The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor. Chao Musheng turned toward the noise and saw Su Chenzhu rushing out from the stairwell, with Secretary Liu and several members of the executive office trailing far behind, panting heavily.
"What's going on?" Su Chenzhu slowed his steps when he spotted Chao Musheng standing in the corner. He turned to the security team and demanded, "The R&D staff are still outside—how could you activate the emergency shutdown?!"
"Apologies, sir." The security captain glanced at Chao Musheng and the Team Leader, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. "We didn’t consider the situation carefully enough."
"Mr. Su, could it be an elevator malfunction?" Chao Musheng noticed Su Chenzhu had one sleeve rolled up while the other hung loose, the cuff still unbuttoned. "Don’t worry about me or the Team Leader. I can take on ten—no, three people."
Better to stay humble.
"Mm." Su Chenzhu smiled faintly. "Thirteen, huh? Impressive, Musheng."
"Mr. Su, I said three, not thirteen." Seeing that Su Chenzhu still had the energy to tease him, Chao Musheng knew nothing too serious had happened at the company tonight.
"The elevators here have the most advanced error-reporting system. If there’s a malfunction, alarms would trigger immediately. But tonight, neither the executive office nor security received any alerts." Secretary Liu, still catching his breath, took the time to explain to Chao Musheng. "So the elevators are functioning normally."
Chao was about to join the executive office soon, so of course, Secretary Liu wanted to be helpful—laying the groundwork for their future working relationship.
The only problem was that the elevator surveillance showed no one inside.
It was like something out of a ghost story.
"Another possibility is that someone took advantage of the external cyberattack on the company’s servers to hack into the elevator system, deliberately causing panic." Chao Musheng watched as security personnel brought out infrared thermal imagers and scanned the surroundings.
The 52nd floor was mostly occupied by the R&D department, with only corridors and two security break rooms. Under 360-degree surveillance, it would be nearly impossible for an intruder to hide.
No. 2 held his breath, gripping the dagger in his hand as he stood just fifty centimeters away from a security guard.
One slash to the carotid artery, and chaos would erupt—giving him the perfect chance to escape.
To avoid detection, he’d even worn gloves to conceal his fingerprints. But he hadn’t expected Kunlun Security’s protocols to be this tight—just an elevator door opening warranted infrared scans.
He had to create panic before the thermal imagers were activated.
The guard standing by the potted plant had no idea a killer lurked behind him. He pulled out his vibrating phone—the caller ID read "Precious Daughter."
Glancing at his colleagues now on high alert, he smiled at the words on the screen.
The dagger poised to strike his neck suddenly stilled.
The guard hastily stuffed his phone back into his pocket, not noticing the keychain dangling outside.
Though external security on the 52nd floor was allowed to carry phones, no one would dare answer a personal call in this situation.
No. 2 stared at the cheap plastic keychain—worth no more than ten yuan—depicting two adults holding hands with a little girl in pigtails, with dot eyes and curved smiles, their proportions wildly distorted.
Tacky, childish, and ugly.
He tore his gaze away, studying the guard’s carotid artery for a few seconds before retracting his dagger and shoving him into the potted plant.
As everyone’s attention snapped toward the fallen guard, No. 2 darted into the elevator, pressed the button, activated a speed-boosting item, then slipped into the emergency stairwell.
Every step was measured—no sound, no accidental contact.
"What happened to you?"
"Don’t know. Felt like someone pushed me."
The guard scrambled up from the plant, carefully tucking the fallen keychain back into his pocket. It was a Father’s Day gift from his daughter—he couldn’t afford to lose or dirty it.
"Could it really be a ghost?" The Team Leader startled so badly he dropped his cigarette, edging closer to Chao Musheng.
Young people had strong yang energy—if there were spirits, sticking close to Chao would be safer.
Chao Musheng rested a hand on the Team Leader’s shoulder. "Under stress, the brain’s nervous system can send faulty signals, causing muscle control to falter. That’s why you might feel like you were pushed when you fall."
"If science can’t reassure you, you can always put your faith in Lord Wenchang—he’s the patron saint of our R&D team. He’ll definitely protect you."
Su Chenzhu’s gaze flickered to the Team Leader’s shoulder. "Come with me to the executive office first. Once security confirms the 52nd floor is safe, you can return."
"Sure." Chao Musheng withdrew his hand and moved closer to Su Chenzhu. "Mr. Su, since it’s so late… can we order takeout?"
"I’ll order for you. What do you want?" Su Chenzhu led the way downstairs. Chao Musheng followed but paused when he noticed the Team Leader still standing frozen. "Team Leader?"
"Ah." The Team Leader snapped out of it. "Coming."
After a few steps, he felt something underfoot and glanced down—nothing there.
