“Employee 0038, your first task was perfectly completed. Now, a contract between both parties will be established. During this process, you will not experience any discomfort. If there are any abnormalities, please check yourself.”

Before Yun Tutu could react, she felt as if she were frozen in place. A flash of silver light passed through her eyes…

“Contract completed. Please continue to work hard, 0038, and strive for a five-star rating.”

The screen before her disappeared, and a crisp female voice echoed in her mind, as clear and precise as a news broadcaster.

“Not having to read the text myself isn’t too bad,” Yun Tutu thought, shaking her head to clear her mind. “But now’s not the time to be thinking about that.”

“Why is the contract being established now? Didn’t you say earlier that I couldn’t uninstall the app? You didn’t ask for my consent when I downloaded it, and now this damn contract is being forced on me without my approval.” If she had been curious before, now Yun Tutu was completely uninterested in participating. She had never seen such a blatant case of forced labor.

“What kind of setup is this? I just spent over an hour doing a task, and all I got was this lousy rock? Where’s my salary? My benefits? You think I’m going to work for free? Dream on.” Even if this was some sort of fantastical scenario, her real-world struggles took priority, and she wasn’t about to start doing charity work.

“The item you received is your payment,” the voice in her ear replied. “Employee 0038, you might want to wash the stone.”

Yun Tutu felt a hint of sarcasm in the voice. “Fine, I’ll wash it. I’ve already wasted this much time; might as well waste a little water to clean my hands too.”

As she placed her hands under the faucet, a sudden thought struck her. “You wretched thing, you took me to another dimension just now. What if you brought back some unknown virus?” She loved her home dearly, and the thought of bringing something harmful back filled her with dread. She was already considering quarantining herself for a while just to be safe.

“Employee 0038, all unknown bacteria and viruses are completely eradicated when you cross dimensions. You can carry out your tasks with confidence.”

“Enough with the ‘Employee 0038’ nonsense. What exactly are you?” Yun Tutu asked as she continued washing the stone. If this turned out to be nothing, she could at least keep it as a memento.

“I’m here to serve as your personal customer service representative.”

“You use the same employee number as me?”

“Of course. We offer one-on-one service…”

“Don’t tell me I’m your only employee,” Yun Tutu said, noticing that the stone seemed unusual. She bent down to grab an old shoe brush and scrubbed harder.

“…” There was a moment of silence in her ear. Yun Tutu paused and then said, “I knew it!”

“That’s not possible,” the voice responded, sounding slightly nervous. “We’re currently out of contact with others, but one day we’ll reconnect.”

“Ah!” Yun Tutu suddenly exclaimed. “Gold? Is this gold?!”

After her scrubbing, a section of the stone had been revealed, shining with a golden hue.

“To clarify, this is a naturally occurring, impure, large-grained, irregularly shaped nugget of gold, commonly known as ‘dog’s head gold.’ It’s a type of regenerated gold, usually composed of natural gold, quartz, and other minerals.”

Yun Tutu examined the stone, which wasn’t large, but felt heavy in her hand. It must weigh at least a couple of pounds. Even though she wasn’t an expert, she knew that dog’s head gold was highly prized by collectors. This was a huge windfall.

Clearing her throat, she asked, “You said this was my payment, right? You can’t go back on that now?”

She couldn’t believe she had just picked up a treasure from a random cave.

“Of course not,” the voice replied disdainfully. “These things are useful to you, so keep them. Just continue taking orders in the future…”

“So what’s in it for you?” Yun Tutu asked, clutching the gold nugget. She was determined to get some answers.

“You’re smarter than you look. My origins aren’t something you need to worry about. Just know that if you keep taking orders, we both benefit.”

“And how can I be sure you won’t harm me or anyone here?” Yun Tutu asked, realizing that the brush wasn’t doing much good. She stopped scrubbing and wiped her hands dry before sitting back on her bed.

“Don’t worry. We’re just in a business relationship. There won’t be any negative effects on you. I come from a highly advanced civilization, and now that we’re contracted, I am bound not to break our agreement.”

“A contract that I never even saw,” Yun Tutu retorted, still upset. “And you can read my thoughts while I know nothing about you.”

“The telepathy link has now been disabled,” the voice said. “After each delivery, I collect some energy, and you get to keep the profits. This is a win-win situation. I’ve looked at your internet; for someone like you, just starting out in the world, there aren’t many ways to support yourself.”

“You’re right, but what’s to stop these jobs from negatively affecting me?” Yun Tutu was growing more cautious.

“Rest assured, Employee 0038. As a time-space courier, you’ll receive certain protections. No matter which dimension you visit, you won’t suffer any harm.”

Sensing her new partner’s heightened wariness, the voice began explaining the business model in more detail.

“We provide services to those in need across various dimensions. The payments we receive are worth ten times or more. Isn’t your goal to achieve financial freedom? Join us and work hard, and you can achieve that.”

“Where did you pick up that motivational speech? It sounds like something out of a corporate indoctrination manual,” Yun Tutu was tempted but quickly snapped out of it.

“I studied a bit. I needed to learn your language after all…”

“Try not to study that stuff too much. It’s just capitalist nonsense,” Yun Tutu advised, trying to avoid being exploited. “What about this gold? Can I sell it for cash? And will I ever see that girl, Xiao Ya, again?”

“That depends. If she places another order and I detect a strong desire, then yes, there’s a chance. As for the items you acquire, I’ll provide you with a plausible origin. You can safely cash it in.”

“By the way, I can’t keep calling you ‘Time-Space Courier’ or ‘Employee 0038 Customer Service.’ Do you have a name?”

“I don’t. It’s just a designation. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Yun Tutu ground her teeth, muttering, “But I do worry about it…”