ryethenovel Chapter 691 A Fragile Alliance
Chapter 691 A Fragile Alliance
Ding-dong-
The elevator arrived at the 30th floor, the staff residence floor.
As the door slowly opened, Qingning rolled her eyes and asked, "Is the check-up finished?"
Wu Wang smiled and stuffed everything he had checked back into the candy box and closed it.
He handed the box to Qing Ning and smiled, saying, "Returning it to its rightful owner."
"Make sure to protect it well, and don't let anyone else take it next time."
Lime angrily stuffed the candy box back into her pocket.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, no one but you lunatic would threaten me like this."
After saying that, she turned and left the elevator.
But they discovered that Wu Wang did not follow them out.
He paused for a moment, pressing the elevator door open button, and then said, "After telling Daimao everything you know, also tell her that if she's still interested, I'll be at the Wish Exhibition Hall at 3 PM this afternoon, and she can pretend to bump into me there!"
Ignoring Qing Ning's reaction, Wu Wang released the door opening button.
From an angle that Qing Ning couldn't see, his other hand made a magical grabbing motion in the air, and a corner of the paper could be seen peeking out from between his fingers.
A dragon soars through the clouds!
The master thief!
call--
As the elevator doors closed normally and descended to the lower floors, Qing Ning's expression became slightly complicated.
This guy definitely needs to be taught a lesson by the hawksbill turtle.
Without hesitation, she headed straight for the hawksbill turtle's room.
After knocking and opening the door, she saw Dai Mao still sitting in a chair organizing information. With a mournful face, she poured out her heart to Dai Mao about the strange clues she had just found in Ke Ming's room, and the frustration of being threatened by that bastard in the elevator.
Of course, she also conveyed the last message Wu Wang wanted to deliver.
After hearing these things, the hawksbill turtle's expression became increasingly solemn, and the fingers that were sorting out the clues stopped and crossed in front of him, as if he was deep in thought.
After a moment, the hawksbill turtle speculated:
"I suspect that Li Shuang, whom you mentioned, is the one who put the candy on that guy's table, and also the one who went to clean up Ke Ming's room."
"This also explains why he tracked down Ke Ming's affairs."
"Luckily, you got to Ke Ming's room before him."
After praising the lime, the tortoiseshell asked her to take the things out and check them again.
What if there's some more subtle information on the candy wrapper? It's always better for two people to discuss and research it together than for one person to think about it alone.
However, when Lime took the candy box out of her pocket and opened it...
They were both dumbfounded.
"Empty...empty? Holy crap! Where are my things?" Qingning said incredulously, "I clearly saw him put everything back!"
The candy box was now completely empty!
This also made the hawksbill turtle reveal a helpless expression.
Now I have no choice but to go and meet them.
"Three o'clock in the afternoon..."
"He means he wants me to have time to organize the information I have before I go over, right? That's quite thoughtful."
After sighing, Dai Mao offered Qing Ning a few words of comfort before continuing to organize the information in his hands.
She just didn't believe it.
With so many players on our side scattered around collecting clues about the factory, how could someone on the other side, who is constantly provoking the factory and exposed to its view at all times, possibly make progress faster than us?
Whether we will continue to be led by the nose or regain the initiative depends on this afternoon's meeting.
Thinking of this, the tortoiseshell glanced at its bracelet again.
She has received a new task.
It's still about that guy.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Everyone in this factory has their own things to do.
Some people are busy being born, while others are busy dying.
But most people are still busy living a life worse than death.
Time will not stop because of anyone's actions.
As everyone was busy with their own tasks, it was gradually approaching afternoon.
Until 2:50 p.m.
With ten minutes to go before their agreed time, there were still very few employees in the exhibition hall. Wu Wang wandered around the floor like a country bumpkin.
"Meow~"
Boss, are you really planning to team up with her?
Hearing the question from the small hill above, Wu Wang chuckled and said, "It's not really a joint effort. I just wanted to see what kind of expression someone with such a strong desire for control would make when faced with something they can't control."
"Meow?"
So you just want to watch the show?
