Astral Apostle

Chapter 167: Entering the Sweatshop (2)

This was his original goal. At this moment, he finally attracted the people from the workshop. He heaved a sigh of relief and was secretly excited.

“Alright, come with me to the workshop. We’ll go through some procedures.” Sura smiled.

Zhou Jing nodded and turned his head to instruct the guards at the side, “Brother, help me give a shout-out outside, I won’t be receiving any new guests today. Let them disperse.”

The guards’ attitude became much more respectful when Zhou Jing became a workshop member. They listened to his instructions and went out to persuade the others to leave.

Zhou Jing quickly settled the bill for the customers still in the shop. Then, he took a wooden sign and wrote down the slogan “Closed for the day.” Then, he hung it at the door, locked it, and left with Sura in front of everyone.

The residents waiting outside looked at each other and had no choice but to leave. The news of Bill joining the Empire’s workshop spread like wildfire.

...

Zhou Jing and Sura chatted as they walked, talking about the situation in the workshop.

Although he had used Jason to investigate, the information he had come into contact with as a hunter and a craftsman was naturally different.

Soon, he learned the general situation inside the workshop from Sura.

The workshop members did not possess the privilege to remain there for life. There was an assessment system in the Empire’s workshop, and each workshop member had a key performance indicator to follow. Their merits would be deducted if they could not complete the annual manufacturing and research missions. Once their merits were deducted to an intolerable extent, they would be fired by the workshop.

Only experts and master craftsmen in various fields did not need to complete the hard indicators and could enjoy the benefit of being a member for the rest of their lives.

Although he had recently become “famous” in the capital and had modified a hunter’s potion, he could only skip the apprentice level and start from the standard level after entering the Empire Workshop.

“No wonder the Empire Workshop didn’t test my standards. As long as I don’t complete the quota and my merits are deducted, I would automatically have to leave.”?Zhou Jing understood.

In addition to completing their indicators, there were several other ways to obtain merits. For example, taking the initiative to take on more manufacturing or research and development missions or making innovative contributions.

Therefore, the internal structure of the workshop was not completely based on seniority. There was still vitality and competition, especially for the hunter-related projects. They had to prioritize satisfying the needs of the hunters, so there was no room for carelessness.

“This kind of environment that relies on meritocracy is quite suitable for me. At the very least, I can stand out if I have the ability. I don’t have to mingle in the social circle every day. At most, there will only be some experts and master craftsmen who would hold onto their positions without doing anything. Such people should be in the minority…”

Zhou Jing blinked as his mind spun.

Apostle No.3’s ability and the characteristics of an apostle workaholic, would easily beat all his his competitors in minutes.

It was decided then. F**k all of them up!

It was a pity that his life goal was not to be a technical worker. This profession did not sound too good… However, he should accumulate his skills first. It would not affect earning money.

Zhou Jing suddenly thought of something, “By the way, after joining the workshop, do I have to hand over the new formula?”

When Sura heard this, he immediately knew what Zhou Jing was worried about. He smiled and said, “Of course, the workshop is recommended. Don’t worry, the workshop will compensate you.”

Zhou Jing asked carefully and roughly understood the situation.

The Terra Empire wanted to collect all kinds of formulas, and they would not let go of the new formulas developed by the workshop members.

However, to motivate the craftsmen and prevent them from dawdling and not innovating, the Empire Workshop did not follow the method of employees handing over their hard work for free. Instead, they respected the craftsmen’s “intellectual property rights.” They did not just write off that the results of the employees belonged to the workshop just because they were utilizing their production materials… although many lords did so.

The Empire Workshop would pay for the new formula and open it up for learning internally. Then, when others applied to learn this new formula, the founder would also receive merits and monetary rewards.

However, on the sales side, in the primitive era of the Terra Empire, there was no such thing as a sales cut.

Overall, handing over the formula meant there was a possibility of giving up the monopoly. There might be a loss in money, but in exchange, he would gain more knowledge and a higher status in the workshop.

