NOVEL WEB Chapter 3 - Entrance Interview
Alright, let’s organize this again. My name is Shin Eun-young. Date of birth is August 15, 1965. 21 years old. My father works at a public corporation in Seoul, and my mother has already passed away. I have no siblings, and my high school grades and relationships were unremarkable. It seems that even the high school I attended and the friends I was close with are set in detail, but I just need to keep those in my head. Let’s put aside the details for now and focus on remembering topics that can come up naturally at any time.
After graduating high school, I entered a university in Seoul thanks to my excellent grades. The certificate of admission and detailed records of my activities during enrollment are in the supplementary materials, so I just need to submit them along with my resume. Thanks to the cooperation of the Korean National Intelligence Service, witnesses who can verify my university enrollment have been secured in case of any situation. The organization will have taken care of that, so there’s no need to worry.
The moment I realized my power awakening is set as early this year, before the start of the February semester. Upon realizing my ‘awakening’ as a superhuman during the break, I urgently applied for a leave of absence from the university and reported this fact to the government. The Korean government recommended either enlisting as an officer or studying abroad in China, and since I didn’t prefer military enlistment, I dropped out of my university and applied to the Guangzhou Huangpu Heroine Training School with government support… That’s the story.
I testified all these facts in detail in front of the interviewer. This girls’ school, where only a very small number of foreign students apply, and even among them, only those who don’t offend the Chinese government can be admitted. Naturally, the interviewer is not an ordinary person either.
The name of this woman who is looking at me and my resume alternately with sharp eyes is Zhou Lizhi. I’m supposed to not know who this woman is originally, but thanks to the CIA’s intelligence, I know much more about her than an ordinary ‘applicant’ should know.
Major in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China. But it would be a mistake to see her as an ordinary major. The superior’s judgment is that the major rank is just a cover rank to make her ‘instructor’ position plausible.
Zhou Lizhi holds a key position in this heroine school, in charge of the first-year education of foreign students in Huangpu. Of course, her mission is to conduct interviews, classes, and surveillance of first-year students, while also checking if anyone who might harm China’s interests has been admitted. It’s not a position that an ordinary person can hold.
The CIA is not only certain that she is a secret agent of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics but also suspects that she might be a member of the feared ‘Blue Shirts Society’, known as the Generalissimo’s personal protection organization within the Bureau. This means I need to be careful about everything in front of her. I shouldn’t arouse even the slightest suspicion. I shouldn’t show even a hint of suspicious behavior.
I’m nervous, but I shouldn’t show even that nervousness too much. However, if I’m not nervous enough, that would be strange too.
Because right now, this superhuman instructor sitting at the desk in front of me is fully dressed in a Chinese military uniform, wearing a hat, and even carrying a military sword at her waist.
It occurred to me that perhaps she’s dressed like this to weed out people who are ‘too calm’ even when seeing her. I shouldn’t be too composed. Being too composed might be suspicious as well.
“The recommendation letter from the President of the Republic of Korea is certainly authentic,” Zhou said in Chinese, putting the recommendation letter with the seal of the director of the Korean Presidential Office back into the envelope. I’m set to definitely know Chinese. Not only do I actually know it, but I’m also supposed to have completed higher education faithfully.
“Y-Yes, that’s right…”
“You seem strangely relieved. Did you not know that you had received a recommendation from the Korean President?”
Zhou Lizhi continued to probe into each of my reactions throughout the interview.
“Ah, no. I knew. It’s just that I didn’t meet the President directly, so I was worried…”
“Hmm.”
Zhou made a grunting sound as if dissatisfied with my answer.
“The Korean government’s recommendation letter is a diplomatic matter between the two countries. They wouldn’t have done it carelessly. It seems you don’t have any practical experience in an organization. Is that right?”
“Yes, I haven’t had a job yet.”
“Huangpu was originally a military academy. It was the strongest foundation that supported the Generalissimo’s unification of China. All the Chinese students here are essentially officer cadets who will serve the Republic of China after graduation. Of course, foreign students are not forced to serve China, but it means that we provide the same education as the future officers who will lead China’s future. Do you understand the significance of this?”
“Uh… yes, I understand.”
“Your expression says you don’t understand at all.”
