Chapter 383: The Second Helper

9:27 AM. Human Resources arrived.

The lead HR agent, 007, walked over to Duan Fei’s workstation. Seeing it empty, she gave a disgruntled cough and turned to a nearby employee playing Snake. “Where’s number 9521?”

“Don’t know. The bathroom, maybe.”

“The bathroom is empty.”

“Then I have no idea,” the woman playing Snake said languidly. “Don’t interrupt my game, thanks.”

The HR agent glared at the woman and snorted. “You’d better hope we don’t have any dirt on you. Where’s your manager?”

“Over there, in a meeting. Goldman Sachs is in there too.”

Peering through the glass wall, the HR agent saw the bald manager fawning over Goldman Sachs. A fiery-red bird perched on the manager’s shoulder, chattering away nonstop.

Though she couldn’t hear clearly, she could still make out a few words: “Synergy… empowerment… closed loop… industry value… pain points…”

The HR agent didn’t understand what these words meant, but they sounded impressive. She decided to use them in her next report.

She could afford to get on the wrong side of low-level employees, even a manager, but she couldn’t afford to offend Goldman Sachs.

His father was in charge of the entire corporate HR department—her boss’s boss. His son was therefore untouchable. She could only wait.

The bird’s script seemed inexhaustible, going on and on without end.

At ten o’clock, a parched Yan Yuan finally fell silent. The HR agent immediately entered and said to the bald manager, “I suspect 9521 from your team of selling corporate intelligence. I’m requesting his termination and immediate detention. Now, I need you to pull up the surveillance footage and find out where he is.”

The bald manager glanced fearfully at the two security guards behind her.

Unlike a big lug like himself, who was all for show, these guards were true killing machines.

They were robots, controlled by AI, but their combat effectiveness was on par with that of ordinary mercenaries.

Built-in steel plating allowed them to withstand most bullets, and their interface ports could connect to exoskeletal armor, granting them even greater combat capabilities.

The bald manager, having a guilty conscience, was terrified she would see that something was wrong. Fortunately, Duan Fei hadn’t made things difficult for him. He had simply told him that when HR came asking, he should just say Duan Fei was in the manager’s office processing files.

Striding into the manager’s office, the HR agent found the manager’s computer smashed to pieces. A hole was torn in the ceiling overhead, revealing pitch-black pipes within.

The pipes were too narrow for the burly security guards to enter, but she could.

She immediately kicked off her high heels, ripped open her pencil skirt, and unfastened her stockings, revealing the artificial limbs underneath.

Seeing those limbs, the bald manager grew even more intimidated.

At this company, Human Resources was a high-risk Profession. The first reaction of many terminated employees was to scream hysterically before attacking the HR agent.

Consequently, HR personnel were also given certain augmentations. They weren’t as powerful as the security guards, but they were far more dangerous than any ordinary employee.

The HR agent deduced that number 9521 must have heard about his impending termination from someone else. ‘To survive until tomorrow, he fled through the pipes.’

‘Yes, that must be it.’

She could have broadcasted the news of Duan Fei’s termination, but she wanted to see the look of despair and rage on his face. It was one of the few ways she could de-stress from her job.

Watching a traitor have a complete meltdown was especially entertaining.

Squeezing into the duct, she immediately began to change her form.

Activating her sonar, she effectively became a giant bat, using ultrasound to scan for anyone within the pipes.

Before long, she received a feedback pulse.

A fuzzy silhouette of a person materialized in her mind. A smirk touched the HR agent’s lips as she sped toward her target.

Eliminating traitors who put up a futile struggle was another one of her favorite ways to de-stress.

But just as the HR agent was chasing the silhouette, the two security guards left behind below were suddenly attacked.

A figure vaulted in through the window and charged at the two guards.

The guards’ reactions were lightning-fast. They raised their weapons to fire at the figure, but its speed was clearly greater than theirs.

The crowbar landed squarely on one guard’s head, the terrifying Power shattering its skull instantly.

At the same time, the other guard pulled the trigger. A destructive beam of thermal energy shot toward the figure, only to be blocked by an eerie blue barrier.

The figure then lunged forward, thrusting the crowbar like a longsword through the second guard’s head and sending it crashing to the floor.

Retrieving his crowbar, Duan Fei looked at the two guards. ‘I’ve gotten a lot stronger,’ he mused.

‘The boost from two Great Success Skills is really something else.’

The Spiritual Armor’s effect faded, but Duan Fei didn’t really need it anymore.

The manager’s office was well soundproofed. Despite the loud commotion, the employees outside hadn’t reacted at all.

While the HR agent was off chasing the Hancock he had summoned with a Character Card, Duan Fei found Goldman Sachs. He approached the confused, second-generation heir and said, “That report you gave was really something.”

“You think so too?!” Goldman Sachs said excitedly.

Even though he’d been an intern for a month, Goldman Sachs still hadn’t bothered to remember number 9521’s face or ID, but that didn’t stop him from accepting the praise.

“Yeah. Hey, could you come to the office? The manager said it was okay. Maybe you could teach me a thing or two?”

“Of course!” Goldman Sachs said, thrilled. “To be honest with you, my dad’s a director here, but I’m actually really down-to-earth. Ask me anything you want later, I’ll tell you whatever you need to know.”

Goldman Sachs excitedly grabbed his notebook and led the way into the office, where he saw two security guards lying on the floor, still letting off sparks.

CLICK.

Behind him, Duan Fei shut the door. He gripped his crowbar and started walking toward Goldman Sachs.

Despite being the scion of a powerful family, Goldman Sachs had no special abilities whatsoever.

Aside from being rich, he had no other talents.

He turned around stiffly, a miserable look on his face as he looked at Duan Fei. “Uh… I have money,” he said, trying to sound appeasing.

One swing of the crowbar, and Goldman Sachs had a mouth full of broken teeth, unable to speak a single coherent word.

After using the Rough Healing Technique on Goldman Sachs, Duan Fei looked down at him. “Welcome to Hell, little master.”

After that, it was payback time for Duan Fei.

When the HR agent emerged from the pipes and dropped to the floor below, she was greeted by the sight of Goldman Sachs, beaten black and blue to a pulp, and Duan Fei, sitting calmly to the side.

Looking at the slim HR agent 007, Duan Fei said, “Please, have a seat. Don’t be a stranger.”

The HR agent calculated the distance between them. She was certain she could take out Duan Fei, but he would definitely act first and kill Goldman Sachs.

Her auxiliary AI brain throbbed, reminding her that the safety of an executive’s child was the top priority.

She hated this feeling of not being in control, but her auxiliary AI brain compelled her.

“Let him go. I’ll take his place.”

“Sorry, miss, can’t do that. However, we can make a deal. How about you become my accomplice?”

“I have a pretty good idea of what you’re planning, and the answer is no.”

“Don’t be so quick to refuse. Perhaps in a little while, you’ll see what I’m capable of.”

The HR agent scoffed and leaned back in her chair. “In that case, I’d love to see what someone who’s about to be ‘optimized’ is really capable of.”