Chapter 357 - 354: Taking the Initiative

Suez Branch

Cairo Second-level Branch.

The cultural exchange company established locally by the Homo Sapiens Company had been bustling with activity these past few days.

The subsidiary's director, Yashan, a Siamese national, was holding an internal meeting. The public relations team leaders from the Cairo branches of the three major network groups were all gathered here.

Yashan looked at everyone and said, "The company has issued a new mission: we are to advance into the entire Nile Delta Plain, into the towns and villages. We need markets and labor."

One of the team leaders raised his hand. "Does that mean we'll also be recruiting employees?"

Yashan nodded. "Yes. Your focus should be on landless or small-holding farmers and unemployed townspeople."

"Will the local farm owners try to stop us?"

Yashan waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry. Many of those farm owners are our partners. When the time comes, each of you will receive an internal list."

After more than two hours of discussion, Yashan finally assigned all the tasks.

Everyone returned to their own offices and quickly assembled their teams to prepare for the next day's fieldwork in various locations.

「The next morning.」

The previous night, Heidi had already studied her fieldwork route and the farm owners along the way who had partnerships with the Homo Sapiens Company.

"Captain, are we going to the countryside?" a local temp worker asked curiously.

"Yes," Heidi replied as she checked her exoskeleton armor and assault rifle.

Because they were heading into the countryside, there were certain risks involved. Therefore, the New Humans in these PR teams were all equipped with exoskeleton armor and assault rifles.

Her team had a total of three New Human employees.

Seeing the rifles and exoskeletons, one of the temp workers showed a hint of worry on his face. "Captain, the countryside can't be that dangerous, can it? Aren't assault rifles a bit of an overreaction?"

Heidi pulled the trigger, firing two shots into the ground, then gave a stern reminder:

"Sajia, never underestimate the madness and malice of our enemies. Those European bandits and North American pirates can't stand to see us succeed."

The group of temp workers looked at each other, nonplussed.

The deputy team leader in charge of security, Mang Hu, was even more extravagantly equipped. He also had a dedicated armored vehicle.

Heidi clapped her hands. "Everyone, come get a pistol. We've already taught you how to shoot and the necessary precautions."

Sajia took the pistol and five spare magazines. He slid the holster onto the belt of his work uniform and placed the spare magazines in a pouch on his other side.

"Remember, if you encounter anything unusual, draw your pistol immediately. Don't hesitate."

"I understand."

After equipping themselves with weapons and promotional materials, they boarded two vans, while Mang Hu and another temp worker followed behind in the armored vehicle.

The group headed toward a small town west of Cairo.

「Upon arriving at the first town.」

They parked directly in front of the town mayor's office building.

Seeing the fully-armed Heidi and her team, the town mayor was completely bewildered. He thought they were there on a combat mission. When he heard they had come to promote the Homo Sapiens Company and recruit, he gave them a strange look.

However, the mayor was very sensible. He pretended not to notice their gear and cooperated with their promotional and recruitment efforts.

One of the vans was equipped with a large screen. They found a small public square and began playing promotional and recruitment ads.

The town's residents stood around to watch. Apparently, being a curious onlooker is human nature.

Meanwhile, Mang Hu, who was sitting inside the armored vehicle, did not get out. Instead, he used his retinal display to switch to a magnetic field vision mode, carefully observing the surrounding crowd and staying vigilant for any potential incidents.

"Ladies and gentlemen, friends and neighbors! I'm Heidi, an employee of the Homo Sapiens Company. We're here today to recruit a batch of new employees. If you're interested, please come and get a brochure about our company."

A few temp workers quickly took a large stack of brochures and handed them out to the onlookers.

The onlookers didn't refuse; everyone took a thick brochure.

Heidi then began an eloquent presentation, detailing the various benefits of the Homo Sapiens Company and the wonderful life that awaited those who joined.

Sajia and the other temps weren't idle either. Besides handing out brochures, they also had to answer questions from those who had doubts.

A few local youths flipped through the brochures, conflicted expressions on their faces. Seeing this, Sajia quickly approached them.

"Hey, guys. Got some concerns?"

One of the round-faced young men replied helplessly, "My father's leg is broken. I have to take care of him."

"I see. In that case, you have even more reason to join our company. Look here..."

As Sajia spoke, he flipped open the brochure to page 17, which detailed the Homo Sapiens Company's various medical technologies and its care for people with disabilities.

The round-faced youth quickly turned to that page.

Sajia then turned to the other four young men. "What are your concerns? Tell me, and I can give you some advice."

"If we go, can we still come back?"

"I'm colorblind..."

"Will the work be very tiring? I haven't been to college."

Sajia addressed their questions one by one.

After hearing his explanations, they were suddenly tempted.

Due to the global economic crisis's impact on tourism in the Suez Region, many locals who had previously worked in tourist areas had now returned to live in the countryside.

This group was well-informed and had learned about the Homo Sapiens Company through the internet, which was why they were the first to receive temporary work contracts.

As for small-town youths like the round-faced young man, many were semi-unemployed. They couldn't find work in the big cities due to family, education, or physical reasons, and there weren't enough jobs in their small towns.

Now, after the PR team's explanations, they were finally ready to take the first step.

Of course, there were still many who didn't believe it at all, thinking the Homo Sapiens Company was running a scam and surely had some hidden agenda.

All sorts of people were making all sorts of choices.

Standing at the crossroads of life, some chose to take a risk and move forward, some chose to stay put, and some sought an easy shortcut.

Heidi didn't waste her breath on those who chose not to join the Homo Sapiens Company.

After all, actions speak louder than words. In a year or two, those who joined the company would naturally share stories of their new lives with their families back home.

After an afternoon of promotion, Heidi compiled the data.

A total of 273 people had a clear intention to join Homo Sapiens; 533 were interested but hesitant; the rest were either indifferent observers or actively resistant.

And this small town had a population of over twenty thousand.

"The numbers are a bit low!" said Jin Zaiming, another New Human deputy team leader, as he looked at the data.

Heidi shook her head. "This is just the first day. We'll be promoting here for a week. We'll recruit as many as we can. The labor shortage in Red Sea Province is just too big."

"Didn't we transfer a lot of people from the Dongba and Java Branches?" Jin Zaiming asked, taking a sip of green tea.

Heidi used the satellite communication link to send the data back to the Cairo Network Center. "Not enough. We're investing in and building eight new cities in Red Sea Province. Each city needs at least 100,000 employees, which means we need a minimum of 800,000."

Mang Hu, who had just gotten out of the armored vehicle, offered some comforting words with a smile. "The first batch of local employees is always the hardest to recruit. It was the same for us back at the Hongsawaddy Branch. But once you get that first batch, the work gets easier and easier."

Heidi knew that, of course. After all, a network of relationships existed among the locals. As the first batch of local employees started their jobs, the truth about the Homo Sapiens Company would spread through this network to all corners of the Suez Region.