Chapter 56 Big Factory (End)
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The multitude of people created a canopy of various shadows overhead, obscuring Wen Shi’s view of the sky.
He looked around, his eyes moving from one face to another: “Zhao Ze…” then he glanced at a few others, appearing relieved: “Li Nantian, Sun Cheng…” he mentioned a few people in a row, “Very good, everyone is still here.”
The dorm supervisor surprisingly knew the names of each person and called them out correctly, making the fourth-floor residents feel even more touched.
Ji Yuanzhi couldn’t get inside, so he stood on the edge and asked the most important question, “Where is the monster?”
Wen Shi slowly said three words: “No bones left.”
It was true. The bones were indeed completely gone. Almost all absorbed by the teenager. However, he hadn’t processed this power yet. According to him, the world could only handle so much pressure, so he needed to wait until he returned to his original place to deal with it.
Many things happened today. A resident from the fourth floor only realized something later and was quite surprised. “You’re actually still alive?”
After killing the factory manager and being taken to the sanatorium, surprisingly, he managed to walk out alive in the end.
This was truly a miracle of life!
Jian Qingrong didn’t answer. He just casually glanced at the other person, his eyes unobstructed by his long hair, his calmness revealing an eerie quality.
The fourth-floor resident’s lips quivered slightly, feeling goosebumps all over his skin without knowing why.
Wen Shi sighed. The residents had a source of contamination inside them. As long as Jian Qingrong wished, changing their memories or manipulating their consciousness for self-termination wouldn’t be difficult. After surviving a major ordeal with great difficulty, it felt unjust that they would be lost due to thoughtless remarks.
“The former manager, who committed many wrongdoings, is gone . The place now belongs to Jian Qingrong.”
He didn’t lie but blurred the timeline, making it sound like these events had happened not long ago when spoken to others.
“The factory aims to promote truth, kindness and beauty. He is the most suitable to manage the sanatorium.”
Wen Shi needed to leave someone to oversee the branch while launching a further attack on the main hospital at the front lines.
After a few hasty coughs and a gradual easing of his injuries, oddly enough, that was when the pain intensified. Wen Shi gestured for Jian Qingrong to put him down, then glanced at the teenager.
“Big Brother, don’t worry. I’ll now go and count how many workers are still alive in the factory and gather them together.”
It seemed the Gatekeeper Ghost only appeared at night. With dawn approaching, Wen Shi didn’t see his shadow. He looked back at Jian Qingrong. “Sanatorium…”
Knowing that speaking for too long would be uncomfortable, Jian Qingrong picked up where he left off. “Rebuilding will take some time, but it won’t be difficult.”
His virus could mimic the contaminants inside the monster, but it was still not as effective as the monster’s own flesh and blood. How long this world could hold on was uncertain. In the past, Jian Qingrong focused mainly on creating ghosts. Now that Wen Shi cared so much about this piece of land, he was willing to help protect it.
Wen Shi didn’t forget his original intention. “By the way, remember to award me the Outstanding New Employee certificate to enrich my resume.”
Jian Qingrong nodded.
Wen Shi closed his eyes. “I’d like to rest alone for a while. Feeling a bit tired.”
He was genuinely exhausted. He tilted his head slightly and slipped into a half-dream, half-awake state. His slender eyebrows furrowed slightly, his hand unconsciously gripping his clothing. From any angle, Wen Shi appeared like a fragile item without a flaw.
Because everywhere else was in ruins, Jian Qingrong temporarily settled people in the cafeteria.
On the other side, the teenager controlled the residents from the seventh floor, including the workshop supervisors. As the current highest-ranking person, he started organizing the reconstruction work methodically. The remaining workers were uniformly assigned to clean up the debris, and Ji Yuanzhi and the others were no exception.
Brick by brick, lifting things, the players were all sore and unable to even take a sip of water. They had to do the construction work.
They were still interns. Until the instance was over, all the death rules remained. In the clearly tiered Big Factory, players couldn’t defy the orders of their superiors.
“Pei Wenwei said something right,” Lv Tang said with a tired face, lifting a pile of bricks. “Can’t lead a team, can only work until death.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Cafeteria.
All doors and windows were shut, and occasionally, some faint noises would make their way in.
Poor lighting was conducive to sleep. Wen Shi rested his head on Jian Qingrong’s clothes, nearly falling into a deep slumber a few times. Only when he confirmed no one was around that he forced his eyes open and walked to the window. Standing there, he could see the busy figures near the entrance of Workshop Three.
