Chapter 62: The Temptation of Bonuses, the Shaken Dao Heart!

What?

My allowance… is also tied to the KPI?

In an instant, Murong Xue’s mind went buzz—as if an ancient bell had been struck within her skull, shaking her so hard that her limbs went numb.

Her head had been filled with ideals like “upholding justice” and “catching evildoers.” She had skimmed through that employment contract, only remembering the number that could make even a Nascent Soul Elder go red-eyed—“one thousand top-grade spirit stones per month.”

She had naively thought that was President Chu’s way of showing sincerity, a fixed offering granted to her.

Now she understood.

That was no “offering allowance” at all—it was clearly a golden, dazzling, enormous performance carrot, dangling right in front of this “donkey” that was her!

Chu Feng!

You devil wearing human skin!

Murong Xue roared inwardly, nearly biting through her silver teeth.

At last, she tasted the truth behind Chu Feng’s radiant smile—cunning, calculative, dripping with sly intent.

He hadn’t hired her as a supervisor at all.

He had used those thousand top-grade spirit stones as a rope, binding this lofty, aloof “Righteous Saintess” firmly to his runaway chariot—a chariot racing at full speed, ready to crash at any time!

When she had ordered a work stoppage, she was exercising her authority, protecting miners’ safety, and shining the light of the Righteous Path.

But the result?

Everyone’s performance bonus—including her own—instantly vanished into thin air.

Just one second ago, she had been a “righteous official” saving the masses with a wave of her hand; the next, she became the “eternal sinner” who had cut off everyone’s income.

What kind of absurdity was this!

Murong Xue stiffly turned her neck, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding miners.

Sure enough.

The expressions on the men’s faces—those who had just been full of gratitude, ready to kneel and bow to her—were now… quite something.

There was understanding, hesitation, even regret—but above all, a kind of unspoken grievance they dared not voice, like a chaotic stew of mixed emotions.

“Cough, the Chairwoman’s doing the right thing, safety first, of course… it’s just that this month, sigh, guess we’ve worked for free for the Sect.” An old miner sighed quietly, his words clear enough for everyone to hear.

“Yeah, I was planning to use my bonus to buy my brat a proper flying sword. He’s competing in the Sect’s junior tournament next month…”

“What’s so dangerous about Mine No. 3? It’s not like it hasn’t collapsed before. Worst case, we just reinforce it with a few more Mountain Stabilizing Talismans and be careful, right?”

“Shh! Keep your voice down! You want to die? Forgot how Old Wang went last month? And without the hazard pay, who’s going to make up for my loss?”

Whispers buzzed and swelled through the crowd.

Each word felt like a red-hot needle stabbing into Murong Xue’s face, burning painfully.

She had always believed that what she stood for—the “justice” and “hope” sought by all cultivators at the bottom—was something pure and sacred.

Yet now, she saw that before the cold mirror called “spirit stones,” her proud “justice” looked so pale… even a little laughable.

The miners’ reactions struck her like a loud, clear slap—landing squarely across her face.

From childhood, she had been taught that the Righteous Path meant slaying demons, upholding heaven’s principles.

But now—now she was utterly lost.

To let them risk their lives for spirit stones—that was unjust.

But to take away their livelihoods in the name of safety, to cut off even their children’s futures—was that the justice she sought?

Her Dao Heart had never wavered as violently as it did at this moment.

Beside her, Zhao Wuji took in Murong Xue’s changing expression—flushed red, then white, then blue, before finally turning deathly pale—and a strange sense of… satisfaction welled up in him.

Serves you right, acting like some empress the moment you arrived!

Serves you right for scolding me in front of everyone!

Now you see? This job burns hotter than it looks!

Welcome to Ascension Group.

Of course, that fleeting pleasure quickly gave way to a deeper, more sympathetic weariness. He shuffled closer to Murong Xue, lowering his voice with the tone of a veteran sharing hard-earned wisdom.

“Chairwoman Murong, take it easy.”

“In our Ascension Group—especially under President Chu—you’d better clear your head of those ingrained notions of ‘good and evil,’ ‘right and wrong,’ for now.”

Zhao Wuji raised two fingers, waving them before her eyes.

“Here, we only recognize two things: rules, and profit.”

“As long as you follow the rules President Chu set, you’ll get what you deserve. If you want more, then within those rules, you make things shine. As for whether what you’re doing is right or wrong, righteous or evil…”

Zhao Wuji let out a meaningful chuckle. “Hehe, who cares?”

Who cares?

Those four words were like a poisoned awl, piercing straight through Murong Xue’s last line of defense.

Chu Feng didn’t care—he only cared whether his corporate empire ran efficiently and generated wealth.

The miners didn’t seem to care much either—they only cared about how many spirit stones they could pack into their pouches this month.

Even she herself… when she realized that her thousand top-grade spirit stones were gone, hadn’t her heart twinged with pain?

Murong Xue dared not think further.

She could feel the faith she had guarded for twenty years being slowly eroded by the murky current called “profit” that filled this noisy, pragmatic mining zone.

No!

She must not surrender like this!

A spark of determination reignited in her eyes.

The root of all this wasn’t these miners, trapped by their need for survival. Nor was it this unlucky, smooth-tongued director Zhao Wuji.

The real root… was that devil who had designed this entire system—Chu Feng!

He had deliberately set this impossible dilemma, waiting to see her break, to corner her until she bowed before his twisted creed of “profit above all.”

But she would not!

“You handle things here first,” Murong Xue said coldly to Zhao Wuji, her voice trembling slightly.

“I’m going to find Chu Feng!”

Before her words even faded, a white light flared around her, and her figure turned into a streaking sword-rainbow that soared skyward.

That aura—filled with resolve and sorrow—shot straight toward the Main Peak of Qingyun Sect.

She would confront that devil face-to-face!

She would show him that there were still things in this world more important than KPIs and bonuses!

Watching the white streak vanish into the distant sky, Zhao Wuji smacked his lips and muttered under his breath, “Go on, go on… young folks sure are fiery. Hope when you come back, your Dao Heart’s still as tough as it is now.”

Turning back toward the group of miners still sighing over their lost bonuses, he cleared his throat, putting on his full director’s air.

“What are you all standing around for, guarding the door like statues? Mine No. 3’s shut down—did Mines 1, 2, and 4 collapse too? If today’s KPIs aren’t done, this month’s bonuses won’t just go up in smoke—they’ll go straight to feed the turtles!”

“Now get moving!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep