Ne Job — Chapter 169: "Megadesk vs. Intern — Clash of Deadlines"
Arc: Vein That Should Not Sing
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1. The Intern Who Should Not Fight
Ne Job had never thrown a punch at anybody in his life.
He'd thrown chairs. He'd thrown excuses. He'd thrown up once during a quarterly review.
But never a punch.
So when Megadesk—first administrative instrument, doom of interns, apex predator of paperwork—charged at him, his brain did not choose "fight."
It chose: HR Complaint.
He screamed,
"I WAS NOT TRAINED FOR THIS!"
The bone stamp glowed in his hand like molten ivory.
Yue dove beside him, dodging a drawer that snapped in the air like a guillotine.
"You weren't trained for any of this!"
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2. Megadesk's First Strike
Megadesk thundered across the Bureau floor.
Its legs moved like cranes, wood bending, metal bolts shrieking.
One massive drawer-arm swung downward, packed with paperclip teeth.
Yue shoved Ne Job aside.
The blow cratered the floor.
Carpet peeled backwards, revealing strata of unfinished tasks layered like sediment.
Ne Job hit the ground hard, eyes blurring.
Megadesk turned its top drawer—its "face"—toward him.
> RETURN TO THE INTERN SEAT.
DESTINY REQUIRES YOUR LABOR.
Papers poured out like lava.
He scrambled backward.
"I quit!"
Megadesk pulsed.
> FAILURE TO COMPLETE EXIT INTERVIEW.
YOUR EMPLOYMENT CONTINUES.
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3. Yue: HR Weaponized
Yue rocketed upward, riding the recoil of her industrial stapler like a grappling hook.
She fired a scatter of staples into Megadesk's midsection.
Each one hit like a silver nail.
Wood cracked.
Receipts burned.
The desk stumbled, its drawers slamming shut like startled jaws.
Yue landed on the surface, boots smoking from friction.
"Ne Job! Hit it while it's staggered!"
He scrambled to his feet. Heart hammering.
He lifted the bone stamp—
And froze.
"Where do I stamp? The corner? The logo? The—"
Megadesk's leg swept horizontally like a forklift arm.
Yue leapt.
Ne Job did not.
He was launched into the air, screaming like an unpaid intern with overdue forms.
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4. The Forgotten God's Warning
The Forgotten God of Paperwork stood on a toppled cabinet, robes trembling.
"Intern! Listen!"
Ne Job, mid-flight:
"I AM BUSY!"
"You stamped destinies once—not matter! You must imprint the core!"
"The what?!"
"The drawer that holds everything!"
"That doesn't mean anything!"
The god roared with bureaucratic agony:
"THE MIDDLE DRAWER!"
Megadesk heard.
The middle drawer snapped open like a jaw, snapping around the god's torso.
He vanished in a shower of divine files.
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5. Intern Instinct
Ne Job landed on Megadesk's backside—splayed across its warped surface.
He slid toward the edge, nails scraping finish.
"Yue! I can't—"
She sprinted across the surface, sliding toward him, hair whipping behind her.
"You CAN. Think of something you actually like doing!"
Ne Job's mind raced:
eating
sleeping
not exploding
lunch breaks
one specific vending machine sandwich
drawing little doodles in margins
His gaze sharpened.
He raised the stamp.
"Fine. If paperwork is war—"
He slammed it down.
APPROVED.
Megadesk roared.
Ink exploded.
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6. Deadline Fury
Drawers unfurled into tendrils, striking like whips.
Yue ducked and weaved, stapler blazing.
"Intern! Hit it AGAIN!"
Ne Job lifted the stamp—only to see the word fade.
New text formed:
RECEIVED.
The stamp cooled, steam rising.
Megadesk's tendrils froze.
The office itself shook.
A voice rolled up from the foundations:
> PROCESSING.
Ne Job blinked.
"…I just put it in limbo."
Yue laughed breathlessly. "That's how you beat any admin monster!
You d̶r̶a̶g̶ i̶t̶ i̶n̶t̶o̶ paperwork hell!"
Megadesk convulsed.
Pages poured from every crack—expense forms, divine complaints, reports from gods who should never have had to report anything.
Its legs began to sink into the floor.
> BACKLOG OVERFLOW.
PROCESSING DELAY.
REQUEST ESCALATION.
A new drawer opened.
This one lined with red tape.
The world around them bent.
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7. The Deadly Promotion
Promotional aura radiated from Megadesk.
Bureau walls fell away.
The air thickened with unclaimed overtime.
Ne Job knew this sensation. He'd felt it once before, when the Audit devoured itself.
A promotion.
A cosmic one.
Megadesk was shedding its rank, rising to a higher role.
Yue saw it too.
"No no no, do NOT let that desk become a supervisor—"
The veins of red tape snapped outward—
—and wrapped around Ne Job's wrist.
The stamp pulled to his hand.
Megadesk spoke:
> SIGN.
ELEVATION TO FULL-BUREAU INTERN.
BENEFITS NON-APPLICABLE.
Time slowed.
Ne Job stared at the contract woven into the tape.
It was his own handwriting. Not from now. From somewhere older.
His signature was already there.
Yue screamed: "DON'T YOU SIGN ANYTHING!"
He whispered: "…I already did."
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8. The Vein Answers
The Fourth Vein stopped humming.
It started singing.
A piercing chorus rolled through the Bureau, ripping through walls and flesh and memory.
Megadesk rose higher—drawer-arms expanding into towering columns of administrative wrath.
Ne Job felt the stamp burning his skin.
Ink seeped along his veins.
A word formed on its face, glowing violently:
ASSIGNED.
Megadesk froze.
A single, ancient phrase echoed:
> THE INTERN HAS BEEN ASSIGNED.
Every drawer locked.
Deadlines halted.
The song paused.
Ne Job lifted the stamp, panting.
"…I don't even know what I just did."
Yue's voice shook.
"You gave it a job."
Megadesk shuddered.
Trembled.
Then collapsed.
Not in death.
In compliance.
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9. The World After
The Bureau trembled as shockwaves rolled outward.
Ne Job fell onto carpet still trembling with unfinished tasks.
Yue dropped beside him, stapler still warm.
They looked at each other.
Neither smiled.
Neither laughed.
Both breathed like they'd run through gods and deadlines alike.
The Forgotten God rematerialized from scattered invoices, coughing.
"…that… was…"
"Don't say 'normal'," Yue warned.
He nodded weakly.
"…catastrophic."
Ne Job lay on his back.
"Is it over?"
The god stared at the fallen desk—
now lying like a sleeping giant.
"No.
You merely assigned it."
The god pointed to the ceiling.
> IT WILL BEGIN WORK.
Outside the chamber, the Vein's song resumed—
not chaotic, not wild—
but rhythmic.
The tempo of labor.
A pulse of incoming destiny.
Yue whispered:
"…what did you just put it in charge of?"
Ne Job closed his eyes.
"Maybe…"
The Vein harmonized.
"…us."
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To be continued…