Chapter 5

It was 2015. In modern Earth, in Qibeishi City.

Zhuo Chuan got up from his bed, looked around, and found himself in his home in the modern world. He touched his neck, feeling a faint pain, and sighed.

This was the ability he had discovered by chance a month ago. It was during the Qingming Festival when he went back to his hometown to pay respects to his grandfather, who had raised him alone. In the cemetery, he saw a meteor shower, and then the image of a body from another world appeared in his mind, and his soul traveled to that world.

He soon found out that he could switch his soul between the two bodies in these worlds.

The method was: as long as he concentrated and carefully recalled the body in the other world in his mind every six hours, his eyes would form a vortex, and his soul would appear in the body in the other world.

He discovered this when he was washing up in the modern world and stared at the mirror, thinking about the body in the other world. He noticed that his eyes had formed a black vortex, and then he lost consciousness. When he woke up, he had already traveled to the body in the other world.

At first, he thought he had entered a virtual world created by someone, like in a sci-fi movie, but after a month of exploration, he realized it was definitely not a virtual world, as there was too much evidence.

That world was already in the 30th century, a thousand years ahead of modern Earth, with technology far more advanced.

After confirming this, he decided to name that highly developed world the New World. His cervical spine was also in a critical condition, so he took a two-month long-term sick leave. He planned to explore the New World while also taking the opportunity to fully recover his cervical spine.

However, now he couldn't explore for much longer. Zhuo Chuan shook his head, not thinking about it anymore. He felt a bloated sensation in his stomach and quickly went to the bathroom to clean up and wash his face to refresh himself.

After returning, Zhuo Chuan, as usual, picked up his phone by the bedside to check if anyone had called. He saw two missed calls from "Dong Ze," his close friend and protégé, who had called twice, probably for something important. Zhuo Chuan thought it was late, so he didn't call back.

In addition, he received a salary notification in the afternoon.

["Rufen Bank: Dear customer, your account ending in 4232 received a transfer of RMB 1632.45 on May 8, 2015. Current balance: RMB 6723"]

When he saw the message, Zhuo Chuan suspected his eyes were playing tricks on him after his soul travel. He read it several times, and the salary amount was still 1632. He instinctively wanted to call the HR department's Chen Fatso to ask if he had made a mistake in the salary calculation, or if the finance department had forgotten to add a zero, as they had never made a mistake in salary transfers before. Chen Fatso was always unreliable.

He subconsciously thought it was Chen Fatso's mistake, but then he decided to wait until the next day to ask in person. He had already decided to work hard in the New World for the next three months.

He had already taken a two-month sick leave, and one month had passed, leaving another month. He needed to take another two months off, making it a total of four months, nearly half a year away from the company. He needed to negotiate with the company, possibly to take a leave of absence without pay.

There might be some trouble, but he had to deal with it. Only after resolving the real-world issues could he focus on the New World and have a chance to continue living in that world.

That night passed without incident. The next morning, Zhuo Chuan rushed to the company's HR department.

A fat man with a big belly greeted him with a fake smile.

"Oh, Manager Zhuo, you're back to work today? Not continuing your leave?"

"Oh, Manager Chen, it's not that. I think there might be a mistake in my salary calculation. I received only about 1600 yuan yesterday, and even interns get a basic salary of 2000 yuan," Zhuo Chuan said.

"Really? That's strange," Chen Fatso seemed surprised, opening his mouth wide. "Manager Zhuo can't be compared to an intern. There must be a mistake. Let me see the salary notification you received."

Zhuo Chuan felt a sudden dislike for Chen Fatso's exaggerated performance, realizing that the stress from the New World was still affecting his mood. He took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and showed Chen Fatso his phone.

"1632.45 yuan," Chen Fatso read out loud, drawing the attention of several female HR employees.

