chapter 36
“Let’s listen to it again.”
He happened to have a few things he wanted to confirm as well.
Lu Li pressed replay.
As he thought, his long, slender fingers intertwined, the fingertips gently rubbing over the uneven surface of the Wristband, its cool, delicate texture seeping into his skin.
At that moment, the Wristband seemed to grant him the ability to think with calm clarity.
The snake head and its eyes were softly brushed by his fingertips, and in a place Lu Li couldn’t see, a faint dark glow quietly lit up.
In Game Day, the light was abundant; every shadowy corner was illuminated.
Such a faint, dim glow was completely insignificant.
–
The Necromancer Game Development Department suddenly received a brand-new, hefty notice.
It required the addition of an entirely new category – Home Goods.
The letter listed recommended products to be added, in order of importance.
“The key product to add is pillows!” The Wolf Manager flipped the notice front and back, upside down and right side up, reading it four times to make sure he hadn’t misread it. “Isn’t this all basically bedding?”
His mimetic form was a wolf. At this moment, stripped of dignity, his trembling wolf tail was clamped between his legs as he nervously eyed the Horned Evil God, who had personally escorted the notice. A massive question mark seemed stuck in his throat.
At last, he couldn’t hold back and asked, “My lord, if we develop this category, it’s definitely going to be extremely unpopular. Its lack of popularity will surpass Clothing and Appearance. Our department is bound to go under!”
The Horned Evil God shot him a cold glance. The Wolf Manager mustered his courage, clutching his quivering tail, and voiced his opinion, “Players in the Necromancer Game don’t care about comfort. In Game Day, even survival is difficult. In Game Night, they get a bed and blanket for free, and they’re satisfied with that.
The items that get exchanged the most in the game are necessities. If we develop Home Goods, or even launch a whole new category, the budget simply won’t be able to keep up…”
“Don’t worry about the budget,” the Horned Evil God interrupted. “Any other problems?”
Under his stare, the fur on the Wolf Manager’s tail stood on end. Realizing resistance was futile, he bent over and asked in a low voice, “My lord, when exactly should we begin production on this project?”
Half of the Horned Evil God’s face was a hideous skull, the other half flesh. His face turned stern. “Launch within fifteen days.”
The Wolf Manager’s eyes went white. His voice trembled, “For other categories before, it took at least six months from development to production to launch.”
“If you don’t have the ability, you’ll be demoted. We’ll promote a capable Evil Spirit to department head.”
The Horned Evil God let out a cold laugh, then took a golden pen and a palm-sized notebook from the pocket of his tailored suit.
He pointed the tip of the pen at the other Evil Spirit employees in the department, who all looked busy but were actually eavesdropping. “Whoever can complete this within fifteen days will be promoted to supervisor.”
With a thud, the Wolf Manager fell to his knees. “My lord! Please, don’t bother picking a newcomer-I’m still the most suitable for this! Fifteen days, right?”
He gritted his teeth, each word squeezed out between his teeth. “No problem, my lord, plenty of time. I will absolutely complete the task perfectly for you!”
The Horned Evil God put away his pen and notebook with satisfaction, lowering one eye to look at him.
“Fifteen days is the bottom line. The sooner, the better.”
“Look carefully at the seal at the end of the letter.”
“This is Wang’s order.”
–
They watched the television twice but still had no clue.
“They all sounded plausible to me.” Zhu Yue was so anxious that sweat appeared on the tip of her nose. “Nuo Nuo said each news segment can only be viewed five times. Should we save some views? Once we’ve watched five times, we’ll be forced to make a choice!”
Although there was no shortage of information, it was hard to analyze.
There was no precise countdown in this instance either.
The more ambiguous it was, the more terrifying the sense of crisis became.
“We’re not looking for right or wrong, but for the connection with the weather forecast.”
Lu Li found the answer he wanted on the second viewing, his voice calm and steady. “She said it will rain these days and to bring an umbrella, which corresponds to rainy weather.”
“And she said no matter how nice the weather is outside, it has nothing to do with the Female Host, so there’s no need to put on makeup, which corresponds to sunny weather.”
Luo Jia Bai listened carefully, then suddenly understood. “So, as long as we can determine which description of the Male Host and Female Host is correct, we can also tell whether the weather forecast on the television is accurate or not.”
“The television doesn’t give us enough information. The living room is only so big.” Luo Jia Bai turned around, his eyes falling on the coffee table. “Let’s tidy up the coffee table first and see if we’ve missed anything.”
The three of them squatted down to search again, separating the trash to one side and patiently sorting everything.
Lu Li moved aside the pizza box and fried chicken meal, then picked up a cola bottle. The cola‑stained area on the table was sticky, and he hesitated.
In the area soaked by cola, there were two crumpled notes.
“Help me find a clean spot.” The notes were soaked with cola and were wet and fragile; opening them with too much force would tear them.
“I’ll do it!” Luo Jia Bai quickly tossed everything to the floor, clearing a space.
Lu Li carefully smoothed out the notes and finally saw the writing on them.
“They’re two bills.”
Luo Jia Bai examined them as well. “The names on the bills are unclear; the top part where the names are marked has been stained by the drink.”
Lu Li said, “One is income, one is expenditure. Now we need to match them to the correct names.”
As soon as he finished his analysis, the Evil Spirit Bracelet (wristband) issued a reminder:
[Key Item exploration progress: +0.2]
Luo Jia Bai’s eyes lit up. “We’re on the right track!”
“Oh my god!” Zhu Yue held her Evil Spirit Bracelet (wristband) and muttered with delight, looking at Lu Li with genuine admiration. “This is the first time since I entered the instance that I’ve actively triggered a Key Item reminder.”
Luo Jia Bai hurried over. “Let’s check the bills first! The expenditures are all shopping records-clothes, pants… Tsk, the prices listed are all luxury items. There aren’t many purchases, but the amounts are huge.”
“The income side lists labor fees, wages, payments-one or two entries a day. Looks like they’re paid hourly, and at the minimum wage.”
Zhu Yue sighed. “Compared to the expenditure bill, it’s just a drop in the bucket.”
Luo Jia Bai clenched his fists and suddenly slapped his palm. “The Male Host and Female Host mentioned by the interviewee must be Nuo Nuo’s parents, right?”