At one o'clock in the afternoon, Duan Mingyuan sat alone on a bench not far from the police station.
This was usually the time right after the end of lunch break when workers were fully focused on their jobs, but now, he had thrown all his trivial work to the back of his mind.
There was a Monster in the company and he had become the target of everyone's criticism, and this was also the first time in Duan Mingyuan's life that he had been threatened by a Monster.
Since when do Monsters start forming alliances?
It seemed like fate was pushing him to resign.
The thought that if he stayed in the company, the Monster might take his colleagues hostage again, Duan Mingyuan made up his mind.
But on second thought, this decision didn't seem that hard—actually, it was somewhat pleasing.
He wouldn't have to worry about the upcoming inspection by the head office, nor would he have to stress over handing over his work.
He could even go straight home now, lie down in bed, and enjoy what people call waking up naturally.
Unlocking his phone screen, though the lunch break had ended a while ago, the chat group was filled with people slacking off at work.
Everyone was passionately discussing the incident that happened at the company this morning; he had become the exemplar in his colleagues' eyes for daring to resist an unscrupulous boss, and a hero was born. Today, more people mentioned him than in his entire four years of working.
Just before leaving the company, Duan Mingyuan finally uncovered a secret hidden for four years.
The reason work was never done was finally found.
Time is like water in a sponge; these people just spent all their working hours chatting in the group.
"This is acting bravely for a just cause."
The colleagues in the chat group and the police taking the statement came to the same conclusion.
This was probably the first time that Duan Mingyuan received a positive evaluation after being involved with a Monster.
Acting bravely for a just cause certainly sounds much better than "suspicious man."
After an unscrupulous boss splashed a subordinate's face with hot coffee and smashed the back of another subordinate's head with a decorative item, he finally faced the punishment of the Ogre boxer. According to an informant who wished to remain anonymous, the section chief was already unconscious when carried out of the office.
Duan Mingyuan watched the lively discussion in the company's large chat group, and his eyelids twitched violently a few times.
Who's setting the tone!
How did he become the Ogre boxer; whom had he eaten?
In the time he was giving his statement, it seemed his colleagues in the chat group had reached a consensus on this nickname; he tried to scroll up through the chat history to find out who had set this tone but eventually gave up because there was simply too much chat, and he couldn't find the instigator even as his eyes went blurry.
After four years of obscurity, he was widely recognized by his colleagues as the "Ogre boxer" just before his resignation.
The group name had been changed to "Ogre Boxer Support Group" at some unknown point.
The reasons for his resignation had just increased by one.
Just thinking about being suddenly called Ogre boxer by colleagues from other departments in the company made Duan Mingyuan feel very uncomfortable.
As for the section chief's plight, he could only express his regret.
Luo and the female colleague who had been hit in the back of the head both went to the hospital for injury assessments. This had escalated to personal injury, with the section chief's career being hopeless, and he might even face punishment from the company, as no one wants to work under a chief with a serious tendency towards violence.
However, Duan Mingyuan believed that with the section chief's ability to self-regulate, he would be able to cleverly navigate this crisis.
After all, compared to those who died at the hands of the Monster and ended up as missing persons, this could already be considered a lucky outcome.
He should start planning his next steps after resignation.
Thinking this, a fiery red figure appeared in his vision, approaching from a distance, and then sat down next to him, reaching into a freshly packed bag of bread, "Here, curry fried noodle bread."
"I should have told you to stay at home and rest properly when you have a fever."
"Don't equate a monster's constitution with that of humans, a mere cold would only take half a day... cough cough cough!"
Before he could cough out loud, Jiuyue decisively stuffed the bread into Duan Mingyuan's arms to prevent the food from being contaminated.
Wearing a mask that covered most of her face, her pointed ears drooped listlessly on top of her head, her voice softened as well, "There's aftermath work to deal with."
She looked exactly like an overworked employee with a high fever of 39 degrees, still called to the office by their boss to work overtime.
"This evil spirit is different; it not only sets traps but also goes to your company to find you."
This was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous existence, yet she hadn't even had the chance to see the face of this vicious evil spirit.
"Have you driven it away already?"
"Mhm."
Duan Mingyuan was noncommittal.
The man before her was a true expert.
Although his methods of eradicating evil spirits were somewhat... unconventional, they were effective nonetheless.
Duan Mingyuan looked down as he unwrapped the stir-fried noodle bread, the curry stir-fried noodle bread always bringing a strong sense of satisfaction.
Jiuyue watched the man in front of her silently. After a while, she suddenly asked out of the blue, "Can I move in and live with you?"
Duan Mingyuan was caught off guard, the curry almost shot up into his nose and pierced through to his crown; his eyes filled with disbelief. After all, Jiuyue was a 19-year-old girl in the prime of youth, and to abruptly move in with an unfamiliar 29-year-old man, it was hard not to make associations with certain law enforcement TV shows.
"Aren't you afraid I'm a bad person?"
"You're a good person, I'm very accurate at judging people," Jiuyue stated firmly.
In truth, she had her own ulterior motives. Not only was Duan Mingyuan a good person, but he was also a good person preparing to resign and change careers, which provided her with an opportunity. It's said that familiarity breeds fondness, and living together for a long time might foster a strong friendship.
"Good people and bad people can't be distinguished by the naked eye."
Duan Mingyuan sighed. This was different from work; if Jiuyue encountered a bad person, her personal safety could be at risk. He had just seen news recently about a group in Yunlong City specializing in deceiving and abducting outsiders.
"Then, what bad things have you done?"
"I..."
What a tricky question. Duan Mingyuan thought hard for a good while and couldn't come up with an answer. Since he started working, the tight overtime schedule left him with no leisure time to do bad things.
Jiuyue's mouth curled upwards, "See, I told you you're a good person."
"I'm about to do something bad next."
Duan Mingyuan straightened his face, trying to look as intimidating as possible, like a truly fearsome bad person, "For example, I will charge you rent. The rent in my area is around 3000 Bei, but I will ask for an outrageous price, charging you 4000 Bei."
Taking advantage of a newcomer to Yunlong City by demanding an exorbitant price, motivated by the principle of scamming as much as possible, constituted the evils of adulthood.
Moreover, this was even when considering a cohabitation scenario.
Any rational person, upon hearing such an unreasonable rent, would turn away immediately.
But Jiuyue was clearly not part of this group. Facing the unscrupulous landlord, she responded like a victorious general, "You said 4000 Bei yourself. You're not allowed to take it back!"
"Jiuyue!"
"Present!"
"Young people shouldn't be too naive. I advise you to shop around and think carefully before you act!"