The clatter of keyboards echoed back and forth around Luo Xi's ears.
Luo Xi rubbed her eyelids and glanced at the time on the bottom right corner of her computer screen.
5:26.
It was almost time to get off work.
Her colleagues next to her were all still in a state of high-intensity work. According to what Luo Xi had learned in her nearly three months on the job, they wouldn't leave until after eight o'clock, each one a seasoned veteran of rolling up their sleeves and diving into work.
When the time reached 5:28, Luo Xi followed procedure, closing various drafting software and clearing out the computer's background apps.
Just then, a scholarly-looking man in his thirties came over and said leisurely, "Luo Xi, don't rush off just yet. Do this bidding document for me, I've already sent it to your WeChat."
Luo Xi raised an eyebrow and said, "Chen Chen, group leader, it's already time to leave work."
Chen Chen responded with a smile, "I know it's about time to get off work, but you know, young people should get more practice. You've only joined us for three months, and getting you involved in these tasks is for your own good, to have broader prospects for development in the company later on."
"Oh."
Luo Xi, without even lifting her head, asked, "Then is there overtime pay today?"
"What are you thinking?"
Chen Chen looked surprised and said, "You're still in your internship period, and besides, you know how it is in our industry, flexible work hours, this counts as voluntary overtime, there's no overtime pay."
"Heh."
Luo Xi nearly laughed out of exasperation.
How could he be so self-righteously unreasonable?
"Let's forget about this 'practice'; I can't afford it. Please, find someone else."
Luo Xi couldn't be bothered with this idiotic group leader any longer. She promptly shut down the computer, packed up her things, and left.
Thinking about freeload her labor?
Not a chance.
The company's treatment was actually not bad, but the management was like a dumb bird. You had a task you could have given me earlier, but waited to dump it on me right at quitting time, and without overtime pay, isn't that just incredibly annoying?
After Luo Xi left the company lobby, her phone's WeChat group wouldn't stop popping with messages.
She took a glance, and in the work group, Chen Chen was continuously ranting and tagging everyone.
—What a joke, claiming that assigning tasks to us was for our own good. Young people who don't strive for better, who refuse to endure a bit of hardship, will just end up being lifelong workers, and such.
The way it's being put, you'd think he owned the company himself.
It was rush hour for leaving work, so Luo Xi didn't wait for the elevator, instead taking the emergency stairs beside.
"First order some takeout... hmm, what to have?"
Suddenly, a notification popped up at the top of her phone.
[Respected player, you have obtained the beta test qualification for the daily text-based game 'Dawn' (a total of 100,000 global testing slots available), would you like to download?]
Looks like a junk game at first glance.
Luo Xi swiped away the notification indifferently.
The notification popped up again.
[Cool player, are you sure you don't want to download it? This is a really entertaining daily game, where you can experience things you've never experienced before.]
Swipe away x2.
[Game download successful, 'Dawn' is being installed... Installation successful, enjoy the game!]
Within seconds, a gray app icon had appeared on her phone's home screen.
Luo Xi: "???"
Forced download and installation?
These game developers are really going all out nowadays.
She pressed and held the icon, intending to delete the game.
[Delete failed]
After trying several times, Luo Xi found she simply couldn't delete it; even obliterating the game file with the phone's management tools didn't remove the icon from the home screen.
Fxxk, is this thing a game or a virus?
It wouldn't be one of those pranks that played a weird, high-pitched sound, would it?
Back in her freshman year of college, one of Luo Xi's roommates fell for something like that during a class, and ended up in social death, completely losing the right to choose a mate for four years.
Luo Xi looked around before and behind her, finding the dimly lit staircase empty. After hesitating for a moment, she went ahead and opened the app while firmly covering the speaker.
A black background with white text appeared simultaneously.
[Respected player, no, it's time to call you a Traveler from another world now.]
[Traveler, you have embarked on a completely unknown journey. What lies ahead is still a mystery, and during your travels, you might pay a price beyond imagination, possibly even with your life.]
[Of course, you will also receive rich rewards.]
[Inside the Dream world, any changes and enhancements stemming from the essence of life that occur to your character will be equivalently reflected onto your true self in the Otherworld.]
[Would you like to enter the journey through the Dream?]
[Yes/No]
[Notice: If you choose No, this game will be permanently deleted and cannot be downloaded again. Please consider carefully.]
So it really is a game?
Luo Xi clicked yes.
Since she had opened it, she might as well play a little—who knows, it could be interesting.
[Traveler from the Otherworld, you have chosen to embark on this unknown journey. No matter what your future holds, you now stand as a commendable warrior.]
[You have obtained the title: Otherworld Traveler]
[Initiating initial character generation...]
[Your initial character's appearance will use your current physical attributes as a template.]