Was his brain so tense it was conjuring phantom sensations?
No. 2, crawling on the floor under his invisibility cloak, gritted his teeth as his fingers were crushed underfoot. "..."
"Make sure to secure the stairwell exits," the Team Leader instructed as he entered the emergency stairs, pointing at the nearby window. "If someone really broke into the 52nd floor, unless they jump from here, there’s no way out."
"Don’t worry, sir. No one will harm our R&D staff."
A security officer with an infrared thermal imager turned toward the Team Leader’s voice and began approaching.
As the device drew nearer, No. 2 glanced at the heavily guarded stairwell entrance. After a second’s hesitation, he climbed onto the windowsill.
The night wind on the 52nd floor howled violently. The moment the cool breeze hit his face, No. 2 suddenly remembered—
One night during his third dungeon run, he and his teammate had sprinted down a pitch-black hallway, pursued by something unspeakable.
The moment his teammate shoved him out of the corridor, he’d watched helplessly as the horrors swallowed them whole. The next time they met, it was his teammate’s severed head on a platter.
No. 2 looked down at the ground below, then closed his eyes and jumped.
The instant he leapt, the anti-gravity bracelet on his wrist failed—just like the sudden shattering of his A-rank mirror artifact. No warning, no reason.
As the crushing weight of freefall seized him, the fear of death inexplicably faded. His mind had never been clearer.
He remembered now.
Under the boss’s gaze, he hadn’t been slicing out his teammate’s eyes—he’d been cutting off his own pinky.
That was the first time he’d tasted his own flesh.
He’d hidden his teammate’s cold, lifeless head beneath the table. But no matter how hard he fought, no matter what items he used, when he left that dungeon, he was alone.
He couldn’t save his teammate.
He couldn’t even bring the body back.
It might be better to die like this—at least I wouldn’t have to struggle just to stay alive anymore.
"Chao Musheng, do you think someone could survive jumping from the 52nd floor?" the Team Leader chatted idly as he walked behind Chao Musheng and Su Chenzhu.
"Theoretically, the survival rate is zero. But miracles do happen in this world," Chao Musheng paused and glanced back at the fire escape entrance. "There was a lucky survivor abroad who fell from a forty-something-story building and lived."
He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he thought he saw something flicker past the window just now.
"A miracle?"
"It means anything is possible." Chao Musheng pushed open the door to the CEO’s office, stepping aside to let Su Chenzhu enter first before falling into step beside the Team Leader. "What if it happens?"
"You might as well say it’s divine intervention." The Team Leader didn’t buy his nonsense and nudged him with an elbow. "What do you want to eat later? My treat."
"No need." Su Chenzhu, walking ahead, spoke up. "I’ll pay."
"Thanks, boss." The Team Leader slung an arm around Chao Musheng’s neck. "Appreciate your generosity."
No point in wasting the boss’s money.
"You’re welcome." Su Chenzhu’s gaze lingered on the Team Leader’s arm. "Musheng is still growing."
"Huh?" The Team Leader looked at Chao Musheng, who was already half a head taller than him. Did he really need to grow more?
"Growing bones shouldn’t be weighed down." Su Chenzhu reached over and moved the Team Leader’s arm aside, then handed his phone to Chao Musheng. "See if there’s anything you’d like to eat."
The Team Leader glanced at his own arm, then at the boss standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Chao Musheng as they scrolled through food options. He wasn’t even that heavy—how could he possibly be "weighing down" Chao Musheng?
Cough, cough, cough!
No. 2 lay sprawled on the thick grass, staring up at the pitch-black sky where something like stars flickered.
No—those were just airplane taillights.
He hadn’t expected to survive a fall from such a height.
Was it the sudden gust of wind that had saved him? Or the cushioning of the thick grass beneath him?
He lay there for a long time before slowly pushing himself up.
A few crushed flowers slid off his back. No. 2 turned and looked at them—their petals already tinged with yellow.
They were the same "luck-boosting" flowers the old woman had given him at noon.
Swallowing back the blood rising in his throat, No. 2 leaned against the wall and inched forward.
At the corner, his steps faltered when he saw Xiaojuan standing against a tree, arms crossed.
She was looking right at him—even through the invisibility cloak, he felt as if she could see him.
"Let’s go." Xiaojuan swung a leg over an electric scooter. "There are surveillance cameras around. Just get on."
Half a minute later, she felt the seat shift behind her.
She put on her headphones, pretending to take a call. "Been to the 52nd floor? Given up now?"
No. 2 wiped the blood from his lips and stayed silent.
"Can’t save someone hell-bent on dying." The night wind tousled Xiaojuan’s hair. "Consider the favor I owed you repaid tonight. From now on—"
"Thank you."
