It was just a lost love, was it really that serious?
Wen Shi thought Overseer Zhao was making a fuss over nothing, but on the other hand, he was surprised that the teenager actually run to the sixth floor.
The dorm supervisor had mentioned before that impressive people lived from the sixth floor onwards. Wen Shi couldn't help but question if he had underestimated the teenager's abilities. After all, knowing Overseer Zhao's temperament, if he took a liking to someone and they left midway, he would get angry first and then seek revenge, not cry like this.
"My little brother is actually quite kind," Wen Shi reassured patiently. "You see, he has the ability to move on to something better and didn't let the next person come to fix things after you."
Overseer Zhao opened his swollen eyes wide. "Is that true? So he still had some friendship towards me, right?"
Wen Shi nodded, "Yes, yes."
Overseer Zhao asked, "So, did you think we still had a chance?"
Wen Shi nodded, "Yes, yes."
A gust of wind blew, causing a tear that had broken free to almost splash onto Wen Shi's collar. Stepping back, Wen Shi reached out to help Overseer Zhao put on his sunglasses.
"Take care," Wen Shi offered.
He couldn't think of any other words to console the other person.
"Keep up with me!"
Concealing his teary eyes, not wanting to become a spectacle, Overseer Zhao resumed his fierceness and led the remaining group towards Workshop Two. The cafeteria only provided one meal a day for interns. New employees had no breakfast–they had to head straight into work after an early rise.
In the passing moment, the employees heading to Workshop Two cast intriguing glances in Wen Shi's direction.
Wen Shi thought, "What are they looking at me for? It's not like I'm the one who pushed someone to the brink."
As Tu Bianxi passed by, he remained rather composed. He looked around at the others, especially when he saw Ji Yuanzhi, he said with meaning, "You must be quite pleased now."
Ji Yuanzhi smiled, "Congratulations to you as well, for putting together an ideal team."
This should have been a commendable achievement, but when compared, the results of Tu Bianxi's all-out effort appeared somewhat inferior.
Zhou Xiaochun was still amazed by the previous event. "Your little brother is quite wild, huh."
Moreover, this Overseer Zhao turned out to be quite the romantic-minded individual.
Wen Shi and he weren't on the same wavelength. Understanding how Tu Bianxi manipulated the team formation, Wen Shi explained, "IOU."
Zhou Xiaochun asked unconsciously, "What IOU?"
Wen Shi explained, "You didn't go ask Hai Sheng for some Beautiful Soul Elixir, right?"
At that time, two players were confident enough to survive the night and did not follow everyone into the factory for the second time.
Zhou Xiaochun nodded. "Before going, I did a divination. The result showed that even if I didn't borrow the 'high-interest loan,' I still had a ninety percent survival rate for the first night."
He openly shared his personal skill. In the virtual world, players almost always hid their skills, like Wen Shi and Ji Yuanzhi. So far, they belonged to the very few who remained completely unpredictable.
"Impressive," Wen Shi praised his skill, then continued, "That's the issue here. The high-interest loan project was a collaboration between Overseer Zhao and Hai Sheng. Workshop Two had better benefits, so they must have prioritized offering it to new employees with more debts."
This way, they could ensure those new employees repaid the Beautiful Soul Elixir as quickly as possible. After all, there was some profit for Overseer Zhao in this lend-one-repay-three business. Talking about tactics, Tu Bianxi might be arrogant, but he was indeed strong. He would willingly accumulate debt, probably foreseeing this situation.
It was likely not just the Seventh Commandment member. Tu Bianxi privately suggested to several individuals heading to Workshop Two that they should borrow more. In other words, although the game claimed that NPC would assign teams, Tu Bianxi was personally selecting his team members. As for Wen Shi, Tu Bianxi did consider bringing him into the team for some gradual torment, but both sides were cautious. Tu Bianxi knew it would be difficult to convince Wen Shi to accumulate more debt.
Zhou Xiaochun's expression became complicated. "No wonder we formed the most speechless team in history."