"1632, I see," Chen Fatso repeated, suddenly seeming to understand. "Last month, the boss said we needed to boost employee morale, so our HR department implemented a new performance-based salary system. Those on leave only receive the basic salary of 2000 yuan. Since you took a long-term sick leave, you only received the basic salary, minus social security and medical insurance..."

"I see," Zhuo Chuan forced a smile, but inside he was furious. The timing of the change was suspicious, especially since he had just taken a sick leave. If he could still deceive himself, he wouldn't have become the head of the development department at 27.

At that moment, a stranger entered. He was about 30 years old, with dark skin. He ignored everyone and went straight to Chen Fatso, asking loudly.

"Old Chen, when will my office be ready? Sitting with the regular employees in the development department doesn't help me establish authority. Many still see me as a regular employee."

"Soon, soon. Just wait a bit. Sitting with regular employees helps you understand their dynamics," Chen Fatso said with a fake smile, glancing at Zhuo Chuan, who looked displeased.

"Oh, let me introduce you. This is our newly appointed senior software expert, Manager Wang Zhiguang, with 12 years of development experience and strong management skills," Chen Fatso introduced to Zhuo Chuan.

Zhuo Chuan looked at Wang Zhiguang, thinking, "So that's it. As soon as I took a long-term sick leave, they found a replacement. How clever." He had planned to take a leave of absence, but now he saw no need. It was better to resign outright to avoid wasting his energy in the New World.

He looked at Wang Zhiguang and said calmly, "Manager Wang, you don't need to ask Manager Chen for an office. I'll clear my desk today, and you can move in immediately."

"Manager Zhuo, what do you mean?" Chen Fatso was taken aback, looking innocent.

"What do you mean? You, the boss's nephew, don't know?" Zhuo Chuan didn't elaborate, turned around, and left the HR department, heading to the development department manager's office.

His relationship with Chen Fatso was not good because Chen always tried to push unqualified people into his department to get a commission. Zhuo Chuan had refused multiple times, which strained their relationship.

As he walked, he nodded to passing employees but didn't stop to chat, quickly returning to his office, which he hadn't seen for a month.

"Qingshan Medical Software Co., Ltd." A calligraphy hung on the wall opposite the door, boldly written with the company's name. This was the company where Zhuo Chuan had worked for five years and become the head of the development department, responsible for hospital system software, which had gained a reputation in the province and received annual visits from high-ranking officials as a high-tech enterprise.

From a small company of seven or eight people to its current size of hundreds, Zhuo Chuan had witnessed the company's growth. Staring at the calligraphy, he shook his head, realizing it would no longer be his concern.

He walked to his desk, where the familiar green plant had grown over the pot, and the books on the shelf were dusty. The floor was clean, probably cleaned by the janitor. Behind the desk was a bookshelf. Zhuo Chuan walked to it and looked through the books.

"The Programmer's Guide," "Windows Core Programming," "Are You a Good Manager?"... Each book recorded his growth in the workplace over the past five years.

Zhuo Chuan shook his head, dispelling these idle thoughts. As a science and engineering graduate, he had no time for such musings. He needed to focus on the New World.

He turned on his computer, found a resignation letter template, printed it out, and signed it with a ballpoint pen.

Before he could finish, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Zhuo Chuan said.

"Come in," he repeated, and a short, stocky man with black glasses entered.

"It's Dong Ze. Sit down," Zhuo Chuan said, recognizing his close subordinate, who had followed him for three years and was now the deputy manager of the development department. Dong Ze had been handling the department's affairs during Zhuo Chuan's sick leave, sending daily emails with updates.

"How are you, boss? Feeling better? Cervical spondylosis is a common problem for programmers," Dong Ze said, sitting down casually.

"Yeah, that's why I'm not planning to continue," Zhuo Chuan said, not looking up as he continued writing.

"Huh?" Dong Ze responded casually, then realized something was wrong. He looked up and saw Zhuo Chuan writing a resignation letter on the desk, standing up immediately.

"Boss, you're leaving?" Dong Ze asked, sounding agitated.