Chapter 92

"Welcome to the headquarters of Dragon Tomb Game Company. This is the information sheet for the tour. After your visit, our company will send a feedback email or text message to your personal device."

Zhou Xian and the man in the jacket named Lao Hei were now in the first-floor lobby of the company headquarters. They took the sheets and began to fill them out. It was a very ordinary form, seemingly no different from others.

"Really quite ordinary..." Compared to Zhou Xian, Lao Hei had more life experience, but even he couldn't spot anything amiss.

"I just sensed a bit, but there doesn't seem to be anything particularly strange here."

Zhou Xian's reconnaissance skill couldn't detect anything unusual at this moment.

"Could it be some kind of illusion?" Lao Hei wondered.

"Let's wait and see. If the enemy doesn't move, neither will we. And it's also possible that this place is just a decoy."

If the true "headquarters" were elsewhere, then the ordinariness of this place would make sense. However, Zhou Xian didn't think it was likely to be the case.

"Right, what you said makes sense. Let's see how things go."

After saying that, the two handed over the completed forms... of course, most of the information was fake.

"Alright, Mr. Hei, Mr. Zhou, our deputy manager of public relations will be here shortly to greet you. Please wait a moment."

"Wow, that's quite the treatment~ Thank you." Lao Hei said, then sat down on the sofa in the lobby with Zhou Xian.

Soon, a young woman with a business-like smile walked over.

"Hello, I am the deputy manager of public relations, my surname is Wu. You can call me Miss Wu. If there are any shortcomings in our hospitality, please bear with us."

Miss Wu wasn't particularly beautiful, but she had an intellectual charm. Upon seeing her, Lao Hei immediately stood up: "Oh, not at all. For a beautiful lady like you to guide me around, it's truly an honor."

"Cough, cough—"

Lao Hei seemed to have more to say, but he stopped when he saw Zhou Xian's disapproving look.

"Please follow me."

Miss Wu led the two into the company. First, they had to pass through a spacious corridor, which was completely empty. To ease the cold atmosphere, Miss Wu began to explain the history and development of the Dragon Tomb game.

However, Zhou Xian had already thoroughly investigated this before coming, so he didn't need to hear it again.

After passing through the corridor, they came to a restroom and an elevator. Apart from these, there didn't seem to be any other free spaces on the first floor.

"You both have chosen the full-day tour, so we'll start by introducing the second-floor cafeteria. You'll have lunch here as well."

The elevator took them to the second floor, where a cafeteria appeared before them.

"It's just the start of the workday, so it's not open yet. There's a convenience store here where you can buy snacks and drinks at a 10% discount, except during lunch hours. However, you're not allowed to take them out."

"Can we come here anytime?" Lao Hei asked.

"Sorry, if you need to, you'll have to be accompanied by someone. But don't worry, we will treat every guest with care. I apologize, but this is our company's policy."

She answered apologetically.

"No problem, no problem~" Lao Hei seemed very cooperative in front of Miss Wu.

However, Zhou Xian noticed Lao Hei's brazen gaze on Miss Wu, and he knew this wouldn't make her happy.

After all, being disliked in such a manner was normal.

Miss Wu, being the public relations manager, maintained her composure.

Next, Zhou Xian and the others were taken to the third floor, which was the management department. Zhou Xian silently memorized the layout.

Perhaps the password he found could be used here.

If using it elsewhere would prompt an IP issue, then, being a game company, it might work here.

"By the way, how is your company planning the recent game event?"

Lao Hei suddenly asked.

"The New City Construction Task is a special mission designed to build a new city. If you're interested, you can participate. For more details, please refer to the game."

"Oh, is that so?" Lao Hei squinted, looking at her back, seemingly deep in thought. Zhou Xian, however, felt something was very off.

This event... he had clearly posted it himself.

Yet Miss Wu, the manager, answered so normally.

As if the event was truly their invention.

"...I remember your company hasn't held any events before. Why did you decide to create this one?"

Seizing the opportunity, Zhou Xian quickly followed up on Lao Hei's question.

"This is related to our company's strategy, which is a business secret. I cannot disclose the specifics."

Miss Wu's tone was formal.

Lao Hei's question was understandable, but as an insider and participant, Zhou Xian knew it wasn't that simple.

Could they be going along with the mistake?

If so, why didn't they correct the event immediately?

Not only did they not correct it, but they seemed to have no reaction to Zhou Xian's reckless actions in the game.

As if the event had nothing to do with their work.

