When Chao Musheng woke up in the morning and reached for his phone after washing up, he noticed the lollipop he had casually left on the bedside table the night before. He picked it up, twirled it in his palm, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. The familiar, rich orange flavor spread across his tongue.
Sucking on the lollipop, he pushed open his bedroom door and was surprised to see Ze sitting on the sofa in the living room. Chao Musheng stared at the back of Ze’s fluffy head, puzzled—how had he ended up in his house?
"Brother Chao," Ze turned at the sound of movement, flashing a bright, toothy grin. "Good morning."
"Morning," Chao Musheng replied, his gaze drifting to the half-eaten fruit platter on the coffee table. He walked through the living room toward the kitchen, where the voices of his mother and Xiaojuan drifted out.
"Musheng, you're finally up?" Father Chao emerged from the kitchen carrying breakfast and set it on the dining table. "Eat something light for now. Lunch will be ready in a couple of hours."
"Your mother and I ran into your two colleagues at the supermarket, so we invited them over for lunch," Father Chao explained, glancing back toward the kitchen. "Xiaojuan wanted to learn some cooking tips from your mom, so she’s keeping her company in the kitchen."
Learn cooking from his mother?
Chao Musheng hesitated. Most of the time, it was his father who handled the cooking in their household. Occasionally, his mother would join in, calling it a "family ritual," but her repertoire of dishes was limited.
After wolfing down his breakfast, Chao Musheng carried his bowl to the kitchen. Xiaojuan, who was carefully scoring crosses into mushrooms, looked up at him with a flustered expression. "Brother Chao."
She felt like a thief, drawn to the treasures of another’s home, unable to resist stealing glances.
"Welcome to my place," Chao Musheng said with a smile as he turned on the faucet to wash his bowl. "Do you or Ze have any dietary restrictions?"
Xiaojuan shook her head. "We’re not picky."
Seeing Chao Musheng’s smile, she quickly lowered her head and resumed her task with the mushrooms in silence.
"Musheng is two or three years younger than you—why call him 'Brother'?" Chao Yin placed the washed greens into a colander and dried her hands. "There was thunder last night—did you sleep alright?"
"Thunder? I must’ve slept through it," Chao Musheng replied, placing the clean bowl into the sterilizer. "Mom, why don’t you and Xiaojuan go watch TV? I’ll help Dad in the kitchen." Noticing his mother’s freshly done nails, he playfully nudged her out. "Wouldn’t want to ruin your manicure."
"Such disrespect," Chao Yin huffed, swatting his arm before beckoning Xiaojuan. "Come on, Xiaojuan. Let’s leave the kitchen to them and catch up on our drama."
"Okay," Xiaojuan obediently untied her apron and nodded at Father Chao as he entered. "Uncle Chao, I’ll head to the living room now."
Father Chao smiled. "Go ahead, keep your aunt company."
"Uncle Chao?" Chao Musheng shut the kitchen door behind him and raised an eyebrow. "Dad, when did you secretly take Mom’s surname?"
"The young lady misspoke, but it’d be awkward to correct her," Father Chao chuckled. "Besides, husband and wife are one—it’s not wrong for her to call me that."
"Fair enough," Chao Musheng laughed. Then, noticing two whole chickens on the counter, he asked, "Why did you buy two?"
"One’s ours, the other was brought by your colleague, Xiaojuan," Father Chao explained, sprinkling cooking wine over the chicken wings. "The poor girl was so nervous about visiting for the first time that she bought a whole bag of fruit. If your mother hadn’t stopped her, she might’ve bought even more."
Father Chao sighed. "Life can’t be easy for her."
In this world, there are countless people, but the path forward is always harder for most than it is for a fortunate few. Sweetness tastes the same, but bitterness comes in endless forms.
Xiaojuan knew Mrs. Zhao wasn’t the traditional, gentle type of mother.
Even though it was the weekend, her phone kept ringing. The tone she used with callers was completely different from the one she reserved for family—sharp and authoritative.
She probably wasn’t much of a cook either. Her hands were smooth and delicate, her manicure flawless—clear signs she rarely stepped into the kitchen.
Yet, the way she looked at Chao Musheng was so warm.
"Jiejie," Ze whispered to Xiaojuan while Chao Yin was in the study taking a call. "Compared to Brother Chao’s family’s penthouse, our place feels like a slum."
When they first walked in, the luxurious furnishings and the sprawling living room—bigger than their entire apartment—had nearly made Ze hesitate to step inside.
No wonder even someone like Manager Jia, with her high salary, only rented an apartment upstairs instead of buying one.
With a place like this, it made sense.
"Shut up," Xiaojuan hissed. "You’re just realizing this now?"
The moment they got off Bus 114 and saw the uniformed, towering security guards at the gated community entrance, they should’ve guessed the homes here were beyond ordinary.
