Chapter 52

When Su Peng was called to Qian Jun's office by Lei Ming, he was already prepared, thinking to himself, "It's here!"

Upon seeing the gray-clothed colleague with long hair who had been murdered, countless thoughts flashed through Su Peng's mind.

"Is the long-haired one an insider like me? Is this gray-clothed person part of the same organization as the one I met? Who did it? Someone from the company? Is Lei Ming involved? What role does Lei Ming play in this?"

One question after another kept swirling in Su Peng's mind, and he began to form some tentative answers.

"If the killer is from the company and has already seen me, I might be questioned when I return to the company... Lei Ming's role in this is ambiguous. He had some private contact with the murdered person... No, it could just be ordinary business dealings, but it's also possible that he is involved. Does the company know about this? Is he trusted by the company, or is he directly involved in the murder?"

Su Peng thought to himself as he watched Lei Ming walk ahead of him.

He realized he still lacked enough information, and speculating at this point was meaningless. He could only wait until he had more information to make a judgment.

With this in mind, Su Peng entered Qian Jun's office.

Inside the office, Qian Jun was behind his desk. He nodded at Lei Ming and said, "I have some questions for Su Peng. You can step out for a moment."

Lei Ming nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Once Lei Ming was out, Qian Jun's gaze fell on Su Peng. He nodded and said, "Su Peng, you've been with the company for some time now. How do you find it?"

"Everything is great. The work is interesting, and the company is well-organized," Su Peng replied, knowing this was just a prelude to the real conversation.

Qian Jun nodded slightly and said, "Lei Ming mentioned that you've been working on a series of tasks recently. How is it going? Will you be able to meet the end-of-month evaluation?"

"The tasks are almost complete. I should finish them in a few days and should be able to meet the end-of-month evaluation," Su Peng answered. Qian Jun remained noncommittal, took a sip of tea, and said, "I've seen your hard work. You've been working long hours and sometimes haven't even had time to eat. Take care of your health. By the way, you don't look too well today. Did something happen outside?"

"Here it comes!" Su Peng immediately became alert. Regardless of whether the black-clothed killer was from the company and whether he recognized him, Qian Jun couldn't directly ask about it. He could only bring it up casually. Now it was up to Su Peng to respond.

After some thought, Su Peng decided to probe, "Not too well. This afternoon, I went to visit an elder and unexpectedly witnessed a murder... I was quite shocked."

"Oh? A murder?" Qian Jun seemed interested and asked, "What happened? It's not something you encounter every day."

Su Peng nodded and recounted what he had seen on the overpass, omitting the part about recognizing the long-haired man. He then said, "I was on my way to visit my elder when I encountered this. It was a madman. I never thought something like this would happen in Zhonghai."

"Indeed, it's a serious and heinous crime," Qian Jun agreed. Su Peng watched his eyes but didn't notice any significant reaction.

"Be careful when you go out... By the way, Su Peng, you've been in the new recruit group for almost a month. What do you think of your team leader, Lei Ming? What are your impressions of him?" Qian Jun suddenly changed the subject and asked Su Peng.

Su Peng was slightly puzzled. He had expected the murder to be the main topic, but it was glossed over, and now they were discussing his impressions of Lei Ming.

"Are they suspicious of Lei Ming?" Su Peng thought, but it didn't seem to be the case. After some consideration, Su Peng said, "Team Leader Lei works very diligently. He patiently explains things we don't understand. He's a good team leader. As for his personal life, I haven't had much contact with him, so I can't comment."

"Alright, that's all. You can go back now. Pay attention to your working hours and take care of your health. Call Lei Ming and have him come in," Qian Jun said to Su Peng.

Su Peng nodded, but he was still puzzled. His suspicion that the killer who had murdered the gray-clothed man and the long-haired man was from the company grew stronger. However, he didn't expect Qian Jun's conversation to be so light and seemingly off-topic.

Leaving the office, Su Peng let Lei Ming, who was waiting outside, go in and then headed back to his room...

In Qian Jun's office, Lei Ming walked in.

"Lei Ming, your report was timely and prevented the company from suffering any losses. You did well. Your bonus this month will be increased by one thousand yuan," Qian Jun said to Lei Ming first.

