"I can't believe it! The Golden Mountain Hotel just sent me a message!"
In the analysis department's office, Jin Anan exclaimed.
Even Xie Kedu, who was playing games with headphones on, took them off to look over.
Jin Anan's eyes were full of excitement as she swiped at the screen and read aloud:
"Due to the unexpected incident last night, we sincerely apologize for any distress caused. We are offering you a VIP card for 30 days of free accommodation in our luxury suites for one year, along with 40 classic dinners…"
At this point, Jin Anan looked around the office in disbelief and continued, "If you feel any physical or mental discomfort, we will assign a dedicated customer service manager to connect you with a hospital or specialist, covering all expenses. Once again, we apologize, and wish you a good life…"
Before she could finish, Xie Kedu interjected, "I received one too!"
Then, Xue Zhi Shi also got the message.
Jin Anan stared blankly for a few seconds before pulling up a calculator and quickly crunching the numbers.
"The luxury suite at the Golden Mountain Hotel costs 10,000 credit points a night, and the classic dinner is 3,000 points per person… So, that adds up to over 400,000 points just for these two? That's outrageous!"
Xue Zhi Shi pondered thoughtfully, "It is a bit excessive, but their cost is indeed low. They're trying to curry favor with you, I guess. I don't understand the world of the wealthy."
At this point, the three of them turned their heads to look at Qin Xuezhong, who was still sleeping in the massage pod.
Xue Zhi Shi chuckled, "As expected of Xiao Qin; last night was so dangerous, yet she just kept eating and now, with such a huge compensation, she's still asleep."
Jin Anan nodded in agreement, "Yeah, watching her eat and sleep feels so blissful, as if nothing else matters."
Xie Kedu simply said, "Learn from her."
After that, he put his headphones back on and continued playing.
Jin Anan and Xue Zhi Shi relaxed and went back to slacking off.
—The compensation from the Golden Mountain Hotel was great, but the most important thing was enjoying their leisure time.
---
In reality, Qin Xuezhong had just woken up.
She hadn't received any compensation messages from the Golden Mountain Hotel and didn't know how to respond to her excited colleagues in the office.
She understood that she was a high-level member of the Fifth Consortium, and this incident was related to her. No matter how foolish the hotel staff might be, they wouldn't send her a message about compensation.
As for how the hotel and consortium would handle their headaches and resolve the issue, it was not her concern.
What she was more interested in was whether she could gain intelligence from the person they had captured yesterday.
According to Yu Zhezhong's arrangement, they would keep the hacker detained overnight, waiting until morning when he was utterly exhausted before beginning the interrogation.
There was still over half an hour until the scheduled time.
However, Qin Xuezhong was woken up by a message from Qin Huaigui.
[Leader, the chairman wants to communicate with you. Due to the deep encryption of the communication, the sound quality may not be good.]
Qin Xuezhong frowned.
As an undercover agent, her position was too audacious. During work hours, the big boss was able to contact her?
She replied that she was available.
Now, her control over her consciousness space was improving; she could transmit her voice without speaking, as if using a technique from a martial arts novel.
When the communication connected, there was a lot of background noise, but it was clear that it was an elderly woman's voice—calm, yet slightly expectant.
"Hello, Director Xiao Qin."
"Hello." Qin Xuezhong responded calmly, having already guessed the chairman's intention for the call.
"I've heard about the hotel incident. Thank you for resolving such a significant issue." The elderly woman spoke straightforwardly, "Are you willing to leave the security department and return to…"
"Not willing."
Before the elderly woman could finish, Qin Xuezhong decisively interrupted her.
"And in the future, don't come to me for these kinds of things. I don't have that much time and I'm not interested."
The woman on the other end was taken aback.
This sentence sounded somewhat familiar to her.
It was a line Qin Xuezhong had delivered after handling the virus in the Dreamscape system and implementing a two-hour work system, relayed to the board through the elderly woman's secretary.
The elderly woman still remembered that Qin Xuezhong had said she wasn't interested in dealing with such trivial matters and that they shouldn't bother her.
For ordinary people, reaching this position would naturally mean committing wholeheartedly to work.
But Qin Xuezhong? She seemed like she wanted to avoid it entirely.
Additionally, the two-hour work system in the Dreamscape had been in place for two days, and all operations were surprisingly smooth.
She had even taken the time to observe the expressions of those entering and exiting the headquarters—they were all smiling.
This made her even more curious: Where did Qin Xuezhong get her confidence? What was her reasoning?
Thus, she instinctively thought that if Director Xiao Qin were to manage these dull industries, perhaps from the lower groups to the entire Fifth House, a new vitality would emerge.
However, Qin Xuezhong once again refused.
The elderly woman was silent for a few seconds, her tone softening a bit as she gently asked, "Could you tell me the reason?"
Beside her, several high-ranking members of the Fifth Consortium changed their expressions.
—No one dared to refuse the elderly woman, nor did they have any reason to do so, and it was unheard of to refuse her and then have her softly inquire about the reason.
Qin Xuezhong was somewhat angry.