The most speechless?
Wen Shi raised an eyebrow, wondering where this was coming from.
Zhou Xiaochun sighed and glanced at the player with a perpetually vacant look, "That Zhang Suihe, his skill is[Slack Off]. This skill is quite suitable for this instance. When multiple people are performing the same task, if a player slacks off or doesn't meet the task's standards, there's a certain probability that the NPC will overlook them, sparing them from punishment. But on the other hand…"
Wen Shi wore a "I understand" expression, realizing that this skill contributed almost nothing to the team.
Zhou Xiaochun continued, "Lv Tang is said to have an attack skill."
Wen Shi looked at him, noting the unmentioned twin sisters, Big Sis and Lil Sis.
"My sister and I have the skill[Bubble]." Their gazes met, and Liu Yun straightforwardly explained, "As the name suggests, when facing danger, we can hide inside a bubble. As long as we don't encounter enemies stronger than demon beasts, we're invulnerable for thirty seconds."
Wen Shi: "Can others enter the bubble?"
Liu Yun shook her head.
Wen Shi: "..." Very well, adding skills that were useless for the team.
Liu Yuan stood behind her dear Big Sis, curiously asking Wen Shi, "What's your skill?"
Everyone looked towards him, even Ji Yuanzhi turned his gaze to Wen Shi. Clearly, they were all quite curious about this question.
"Lucky Star," Wen Shi's tone remained unchanged. "The more challenging the task, the higher the activation success rate of the skill."
Liu Yun questioned skeptically, "As far as I know, the game doesn't have this skill."
Wen Shi's expression didn't change as he replied, "You just haven't seen it. How else do you think I successfully refined a Wandering Corpse?"
Some of Liu Yun's doubts faded away. The presence of the Wandering Corpse had a convincing weight. The success rate of refining a[Spirit Coffin]was only thirty percent, and those who weren't very lucky wouldn't succeed at all.
Ji Yuanzhi pushed his glasses but didn't speak. Having successfully survived a 3S instance and several S-class instances, Ji Yuanzhi had no intention of sharing. No one dared to demand it from him.
With some time before work, after exchanging phone numbers, Ji Yuanzhi suggested, "Let's choose a leader first."
The group fell into silence, knowing that being a leader had its perks, which tempted everyone.
Liu Yun and Liu Yuan exchanged a glance. They didn't need to speak. If they couldn't reach a consensus in the end, they would each vote for themselves a sure win for the twin sisters.
Knowing he had a weaker ability and unable to compete, Zhang Suihe continued to space out.
Lv Tang chimed in, "Whoever gives me the most points, I'll pick them."
The special rewards from the A+ instance were surely impressive. If he didn't vie for the captain position, at least he had to get some points.
Ji Yuanzhi had long anticipated such a situation. Players were driven by their interests, and temporary teams inevitably lacked unity.
His tone was calm yet forceful, "Allow me to remind everyone: Having some wealth brings fortune, but without life, one cannot enjoy it."
In team battles, it was either survival or death–everyone shared the glory and the loss.
Lv Tang retorted, "This won't scare us. Even if we all vote for you, you might not put your heart and soul into leading the team to victory."
[Exemption]and[Inheritance]were practically encouraging leaders to lure and kill their own members.
This was also the reason why Zhou Xiaochun had previously considered the team combination the most speechless, as it included Pei Wenwei. In order to obtain all the clues about the 3S instance from the other side, Ji Yuanzhi, who was most capable of leading the team to victory, might intentionally let the team battle fail.
Lv Tang continued, "I suspect your skill is similar to Zhou Xiaochun's, something like clairvoyance. Otherwise, why would you spend a fortune to auction off team slots?"
Even though Tu Bianxi had deliberately provoked before leaving, he had indeed planted a thorn in everyone's hearts.
When the atmosphere grew tense, an untimely voice rang out, "Why are you talking to my dad?"
Ji Yuanzhi nodded in satisfaction. Yes, it hadn't been in vain.
