Chapter 16

Fifteen minutes later, the chaos ended. After understanding the cause and effect, Gao Deng mediated the conflict between Dente and Robin and decided on the punishment.

Gao Deng: "So, the cause of the incident was your baseless suspicions?"

Robin: "Yes." —— admitted readily

Gao Deng: "And you failed to clear up the misunderstanding early, leading to this situation?" —— pointed to the empty foyer (all the applicants had run away)

Dente: "It's all his fault, the fool." —— pointed at Robin and cursed

Gao Deng: "Still trying to argue! If I had enough staff, I would fire you right now. You couldn't even handle such a small situation; how did you manage to be an assistant prosecutor before?"

Dente: "This isn't a court, and there's no judge to maintain order with a gavel..." —— muttered

Gao Deng: "Now, I will announce the punishment. Dente, I have decided to deduct your bonus for this month as a penalty."

Dente: "What bad luck." —— whispered

Gao Deng: "And you, you are hired by the production team, effective immediately."

Robin and Dente: "What?" —— in unison

I (narrator): "Not only do you two find this strange, but I do too. What kind of logic is this old man using?"

—

Dente: "Director Gao, what do you mean?" —— confused

Gao Deng: "How many times do I have to tell you? Don't call me Director when we're on set; call me [Chief Director]." —— pointed to the armband on his arm, speaking impatiently

Robin: "[Chief Director], I understand that my rash actions caused losses to your production team, but why are you not punishing me and instead hiring me?"

Gao Deng: "Can't you figure it out? According to the rules, I should hand you over to the police and sue you for compensation for the production team's losses. But from your appearance, you look like a poor guy; from your resume, you don't have any wealthy relatives or friends (orphanage background). If I don't hire you, where will you get the money to compensate me? Who will compensate the production team if I send you to jail?"

Robin: "..." —— understood Gao Deng's meaning

Gao Deng: "Exactly, half pay, half benefits, but still with room and board. What do you say, will you accept it?"

Robin: "Even with room and board, it's only 1,500 a month, and with the cost of living in Gotham City and my student loans... Can we change the terms?"

Gao Deng: "If you don't accept, I'll hand you over to the police, and you'll end up in jail. When you get out, you won't find a good job, and I'll have my revenge."

I (narrator): "To hire him, he's blocking all other job opportunities? What a grudge he holds."

—

Robin: "So, [Chief Director], what specific job will I be doing on the set? Extra, prop management, script supervisor, makeup, or other production duties?"

Gao Deng: "Specific job? Don't get ahead of yourself! Because of the chaos you caused, our production team's reputation is ruined. Look at the comments and reviews on the job board; we won't be able to hire anyone in the future. So, I need you to do the work of ten people. If I tell you to manage props, you manage props; if I tell you to buy boxed meals, you buy them; if I tell you to jump into a fire pit, you jump in!"

Robin: "Jump into a fire pit? Can't we use computer special effects? You're trying to kill me."

Gao Deng: "Computer special effects are not as realistic or visually impactful as real shooting. Consider it a sacrifice for art." —— impatiently

Robin: "..." —— not convinced

I (narrator): "That's just one aspect of the consideration, right, old man?"

—

Gao Deng: "That's not possible; the production budget is very generous."

Robin: "..." —— looked at the actual situation at the job fair

Gao Deng: "I know what you're thinking. I'll tell you, we're pretending to be poor to attract sponsors."

Robin: "You're kidding, right?"

Gao Deng: "Don't believe me? Fine, to dispel your doubts, your first task after joining the production team is to go to the CEO of Wayne Enterprises' house to ask for a sponsorship."

Robin: "The CEO of Wayne Enterprises? The richest man in Gotham City? You want me to go to him? Are you joking? Can I even get into his house? ... Is your [Chief Director] just out of Arkham Asylum?" —— asked Dente

Dente: "Hmph." —— didn't respond verbally but nodded "yes"

I (narrator): "You, the one who says no but does yes."

—

Gao Deng: "Dente, don't be smug there! To prevent the new guy (Robin) from pocketing the sponsorship and running away, you have to go with him."

Dente: "What? Why do I have to go too? If you don't trust him, you can send someone else to supervise him. Why me?" —— surprised

Gao Deng: "Why? To ensure that you two can work together peacefully and without grudges. Internal conflicts and power struggles are what I hate the most."

Dente: "If you want to mediate our conflict, you could wait until we cool down, then invite us to dinner and a drink. That would be much better."

Robin: "Yes, yes." —— nodded in agreement

Gao Deng: "You two sly guys! Trying to trick me into giving you an easy way out? Your plan might work, but it would take too much time. Right now, you two are like two strange dogs who meet on the street and circle each other. You need to sniff each other's butts, show your teeth, and reach some strange consensus. Otherwise, you'll fight until you tear each other's eyes out. This common task is the opportunity for you two to reach that strange consensus."

I (narrator): "Your metaphor... Is the real purpose of this task just to make them sniff each other's butts?"

—

Dente: "But even if I go, we won't get the sponsorship. I don't know Mr. Wayne; this task requires the [Chief Director] to do it personally." —— speaking honestly

Gao Deng: "No." —— firmly refused

Dente: "Why not?" —— confused

Gao Deng: "I have no interest in ordinary humans."

Robin: "..." —— curious

Gao Deng: "I am interested in aliens, people from the future, and those with superpowers."

I (narrator): "What? Didn't you say you couldn't tell Robin the truth? Why are you revealing such shocking information now?"

—

Robin: "..." —— testing the waters

Gao Deng: "Yes." —— smiled, with a look of "you're a good student"

Robin: "Ah, I see." —— turned to Dente —— "It seems the [Chief Director] is quite ill." —— whispered

Dente: "I'm not worried about his condition; I'm worried that after the show is produced and aired, [Tianwen Kaku] and someone else will sue us for copyright infringement. That would be a problem." —— whispered

I (narrator): "Huh? Why is it having this effect? It's completely different from what I expected."

—

Page flip, AD starts

Page flip, AD ends