"Woof! Woof!"
A dog’s barking erupted outside, followed by frantic scratching at the door. Ze tensed, looking at Xiaojuan nervously. "Jiejie, what do we do?"
Xiaojuan stood up. "What do you mean, 'what do we do'? Go get the owner!"
"Call it 'Master'?" Ze hesitated. "Isn’t that a bit much? Even if the dog outside is some kind of supernatural entity, wouldn’t surrendering like that make me look spineless?"
"I meant go get Chao Musheng!" Xiaojuan gritted out through clenched teeth. She took a deep breath. "How did you even survive the last two missions with a brain like this?"
"By hiding whenever I saw red-marked NPCs," Ze replied, confused. "Jiejie, didn’t you already know what my skill was? Why ask now?"
"Was that a dog barking outside?" Chao Musheng stepped out of the kitchen and headed straight for the front door.
The moment the door opened, Ze locked eyes with a massive golden retriever. A red danger symbol flashed above the dog’s head, and Ze lunged forward. "Brother Chao, watch out!"
That dog was aggressive!
Damn it, why did Brother Chao’s living room have to be so huge? He wouldn’t make it in time!
"Er Mao?" Chao Musheng crouched down and ruffled the retriever’s head. "We’ve got guests today—no playing."
The dog let out a low whine, peering over Chao Musheng’s shoulder at the two strangers in the house, a suppressed growl rumbling in its throat.
"They’re guests, not thieves or troublemakers," Chao Musheng said, gently pinching the dog’s muzzle. "Did you sneak up here through the emergency stairs while Brother Lou wasn’t looking?"
The dog panted happily, nuzzling against Chao Musheng.
Ze stood frozen behind them, forcing an awkward smile.
So the red danger symbol had been meant for him and Xiaojuan.
He watched as the red marker above the dog’s head gradually faded, shifting into a neutral yellow.
After Chao Musheng fed the dog some chicken breast and settled it in front of the TV, the yellow marker gained a faint tinge of green.
It wasn’t much, but it was enough to ease Ze’s nerves.
Nearly an hour later, Brother Lou finally came upstairs to collect the retriever, now with a happily full belly.
The golden retriever refused to leave, its four paws scratching at the doorframe for a long time before Brother Lou finally dragged it away by its hind legs. Ze stared wide-eyed at the scene, then turned to find the Chao family completely unfazed, as if this was a common occurrence.
Xiaojuan gazed at the doorway with a complicated expression. This dungeon had truly opened her eyes.
Among the NPCs in the dungeon, she had encountered white, green, blue, orange, purple, and gold tiers—white being the lowest and gold the highest.
But she had never seen a pairing like this: a blue-tier master with an orange-tier pet.
And then there was the mysterious, unfathomable boss-level NPC like the Kunlun CEO, whose presence was almost blinding.
Not to mention the bizarre incident of players turning into natives, complete with NPC identifiers floating above their heads.
Every strange phenomenon only emphasized how unusual this dungeon was.
"Don’t be scared. That dog belongs to our downstairs neighbor. It often sneaks in to play and listens well to Musheng," said Chao Yin, noticing Xiaojuan staring blankly at the door. She handed her a slice of watermelon. "Have some to calm your nerves."
"Thank you, Auntie."
Xiaojuan took the watermelon, her cheeks flushing slightly at the woman’s gentle smile.
Even Auntie’s smile was breathtaking.
[Ding! Consumed healthy fruit. HP +1.]
Once the meal was served, Xiaojuan and Ze’s minds were flooded with a constant stream of system notifications.
[Ding! Consumed fresh vegetables. HP +3.]
[Ding! Consumed nutritious mushroom chicken soup. HP +10. Luck +5 for 48 hours.]
[Ding! Consumed delicious fish soup. HP +5.]
[Ding! Consumed…]
Nearly every dish boosted their HP by 3 to 5 points, except for the chicken soup, which not only added 10 HP but also granted a 48-hour luck bonus.
Chao Musheng: "Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the love-filled chicken soup. I’ll have two more bowls."
So that was the difference.
This soup had been specially prepared by Musheng’s parents for him. She and Ze were just lucky enough to share in that affection.
After lunch, the couple left to enjoy some alone time, leaving the three youngsters to entertain themselves.
"Brother Chao, you actually have a whole computer room and study?" Ze stood at the doorway, eyeing the high-end gaming setup and shelves packed with books, feeling like stepping inside would be sacrilege.
Chao Musheng: "Want to test the gaming performance on this rig?"
"No, no!" Ze shook his head vigorously, backing away. "Your parents mentioned you’re designing some kind of game. I’d hate to mess anything up."
"It’s not that easy to break." Seeing Ze’s genuine reluctance, Musheng didn’t push further and joined them on the couch for casual conversation.
