Chapter 81 — IAVD (QT) Chapter 81

As a programmer, the first place to appear was of course the company.

Ji Xiu looked at the checkered shirt that had appeared on his body out of nowhere, then looked at the code on the computer screen, and softly clicked his tongue.

Was this the game maliciously targeting him?

Knowing that dealing with ghosts was effortless for him and that it disrupted game balance, so it used other difficulties to make things hard for him?

He had to admit that the game had really found his weak spot.

When it came to computers, he had some understanding, but he was not proficient. If in this world he really was a code monkey, there was a real possibility of failure.

However, Ji Xiu felt that the game should not go so far as to release such a morally bankrupt background setting. Most players were ordinary people. Where would they find so many programmers?

If that were the case, it would be better to just send them to fight ghosts directly.

Ji Xiu searched around on the desktop for related materials, planning to first check his identity setting.

At this moment, a professional woman wearing a tight skirt walked over from the other side and knocked on the desks of all six people including Ji Xiu.

“You guys, come to the office. The manager wants to see you.”

Ji Xiu responded naturally, “Coming.”

He put down the materials he had just finished reading, pushed back his chair, and stood up, making a move to follow her into the office. Before moving, he casually swept a glance over the other five employees who had also stood up in response.

These employees being called into the office were probably all players.

Unexpectedly, all five of them were women.

Aside from the two familiar faces, Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli, there were three other women.

Two of them were young women, one with long hair and one with short hair. They looked about the same age, around twenty three or twenty four, whispering to each other with a close relationship. Their features were also somewhat similar.

They looked like a pair of twins.

There was also a girl wearing a pleated skirt, around seventeen or eighteen years old. She was beautiful, with proud eyes, and her gestures carried a sense of arrogance and willfulness. She was probably a solo player.

Five golden flowers, and Ji Xiu became the only green leaf.

“Boss.” Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli called out and walked closer to Ji Xiu, wanting to discuss the task of this world.

The short haired twin heard this and cast a strange look over, her gaze moving back and forth between the three of them. After a while, a hint of contempt appeared at the corner of her eyes.

The long haired woman pulled at her hand and said softly, “Little sister, rein it in.”

Only then did the short haired sister restrain her expression and stop staring at Ji Xiu and the others.

In her eyes, Ji Xiu, a grown man, bringing two pretty girls along on a mission, was obviously a scumbag with one foot on two boats, fickle and unfaithful. As for Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli, they were young, good looking, and acted so dependent on him. In her view, they were selling their bodies to clear the game, foolish girls who had gone astray at a young age.

The two sisters themselves looked good. Along the way, quite a few people had proposed that as long as the sisters were willing to serve one man together, he would carry them through the game.

But holding onto their pride, they had stubbornly refused everyone.

Now that they saw people who sold their bodies, it was natural to look down on them.

However, Ji Xiu’s group consisted of acquaintances, and this mission world looked a bit hard to deal with.

The short haired woman thought for a moment, then looked toward the pleated skirt girl, guessing that she was probably a solo player, and spoke up to show goodwill. “Want to form an alliance?”

The pleated skirt girl looked proud. Hearing this, she glanced at her and agreed in an almost charitable tone. “Since you are sincere, I will temporarily join.”

What? The short haired woman froze, endured it, and in the end did not say anything.

The three of them thus formed an alliance.

This was different from the previous game. Last time, there were nine people in total, and Ji Xiu’s side alone had five people. The remaining solo players added up to only four, so leadership naturally fell to Ji Xiu.

But in this game, both sides had three people, and there was also someone like the short haired woman among them. It was destined that opinions could not be unified.

After Ji Xiu exchanged identity information with Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli, he glanced at the opposite side. Seeing the other three naturally forming an alliance, he felt that subduing this team would be troublesome, so he simply gave up and turned around with Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli to head to the office.

The three female players behind them finished discussing matters. Their expressions were unpleasant as they followed along.

The six arrived at the office one after another and knocked before entering.

