Chapter 122

[Congratulations! You have successfully cleared the Awakening Game—B-Class Calamity: Endless Desert]

[At day 34, hour 5, you successfully cleared the "Carve a Bloody Path" game and survived. Main quest complete, clearance conditions met! (A B-Class random reward has been unlocked)]

[Player Performance Rating: SSS]

[World Whisper: This is a marked world, a playground where its inhabitants are treated as qualified NPCs. A game of destruction paid for with lives unfolded here, destined to become a meal for greedy hyenas. Yet you triumphed in the contest, leading the protagonists of its script to save its life. The highway was destined to become gravel beneath your feet, not a road to nowhere.]

[Congratulations! Special achievements unlocked: Famous Team, National Cooperation Partner, Perfect Clear, Night Walker;]

Lin Tu opened her eyes. A moment ago she'd been under the blazing sun; now she was in the chill of an early spring night. Restless, she glanced at the time on her phone and let out a helpless sigh—she'd have to adjust to the time difference.

Dong Huadan and the others reported their safe returns in the group chat, then went off to count their loot. It wasn't just Lin Tu—their whole team's obsession with items was infamous, and players had all received trades from acquaintances or strangers alike.

Guan Suixing, however, posted an invitation for the next disaster she was entering, inviting everyone along. Lin Tu opened it, saw the calamity name [Extreme Corporation], and immediately closed it. She had full-on PTSD from the words "company" and "grind."

Probably relieved that her little sister had returned safely with a haul, Guan Suiyue quickly sent a message—

"Tomorrow morning at eight, Doomsday Town, Dong Huadan's shop. If anything comes up, I'll notify you an hour early."

Lin Tu agreed.

She quickly sorted through what she'd gathered in the last calamity. Thanks to the special "fleece the system" side quest in that world, she'd come out quite well.

Besides the A-class skill [Lighthouse] she'd obtained on Salt Crust Road, she'd picked up a B-class item on Cannibal Road, another on Farm Road, and an A-class skill on Geocenter Road. Those items were—

[Cannibal Whistle (B-Class): When blown, cannibals will appear and consume part of a dead body or a defenseless living body (at least 100g). The cannibal will then tell you the target's basic information and physical condition.]

[Beloved Feed Trough (B-Class): As its name implies, a feeding trough beloved by small animals. 1. When the feed you provide continuously exceeds the maximum capacity of the animal you're feeding, an "unknown small animal" will come to settle beside the trough (this animal will be harmless and absolutely healthy); 2. Animals fed from this trough rarely fall ill;]

[A Handful of Loess (A-Class Skill): An ultra-powerful attack item common in apocalyptic worlds. Grab any handful of dirt and fling it at an enemy. If it successfully hits the enemy's face, you gain a special effect of immobilizing the enemy for 10 seconds.]

The A-class skill from Farm Road made animals you'd fed harder to kill and gave them an extremely low mutation chance. Given her contribution rate, Lin Tu could have fought for that skill, but... who could understand the nightmare of having fed an entire mountain of animals? If she'd taken that skill, she'd wake up every day worried about whether some animal had mutated! It was a horror-scenario. Lin Tu decisively gave it up.

Besides the items she'd obtained herself, there were also items traded to her by others.

The National Team representative had traded her an A-class item: [Moonlight Before the End (A-Class): After the disaster struck, people looked up at the unchanged bright moon and reminisced—how radiant the moonlight had once been. This sliver of pre-apocalyptic moonlight represents your past. Now, you can instantly teleport back to where you were five seconds ago (at night, this window extends to ten seconds). After one use, you must wait five/ten seconds before using it again.]

This item was far more high-end than her Handful of Loess. She'd coveted it when the man had used it before—she never expected it would end up in her own hands.

Lin Tu looked at the moonlight visible only to her at her fingertips, tapped it lightly to leave a trace of moonlight, then hopped off the bed and ran a few steps forward. About five seconds later, she blinked and was back on the bed.

Though—when she'd left the moonlight she'd been sitting, and now she returned standing. Good thing the bunk bed had already been removed, or she'd have a bump on her forehead now.

Lin Tu tucked the item away. She'd participated in only four Perfect Clear road quests and walked away with four A-class items/skills—she was more than satisfied.

Besides those yellow (A/B-class) items and skills, she'd also collected over two hundred pale-white items and over twenty green items.

Among the pale-white items, some were ordinary goods of exceptional quality like sand-proof shoe covers and oil-proof gloves, a few could slightly increase strength or agility, and some provided supplies.

A large portion were vehicle-specific: she'd gained 73 points of defense performance, 13 points of speed performance, and 3 fuel-consumption-reduction items.

