Enemies Are All Nourishment for My Fungi-Chapter 223: Sent into the Secret Realm by an Agent (1)

According to the information Ye Nai saw on the forum, the daily wage for a Secret Realm Laborer was nationally standardized.

However, when hiring through an agency, they would take a 20% cut from the daily wage of one thousand, and personal taxes were the worker’s responsibility; the agency only facilitated connections and took their commission, ignoring everything else.

The tents all around the perimeter were recruitment tents, but it was a mixed bag inside, with some legitimate agencies and others engaging in scams and deceit.

While resting at the hotel, Ye Nai often surfed the internet, and there was a special subsection in the local Awakener’s forum where people posted complaints and rants after being scammed in recruitment.

Those who could post were still comparatively fortunate. They might have lost some money, but they at least returned safely. There were plenty of Secret Realm Laborers who had been deceived by unscrupulous agencies to their deaths, with their families left unaware of how their loved ones had perished.

Naturally, shady agencies should be a major target for crackdowns, but such measures were futile. Agencies that could set up stalls around the square were certainly vetted and legitimate. Those who were deceived and went to the police found that, after investigations, the problems always originated from the employers in the Secret Realm, clearing the agencies of any wrongdoing.

Since the agencies’ role was just to provide information exchange, they indeed couldn’t manage anything beyond that.

But whether they truly had no involvement was questionable, yet without evidence, it was not wise to make baseless claims.

The victims, with no place to vent their anger, could only express their frustrations on forums and caution other netizens.

As complaints increased, some posts explicitly stated their bad experiences with certain agencies, leading those agencies to send lawyers’ letters alleging defamation and demanding deletion of posts, or else face lawsuits.

Ye Nai was aware of these issues, and as she walked past the recruitment tents, she was there just to look around and broaden her horizon.

The agents glanced at her and, seeing her in casual clothes and with a clear gaze, judged that she wasn’t there looking for work and quickly lost interest in her.

After walking half the square, Ye Nai reached the other side, just about to finish her tour, when suddenly she was surrounded by three people from front and back.

"Looking for work? Looking for work? We’ve got a good gig here."

"Thanks, no."

Ye Nai disliked being rudely surrounded, and sensing that these three didn’t seem like legit agents, she politely shook her head and tried to walk around them.

"No need to rush in rejecting. Think about it, it’s really a good gig. The boss leads the team, heading out with the military. A half-month hunting trip in the Secret Realm and then back home."

"The boss just needs a cook; we had one, but he was rushed to the hospital for appendicitis surgery yesterday, and the team is departing today; the boss is desperate. You look sturdy, can you cook for a large group? Not many people, all elite, less than twenty including laborers, and you wouldn’t need to carry stuff, just cook."

Ye Nai immediately sensed something was off. From her experience, a military squad taking a private team on a hunting mission with promises of a half-month return?

But she recalled the posts on the forum and didn’t directly expose the agent’s lies there and then.

"It’s too late for today; I haven’t brought my luggage. It’s not going to work, find someone else."

"Hey, hey, don’t go, we really are departing immediately, everyone is already gathering inside, all other laborers have checked in, we’re just missing one. Why else would we be stopping people in the street? You look young, surely you’re just starting in this line of work—a half-month task, not too long or too short, and you’d get familiar with the daily operations of a combat team, just perfect."

"No, no, I’ve not got luggage, I’d be in the Secret Realm for half a month without a change of clothes, people would have to salt me to preserve me."

"Changing clothes is easy to handle; the small town in the back of the Secret Realm has all kinds of shops, no need to worry, especially since everyone is gathering at Park No. 2 inside, there’s time to buy anything."

Before Ye Nai could say anything more, they quickly pushed an agency contract towards her, urging her to sign.

Upon scrutinizing, Ye Nai realized it was a standard contract with mostly prefab text, a few blanks to fill in; the daily wage of one thousand with two hundred for the commission was clearly stated. Once handed to the employer, the agency’s role ended, and any disputes thereafter would be between the hiring parties, absolving the agency of any involvement.

"Oh, stop reading. It’s a standardized contract, the same for everyone. If it weren’t for the blanks that have to be filled by hand, all the agents here would wish to have everything pre-printed, just leaving space for a signature."

Ye Nai pinched the paper, then shook her head.

"Just this page? Who keeps it?"

"Of course, our agency keeps it."

"What about my copy? Aren’t contracts supposed to come in duplicate?"

"Ah, no, not this time. Payment is done on the spot, you sign, I pay, the contract goes to the agency. Fifteen days total to fifteen thousand, We take a twenty percent cut, you get twelve thousand. That’s a lot of money. Besides in the Secret Realm, where else could you find such a high-paying job, right?"

"What if there’s a dispute? If I don’t have a contract, how could I prove I was introduced through you?"

"Don’t worry, the payment account is here, that can’t be faked. If the police get reports about shady agencies, the first thing they check is the payment account. We’ve been a reputable agency for over a decade, we don’t deceive people."

Ye Nai pretended to think for a moment, then pulled out her phone, opened Awakener, and set up a transaction for the Secret Realm Laborer agency payment.

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"Alright, I’ll trust you this time. You transfer the money, I’ll sign."

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Seeing how adeptly Ye Nai operated the app, they began to doubt their initial assessment; she might not be a novice. Her looks were definitely youthful, as naive as a rookie just leaving home.

"Are you paying or not? If not, I’m leaving."

"Paying, paying, right now."

The three surrounding agents no longer hesitated; the one in charge of payment quickly took out his phone to transfer funds, as they were indeed in urgent need of people. But they wouldn’t care, nor would they disclose, the exact nature of the combat team needing members.

The naive and inexperienced rookie joined a team full of old hands—hey.

Transaction completed, net income credited, another agent drove Ye Nai into the Secret Realm on an electric cart.

Before departing, Ye Nai left some spores inside their bodies just in case.

The electric cart that transported people had a small sign on the front distinguishing its identity, ensuring it was not mistaken for an ordinary tourist—even though access to the Secret Realm was never checked, unlike the heavily regulated East Ridge Secret Realm, where ordinary people couldn’t enter alone without an Awakener or a combat team escort.

Upon entering the Secret Realm, they arrived at the central square of Town No. 2, surrounded by lush plants and flowers, emitting delightful floral scents. It truly lived up to its reputation as a nationally renowned Secret Realm garden town.

The agent drove towards the right side of the square, following signs to Street No. 3.

It was indeed straightforward and simple, with street names merely numbered. Naming was too lazy because the public didn’t regard this as domestic land, not warranting an appealing name.

Shortly after entering Street No. 3, they turned into the courtyard of a small hotel. There were five vehicles in the courtyard, three off-roads, and two box vans.