Could they be living in a parallel world?

"This is the fourth floor, the location of the product development department. The game was developed under the leadership of Chief Engineer Fang."

"Chief Engineer Fang?" Zhou Xian deliberately emphasized.

Is this where my father's office is?

"Chief Engineer Fang is currently on a business trip, so this area is temporarily closed. Please follow me, we'll go to the fifth floor first."

"Another business trip?" Zhou Xian was puzzled. This statement by Miss Wu was the same as two years ago. Was it a coincidence or for some other reason?

"Excuse me, what is the full name of your Chief Engineer Fang? I really admire the engineer who created this game!" Zhou Xian immediately asked.

"..." Miss Wu suddenly fell silent.

No, it was more like she was stuck.

...As if a computer had crashed after running too many programs.

"Chief Engineer Fang is just Chief Engineer Fang. I'll take you to the fifth floor now. After that, it will be lunchtime. You'll have an hour to rest, and in the afternoon, I'll take you to floors six to ten, ending around 4:30 PM. Time is tight, please follow me."

"..."

"..."

This time, not only Zhou Xian, but even Lao Hei's eyes flashed with suspicion.

Her response... was problematic.

No, she herself was problematic.

"Hey, could these people be under mind control? I know many such methods, though the person at my place wouldn't, but I know some people are very skilled in this area."

Lao Hei leaned close to Zhou Xian.

"Maybe. Miss Wu's pause just now clearly indicated that I said something I shouldn't have, or that she can't reveal certain information to us..."

Hearing Zhou Xian's words, Lao Hei nodded in agreement.

They continued to follow her without showing any signs, waiting for new clues.

After visiting the fifth floor, it was already noon, time for lunch.

"Please follow me to the second floor for lunch. The lunch break is one hour. After lunch, I'll take you to the sixth-floor employee lounge. After resting, around 2 PM, I'll continue the tour of floors six to ten, ending around 4:30 PM. Time is tight, please follow me."

"Oh, thank you." Hearing the arrangement, the two followed her back to the second floor.

At this time, the second floor was no longer as desolate as when they first arrived. Many employees were eating here, giving it a cafeteria-like atmosphere. However, Zhou Xian and Lao Hei didn't see anyone chatting, so it was quite quiet.

"Here are your meal tickets. You can choose two dishes and one soup, and you can also buy a bottle of drink. If you need more, you'll have to pay."

After the explanation, Lao Hei, who seemed hungry, immediately went to the food counter, and Zhou Xian followed.

"Um—!"

The food looked exquisite, but for some reason, whether it was because he had eaten too much in the morning or because he was feeling unwell, Zhou Xian felt a strong sense of nausea when he saw the food. This made him feel uncomfortable, and he lost his appetite.

"Zhou Xian, aren't you eating?"

Lao Hei, seeing that Zhou Xian hadn't taken any food, was puzzled.

"I don't know why, but I feel a bit uncomfortable in my stomach. Maybe I ate something bad at the fast food place this morning."

Zhou Xian shook his head.

"Tsk, that's perfect. There's not much food here, and I have a big appetite. If you don't mind... hehe~"

Lao Hei looked at Zhou Xian's meal ticket and grinned.

"Take it if you want."

Zhou Xian directly handed the ticket to him.

"Oh~! Thanks!"

With the ticket, Lao Hei put down his food and ran back to the cafeteria.

However, this time he didn't order any food but came back excitedly.

"Look what I found!"

Lao Hei excitedly showed Zhou Xian a bottle of cola.

"Just a bottle of cola, what's the big deal?" Zhou Xian asked, puzzled.

"Hey, it's Zhongzhou Cola! Zhongzhou Cola!"

"..."

Seeing Zhou Xian's confused look, Lao Hei said, frustrated, "It was a very popular cola ten years ago, very popular in this area. But a few years ago, the company went bankrupt due to poor management."

Unfortunately, a few years ago, Zhou Xian was still young and didn't know about these things.

"This cola should have been gone a few years ago, but I didn't expect to find it here. And look... the production date is just a month ago. This is really rare. I went to middle school in Zhongzhou City, and I loved this cola back then!"

"Maybe the company has reorganized?" Zhou Xian shrugged.

"That's possible. But I'll ask them later how they got this good stuff. When I go back, I'll definitely bring a few dozen bottles back~"

"Zhongzhou Cola?"

Zhou Xian looked at the cola bottle. He seemed to remember this drink, but it had been a long time since he last saw it...

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