《Of Corporation and City》 An introductory company greeting Hello [REDACTED]! We are glad for your interest in working in our company, [REDACTED] corporation, one of the leading forces in the development of [REDACTED] in the City. Very few can match our accomplishments and reputation so it is no coincidence that so many people from the backways to the shielded from all different walks of life want to work here, and you are no different. Upon looking at your resume and skills, we here at [REDACTED] Corp find your skills and abilities quite lacking to be honest with you. Pitiful to the point that one would have to ask why would someone such as yourself even bother to apply here. You do realize that you¡¯re competing with people who come from families that view people like you in the same way a person looks at an ant right? People who have been blessed with talent since birth and have countless achievements to their name. Even then the people who come from the same wretched backways such as yourself have more value to offer to our company than you. No power or influence, but practical abilities we can use to our benefit, although not as much as our elite hires. We here at [REDACTED] Corp find your desperate attempt laughable and have shared your application to our newest batch of disposable pawns valued hires to give them something to laugh about as they adjust to their new life changing job. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. It is this pathetic desperation that has made us decide that you, [REDACTED], are selected to work with us as a new hire. As we pointed out earlier, you really have nothing worth noting about yourself, but we here at [REDACTED] Corp are a generous and gracious company willing to reach out and invest in those with no worth for the sake of our company. It will be easy for us to mold you into what we want and for you to live out our company standard for you without question. You will be properly compensated of course, provided you carry out your tasks well and live to see the day of your paycheck. Attached to this letter are instructions on where to go and who to find to get started on your new job. We have dumbed down the language of these instructions and have even added drawings to further help you as we suspect you might have some mental impediments that might hinder your ability to follow basic instructions. Failure to follow these instructions to start the hiring process within a specific time period or the unthinkable action of rejecting our generous one in a lifetime opportunity will result in Upper Management or HR contracting ¡°Cleaners¡± to remove you from the permanence of this earth and hand this letter to the next unworthy candidate in line. You are expendable. We hope to see you soon, have a great day! To the head of the [REDACTED] department Hello [REDACTED]! This is [REDACTED], from [REDACTED]. You may be pleased or not to see this message from me, but regardless of those feelings we are here. So, we might as well get to it right? It has come to our attention that you lost a good number of employees during the last suppression of [REDACTED]. The situation quickly escalated to a point where your fellow heads at the [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] department had to intervene with the permission of upper management for an emergency joint department suppression operation of [REDACTED], the newest [REDACTED] in your department. Now, here at [REDACTED] Corp, we make it very clear to our valued employees that they are expendable, (yes, I typed this correctly as company policy states) mere chess pieces on the board to help us at our respective higher positions and especially upper management to pave the path forward for the continued well benefit of the company. You however, are testing that statement to its limit, excluding the benefit, which is why I am typing this letter in the first place. You are not producing acceptable results with the amount of employee sacrifices you are making. While we do have the privilege to contract pawns, whether they be rich or poor, from up high or down low in a matter of seconds, please bear in mind that training them takes time. Even with our impressive 35% rate of employees who pass the training with all of their limbs and sanity intact with no permanent damage (the burden of seeking medical help in our faculties is on them) we do want you to have them last a decent while. Competence is key after all. