novelraw Chapter 247 247: Interviews Begin
Chapter 247 247: Interviews Begin
About the speed guy, they had concluded yesterday that Riven and Lyra would handle the interviews today. Which was now. Right now, actually.
Interviews? Yes, interviews.
The plan was straightforward enough. They would set up a sign and run adverts through Waython Hollow announcing that the Red Crest Clan was looking for someone with super speed abilities.
The advertisements would be posted on public terminals, broadcast through the city's comm network, and spread through word of mouth by clan members who knew people in the community.
It was the kind of recruitment effort that happened occasionally when the clan needed someone with a specific skill set, so it would not raise too many eyebrows.
Anyone with super speed ability would start showing up at the gate of the Red Crest Clan, where they would be interviewed and assessed to see if they fit the job. The interview process would be handled by Riven and Lyra, who would evaluate each candidate's speed, reliability, and willingness to take on a mission that was, admittedly, extremely dangerous.
Working for the Red Crest Clan was considered a dream job by most people in Waython Hollow. The pay was good: really good actually, and there was a certain honor associated with being part of the organization that protected the city and maintained order.
People who worked for the clan were respected, their families were taken care of, and they had access to resources and opportunities that most civilians could only dream of.
And speaking of pay, Tatehan had been basically working for the Red Crest Clan for the past two months in his role as Battle Commander, and he had been compensated excellently for it.
The salary structure for someone in his position was generous to the point of being almost absurd, and he was fairly certain he was now the highest-paid person in the entire organization. Maybe even in the entire city.
He was rich. Or at least, rich by the standards of someone who had arrived on Mars four months ago with nothing but a crashed spaceship and a System.
He could buy a piece of land right now if he wanted to. He could start construction on a large garage, hire contractors, purchase materials, and build exactly the kind of facility he needed to work on the spaceship.
All of it was financially feasible now in a way it had not been before.
The only reason he had not done it yet was that he had not been spending the money. At all. He did not have to pay rent because he was living in the Red Crest Clan base. He did not have to pay for food because meals were provided by the clan. He did not have to pay for equipment or gear because the clan covered those expenses as well.
His salary had just been accumulating in his account, untouched, growing larger every week.
It was a strange feeling, actually. Having money but not needing it for anything immediate. Back on Earth, before everything had gone to hell, he had lived paycheck to paycheck, scraping by, always worried about whether he could afford rent or groceries or the little emergencies that seemed to pop up every other week.
And now?
Now he had more money than he knew what to do with, and his biggest expense was occasionally buying a novel to read in his downtime.
But the plan to build a garage would have to wait. For now, there were more pressing matters. Like finding a super speed user who could pull off an infiltration mission that was equal parts brilliant and insane.
———
Lyra and Riven sat behind a long counter in an otherwise empty room, both of them chewing gum and scrolling idly through their phones. The room was one of the clan's smaller conference spaces, repurposed for the day into a makeshift interview station.
There were two chairs on their side of the counter and a single chair on the opposite side for the candidates. A simple setup, but it worked.
Lyra blew a bubble with her gum, popped it with a sharp snap, and then went back to scrolling. Riven was doing much the same, her thumb flicking across the screen of her device as she checked messages, skimmed through news feeds, and generally killed time.
The atmosphere was relaxed, almost casual, which was exactly the vibe they were going for. They did not want this to feel like some high-pressure military evaluation where candidates would be too nervous to show their real capabilities.
They wanted people to feel comfortable, to be themselves, so they could get an honest sense of who would actually be reliable for this mission.
The door opened, and a guard stepped inside, his posture formal but his expression neutral. He glanced at the two women behind the counter and gave a small nod.
"Some dude's here for the speed guy job," the guard said, his tone flat and professional.
Lyra and Riven exchanged pleased glances, their eyes lighting up with a mix of curiosity and amusement. It had only been a few hours since they posted the advertisements, and they were already getting applicants. That was a good sign. It meant the word had spread quickly, and people were interested.
Lyra leaned back in her chair, popping her gum again, and gestured toward the door. "Let him in."
The guard nodded and stepped back out into the hallway. A moment later, the door opened again, and a man walked in.
He was young, maybe early twenties, with a lean, wiry build that suggested he was built for speed rather than strength. His hair was short and messy, sticking up in random directions like he had been running at high velocity and had not bothered to fix it afterward. He wore simple, clothing: fitted pants, a lightweight shirt, and shoes that looked designed for movement.
His eyes were sharp, alert and constantly flicking around the room as if he were cataloging every detail.
He stopped in front of the counter, his hands shoved casually into his pockets, and he looked at Riven and Lyra with an expression that was somewhere between confident and cocky.
"Hey," he said, his voice carrying a slight edge of nervous energy. "I heard you're looking for someone fast."