Chapter 381: The Reason for Being Optimized

Every employee at this company had a strange pet. Maybe it was a hamster, or maybe it was a daisy.

Duan Fei cautiously asked a colleague beside him why this was the case, and the man explained it was one of the company’s rules.

“These things are called ’emotional support objects.’ The company found that they can effectively relieve employees’ psychological stress. Ever since the emotional support object system was introduced, the number of people jumping off the building each year has dropped quite a bit.”

“Ah, I see.” Duan Fei stared at the snake around the other man’s neck. “Is your emotional support object a snake?”

“No, it’s a hamster,” the colleague said, pointing to a bulge on the snake’s body.

“…Um…”

“Just kidding, it’s the snake. Did I scare you?”

Watching his colleague laugh with such unnerving glee, Duan Fei felt the guy was a truly terrifying person.

‘Still, this is probably his way of de-stressing,’ Duan Fei thought.

After all, in a company that squeezed its employees to death, it would be strange if they *didn’t* have some psychological issues.

Finally, he endured until nine o’clock. The sharing session began.

Same old song and dance, same old routine.

The only difference was that as the crowd started showering Goldman Sachs with a barrage of flattery, Duan Fei muttered complaints under his breath while having Yan Yuan let out resounding cheers.

“Bravo! Truly, bravo!”

“Such a powerful, earth-shattering voice! I almost want to turn my chair for you!”

“Keep this up, and the entire company will be proud of you.”

With Yan Yuan acting as his mouthpiece, Duan Fei felt a lot less pressure. He should be able to get through this part more easily.

The rich kid, Goldman Sachs, was quite pleased. He pointed at Duan Fei and said, “You, the one with the bird.”

Duan Fei was about to curse out the man’s entire immediate family, but Yan Yuan covered his mouth.

Looking at the man, Yan Yuan asked, “Yes? Can we help you?”

“That thing you’re doing is… Ventriloquism, right? I’ve seen plenty of similar acts, but you’re the first one to be this natural. Not bad, kid. You’ve got a future.”

After a few simple words of praise, Goldman Sachs held his head high and left, surrounded by his entourage.

A few others shot Duan Fei a second glance, wondering if he had successfully latched onto the big boss and whether they could still bully him in the future.

The last one to leave, a manager, gave Duan Fei a few looks, a meaningful smile playing on his lips before he too departed.

Having successfully weathered the storm, Duan Fei returned to his desk. He was just about to celebrate by taking a leak on company time when he saw the manager tap on his desk. The manager then led him to a corner of the hallway.

There, the burly manager lit a cigarette and said, “Alright, spill it. What was that all about?”

“What was what all about?” Duan Fei asked, frowning as he dodged the man’s smoke.

“Don’t play dumb with me! Everyone was kissing the young master’s ass, so how come you’re the one who got noticed? When did you get in contact with him? What do you know?”

Duan Fei subconsciously looked up, wanting to see if there were any security cameras around.

But the bald manager misunderstood his intention, thinking he was looking for help.

With a cold sneer, the bald manager pointed at Duan Fei, the lit end of his cigarette closing in until it hovered between Duan Fei’s eyebrows.

“Don’t even think about it. This is a blind spot for the cameras. No one will see what happens here.”

“Then I can rest easy.”

“Huh?”

The bald manager was about to retort when he saw Duan Fei pull a pitch-black Crowbar from his coat.

Before he could even process where the Crowbar came from, Duan Fei had already brought it down solidly on the manager’s arm.

With a sickening thud, the manager’s arm went limp. The Bone in his forearm had been snapped clean in two, and the pain made him break out in a cold sweat.

Then, the Crowbar fell again and again. Thanks to Duan Fei’s own [Medical Skill], every blow inflicted the maximum amount of pain without allowing the bald manager to pass out.

Before long, there wasn’t a single unbruised patch of flesh left on the manager’s body.

Squatting down, Duan Fei placed a hand on the man’s head and repeatedly used [Rough Healing Technique], pulling the manager back from the brink of death.

The bald manager found himself miraculously healed, but before he could comprehend what had happened, the second round of beatings began.

Some ten minutes later, a satisfied Duan Fei sat on the stairs, scrolling through the bald manager’s phone.

His earlier frustration had been successfully transferred to the bald manager, which brought a cheerful smile to his face.

“Ah, that felt good. This dungeon is a great way to de-stress.”

Looking back at the nearly-dead manager, Yan Yuan said hesitantly, “Master, he’s about to die.”

“Give him a drop of your blood.”

“…I almost forgot I could do that.”

Flying over, Yan Yuan gave the man a drop of its blood. The restorative effects allowed the bald manager to get back on his feet.

Though his physical wounds had vanished, the psychological trauma remained permanently.

Now, looking at Duan Fei—who was a head shorter and thirty pounds lighter than him—the bald manager felt as if he were seeing a Demon. He wanted to run, but a single sentence from Duan Fei stopped him in his tracks.

“If you dare to leave, I’ll dare to find your home and do everything I just did to you to every single member of your family.”

Waving the man’s phone, Duan Fei said with a smile, “Phones are so convenient these days. With a quick search, I can find your home address, your family situation… What do you think would happen if I paid your house a little visit later?”

“You… you’re a Demon…”

“You started it. Not just this time, but before, too. Did you really want to ‘optimize’ me that badly?”

“You’re already thirty-five, so…”

‘So I’m thirty-five,’ Duan Fei mused.

Only then did Duan Fei realize the character he was playing was thirty-five years old—the prime age to be “optimized” and thrown back out into society.

Sitting on the steps, Duan Fei sighed before continuing, “Baldy, get over here. We’re going to have a heart-to-heart. If you don’t come, then I’m just going to go straight for your heart.”

“Master, that ruthless bandit aura you have right now is fantastic.”

Facing the completely transformed 9521, the bald manager wanted to run, but he was also terrified of Duan Fei’s earlier threats. In the end, he could only squat awkwardly in front of him.

After a moment’s hesitation, the bald manager took out a cigarette and said ingratiatingly, “Bro, want a smoke?”

“No. How many people is the company ‘optimizing’ this time?”

“…Um…”

“Don’t even think about lying. I’ll beat you for lying, too.”

“Including you—no, *sir*—it’s a total of thirteen?”

“How many people in the company are over thirty-five?”

“Thirty-seven hundred…”

“What a pathetic excuse for an optimization! You’re optimizing thirteen people out of over three thousand? That’s not even one percent! Aren’t you just picking on the easy targets? Tell me, out of more than thirty-seven hundred people, what was the reason for optimizing me?”

“You’re… meek…”

“So you really are just picking on the meek!”

“There’s another reason. You joined the company a long time ago. If we don’t optimize you today, then tomorrow you’ll automatically sign a permanent employment contract with the company. After that, the company won’t be able to fire you.”

“So that’s the real reason.”

Duan Fei let out a breath. He finally understood.