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. You will be receiving more recruits from the backways within a couple of business days, make sure to make them last longer this time, and if not, achieve results that make their deaths worth it. To help you achieve this goal we are prohibiting your fellow heads at their respective departments to help you directly should there be another suppression situation in your department to further enforce your growth, as nobody will be able to help you but yourself. When you start bringing acceptable results, we will consider repealing this order. We look forward to your future success as the new head of the [REDACTED] department. And remember, even though HR cannot touch you, Upper management can. Have a great day! A message to the last member of the [REDACTED] department [VOICE MESSAGE START] Hello, employee #4327, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, I am [REDACTED]. I am what you consider the gate or mouthpiece of upper management¡¯s will here at [REDACTED] Corporation. Firstly, you may be confused on why I am using the entire department¡¯s speaker system to address you, a sole somewhat middling employee. Secondly, you are probably as equally confused as to the reason I am messaging you now, in your current situation. I will address both of those points for you. I am using the entire department¡¯s speakers to address you and only you because there is no one else in this department which leads into the second point, your current situation. As you well know through personal experience, your department has undergone mass meltdowns, leading to the breaching of multiple [REDACTED] which led to an emergency suppression operation that was honestly bound to fail from the very beginning. All head personnel as well as all other staff, from clerks to employees have had their roles miserably terminated as a result, all of them except for you. I know the current situation is grim, but there is no reason to panic more than you already have, because I have some great news for you, courtesy from upper management of [REDACTED] Corporation! To start off, you will be promoted as the new SECRET head of the [REDACTED] department (The other employees aside from the other department heads and higher in the company will have their memories altered), as there is no one else literally as qualified as you. This promotion comes with the utmost level of job security, you will NEVER have to worry about losing your job, or having someone else usurp your position. You might be thinking why, but the reason is very simple and leads into the next part of good news I have for you! Because of the sheer level of meltdown and damage caused by the escape of the [REDACTED], all entrances in and out of the department have been blocked off, whether it be by debris, certain [REDACTED] blocking the entrances, or just our very skilled welders melding specific exits shut to prevent the unspoken horrors from leaking into the rest of the other departments, the fact of the matter is that this department is effectively your home now. In all honesty, this would be perceived by other employees as a ¡°death sentence¡± and you might be thinking this, but allow me to correct you with words from upper management; The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. This is not a ¡°death sentence¡±, this is an opportunity. Besides that, I have your first and possibly eternal task from upper management. As you well know, your standard job requires you to manage, study, extract [REDACTED] and if needed suppress the multiple [REDACTED] in your department which specializes in [REDACTED]. Typically, you would have a team to help you with this, but since there is no one else you will have to work multiple times folded over to manage the entire department. This of course includes you suppressing all of the currently escaped [REDACTED] all across your department. By yourself obviously. ¡°¡­¡± There is also a second task. Looking at the current state of things there are¡­ others that hope to come here, to see everything that has occurred and call it and our company a failure in hopes of boosting their own status. Whether it be, other corporations, Cleaners, Repairmen, information brokers, company traitors ect. ect. Let these words seep into your very being. We do not make mistakes, we do not make miscalculations, we do not and have ever failed at anything, EVER. Your second task is to kill anyone that comes down here, whether it be on purpose or mistake, whether they be friend or foe, whether they be man, women or child, your job is to find and kill them. ¡°¡­¡± As a final note, do not worry about trivial things such as food and water. You may not know it, but we suspect the reason you survived and will continue to survive has to do with your exposure to one of the [REDACTED], altering your body into¡­ something else. In any case, there is no reason to panic about starvation or even exhaustion for that matter. That is all the information I have for you at this time, I may be instructed to contact you again, but its best for you assume that this is the first and last time you¡¯ll receive a message from me or anyone from upper management. We look forward to your renewed service as the new secret head of the [REDACTED] department! [VOICE MESSAGE END] A letter from the Cleaner’s association Greetings esteemed reader. We are very glad for you to come across this letter, whether you found this in the alleyways of the backways, the cracked streets of the shattered, or the luxurious realm of the shielded, we are glad you took the time out of your hectic day to read the contents of our letter. Are you tired from your current way of life? No prospects or value to your being? Do your days blend together in dull apathetic agony? Want to work in an interesting field that¡¯s not your local God forsaken corporation? Consider joining the Cleaners association! We have offices located across every