"Virtual Dreams, New Frontiers."
At the entrance of the Xianren Dreaming Group's headquarters in the South Ke Building, Bay Flow District, this phrase is displayed prominently.
It is said that this phrase is formed by a billion ever-changing intelligent particles that constantly detect the emotional state of anyone focusing their gaze on it, thereby showcasing different colors and background patterns.
As a result, those with slightly weaker emotional control can easily become entranced here.
And then, a bunch of people would point and laugh, mocking the person for being unable to handle it.
Why did Xianren Dreaming choose to make such a joke at the entrance of their headquarters?
Rumor has it that a former chairman, known for his extreme style of leadership, wanted to make all employees understand that only those with strong minds could adapt to this new world.
In retrospect, he was indeed quite visionary.
Employees passing through the entrance are mentally strong, able to withstand more pressure and longer hours.
Since the phrase was displayed, the average overtime hours at the group increased from three to six hours daily.
Most positions at Xianren Dreaming involve completing tasks in double dreams. This means that a day's work, measured in real time, equates to 8 + 6 = 14 hours. When this time is doubled, it represents the actual working hours for an employee at Xianren Dreaming.
After excluding meal times and brief breaks, the actual time spent usually exceeds 24 hours.
This was one of the most proud achievements during that chairman's tenure.
Due to the prolonged working hours in the virtual dream, Xianren Dreaming also became the company with the highest incidence of data epilepsy in the entire Federation, without exception.
Regardless of the impact this harsh working system had on society, it nevertheless indirectly confirmed Xianren Dreaming's motto: "Virtual Dreams, New Frontiers."
Students, soldiers, workers, and white-collar professionals all engage in learning and training within the virtual dream.
The higher the brain domain development level, the more they can endure higher dream multiples and stay in it for longer periods.
Naturally, this gives them an edge, allowing them to perform better than others.
Special forces train for combat, chefs train in cooking, doctors practice surgeries, and even dogs train their living habits in the virtual dream.
Of course, many others indulge in entertainment and games within the virtual dream.
Thus, when Tang Kede's virus outbreak occurred, it was the various software and machines released by Xianren Dreaming that were first infected.
Even though the mainframe had deployed antivirus programs, the virus embedded in Xianren Dreaming's public network and the underlying data of its devices still persisted.
Several incidents have already occurred where individuals cured by antivirus programs became infected again after using Xianren Dreaming's products.
In no time, Xianren Dreaming's stock plummeted, evaporating half of the group's value overnight.
What Tang Kede implanted in Xianren Dreaming was more than just a virus; it was a complete set of neural codes integrated with the virtual dream production engine.
Unless all codes are rewritten, merely clearing and disinfecting will not eradicate these entities.
On his first day as the new president, Qin Huaigui faced this predicament.
He was left dumbfounded.
—Is this what promotion feels like? It's like pushing himself into a pit of fire!
He silently listened to the situation report, not uttering a word before disconnecting the communication.
He stood up and walked to the window of his office, looking outside.
Perhaps the virtual dream is filled with all sorts of wild possibilities, but back in the real world, there are still real issues to solve.
"What do you think?" he asked.
On the communication module mounted on the wall behind him, a channel remained lit. It displayed only a number, no name, no image, and no sound.
In response to Qin Huaigui's question, there was no reply.
Qin Huaigui continued, "Alright, why us two?"
Text appeared on the communication module:
[Because we have the closest relationship with the boss. The higher-ups know the boss takes care of his own, so they threw us into this situation, believing whatever problems we can't handle, the boss will definitely solve for us.]
Not far away, at the Bay Flow District Public Security Bureau, Zhang Yuan typed this line.
As soon as he received the appointment, Zhang Yuan realized what was happening.
The board members probably guessed that Qin Xuezhong had connections with the Phantom organization and was highly capable. So when they couldn't solve the problem, they simply elevated Qin Xuezhong.
While he didn't know whether Qin Xuezhong was the real person or a puppet controlled by the Phantom, his gut instinct told him that the boss was a good person.
He just needed to work and not ask too many questions, which was better than living in discomfort before.
He also knew his brain domain development level wasn't high; otherwise, he wouldn't have been swept aside at Xianren Dreaming and relegated to being a low-level mole.
Given that there were so many experts at Xianren Dreaming unable to resolve the virus issue left by Tang Kede, how could he possibly do it?
Thus, he still had to rely on the boss.
Upon receiving the message, Qin Huaigui instinctively frowned.
His first reaction to the text was dislike.
What did they mean by "we have the closest relationship with the boss"? That Zhang Yuan was just a tech guy; how close could he possibly be with Qin Xuezhong?
He was the real assistant beside Qin Xuezhong, and in his false identity, he was even her brother.
Who could compare to that?