"..." Lv Tang's mouth twitched, addressing Wen Shi, "You're quite optimistic."
Shouldn't the person most in need of worrying be Pei Wenwei himself?
With enthusiasm rising, Wen Shi was certain everyone had shared their opinions and that it was now his turn. He raised his arm and suddenly began to speak, "Have you all gone crazy? You actually want to work honestly for this unscrupulous factory? How much work, how much effort do we need to put in, just to earn a spot!"
"I believe you've already witnessed the substantial strength of my younger brother and me. On our very first day here, we almost had two men brawl right outside the dormitory door. If we continue to perform steadily, it's just a matter of the judges' decision as to who the outstanding employees are and what the promotion path will be!"
Wen Shi's voice intensified, "You all better think carefully. Do you want to work until you drop, or do you want to rely on my connections?"
His unexpected speech left everyone in stunned silence.
Liu Yun's expression was hard to describe. "It's like he's living in a different world from us."
Liu Yuan agreed deeply, "I feel the same way."
While everyone worried about the infighting caused by the[Inheritance], this newbie was the only one earnestly giving a speech.
In the suffocating seconds that followed, Liu Yun rubbed her temple. "You're quite good-looking."
"Just good-looking?"
"… Alright, you're the most handsome among all the people I've seen."
Liu Yun didn't mention Wen Shi's little brother. To her, he was an NPC.
"However, an instance won't provide an easier passage just based on looks," Liu Yun spoke objectively. "Being invited by NPCs and being chosen as an outstanding new employee can't be generalized."
Overseer Zhao's greed and lust might make it easy for him to invite people into the dorms, but this was a horror game–becoming an outstanding employee wasn't a simple transaction of power and influence.
"You're still too young. You don't yet understand shortcuts," Wen Shi said.
Liu Yuan couldn't hold back, "You're the youngest."
"That's why you all benefit from my youth," Wen Shi replied. One person puts in effort, the whole team gains. How could they not see this?
"..."
Of course, Wen Shi didn't expect his absurd words to sway them directly. "Let's wait until the end of the day's work and then vote together."
He only aimed to stall, seeking another solution.
Big Factory was the precursor to the special 3S instance. Holding the World Shard, he would eventually descend into the 3S instance. Therefore, he must grasp any potential rewards that might appear in this instance.
Ji Yuanzhi glanced at his watch. "Let's go to the workshop."
In his words, he agreed to the proposal.
Wen Shi gave a thumbs-up. "Golden Dad."
The structure of Workshop One was quite different from Workshop Three. Upon entering, they first encountered an abandoned office area, cluttered with discarded items like cardboard boxes. Then came a narrow corridor, leading to a door that required a keycard for access. At the moment, all they could do was wait for the senior employees to arrive.
Despite the 8 AM start time, it wasn't until 7:45 AM that the first employee showed up. His face was bruised and swollen, with his nose looking a bit crooked. One of his arms was in a cast, as if he'd taken quite a beating.
"Hai Sheng."
Everyone except Zhou Xiaochun and Zhang Suihe, who hadn't gone to get an IOU, had seen him before.
"I'll be the one guiding you during your probation period." Hai Sheng's injured mouth twitched slightly as he tried to suppress a hiss, his hand covering his cheek.
Normally, after working a night shift, one would get a day off. However, he had voluntarily chosen to come and guide the interns this time.
First, he wanted to earn more money–Hai Sheng urgently needed funds to buy Beautiful Soul Elixir. He couldn't wait for these interns to repay their debts. Secondly, he wanted to find the person who had beaten him up yesterday. His swollen eyes squinted as he tried hard to see the face of every new employee, especially the two women.
He remembered the person who had beaten him yesterday was a woman, with a very sweet and coquettish voice.
"You, say something."
Liu Yun and Liu Yuan exchanged a glance. When they had entered the warehouse yesterday, Hai Sheng had already been beaten, looking dazed and confused.
"Say what?" Both said in unison.