single district in the City and are always looking for new hires. No matter your status, skill, gender or age, we are willing to hire you as we have a spot for everyone in our organization. These are our two most popular positions: Cleaners: Cleaners are the arms and legs of our organization who mobilize and work throughout the City. They are typically put into teams of 3-4+ members lead by a Fixer who gives them their tasks and oversees their operations. This can be as simple as watching over neighborhoods in the backways or fulfilling the requests of the locals, serving as temporary security for local businesses, to investigative work and the apprehending of criminals to the hunting and acquisition of the numerous Abnormals that stalk the City, ect, ect. Cleaners can also temporarily be hired by Corporations to do various tasks, although this requires the permission from the Board of the Cleaners association requested by the Fixer that wishes to accept such a task with the addition of an EXTREMELY precisely written out contract with a strict time limit that must be followed to a T. Anything less will result in devastating consequences. These are considered the most dangerous of jobs (help in Corpo turf contention, routing of ¡°competition¡±, aid in suppression and recapture of escaped Corpo Abnormals, ect.) and the strict precautions that limit the amount of Cleaner teams are as such to limit the amount of overall direct contact our organization has with Corporations to avoid the overwhelming possibility of being consumed by them and losing our independence as a freelance organization. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Repairmen: Repairmen serve the same purpose as Cleaners and work similar jobs but work solo. Because they work alone, they have a lot more freedom in the jobs they choose to do as well as when they do them with a VERY generous cut that favors them (with additional fees), making this a popular choice for a riskier albeit more rewarding part time job should you choose not to make it a full time living. It should be noted that because of these benefits you will receive notably less support compared to Cleaners when it comes to starting out in regards to equipment, potential housing, and insurance (yes, we DO have insurance to a degree here, we¡¯re not animals) as Cleaners essentially are our (valued) property. However, as you do more jobs and make more of a name for yourself, these advantages will become available to you. But for now, what you will have is our official seal (after paying a registration fee) that gives you creditability and a degree of professionalism over the typical brute mercenary which makes it easier to find work and may or may not help in situations where you are held hostage (We will not pay for your ransom). As a Repairman the world is yours to fix, and only on your own time too! We are open and hiring 24/7! Feel free to wipe away the apathy and come in and apply! (Warning! Taking either of these jobs puts you at high risk of severe injury, mental trauma, dismemberment, death, and a whole slew of other horrible fates and events that will cut through your lifespan like butter. The wisest thing to do is to not take the job, but we both know you¡¯ll take it for either the thrills or money so who are we to warn or judge?) A recorded breakroom conversation [Location] Ward of District [REDACTED], Breakroom [Date] Year of XXXX [In accordance to Ward protocol 32423Q-456E all employee and agents are to be monitored and recorded during breaks.] [RECORDING START] [E-4560] Haa~ break time, it¡¯s FINALLY break time! Heeeell yeah! I¡¯m going to order something delicious. [NE-025] ¡­Ordering food? [E-4560] Yeah? Its break time, why wouldn¡¯t I order anything? You know we both have 48 hours left in our shift right freshy? [NE-025] ¡­I know, I know. But seriously you¡¯re going to eat after what we just saw? [E-4560] Did it bother you that much? [NE-025] Yes. Yes, it did. [E-4560] What you just saw is just the standard here in this Corp freshy, its best you get used to it. I would personally recommend replaying that sight in your mind until you get bored of it. [NE-025] That¡¯s your personal recommendation? [E-4560] Yes. I employed that strategy myself when I started working here. You want ¡°therapy¡± here of all places considering what you¡¯ve seen so far? [NE-025] I guess not. [E-4560] Still I¡¯m surprised. I was expecting you to be more resilient, since you came the Backways right? The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. [NE-025] Yeah, I¡¯m from that hellhole. Did everything I could to make it into the Ward through applying and working for the Corp. Its definitely a nicer place compared to the Backways outside of work, and the salary actually can pay more than a day¡¯s worth of expenses, but I really thought I would never have to see more of these gruesome sights. It¡¯s a give and take in the end I guess. [E-4560] Hmm. Could you tell me more about the Backways? It¡¯s always been a fascinating place for me since I was born in the Ward and never left it. You guys call that shielded I think? [NE-025] Fascinating huh? What can I tell you that you probably haven¡¯t heard from school? We aren¡¯t