Strange Fantasy - My Girlfriends are Devils

"Name?"

"Van Rover!"

"Age?"

"31."

"Very good..." A portly, middle-aged man with a stomach like he was eight months pregnant said: "This job doesn't require experience, nor does it require a high degree, you just need to be responsible."

"So..." The man sitting opposite him asked anxiously: "Are you saying the pay for one night is really $5,000?"

This man had neatly cropped black hair, a somewhat refined face, and a rather thin physique, the type of person people often call a 'bookworm.'

He was Van Rover.

In fact, two months ago, he was still an office worker, his income was not high, but good enough for him to live comfortably in this city.

However, the economic downturn hit and the company laid him off to hire fresh graduates with lower salaries but more dynamic and creative than him.

Rover wasn't too worried at the time, he thought that with his years of work experience, he could definitely find another, better job.

But, he was wrong.

After countless interviews, he failed every time. Of course, he failed for one reason only, and that was... he was old.

Although 31 wasn't old, compared to a labor market where energetic and creative young workers were willing to accept low wages, he was indeed old.

Therefore, Rover was unemployed.

He also tried working construction jobs, but his physical strength wasn't up to par.

In his despair, Rover found a job posting for a night watchman at a graveyard.

What was special was... one night - $5,000.

The job posting reeked of a scam, but Rover was at his wit's end, even if it was a scam, he wanted to try.

Rover had also looked up information about this company on the internet.

It wasn't a scam company, in fact, this company was protected and funded by the government.

Furthermore, the company's office occupied three floors in the city's most luxurious and expensive building.

This made Rover even more confused, he thought this company would be involved in something grand, like rockets or microchips.

But... this company was hiring a graveyard watchman, with interviews at night, and the salary was unreasonably high.

However, Rover didn't have many opportunities left, he had to seize this one.

The middle-aged man looked at him, smirking as if looking down on him: "Yes, one night... $5,000. However, this is a trial night, if you pass the trial, the monthly salary will be $50,000."

"Besides, after successfully signing the employment contract, you will be sponsored by the company with many other benefits. You will also be provided with a car worth no more than $200,000."

Rover's jaw dropped, his face full of disbelief.

A monthly salary of $50,000, a car worth no more than $200,000, and other benefits.

This wasn't work, this was charity.

Since when were graveyard watchmen so valuable?

"Alright." The man took out a piece of paper and a pen, placed them on the table, and pushed them towards Rover: "If you have no more questions, you can sign the trial contract."

Rover picked up the contract and started reading it carefully. The contract wasn't long, just one page, but it was very comprehensive.

After reviewing the trial contract and making sure it wasn't a scam, Rover breathed a sigh of relief.

He picked up the pen and signed the contract.

The middle-aged man saw the Rover sign, a strange look flashed in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

He took the probationary contract, confirmed Rover's signature, and then took out a small ink pad.

"Press your fingerprint on it too."

Rover found it a bit strange, but he didn't think much of it.

Many companies still maintained the practice of fingerprinting contracts, and besides, this company was government-funded, so it was normal to keep that habit.

After it was done, the middle-aged man smiled cheerfully and carefully placed the contract in a folder.

"Excuse me..." Rover suddenly spoke: "I want to ask... what's your name?"

Hearing Rover's question, the middle-aged man smirked: "You don't need to know my name. Wait until you get through tonight and become an official employee, then it won't be too late to know my name."

Rover frowned, feeling that the middle-aged man's smile held some hidden meaning.

"Follow me." The man said.

Rover followed him out of the office and to the parking lot.

The man started a black G63, and Rover got in, sitting in the back seat.

...

The car sped down the road, Rover had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but he knew... sometimes, asking too much wasn't a good thing.

Rover looked outside through the window, despite being evening, the streets were still bustling, the flow of people moving continuously as if never-ending.

However, he felt like he didn't belong in this world.

Perhaps... spending a long time sitting still in one spot in the office had worn down his mind and dreams. Even now, he couldn't remember what his dreams were any more.

He used to have a family, but when he was 5 years old, his entire family died in a fire, leaving him the sole survivor.

Although Rover's life afterward wasn't too difficult because of the large insurance payout his family left him, he felt loneliness from a very young age.

By now, he had completely forgotten his parents' faces.

Rover's life up to this point felt like he was merely existing, not truly living a meaningful life.

He didn't even have many friends and no girlfriend.

What was the meaning of his existence? He didn't know either, perhaps... human existence didn't need to have any meaning, just living was enough.

While Rover was lost in thought, the car left the city and entered a desolate area.

After more than 30 minutes of driving, the car finally stopped in front of the gates of a graveyard.

The middle-aged man didn't rush to get out of the car, instead handing him a key along with a small notebook.

"I know you have a lot of questions, however, wait until you successfully complete the trial, and I will answer everything you want to know." The middle-aged man said while handing the key and notebook to Rover.

Rover took them and carefully put them in his pocket.

He continued: "That's the gate key and also the key to the security room. Stand in front of the gate and wait for a few more people. They are like you, here for the trial."

"Wait a minute!" Rover quickly said: "I want to ask... when does the trial period end?"

"It's not fixed."

Hearing the middle-aged man's words, Rover grimaced, cursing inwardly: 'WTF?!'

"This... you should at least tell me what the job entails when the trial period will end."

"Don't ask so many questions." The middle-aged man seemed to lose his patience, sighing: "I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning. That's when the trial period ends."

"The job details are clearly written inside the notebook, you don't need to ask me."

"Alright, get out of the car, don't waste my time."

Rover also felt a bit annoyed. However... alright, $5,000 for one night, he had to suppress his anger.

He opened the door and stepped out of the car. Immediately afterward, the middle-aged man didn't even say goodbye, just turned the car around and left.

Watching the car disappear in the distance, Rover suddenly shivered. A chill enveloped his entire body, causing him to tremble instinctively.

Rover checked the time on his phone, it was currently 9 pm, but fog had already covered the path.

The only light came from the moon, luckily, tonight was a full moon, otherwise, this place would probably be completely shrouded in darkness.

He had seen the road he came from, within a 5-kilometer radius, there seemed to be no one living around.

This graveyard... was like a lonely island in the middle of the ocean.

Rover turned around and looked at the graveyard gate. It was a classic iron gate, but it was rusty, with many broken parts.

Surrounding the graveyard was a stone wall about two meters high, topped with iron hooks used to prevent people from climbing into the graveyard.

Rover tried to look inside the graveyard through the main gate, but the fog was too thick, he couldn't see anything other than a small stone path.

He took out the notebook and the key that the middle-aged man had given him.

The key was also in a classic style, but it was old and rusty, with even some dried black stains on it.

Rover carefully put the key in his pocket, then took out the notebook.

Inside the notebook were the things he needed to do, if he completed them, he could check the box next to them.

There weren't many things to do, but when he turned to the next page, a small piece of paper fell out.

Rover frowned and picked up the piece of paper. On it were three small lines of text: 'In the graveyard, no one is alive.'

'Don't look directly up.'

'Don't turn around when you hear your name called.'