Chapter 40

The King of Involution

Footsteps were hurried and chaotic. Chao Musheng looked towards the sound and saw Xu Chenzhu rushing out from the stairwell, with Secretary Liu and several people from the President's Office following far behind, panting heavily.

"What's going on?" Xu Chenzhu slowed down when he saw Chao Musheng standing in the corner. He turned to ask the security guard, "The technical R&D personnel are still outside, how could you activate the emergency shutdown button?!"

"Sorry, boss." The security captain looked at Chao Musheng and the team leader standing in the corner, cold sweat dripping down. "We didn't think it through."

"Mr. Xu, could there be a problem with the elevator?" Chao Musheng saw that Xu Chenzhu had one sleeve rolled up halfway, while the other sleeve was hanging down, not even buttoned at the cuff. "Don't worry about the safety of the team leader and me. I can fight ten... three people alone."

Forget it, better be modest.

"Mn." Xu Chenzhu nodded with a faint smile. "Being able to fight thirteen people, Musheng is very impressive."

"Mr. Xu, it's three, not thirteen." Seeing that he was still in the mood to tease him, Chao Musheng knew that nothing major had happened in the company tonight.

"The company's elevators have the most advanced error reporting function. Once a malfunction occurs, an alarm will be triggered immediately. But tonight, neither the President's Office nor the Security Department received an elevator alarm." Secretary Liu was panting from exhaustion but didn't forget to explain to Chao Musheng, "So the elevator is operating normally."

Xiao Chao was about to enter the President's Office soon, so of course, he had to explain enthusiastically to lay a good foundation for their future collegial relationship.

The only problem was that no one appeared in the elevator surveillance.

It was like a ghost story.

"There is another possibility. Someone took advantage of the external forces attacking the company's server to invade the company's elevator operation system and deliberately cause panic." Chao Musheng saw that the security personnel had really brought an infrared thermal imager and looked around.

Apart from the large area occupied by the R&D department on the 52nd floor, there were only corridors and two security lounges. Under the 360-degree surveillance with no blind spots, it was difficult for an intruder to hide.

Number 2 held his breath, watching the security guard only fifty centimeters away from him, and tightened his grip on the dagger in his hand.

As long as he stabbed the security guard's carotid artery and caused panic among everyone, he could leave in the chaos.

To avoid being discovered, he had specially worn gloves to hide his fingerprints. He didn't expect Kunlun's security level to be so high that they would use an infrared thermal imager just for a small matter like the elevator door opening.

He had to create panic before the infrared thermal imager was turned on.

The security guard standing next to the potted plant didn't know that someone who could take his life was standing behind him. He took out his constantly vibrating phone; the caller ID showed "Baby Daughter."

He turned his head to look at his colleagues who had started to be on alert, and smiled at the words "Baby Daughter."

The dagger that was about to stab into his neck suddenly stopped.

The security guard hurriedly stuffed the phone back, not noticing that the phone charm was hanging outside his pocket.

Although their external security on the 52nd floor could carry mobile phones, who would dare to answer a personal call on this occasion?

Number 2 looked at the swaying phone charm outside the security guard's pocket. It was a plastic product worth no more than ten yuan. Two adults holding hands with a little girl with pigtails, black dot eyes, curved smiles, and seriously disproportionate body structures.

Rustic, childish, and ugly.

Number 2 withdrew his gaze from the phone charm, stared at the security guard's carotid artery for a few seconds, put away the dagger in his hand, and pushed him onto the potted plant.

After everyone's attention was drawn to the security guard who suddenly fell, he ran into the elevator, lit up the floor button, activated the acceleration item, and turned to walk towards the fire escape.

He took every step very carefully, daring not to make a sound or let anyone touch him.

"What happened to you?"

"I don't know, I felt like someone pushed me from behind."

The security guard who fell on the potted plant got up and carefully stuffed the phone charm hanging outside back into his pocket. This was a Father's Day gift from his daughter, he couldn't let it get dirty or lost.

"Could it really be haunted?" The team leader was so startled that he dropped the cigarette in his hand and squeezed closer to Chao Musheng.