What the Emperial Workshop valued was Zhou Jing’s improved pain-reduction potion formula, as well as his own ability. As for whether or not they would hand over the aphrodisiac formula, the workshop did not insist… Although this was very profitable, as the “country’s brand,” they still had to take care of their reputation.

“In that case, I’ll keep the Energy Potion formula for myself. This business has the potential to develop into a monopoly. It can be used to complete my life objective.”?Zhou Jing’s eyes darted around.

They chatted as they walked. They did not go straight to the Imperial Hunter Base but instead proceeded to the Workshop branch in Furnace District. In fact, this was the headquarters. It was only because the research projects here were all conventional products. Thus they did not seem important.

However, it was located in the capital, so it stored all the files of the workshop members. Anyone who joined would have to register here.

The two of them came to the door and informed the guards of their purpose. Soon, someone came out to welcome them. At first glance, the person looked familiar.

Zhou Jing took a closer look and was immediately amused. It was the little old man who had rejected him last time.

The little old man came up to Sura and greeted him. When he turned around and saw Zhou Jing, he was stunned as he too felt that the latter looked familiar.

“Who is this…?”

Seeing this, Zhou Jing couldn’t help but remind him kindly, “It’s me, Bill. We’ve met before. I came to apply to join the workshop, but you rejected me.”

“Ah, it’s you…”

The little old man vaguely remembered. Suddenly, his eyes widened in surprise.

“You’re that aphrodisiac master, Bill? I thought you only had the same name… What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’re here to apply to join again? Your conditions are still not good enough.”

By the side, Sura roughly understood the situation as he listened in. This kind of thing was too common, so he could only cough and remind him, “The Empire Workshop at the Hunter’s base has decided to invite Bill to join us. We’re here to register our files. Please bring us there.”

“The workshop invited him?!”

The little old man was stunned.

Has the Imperial Hunter Workshop fallen to this extent?

No, that was impossible. Since the workshop had taken the initiative to invite him, it must mean that this person had a special talent. He knew this very well.

Thinking of this, the little old man was immediately embarrassed.

He thought that Zhou Jing had made a name for himself in the capital with the aphrodisiac. He thought Zhou Jing overestimated himself, applying to the workshop once again.

He had always scoffed at such crooked methods.?Did they think they could join the workshop just like that? Dream on!

He didn’t expect the workshop to have taken the initiative to invite him to join… How embarrassing. He actually misunderstood.

Zhou Jing grinned, “Then can I go in this time?”

“Oh, oh, please come in!” The little old man seemed to have woken up from a dream. His face turned red as he quickly made his way.

Zhou Jing chuckled and walked into the workshop. He was only teasing the old man. After all, the other party was doing things by the book, so he would not be angry over it.

There were no advanced identity checks in this era. He followed Sura and quickly registered his file.

Sura and Zhou Jing then left the city and headed for the Empire’s Hunter Workshop.

After successfully entering the familiar Imperial Hunter base, Zhou Jing felt as if he had returned home. Along the way, he saw a group of hunters he knew wrestling and fighting on the training ground. There was even Jason, who was hugging a hunter and throwing him around.

Sensing Zhou Jing, Jason looked over from afar. After confirming that Zhou Jing did not call him, he did not come forward and continued to trample on his opponent.

Zhou Jing retracted his gaze and entered the Empire Workshop with Sura. This was the first time he had entered the manufacturing area, which was equivalent to the “backend kitchen.” This place was not open to hunters.

The potion area and the forging area were separated. A large number of craftsmen were working in full swing. It was filled with the clamor of boiling medicine, hammering, and shouting. It was as lively as a market.

Further, there was also a beast prison with a group of anesthetized mutated beasts. On a workbench that looked like an assembly line, a large group of technicians dressed like chefs were using various bloodstained tools similar to torture tools to skillfully process the materials of various mutated beasts.

Sura laughed when he saw this.

“This is the core area of the Empire Workshop. Although it’s a little noisy, you’ll like it here after you get used to it.”

“Is, is that so…”

Zhou Jing looked at this rather deja vu scene, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

Good lord, he had entered a sweatshop.

(TL Note: A sweatshop refers to a factory in which employees work for long hours at low wages and under unhealthy conditions.)