It was not that Wen Shi didn’t care about his teammates. He just couldn’t be disturbed for the time being.
“In the game, can I place my home in the sanatorium?”
“Would you like to spend three thousand points to place【My Home】in the sanatorium?”
“Players, please carefully consider. Due to the instability and danger of the instance, it’s recommended to place your home in the virtual world.”
The prompt almost told him to choose the home setup package provided by the game, buy the beginner’s guide for building homes, and then hire the recommended home guardian from the game.
Wen Shi’s stance was firm: Decline.
Home guardian? No matter how skilled they were, he couldn’t trust outsiders. Moreover, any home guardian he bought felt like the game had placed a camera in his house, leaving no privacy.
“Understood.”
Not to mention three thousand points, even if it were ten thousand, Wen Shi wouldn’t hesitate.
The deduction of three thousand points happened quite swiftly.
“Please wait a moment, searching for a suitable location. Lobby is destroyed, cafeteria is destroyed, examination area is destroyed…”
The prompt paused, “Found a suitable site: Data Room.”
“This will do,” Wen Shi thought. The data room is close to the archives room and the only room with windows on the first three floors.
“Placement successful, please check your attribute panel promptly.”
Before the game’s notification, Wen Shi had already opened the panel to check.
【My Home Level 2:
Current Family Members: Xie Tangyan; ?
Next upgrade requires summoning a family member.】
Wen Shi raised an eyebrow. Upgrading according to the number of times he summoned his parallel world self– the game, this exploitative capitalist, was acting quite human.
“Note: When the home reaches level three, you can spend five thousand points to unlock the【Family Afternoon Tea Party】function. When the home reaches level four, you can spend ten thousand points to unlock【Come to My Place】.”
“……” Praised too soon.
Anything related to people, the game truly didn’t bother.
Ignoring the points requirement, Wen Shi tried to understand the two functions based on their literal meaning. The first one seemed like a brief meeting with his “family members”, and the second one appeared to involve inviting people over.
“What if I invite a ghost to my home?”
Wen Shi laughed. That ghost would probably end up in a miserable state.
He continued, “I want Jian Qingrong to help guard my home.”
The prompt seemed to hesitate slightly, “Do you want to grant home privilege to Jian Qingrong?”
“Yes.”
A new section for a home guardian was added to【My Home】in real time.
After resolving the placement of his home, Wen Shi had just over seven thousand points left. He once again felt the pinch of his limited resources. At the very least, he needed to use【One Strike Flattens All】three more times to help Xie Tangyan obtain the “Great Swordmanship,” which required a total of fifteen thousand points.
Around six o’clock, someone came to call Wen Shi to the conference hall.
Big Factory’s conference hall was located in the same building as the manager’s office. It was rarely used, just cleaned by the workers recently. Despite the tang of blood and acid in the air, neat chairs, factory employees sitting properly, and the bright lights around created an exceptionally bright atmosphere in the room.
As soon as Wen Shi arrived, he was directly invited onto the stage.
Passing by the third row, he saw Overseer Zhao wearing sunglasses. His steps involuntarily halted. “You’re still alive?”
How tough must his luck be.
Overseer Zhao never took off his glasses, just occasionally lifting them slightly to quickly wipe around his eyes with a tissue.
Wen Shi: “……”
On the stage, an interviewer held a microphone with some static. The teenager had once experimented on him, drawing blood and skin to test ways to suppress contaminants, leaving the interviewer’s features slightly asymmetrical now.
He strained a smile, “Due to the unexpected passing of the factory manager, the judge for this Outstanding New Employees selection will be the current director of the sanatorium.”
Residents of the sixth and seventh floors were mostly under the control of the teenager. The fourth-floor residents were fiercely loyal to Wen Shi, and the staff of the sanatorium wouldn’t dare to resist Jian Qingrong. Now that the ambassador who had once been bullied was announced as the director of the sanatorium, the conference hall fell silent, with no one voicing dissent.
Jian Qingrong didn’t stand up to speak. He merely nodded slightly.
Meanwhile, the interviewer opened the list of winners and loudly announced, “Winner of the First Outstanding New Employee Award: Aaron!”
Applause thundered from the audience.