Of the twenty-plus green items, aside from the previously seen [Hardworking Farmer], [Doctor's Special Bandage], [Sunscreen Bracelet], and [Garden Gnome], most were daily-life items like [Fully Automatic Grill Rack] and [Garbage Compost Bin].

Among them, the [Garbage Compost Bin] could turn everyday household waste into fertilizer plants could absorb; the [Clothing Compression Box] could compress clothes into a tiny box for easy storage and turn them into toy-like forms for easy selection...

Worth mentioning was that, besides the daily items, there was a [Medical Staff Pass] that allowed Lin Tu free entry into any room theoretically related to medical care—like a warehouse storing medical supplies, or a locked hospital—usable three times.

After reviewing the loot she'd fleeced from "Carve a Bloody Path," Lin Tu opened the random reward and special achievement rewards.

Clearing the calamity earned 200 points, the random reward gave another 200 points, and the [National Cooperation Partner] achievement's national bonus of 5 million dollars converted to 500 points. Altogether, clearing the calamity netted 900 points, plus her passive skill [Post-Disaster Economic Reconstruction], for a total of 909 points.

The good news was that, because this round had come with its own fuel, solar charging panels, and water, her extra utility costs were minimal. Her balance, which had dropped to about three thousand points after spending 500 on an item for Zhou Yi, suddenly bounced back to 4430.

The [Famous Team] achievement rewarded her with [Trust Candy]. Anyone who ate it would develop immense trust in you until the candy was excreted. The [Perfect Clear] achievement rewarded [Carve a Bloody Path VIP], whose effect matched its name. The [Night Walker] achievement increased her nighttime item effects by 3%.

This calamity had been especially fruitful—besides the special skills and items, there were basic resources like wood. Lin Tu had lost track of how much wood she'd accumulated; even if she burned it day and night, she'd have enough for years.

After tossing everything out to organize, it was already three in the morning. Exhausted, Lin Tu collapsed onto the bed and was asleep before long.

The next morning, the delivery guy arrived with her breakfast before Lin Tu even woke up.

She ate, put on a hat and mask, and did some light disguise before teleporting to Doomsday Town at seven-thirty with her supplies.

She arrived at Dong Huadan's shop on time, and Zhang Zisheng was already bustling about. Lin Tu handed her the two S-class items she'd planned to sell, [A Box of Super Survival Rations] and [Super Generator].

"I heard from Sister Huadan that you had a great haul this time!" Zhang Zisheng said, a little envious.

"You should have come," Lin Tu said. Guan Suiyue hadn't gone, so their team had been short one person. Lin Tu had wanted to invite Zhang Zisheng, but he'd declined.

"I don't have the ability, so forget it..." Zhang Zisheng hesitated for a moment. "Sister Lin, are you still in touch with Tian Jingjing, Zheng Yangyang, and Han Yu?"

Lin Tu had been busy clearing calamities in the game or stockpiling supplies in reality, dealing with monsters and suspects—she'd had no time for casual chat.

"Not long ago, Han Yu invited them to join a B-class calamity. He said he had a brilliant idea to clear it. Tian Jingjing and Zheng Yangyang were too afraid to go, and they couldn't talk Han Yu out of it either. In the end... Han Yu died in that B-class calamity." Zhang Zisheng gave a bitter smile. "I was just thinking—people should take things step by step, not do things beyond their capabilities."

Lin Tu remembered that bespectacled, bookish boy. Though life and death were common in calamity worlds, his death still made her pause for a moment before she nodded in understanding.

About a minute or two later, Guan Suiyue arrived, bundled up head to toe. Only after entering the small room Dong Huadan had prepared did she take off her sunglasses and hand over a sheet of paper—

"This is the list of people who've retrieved the [Useless Core] over the past six months. See if anyone on it looks familiar or rings a bell."

"That's so few?" Lin Tu was surprised. There were only five entries.

"Of course," Guan Suiyue raised an eyebrow. "This stuff isn't cheap, and it's not like it's everywhere! Plus the stock is limited—it's only used for important people or matters."

When she said "important," she glanced meaningfully at Lin Tu. "You haven't gotten yourself into some kind of trouble, have you?"

Lin Tu didn't answer her question; she looked at the list first. She scanned the five entries and quickly stopped at a familiar name—

"Zhang Bao." There was a hint of gritted teeth in Lin Tu's voice.

"Zhang Bao?" Guan Suiyue frowned. "Never heard of him."

"The assistant to Professor Lü, honorary expert of the Black Factory," Lin Tu said. She didn't understand Zhang Bao's motive, but in terms of timing and location, he fit perfectly as a suspect. As for the motive... Hah, she'd find out soon enough.

