Chapter 380: A New Use for a Pet

Duan Fei returned once again, back at his workstation, staring wide-eyed like a dead fish.

Only today did he truly understand the weight behind the words “Spiritual Shock” at the instance’s entrance.

It seemed he still hadn’t taken enough of a beating, which led him to underestimate the world’s game developers and the disgusting instances they created.

But it was fine. As long as he took it seriously, he could definitely clear it.

After giving himself a pep talk, Duan Fei ignored the notifications from the group chat, opened a document, and started slacking off, his hands typing random nonsense on the keyboard.

He did his best to empty his mind, staring wide-eyed as the seconds and minutes ticked away, until it slowly, finally, became nine o’clock.

Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. The colleague next to him looked at him and said, “9521, it’s time for the meeting.”

Wiping away his drool, Duan Fei asked warily, “A meeting? What meeting?”

“The nine o’clock routine meeting. The team members get together to report on any problems they encountered today, and the others help solve them.”

Leaning closer, the colleague lowered his voice and whispered, “You should be careful. The manager has been targeting you lately.”

“Why? Because I have hair?”

The colleague glanced at Duan Fei’s thick hair with an envious look, but still whispered, “I heard your salary was set pretty high when you were hired. The company is ‘optimizing its structure’ right now and doesn’t want to pay severance, so they’re looking for an excuse to get you in trouble.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is. Understood, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Helping you is helping myself. Alright, let’s go. It’s time for the meeting.”

Grabbing a random notebook, Duan Fei fiddled with his pen as he followed the group into the main conference room.

Inside, the bald manager was already prepared. He had his laptop set up impressively, ready to record the team’s work for the day.

Pointing to the colleague who had just spoken to Duan Fei, the manager said, “9111, you start. Any problems?”

“No. But today, I studied the company culture, analyzed our competitors, familiarized myself with the company’s industrial structure, and analyzed the irrationalities of the previous structure…”

The guy rambled on and on, sounding very grand and impressive, but it could all be translated into two words.

“Fucking useless.”

‘This person must be an intern,’ Duan Fei thought. ‘He’s probably trying to get on the manager’s good side to increase his chances of staying on after the internship ends.’

‘After all, this company seems pretty big.’

‘If you’re going to be exploited anyway, it’s better to be exploited by a big company.’

And to Duan Fei’s surprise, while the intern was speaking, the manager stopped what he was doing and put on a show of being extremely attentive. From time to time, he would even clap lightly to show his approval.

Noticing this detail, Duan Fei felt he had to throw out his previous judgment.

‘This intern, 019, is probably a princeling.’

Sure enough, after the intern finished his load of bullshit, the bald manager led the applause, then gestured for everyone else to clap as well.

Then, without any prompting, the other employees started chiming in: “That was so enlightening.”

“019 is a true genius.”

“I feel like my years of work experience can’t compare to this one meeting tonight.”

This barrage of flattery made Intern 019 flush with pride, but he still feigned humility. “Oh, not at all. I was just sharing a few of my own insignificant thoughts. 9521, do you have any opinions?”

Duan Fei stared at him and sighed.

‘Kid, you’re still too young. Why did you have to provoke me?’

Knowing there was no escaping this, Duan Fei decided to just let loose.

Leaning back, he propped his legs on the table, pointed at Intern 019, and said, “You spout nothing but incomprehensible bullshit. Who the hell are you to lecture me?”

“You!”

“I really hate princelings like you. You’ve got nothing better to do than play at being a commoner on an ‘undercover inspection,’ making a bunch of us play along with your cosplay while you act the human and we act the dogs. That monthly salary—is one-tenth of it for our hard work and the other nine-tenths for emotional damages? Because let me tell you, six thousand a month isn’t nearly enough to cover our psychological trauma.”

“9521, shut up!”

The manager scrambled over to stop him, but Duan Fei had already smacked him senseless with the Crowbar.

Stepping over the manager’s body, Duan Fei walked up to the trembling Intern 019 and said condescendingly, “I don’t really care to know too much, but I have to ask, what’s your name?”

“Intern 019.”

“Your real name! I don’t want a codename! You think hiding behind a codename means you can do whatever you want, huh? Real clever.”

“Gold- Goldman Sachs.”

“What’s your connection here?”

“An employee-company relationship.”

Duan Fei shot Goldman Sachs a dissatisfied glance, then slammed the Crowbar down next to him, splitting the table in two.

With 27 points of Power, combined with his Great Success [Crowbar Skill] and [Crowbar Swordsmanship], he could truly do whatever he wanted in this instance.

Seeing Duan Fei’s god-like display of force, Goldman Sachs immediately yelled, “My dad is a director on the board here!”

“Oh, really? How much money does your family have?”

Duan Fei’s question made Goldman Sachs think he was after money.

Clinging to this sliver of hope, Goldman Sachs immediately said, “A lot! My family’s total assets are twenty billion! How much do you want? I can give you up to two million right now, just don’t kill me.”

“Sorry, but I really just want to kill you.”

“Then why did you ask about the money!”

“No reason. Just wanted to understand your status. Come on, you’re coming with me.”

Hoisting him up, Duan Fei pulled over the colleague from before and asked, “Where’s the chairman’s office?”

“Forty-seventh floor,” the colleague answered mechanically.

“Okay, thanks. Sorry for scaring you this time. It won’t happen again.”

Dragging Goldman Sachs, Duan Fei headed for the elevator, on his way to the forty-seventh floor.

Inside the elevator, he tossed the trembling Goldman Sachs aside, looked at the security camera, and said, “I know you can see me. I just want to make a deal. How about you don’t fire me?”

Duan Fei was sure they could see his every move, as the entire building was under heavy surveillance.

But they didn’t answer, which made Duan Fei a little uneasy.

And when the elevator reached the forty-seventh floor, he found security guards in bulletproof vests and holding riot shields already in position. The moment the doors opened, countless bullets were unleashed, shredding both Duan Fei and Goldman Sachs to pieces.

Then, just as Duan Fei was about to slip into darkness, a cold voice rang out: “Number 9521, for assaulting the company president and damaging company property, you are fired. The damages you have caused the company will be repaid with your body.”

Hearing this voice, Duan Fei cracked a smile.

‘You’re ruthless.’

「Time rewound.」

Back at his workstation, Yan Yuan looked at the surroundings and said quietly to Duan Fei, “Master, this instance seems really hard. Maybe we should just give up.”

“The word ‘give up’ isn’t in my dictionary.”

“Then… a strategic retreat?”

“You little rascal, you’re getting more and more likable… Wait, how could I have forgotten about you!”

Looking at Yan Yuan, Duan Fei finally saw a chance to break the stalemate.

‘Yan Yuan, you’re it!’