Wen Shi, wearing a blood-stained lab coat, stepped onto the stage and gave a brief speech, “We’ve faced an unprecedented disaster, but I believe the sun will rise as usual tomorrow. I’m willing to donate all the prize money and Beautiful Soul Elixirs I received from this award to support the reconstruction of Big Factory.”
The team battle mission mentioned that outstanding new employees would receive a sum of money.
Applause erupted again, accompanied by murmurs:
“Truly deserving of becoming an outstanding new employee. Such a broad perspective.”
“Exactly, always caring for Big Factory. We should learn from this.”
The personnel from the publicity department responsible for printing the factory newsletter quickly captured this scene, already planning the content for publication.
Players and touched employees were on a different wavelength. The bonuses were virtual, and what truly attracted them was the surprise mystery boxes prepared by the director in the rewards. There were three slots for outstanding employees, and there were also three mystery boxes. However, the mission didn’t specify that they had to be distributed evenly.
If in the end, there was only one winner, perhaps they could claim all three.
Obviously, Wen Shi also thought of this and didn’t specifically instruct Jian Qingrong to choose two more people. The players had no objections to this. If it were them, they would also choose to settle the accounts transparently. Besides, unequally sharing was a common concern, even if the other side willingly gave up two slots, those excluded would naturally have some objections.
Jian Qingrong personally awarded Wen Shi three mystery boxes.
Zhou Xiaochun’s expression was complex. “The executor who killed the manager awarded the mastermind with the victim’s inheritance.”
The director should have been the true ambassasor for Beautiful Soul.
Wen Shi’s tone was passionate, “In order to make Big Factory and the sanatorium better, I will venture overseas to find a new path in the future. I hope everyone will join me in making Big Factory bigger and stronger!”
“Hear, hear!”
His words received cheers and one of the senior employees, with red hands from clapping, impatiently reminded Ji Yuanzhi and others, “What are you waiting for? Applaud!”
Clap, clap, clap.
Players clapped mechanically, their faces expressionless.
With the enthusiastic support of Big Factory employees, the award ceremony for the first Outstanding New Employee concluded successfully.
As the employees orderly left, Wen Shi returned the microphone to its place. When he looked up, he saw Jian Qingrong still seated below the stage.
He paused for a moment and said, “I’m being targeted by the main hospital, so I can’t stay much longer.”
Dr. Aaron’s identity, along with his statement after being injected with the truth serum that he wanted to become the director of the main hospital… these factors combined were enough reasons to leave.
Jian Qingrong lowered his gaze, his lashes shading a faint shadow beneath his eyes.
A file folder was suddenly handed to him, the blood-red “82” on the folder still chilling to see.
Wen Shi simply returned the file, not saying anything more. The instance hadn’t been settled for some reason. Before leaving, he planned to take another look at his piece of land.
Until the game’s prompt to leave, every second was worth being cautious.
As Wen Shi passed by Liu Yun, she called out to him with a hint of concern, “He won’t blacken, right?”
Jian Qingrong’s mental state was truly worrying. She feared some melodramatic event might occur, that the deeply hidden director of the sanatorium might do something crazy to prevent Pei Wenwei from leaving.
Wen Shi laughed, “You’re overthinking.”
“But…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Wen Shi had already resumed walking, calmly heading outside.
Liu Yun looked back towards Jian Qingrong’s direction.
On the other side.
Jian Qingrong opened the file folder. After Wen Shi completed the file task, these pages that seemed like indecipherable script gradually revealed legible writing, densely packed with records of his dark days as an experimental subject. While others’ files were written in words, his was mostly a chilling compilation of research data.
Suddenly, Jian Qingrong’s eyes narrowed as he stared intently at the last page of the file. A sentence had appeared there, elegantly written, with a simple drawing of a cat’s head behind it.
In his early twenties, he made his first friend in life, Wen Shi.
Though a few words, it was like a piercing ray of light, dispersing the dark experimental records above.
“Wen Shi…”
The writing was definitely done by the young man. So he wasn’t called Aaron, and this identity was also false.
…but he told me his true name.
Jian Qingrong’s expression eased, his lips involuntarily twitching. Eventually, he broke into the first heartfelt smile of his life.
He carefully and solemnly stored away the file. Because of the last sentence, the once most unbearable records seemed to have a new starting point.
Liu Yun was curious about the reason for the smile. Jian Qingrong stood up and walked over.
Liu Yun immediately became cautious, but in an instant, a strong dizziness swept over her, and her gaze gradually unfocused.