“Of course.” Wu Wang unfolded the candy wrapper in his hand, revealing the clue that Qing Ning had taken from Ke Ming’s room: “This woman named Dai Mao is essentially no different from the factory; she wants to use everyone as pawns and fuel.”
"But they didn't notice—the fire had already reached their eyebrows."
As soon as he finished speaking, the elevator doors in the exhibition hall slowly opened.
A petite woman walked out from inside.
Dai Mao came alone; she didn't bring Qing Ning with her, or rather, Qing Ning was busy with other things.
She walked straight to within a meter of Wu Wang, stopped, and looked up at him.
The height difference between the two was quite obvious, but her aura showed no signs of being suppressed. Her commanding posture was like a transparent armor, supporting her straight back.
"Oh my, I never expected to run into you here."
"That's so true. There are no coincidences, only elaborate schemes. It seems you're really interested in me."
Dai Mao did not respond to Wu Wang's rubbish.
She extended the bracelet directly in front of the other person, displaying the three task records.
In addition to the previous two tasks of monitoring and finding Wu Wang's violations.
The third additional task was even more straightforward—
【Task ID: 029-03】
[Mission Objective: Prevent employee #00000's illegal activities]
[Task Description: If you believe that employee #00000's behavior indicates any illegality within 48 hours, you may use any means necessary to stop it. The factory will not hold you liable for any damage to property or loss of life caused during this process.]
[Task Reward: Promoted to employee supervisor, receiving dedicated smiling service]
Looking at the three work tasks, Wu Wang whistled and joked:
"Tsk, am I that valuable? They only offer me a few dozen wish points for each job, but your job is worth dozens of mine. You can even become a supervisor and get a personal smiling attendant. It's infuriating to compare yourself to others."
Looking at his sarcastic and unpleasant expression.
The hawksbill turtle withdrew its hand, its gaze sharp as a dagger, and said, "You don't care at all about the task the factory has put on you like a bounty, because you already guessed that the factory would target you, right?"
"I want to know, how did you do that?"
This is a dungeon inside the Tower of Calamity.
Logically speaking, all players in the current Calamity are entering for the first time, and everyone is still in the stage of exploring the rules.
Why would someone know for certain that they will be targeted by a dungeon?
What the hawksbill turtle really wanted to understand was this, rather than the dungeon walkthrough. "Smart," Wu Wang clapped his hands, his expression still as irritating as ever, "But why should I tell you?"
"A guy who's used as a tool in a factory, does he expect the person he stabbed to thank him?"
Upon hearing his description, the corner of the hawksbill turtle's mouth twitched.
Wu Wang then continued, "The first two tasks were just monitoring and collecting evidence. Now the third one is to have you personally stop me. Why do you think the factory doesn't do it itself and instead has to use you?"
Hawksbill turtles were not surprised by this question.
She said coldly, "Because we are all players."
Snapped--
Wu Wang snapped his fingers and nodded, saying, "That's right~"
"The factory doesn't need to do anything itself. It just needs to offer a player a sufficiently attractive reward to get you to do things for it. This way, it doesn't waste its own resources and it can also make the unstable factor of players drain each other's resources. It's a win-win situation!"
His words were still as harsh as ever.
The hawksbill turtle frowned and asked in return:
"Are you saying I was used?"
"I still want to say that if I get rid of you, the factory will also assign other players the task of getting rid of me. In order to prevent the players from constantly fighting amongst themselves, should I give up observing you?"
However, Wu Wang's smile began to turn dangerous.
He said, "No, what I mean is that you've been seen through. Have you ever bought any expensive items you wish for?"
This question left the hawksbill turtle somewhat puzzled.
But he still shook his head.
After all, she could see that the expensive wish-fulfilling items were all traps, and once she took out a loan to buy them, she would be completely controlled by the factory.
Therefore, Turtle has always used Wish Points for basic consumption. As soon as she finds that the price of basic consumption has increased, she immediately stops her consumption until the price returns to normal.
But Wu Wang's next words made her fall silent.
"Hehe, no, you've already bought it, you just didn't use Wish Points."
"The factory's pricing algorithm can accurately identify each person's desire threshold and then adjust the corresponding product price. But your desire is not a product that can be directly purchased in a store. Your desire is—the desire for control."
