manynovel Chapter 688 Precursors to Resonance
Chapter 688 Precursors to Resonance
Lao Fan's voice was very soft.
But in this quiet tea room, every word seemed heavy.
brush--
All eyes were on Wu Wang.
Some people looked on with curiosity, never expecting that such a seemingly harmless guy was the one Lao Fan was talking about who wanted to overturn everything;
Some people looked on with suspicion; they couldn't see any leadership qualities in Wu Wang, and even the cat on his head seemed a bit odd.
Some people had something in their eyes that Wu Wang was very familiar with: the instinct of a drowning person to desperately grab onto whatever is floating, no matter what it is.
Wu Wang didn't feel any pressure. He simply walked to the coffee machine, skillfully filled a cup with coffee, and said without turning his head amidst the machine's hum:
"Wow, so many people! Are you having a party? Who's having a birthday today?"
No one laughed, and no one interrupted.
This made Wu Wang shrug helplessly and say, "Sigh, how come people these days have no sense of humor at all?"
He glanced around and found that the unlucky Wen Xiaolou was also in the crowd. The other person was standing in the corner holding a glass of ice-cold water. When he met Wu Wang's gaze, he subconsciously looked away, giving the impression that he wanted to say something but couldn't.
In addition, what was even more surprising was that widowed women whom I had met at the onboarding and experience-sharing sessions were also among them.
"There are fifteen here now, and we'll definitely be able to call up twenty tomorrow," Old Fan said, clearing his throat.
"That's about enough. Twenty is just an approximation; a little less won't matter." Wu Wang blew on the steam from his coffee, took a sip, and frowned, saying, "So bitter?"
"Free things are bound to be tough," someone in the crowd muttered.
"No." Wu Wang put down his cup and said coldly, "I'm not talking about the coffee, I'm talking about your expressions. You all look like you're going to a funeral. Anyone who didn't know better would think the break room had been turned into a mourning hall."
His words were extremely harsh, and several people showed displeasure on their faces.
Only Lao Fan and others who had contact with Wu Wang showed no abnormalities.
Habits are a terrible thing; they even found Wu Wang's way of speaking to be more natural.
This guy may seem sarcastic and critical, but he doesn't actually mean to offend anyone.
He just looks at everything with the "peel off the outer shell first" approach, regardless of whether it's a bloody mess or a skeleton inside.
“I asked Lao Fan to bring you here, not to shout slogans, not to put up banners, and certainly not to raise your fists. Don’t make the atmosphere so dramatic.” Wu Wang’s voice was low, but every word was as clear as a knife cutting through glass: “I just want you to tell the truth.”
"I know that speaking the truth here is a luxury."
"Because the bracelet monitors your heart rate, blood pressure, and other physiological conditions, if you say something that the factory feels is dangerous, it will immediately push limited-time offers, price reductions, and value packages to divert your attention from telling the truth."
"Once you're moved, you'll fall for it again."
"You don't want to tell the truth, not even in front of your fellow workers who have also been exploited..."
"Then you deserve to be squeezed dry."
The whispers in the break room quieted down for a few seconds.
Then Tie Jian loosened his arms, which were crossed in front of his chest, and took two steps forward to the middle of the crowd.
He spoke first, saying, "My name is Tie Jian, employee number #5512. I just started working here the day before yesterday. Although I don't have any debts yet, I almost took out a loan of 8000 wish points to buy the [Absolute Justice] item."
"But now I realize that there is no such thing as justice in this factory, only a hierarchy of values."
"I don't want you all to plunge headlong into that bottomless quagmire and struggle endlessly from then on."
He shut his mouth after he finished speaking and leaned back against the wall.
But these remarks also made others' eyes start to look strange.
The expressions on everyone's faces softened slightly, and the urge to speak, though hesitant, was gradually building.
Old Fan was the second to speak.
“My name is Engineer Fan, employee number #3817, and I owe 6,700 points.”
“This is for my son’s disability. I want to heal his legs, but every time the wish shop raises its prices, I’m one step further away from him.”
"I've even paid off several months' worth of bills, but I haven't even paid off the interest, let alone the principal."
After he finished speaking, he picked up his coffee and took a sip.
It was so bitter that I frowned, but I still swallowed it down.
"I cried at my workstation yesterday..."
"A man in his thirties crying at his workstation, how ridiculous."