Ji Xiu walked in front. When he stepped into the office, his foot paused slightly in midair before landing as usual and walking in.

No one noticed his change.

In fact, even Ji Xiu himself was not sure whether he had sensed it wrong, because after entering the office, he seemed to dream back to the outskirts of Ji Village back then and once again sensed that same strange force that had blocked his return to the village.

Was this the game’s consciousness?

…

The company manager was an ordinary looking man. He slapped the table and, without waiting for Ji Xiu and the others to speak, began to rant with a bitter expression.

“As company employees, you should all know that the Ghost Capture App developed by our company is about to be launched on the market. But people in the industry are questioning our strength and using this as an excuse to block the app from being listed, trying to hinder the company’s development. This is absolutely unacceptable.”

“As staff involved in the development of the app, you understand its functions best. Now I am assigning you a task. Take the app with you, and each of you must capture three evil ghosts and bring them back. Use facts to prove that our app is real and effective. Remember, this mission allows only success, not failure. Anyone who fails can pack up and get the hell out.”

After saying this indignantly, the manager slapped the table again and waved his hand angrily. “Go. I am only giving you ten days.”

Everyone was completely confused, but it was not easy to directly ask in front of an NPC, so they exchanged glances.

Ji Xiu came back to his senses. He extracted some information from the manager’s words, nodded, and took on a serious expression, adopting the posture of a model employee as he stated his position. “Manager, rest assured. As a company employee, I will spare no effort and do my utmost to complete the task you assigned. If I fail, there is no need for you to say it. I will leave on my own.”

The manager had already calmed down and was about to pour himself some water from the teapot. Hearing Ji Xiu’s words, his eyes lit up. “Good. Truly worthy of being an outstanding employee model of the company. This level of quality is indeed stronger than the others.”

When he said this, Ji Xiu felt his pocket sink slightly, as if something had appeared.

Ji Xiu raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. He reached in, held it in his palm, and opened his hand. It was a card, with the words “Employee Pass” written on it.

This was… what?

Ji Xiu had originally only intended to casually give it a try. Because in this world, the tasks released by the game and the tasks released by NPCs were actually the same, it showed that this world was probably like the previous one, with a complete worldview, a normal parallel world.

If that was the case, NPCs in positions like the manager might have their own unique authority within a certain scope.

Ji Xiu had been a boss before, so he naturally knew what kind of employees ordinary bosses liked.

Motivated, hardworking, capable, and preferably good with words and social finesse.

He wanted to obtain information from the manager, and first needed to gain his favor. So Ji Xiu acted casually according to his thoughts. He did not expect there to really be an unexpected gain.

The manager’s high praise caused something that originally did not exist to appear on his body.

From this perspective, the will of the native NPCs seemed to be able to subtly change his identity settings and conditions in this world.

But what use did this employee pass have in the game?

After flattering the manager again, they left the manager’s office. The secretary led them to the research and development department to download the source file of the Ghost Capture App.

On the way, Ji Xiu casually glanced at the people passing by and noticed that some employees had employee passes hanging around their necks, while others did not.

Those without employee passes did not seem to have high status in the company. They were responsible for tasks like serving tea and water. Their expressions were tense, and they did not dare to slack off.

Those with employee passes, however, were holding documents and laptops, sitting on sofas nearby, chatting with people around them. Their expressions were confident, talking and laughing freely.

Ji Xiu thought of two words.

Full time employees, and interns.

From the manager’s description, all six of them were employees who had participated in the development of the Ghost Capture App. Obviously, they had already been in the company as interns for some time and were currently in the probationary period, not newly arrived interns.

And Ji Xiu, as the only one who received the manager’s praise, was capable and highly valued by the manager. So having a shorter probation period than the others and being the first to become a full time employee was only natural.

That was why an employee pass had appeared in his pocket.

Thinking this way, the pass should be a very useful item in the mission. Otherwise, there would be no reason to require completing a hidden scenario to obtain it.