born under the prosperity or protection of a Corpo so it¡¯s a free for all out there. Poverty and petty crime is a common spectacle to see. Syndicates control and roam the streets taxing absorbent fees for protection, along with cramming their inane philosophy on our lives. Hope and pray you never get caught in between a turf contention between rival Syndicates, especially if they are affiliated or directly are from the different parts of the Beast. [E-4560] The Beast? Ah! The metaphorical being that rules the Backways with their parts? Which part were you under? [NE-025] We were under the embrace of the Wings. Their messengers, flocks and Proxies were one thing, but those damn feathers they had that would whisper into our minds were¡­ [CRE-334] Talking about the parts of the Beast during Corpo break time are we!? During my time as a freelance Repairman I ran into pretty much all of them, and let me tell you, none of them are as worse as the violent debauchery that are the Fangs. Hedonistic fucks get off on anything you¡¯d imagine. [E-4560] ¡­You¡¯re making quite the bloody trail here old man; couldn¡¯t you have taken the time to clean yourself off before splattering the entire breakroom? [CRE-334] Not in my contract, don¡¯t give a FUCK. Also, for your information I¡¯m 38! Nowhere near feeble age! [E-4560] [NE-025] Its pretty close though. [CRE-334] Fuck you guys. I just came to give everyone in the break room a heads up. The Manager has declared that all resting staff must return to work immediately to deal with a level 5 emergency. [E-4560] ¡­Immediately? [CRE-334] What do you think? [E-4560] But¡­ my food¡­ [CRE-334] Hesitancy will result in termination. [E-4560] FUCK! [END OF RECORDING] [Syndicate Report]: The Coin Boys [SafeGuard Co. Central Office] [Redacted Number] SafeGuard Co. Syndicate Report Executive: In this report we will be covering the latest intel we have gathered on the ¡°Coin Boys¡± a new Syndicate that has risen across the Backways in multiple districts across the City. Introduction: The Coin Boys are a new Syndicate that has recently surfaced in the City, and has been posing a tangible threat to the territories and clients under our protection. Unlike most other Syndicates, they are extremely abnormal in their organization structure, mobilization and methodology which seemingly are determined by their coins. Background: The birth of the Syndicate is somewhat unclear in terms of exact dating, as are the origin of the coins each member carries and how they are initiated into the Syndicate. However, it is known that each member of the Syndicate solely operates on their coins and the outcome of their flips. Whenever a member has to make what they deem as a critical choice, they will declare the two possible paths of decision and flip the coin. Whatever side the coin flips on the decision it covers will be executed upon to absolution. In the case that members are unable to complete the coin¡¯s declaration, they will then flip the coin again. On Heads, members will kill themselves using whatever method they declare before the flip. On Tails, nothing will happen and the status quo continues on. These dynamics change when there are multiple members present. It has been found that despite the absolute top hierarchy of the Syndicate being shrouded in mystery, higher ranked members have shinier, more valuable coins. Within a group the member with the more valuable coin will be the coin that dictates the actions and decisions of the group. It should be noted that unlike most Syndicates, being higher ranked in this Syndicate does not necessarily mean they are more competent than the other members, as they are seemingly chosen at random by who or whatever assigns ranks in the organization. A group can consist from 2-3 members minimum to groups reaching 100 and more. They either drift around the City like vagabonds or settle and control territories, fiercely competing with whatever Syndicates, Companies or Associations are in the area. Once in control of an area they will proceed to tax the population like most Syndicates. In the case that someone is unable to pay, the collecting member will flip a coin. If Heads, the collecting member will leave but raise the amount due for the next visit. If Tails, the collecting member will inflict punishment on the offender. For every Heads landed on every other visit before the Tails, the more severe the punishment will be. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Purposes: At SafeGuard Co, it is of great importance that the territories and clients of our protective services are assured of their safety no matter who or what threatens them. As a result, the rise and growth of new Syndicates are of great interest to our company. Any and all intel is valuable in combating them. Closing Recommendations: Continued surveillance of the Syndicate and investigation into their upper structure is highly recommended as well as taking a more aggressive stance in defending territories under SafeGuard Co. The examination process [Location]: Academy of the Ward of District [REDACTED], Library [In accordance to Academy protocol under Ward protocol MEOY-A6, all academy attendees are to be under observation