"But nobody saw me because everyone was staring at their own screens and nobody had time to look at me."
Surprisingly, the third person to speak was Wen Xiaolou.
Wu Wang thought that, given this guy's soft nature, he would at least remain silent for a day or two.
Seeing everyone's gaze fixed on him, Wen Xiaolou's breathing became slightly rapid. He had never been the center of attention for so many people in his life, but he still stammered on as he continued:
“My name is Wen Xiaolou, employee number #9288, and I owe… 5,200 points.”
He paused, his voice lower: "I've almost forgotten why I joined the factory. Now I'm so busy every day that even getting a good night's sleep has become a luxury. Even buying deep sleep can't change anything. That kind of sleep is like someone pressing the pause button, but it's just a pause."
"When I woke up, I was still the same person, nothing had changed."
This completely opened up the conversation among everyone.
Almost everyone started sharing their own experiences.
"My name is Lin Fang, employee number #4742, and I owe 4,500 points..."
"My name is Zhao Shengqiang, employee number #5023, and I owe nine thousand points..."
"My name is……"
They came one after another.
Name, employee number, debt, wish...
Some people's voices choked up halfway through their sentences; some people's hands began to go numb; some people gripped their cups so tightly that they clicked loudly...
But no one stopped.
They are all telling the truth.
Speaking the truth here doesn't require much courage, just a group of people who won't laugh at you.
Except for widowed women, everyone had finished telling their stories.
For a moment, the air here seemed to have had something heavy sucked out, and suddenly became a little lighter.
Wu Wang leaned against the coffee machine, his little hill licking his paws, his tail drooping down and swaying leisurely.
He didn't ask the widowed woman why she wasn't speaking, nor did he applaud or say anything to praise or encourage the others.
He simply nodded and said calmly:
“The total amount of your debts, in terms of data, is enough for anyone to buy the goods they want eight or ten times.”
"But the truth is, you can't buy anything because you can never pay off your debts."
He picked up the empty coffee cup and casually tossed it into the recycling bin, making a crisp clinking sound.
"Congratulations, you've just completed the most dangerous step in this factory of desire—"
“You have admitted that you are fuel.”
"Now, let's talk about how to blow up the stove."
While Wu was chatting with these employees in the break room.
The other players were also busy.
Almost at the same time that morning, Daimao was sitting in her room, fiddling with her bracelet, while Qingning was also in her room, catching up on sleep on her bed. She had been communicating and exchanging clues with other players all night, leaving her exhausted.
At this moment, something new appeared on the bracelet in the tortoise's view.
The above shows Wu Wang's behavioral record.
Of course, the tortoiseshell cannot directly invade the bracelet like [White].
She simply used some kind of tool to monitor Wu Wang and then displayed the records on her bracelet.
After being warned by the woman in the recording device in the Wish Exhibition Hall, Turtle decided to avoid personally observing the guy and instead use props or similar devices to monitor him remotely.
As it turned out, she did discover something unusual at that moment.
"Lime!"
Tortoiseshell turned around and patted Lime, who was catching up on her nap.
The other person groggily raised their head, yawning, and asked, "What's wrong?"
“That guy has something in his bracelet,” Tortoiseshell said with a serious expression.
Qing Ning looked somewhat bewildered and asked, "Huh?"
Then, the tortoiseshell handed over the behavior record on the bracelet and said, "Do you remember me? I have an item called 'Hell is Other People'."
Upon hearing this, Qingning pondered for a moment before replying, "I seem to remember, it's that tool used for spying, right? With such a frightening name, we both thought it was some kind of powerful tool."
The hawksbill turtle's "Hell is Other People" effect is very simple.
She can choose one primary goal and several secondary goals.
When the primary target appears in the secondary target's field of vision, everything the other party does will be recorded and presented in the form of images or text on the objects around the tortoiseshell.
If there is a notebook, written records will appear on it.
If there is a monitor, the video recording will be displayed on it.
Nowadays, wristbands are naturally the best medium for displaying records.
The advantages and disadvantages of this prop are also obvious.
Its advantage lies in its absolute concealment; neither the primary nor secondary targets will realize that they have been selected.
Because it didn't actually have any positive or negative effect on any of them.
The props are simply for recording actions.
The disadvantage is that it is too difficult to control.
Hawksbill turtles cannot manipulate secondary targets to deliberately monitor the primary target.