Hai Sheng covered his mouth. "Not sweet or charming enough, it's not you."
"..."
.....
There were no other women present, which ignited a sense of frustration in him. So who exactly had beaten him up?!
The main culprit innocently stood among the crowd, idly staring at the slogan on the wall, "Beautiful You and Me, Love Fills the World." To divert the conversation from the assault, Wen Shi changed the topic, "It's 8 AM already, why are there so few people here?"
Hai Sheng's face displayed a hint of discomfort. "Just slacking off, they like to cut it close."
Wen Shi half-jokingly said, "I thought maybe there's a monster in the workshop scaring everyone away."
Ji Yuanzhi laughed softly, playing along.
Hai Sheng's expression turned sour. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Regardless, that statement had thrown Hai Sheng off guard, distracting him from investigating who had attacked him.
Despite the scorching summer outside, the factory was quite cool. Hai Sheng buttoned his work uniform all the way to the top, his throat feeling slightly swollen and uncomfortable from the constriction. He would occasionally turn his neck to ease the discomfort, but the itch was too intense to bear. He forcefully scratched the collar area with his nails, sighing in relief after a while.
His fingernails were filled with darkened shreds of flesh, emitting a faint unpleasant odor.
Seemingly oblivious, Hai Sheng opened the door at the end of the narrow corridor. "We need to prepare in the initial phase. Your access cards haven't been issued yet. I'll be checking attendance daily. If I catch anyone arriving late…"
His cold laugh carried a strong undertone of threat.
Behind the door was a changing room, followed by another door.
Hai Sheng handed each of them a set of dust-free clothing, urging them to put on hats, masks, and the like. Only then did he open the second door. Before entering the raw materials processing area, they would need to take turns passing through the air shower room for full-body sterilization. The entire process took about five to six minutes.
The senior employees began trickling in, forming a queue for the air shower. Even among the senior employees, their skin remained smooth. The heavy eyes and pale complexion gave an unhealthy impression.
While everyone in Workshop One was a third-class worker, authority carried weight. Facing these experienced senior employees, the players who were interns felt quite nervous.
Zhou Xiaochun lowered his head. "Drawing from my years of experience as a laborer, it's best not to make direct eye contact to avoid being noticed and called upon to assist with miscellaneous tasks."
Wen Shi not only made eye contact, but his eyes scanned everyone present. Weren't they all residents of the fourth floor? Familiar faces all around!
He turned to his teammates. "One last time, are you really not going to eat this bowl of youth with me?"
Treating it as a joke, everyone unanimously shook their heads.
Wen Shi sighed. The young ones don't appreciate an easy life. You're all clueless!
Some dorms were single-person rooms, while others accommodated two or three people. According to the list, excluding the elderly residents, there were nearly fifty occupants on the fourth floor. All of them were employees of Workshop One. About twenty of them had come here now. Some workers who hadn't arrived yet were taking turns doing harvest work, while others were responsible for bringing in the raw materials.
The senior employees also noticed Wen Shi and took in a sharp breath in the early morning. Last night, they were too preoccupied by fear, but now they discovered that the person who had 'swept' the fourth floor was actually a new employee. Their expressions were quite remarkable.
Wen Shi blinked and silently mouthed a 'hi.'
Zhou Xiaochun didn't catch this subtle interaction. He found the senior employees unusually friendly. In most cases, NPCs in this type of scenario would usually put on an airs in front of newcomers.
Zhou Xiaochun said, "I think they're nice people."
Night Shift Dorm Supervisor Wen gave a shy smile, which meant, "I'm here to support you in bearing the burden."
The official start time was eight o'clock, but actual work didn't begin until eight twenty.
Ten minutes past the hour, a truck arrived at the workshop entrance. A group of workers in protective suits quickly carried several large boxes inside and promptly left without lingering.
Hai Sheng called out to the senior employees, "Hurry up and bring those things over! Why are you all just standing there with your hands in your pockets?"
