Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1600: Chapter 1598: Starting as a Manager Today (Added Too Much Water to the Steamed Egg)

In the end, Fang Zheng took Sora to conduct a field investigation on three talent agencies.

The first to be eliminated was 961. Although it was the wealthiest, the boss didn’t look like a good person at all. Fang Zheng took one look and directly dismissed it.

Next, it was time to choose between 765 and 346.

To be honest, Fang Zheng leaned more towards 346, being a large agency with many talents. However, when Fang Zheng arrived at 346 to inquire, he discovered that 346 was currently preparing a large project called the ”Cinderella Plan.” Simply put, it’s a national audition for ordinary girls to become an idol group, much like the AKB84 Fang Zheng remembered, but...

I’m out of here.

Fang Zheng didn’t have time to spend on such a national audition. Although the system indeed provided a task trigger, the task completion condition was ”Help all the Cinderellas achieve their dreams.”

Seeing this task requirement, Fang Zheng was scared to death.

Oh gosh, how many people is that!

If it turns out to be similar in number to AKB84, wouldn’t I be exhausted?

What a joke! I’m not doing it!

If I really took on this task, Fang Zheng might as well take SchoolDays to the Tokyo Dome for a concert instead! Comparatively, that’s a bit easier!

So finally...

”This is 765, huh...”

Looking at the small building in front of him, Fang Zheng also sighed, while Sora, beside him, tilted her head.

”Compared to the previous two, the gap is really big.”

As Sora said, compared to 961 and 346, 765 could be described as the ugly duckling. The first floor was a restaurant, and the second floor was the office, with not even a fancy sign but just a ”765 Office” paper stuck to the window... Yeah, it looked poor and broke.

But that’s also good.

”At least even if a task is triggered, it shouldn’t be anything too outrageous.”

Looking at 765 in front of him, Fang Zheng felt more at ease. A small agency meant that the goals wouldn’t be too exaggerated. For an old agency like 346, the goals were always about conquering the world. As for 765, at least the goal was just to penetrate nationwide; it couldn’t possibly be a world champion, could it?

”Alright, let’s go up and take a look.”

Thinking of this, Fang Zheng took a deep breath and then opened the door to the small building.

The interior was fairly clean, not particularly messy, except for the ”Under Maintenance” sign on the elevator... Yeah, that’s normal. In fact, the office on the second floor didn’t really need an elevator.

Soon, the two walked up the stairs and arrived at the door of the 765 Office on the second floor. Fang Zheng reached out, knocked on the door, and then a voice rang out.

”Ah, please wait a moment!”

With that voice, after a moment, a hurried sound of footsteps approached. The door opened, and a staff member in uniform appeared before Fang Zheng.

”Welcome to 765 Office. May I ask...”

”My name is Fang Zheng. I have an appointment with your president today.”

Hearing Fang Zheng speak, the staff opposite also smiled.

”Ah, you must be Mr. Fang Zheng and Miss Sora Haruno. The president is inside; please come in.”

As they spoke, they invited the two into the president’s office.

The entire president’s office was quite small, but at least it looked like a working place. Behind the desk sat a middle-aged man, half of whose face was entirely covered in shadow, probably due to backlighting, making it almost impossible to see.

”Hi, hello, Fang Zheng, and this Miss Haruno.”

Seeing the two, the man greeted cheerfully.

”I’m President Junjiro Takagi, nice to meet you.”

”Hello, nice to meet you for the first time, I’ll be relying on you.”

Fang Zheng nodded towards Junjiro Takagi and then took a seat.

”I saw your office’s job advertisement... So I wanted to inquire about the situation.”

”Of course, I also want to introduce the situation to you.”

As he spoke, President Takagi nodded.

”In fact, as you can see, our office is currently short-staffed, with only two staff members. One is the person you just met, Kotori Otonashi, an old hand at 765 Office. The other is Akizuki Ritsuko, currently the only producer here... The details are...”

Under President Takagi’s introduction, Fang Zheng learned about the situation at 765 Office. Currently, there are 12 trainee idols in the office, all still in training. Someone is needed to arrange various jobs and activities for them, but there is a severe lack of staff. It’s too much for Kotori to handle alone, so 765 Office is in urgent need of more personnel.

”So what is my job?”

Hearing this, Fang Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least it wasn’t as outrageous as 346’s national auditions. Twelve girls... Surely they wouldn’t expect me to handle all of them?

”If possible, I hope you can meet with these kids first, see the situation, and then you can choose one to start working with. Our goal is to achieve a good ranking in the Platinum Idol competition a year from now...”

President Takagi’s goal was also practical—quite normal. Assuring a human and resource-lacking office would make even conquering Kanagawa unbelievable.

Just then, a system prompt appeared in front of Fang Zheng’s eyes.

[Task Activated: Idol Master]

[An idol has always been a girl’s dream, but only a few can reach the pinnacle. At present, girls are stepping into this world, striving hard for their dreams. Can you help them realize their dreams? (Requirement: Assist one idol or an idol group in winning the Platinum Idol Grand Prize; upon success, transform this world into Free World, failure results in random stat reduction)]

That’s it!

Looking at the task in front of him, Fang Zheng was filled with excitement. Compared to the other two, this task seemed much simpler and wouldn’t require too much time, achievable in a year. The target was clear; just winning the Platinum Idol Grand Prize would suffice.

Of course, Fang Zheng knew well that the Platinum Idol Grand Prize was an annual competition in Japan in this world, with only well-known, sufficiently skilled idol groups invited to participate. Then, the best group is selected from among them... Hmm, for 765 right now, it’s quite challenging.

After all, a bunch of trainee idols don’t even have jobs yet.

”We are willing to accept this job.”

Thinking of this, Fang Zheng decisively nodded in agreement, and hearing his response, President Takagi laughed happily.

”That’s good... Oh, I have information on these kids here, you can take a look. As for Miss Sora Haruno... How about letting her work with Kotori for the time being?”

”No problem.”

Fang Zheng gave Sora a look, and Sora also nodded. Seeing this, President Takagi felt more reassured and took out a stack of information from the drawer, handing it to Fang Zheng.

”Ritsuko has already taken on three idols, planning to form a group, so regrettably, you can only choose from the remaining ones.”

”It’s fine.”

Holding the information, Fang Zheng nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. Twelve people were still a bit much, and reducing it by three now was naturally a good choice.

Thinking of this, Fang Zheng didn’t say anything more, picked up the information, and began to look through it.

The information only recorded the girls’ basic information, but for Fang Zheng, it was enough.

Amakai Haruka — a cheerful, sunny girl-next-door,

Hoshii Miki — a talented rising star.

Kisaragi Chihaya — a strong singer.

Yayoi Takatsuki — a pure and cute little sister type.

Yukimi Hagiwara — a shy girl who finds it hard to communicate with others.

Kikuchi Makoto — a girl full of masculinity.

Futami Mami — one of a lively and active twin pair.

Kiyone Shijou — a mysterious silver-haired princess.

Hikari Onaba — an energetic Okinawa girl who loves animals.

”Next step is to choose one from these eight, huh?”

Looking at the information in front of him, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but touch his chin.

So, who should I choose?