Wu Wang paused for a moment, then tilted his head to look at the other person.
"You crave control, wanting to have the people and things around you in your control."
"The factory has noticed, so it assigns you these tasks that seem to be getting increasingly difficult and demanding. It's testing your limits step by step. You think you're the hunter actively investigating, but you're actually just a hound passively responding."
"When your bottom line is tested to its limit."
"Then congratulations, you are qualified to become the best smile-teller."
The last three words, "Wu Wang," were drawn out so long that they sent chills down one's spine.
The two of them were silent for a few seconds.
All that remained was the faint hum of the surrounding spherical experience cabins as they rotated.
The hawksbill turtle did not reply immediately.
Wu Wang didn't urge him to do anything. He peeled a candy, popped it into his mouth and chewed it, and also peeled one for Xiao Qiu.
The expressions on the face of both the human and the cat were exactly the same—they looked like they wanted to punch someone.
"Are you... done talking?"
She finally spoke, her voice even colder than before.
“Then let me say a few words.” Turtle pushed up her glasses and said, “You’re right, I do like being in control, I don’t deny that, but you said the factory is using me, or even manipulating me…”
"Have you ever considered that I also guessed this, so I'm also taking advantage of the factory?"
She put her hands in her shirt pockets and seemed more relaxed.
His tone also became more composed.
"Originally, I just wanted to earn the initial 1000 wish points, but as I observed you, I found that you have a lot of problems. So these tasks actually gave me a legitimate reason to get closer to you."
Do you know why I didn't make a special effort to find and submit evidence of your violations?
After all, that was her second task.
However, no evidence of hawksbill turtle has been submitted so far.
Without waiting for Wu Wang's reply, Dai Mao gave the answer.
"The mission may end once the evidence has been submitted."
"I have no way of judging how much of a threat you pose to the factory based on subsequent tasks."
"I want to see how far you can go."
These answers surprised Wu Wang a little.
He raised an eyebrow and said, "So you're gambling?"
“Gambling sounds too harsh. I’m investing,” Turtle corrected. “I’m investing in how much trouble you can cause the factory. After all, to complete the main task of taking over the factory, you can’t bypass the talent incubation center and those smiling people.”
"You've given me the opportunity to see the factory's true colors."
"As for the wish points and promotions from the mission rewards, I don't care about them anymore."
After saying that, she stared straight at Wu Wang, seemingly waiting for his reaction.
A smile suddenly appeared on Wu Wang's face.
This time, it wasn't the usual sarcasm, but rather a hint of genuine pleasure.
"interesting."
He crunched the candy in his mouth and said, "You're smarter than I thought."
“You’re crazier than I thought,” Tortoiseshell retorted. “Lime has been itching to get her teeth clean all afternoon.”
The expressions on their faces were somewhat subtle.
A strange, unspoken understanding filled the air.
It's neither trust nor hostility; it's more like two chess players agreeing on the rules of the game before they start playing.
And whether the other party is qualified.
"No matter which main line we take, we can't avoid the operation mechanism of talent incubation centers and factories. Although we have different goals, at least at this stage there is no conflict."
"Although you have organized a group of NPC employees, they are still just ordinary people. Compared to these people, players can definitely provide more assistance."
“Even when you test the Smiler, I can call other players to cover for you.”
"How about we form a temporary alliance?"
"Once we overcome the obstacles ahead, everyone can use their own methods to decide the final fate of the factory."
Looking at the hand that the hawksbill turtle reached out after it finished speaking.
Wu Wang nonchalantly retorted, "Aren't you afraid I'll stab you in the back?"
"That depends on whether you're afraid I'll stab you first." The hawksbill turtle didn't back down at all.
clap clap-
The sound of applause came from Wu Wang's hands.
He then reached out and shook hands with the other person, his eyes filled with a kind of burning desire to have fun.
"Of course I'm not afraid, you can't kill me."
An alliance that seemed incredibly fragile was born here.
Neither of them are good people.
They also knew that the other party would stab them in the back sooner or later.
Now it's a matter of who can deal with the factory threat faster and more ruthlessly. (End of Chapter)