Something worth mentioning was that the teens and young adults were easy to trick.
A society with great social benefits allowed people to be fed without needing to work, but it could also kill a person’s drive. Why would so many foolish people run to IS to become sex slaves and soldiers? People in most developing countries thought it was incomprehensible foolishness. But from a different perspective, most were searching for excitement to appease the adventurist spirit hidden in their genes.
Of course, Jiang Chen was recruiting agents, not terrorists.
In seven days, Celestial Trade received a total of 437,401 applicants from all over the world. Just like what Jiang Chen expected, most of the applicants were from western Europe, some were from Russia and even South America. Because of the influence of tradition, applicants from Asia and the Middle East made up only a small percentage. Due to the lack of internet infrastructure in Africa, the number of applicants from there was nearly zero.
Jiang Chen was pleased with this result. It would be against his intentions if he tricked his own people.
After seven days of deliberation, Ayesha chose 117 qualified applicants from the four hundred thousand applicants and forwarded them to Celestial Trade. Immediately after, Barkary responded to the applicants and arranged plane tickets along with necessary documents.
These people boarded different flights and finally arrived in Melbourne before taking a chartered flight to Coro Island.
The third day.
Under the bright sunshine, around one hundred lively figures walked out of the Coro airport. They had colorful luggage, wore beach clothes and slippers, and looked like a planned field trip group from a high school.
They had varying skin colors, but most of them were white.
The high number of foreigners simultaneously showing up at the airport made locals turn their heads. Even with the increasing number of tourists, this was not a common occurrence.
On the street not far away, Jiang Chen asked Ayesha while facepalming:
“Why did you just choose girls?”
Ayesha tilted her head and used a defensive tone:
“Didn’t you tell me to do as I wanted?”
Although Jiang Chen didn’t mind, in Ayesha’s traditional culture, a qualified wife could not have excessive contact with men other than her husband, let alone lead training where contact was common. Therefore, even if 80% of the applicants were male, she stubbornly chose a hundred females out of the remaining 20%.
Because Jiang Chen trusted Ayesha so much, he didn’t even ask for information about the selected applicants beforehand.
Jiang Chen was speechless as he let out a sigh, his head throbbing.
“Okay. That’s fine, just train them well… All in all, I’ll have to count on you for this since I have to return to the other side soon.”
He was prepared to make a speech to the new recruits, but upon seeing all the chatty girls, Jiang Chen lost interest. He left Ayesha in charge and took off by himself.
Staring at Jiang Chen’s back, Ayesha nodded with seriousness.
Her serious expression meant that the new recruits would suffer.
Jiang Chen didn’t realize that the “Ghost Agents” who could make people tremble in fear were surprisingly born on this ordinary morning.
…
When the girls got off the plane, they waited at the spot instructed by the email.
For a lot of them, it was their first time leaving the country. Everything here seemed so refreshing to them. They exchanged names on the plane already, but now, they gathered in small groups taking photos and discussing how to spend their 80-day “vacation.”
Celestial Trade didn’t make them wait for long – three buses appeared in front of them soon after their arrival.
Six female soldiers in kinetic skeletons and an indifferent looking girl walked up to them. Ayesha called their names off her list. She crossed off the seven people who hadn’t arrived, divided the remaining people into three groups, and assigned seating plans.
While cheering, the girls loaded their luggage and boarded the bus as if this was a field trip. Then Ayesha and the six female soldiers all boarded their bus and signaled the first bus to start moving.
Ayesha sat at the front of the bus in silence as she glanced at the talkative girls. Although the girls had yet to understand the situation, when they arrived on the island, she would make them understand that this was no joke.
An Asian girl who was sitting beside a window quietly gazed at the scenery outside. In contrast with the rowdy crowd, she looked quiet and a bit left out of the group. The black hair falling over her shoulders looked silky. With her glasses, she really looked like a dedicated student.
“My name is Penny. I’m from California, what about you?”
Beside her was a blonde white girl who was chewing on bubble gum. She looked at her with a grin. Judging by her appearance, she seemed to have recently graduated from university.
“Zhu Yu, Michigan,” Zhu Yu said softly.
Penny’s eyes lit up.
“Michigan? My grandma from my mom’s side is from there too. I spent three years there… You don’t like to talk?”
Zhu Yu smiled peacefully.
“Not exactly. I just don’t know what to say right now.”
“You could say a lot of things… For example, why did you choose to be an agent?” Penny attempted to make small talk.
Zhu Yu titled her head as she thought. “Because I want to live a life without studying… What about you?”
“Me?” Penny laughed. “I want to live a life that doesn’t involve having an endless amount of parties to attend. Of course, there’s also the fifteen thousand salary.”
Zhu Yu smiled but didn’t speak.
Compared to her introvert personality, Penny was an extrovert.
“Also, what were your test scores?”
Penny was proud of her test scores as all three subjects were above 80. For her, a fresh university graduate, it was an unimaginable achievement.
“91,98,100,” Zhu Yu answered honestly.
Penny looked at the high-school-looking girl with an expression like she just saw a ghost.
“God, do you Asians know all the answers from the moment you’re born?”
Zhu Yu only smiled and didn’t respond.
She received too many compliments like this in school. The reason why she chose to leave home for this place was to escape her planned-out life.
Although she was an adult now, she had to use a lot of courage to make the decision to leave the life planned out for her by her parents. But she believed that this decision would pay off.
What she didn’t know was that, within two short hours, she would start to regret her decision.
Before signing the contracts, Celestial Trade repeatedly reminded the applicants that the job wasn’t a joke.