Deshui stared at the man in the suit, his first thought being—Did this guy wander onto the wrong set?
Post-apocalyptic wasteland. Void nest. Hounds and square-dance aunties. And in a place like this, a supervisor with a coffee cup shows up?
Moreover, it wasn't steam rising from his coffee cup, but wisps of violet-black energy smoke rings. Each puff transformed into a tiny smiley face symbol in the air before popping with a soft "puff" and vanishing.
"Who are you?" Deshui asked.
"I am Li Jianguo, Director of the Seventh Transdimensional Field Office of the Void Energy Corporation." The man smiled, placing his coffee cup on the edge of the control console. The moment the cup's base touched the metal, it emitted a crisp "ding," like someone ringing a doorbell.
"Void Energy Corporation... what does it do?" Li Yuan couldn't help but ask.
"We are committed to transforming Void energy into consumable everyday products, elevating the happiness index across the cosmos." Li Jianguo's tone sounded like he was introducing a new smartphone. "For example, our star product—Void Jelly. Eat it, and you can experience flying in your dreams. Void Soap: after bathing, you gain temporary invisibility. And Void Coffee: one sip lets you see your parallel-world self."
Zhang Yifan rolled his eyes. "Did you forget this stuff turns people into hounds?"
"That's just feedback from a minority of users with allergic constitutions," Li Jianguo spread his hands. "In business, we call it a 'unique experiential feature.' Besides, the hounds are important clients too. They handle security and logistics. Consider it part of the employee benefits."
Deshui felt his worldview was being ground into the dirt.
He took a deep breath and decided to get straight to the point. "Whatever you're selling, we need to shut down this base's Void energy system. Stop the spread."
"Shut down?" Li Jianguo's smile widened. "That won't do. We haven't met this quarter's KPIs yet. Besides, Void energy is renewable. As long as fear exists, it generates continuously. So environmentally friendly."
"You're doing business with people's lives," Lu Xiao said coldly.
"Life is a form of resource too," Li Jianguo said with a straight face. "We've even launched 'Void Life Insurance.' After death, you can choose to upload your consciousness to the Void network and continue enjoying services. Very cost-effective."
Zhou Ming muttered quietly beside them, "If this company went public, it could probably buy half the galaxy."
Li Yuan, however, stared at the control console and suddenly said, "Wait. His coffee cup... seems to be connected to the main system."
Sure enough, at the base of Li Jianguo's coffee cup was a micro-interface, linked via an invisible fiber optic line to the remnants of the floating central sphere, exchanging data.
In other words, this Li Jianguo wasn't just here for an inspection. He was here to take over the system.
"What do you want?" Deshui asked warily.
"Simple. Turn this place into our regional headquarters." Li Jianguo pointed at the surrounding display screens. "In the future, this won't just be a Void energy production base, but also a physical experience store for the Transdimensional Mall. You can be employees or customers. The benefits are excellent."
"I refuse," Deshui said without hesitation.
"Refusal invalid." Li Jianguo's expression suddenly turned cold. The energy smoke rings in his coffee cup transformed into twisted human faces, as if emitting silent screams. "The contract is already signed. The moment you entered, the system automatically generated labor agreements. You are all now official employees of this company."
"What the hell kind of contract?!" Zhang Yifan roared.
"Electronic signature. Brainwave confirmation. Legally binding." Li Jianguo said smugly. "And breaching it means being assigned to the Void Farm to cultivate energy fruit. For eternity."
Deshui knew reasoning with this kind of person was useless. Only action remained.
He charged at Li Jianguo, but the man merely waved his hand lightly. A stream of violet-black energy shot from the coffee cup like a water jet, blasting Deshui back several steps.
"Physical attacks are ineffective against me." Li Jianguo smiled. "I am a contractual manifestation of the Void energy entity. Unless you can sever my connection to the main system, I am undying."
"Then sever the connection!" Zhou Ming immediately ran to the control console and began frantically typing on a virtual keyboard.
But the firewall on the screen was written in "Void Code." For every line deleted, three new ones automatically generated.
"This code reproduces itself!" Zhou Ming exclaimed.
"Of course. We are a high-tech company." Li Jianguo leisurely sat beside the console, refilling his coffee. "Your resistance only makes our system stronger."
Just then, the floor of the hall suddenly trembled. Small holes cracked open in the walls, from which mechanical tentacles emerged. Each tentacle held a small camera, as if livestreaming the scene.
"Welcome, everyone, to the recruitment interview segment for the Void Energy Corporation." Li Jianguo's voice broadcast throughout the hall via speakers. "Today's test question is—how to cause a Void energy overflow into the neighboring universe within ten minutes."
Deshui was stunned. "Neighboring universe?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the hall's ceiling vanished, revealing a gray sky. Within it, two massive black holes were colliding. The shockwaves from the impact made everyone unsteady on their feet.
"That is the entrance to the neighboring universe." Li Jianguo pointed at the black holes. "Our mall is about to expand there, so we need excellent employees to complete the task."
Lu Xiao gritted his teeth. "You're insane. This will destroy both universes!"
"Destruction is merely the process. Business opportunity is the goal." Li Jianguo shrugged. "Alright, the interview begins. Those who fail will be assigned to the Void Customer Service Department to handle complaints."
Deshui knew they couldn't delay any longer.
He exchanged a look with his teammates. They decided on the most primitive method—physical destruction.
"Zhou Ming, find the physical location of the main server!"
"Already on it!" Zhou Ming's fingers flew across the virtual keyboard. A 3D map appeared on the screen, marking a "Core Server Room" located on the tenth underground level.
"That's where the real servers are. Not virtual!"
"Good. Let's go blow it up!" Deshui ordered.
Tenth Underground Level: The Core Server Room's Absurd Guardians
They rushed down the emergency stairs to the tenth underground level. Along the way, they encountered not hounds or square-dance aunties, but various bizarre "security personnel."
There was a robot resembling a giant octopus, each tentacle holding a cash register. Upon seeing people, it would shout, "Scan to pay the toll!"
There were also creatures