After drinking, he didn't forget to use their behavior as a negative example to warn the new employees, "Don't be like these fools. If you want to stand out, work your tails off and aim to transfer to Workshop Two and Three as soon as possible."
Wen Shi agreed, "They don't seem very bright."
"Slow development, you see," Hai Sheng said nonchalantly. "Their families had it tough, so they used the original version of the Beautiful Soul Elixir on newborns. That's why they're like this."
Wen Shi feigned astonishment. "What were these parents thinking?"
Hai Sheng scratched himself again. "Supposedly, doing this helps the kids avoid contamination until adulthood, saving a lot of expenses. But the side effects are severe. They're slow-witted and can't handle delicate tasks. They're as skinny as a rail. The factory manager took pity and gave them jobs in raw material processing to give them a chance."
In reality, the factory's internal employees knew very well that the true reason was cheap labor.
Wen Shi continued the conversation, "And what about Jian Qingrong?"
The Old Man Ghost had mentioned that Jian Qingrong was a victim of the original version of Beautiful Soul Elixir. However, even though he seemed a bit dull, it had nothing to do with slow development.
The moment Jian Qingrong's name came up, Hai Sheng's eyes started darting around, clearly hatching some mischievous plan.
"He used to be in Workshop One too. He got transferred to Workshop Two after that burn accident. The work there was relatively lighter. Then, about a year ago, the foreman in Workshop Three, Kang Changming, had an accidental death, and not long after, Wang Wei, who got transferred there, also passed away due to illness. No one wanted the remaining tasks on their hands. In the end, the manager transferred Jian Qingrong to Workshop Three."
Both of these individuals were mentioned in Jian Qingrong's diary. Wen Shi was momentarily unsure whether to call that diary the "Death Diary" or "Jian Qingrong's Promotion Journal."
Zhang Suihe, unable to resist, chimed in with a question for Hai Sheng, "How can we get promoted quickly?"
"Just work hard, that's all." Hai Sheng impatiently waved his hand, not wanting to elaborate further. Coincidentally, at that moment, the senior employees had efficiently moved the contents of the boxes out, spreading a distinct seafood market smell throughout the workshop. He actually raised his head, seeming to enjoy it, and took a deep breath.
The boxes contained dozens of frozen insulated containers, which were quickly wheeled away to the cleaning area.
Zhang Suihe shrugged. "Seems like he doesn't really like me."
Wen Shi didn't think so. Hai Sheng's response was probably because he had found clues about Wang Wei in Jian Qingrong's diary. Otherwise, with so many accidents in the factory, why would he specifically mention Kang Changming and Wang Wei?
The system's notification confirmed this—
"Congratulations, you have successfully learned about Wang Wei's past. You are rewarded with the opportunity to meet him once."
"..."
Wang Wei is a dead person, and you call meeting him a reward?!
Hai Sheng didn't have much fondness for Wen Shi. He couldn't quite put his finger on why, but he had a strange feeling of familiarity with this person. The way he spoke and his attitude irked Hai Sheng.
"By the way," Hai Sheng turned around and warned Wen Shi sternly, "Dating between employees is prohibited in the factory. Don't think just because you have a baby face, you can flirt around recklessly."
Not far away, the senior employees exchanged glances. A resident of Room 406 winked at their roommate. "Did you see that?"
The roommate nodded, confirming they saw it too.
How dare they insult the dorm supervisor's baby face! The senior employees shot meaningful glances with Hai Sheng, silently conveying the message: …You're in big trouble.
"Everyone, come over here!" Hai Sheng shouted loudly to the interns.
Wen Shi and the others stood by a large square sink. This cleaning sink took up almost half of the workshop's space. Hai Sheng demonstrated how to clean it for them.
He put on sterilized gloves and opened the lid.
Inside the frozen insulated containers were fist-sized hearts, slanting with a buttery substance resembling a yellowish cream. Nearby, there were sacs with white cotton-like substances swimming inside.
…Insects.
That was everyone's first reaction.
