Through one of the many black one-way windows, James, glued to the ceiling, looked at the people gathered before the warehouse and readied himself. His infused had quickly finished installing the new wooden panels to form new walls, and as far as he was concerned the infused planks and nails they had used were as solid as the rest of the warehouse after its little makeover. However, having a building and furnishing and trapping it were three very different things. It had taken a couple of days for Techlord to finally be finished with enough of his workload that he felt fine coming back up to inspect the new addition to James' possessions himself, and after that, it had taken a week for the teen genius to finish installing what he called the "bare minimum".

In the meantime, James had some of his employees in the Sunken City get to salvaging as many resources as they could, especially wood. Most of them had been drug dealers, and since James wasn't interested in getting into such a messy business he had to find them a new occupation. Salvaging was only part of the new job he had given them since they also had to patrol the territory he controlled and take care of any monster that popped up. That, and they had to help Guy with his information network. Sometimes James wondered if the pay was that good or if they were that scared of him, at least before he remembered the way they looked at the infused down there.

Yeah, fear is the big factor here, but I'm optimistic enough to hope the money bought their loyalty too. A man can dream.

Regardless, while James kept an eye on the warehouse and put some order to his operations in the Sunken City, Barry and Larry kept the store going and took the time to screen people they thought would be good hires, whether it was because they were destitute and hopeless enough that they'd be effective and loyal workers or on the contrary because they appeared to be some kind of spy James could trick with his plan. It was those people that had gathered before his building and were currently waiting for him to make his entrance, all under the careful and curious eyes of the various scouts spread about.

They weren't as numerous as they had been early on, and since he had first begun to check on them the specific individuals had been swapped multiple times, but they were still a few always around. The crows and the armored folks on the roof of neighboring buildings were still the most notable ones - if you managed to spot them - and they had changed their spots multiple times, rarely using the same one two days in a row, and ruining James' plan of planting an infused rock or piece of scrap to spy on them himself.

Come on James, time to put on a show.

James solidified parts of his body to form a spine before rolling his neck and letting them return to his usual consistency. Done with his little pep talk, he turned into liquid and let himself fall off the ceiling, transforming into a shadow as he made contact with the ground before he rushed to the door. Instead of simply exiting to reform outside, James decided to add a little flair to the whole process.

The small crowd outside wasn't all that noisy, most of the people there were unfamiliar with each other, and in the slums, people weren't inclined to show trust or try and become friends with everyone they met. That wasn't to say there wasn't any small talk for there were ushered whispers in the group, but nothing quite to the level of a crowd in the proper city. Even then, what little noise there was died as black smoke suddenly poured out the door they were all standing in front of, the crowd as a whole stepped back, and the spying eyes spread all around suddenly grew much more focused as a humanoid form began to exit the fumes of darkness.

BANG!

The crowd parted in shock as one man among them looked over the barrel of his still-fuming pistol at the black cloud, suddenly much thicker and darker, too much so to see the figure that had begun to emerge anymore. His hands were sweaty and shaking, and as the man went to wipe his brow with his sleeve what had initially been a scared grimace turned into a small wry smile.

And then tentacles grew out of his shadow and wrapped around his every limb.

The man didn't even have time to scream before one of the many black appendages gripped his throat and mouth, muffling any noise he could have possibly tried to make, all the while more and more shadowy flesh restricted his movement and lifted him off the ground. The strength behind the grasp of the tentacles was overwhelming, and many among the onlookers could have sworn they heard bones breaking from the panicking man.

"That was quite rude."

The crowd's attention left the man to refocus on the cloud of darkness, and they all watched in awe as the smoke dissipated and the humanoid figure they had seen before reappeared - and those who had seen him before recognized Silhouette, with one new and horrifying detail. There was a hole in their potential employer's head, evidently where the bullet had pierced, and yet the man was unperturbed. Under their unwavering gaze, the hole shrunk and closed, and the tentacles wrapped around the shooter brought him before the mysterious being.

"I will have a lot of questions for you. For your sake, I hope you will have many answers."

The man's wide maddened eyes grew even more fearful as tears fell down his cheeks and onto the black appendages holding him, and as though it was nothing Silhouette stepped aside and let the tentacles carry their victim inside the warehouse, the door opening and closing on its own.

The crowd stared at the door until a fake cough from Silhouette caught their attention.

"Please disregard this small interruption, everyone. Risks are part of the deal if you wish to join us, so situations such as this one sadly are to be expected. As you can see though, we know how to handle threats."

People exchanged furtive glances at these words, some among them finally realizing that joining this new growing power wouldn't be the guarantee of safety they had hoped for.

"Let's try again, shall we? Greetings everyone, and welcome to our warehouse. Thank you for joining us today, and possibly for the foreseeable future. When my shop managers told me people were looking for employment, I didn't expect such a large crowd. They should have already screened you, and if they told you to come here today, it means they saw potential in you, enough for me to take the time to consider hiring you to help handle our ever-popular products. As you can guess, however, we do not need all of you, which is why I will now be interviewing you one by one to decide if you are fit to become one of my employees. Once your interview is over, you will simply have to wait here for me to finish the screening process and announce my decision. Are there any questions?"

A man immediately called out.

"What's the pay like?"

"My shop managers should already have mentioned it, but as a reminder, you will be earning 15 Xerins a day."

Which was barely more than what James had offered the Shadow Commando when he first recruited them, though they had gotten a raise since then.

Someone spoke out.

"Will we get those fancy guns your guys have?"

"No, at least not right away. Those are reserved for trusted employees, though the rest of you will get some premium and exclusive equipment to help you do your job safely."