Xiao Chao was young and had strong yang energy. If there were really ghosts, it should be safer to stay by his side.

Chao Musheng put his hand on the team leader's shoulder. "In a tense situation, the brain's nervous system will issue wrong commands, leading to loss of muscle control. When falling, it might create the illusion that someone pushed me."

"Don't scare yourself. If believing in science can't put you at ease, you can also believe in Emperor Wenchang. He is the patron god of our research team and will definitely bless you."

Xu Chenzhu glanced at the team leader's shoulder out of the corner of his eye. "You guys come with me to the President's Office to rest first, and come back after the security confirms that there is no danger on the 52nd floor."

"Okay." Chao Musheng took his hand off the team leader's shoulder and moved closer to Xu Chenzhu. "Mr. Xu, look, it's so late, can we order takeout?"

"I'll order whatever you want to eat." Xu Chenzhu led Chao Musheng downstairs. Chao Musheng followed for a few steps, then looked back to see the team leader still standing there. "Team leader?"

"Oh." The team leader came back to his senses. "Coming."

He took two steps and felt something hard under his foot. He looked down at the ground, but there was nothing.

Was he also nervous, causing his brain to hallucinate that he stepped on something?

Number 2, crawling on the ground and moving inch by inch with the help of the invisibility cloak, gritted his teeth and endured the pain of his fingers being stepped on and swollen: "..."

"Remember to arrange for someone to guard the fire escape entrance." The team leader walked into the fire escape and pointed to the window next to it. "If someone really broke into the 52nd floor, unless he jumps down from here, it will be hard for him to fly away even with wings."

"Don't worry, we guarantee that no one will hurt the company's research personnel."

Hearing the team leader speak, the security personnel holding the infrared thermal imager turned and walked towards him.

Seeing the infrared thermal imager getting closer and closer to him, Number 2 looked at the fire escape entrance strictly guarded by security, hesitated for a second, and climbed onto the window.

The night wind on the 52nd floor was exceptionally strong, whistling in his ears. The moment the cool wind blew on his face, Number 2 suddenly remembered that one night when he entered the third instance, he and his teammates were running in a dark and long corridor, with the weirdness chasing relentlessly behind them.

The moment he was pushed out of the corridor by his teammate, he watched helplessly as his teammate was surrounded by the weirdness. When they met again, it was his teammate's head on a dinner plate.

Number 2 looked down at his feet, closed his eyes, and jumped. The moment he jumped, he felt the gravity-reducing bracelet item lose its effect.

Just like that A-grade item mirror that suddenly shattered, everything came without warning.

When the huge sense of weightlessness hit, the fear of death miraculously faded, and his brain was clearer than ever before.

He remembered.

Under the BOSS's gaze, he pretended to cut meat, but he cut off his own little finger, not his teammate's eyes.

That was the first time he tasted his own flesh and blood.

He hid his teammate's cold head under the table, but despite exhausting all his strength and items, only he was left alone when leaving the instance.

He couldn't save his teammate, nor could he bring back his body.

It's good to die like this, at least he doesn't have to struggle to survive anymore.

"Xiao Chao, do you think if someone really jumped from the 52nd floor, is there any chance of survival?" The team leader chatted while following behind Chao Musheng and Xu Chenzhu.

"Theoretically, the chance of survival is zero, but there are miracles in this world." Chao Musheng stopped and looked back at the fire escape entrance. "There was a lucky person abroad who fell from a building over forty stories high and survived."

He didn't know if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he seemed to have seen something flash by the window just now.

"Miracle?"

"It means anything is possible." Chao Musheng pushed open the door to the President's Office, stepped aside to let Xu Chenzhu go first, and walked side by side with the team leader behind. "What if?"

"Then you might as well say God bless." The team leader didn't believe his nonsense and bumped his arm. "What do you want to eat later? My treat."

"No need." Xu Chenzhu, walking in front, spoke up. "I'll treat."

"Thank you, boss." The team leader grabbed Chao Musheng's neck. "Made you spend money."