Hai Sheng noticed Zhou Xiaochun take a step back and scolded, "Come closer."
These hearts weren't very firm when frozen. The place where his fingers pinched could clearly be seen indented. Hai Sheng swallowed repeatedly, his eyes glowing with hunger. Forcibly suppressing the urge to eat, he explained, "You might have heard the saying, 'You are what you eat.' The original name for the Beautiful Soul Elixir was Pure Heart Elixir, designed to forcibly purify the soul. What you see now are the hearts of creatures called Pure-Hearted Beasts raised in the sanatorium."
Wen Shi raised an eyebrow at Ji Yuanzhi and whispered, "What do you think, Golden Dad?"
Ji Yuanzhi: "He's talking nonsense."
"There are three principles for cleaning them." Hai Sheng started by scraping away the buttery substance. He carefully avoided puncturing the sacs during this process. Then, using a small knife, he cut open a large blood vessel, extracted a blood clot, and squeezed it a few times. Dark red blood oozed out. "The second principle is to avoid intentionally damaging the raw materials. Every year, there are idiots who purposefully throw them on the ground or toss them around. And the third and most important rule is: no eating the hearts!"
As if worried they wouldn't remember, Hai Sheng repeated it again.
"Each person must clean at least one hundred hearts per day. Damaging one results in a fifty yuan fine. The daily wage for new workers is sixty yuan, paid daily. The first two days of the trial period are unpaid, excluding night shifts. Voluntary night shifts come with overtime pay." Hai Sheng checked his watch. It was exactly 8:20. He ordered everyone to start working.
Cleaning one heart took about five minutes for Hai Sheng, considering it was a demonstration and his movements were slightly slower. With practice, they could probably reach a speed of about four minutes per heart. If they worked continuously, they could complete the workload in seven hours.
The lighting in the cleaning area was bright, but Hai Sheng was sensitive to strong light. After distributing ten insulated containers to each person, he walked away with his hands behind his back to the rest area.
Zhou Xiaochun asked, "Can we report him to the Labor Bureau?"
Such a heavy workload, and they weren't paid for the first two days.
Zhang Suihe's features twisted for a moment. He snapped back from his absent-minded state. "Work without motivation, just want to slack off."
Wen Shi let out a sigh as well.
He felt like the universe owed him a day shift as a dormitory supervisor. He really, really wanted to stay in the dormitory building.
On the other hand, Liu Yun seemed quite composed. "We already know the game's routine: first, they squeeze the players for labor, then they squeeze for living space, and finally, they squeeze for survival time."
From time and space, it was inevitable that a person would be pushed to the limit.
She almost wished she could spit, wishing ill on those heartless capitalists!
However, at that moment, the game's voice, contrary to its usual demeanor, rang out with enthusiasm in everyone's ears.
"Congratulations on passing the interview and surviving a night in the dormitory building. You have officially entered the first day of your probation period. Today marks your first step towards becoming an outstanding new employee!"
"As an outstanding employee, your first task is to complete the daily workload on time."
"Next, appropriate slacking off is a necessary skill for experienced employees. Please make an effort to slack off for at least fifteen minutes before the end of the workday, doing things you want to do. For example, successfully drinking water earns you one point, successfully using the restroom and returning alive earns you seven points, playing on your phone continuously for ten minutes earns you eight points… In short, whatever you do, the system will intelligently score it."
"Note that the points don't accumulate—only the highest score will count. For instance, if you successfully drink water, use the restroom, and play on your phone simultaneously, you'll earn eight points."
"Note that if you get caught, your score resets to zero, and you'll need to challenge it again."
"Feel free to unleash your creativity! Challenge the most improbable ways of slacking off!"
In the midst of everyone's silence, the excited announcement continued—
"At the end of the day, if a team's total score is low, the team's Soul Purity will decrease by ten points collectively, and a vote will be held to expel one member from the team."
"Note: The most contributing member cannot be expelled."
"We wish you all a pleasant work experience."