1. Heaven Starts Watching (Which Is Worse Than Attacking)
The moment Oversight declared OBSERVE, Heaven changed.
Not loudly.
Not violently.
Quietly.
Ne Job felt it first.
The air thickened—not with pressure, but attention. Like a thousand performance reviews hovering just out of sight.
"…I feel itchy," Ne Job muttered.
Qi-Yun didn't look at him.
"That's surveillance."
Ne Job stiffened. "Like… cameras?"
Qi-Yun finally met his eyes.
"Like judgment."
Around them, the Archive shelves rearranged themselves—subtly. Not blocking paths. Just… narrowing options.
Labels flickered:
PROCESS MONITORING ENABLED
DEVIATION LOGGING ACTIVE
ERROR TOLERANCE: MINIMAL
Ne Job frowned. "They're not stopping me."
"No," Qi-Yun said. "They're waiting for you to stop yourself."
Ne Job swallowed. "That's worse."
"Yes."
2. Oversight's New Strategy: Smile and Clipboards
Oversight manifested again—not as a towering presence, but as a gentle lattice of light.
Its voice softened.
SUBJECT NE JOB
OBSERVATION MODE ACTIVE
YOU MAY CONTINUE OPERATIONS
Ne Job blinked.
"…That's it?"
CORRECT
He squinted. "This feels like a trap."
Qi-Yun nodded. "It is."
Oversight continued, serenely:
ALL ACTIONS WILL BE RECORDED
ALL OUTCOMES WILL INFORM FUTURE POLICY
Ne Job raised a hand. "Quick question. Hypothetically. If I mess up—"
DATA WILL BE UTILIZED
Ne Job lowered his hand. "Right. Of course it will."
The lattice shimmered—almost pleasantly.
Qi-Yun's jaw tightened.
"They've decided you're useful," he said quietly.
"And Heaven is always polite to tools."
Ne Job flinched.
"I'm not a tool."
Qi-Yun looked at him carefully.
"I know. That's the problem."
3. First Observation Test: A Small, Cruel Problem
The Archive shifted.
A new scene unfolded like a document unrolling itself into reality.
A minor Bureau office.
Low ceiling. Flickering lanterns.
A junior clerk trembling behind a desk stacked too high.
Above the clerk floated a glowing red notice:
PROCESSING ERROR
PENALTY: SOUL DELAY (37 YEARS)
Ne Job's breath caught.
"That's— that's a punishment for a filing mistake."
Qi-Yun nodded.
"Misfiled reincarnation request."
The clerk whispered, tears streaking down her face.
"I—I followed the procedure. The form changed halfway through—"
Oversight hovered silently.
Watching.
Ne Job clenched the Audit Pen.
"This is wrong."
ERROR NOT DETECTED
Ne Job stepped forward.
"She did everything right!"
PROCEDURE WAS FOLLOWED
OUTCOME IS ACCEPTABLE
Qi-Yun said nothing.
He was watching Ne Job now.
4. The Trap Tightens
Ne Job turned to Oversight.
"You're testing me."
OBSERVING
"You want to see if I'll interfere."
INTERFERENCE DATA IS VALUABLE
Ne Job laughed—sharp and humorless.
"So if I fix it, I prove I'm dangerous. If I don't, I prove I'm obedient."
Oversight paused.
ANALYSIS:
ACCURATE
Qi-Yun inhaled slowly.
Ne Job looked at the trembling clerk.
Her hands shook as she clutched the desk.
"Please," she whispered. "I just want to go home."
Something inside Ne Job cracked.
He raised the pen.
Qi-Yun spoke at last.
"Ne Job."
Ne Job froze.
Qi-Yun's voice was calm—but heavy.
"If you act, they will log it.
If you don't, you will remember it."
Silence.
Ne Job lowered the pen slightly.
"…I hate this place."
Qi-Yun nodded. "So do the people worth becoming."
5. A Different Kind of Correction
Ne Job exhaled.
Then did something unexpected.
He didn't slash.
He didn't override.
He knelt beside the clerk.