Xiaojuan scoffed. Neither spoke for the rest of the ride.
Passing a park, No. 2 finally said, "Let’s talk."
Xiaojuan parked the scooter and found a bench. She watched distant joggers under the streetlights. "What do you want to say?"
[Ding! Player No. 2 has gifted you an item. Accept?]
Xiaojuan dismissed the system notification. "What are you doing?"
"I’m tired, Xiaojuan."
After a long silence, No. 2 spoke again. "I can’t see any hope of clearing this dungeon. You take these items."
Maybe the moment he spared that security guard, he’d already lost the will to keep going.
Hesitation was a player’s greatest weakness.
"Not even dead yet, and you’re already dividing your inheritance?" Xiaojuan’s tone remained sharp. "We’re not that close. I don’t want your stuff."
"At first, all I thought about was going home. But the more points I earned, the more I realized… I can’t go back." Hidden beneath the invisibility cloak, No. 2 felt the urge to confess. "Even if I returned to the real world, I could never be normal again."
Players accustomed to slaughter and deceit in the dungeons had long been molded into something not quite human. Monsters didn’t walk in sunlight.
Xiaojuan’s lips parted, but no words came out.
"Before the system, I was a freshman in college. I think… I liked photography?" No. 2 strained to recall the faded memories. "Hard to remember now. I’ve spent more time in dungeons than in the real world."
If not for taking that photo for the mother and child at noon, he might not have remembered that small hobby at all.
"Do you hate the System?" Xiaojuan stared at the empty space beside her, knowing No. 2 was there. She placed a signal jammer between them. "It dragged us into this infinite world, turned us into tools to steal energy from other dimensions."
"Steal energy?" No. 2 sounded dazed. "What do you mean?"
Xiaojuan laid out her theory. "Those NPCs who always target players—maybe they’re the world’s resistance against the System’s invasion."
Every new rule added to a dungeon was another failed rebellion.
Whenever a new exploration dungeon opened, the System lured high-level players with lavish rewards—because only after players conquered it could the System use it as an anchor to drain that world’s energy.
The night breeze was cool, but to No. 2, it felt piercingly cold.
"You’re saying… this exploration dungeon might be a real world?" His voice trembled. "No wonder our items keep failing here, and the missions are so bizarre."
So this world’s consciousness was fighting back.
"Wait!" No. 2’s expression changed. "The System—"
"It can’t hear us." Xiaojuan picked up the small bag between them, revealing the jammer inside. "This world’s resistance is terrifyingly strong. As long as we use its rules, the System is blind and deaf."
Ever since that broken faucet in the apartment stopped acting up after Chao Musheng’s visit, Xiaojuan had suspected this world might still hold some kindness for players.
No—this world showed mercy to all living things, even invaders like them.
As long as they held onto their humanity and meant no harm.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Figured since you’ve given up on living, you might as well be useful." Xiaojuan’s eyes burned with defiance in the dark. "Brother Qiang, I’ve got a plan to screw over the System. Want in?"
Brother Qiang.
No. 2’s chest tightened. "Who are you calling useless?"
"I misspoke—you're actually recyclable trash." Xiaojuan said impatiently, "Just answer me one thing: are you in or not?"
Another moment of silence.
"In!"
"Good. Then I'll send you back to rest now. Remember to clock in on time tomorrow morning."
With her goal achieved, Xiaojuan got on a shared e-bike. "Let's go."
"Wait."
The night breeze always had a way of sobering people up.
"How many members are currently in this 'Annoyance Plan' of yours?"
"Well..." Xiaojuan didn’t even turn her head. "The early stages of any startup are tough."
"So exactly how many?"
"Not too many, not too few—just two."
"Stop the bike. I’ll walk."
"Brother Qiang, what are you doing? Jumping off is dangerous and against traffic rules. Sit back down properly."
"Ugh, so spicy."
Chao Musheng took a bite of the grilled chicken wing, his face flushing from the heat.
A cup of ice-cold cola was promptly handed to him. He gulped down several mouthfuls before turning to thank the person. "Thanks... Huh? Mr. Su?"
"Weren’t you resting in the office?"
The smell of barbecue was strong, so Chao Musheng and the Team Leader had deliberately stayed in the open office area outside. He hadn’t expected Mr. Su to personally bring him cola.
"You mentioned earlier that you didn’t like the brand of cola the shop gave you." Su Chenzhu placed the condensation-covered bottle in front of Chao Musheng. "I thought you might prefer this one."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Chao Musheng nodded repeatedly. "This is the brand I usually drink."
Su Chenzhu sat down beside him, put on disposable gloves, opened a takeout box of crayfish, peeled off the shells, and placed the meat into Chao Musheng’s bowl. "The barbecue’s too spicy—it’ll upset your stomach. Try this instead?"
