Lyxander stepped back into the elevator, passing through the corridor that had once been swallowed by darkness. Now, the lights around him had returned.
Just like before, nausea washed over him as the elevator began to move.
Ding!
The elevator doors slowly opened. Standing before him was Simon, staring straight at him.
Lyxander gave a small smile.
"Oh? You're still waiting for me?"
"How else do you think you'd get out of here if I weren't waiting?" Simon replied, reminding Lyxander that the door to the Enigma Chamber could only be opened with his eyeball.
"Heh, you're right."
Lyxander chuckled. "So… are you recruiting me now?"
"Hm." Simon smiled faintly.
"Lyxander, from this moment on, you are a member of the Entity Corporation."
"I refuse."
That short answer caused Simon to fall silent for a moment—but instead of being surprised, he continued in a casual tone.
"The salary is five thousand volar per month."
"What?!"
Lyxander was stunned.
"Captain," he said seriously, "please take care of me from now on."
At first, Lyxander had only been joking when he refused. But after hearing the salary, he could no longer suppress the poor soul dwelling inside him.
For comparison, the average income of the Empire's citizens was only around fifty to one hundred volar per month. In other words, his salary was nearly fifty times that of an ordinary person.
Well, considering how dangerous the job was, such a salary seemed reasonable.
"Hahaha!" Simon laughed in satisfaction.
"From now on, you'd better show me some respect. Come on, let's go sign the contract."
With a cheerful expression, Lyxander followed Simon.
---
Inside Simon's private office, Lyxander sat on a black sofa.
While sipping black coffee, he looked around the room. There were several photos of Simon from his younger days, along with family pictures. It seemed Simon was married—only natural, given his age.
"Ugh…"
Lyxander froze when he noticed a young woman in one of the photos. Her white hair immediately reminded him of the woman he had seen when he first woke up.
So she was Simon's daughter… no wonder their hair color was the same.
Thud.
Simon returned to the room carrying a stack of documents. He sat across from Lyxander and slid the contract toward him.
"Please, just sign here."
Lyxander carefully read through the contents of the contract.
"Hm. Alright. No problems."
He signed his name.
"By the way," Lyxander asked, "isn't identity a power based on one's identity?"
"That's right. Why?"
"Then why haven't I gained any power yet after joining?"
Simon stared at him briefly.
"I don't know how much you learned from Orochi, but if I had to guess, you already know about the seven ranks of identity… just not the requirements for each one."
"The requirement for a one-star identity is to play a role."
"Play a role?" Lyxander frowned.
Simon pulled back the signed contract.
"Yes. For example, my one-star identity—Crow. Before obtaining it, I had to truly act as a crow."
"A crow? What do you mean?" Lyxander asked.
Simon narrowed his eyes and looked at him strangely.
"Didn't you read the contract?"
Lyxander smiled innocently.
"I only checked whether the salary matched what you said."
"…I'm honestly surprised by how fast your personality has changed," Simon muttered.
"I call it adaptation," Lyxander replied proudly.
In truth, he had only skimmed the contract and relied on his photographic memory to store everything in his mind.
"Alright, I'll explain," Simon said.
"Within the Entity Corporation, identity users are divided into two groups: Crows and Doves."
"We are Crows. Our duty is to protect a specific territory, and we are forbidden from interfering in another Crow's domain."
"Doves, on the other hand, protect the entire Empire. They are dispatched across regions to hunt rogue identity users or retrieve sealed entities. Unlike Crows, they are allowed to act freely as long as they possess a warrant."
"Heh… I see," Lyxander murmured.
"Then," he asked, "is my brother—Pigeon Xander—also part of the Entity Corporation?"
"Hahaha!" Simon laughed.
"Not just a member. He's known as the strongest Crow, even rumored to be on par with White Raven."
Lyxander's pupils shrank.
"My brother is that strong?!"
"His six-star identity is Grim Reaper."
"What?! A six-star—Grim Reaper?!"
Lyxander was shocked. He never imagined his brother had transcended mortality and become a mystical being on the same level as Orochi.
"Alright," Simon said as he stood up. "You're done here. Come back on Monday to start work. The man waiting outside will take you home."
"By the way," Lyxander asked, "what day is it today?"
Honestly, after transmigrating, Lyxander had inherited one of the original Lyxander's habits—remembering dates but forgetting the day of the week.
"Friday. Now get out."
Lyxander squinted.
"Do you really hate me that much?"
He left, following the man in black he had previously seen in the apartment parking lot.
They walked through the corridor, took the elevator, and arrived at the parking area. At first, the atmosphere was awkward, but inside the car, Lyxander gathered the courage to start a conversation. To his surprise, the man turned out to be quite friendly.
His name was Garnet Yakobus.
During the drive, Garnet told him his life story—how he had been infected by the Entity virus, lost control, and accidentally killed the only family he had: his younger sister.
When he was on the verge of fully turning into an Entity, it was Simon who saved him.
After hearing that story, Lyxander finally understood why the original Lyxander had chosen to end his own life.
He didn't want to become a monster.
—
When they arrived at the apartment parking lot, Lyxander thanked Garnet and got out of the car.
As he rode the elevator up, Lyxander felt nauseous again, even though it was only moving straight upward.
When he got home, his mother greeted him. After some effort, Lyxander managed to convince her that he had only gone out to look for a part-time job to fill his free time.
He deliberately avoided mentioning his work as a Crow, since one of the contract clauses required him to conceal the existence and activities of the Entity Corporation.
After showering and eating, Lyxander turned on the original Lyxander's PC.
At first, he checked the browser history, but it was nothing more than study materials for college entrance exams.
"Tch… I underestimated you, buddy," Lyxander said, giving his respects.
All that respect vanished the moment he opened a folder named **Study Materials**.
"Your taste isn't bad, my friend."
However, the most interesting thing appeared when he pressed paste into the search bar—a link leading to a mysterious group chat.
"Hm? What's this?"
Suddenly, the PC screen began to shake violently, as if it had been infected by a virus.
"Damn it!" Lyxander panicked.
"My precious PC—no way! How did I end up on such a weird website? Ugh, I should've been more careful."
But before he could panic any further, words appeared on the screen:
WELCOME
Please choose your nickname.