Chapter 379: They Have a Mind of Their Own

“Employee 9521, you’ve spent too long lingering in the hallway. Your perfect attendance bonus for this month is hereby revoked.”

Duan Fei, who had just been walking normally down the hall, heard this and helplessly raised a finger in a standard, insulting gesture.

‘Bro, I don’t even want to say anything right now. Here’s a gesture for you to ponder. It would be even better if you could just off yourself.’

The other party obviously understood the “care” in Duan Fei’s gesture and immediately announced, “Employee 9521, you are fired for insulting a manager.”

“I knew it.”

On the next reset, Duan Fei didn’t say a word and charged straight into the manager’s office.

The bald manager was looking at his computer. When Duan Fei burst in, he immediately looked up, furrowed his brow, and said, “Employee 9521, what are you doing here?”

Duan Fei knocked him out with a single blow, pressed the Crowbar against the manager’s neck, and shouted, “I know you’re monitoring this place! I have only one condition: don’t fire me!”

“Employee 9521, we do not accept threats.” A voice, older and full of authority, echoed through the office.

Smashing the nearby window, Duan Fei grabbed the manager by the collar, dangled him outside, and yelled, “I’m not kidding.”

“Neither are we. Let him go. We’ve taken out an insurance policy on him with the company as the beneficiary. It will compensate for the losses his death brings to the company.”

Duan Fei looked at the speaker overhead and realized the people here were even more despicable than he was.

‘When I fleece people, I at least treat them like humans. You guys are literally using people as currency.’

‘They even make money off you when you die!’

Just then, the manager in his grasp woke up.

Realizing he was dangling from the twenty-second floor, he immediately started flailing his limbs in terror, successfully broke free from Duan Fei’s grip, and smoothly went on to his next life.

Just as the manager became a large, pixelated mosaic on the ground below, the cold voice rang out from the broadcast again.

“Employee 9521, you are fired for deliberately destroying company property. Compensation will be deducted from your savings.”

“What if it’s not enough?” Duan Fei asked, clinging to his last sliver of hope. “Can you not fire me? I can stay and work off the debt with my salary.”

“We can help you contact a loan shark. We’ll only take a thirty percent commission.”

“I knew it!”

Looping once more, Duan Fei found that his usual bag of tricks wouldn’t work here.

He had to admit, there was something to this dungeon. They’d fire you without a second thought.

Combined with the current state of his Talent, it was getting really hard to hold it together.

After a few more repetitions, he finally managed to find his workstation. He sat down and let out an exhausted sigh, leaning back in his chair.

Just as he was about to close his eyes and relax for a moment, a familiar voice piped up, “Employee 9521, your rest time has already exceeded…”

Duan Fei immediately summoned Yan Yuan, which attached itself to his right hand. The Bullet Bird characteristic activated at that moment.

Twenty-two bullets shot madly into the manager’s office. The manager, who had been in the middle of issuing Duan Fei a warning, was instantly riddled with holes, prompting a series of screams from the other colleagues.

Amid the panicked noises, Duan Fei closed his eyes and murmured, “Finally, some peace and quiet.”

“Employee 9521, for your…”

“Fuck!”

He woke up in the bathroom again, burst out of the bathroom again, and jogged all the way to his workstation again. Duan Fei let out a long breath, ready to start work.

“Master, you look pretty rough. It’s been a while. Shouldn’t we have a little reunion cuddle?”

“I’m not interested in you, you bird-brain,” Duan Fei said wearily. “Weren’t you having a grand time in Love City? Jinghong’s pet Black Cat complains every day that you harass her too much.”

“That’s just my way of showing affection. My fiery passion must have made her shy.”

“Cut the crap. Don’t talk to me so much. People will think I’m a lunatic.”

“Would they? I feel like everyone else is doing the same thing.”

Only then did Duan Fei get a chance to observe his surroundings, discovering that his colleagues were all pretty much the same.

Some were talking to plants, some were talking to kittens, some were talking to celebrity posters, and some were even looking in a mirror, talking to their own reflections.

After realizing everyone was doing it, Duan Fei relaxed and decided to see what his job actually was.

The goal of this dungeon was “Finish today’s work without getting fired.” It was already 8:07 AM, so he figured work wouldn’t go past noon.

‘In other words, all I have to do is slack off a bit and wait until noon.’

Taking the opportunity, Duan Fei picked up the phone on his desk. After unlocking it with a fingerprint, he found that the person he was playing as was a very ordinary operations planner.

The salary was average. The daily work consisted of gathering data on competitors and compiling it, racking his brain for ways to pad his work to look a little busier. His only hobby was going home after work, picking his nose, and watching streamer gameplay videos while he ate.

This kind of person was a dime a dozen. Nothing special, just an ordinary guy.

‘So, why do I have to play as him?’

Just as Duan Fei was pondering this question, he saw a familiar bald guy walk up to his workstation, look at him with a fake smile, and say, “Employee 9521, what are you doing?”

“Looking at my phone. Getting to know myself.”

“What the hell are you? Do you think you’re important enough to get to know?”

Grabbing the files in his hand, he smacked them against Duan Fei’s head and said viciously, “The company pays you to work! If you don’t want to work, then get lost! There are plenty of others to take your place! What’s with that look? What are you trying to say?”

Pointing at Duan Fei, the bald manager was about to curse him out again, but Duan Fei had already grabbed his finger and twisted it hard.

With a crisp SNAP, the bald manager’s finger was broken. The finger, twisted like a pretzel, created such an unusual visual that the manager first saw the distorted digit before screaming in pain.

One swing of the Crowbar finished him off. Duan Fei sat back in his chair, quietly waiting for the termination order to arrive.

Back on the toilet again, Duan Fei clutched his head. He felt that beating up an Evil God was easier than this.

‘After all, Evil Gods are so adorable. One punch can make three of them cry. Much easier than working here.’

Finding he still couldn’t get his emotions under control, Duan Fei decided to relax by going out and slaughtering the manager a dozen or so times. Only then did he return to his workstation and pretend to be working.

He wanted to just coast through, but the dungeon’s malice was far from over.

The company’s group chat lit up. The guy labeled “Manager” posted a message: “Everyone, we have a lot to do today, so I need you all to put in some extra effort. We should be able to go home around 3 AM. You can come in a little later tomorrow—7:30 AM will be fine.”

“Extra effort my ass! Leave at 3 AM, get home at 4 AM, eat at 5 AM, shower and be in bed by 6 AM, and then we have to leave for the office again thirty minutes later! If your mom knew she’d given birth to a son of a bitch like you, she’d claw her way out of her own urn just to slap you twice!”

Seeing a colleague reply instantly, Duan Fei nodded and gave that colleague, Employee 9521, a thumbs-up.

Wait!

‘Employee 9521… that’s me.’

Looking at his hands, which had apparently read his thoughts and were still typing on their own, Duan Fei couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.

‘This Skill… can it be triggered just by seeing something?’