The Team Leader glanced at the crayfish in Chao Musheng’s bowl. Seeing the boss pick up a second one, he pretended not to care and quietly slid his own bowl closer to the boss.
But the second one... still went into Xiao Chao’s bowl.
Oh! Now he understood!
The Team Leader had an epiphany—the boss must also be eager to keep a talent like Xiao Chao in the company.
He quickly pulled his bowl back and gave the boss an approving look.
Keep peeling, peel more, peel the biggest one.
Once Xiao Chao ate the boss’s crayfish, he’d be obliged to sign the technical consultant agreement.
"Mr. Su..." Chao Musheng stared at the three neatly arranged crayfish pieces in his bowl, then at Su Chenzhu—dressed in a pristine white shirt, his gloved hands still dripping with oil. "I can do it myself."
"It’s fine. You’re young—you must get hungry quickly." Su Chenzhu peeled another crayfish and placed it in his bowl.
Such beautiful hands, yet they were wearing cheap takeout gloves just to peel crayfish for him.
Fine, so it was about being a technical consultant for Kunlun?
He’d sign the agreement as soon as he finished his midnight snack!
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to eat these crayfish with a clear conscience.
Er Qiang was jolted awake by his phone ringing.
"Brother Qiang! Get up now, did you forget our plan?!"
Listening to Xiaojuan’s battle-ready voice through the phone, Er Qiang numbly sat up and shuffled to the bathroom to look in the mirror.
The cracked, blood-red-tinted reflection showed his haggard face.
Truly a woman whose name included the word "relentless"—sleeping at midnight and waking at six, yet still bursting with energy.
He turned on the faucet, and rust-red water gushed out.
Perfect. Everything was normal.
He shut it off and skillfully used a bottle of water he’d brought from the company to wash his face and brush his teeth.
"Morning, young man. Off to work?" His neighbor, an old man who loved taking advantage of others, called out as Er Qiang stepped outside. "Remember to take my trash down for me."
Like hell he would!
Er Qiang took off his black-framed glasses and kicked over the trash bag the old man had left by the door.
The old man, who had been making Er Qiang take out his trash for nearly a month, didn’t dare utter a word after seeing him suddenly snap. He silently closed his door.
If the trash got kicked, at least he wouldn’t be next.
What happened to that polite young man? Had work finally driven him mad?
At 8 a.m., Er Qiang arrived at the Kunlun Corporation building.
[Ding. Only one day remains until the dungeon’s conclusion. The remaining three players, please strive to complete the mission.]
[Ding. Today’s daily task has been generated. Before the mission ends, kill the first NPC who initiates conversation with you. Reward upon completion: 500 points.]
"Young man, good morning." An elderly woman with a red armband waved cheerfully at him from the flower bed. "You’re looking lively today."
Er Qiang took two steps before stopping and turning back to the smiling old woman. "Thanks. Your sunhat looks lovely today."
"Really? My granddaughter bought it for me, worried I’d get sunburned." The woman beamed. "I think it’s quite nice too."
Her joyful smile made Er Qiang think she must be dearly loved by her family.
"Why are you two suddenly staring at me?" Chao Musheng asked as Xiaojuan and Ze froze at the company entrance, their eyes locked on him. "Worried about the internship certificates?"
He tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "Don’t worry, I’ve got connections. You’ll have them by the end of the day."
"Thanks, Brother Chao!" Ze stammered, pulling Xiaojuan along. "Sis Juan, let’s go—we’ll get scolded if we’re late."
"Brother Chao, you should hurry too." Without letting Xiaojuan speak, Ze dragged her away, not even glancing back—a stark contrast to his usual reluctance to go to work.
They must really be anxious about those certificates.
"Brother Chao, good morning."
Er Qiang walked into the company and nodded at Chao Musheng.
"Morning." Chao Musheng blinked. This intern seemed unusually energetic today—did he sleep well last night?
"Don’t be nervous." Xiaojuan noticed Ze’s death grip on her arm. "Just focus on work. Leave the rest to me."
"But Brother Chao—"
"It’s not just you who calls him that." Xiaojuan pushed open the customer service department door, where Manager Zhu approached with a contract. "Xiaojuan, this is Kunlun’s official employment contract. Congratulations on being hired."
Xiaojuan stared at the document, her fingers trembling slightly.
A prestigious company, excellent benefits, transparent promotion paths—if this had been offered to her in the past, she would’ve been overjoyed.
"Thank you for the offer, Manager, but I can’t join the company right now."
Wang Xiaojuan had always been fiercely independent. Her parents bullied and belittled her, so she became self-reliant and left.
Now, the System and its gods had deceived and exploited her—so she would retaliate.
She never forgot her nickname: The Overachiever.
