RHWHEG – Chapter 23 Recruiting New Staff

“Detected that the player has had no points income for a long time. This round of the game is automatically considered a failure. Victory and defeat are common in warfare; player, don’t be discouraged—start over!”

Yu Qunqing: “Shut down the game. Let me give them a real shock.”

“Ding-dong, ding-dong. Detected player dissatisfaction. Switching now to humanized professional customer service. Hello, player, we are willing to offer a points-based lottery spin as compensation. Does this solution work for you?” The system’s voice was no longer cold and electronic.

Yu Qunqing: “But this isn’t a game I can win by myself.”

The enemy also needed to actively attack before he could start slicing the fruits.

“All right, we did detect a game operation bug. We apologize for the inconvenience. Starting bug removal… locked… attacking—”

“I don’t want it! I don’t want it!” Suddenly someone in the shelter rolled on the ground, pleading with their teammates. “Something is eating my brain! It’s telling me to attack! I don’t want to! I don’t want to!”

The man curled up on the ground, repeatedly banging his head against it. His screams were so harrowing that everyone’s faces turned pale. He howled to the sky, and flames uncontrollably ignited from his hands, burning his clothes.

“Attack failed.

Initiating the second plan. Calculating your losses. Compensation scheme activated—”

The man, tears streaming, curled up while muttering “I don’t want to attack, I don’t want to fight.” No one could have imagined that this man, who was now begging for mercy, had once been the fiercest attacker, lighting up half the waiting hall with a fiery net.

The shelter leader’s face darkened. He had expected that it would be Yu Qunqing and his team pleading for mercy, while he would elegantly order his men to administer the finest sedatives to Yu Qunqing. But now the advantage had flipped. He faced an insurmountable obstacle! They had no chance of winning; the demon even kept recharging them, forcing them as if manipulating puppets!

The pleas for mercy echoed in their ears, and everyone lost the will to attack. Some even found a grim relief, thankful that their powers had restored the chance to escape.

“I still have a chance…”

The little assistant clutched the radio, holding onto the tiniest hope. Finally, several long seconds passed, and the radio emitted a rhythmic sound. Heart pounding, the assistant decoded the message from the company:

“The radio is not a place for writing poetry. Slacking at work, you are deducted points 0923BA.”

It was all over.

The little assistant felt as if struck by lightning; his twenty-some years of life flashed before his eyes.

Meanwhile, the long-haired man asked Yu Qunqing where he came from. Yu Qunqing replied: “Haven’t you already identified me? I’m an employee of Polar Bear Company. Survival of the fittest, only the elite survive.”

Unexpectedly, he even remembered the slogan of this lousy company.

She Lulang, standing nearby, didn’t think anything was wrong.

But to the little assistant, these words felt like divine revelation!

Because it had only been about three months since the apocalypse, the global information network was largely paralyzed. Polar Bear Company was in the painful transition phase, and the headquarters had reluctantly abandoned most of its former staff. Now, it was rebuilding order from scratch.

In other words, only a few people knew the company slogan.

The time lag in information gave the little assistant courage. He ran, but was zapped by something and fell. He raised his head and shouted: “I’m an undercover! I am loyal to you! I killed that madman from the foundation. I still have the shelter’s data and the company’s dedicated radio!”

The leader was stunned. The others quickly realized that She Lulang probably hadn’t betrayed them; it was the assistant’s fault that had triggered the attack. They could have avoided this disaster! Regret and fear mingled in their hearts, and all they wished was to go back in time and stop themselves.

“Good child.” Yu Qunqing, thinking it was a sneak attack, sighed. “Now you are fired.”

—The dream shattered in an instant. The little assistant collapsed to the ground, motionless and compliant.

A glance around confirmed no one else would step forward. They stood frozen, awaiting final judgment.

“Sun Min?” Yu Qunqing recognized his companion in the crowd. “Help open the coffins.”

“Sounds like we’re grave robbers,” Sun Min muttered, opening nine freezers. In number 061 lay a shapeless pile of straw. Both She Lulang and Yu Qunqing exhaled in relief—this pile was actually a former teammate.

All nine freezers were opened. No explanation was needed; everyone understood the truth of the exchange. The powered individuals inside were in deep sleep, but the injuries and tubes on their bodies told of harsh experiences.

Among the onlookers, some watched numbly, some closed their eyes, unable to bear it.

A merman staggered over with a wounded test subject. Air injected into its bloodstream had formed bubbles in the heart, blocking circulation. Blood flowed from its orifices, and they were helpless.

The merman, looking pained, asked, “Should I give it a merciful end?”

Yu Qunqing didn’t answer immediately, instead glancing toward the shelter.

Suddenly, a woman stepped forward, nervous and trembling. Her voice quivered with tears: “I…I’m a medical attendant. The power…cough…‘oxygen-enriched circulation’…I might be able to help.”

Yu Qunqing nodded. “All right, you’re hired. Welcome to our warm family.”

A ripple of excitement ran through the crowd as everyone looked around, waiting for the next volunteer.

Yu Qunqing ignored them and announced: “The rest of you, even if you don’t want to join the company, you have another way out. Climb to the next level within a minute. The gate there can be opened. Escape quickly—I won’t pursue.”

Most people took it as a royal pardon, scrambling up the steel pillars. The speedboats that brought them were too far, and without keys, they could only swim through the gate. They might encounter disasters, they might return alive to the shelter—life is unpredictable.

A few black birds took to the sky. The shelter leader had a blood hole in his chest—She Lulang personally dealt with him. After all, Yu Qunqing promised not to pursue, so it wasn’t his concern.

Most people escaped. Only five remained at the shelter, including the medical attendant, who was treating the injured test subjects.

“We… don’t want to return to the shelter,” they said. “We can’t accept their methods. But you saved these people, we trust you.”

Sun Min laughed: “You couldn’t win, that’s why, not because you didn’t want to fight.”

They hung their heads in shame.

Yu Qunqing searched the bodies. The little assistant had been killed by She Lulang in one strike. He retrieved the important data and a toolbox containing several pairs of disaster-stone suppression rings—precious items in the current time.

He handed them to the defectors, stating it was a trial period and hoped they would perform well.

Yu Qunqing was like a benevolent demon. They, grimy and dusty, wore the rings. The doctor was exempted as an official staff member.

The merman checked the sleeping test subjects, found none familiar, and sighed in relief.

Sun Min glanced at She Lulang: “Is he one of us?” He had heard the shelter staff say She Lulang was a level 2 power user. Could such a strong person really join their team?

Yu Qunqing: “My new ally.”

She Lulang nodded in agreement. He was a little surprised at how easily Yu Qunqing accepted him. Direct honesty really worked. This time, they had a good start—at least no fighting. He would not repeat past mistakes, letting any wild power near Yu Qunqing.

As for words like “I want to be with you,” he had been too anxious before; Yu Qunqing probably hadn’t heard clearly. He would plan carefully now…

She Lulang looked at Sun Min. The latter was just a university student, capable and trustworthy—a reliable teammate. Sun Min shivered under the gaze, muttered a laugh, and walked off.

Yu Qunqing still had a suppression ring in hand. He casually glanced at She Lulang’s pale wrist before retracting, as if it was just an idle look. He finally felt She Lulang was truly alive and vowed to protect him this time.

Yu Qunqing stored the ring and said to She Lulang: “Let’s go, back to my base together.”

He walked over to a freezer, teasing a motionless pile of straw, as if everything were normal.