Chapter 173
Chapter 173
“Ding! Welcome, players, to the instance [Work! Work!]. Please do your best to find a way out of the company and clear the instance.”
“Hint: Get into character.”
The notification had barely ended when all the players heard people walking and talking on the other side of the wall.
Amid the noisy clamor, it was not difficult to connect those sounds with the instance name and imagine that this was a company.
The players were currently in a room resembling a conference room. The only difference was that it contained no tables or chairs, so everyone had to stand.
“Great. Because you wasted time, we didn’t even learn everyone’s names.” Monkey glared at Qiudong, who merely lifted his eyelids and gave him a cool glance.
Doctor Tang thoughtfully watched Monkey immediately fall silent and hide behind Kiki, then turned toward Qiudong. Just as he was about to speak, the door opened.
A middle-aged man wearing an employee badge appeared in the doorway. He was short, slightly balding, and thin, with a pair of old-fashioned glasses that made him look rigid and stern.
His piercing gaze swept over everyone present, giving even Cheng Miao goose bumps.
Then he pushed his glasses from the bridge of his nose back up to the top and nodded. “Good. Come collect your employee badges.”
No one moved. Cheng Miao stepped forward, accepted the badge the man held out, and took the opportunity to glance at the one he wore.
Endeavor Technology Co., Ltd. Chief of the Human Resources Management Section. Liang Zheng. Age 43.
Cheng Miao stepped back, and Lin Zhu and the others collected their badges in turn.
When the other players saw that nothing happened, they lined up to collect theirs as well.
Cheng Miao picked up her badge and studied it. The photograph was unmistakably her, smiling with perfect poise and beauty. The sight sent a chill through her.
Endeavor Technology Co., Ltd. Secretary Section. Cheng Miao. Age 25.
After receiving his badge, Monkey put his head together with Kiki and Tang Ying, snickering and whispering.
Section Chief Liang glared at Monkey, then looked at the badge hanging crookedly from his chest. “Monkey! Be serious!”
Monkey straightened without speaking, but laughter still filled his eyes.
Everyone’s name had been engraved on their employee badge in this instance. Even Doctor Tang’s badge showed his full name, Tang Shouren. Only Monkey still had a nickname.
After all, he had never possessed a real name in his entire life.
Kiki’s name was even funnier: Zhang Cuihua. Hahaha.
Their team had only formed in the previous instance, so their bonds were not deep. Now that Monkey had found something to mock, he could laugh about it all day.
Perhaps his laughter wounded Kiki’s pride, because she stomped hard on the top of his foot. Monkey yelped at once.
Cheng Miao noticed that before Tang Shouren could rein in his team, Liang Zheng beckoned to the players and motioned them closer.
Monkey was still holding back his laughter, his bony shoulders shaking. Kiki was already ignoring him as they gathered around Liang Zheng.
Liang Zheng adjusted his glasses, his voice carrying a warning. “That concludes this round of detention. Be careful not to make the same mistake again. Everyone, return to your workstations.”
Cheng Miao noticed a young woman in the crowd who seemed about to ask a question, but the man beside her stopped her with a look. He appeared to be over fifty, and gray had begun to creep into his hair.
Cheng Miao paid particular attention as she passed them. The obedient young woman’s name was as docile as she was: An Xin.
The older man’s name was Yan Yang.
Earlier, Cheng Miao and her teammates had quietly shown one another their employee badges.
Cheng Miao belonged to the Secretary Section, Qiudong to the Finance Section, Lin Zhu and Qi Jiajia to the General Office, and Qin Musong to the Sales Section.
Everyone had been separated except Lin Zhu and Qi Jiajia.
Before they split up, Cheng Miao gave Qi Jiajia a pointed look.
Cheng Miao’s eyes said, Behave.
Unhappy that she had not been assigned with Cheng Miao, Qi Jiajia’s little ponytail drooped listlessly at her side. She answered with a disgruntled look.
Qi Jiajia’s eyes said, I know. I’ll watch that dummy.
Dummy Lin nodded, then led Qi Jiajia toward the General Office with his head held high and his chest out.
After experiencing the instance [Reversed World], Cheng Miao had nearly developed a phobia of being separated from her teammates.
As Qiudong passed her, his hand hanging at his side gently brushed against Cheng Miao’s. He gave it a soft squeeze.
Cheng Miao pulled herself together and headed toward the Secretary Section.
Shen Si and Fan Rui were assigned there with her, along with King, who somehow made even walking look graceful and seductive.
Cheng Miao caught a glimpse of King’s real name: Jin Chufei.
The Secretary Section was a large, bright, spotless room. Several fashionably dressed women strode briskly around in stilettos.
When they saw the four return, the women nodded once and went back to their work.
Cheng Miao had not expected anyone to guide her. She looked around as she walked and found her workstation.
It was right beside the window. Not bad.
The Secretary Section’s windows faced the other departments. When Cheng Miao saw Lin Zhu and Qi Jiajia, she relaxed a little.
King swayed farther inside and entered a private office. Cheng Miao looked at the plaque on the door: Special Assistant to the President.
There were no NPCs offering instructions now, and the hint was so simple that it made her head spin. Cheng Miao did not know what to do.
She moved the mouse on her desk, and the screen lit up. Its standard company wallpaper was a green background bearing the company’s name.
Far from being refreshing, it was painfully harsh on the eyes.
Cheng Miao clicked through the computer and found a file on the desktop titled “To-Do List.”
When she opened it, she found her daily work scheduled in perfect detail all the way through the following month.
Cheng Miao checked the date on the computer against the to-do list and sorted the tasks into categories.
Spreadsheets, documents, meetings, organizing and compiling materials, writing reports…
What the hell kind of instance was this? Why did she still have to work after coming here?
Before Cheng Miao’s inner scream could subside, an impeccably made-up woman walked over and handed her a thick stack of documents.
“Miaomiao, I need all of these by noon. I sent the specific instructions to your phone, so remember to check them.”
Cheng Miao glanced at her badge. Oh, she was the section chief. Her name was Qin Xi.
Cheng Miao immediately put on the smile she reserved for her superiors at work and answered earnestly, “Of course, Sister Qin.”
Qin Xi patted Cheng Miao’s shoulder, her tone gentle. “Don’t take this detention to heart. Work hard and don’t think about anything else. A bright future will always be waiting for you.”
Cheng Miao smiled as she listened to the section chief make empty promises, while her mind lingered on one thing Qin Xi had said.
“I sent the specific instructions to your phone.”
Did that mean… phones worked in this instance?
Just now, everyone had filed out and hurried toward their assigned departments. No one noticed that someone had never left the conference room.
Now, in the darkened conference room where the lights had been turned off, Monkey was punching and kicking the tightly shut door.
“Fuck! Why won’t this stupid door open?”
He kicked it twice more, then hopped in place while clutching his aching foot and complained, “What’s going on? Didn’t that old man notice we’re one person short?”