Fortunately, the employees in the office area mostly stay at their workstations and don't wander around, so they can be used as fixed cameras.
Therefore, Dai Mao selected the tea room, restrooms, Wu Wang's workstation, and several employees near the elevator as secondary targets.
Reviewing the records of these employees' behavior when Wu Wang appeared in their peripheral vision while they were working, it was clear that he had been in the break room for a long time last night, and after returning, he left after only staying at his workstation for a few minutes.
Out of the corner of an employee's eye, it can be seen that Wu Wang returned to his accommodation floor after entering the elevator.
He hasn't returned to his workstation since then, not even this morning.
However, by searching his employee number on the bracelet, Dai Mao discovered—
This guy's mission completion count is skyrocketing!
Judging from the timeline, he must have been working on tasks all night to achieve this, and the completion speed, quality rating, and other data were all quite perfect.
When the hell did he work all night?
The previous incident involving checking the bills was also an example. As someone who had been spying on Wu Wang, Dai Mao naturally noticed him passing by the employees one by one and quickly swiping his bracelet across their computers.
At the time, she didn't understand the meaning behind the other person's behavior.
Now things are starting to look promising.
"Therefore, all of his work records at the factory were fabricated!"
"This means that either he used some kind of tool to directly hack into the factory's system, or his bracelet contains a secret we don't know about, which allows him to forge data and upload it," the hawksbill said firmly.
After saying that, she took off her glasses, rubbed her sore eyes, and sighed, "He's very strong, stronger than we imagined."
Players have also tried hacking into factory systems.
The players that Turtle and Lime contacted, including the two of them themselves, had all made similar attempts.
The result was—it was simply impossible!
Let alone directly hacking into the factory system, even the AI woman inside the bracelet who calls herself "Monica" can't get rid of it. Monica will correct any illegal operations on the bracelet.
In severe cases, it could even trigger a red line, causing the Smile Officer to directly arrest those who attempt to hack into the bracelet.
Just last night, in the early hours of the morning, one of the players they contacted was arrested by the Smilers because of this.
They haven't seen each other since, and like Ke Ming before them, they've completely disappeared.
Hearing this, Qingning blinked and asked, "So what do you plan to do? Report him?"
After all, the tortoiseshell's current task is to report the other party's illegal activities, and hacking into the bracelet is naturally not allowed by the factory.
The hawksbill turtle smiled upon hearing this.
However, there was an indescribable complexity in that smile.
"Report? How can I report it?"
"Should I just say I suspect there's something incredibly powerful in employee #00000's bracelet that killed Monica?"
"I'm afraid the smiley ones will send me to the talent incubation center first."
"Don't forget, my job requires direct evidence; unfounded speculation won't do."
She rubbed her temples.
It's clear that Wu's death is giving Dai Mao a headache.
Qingning sat up in bed and said, "Speaking of which, it seems like quite a few employees have been gathering in the break room these past few days, and he seems to be among them. Why don't we find an opportunity to go in and take pictures as evidence?"
“No.” Turtle shook her head: “If I go in in person, it’s like telling this guy that I’m monitoring him. Although he may have already noticed, it’s different to confront him directly than to keep it a secret. We haven’t reached the point of tearing each other apart yet. Besides, it’s not illegal for employees to gather and chat.”
"So what does he want to do? Like how we formed a player alliance, does he want to create an NPC alliance too?" Qingning couldn't understand Wu Wang's behavior and could only speculate, "Could he want to liberate the factory?"
If that's the case, then the other party's actions conflict with the main storyline of the hawksbill turtle's side.
This is tantamount to directly choosing to stand on the opposite side of the majority of players.
“That’s what I don’t understand,” said Dai Mao, wiping his glasses with the corner of his clothes. “His actions are too risky. It feels like he’s not only opposing us, but also gambling on the factory’s reaction.”
"But based on my observations over the past two days, he doesn't seem like a simple gambler."
Qingning leaned over and massaged her shoulders, asking, "What does he resemble?"
Hawksbill thought for a moment.
Then, a high rating was given that surprised Qingning somewhat—
"He's the kind of person who knows the poker table is full of cheaters, but still goes all in every hand."
"It's not because he was lucky or too crazy."
"It's because he believes he has seen through all the tricks of the con artists."
"He's the one who collects debts at the gambling tables!" (End of Chapter)