Maybe you needn't return to your homeland for a Z.Check Raoul's Saloon.Someone there in Beijing has identified an 'indirect' way to get a Z from HK via a work permit through a company.Others who are colleagues of FT posters on there are waiting to do the same kind of thing at at least two distinct educational establishments.
Of course,your 1st priority is your release paper.You should deal with that before anything else.
My recruiter swears blind FT's with L visas can convert their L's to Z's in HK, or at other Chinese visa offices in neighbouring countries of China.Get in touch with some recruiters and visa agents,they're not all bottom feeders.The smaller ones know more about that kind of thing.Of course,there's always Shanxi,Yuncheng on an F.Google the net,good luck!