When work came up, Ze’s face turned bitter. "I get scolded every day, while Xiaojuan gets praised. At this rate, I’ll be fired before the week’s over."
"As long as you don’t slack off or break rules, they won’t fire you during the internship," Musheng reassured him. "At the very least, you’ll get your internship certificate stamped."
He understood how crucial that document was for a college student.
"Brother Chao, how did you know?" Ze asked curiously.
Xiaojuan shot Ze a warning look—some questions were better left unasked.
Unfortunately, Ze misinterpreted her glare, thinking she had something in her eye.
"I asked around during last night’s dinner," Musheng said smoothly. "Kunlun understands students’ struggles. Unless you make a serious mistake, they’ll issue the certificate."
Xiaojuan: "Thank you, Brother Chao."
"Why thank me? Did you forget I’m an intern too?"
But Xiaojuan knew better. With Musheng’s skills and connections, he had no reason to ask about such trivial matters. He’d done it for her and Ze.
That evening, after leaving the Chao residence, Ze rubbed his full stomach. "I never thought HP could exceed the initial value."
Xiaojuan stayed silent, staring at her personal stats screen displaying 132 HP. She had never been this "wealthy" before.
"Er Mao, slow down—ahhh!"
Ze blinked. Had a golden blur just dashed past them, dragging something behind it?
The blur returned—it was the golden retriever.
Muzzled and pulling a panting Brother Lou along, it sniffed around Ze and Xiaojuan before trotting off, tail wagging dismissively.
Weak humans who freeloaded at the Chaos’ place weren’t worth its attention.
Ze: "Xiaojuan, what did that mean?"
Xiaojuan: "Are you a dog?"
"No."
"Then why bother deciphering a dog’s thoughts?"
"…"
By nightfall, the player chat group buzzed with activity.
[Spent money treating coworkers today and got an interesting tip. Kunlun’s working on a major new software project.]
[That’s vague. Do you even know which floor the dev team’s on?]
[If we’re after company secrets, shouldn’t we cozy up to higher-ups?]
[Lol, as lowly interns, we can’t even get face time with mid-level managers. How’re we supposed to schmooze execs?]
[Corporate secrets count, right? If we snag the dev team’s data, mission accomplished.]
Xiaojuan noticed the chat going silent after that last message.
Players were wary, pretending to share leads while secretly hoping others would take the risks.
With 24 days left in the dungeon and many players already dead, no one wanted to stick their neck out.
Software development team…
Xiaojuan fixated on those words. The company clearly prioritized that department, meaning security would be tight.
Access required five checkpoints: card swipe, facial recognition, fingerprint scan, iris scan, and password verification—each guarded by security personnel.
Chao Musheng only had to glance up to see multiple surveillance cameras trained on him.
"The project handles sensitive data, so we enforce strict protocols," the team lead escorting him explained. "Every staff member is screened upon entry and exit."
"Makes sense," Musheng said, adjusting his ID badge. "I’d be uneasy if security was lax."
Relieved, the lead nodded. Musheng was a genius, and he didn’t want to lose him over perceived arrogance.
Entering the office, Musheng’s gaze landed not on the equipment but on the cyberpunk-style portrait of Wenchang Dijun hanging on the wall.
Noticing his stare, the lead cleared his throat. "Want to pay respects? Might bless your coding endeavors."
Since when did Wenchang Dijun understand programming?
Musheng eyed the computer placed beside the deity’s image and stepped forward.
Well, when in Rome…
Couldn’t hurt to try.
You never know.
It’s unclear whether the Cyber God of Literature and Officialdom had truly blessed him, but after Chao Musheng took over his tasks, everything went surprisingly smoothly. However, because things were going too well, his colleagues seemed to have forgotten he was just an intern—they even dared to show him the most confidential data.
As noon approached, Chao Musheng noticed none of his coworkers were making a move. He turned to the colleague nearest to him and asked, "Aren’t we going to the cafeteria for lunch?"
"You want to eat in the cafeteria?" The colleague had a piece of candy in his mouth. "Someone delivers meals to us at noon. We’re all too lazy to go downstairs."
"Though you’re free to go if you want," the colleague added, pointing to someone in the corner. "Go with Old Mo. He likes heading to the cafeteria too—says the lively atmosphere helps him think better."
"What, someone’s joining me for cafeteria food?" Old Mo popped his head up, his eyes landing on Chao Musheng with the sheer joy of finding a lunch buddy. "Let’s go right now."
He dragged Chao Musheng toward the exit. "You have no idea how lazy these people are, glued to their chairs all day. You’re young—don’t pick up their bad habits."
After passing through multiple security checkpoints, Old Mo led Chao Musheng straight into the executive elevator. Noticing it was stuck on the 51st floor, he grumbled, "Why is the executive floor hogging the elevator? Wasting our precious time—how inconsiderate."