If that’s how it looked, then that’s good. It would be more suspicious if I, just an ordinary college student, understood too well here.
“It means that while you’re a foreign student receiving education in China, you’re also expected to fulfill at least minimal duties for this country.”
“Ah, I see.”
“If you heard what I just said, you should normally have questions.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Are you not curious about what duties I’m referring to when I say to fulfill your duties? You’re a student from the educated class who has received higher education, and you’re a ‘superhuman’ recognized by the government. Are you so intimidated by a military uniform and a sword that you can’t even ask what you should ask?”
Damn, pretending to be scared isn’t easy either.
“I’m sorry. May I ask what kind of duties you mean?”
“Hmph. What a nobody. I wondered what kind of person would come as a student from Korea after so long, but you’re just a complete greenhorn. Next time, I should ask them to send a student who has been aware of their abilities for some time and has military experience. If we’re educating a student from a friendly country, not even a non-friendly one, we should educate someone more proper for the benefit of both countries.”
Being treated as a greenhorn is good, but it might not be bad to act a little upset here.
“I, I too!”
“Hmm, what is it?”
“I also think I can play my own role in promoting the interests and friendship of both countries. Although I’m lacking now, if I devote myself to the education provided by this school…”
“That’s enough.”
Instructor Zhou snorted and gathered the documents with both hands.
“You probably know anyway, but this interview is just a formality. It’s a recommendation letter sent by the President of Korea, not some other country. Would the Chinese government refuse that request? It means that even if I, the interviewer, have a bad impression of you and give you a bad score, I’m not in a position to fail you.”
“But still…”
“But still, don’t forget that once you’re admitted, I’m the one who will be grading you.”
“…”
“After you’re admitted, if you have any favors to ask or questions, you can come find me. Anyway, I’m the only person foreign students can turn to. Now, you can go. I’ve confirmed there’s no problem with your identity, so an acceptance notice will be sent to your home soon. Come back to Guangzhou in September with that notice. Good job. I’ll see you in three months.”
Zhou Lizhi ended the interview procedure as if making a unilateral announcement and sent me out of the shabby classroom.
Feeling as if I had been interrogated and then thrown out midway, I stared blankly at the classroom where the interview had just taken place.
No matter how I looked at it, it was just a shabby hut. In a place far from the urban center of Guangzhou, there stood a makeshift hut with a sign for the heroine school in the middle of some bushes.
But the map said this was the location of the girls’ school…
Why couldn’t I see such a huge school no matter where I looked around? All I could see was bushes, bushes, and one small hut…
“Hello, are you perhaps a school official?”
Suddenly, I heard awkward Chinese from beside me. Actually, there are many types of people who speak Chinese awkwardly. Some are used to dialects and weak in standard Chinese, and there are foreigners who are not familiar with Chinese’s unique tones. In this case, I was certain it was a foreigner, and a European at that. As I turned to the side, a blonde Western woman was carefully raising her hand and speaking to me.
She was truly a doll-like beauty with blonde hair and blue eyes. The instructor Zhou Lizhi I had just interviewed was actually quite good-looking aside from her overly sharp gaze, but the woman in front of me… I felt like I might involuntarily say out loud, “She’s literally a doll.”
But despite her childlike sparkling eyes, she was a bit taller than me. Her arms and legs were thin, but not to the point where I could say they looked weak.
“Ah, no,” I answered in Chinese.
“I’m an applicant.”
“Oh my, are you Chinese? I heard this was the interview location for foreigners…”
“No, I’m a foreign student too. It might be hard to tell, but I’m Korean…”
“Korean… Ah, I see. I’m sorry. But your Chinese is so fluent… Mine’s a bit awkward, isn’t it? Haha…”
The Western woman covered her mouth and laughed embarrassedly.
Who is she? I’ve already investigated a few of the ‘big shots’ among this year’s prospective students.
Among the European big shots expected to enroll, there’s the daughter of a British duke and the eldest daughter of a German Social Democratic Party member. There are also a few big shots coming from India and the United States, but there was no face like this among the European big shots.
Then that means she’s not a big shot student…
“I’m Catherine Duey, a French Army Second Lieutenant. Nice to meet you. May I ask your name too?”