreme in various capitalists' companies, only a tad weaker than 007!

E Mutu grinned malevolently, "Mr. Baxter, you do have a talent, summarizing the key point right away."

Thud!

A heavy, half-human-tall bag was taken out by him and placed on the ground.

The mouth of the bag was opened.

Inside was a hefty amount of gold!

"How about it? If you accept our work system, you can join the Sky Green Troupe!"

"—and all this will be your compensation!"

E Mutu declared loudly.

The glow of the gold dazzled Kevin's eyes, and he couldn't help but gasp for air, murmuring in a low voice,

"So much gold..."

Shen Ye, however, stepped forward and reached into the bag, scooping up a handful.

Clang—

Amidst the glint of gold, countless silver sparkles flashed.

"Why is there nothing but silver underneath?"

Shen Ye said with a cold laugh.

When it came to this, E Mutu wasn't embarrassed about being caught out; in fact, he seemed rather pleased:

"Mr. Baxter, these are just your basic salary."

"—You must complete various work tasks assigned by the Chieftain and pass the Chieftain's performance appraisal to eventually get a full bag of gold!"

"This isn't pie in the sky but rather a—"

"KPI," Shen Ye interjected.

E Mutu was taken aback and asked doubtfully, "What's KPI?"

Shen Ye shook his head and said no more.

This world had already introduced 996 and 807, and now even performance appraisals were a thing.

Orctribe...

Too evil.

"I won't join you, forget about it," Shen Ye said.

E Mutu seemed surprised and demanded, "Aren't you a poor vampire from the countryside? By all logic, you should be one of us! Why refuse!"

"Life is more important than compensation, I don't want to work myself to death," Shen Ye said.

The air seemed to freeze.

"Is that so? That's very disappointing," E Mutu murmured under his breath.

The next instant.

A sudden twist occurred—

E Mutu pulled out a purse and tossed it to Kevin.

Kevin caught it, asking in surprise, "What's this?"

"Step outside for a moment," E Mutu said.

"I'm under orders to protect him."

"—Actually, you dislike him, don't you? As long as he disappears from here, you can pin everything on the Orc Tribe, and we will make no excuses."

Shen Ye suddenly shouted, "Kevin! You're supposed to protect me, not listen to the orc!"

"No," E Mutu pointed to the door, "Go, Living Corpse, I assure you he will remain a slave of the Orc Tribe forever, toiling until death without ever returning to Eternal Night City."

"Are you sure?" Kevin said.

"Haven't you heard about the means of our Orc Tribe?" E Mutu's face showed a cruel smile.

"Hmph." Kevin weighed the purse in his hand and turned to leave.

"Farewell, Mr. Baxter."

As he spoke, he considerately closed the door behind him.

Shen Ye was a mix of shock and anger, shouting, "This is Eternal Night City, how dare you kidnap me?"

—That's it, Kevin, you're dead.

He said silently in his heart.

Yet, E Mutu said:

"Mr. Baxter, considering you have not learned any combat skills, please refrain from reckless actions for your own dignity."