"That's a bit strange," Guan Suiyue took back the list, and seeing Lin Tu in a vengeful mood, she pondered for a moment before handing it back. "I don't know if you recognize the other four people on here, but they're all wealthy lone wolves or powerful high-ups. You don't understand Temple's code of conduct, but I do—unless there's enormous profit at stake, Temple never makes a move."

She then pointed at the person before Zhang Bao, the internal staff member who had retrieved the [Useless Core], marked "?": "This person, if I'm not mistaken, is a White Glove. White Glove is Temple's elite internal organization. Someone like me might look impressive within Temple, but in status, I'm nowhere near them."

Lin Tu looked at Guan Suiyue, waiting for her to continue.

Guan Suiyue smiled. "Just a suspicion. With Zhang Bao's funds and ability, he couldn't command a White Glove. I know Professor Lü too—with his wealth, he might be able to command one. Are you sure it's not Professor Lü liquidating his assets to have you killed?"

Lin Tu: "?" Was she really that hated?

"I need to go see Professor Lü," Lin Tu said. If Professor Lü wanted her dead, he wouldn't have acted as her angel investor.

Just as she finished speaking, her phone buzzed. She opened it—it was Yi Ying calling. Lin Tu didn't avoid Guan Suiyue and picked up—

"Sister Lin, something's wrong! I saw your name on the Black Factory's investigation list!"

Lin Tu glanced at Guan Suiyue. She had a feeling something bad was about to happen.

"Sister Lin, didn't you go to Professor Lü's place two days ago to buy items? He's missing! Two days ago, when the Black Factory's people went to his house looking for him, they found his assistant Zhang Bao dead in the room. The time of death was determined with an item—it was the night you bought the items! So the Black Factory concluded that you might be the last person to have seen Professor Lü!"

Lin Tu shot to her feet. "Zhang Bao is dead?"

"Huh?" Yi Ying was taken aback. Shouldn't the focus be on Sister Lin being a suspect?! "Sister Lin, the Black Factory might contact you. They'll bring a lie detector, so don't lie, Sister Lin! Otherwise, you really won't be able to clear your name!"

"Don't worry," Lin Tu thanked her. "I understand."

She hung up and looked back at Guan Suiyue. The timing of this call was too convenient...

"Don't look at me," Guan Suiyue fully removed her mask and smiled slightly. "I did investigate everyone on that list, found Zhang Bao dead, and guided the Black Factory's people there. But Yi Ying calling you now—that wasn't arranged by me."

"What do you want?" Lin Tu felt that Guan Suiyue had been doing too much, whether it was warning her about White Glove or guiding the Black Factory.

"Whatever I care about, that's naturally what I want," Guan Suiyue said without any shame over her hidden scheming. "You know what I care about. You've taken good care of her."

Lin Tu: "...You could just do it yourself."

"People are always constrained. There are many things I can't do." Guan Suiyue lowered her lashes and made her request. "Take her through [Extreme Corporation], and I'll find out who "?" is."

Was she some kind of nanny? She'd repeat that again. Lin Tu said skeptically, "You said it yourself—that person's status and ability outrank yours. How will you investigate?"

"You underestimate me too much," Guan Suiyue said confidently. "Hiding my talents is my gift. Besides, you don't have any other channel. I guarantee you—in all of Doomsday Town, there's only one person who can and is willing to find out who "?" is. And that's me."

Lin Tu sneered. "So you're willing to pay the price for your sister and quit Temple?"

Guan Suiyue didn't take the sarcasm to heart. She put her sunglasses back on. "Thanks for your concern. Seems you've agreed. I'll be going now—staying too long here would make people suspicious."

Lin Tu: "..." Fine. She'd have to be a nanny one more time.

"Wait," Lin Tu added a condition. "After you find out who "?" is, you need to arrange a chance for me to meet them."

"Deal."

Lin Tu opened her phone and saw the disaster info Guan Suixing had posted, beneath which was her firm "no" from last night. —Sigh, people really were fickle. But who told Guan Suiyue to offer so much? Lin Tu deliberated for a moment, then sent: "I'm in."

"Me too." Soon, Yi Ying, Luo Yongzhi, and Liu Sheng chimed in below.

There were still three days before entering [Extreme Corporation]. Lin Tu planned to keep a low profile and have Dong Huadan stock up some items for her. After all, she didn't want to get caught and harmed again before even finding the black hand behind her. As for the Black Factory's investigation? They could come find her whenever.