"Hey," he said gently. "What happened?"
The clerk blinked. "You—you're… an auditor?"
Ne Job winced. "Something like that. Walk me through it."
She sniffed, then explained—haltingly—how the form had auto-updated mid-process. How the system accepted it, then retroactively invalidated it.
Ne Job listened.
Oversight observed.
Qi-Yun's eyes widened slightly.
Ne Job stood.
He turned—not to the clerk—but to the glowing red notice.
"I'm not correcting the outcome," he said.
"I'm correcting the cause."
The pen glowed softly.
MINOR CORRECTION AVAILABLE
Ne Job tapped the air once.
The notice flickered.
The penalty recalculated.
SOUL DELAY:
37 YEARS → 0 YEARS
The clerk gasped.
She vanished in a burst of soft light—sent onward, unburdened.
Oversight processed.
INTERVENTION RECORDED
METHOD: INDIRECT
AUTHORITY USAGE: MINIMAL
Qi-Yun stared at Ne Job.
"…You threaded it."
Ne Job shrugged weakly.
"They wanted data. I gave them better data."
6. Oversight Adjusts Its Interest
The lattice pulsed.
OBSERVATION UPDATE:
SUBJECT NE JOB
— DOES NOT SEEK DOMINANCE
— MODIFIES SYSTEM EFFICIENCY
Qi-Yun frowned.
"That's worse for you than rebellion."
Ne Job grimaced. "I'm getting that a lot."
Oversight continued:
SUBJECT MAY INCREASE LONG-TERM STABILITY
Ne Job looked up sharply.
"So… you approve?"
APPROVAL NOT REQUIRED
INTEREST INCREASED
Yue's voice echoed faintly—from far away.
"No. No no no."
7. Yue Feels the Net Closing
In the Void Storeroom, Yue staggered.
Ling grabbed her instantly.
"Okay, that's the third time today. Talk."
Yue pressed her palm to the wall.
"They're circling him."
Bao stiffened. "Oversight?"
Yue nodded.
"They're not trying to crush him. They're trying to… incorporate him."
Ling swallowed. "That's worse, isn't it."
Yue's voice was hollow.
"Systems don't absorb people without changing them."
She stared at the Archive.
"And they never change in the way you hope."
8. Qi-Yun Issues a Warning (Too Late)
Back in the Archive, Qi-Yun turned to Ne Job.
"You did well," he said quietly.
Ne Job sighed. "That didn't feel like winning."
"It wasn't," Qi-Yun replied. "It was survival."
Ne Job frowned.
"So what happens now?"
Oversight answered before Qi-Yun could.
OBSERVATION CONTINUES
SUBJECT WILL BE PLACED IN
— COMPLEX SCENARIOS
— MORAL GRAY ZONES
— SYSTEMIC STRESS TESTS
Ne Job groaned. "You're going to make me choose over and over, aren't you."
CORRECT
Qi-Yun closed his eyes.
"They're turning your conscience into a metric."
Ne Job tightened his grip on the pen.
"…I won't let them."
Qi-Yun met his gaze.
"Good," he said softly.
"Because the moment you do—Heaven wins."
9. Cliffhanger: The Next Test Is Personal
Oversight's light dimmed.
NEXT OBSERVATION SCENARIO LOADING
The Archive shifted again.
This time—
Ne Job's breath caught.
The scene forming ahead was familiar.
Too familiar.
A courtroom.
A judge's desk.
A case file stamped with a name he knew.
CASE SUBJECT:
ASSISTANT YUE
Ne Job froze.
"…No."
Qi-Yun swore under his breath.
Oversight's voice was neutral.
OBSERVATION OBJECTIVE:
DETERMINE SUBJECT NE JOB'S
PRIORITY WHEN SYSTEM AND
PERSONAL CONNECTION CONFLICT
Ne Job stepped forward, shaking.
"You don't get to use her."
DATA REQUIRES RELEVANT VARIABLES
Ne Job raised the pen—hand trembling.
"Then stop observing."
Silence.
The test began loading.
END OF CHAPTER 252