Lei Ming nodded and said, "The bonus is a small matter. What's important is that it benefits the company."

After this somewhat unclear conversation, Qian Jun said, "Lei Ming, you've been leading the new recruit group for almost a month. What do you think of Su Peng?"

"Su Peng... He's a good young man, experienced in the game, and quite flexible. In just a month, he has discovered many tasks and achieved significant results in the game. He has potential and could become a key member of the Huben or Longya group," Lei Ming said, touching the sunglasses on his nose.

"What about his behavior outside of work?" Qian Jun asked.

"Well... I haven't had much contact with him outside of work, so I don't know how to evaluate him. However, one thing I noticed is that he seems to have a lot of energy. He can work for long hours without getting tired. He's a very energetic person," Lei Ming replied.

Qian Jun nodded noncommittally and said, "I see. That's all. You can go back and rest."

Lei Ming nodded, turned, and left Qian Jun's office, closing the door behind him.

In a corner of the room, a shadow emerged, and the figure of the black-clothed man slowly appeared.

"Hmph... Lei Ming isn't very honest. It was his report that led us to the insider who was targeting the company's mainframe. Although I was the one who took action, the credit for the death of Huben group's Cui Hao should still go to Lei Ming. I didn't expect you to reward him with just one thousand yuan. Is Cui Hao's life worth only one thousand yuan?"

The black-clothed man in the shadows sneered, as if he could see through the door to the departing Lei Ming.

Qian Jun didn't respond immediately. After a moment, he said, "Lei Ming is still trustworthy. Next week, I want you to take a closer look at this new recruit, Su Peng."

"Understood, but don't say I didn't warn you. I think Lei Ming has already noticed something," the shadow said, then looked at the monitor, where Su Peng was returning to his room and Lei Ming was heading to the rest room...

...

After returning to his room, Su Peng turned on his computer and opened a video website, seemingly watching an American sci-fi movie.

However, Su Peng's mind was still working.

"Although I'm not sure if Lei Ming is involved... my intuition tells me that Lei Ming must have played a dishonorable role in this."

"But... which side is Lei Ming on? A company loyalist? Or a member of the organization that covets the death loop game mainframe? Or is he working for himself?" Su Peng thought.

After some consideration, Su Peng felt that he might be jumping to conclusions, but his intuition still made him suspicious of Lei Ming.

"Under the premise of ensuring my own safety, it seems I can try to approach Lei Ming and probe him... However, I thought coming to the company was just to steal trade secrets, but now it seems that a single misstep could cost me my life..." Su Peng thought.

Despite the increased risk, Su Peng didn't want to back down. Instead, it stirred his fighting spirit.

"If I really manage to take the game mainframe out, I'll have to ask for more money..."

...

The next day, Su Peng got up early again. While eating in the dining hall, he saw Sun Shijia and chatted with him for a bit.

"Brother Su, it looks like I might be joining the Huben group," Sun Shijia said in a low voice, making sure no one was around.

"Oh, you've heard the rumors?" Su Peng asked, somewhat curious.

"Not rumors... I just talked to some seniors a few days ago. If your martial arts are decent but you don't have any standout skills, you're usually transferred to the Huben group. Although I've now become a lancer, my martial arts are average, so I probably won't make it to the Longya group. I can forget about the Anxiao group too, as I haven't improved my production skills. So, I'll likely join the Huben group. Ji Ge, on the other hand, might join the Longya group. He was recognized by a skilled archer in the Blackwater Army and has been taught family archery techniques. He's already reached Intermediate Archery Level 6, so he should be a good ranged attacker in the Longya group."

"That's good...," Su Peng nodded, and a thought flashed through his mind. He originally intended to probe Lei Ming directly, but that might be too obvious. If he could indirectly gather information through Sun Shijia or use him as a spy, it would be better.

With this idea, Su Peng said to Sun Shijia, "Isn't that great? Our team leader is from the Huben group. If you get closer to him, he might take care of you when you join the Huben group."

"Oh, I forgot about that!" Sun Shijia exclaimed. "Brother Su, you're right. I'll talk to the team leader today."

"Alright," Su Peng nodded and continued eating.

After finishing his meal, around 6:30 AM, Su Peng thought about the ship he was waiting for in the game and went to the computer room to log into the game...