until the examination.] - [Attention all examinees, the Library will now remain open 24/7 to accommodate all your academic needs for the upcoming examination, please make the best of your time here as if your very life depends on it.] [Examinees] ¡­ [Well it does, it does so very much. Happy studying!] [Examinee A-26] ¡­Ok. Lets go over this part again. [Examinee A-23] I object, there¡¯s no need for repetition. considering the remaining content we have left to cover. [Examinee A-50] ¡­How much content is there left to cover? [Examinee A-23] Theoretically, or exactly? [Examinee A-50] What do you even mean by that man? [Examinee A-23] Theoretically as in if we were to optimize our intake of the content to an understandable level. Exactly as in the exact number of pages and chapters to cover. [Examinee A-50] Hit me with the theory. [Examinee A-23] As of now it is 2:23 am, we have been in the Library for about 48 hours straight with minimal rest or sleep. During that time, we have covered approximately 50 chapters of content containing about 100,000 words per chapter. We still have about 100 chapters with about 200,000 words per chapter left of content to cover, as the subjects have an incline in complexity the further you read on. I propose speeding up our learning process immediately by skimming each chapter for their core parts within the next 72 hours with minimal sleep or rest to even have a chance on the examination. [Examinee A-50] Are you shitting me? Another 48 and then some with how many chapters? [Examinee A-23] As I said about- [Examinee A-50] Yeah, I know, the question is can we last that long in the first place. It may have been a few at first, but more and more examinees are starting to lose their damn minds trying to understand this stupid- OW WHAT WAS THAT FOR!? Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. [Examinee A-26] That was a favor, did you forget that insulting the book or academy property will instantly get you shattered? If you¡¯re going to get shattered at least have it be for something worthwhile. [Examinee A-50] Like trying and failing the examination? It looks like its heading that way for all of us mate. [Examinee A-26] Maybe not. There is one thing we can try, though I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t be a fan of it. [Examinee A-50] And that ¡°it¡± is¡­? [Examinee A-26] The Cognize pills, along with the Jolt pills both made by Med Corp that the academy has given us free access to. We¡¯ll go with the plan of skimming the 100 chapters using the Jolt pills to keep us awake and alert for the next 72 hours and beyond for the examination. Once we finish skimming, we will take the Cognize pills to gain a full understanding of the core concepts we studied so we can move from there and hit as many practice problems as we can for the next several days. If needed we might have to take an additional pill or two to keep going. [Examinee A-23] I agree with it, we will be able to make significant progress to raise our fairly low chances of covering the content to a barely acceptable level of passing. [Examinee A-50] So its come down to this huh? Throwing away our natural capabilities that have brought us this far and leaving it all to pills to decide whether we get shattered and thrown out to the Backways or not? You don¡¯t feel any hint of concern of the risks or what this implicates for our futures? [Examinee A-26] This one always seems to always have silly concerns, right? [Examinee A-23] Agreed, with naivety I might add. Perhaps that might come with him being the 50th ranked. [Examinee A-50] Wha- [Examinee A-26] Listen. With what¡¯s at risk here we can¡¯t afford to worry about things such as natural capability, in fact, for us its something to be loathed and discarded, or augmented if you will. Because for even us at the 20th ranked it is simply not enough to compare or compete with the monsters that are 1-19 who can take absolute pride in their innate abilities. They¡¯ve already finished the book. We¡¯re struggling to even reach half and understand it. This is beyond our ¡°natural capabilities¡±. [Examinee A-23] For the examination we must use every resource at our disposability to our advantage, the risks associated with using them is a minimal concern. As long as we are accepted by the Ward via the academy into the Corporation and remain shielded, any and all means are acceptable. [Examinee A-26] Yes, although we have taken some risks into account. There''s a reason why we¡¯re taking Cognize pills after we¡¯ve read the content. If you take the pill without having specific knowledge in mind beforehand¡­ [Examinee A-34] AH! I SEE IT! I CAN UNDERSTAND IT ALL! EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING!!! [Examinee A-26] ¡­The pills will expand your understanding on every thought in your mind causing you to ascend to a higher plane of thinking before immediately crashing your mental frame. [Examinee A-50] ¡­Mm [Examinee A-23] With that factor taken into account it is currently 2:38am. Let us resume our studies. [Examinee A-50] Sure, sure whatever, hand me the pills or whatever the fuck. It doesn¡¯t matter as long as we make it in the end. Right? [Examinee A-23] [Examinee A-26] Yes.