1. Heaven Decides to Be Helpful (This Is a Threat)
Heaven did not declare war on Ne Job.
That would have been honest.
Instead, it scheduled an intervention.
A polite one.
A notice materialized beside Ne Job while he was attempting to eat a bun that was technically classified as morale support.
NOTICE: ACTIVE ANOMALY
STATUS REVIEW REQUIRED
PURPOSE: STABILIZATION & WELLNESS ALIGNMENT
LOCATION: HARMONIZATION HALL, LEVEL "FRIENDLY"
Ne Job stared at it.
"…Why is Friendly in quotation marks?"
Ling peeked over his shoulder. "That's how you know it's not."
Qi-Yun appeared silently, already displeased.
"They are not trying to punish you," he said. "They are trying to fix you."
Ne Job swallowed his bun whole.
"I don't want to be fixed."
Qi-Yun nodded grimly. "No anomaly ever does."
2. The Cure for Initiative
The Harmonization Hall was bright.
Too bright.
White floors. White walls. White banners with smiling slogans etched in gold:
CONSISTENCY IS KINDNESS
PREDICTABILITY IS PEACE
INITIATIVE IS A LEADING CAUSE OF INCIDENTS
Ne Job felt itchy just standing there.
A semicircle of figures waited for him.
Not judges.
Not auditors.
Counselors.
Heavenly facilitators. Alignment specialists. One had a clipboard that radiated passive aggression.
The lead facilitator smiled warmly.
"Ne Job! Intern designation still pending—how delightful."
Ne Job nodded stiffly.
"We've noticed you've been… uncomfortable," she continued. "And when individuals are uncomfortable, they sometimes express that discomfort as change."
Ling whispered, "Wow. I hate her."
3. Qi-Yun Is Asked to Step Back (Which Is Worse)
"Mentor Qi-Yun," the facilitator said gently, "thank you for escorting the subject. Oversight requests that you observe only."
Qi-Yun's eyes sharpened.
"Observe what?"
"Our process," she said. "It's very safe."
Qi-Yun looked at Ne Job.
The look said: This is a trap, but if I interfere, it will justify them.
Qi-Yun stepped back.
Ne Job felt suddenly colder.
4. Therapy, Heaven-Style
The facilitator gestured to a chair.
Ne Job sat.
The chair immediately adjusted to his posture.
He hated it.
"Let's begin with a simple question," the facilitator said. "Why do you intervene?"
Ne Job blinked.
"Because things are broken?"
She smiled wider. "And how does it make you feel when you don't intervene?"
Ne Job hesitated.
"…Bad."
A note was scribbled.
ATTACHMENT TO OUTCOME: CONFIRMED
"Do you believe," she continued, "that the system functions without you?"
Ne Job opened his mouth.
Qi-Yun's jaw tightened.
Ne Job closed his mouth.
"…Yes," he said carefully. "I just think it functions worse sometimes."
The facilitator's smile flickered.
5. The Soft Rewrite
A sigil glowed faintly beneath the chair.
Ne Job felt a pressure—not on his body, but on his decisions.
A suggestion.
A nudge.
A gentle internal voice:
You don't need to act.
Someone else will handle it.
It's not your responsibility.
Ne Job's head swam.
"Oh," Ling hissed. "They're rewriting his instincts."
Qi-Yun's hands curled into fists.
The facilitator's voice echoed soothingly.
"This will help reduce stress," she said. "You won't feel compelled to act anymore."
Ne Job's heart pounded.
Something inside him recoiled violently.
The spark.
The irritation.
The refusal.
6. The Problem With Curing an Irritant
The pressure increased.
The internal voice grew louder.
Let it go.
Let it pass.
Compliance is rest.
Ne Job's breathing went shallow.
Then—
Another memory surfaced.
A junior clerk. Panicking. A jammed system. A signpost nudged sideways.
The relief on someone else's face.
Ne Job whispered:
"…No."
The sigil flickered.
The facilitator blinked. "That's interesting."
The pressure doubled.
Ne Job clenched the arms of the chair.
"I don't act because I want to feel better," he said, voice shaking. "I act because if I don't, someone else gets crushed."
The chair cracked.
Qi-Yun took a step forward before stopping himself.
The facilitator frowned for the first time.
"Ne Job," she said, less warmly, "you are exhibiting resistance."
Ne Job laughed weakly.
"Yeah. I get that a lot."
7. Oversight Escalates the Cure
The hall dimmed slightly.
A new notice appeared, invisible to everyone except Ne Job.
SECONDARY STABILIZATION ENGAGED
PERSONALITY SMOOTHING IN PROGRESS
Ne Job felt his anger dull.
Not gone.
Filed down.
Sandpapered.
"No," he whispered again. "No no no—"
Qi-Yun snapped.
"Terminate the process."
The facilitator raised a hand. "Mentor interference will be logged."
Qi-Yun didn't care.
But before he could move—
Yue stepped forward.
8. Yue Breaks the Rules (Politely)
"Excuse me," Yue said calmly.
Every facilitator turned.
Yue bowed.
"I have a question."
The lead facilitator smiled again. "Of course."
Yue pointed at Ne Job.
"If you smooth out his impulses," she said, "what happens to the people he would have helped?"
Silence.
"That is not relevant," the facilitator said.
Yue tilted her head.
"Isn't it?"
She gestured around the hall.
"You're curing a symptom," Yue said. "But the condition is the system."
The sigils trembled.
Qi-Yun's eyes widened slightly.
The facilitator's smile vanished.
9. The Cure Backfires
The pressure on Ne Job snapped.
Not exploded.
Reversed.
The voice telling him to stop acting collided with the part of him that refused to let go.
The irritation surged.
Not violent.
Stubborn.
Unyielding.
The sigil under the chair shattered like glass.
Ne Job gasped.
The label above his head flared painfully.
ACTIVE ANOMALY
SUB-TAG: SYSTEMIC IRRITANT
RESPONSE TO STABILIZATION: ADVERSE
Alarms did not sound.
Heaven learned.
That was worse.
10. Aftercare (Which Is Just Fear)
The facilitators stepped back.
The lead one adjusted her clipboard with trembling hands.
"…The subject is incompatible with harmonization," she said.
Qi-Yun moved instantly, pulling Ne Job to his feet.
Ne Job was shaking.
Yue grabbed his arm.
"You okay?"
Ne Job nodded weakly.
"I think they made it worse again."
Qi-Yun exhaled slowly.
"Yes," he said. "They confirmed something."
Ne Job looked up.
"What?"
Qi-Yun met his eyes.
"You cannot be cured," he said. "Only contained."
The hall lights dimmed.
A final Oversight message appeared, colder than all the others.
ACTIVE ANOMALY RECLASSIFIED
STATUS: CHRONIC
ACTION: MONITOR, ISOLATE, ADAPT
Ling groaned. "Oh great. He's incurable."
Ne Job managed a tired smile.
"…That's bad, right?"
Qi-Yun placed a steady hand on his shoulder.
"For Heaven?" he said. "Yes."
Yue squeezed Ne Job's arm.
"For everyone else?"
She smiled faintly.
"No."
The doors of the Harmonization Hall closed behind them.
Slowly.
Carefully.
As Heaven began planning how to live with a problem it could no longer fix.
END OF CHAPTER 231