The people sitting beside Liu Yun didn’t make any sudden movements, but they all discreetly took out their weapons, especially Liu Yuan. Her muscles were tense, as if she were ready to fight at any moment.
Players had consumed the Beautiful Soul Elixir and had meals from the cafeteria, so there were contaminants inside them as well. Even if not substantial, they were susceptible to being controlled by Jian Qingrong.
Jian Qingrong asked just one question, “What is Aaron’s real name?”
Liu Yun said she didn’t know at first, then added, “Pei Wenwei.”
Players rarely used their real names in the game. She had never thought that was his true name.
A hint of delight in Jian Qingrong’s eyes couldn’t be concealed as he walked out of the meeting room.
When Liu Yun snapped back to reality, she asked in confusion, “What just happened?”
Glancing around, she happened to catch sight of Jian Qingrong’s departing figure. Whether it was the sunlight or something else, he seemed to radiate a different kind of brilliance.
Beside her, Liu Yuan said with a hint of frustration, “I don’t know either, but I want to know how to turn a hidden NPC into a love-struck brain in two days.”
Summing up, it seemed timing was crucial, and giving the other person what they wanted was even more important.
Ji Yuanzhi’s voice was cold, “Consider how to explain to your guild about completing an S-grade instance in two days.”
One sentence furrowed everyone’s brows. Indeed, this was the kind of truth that nobody would believe.
…
The dilapidation of the sanatorium pained Wen Shi deeply.
He didn’t dare linger and arrived at the factory gate early, sighing internally about why the game’s prompt hadn’t come yet and curious about where the teenager had gone.
“Went to destroy evidence.”
Wen Shi turned around as Jian Qingrong approached, “I made several copies of the video where he massacred the monster. I have stored them in different places.”
The teenager clearly didn’t want Wen Shi to see the brutal hunting scene.
Wen Shi couldn’t help but laugh.
He paused for a moment before getting to the point, “Regarding the Beautiful Soul Elixir, how do you think we can handle it most appropriately?”
The factory’s operation depended on its workers. They were all valuable assets of Big Factory.
“No cure,” Jian Qingrong stated bluntly, “Eating monster flesh for years makes it impossible to return to being a normal human. Only a small percentage of subjects can develop antibodies and maintain their sanity. I’ll work on developing relevant medications to slow down their mutation process as much as possible.”
Wen Shi pondered for a moment. “Evolution is a natural ability bestowed upon all living things, so contaminants can also help contaminated individuals gain special abilities, right?”
Jian Qingrong nodded.
Monsters and he were the best examples.
“Sort of like zombies and mutants,” Wen Shi muttered to himself.
Jian Qingrong heard a novel term and raised an eyebrow.
Wen Shi took the initiative to explain, “It’s kind of like a living dead person, never seen one in real life, but there are many in movies and TV shows.”
The game world had all sorts of monsters, and maybe they’d encounter one someday. If there was a suitable blood sample for Jian Qingrong to analyze, things might take a turn for the better.
Jian Qingrong noticed that Wen Shi had some plans in mind. It was one of the qualities that attracted him–never giving up easily.
Wen Shi smiled faintly, “In any case, I’ll keep a close eye on this matter.”
His smile froze the next moment as the unexpected game prompt sounded.
【Congratulations to the player for completing the team battle main quest, passing the S-level instance Big Factory.】
【Instance settlement imminent.】
【Due to your role as the team leader, a final settlement bonus of ten percent is applied, granting a special reward.】
……
The prompts continued without pause. Wen Shi didn’t pay too much attention. He could check the rewards on the panel after leaving.
The broadcast mentioned severe pollution recently, but today’s sky was radiant with hues, casting a brilliant glow on the large stone behind, making the words “Big Factory” shimmer. In the distance, a bus approached on a small road, and players received a prompt, reminding them to board as soon as possible.
The bus doors opened right in front of Wen Shi. Ji Yuanzhi and the others hurriedly boarded the bus. Zhou Xiaochun glanced at the time and called out to the window, “Don’t be late!”
The teleportation point was set in a tunnel, and the instance didn’t provide direct teleportation. There were strict time requirements for boarding the bus, and now only the last minute remained.
Wen Shi withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at the inscriptions on the stone. He turned to Jian Qingrong and smiled one last time, “I’m off to work.”
With that, he stepped onto the bus without looking back.
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