It's a waste not to spend the boss's money.

"You're welcome." Xu Chenzhu stared at the team leader's arm. "Musheng is growing taller."

"Huh?" The team leader looked at Chao Musheng, who was half a head taller than him. Does he still need to grow taller?

"Growing taller shouldn't be suppressed." Xu Chenzhu reached out and moved the team leader's arm away, took out his phone, and handed it to Chao Musheng. "See if there's anything you like to eat?"

The team leader looked at his own arm, then at the boss standing with Chao Musheng ordering takeout. He wasn't fat, how could he be suppressing Xiao Chao?

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Number 2 lay on the thick lawn, looking at the pitch-black sky where stars seemed to be twinkling.

No, those were just the tail lights of an airplane.

He didn't expect to survive falling from such a height.

Was it the sudden gust of wind just now that helped him, or did this thick layer of turf on the ground lend him a hand?

He lay on the grass for a long time before slowly propping himself up to sit.

A few flattened flowers slipped from his back. Number 2 looked back at these flowers whose petals had already started to turn yellow.

They were the flowers the old lady gave him at noon to increase his luck value.

Forcing back the blood that surged to his throat, Number 2 supported himself against the wall and moved out inch by inch.

When he reached the corner, his footsteps paused. He saw Xiao Juan standing against a tree with her arms crossed.

She looked in his direction. Even though he was separated by the invisibility cloak, he felt that Xiao Juan had discovered him.

"Let's go." Xiao Juan got on a shared electric bike. "There are surveillance cameras around, just get on directly."

Half a minute later, Xiao Juan felt the back seat of the bike shake.

She put on her earphones and pretended to be on a call. "Went to the 52nd floor? Given up?"

Number 2 wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and didn't speak.

"Good advice is hard to persuade a ghost like you who seeks death." The night wind blew Xiao Juan's hair. "Consider the favor you did for me back then repaid tonight. In the future..."

"Thank you."

Xiao Juan scoffed. Neither of them spoke for the rest of the journey.

Passing by a park, Number 2 spoke up. "Let's talk."

Xiao Juan parked the bike by the roadside and found a bench in the park to sit down. She looked at the passersby still jogging in the distance. "What do you want to say?"

[Ding! Player Number 2 has gifted you an item, do you accept?]

Xiao Juan turned off the system notification. "What are you doing?"

"I'm tired, Xiao Juan."

After a long silence, Number 2 spoke. "I can't find hope of clearing this instance. Take these items."

Maybe the moment he let that security guard go, he had already lost the determination to continue clearing the level.

Indecisiveness is a taboo for players.

"Not dead yet, and you're distributing your inheritance to me?" Xiao Juan's tone was still bad. "My relationship with you isn't that good, and I don't care for your items."

"At first, I always thought about going home, but as I accumulated more and more points, I found that I couldn't go back." Hiding under the invisibility cloak, Number 2 had the desire to talk. "Even if I return to the real world, I can't be an ordinary person anymore."

Players accustomed to killing and deception in instances have long been tamed by the system into monsters that are neither human nor ghost. Monsters dare not walk in the sun.

Xiao Juan's lips moved, but she couldn't say anything.

"Before entering the instance, I was a freshman in college. I seemed to like photography?" Number 2 tried hard to recall the faded past. "Unfortunately, I can't remember clearly. After all, the total time I've spent in various instances is longer than in the real world."

If he hadn't taken pictures for that mother and son at noon today, he wouldn't have remembered his little hobby.

"Do you hate the main god?" Xiao Juan looked at the empty space beside her. She knew Number 2 was sitting there. She placed the signal jammer between them. "It was He who summoned us into the infinite world and treated us as tools to snatch energy from other worlds."

"Snatch energy from other worlds?" Number 2 was dazed. "What do you mean by that?"

Xiao Juan told Number 2 all her guesses. "Those NPCs who always target players might be the world consciousness resisting the main god's invasion."

Every additional clearance rule in an instance represents another failure of the instance world's resistance.