She had come to realize that this cyber world, or at least the city of Xigu, was truly chaotic.
Frantic overtime, class oppression, everyone was struggling to get by, and the relationships between people had reduced to mere interests.
So, these Fifth Consortium people saw her ability to solve problems and wanted to elevate her, only to exploit her consciousness space for free?
How could that be fair!
They thought that granting her power and status would satisfy her? Qin Xuezhong felt somewhat disgusted.
Thus, when the elderly woman opened her mouth to offer her more titles and power, she decisively refused.
Perhaps her life experience wasn't as rich, and she hadn't gone through as much intrigue as the elderly woman, but since the elderly woman sincerely asked, she decided to say something.
"Things cannot be managed just by enforcing rules."
Qin Xuezhong pondered for a moment before saying this.
The statement took the elderly woman by surprise and left those behind her with complicated expressions.
Not managing?
What was the purpose of management if not to manage?
To them, not managing the company equated to losing power, which could mean losing their lives!
Some, with shorter tempers, already showed impatience on their faces.
—What nonsense is this Qin Xuezhong spouting here?
Unaware of the situation on the other side, Xiao Qin continued, "I don't know much, but I know one thing: one person is certainly not as clever as a hundred people. If those in management interfere too much, it means restricting the wisdom of a hundred people with their limited insight."
Qin Xuezhong's reasoning was very simple and naive.
It also ignited anger on the faces of several people behind the elderly woman.
——What limited wisdom? Isn't that just a roundabout way of insulting people?!
In contrast, the elderly woman found Qin Xuezhong's words amusing and chuckled.
The more Xiao Qin spoke, the more coherent her logic became.
"Power, in itself, is a selfish desire that gives people a sense of control and possession over others. It naturally leads to oppression, which then leads to corruption."
"If power could be caged, those corrupt areas might begin to rejuvenate."
"Anyway… that's how I feel."
Xiao Qin casually concluded her thoughts, leaving the other side in dead silence.
Behind the elderly woman, some people fell into deep contemplation, while others showed signs of panic.
The elderly woman smiled and said, "I didn't expect that I came here to solve a corporate problem, and you ended up discussing philosophy."
Qin Xuezhong nonchalantly replied, "It's just a bit of reasoning."
"Is it because you believe that power corrupts a person, which makes you unwilling to take on leadership?"
"That's part of it," Qin Xuezhong replied, her tone still relaxed, "Mainly, I feel that managing too many things can be stressful."
The elderly woman was stunned for the third time.
She initially thought Qin Xuezhong wanted to discuss principles, but she didn't expect the underlying reason to be so simple.
She fell silent.
"Stress?"
For her, that felt like a somewhat distant term.
Ever since she joined the Fifth Consortium's board at the age of 45, "suppressing personal emotions" had become her daily lesson.
In such a position, if one didn't control their emotions, it would be impossible to handle various troubles effectively.
Suddenly, she laughed and said to Qin Xuezhong, "Wait a moment."
Then she announced to the board members in front of her, "Starting today, all management will begin assessing the possibility of reducing work hours, aiming to align with the two-hour schedule of the Dreamscape. Also, you need to lead by example and not interfere too much; just set the direction and let the frontline people figure things out on their own."
The elderly woman's tone was authoritative, and her eyes conveyed—no rebuttals allowed.
Everyone present nodded obediently, quickly contemplating the changes this major move might bring.
After saying this, the elderly woman seemed to relax a bit and turned to Qin Xuezhong.
"I apologize for my previous actions; I was wrong."
Xiao Qin felt a bit embarrassed and hurriedly replied, "No, no."
The elderly woman continued, "However, the rewards you deserve will still be given. Trust me, you should like this reward."
Qin Xuezhong hesitated for just a second before agreeing.
"Okay," the elderly woman sounded very pleased, "I'll have Huaigui send you the details shortly."
"Thank you."
"This is what you deserve," the elderly woman added, "If you have some free time recently, how about I treat you to a meal?"
"Sure! The best meal is one that someone else pays for," Xiao Qin joked.
"Hahahaha," the elderly woman laughed heartily, "Then it's settled. Thank you for your hard work."
Qin Xuezhong ended the communication, feeling quite relieved.
Today, they had finally cleared the air, and things wouldn't be as troublesome moving forward.
As she was thinking, Qin Huaigui sent her a message.
[Leader, the chairman has transferred her Sky Manor to your name, along with matching flying vehicles and cars. Should I go and accept it?]
Qin Huaigui seemed quite anxious.
Qin Xuezhong didn't know what that was, so she searched online.
The first image that came up left Xiao Qin stunned.
——It was an island floating in the sky.
According to the description, it was a giant airship transformed from a space carrier, with the lower part being the flying apparatus and the upper part converted into a small manor.
It was entirely covered with soil and had a large area of vegetation; it even featured a complete ecosystem, resembling a hovering little park.
The information stated that it was designed 20 years ago by the most renowned architects and engineers in the Federation, and there were no more than 100 such structures across the entire East Continent. The base cost was 5 billion credit points.