[Your initial character's behavior will be modeled after your subconscious tendencies.]
[Character Creation Complete]
[The great will of the Dream World has presented all Travelers from other worlds with gifts to select]
[Gifts may be good or bad, please choose carefully, as your selection cannot be changed afterward]
[Please select two of the following talents as your initial talents]
[Friendly Reminder: The color of the talent only indicates the rarity of the talent]
[Town Quiz Whiz (White/Common)—You learn knowledge at a rate far surpassing that of ordinary people (limited to typical types of knowledge)]
[Poor Man (Green/Fine)—Your money will always disappear for inexplicable reasons (so if you don't have money, you won't lose any!)]
[Repulsion of the Same Sex (Blue/Rare)—All members of the same sex have an innate -50 favorability toward you (this is an essential talent for becoming the enemy of all men)]
[Favored by Small Animals (Blue/Rare)—All small animals have an innate +50 favorability toward you (this is an essential talent for kidnapping various small animals)]
[Variant (Purple/Epic)—You have been infected by some unknown Mutant Factor (don't ask, because I don't know either)]
[Many Misfortunes (Purple/Epic)—You always encounter many unfortunate events, and disasters will find you involuntarily (Disasters? They're just stepping stones for you to become stronger)]
[Immersion (Gold/Legendary)—After meeting certain triggering conditions, you can fully sync with a character in the Dream World for a short time and receive corresponding attribute bonuses (no need to unlock the Dreamland sync module for use)]
What the hell are these messy talents...
This unscrupulous game company definitely can't make games, it must've hired some temps to write the text.
Forget it, just pick the two that seem the best.
As Luo Xi was about to choose, another line of rainbow-colored text popped up.
[Lucky Traveler from another world, you have caught the attention of '???', and you have one more talent option to select]
[Moonflow·Zero Point (Rainbow/Mythical)—After death, you can choose to rewind to zero hour of today (Note: Rewinding will cause intense mental stress, please use with caution)]
(??? has also bestowed upon you a gift, selecting this talent will default to acquiring all seven talents, with no choice for the player)]
Luo Xi was slightly stunned.
Good Lord, rewinding time?
So it's the losers who eat dust.
Is this a random easter egg triggered by the game?
Or is it a mandatory sequence?
But this description of the talent is quite interesting.
In total, there are eight talents, good and bad. Normally, only two can be chosen, but if I choose the last one, then all those seemingly negative talents will be mine as well.
Without much thought, Luo Xi decided to choose the best talent since it appeared.
The negative talents didn't matter, after all, it was just a game.
Luo Xi immediately lit up the newly appeared option.
[You have chosen Talent 'Moonflow·Zero Point', please note that by selecting this talent all available talents will automatically be acquired, would you like to proceed?]
[Yes]
[Selection Successful]
[Your chosen talents have all been loaded, Traveler from another world, you may begin your journey]
"Uh..."
Luo Xi suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head as if something had been forcibly inserted, but the pain vanished in an instant.
Before he could process it, the game had already started, and new text appeared on the screen.
[Traveler from another world, you awaken amidst a pile of weeds, surrounded by continuous mountains, with dusk approaching]
[The cool evening breeze carries the cold dampness, chilling your body, your coldness level +1 (temporary status)]
Hey, is this a text-only game?
Luo Xi immediately felt somewhat disinterested, as he was never keen on this type of game, couldn't they have at least included some attractive images?
But since he had started playing, playing a little longer wouldn't hurt.
[You stand up and look ahead]
[You, from another world, are shocked by the incredible sight before you, you have never seen such things before]
[The colossal trees reaching for the sky pierce through the clouds in the distance, the misty fog shrouds them, making them appear mysterious under the red glow of the setting sun]
[You feel a vibrant energy emanating from that direction, drawing you toward it]
[Event Recorded: The Giant Tree]
A light appeared in the top right corner of the screen.
Luo Xi clicked on it.
[Module Unlocked: Event Record Book]
[The Giant Tree]
[Description: You have witnessed a colossal tree with your own eyes, you can feel the vitality contained within, maybe you should head in that direction?]
Trees that touch the sky?
How big must that be, hundreds of meters tall?
Luo Xi continued to play on his phone while walking downstairs leaning against the stair railing.
That's the downside of text games, you have to imagine all the scenes yourself.
When Luo Xi reached the second floor, he didn't notice a soda can lying on the stair below.
Then, by some coincidence, Luo Xi stepped on it.
"Fxxk—"
After a series of curses and a heavy thud against the wall, Luo Xi leaned against the wall on the stair landing, while the screen of the fallen phone beside him displayed two lines of text.
[Ding! Talent: Many Misfortunes activated]
[Ding! Talent: Poor Man activated]