The elevator slowly ascended from the 51st to the 52nd floor, where Secretary Liu and a staff member pushing a meal cart stepped out.
"Old Mo, Xiao Chao, still heading to the cafeteria today?" Secretary Liu gestured to the cart. "The boss is treating your team to a feast today."
"Thank you, boss! May the boss strike it rich!" Old Mo’s earlier complaints vanished instantly as he pulled Chao Musheng back.
With the boss footing the bill for a lavish meal, he wasn’t that keen on the cafeteria anymore.
The perks for Kunlun R&D staff were truly impressive.
As he ate dishes made from premium domestic and imported ingredients, Chao Musheng glanced at the black truffle-infused rice in his bowl and thought that slacking off in the afternoon would be a disservice to such delicious and expensive food.
Downstairs in the employee cafeteria, Ze and Xiaojuan waited until the end of lunch but never saw Chao Musheng show up.
"Xiaojuan, do you think something happened to Brother Chao?" Ze was worried. Last week, the people who usually ate with Brother Chao had already finished and left—why was he still missing?
"Don’t panic yet," Xiaojuan forced herself to stay calm. "Brother Chao knows people from the executive floor. The game tech team wouldn’t dare mess with him."
But this was a simulation world—anything absurd could happen.
After a moment’s hesitation, she chased after the native employees from the game team.
"You’re asking about Xiao Chao?" Brother Li remembered this girl who always greeted Chao Musheng at lunch. "He got transferred to another department this morning. You’ll see him after work."
"Someone as talented as Xiao Chao wouldn’t stay in the game team forever."
"Where was he transferred to?" Xiaojuan never took the words of simulation natives at face value. "Why can’t we even reach him by phone?"
Old Li chuckled. "The place he’s at now probably doesn’t allow personal calls during work hours."
He pulled out a sticky note and scribbled a number on it. "You can call this extension using the company’s internal line."
"Thanks." Xiaojuan took the note—it was a short internal number.
Company landlines were usually kept in managers’ offices, inaccessible to regular employees, let alone interns like her.
When Xiaojuan asked to use the internal phone, the manager refused without hesitation. "These are for internal management communications. An intern can’t bypass protocol to contact other departments."
Seeing the manager’s displeasure, Xiaojuan knew she should leave immediately.
Gritting her teeth, she retrieved an illusionary item from her system space. "Manager, I have a friend who—"
Ring!
The landline rang. The manager motioned for Xiaojuan to stay quiet and answered. Moments later, he gave her a strange look and handed her the receiver. "It’s for you."
Xiaojuan took the phone—Chao Musheng’s voice came through.
"Brother Chao!" Hearing his voice, her tension melted away. She didn’t even want to imagine how devastated Mrs. Zhao would be if something happened to him.
"Sorry for the sudden transfer today—I didn’t have time to let you know in advance. Don’t worry, the new team is great," Chao Musheng said cheerfully. "Let’s meet at our usual spot after work and head home together."
"Got it." Hanging up, Xiaojuan felt inexplicably lighter.
Maybe it was the relief of having a reliable ally.
Yeah, that must be it.
"Xiaojuan, if you and Ze know someone important on the 52nd floor, you should’ve told me sooner." The manager smiled warmly. "Which department do you need to call? I’ll dial for you."
Xiaojuan: "No need, Manager. That call just now was from him."
After she left, the manager stroked his chin thoughtfully. Next time Ze messed up, he’d try to keep his temper in check and go easier on him.
He had to show respect to the higher-ups.
"If you’ll see them after work, why bother calling now?" The team leader was puzzled after Chao Musheng hung up.
Sipping the digestion tea the leader had brewed for him, Chao Musheng replied, "I eat in the cafeteria every day. If I don’t show up, they might worry."
4 PM, Customer Service Department.
"Did you even use your brain?! Did you seriously think the client saying ‘you’re amazing’ was a compliment?!"
The manager slammed his desk, glaring at the dejected Ze, barely holding back his fury.
"You’re a pig—"
The guy had connections upstairs. Deep breaths. Stay calm. Be diplomatic.
"You’re a pig’s distant cousin?!"
That was as diplomatic as he could manage.
Ze, staring at the green indicator above the manager’s head—symbolizing a friendly stance—was moved to tears. The manager had been unusually kind today, not only switching the indicator to pure green but also refraining from outright calling him a pig.
After less than ten minutes of scolding, Ze was released.
He practically skipped back to his desk, silently thanking Brother Chao and Brother Chao’s parents for their lucky chicken soup!
The player nearest to him frowned, baffled by how quickly Ze had gotten off the hook.
Why was the manager becoming so lenient with this useless guy?