[Nightmare Doomsday

Rating: A-Class (Player's overall stats below standard, pass rate 39.999%)

Calamity: Extreme Corporation

Intro: "1. Congratulations! You have successfully joined One Big Happy, Joyful, Beautiful Family! 2. Please treat the company as your home! 3. Please treat every colleague as your family!" Not long ago, the resume you sent out finally got a response—you received the above onboarding text. You thought you'd finally escaped your identity as an unemployed drifter, that you could support yourself. But little did you expect, this was the beginning of all disasters. This is a company located in a nightmare space. It will give you an unprecedented "wonderful experience." You won't want to stay here for more than three months!

Main Quest: Survive for 3 months!

Side Quest: Earn money, earn as much as possible! (The ultimate goal of every corporate slave! Earn a certain amount to unlock random rewards!)

Lin Tu: Who can understand? Just reading the intro made her feel like she was about to have a heart attack!

For the first time, Lin Tu felt that the upcoming calamity was pure torture. When the time came, she lay down on the bed with great reluctance.

The next second, she opened her eyes and found herself sitting at a workstation.

This was even worse than her old work environment. A narrow office crammed at least three to four hundred people. Looking ahead, the windows on both sides were sealed shut with iron plates. A dense sea of heads crowded into every work station smaller than a square meter, making even breathing feel extraordinarily difficult.

Numble, busy, hopeless—a deathly atmosphere uniformly enveloped everyone, as if walking in here meant walking into a place called hell.

Lin Tu almost failed to draw a breath, nearly suffocating to death on the spot.

"Just work the last three months, just work the last three months... I'll go home and eat something good in a bit, the last three months..." Lin Tu kept coaxing herself before she calmed down enough to inspect what was on her desk.

There was very little personal items on her desk—they must have been hidden away.

Sure enough, Lin Tu didn't need to search hard to find a small reclining chair and a flat, dirty pillow beside her chair. In one drawer, there was a frayed toothbrush, toothpaste, a tattered towel and other toiletries... Alright, Lin Tu understood. This space of less than a square meter was likely to be her living quarters for the next three months.

In another drawer, there were her ID card, resume, and other information. Lin Tu picked them up—the photo was hers, and the info on the resume was hers too.

Very realistic, very immersive. Truly a nightmare space.

After putting the resume back, Lin Tu looked at the desk again. The items on the desktop were much fewer: a computer, a desk lamp, a pen holder, a file organizer full of documents, a stack of sticky notes, and sticky notes nearly covering the entire desk, plus a phone.

What was her job?

Just as Lin Tu was thinking and about to check the documents and sticky notes on the desk, the phone rang. She picked up—it was an internal call—

"Lin? Busy?"

Lin Tu glanced at the caller ID and casually grabbed a sticky note to jot down the number.

When she didn't answer, the voice on the other end asked again, "Lin? Busy?" This time, the tone was more serious.

When Lin Tu used to work, because she wasn't good at socializing, she'd never been good at refusing when someone told her to do something. So this kind of question was familiar to her—usually, it meant the other party had nothing better to do and wanted to saddle her with something.

Refuse or not refuse... Lin Tu suddenly remembered the game intro, the onboarding rule "Please treat every colleague as your family." She decisively said—

"What's the matter? I'm a bit busy, but I can help."

The voice on the other end indeed softened. Just as Lin Tu thought there was some important task: "Right, my food delivery is here. Lin, go pick it up for me."

Lin Tu: "..." Want a couple of slaps?

"Alright, where should I put it?" Lin Tu asked.

"Don't you remember my workstation?" The voice said eerily.

"How could I," Lin Tu scrambled her brains, but her social skills really were lacking, so she had to say, "I've been thinking, I thought of a great idea. We can eat in the bathroom directly—eat, then crap, and that way we save our break time and work even better!"

The voice was silent... stunned... "Great idea! Put it by the bathroom door!"

Lin Tu hung up and let out a sigh of relief.

Now she looked at the sticky notes on the desk again and found they were all workstation numbers and tasks to be done. Some already had X's through them, including but not limited to—

"Help *** prepare instant noodles" "Help *** pick up packages" "Help *** get hot water" "Help *** print documents"...

Lin Tu: So her job was being helpful?

Lin Tu decided to look for more info when the phone rang again—"Lin! Where's my food delivery! Why haven't you picked it up yet!"

Lin Tu was about to speak when she heard someone nearby shout angrily, "What the hell do I care about your package? What does your package have to do with me? Stop bothering me, I'm really sick of it!"

He slammed down the phone and muttered, "I haven't even figured out how to clear this damn calamity."

A player? Lin Tu gave him a second look.

The very next second, his eyes widened in terror, and then his head burst open like an overripe watermelon with a loud "bang."