"What are the working conditions?!"

"You have a roof above your head, and colleagues who won't try to kill you. You get a ten-minute break every hour, possibly more or longer breaks if your managers allow it. If you're hurt on the job, you will be brought to the closest medical professional and we will cover the bill, you won't have to work for as long as the doctor recommends, and we'll cover the base expanses for you to survive until you can get back to work and earn your full pay. You get four weeks' worth of days off, you just have to give your manager a notice a week in advance. You may give us the name of someone to send your pay to if you die on the job. Any further questions?"

Many surprised looks and hopeful smiles formed on the people's faces once they heard Silhouette's words, his offer going far beyond what any other employer might offer in the slums - at least, any employer who would be willing to hire nobodies like them. Seeing all these people looking like they had an oasis after days of traveling the desert nearly made James' metaphorical heart bleed for them, knowing full well he only needed them to fool potential threats and that he couldn't afford to take them all in, but he knew full well that he didn't and couldn't bear the misery of others. If all went well, he and the ratlings would hopefully never return to the slums once they fully transitioned to the proper Zalcien, and the only reason he would ever involve himself with this place afterward would be strictly for business.

It's not my job to fix my city. Getting myself a normal life will be hard enough, there's no way I can do anything for dozens of strangers.

"No more questions, then? Good. Now, before we begin, I would like to make sure you understand you will all be interviewed today, and the people around you may be your coworkers very soon, so play nice. Anyone who starts a fight or makes a scene will be kicked out and banned from future hiring sessions and all our shops. Now, please, may a volunteer step forward and join me inside? It will be quick."

While many hesitated or even stepped back when the door opened on its own, reminded of the man that had been dragged inside a few minutes prior and or the many rumors circulating about the mysterious being before them, just as many stepped forward, ready to risk anything for a brighter tomorrow. Seeing how others were willing to step forwards, a few considered threatening the rest or pleading but quickly dropped the idea after recalling Silhouette's warning. It was one thing to be told something by a minion, but when the big boss himself told you something, even the most imbecile person in the crowd understood you had to obey.

It took a few minutes of passive-aggressive polite demands and multiple boasting speeches before James grew tired of their admittedly restrained bickering and just made them form a line at random. That done, he finally began the screening process as some of his infused stepped outside to manage the crowd while he was gone.

James had had the infused step up a small open office next to the door to be used by a receptionist in the future, but for now, it was more than enough for what he needed. It already had a few sheets of paper and a pen ready for him to take notes.

And thus began his interviewing session.

"Name?"

"Mop, sir."

"Mop?"

"Yes, Mop, sir. Papa named my sister after his job, so Mama named me after hers."

"I see. Any family name?"

"Ah, Skybreaker, sir. Papa said grandpa was the seventh son of a foreign noble house."

"I see..."

"And why do you think you're a must-have, mister Snowflake?"

"Well, first off, I'm Cored!"

"Snow powers, I assume?"

"No, improved smell."

"Ah."

"So... Bob. Do you have any experience working in a warehouse?"

"Ribbit. No."

"In this case, what makes you think you should work here?"

"Ribbit. Big frog, good work. Ribbit."

"I assume you have some form of super strength?"

"Ribbit. Peak of the pond. Ribbit."

"Here, take the time to note down what you can do. The more I know, the better I can tell if you're what I'm looking for. No lies."

"Ribbit. Liars feed the snakes. Ribbit."

"Indeed."

"-and I can make coffee, and fruit juice, and tea, and cookies, and nuclear reactions-"

"Did you just say nuclear reactions?"

"Oh, yes! That's what I call my pepper mint milkshake secret recipe."

"Uh uh."

James noted down "Joelle Janvier" on his secret "dangerous maniacs" list.

"And how did your employment with the Merry Mess go?"

"Good, all things considered. I lost a hand, but hey, that's how dad met father."

"I see, so you would say it wouldn't ignite a feud if I recruited you?"

"Ah, fat chance! They're all dead, colder than ice. Turns out Moonfreeze didn't appreciate the fine art the boss made of her. That was a good day to have diarrhea."

"..."

"Please, I beg you, please just hire me."

"You need the money?"

"That too, but I just want a break from all those madmen. My neighbor sells eggs for a living, and I can't stand it anymore. I'll even sleep here, work during the night, anything."

"I do not recall chicken being such annoying animals, aside from the rooster and the smell perhaps?"

"He doesn't sell bird eggs."

"I-"

"No, you don't want to know. Please, spare yourself."

"So... Shadows, eh? That's a fancy trick. Is it Will or Soul? Maybe both?"

"Don't."

"Sheesh, sorry. I'm just curious, that's all. Plenty of weirdos out there, but you're the first one like you I see."

"Each person is unique, after all, and that includes you, mister Puma."

"Eh... I kind of am not...?"

"How so?"

"Well, turns out the real Claude Puma - or rather Claudette - wanted to have some fun with a male clone of herself, but didn't have the money to pay the guy she hired for the job, though she took care to keep that part hidden from him until the deed was done. Hey, I'm not complaining, better live in filth than to be a slave in a golden cage, you get me?"

"Couldn't the cloner have recycled your biomass somehow? Even if not, letting you go seems... counterintuitive."

"Meh, lucky me, he was vegan or something. Didn't care about enslaving living things, but killing them was a big no-no. Trust me, I know I'm lucky."

In a lull between interviews, James tried to take the time to review everything he had noted down so far. However, only one thing went through his mind.

Barry, Larry, the Commando... They're not the exceptions. They're all that insane.