He instinctively retorted, "We just took over the job; asking for the boss already seems inappropriate, doesn't it?"
To be honest, Qin Huaigui's reaction was somewhat immature.
Zhang Yuan sensed this subtlety; he didn't want to dwell on it and simply replied: [I'll follow your lead].
—He didn't know if Qin Huaigui was in the black space, but he was there. After experiencing a joint escape with Qin Xuezhong, he clearly felt that Xiao Qin's attitude toward him had become more familiar.
For something as crucial as this, he could have privately messaged Qin Xuezhong to discuss solutions, rather than engage in idle chatter with an assistant who was unaware of the situation.
The moment Qin Huaigui spoke, he regretted it.
He wasn't foolish; he realized he had reacted impulsively.
He felt the urgency—he was now the president of Xianren Dreaming. Putting aside everything else, just the fact that he could arbitrarily decide life or death for others could stretch from Xigu Valley to the capital area… stretching back and forth ten times.
If he couldn't control his mindset, even the slightest nuance could lead to disaster and cause trouble for Qin Xuezhong.
After a few seconds of silence, he said, "I'm sorry, you're right. I'll report to the boss immediately."
His reversal only made Zhang Yuan find it amusing.
Soon, Zhang Yuan saw that in the private communication channel for the three of them, Qin Huaigui sent a message.
At this moment, Qin Xuezhong had just finished lunch and was sitting next to Jin An'an, watching a concert for a while. She was about to head to the massage pod to lie down.
She completely ignored the messages sent through secret channels from the Fifth family.
For anyone else, this news might have caused excitement or anxiety, but after everything she had been through, Xiao Qin remained remarkably calm. She understood that the more power and resources one held, the more troublesome matters would arise.
Having worked herself to exhaustion before her transmigration, she certainly wasn't going to be foolish again.
After the announcement of the appointments, Fifth Shifeng and two unknown individuals had specifically reminded her that it was up to her whether to manage the group's affairs or not—it was no big deal either way.
At the time, she had been a bit surprised; who gets such good treatment?
Seeing the current state of the group from Qin Huaigui's message made her realize their shrewd intentions. They had guessed she had a connection with the Phantom organization and some technical ability, so they wanted her to help solve the problems.
Xiao Qin knew that this time, she had no choice but to take action.
Now that the entire Fifth Consortium was in trouble, and with her undercover team still operating under Xianren Dreaming's name, if anything major went wrong, she could be affected as well.
Maintaining stability in life is always challenging, no matter the era.
She certainly couldn't exhaust herself; it would be unrealistic to have Zhang Yuan and Qin Huaigui sort through the problems.
At that moment, a light bulb went off in her head—didn't she still have Yu Zhezhuzhu?
Previously, in order to facilitate Yu Zhezhuzhu's tasks, the mainframe had prepared several comprehensive false identities for him, which now conveniently fell into Qin Xuezhong's hands.
Moreover, he had nanobots implanted in his face that could subtly adjust his facial and skeletal features, making him unrecognizable to cameras.
Yu Zhezhuzhu was a former lieutenant colonel; he was both a combat personnel and a researcher, clearly well-versed in many areas. With his high level of brain domain development, he would definitely be able to handle the challenges at Xianren Dreaming.
It was a waste to have such a talent cooped up at home cooking and doing housework every day.
She directly called him, "Um... are you free right now?"
"Just a moment," came the response, followed by some splashing sounds and environmental noise before it quieted down, "I was just cleaning the balcony; go ahead."
"I need your help with something. Let me explain what I need, and you can see if it's doable," Xiao Qin carefully chose her words to sound as polite as possible.
This comrade Yu had been a puppet for ten years, and now that he was out, he was stuck being her housekeeper.
Qin Xuezhong felt a bit embarrassed; she genuinely wanted Yu Zhezhuzhu to have a life of his own.
Worried about what he might think, she approached the conversation cautiously.
Yu Zhezhuzhu's voice was steady, even a bit cheerful, "Just say it; you don't need to be so polite."
Xiao Qin succinctly explained the situation at Xianren Dreaming and what she needed him to do.
Yu Zhezhuzhu replied, "So, you want me to help identify the issues within the group? If I can solve them, I'll handle it directly. If there are technical difficulties, I'll connect with you, and we'll tackle it together?"
"Yes! That's exactly what I mean!" Xiao Qin felt relieved.
Yu Zhezhuzhu hesitated for a moment before saying, "I think I can manage that, but…"
His tone was confident for the first half of his sentence, but the latter half sounded a bit conflicted.
"It's fine; just say it."
Yu Zhezhuzhu seemed a bit shy as he said, "But... if I go now, I won't have time to cook dinner at home."
—It was as if, for him, the hundreds of billions in business at Xianren Dreaming were less important than this dinner.