Qi Xu quickly carried her food tray and caught up to Worker Monkey.
Worker Monkey had initially planned to eat with its companions but felt it would be rude to leave this player with clumsy hands alone.
For a moment, it hesitated.
Qi Xu understood and said, "Go eat with your friends. I’ll be fine sitting here by myself."
Worker Monkey immediately brightened up. "Alright, but don’t wander off. Do you remember the way back? Remember, you only have an hour for lunch."
Qi Xu was genuinely touched. In previous events, lunch breaks were only 30 minutes, and sometimes just waiting in line took 25 of those...
She then whispered, "Could you help bring some customers to my friend’s stall? If you get 20 of them to go and leave good reviews, I’ll give you a Survival Coin."
Worker Monkey didn’t agree right away, first doing some mental calculations. "I could help, but I’ll need to taste the food first."
With that, it grabbed a piece of sweet and sour pork with its chopsticks—and instantly, its eyes sparkled.
In two minutes, the entire plate was empty.
Clutching its tray, Worker Monkey rushed back to Chinese Master Chef’s stall, spent another 50 points, and... loaded up another huge portion.
After devouring three more plates without needing any prompting, Worker Monkey got straight to work. It grabbed another serving and sat right in the middle of the other worker creatures.
Honestly, the sight of Worker Monkey wolfing down three massive plates had already piqued the curiosity of many other worker monsters.
Now that it was among them, questions flew left and right.
Worker Monkey barely needed to promote anything. Just letting each creature take one bite was enough—soon, Chinese Master Chef’s stall was swarmed.
While returning the tray, Qi Xu left a glowing review for Chinese Master Chef.
She checked the time—still 20 minutes left on her break. No need to rush.
She found Worker Monkey, who had just finished its impromptu marketing. "Did you count? How many customers did you bring?"
Worker Monkey sighed regretfully. "At least 30! But things got out of hand. These monsters love a spectacle. Once they saw everyone lining up at that human player’s stall, they assumed something big was happening and flocked over without me even trying. So annoying—ruined my chance to earn more!"
Worker Monkey was fuming. Such an easy money-making opportunity, wasted.
Qi Xu still handed it five Survival Coins. "You helped break the ice. Take this."
Worker Monkey snatched them up, giggling uncontrollably.
"Then I’ll treat you to dinner tonight!"
Qi Xu shook her head. "No need. I plan to work late tonight, so I’ll skip dinner."
Worker Monkey was even happier—saved another 50 points. But why was this human so obsessed with work? Willingly working overtime... terrifying.
Qi Xu smiled as the system notification chimed, signaling another rise in her favorability stats. The two tangyuan she’d eaten at lunch had reduced her fatigue by 20 points, leaving her in great shape.
She’d known those tangyuan were special the moment she saw them. Chinese Master Chef wasn’t the type to casually hide tangyuan under rice—unless they had a hidden effect.
Since backpacks were disabled in this dungeon, there was no other way to recover stamina. Now, she could just rely on Chinese Master Chef’s meals for fatigue relief!
Honestly, the work wasn’t even that exhausting. Heavy lifting was handled by robots, and dirty tasks... well, the hazmat suit took care of that. No issues.
Qi Xu returned to the underground warehouse and got back to work. After clearing nearly a thousand crates of kitchen waste, she finally hit the jackpot—hope was in sight!
One newly opened crate was filled with scrap metal! Qi Xu’s mind immediately jumped to the 66 types of metal needed to upgrade her vehicle to Level 6. She’d been wondering where to find them, and now this golden opportunity had fallen into her lap!
Her eyes gleamed as she scanned each piece with her interface. Most were unidentifiable scrap, but some were usable—just not many.
But did that matter?
Not when there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of crates left to open!
After clearing three crates, she tallied her haul: Iron ×36, Copper ×17, Steel ×19, Aluminum Alloy ×49, Manganese ×9, Titanium ×1, Lithium ×2.
She stored it all in the space stone Worker Monkey had given her.
First, she tidied up the scattered trash, repacking the crates to keep the warehouse neat, then let the robots haul them away for disposal.
Qi Xu, fueled by sheer determination, yanked down another crate, dumped out all the scrap metal, and resumed scanning.
She skipped dinner entirely, working straight through until 2 a.m., when she finally threw her hands up and laughed triumphantly—startling a nearby robot on the verge of striking. Its screen flickered with garbled code and static.
"Low power... can’t do it no more~"
Qi Xu, still buzzing with excitement, planted a kiss on the robot. "Then go rest!"
The robot immediately covered its face and scurried away...
She’d finally collected all 66 metals! If she could bring these back, along with 10,000 Vehicle Upgrade Cards, her Level 6 vehicle would be within reach!
Qi Xu was brimming with confidence. Once this dungeon was over, her upgrade would be a done deal! The thought kept her energized. Even without the robots’ help, it didn’t matter.
She neatly arranged everything so the robots could jump right back into efficient work once recharged. They’d be so moved~
Worker Monkey, on night patrol, was shocked to discover... holy crap, that ridiculously hardcore human player—the waste disposal worker—was still at it!
Upon entering, it saw that nearly half the warehouse had been cleared. Even the robots were drained of energy, yet she was still buzzing around, full of manic energy...
And those shining eyes, staring at the garbage like it was treasure.
Worker Monkey hurried over for a closer look. Nope, still just trash!
It couldn’t help but ask, "The contract states that full-time workers only have fixed hours from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The rest is flexible! Are you insane? Why are you still working? Don’t you have a bed to rest in?"
Qi Xu hadn’t fully snapped out of her euphoria.
With dramatic flair, she declared, "I love work! I refuse to rest! I must earn my keep!"
Worker Monkey clutched its head. "Oh my god! You’re terrifying! You’re seriously not going to sleep? Are waste disposal workers... really this desperate?"
Qi Xu, fully in character, nodded. "I thank the heavens for this opportunity to prove my worth. I’ll work hard—overtime, all night!"
.........