Whenever a new plane exploration instance opens, the main god will offer generous rewards to lure high-level players in, because only exploration instances successfully conquered by players can become anchors for the main god to devour the energy of the instance world.

It was clearly a cool night wind, but when it blew on Number 2, it made him feel incredibly cold.

"You mean, the exploration instance we are in now is very likely the real world?" Number 2's voice trembled. "No wonder in this instance, player items suddenly lose their effect, and the tasks issued by the system are always strange."

It turned out to be the consciousness of this world resisting the invasion of the main god and the system.

"Wait!" Number 2's face changed. "The system..."

"It can't hear what we're saying." Xiao Juan picked up the small bag placed between them and unzipped it to reveal the signal jammer inside. "The resistance consciousness of this world is terribly strong. As long as we flexibly use the human common sense of this world, the system is a deaf and blind waste."

Ever since that broken faucet in the rental room stopped acting up after meeting Chao Musheng, Xiao Juan began to suspect that this world might still retain a trace of kindness towards players.

It should be said that this world treats all living beings kindly, including these invading players.

As long as the players still retain their humanity and have no malice towards the living beings of this world.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I thought since you don't want to live anymore, I might as well keep you for waste utilization." Xiao Juan's eyes burned with unyielding anger in the dark night. "Brother Qiang, I have a plan to cause trouble for the main god. Do you want to join?"

Brother Qiang.

Number 2's heart trembled. "Who are you calling waste?"

"I misspoke, you are actually recyclable garbage." Xiao Juan said impatiently. "Just asking you, are you in or not?"

Another moment of silence.

"I'm in!"

"Okay, then I'll take you back to rest now. Remember to go to work on time tomorrow morning."

Goal achieved, Xiao Juan got on the shared electric bike. "Let's go."

"Wait."

The night wind always makes people sober.

"How many members are currently in your trouble-making plan?"

"Um..." Xiao Juan didn't look back. "The early stages of entrepreneurship are always difficult."

"So how many people exactly?"

"Not many, not few, exactly two."

"Stop the car, I'll walk myself."

"Brother Qiang, what are you doing? Jumping off the car is dangerous and violates traffic rules. Sit tight quickly."

"Hiss, so spicy."

Chao Musheng took a bite of the grilled chicken wing, his face turning red from the spice.

A cup of ice cola was handed to him just in time. He took a few big gulps and turned to thank him. "Thank you... Oh, Mr. Xu?"

"Didn't you go to the office to rest?"

The barbecue smell was strong, so Chao Musheng and the team leader deliberately stayed in the open office area outside. He didn't expect Mr. Xu to specially pour cola for him.

"You just said you didn't like the brand of cola the shop gave." Xu Chenzhu placed the cola bottle with condensation droplets in front of Chao Musheng. "I thought you might like this brand."

"Mhm mhm mhm." Chao Musheng nodded repeatedly. "I usually like to drink this brand."

Xu Chenzhu sat down next to him, put on food gloves, opened the food box containing crayfish, peeled the shell off a crayfish, and put the meat into Chao Musheng's bowl. "The barbecue is too spicy, it will give you a stomachache. Try this?"

The team leader glanced at the crayfish in Chao Musheng's bowl, saw the boss pick up a second crayfish, pretended not to care, lowered his head, and silently moved his bowl towards the boss.

Then the second one... still went into Xiao Chao's bowl.

Oh! He understood!

The team leader suddenly realized that the boss must also want to keep a talent like Xiao Chao in the company.

He quickly moved his bowl back and looked at the boss with admiring eyes.

Peel, peel more, peel that biggest one.

Eating someone's food makes one soft-mouthed. Xiao Chao ate the shrimp peeled by the boss, so he should agree to his technical consultant agreement.

"Mr. Xu..." Chao Musheng looked at the three neatly arranged crayfish meats in his bowl, then at Xu Chenzhu in his white shirt with oil dripping from his gloves. "I can do it myself."

"It's okay, you're so young, you get hungry fast." Xu Chenzhu peeled another crayfish and put it in his bowl.

What beautiful hands, actually wearing disposable gloves from a takeout shop to peel shrimp for him.

