Chapter 183
Chapter 183
The screen displayed the order he had filled out incorrectly, but beside it was a vivid red box clearly stating, “Past deadline. Operation unavailable.”
He was finished!
Lin Haichao tried every method he knew, but the system remained unmoved and refused to let him make changes.
He even contacted his teammate Qian Miao in Research and Development. Without asking about anything else, he only wanted to know whether the order could be returned.
Unfortunately, Qian Miao was also a newly appointed amateur. He studied it for ages and even called over Liu Chi, another player in Research and Development, but neither accomplished anything.
In the end, a coworker beside him casually remarked, “That thing can’t be returned. How many times have we said it? Someone always thinks Research and Development can modify it.”
That single sentence settled the matter and completely destroyed Lin Haichao’s plan to keep muddling through at the company.
The section chief did not even see him again. He merely sent word for Lin Haichao to pack up and leave.
Lin Haichao packed his belongings in a daze, still clinging to some blind optimism.
Leaving first might be good. Resting at the settlement point would not be bad either.
But he did not miss the sympathetic looks from those around him as he carried his cardboard box toward the main doors.
As a precaution, he took out an Item.
It was a pill that could be swallowed to reduce the power of any attack from the instance boss by half.
As he reached the glass doors, his luck buff reacted. He swallowed the pill in advance, then cautiously pushed open the doors.
The vast world waited outside. Seeing the hurried pedestrians, he breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed his guess had been right. This was another way to leave the company.
He discarded the box and headed toward the street, only to collide with an invisible wall in the air.
Lin Haichao rubbed his forehead and felt around repeatedly. He was certain now: the wall completely separated him from the outside world. He could see it but could not reach it.
Was he supposed to wait in this narrow gap until the Game ended? At a loss, Lin Haichao looked back.
Someone stood behind him, a refined-looking man identical to him.
Lin Haichao had not figured out what was happening, but alarms blared in his mind.
Before he could move, the man remained where he stood and suddenly opened his mouth with tremendous speed. It became a pitch-black hole that occupied his entire face.
It looked like a ridiculous, low-budget horror show. That was Lin Haichao’s final thought before half his head was bitten off.
After biting into Lin Haichao’s head, the man chewed twice, and his mouth returned to ordinary size.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and spent a moment wondering why he had only managed to bite off half the head this time.
Then his figure slowly dissolved into the air.
Thus, news that Lin Haichao had been fired for failing to work properly and ruining a major company deal spread through every section.
The most important part was that the instant he stepped outside the company doors, a monster outside bit off half his head.
His bloody corpse remained there with no one willing to collect it. In the end, Logistics carried it back inside.
Several female employees were badly frightened.
When Cheng Miao heard the news, she had just found the beginnings of a lead while searching her phone and computer. Listening to Linda gossip, her heart sank.
This sounded like one of the players.
As expected, they could not use this method to leave the company.
Near dinner, Cheng Miao found a password-protected folder on her computer.
Well, great. How was she supposed to guess the password?
She also discovered that the original owner of her identity genuinely loved using her phone to browse the internet, but her browsing history showed that she had never posted anything too extreme.
Most of it expressed curiosity about the outside world.
She had been trapped here so long that she had almost forgotten what the outside looked like.
Cheng Miao pictured a young woman. At work, she was sunny, cheerful, and fiercely loyal to the company.
But late at night, she looked forward to the outside world through the internet. She was trapped in this damned mire without any way to leave.
Cheng Miao felt a little sad. Many people here were probably the same.
They knew nothing about the outside world and could only struggle here as their lives burned away.
“Let’s go eat.” A cool male voice came from behind her. Cheng Miao looked up, and Qiudong saw a pair of watery eyes reflecting the moon.
“Are you upset?” Qiudong sensitively noticed Cheng Miao’s thoughts. She touched her earlobe, somewhat embarrassed.
She murmured agreement, then walked out one behind the other with Qiudong, her cheeks faintly red. Only after they left did she tell him what she had been thinking.
Qiudong’s eyes flickered. “Most players would consider them nothing more than NPCs, possibly ones the instance recycles over and over.”
Cheng Miao nodded. “I understand the logic. It’s just easy for people to empathize.”
Qiudong said no more. Only then did Cheng Miao remember something more serious. “Our relationship isn’t at the point where you can come ask me to dinner directly, is it?”
When Qiudong remained silent, Cheng Miao grew anxious. “What do we do? You broke the rules!”
Seeing the urgency on Cheng Miao’s face, Qiudong’s normally steady heart beat faster. His brows shifted, and he raised a hand to press against his chest.
“What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?” The gesture made Cheng Miao panic even more.
Qiudong lowered his hand, laughter entering his eyes as he looked at her. “You don’t need to worry about me.”
Seeing that Qiudong truly was not anxious, Cheng Miao muttered, “I’m only afraid something will happen to you.”
The second time was easier than the first. Qiudong calmly felt his heartbeat quicken again, while his voice remained composed. “Remember, you never need to worry about me.”
Cheng Miao tilted her head and studied Qiudong’s back. His figure gave her an inexplicable sense of security.
She nodded and stopped dwelling on the matter.
When the five gathered, Cheng Miao deliberately counted and saw that two more players were missing. One was probably the rumored Lin Haichao, and the other seemed to be that doctor’s teammate.
She appeared to have been a young woman, but Tang Shouren was so calm that Cheng Miao could not decide whether anything had actually happened.
Lin Zhu arrived carrying his tray with the little doll tucked beneath his arm. Cheng Miao watched him set it on the table and asked, “Did it move again today?”
Lin Zhu looked somewhat dejected. “No. I watched it all day.” Then he encouraged himself. “I’ll figure it out slowly.”
This was exactly what Cheng Miao liked about Lin Zhu. The young man was as clean and clear as crystal. Negative emotions never crushed him, and he could always rally himself.
Lin Zhu’s attention shifted completely away. Looking at the packed cafeteria, he said regretfully, “There are too many people. Otherwise, I saw some custard buns and wanted to grab a few.”
Then all five watched as the little doll, which had been sitting on the table, slowly stood and tottered into the crowd on its two short legs.
From the look of it, the doll intended to help Lin Zhu fight for some buns.
Qin Musong reacted quickly and grabbed it. Ignoring the weak struggles of its soft arms and legs, he managed to prevent a commotion.
“Good heavens, I hit the jackpot.” Lin Zhu stared at the little doll with shining eyes.