Isn't it just being a technical consultant for Kunlun?

Sign, he'll sign the agreement after finishing the midnight snack!

Otherwise, eating this shrimp makes him feel uneasy.

Er Qiang was woken up by the ringtone of his phone.

"Brother Qiang! Get up quickly, did you forget our plan?!"

Listening to Xiao Juan's fighting spirit voice on the phone, Er Qiang sat up from the bed numbly and went to the bathroom to look in the mirror.

In the mirror covered with red blood streaks was his extremely haggard face.

As expected of a woman with "Juan" (involution) in her name, sleeping at midnight and waking up at six, yet still so energetic.

Turning on the faucet, blood-red rusty water flowed out.

Very good, everything as usual.

He turned off the faucet and skillfully unscrewed a bottle of water brought back from the company to wash his face and brush his teeth.

"Morning, young man, going to work?" Living opposite him was an old man who loved to take advantage of people. Seeing him come out: "Remember to take the trash down for me."

Take my ass!

Er Qiang took off his black-framed glasses and kicked over the trash the old man had placed at the door.

The old man, who had let Er Qiang take out the trash for nearly a month, saw him suddenly go crazy and kick over his trash, didn't dare to utter a sound, and silently closed the door.

If he kicked the trash flying, he couldn't kick him anymore.

What an honest young man he used to be, how did he suddenly go crazy?

Blame it on work.

At 8 o'clock, Er Qiang arrived downstairs at the Kunlun Company building.

[Ding, only the last day left until the end of the instance. Please cheer up and clear the level, remaining three players.]

[Ding, the player's daily task for today has been generated. Please kill the first NPC who takes the initiative to talk to you before the task ends. After the task is completed, reward 500 points.]

"Young man, good morning." The old lady with the red armband in the flower bushes waved to him cheerfully. "You look in good spirits today."

Er Qiang took two steps, stopped, turned around, and said to the smiling old lady, "Thank you, your sun hat is also very beautiful today."

"Really? My granddaughter bought it for me specially because she was worried I'd get sunburned." The old lady was very happy. "I also think it looks good."

The old lady looked very happy when she smiled. Er Qiang thought, this must be an old lady who is very loved by her juniors.

"Why are you two suddenly staring at me?" Chao Musheng saw Xiao Juan and Ah Ze suddenly stop at the company gate, staring at him without speaking. "Are you worried about the internship certificate?"

Chao Musheng comforted the two with solemn expressions and joked, "Don't worry, I have connections above. I guarantee you'll get the internship certificate before you get off work today."

"Thank you, Brother Chao!" Ah Ze looked panicked, pulled Xiao Juan, and stammered, "Sister Juan, let's go quickly, we'll be scolded by the manager if we're late."

"Brother Chao, you go quickly too." Before Xiao Juan could speak, Ah Ze dragged her away without even looking back, completely unlike his previous appearance of looking back three times for every step, not wanting to go to work.

So nervous, it seems they are still very worried about the internship certificate.

"Brother Chao, good morning."

Er Qiang walked into the company and took the initiative to nod to Chao Musheng.

"Good morning." Chao Musheng was stunned. This intern is in such good spirits today. Did he sleep well last night?

"Don't be nervous." Xiao Juan saw Ah Ze dragging her tightly. "Just do your job well, you don't need to worry about other things."

"Brother Chao..."

"It's not just you who calls him Brother Chao." Xiao Juan pushed open the door of the customer service department. Manager Zhu walked towards her with a contract. "Xiao Juan, this is the company's regularization contract. Congratulations on being officially hired by Kunlun."

Xiao Juan looked at this contract, her fingertips trembling slightly.

Big company, good benefits, and open and fair promotion channels. If the former her had received this contract, she would have been very happy.

"Thank you for your kindness, Manager, but I cannot join the company for the time being."

She, Wang Xiaojuan, had been strong since she was a child. Her parents bullied and suppressed her, so she became independent and went far away.

The main god and the system deceived her and used her, so she chose revenge.

She had never forgotten her nickname—King of Involution.