Ji Xiu held the employee pass and silently thought about how to use it.

They soon arrived at the R and D department. Hearing the secretary explain the purpose, someone led them to download the source file onto their phones. The attitude was casual, with a hint of condescension.

“It is here. The company’s main computer. All products are inside. Download it yourselves. You are only allowed to download one. Do not touch anything else.”

The twin sisters hurriedly seized the first spot and started downloading the app.

Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli were squeezed aside. Their expressions were a bit unhappy. They frowned, then stepped back two paces, keeping some distance from them.

At this moment, the pleated skirt girl revealed a smug look and cut in line beside the twins.

Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli were stunned, then tacitly rolled their eyes.

Three women make a show, let alone five women.

The little battles hidden in glances and details were not any less than the scheming in the workplace.

Ji Xiu was amazed inwardly. He did not want to compete with them, so he lined up at the end. After some thought, he tentatively hung the employee pass around his neck.

The few full time employees nearby who had been chatting and ignoring him caught sight of it out of the corner of their eyes. As if their faces changed instantly, they immediately put on friendly expressions. “Oh, you are the first one in this batch to get regular status.”

Ji Xiu smiled, fully displaying the friendliness and humility of a new employee. “Hello, seniors.”

“No need to call us seniors. Our company has a free atmosphere. There is no need for so many formalities. By the way, since you are a full time employee, you do not need to squeeze here with them. Just find any computer, enter your employee number, and download directly. This is a company benefit. As long as you are a full time employee, all company products can be experienced for free.”

Ji Xiu rubbed the employee pass and smiled. “So that is how it is.”

After the five in front finished downloading, Ji Xiu directly said, “Let’s go. Back to the work area.”

Huang Wenli was stunned. “Boss, are you not downloading?”

They had been busy lining up and had not noticed Ji Xiu’s conversation with outsiders.

Ji Xiu did not plan to avoid the issue. Everyone was a player. Although they were split into two alliances, their goals were the same, and there was no life and death feud. There was no need to hide it.

He pointed at the pass on his chest and said calmly, “I obtained an item. I can use other computers to download the software, so there is no need to waste time here.”

Eh? The gazes of the five golden flowers all fell onto Ji Xiu’s chest.

Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli’s eyes lit up even more, and they immediately asked how Ji Xiu had obtained it.

Ji Xiu explained the process of getting the pass and his speculation about it.

Lu Zhizhen became excited. “Does that mean we can also do it?”

Ji Xiu thought for a moment and said uncertainly, “You can try, but it is hard to say. The first impression has already been set, and you are all women. In the general workplace environment, women’s careers face more restrictions, and becoming regular employees is also more difficult.”

Lu Zhizhen was an actress, so she did not feel this as deeply. After hearing Ji Xiu, she was still interested and planned to find an opportunity to try.

On the other hand, the twin sisters who had perked up their ears to eavesdrop froze on the spot when they heard this sentence.

The long haired sister cast a complicated look at Ji Xiu.

…

After finishing the preliminary preparations, the group returned to the original work area.

Ji Xiu noticed that the strange consciousness seemed to have not left and was still following him. While thinking about the reason, he walked back to his seat, sat down at his desk, turned on the computer, and started downloading apps.

The names and functions of the apps were varied, dozens of them. Some had already been released on the market, while others were still in testing and not yet released. There were all kinds, dazzling to the eyes.

Ji Xiu selected all of them. While downloading, he compared and read through them.

“Ghost Searcher,” “Ghost Detector,” “National Yin Energy Map,” “Ghost Catcher App”…

The mission name of this game world was Ghost Capture App. At first, it felt strange, but compared to these, the name Ghost Capture App became quite ordinary.

Ji Xiu propped his chin with his index finger, scanning the descriptions at a glance, and roughly had an idea.

In fact, the moment he entered this game world, he appeared directly in the company. There was no prior plot knowledge, no time to gather information, and no opportunity to explore the world. He did not understand this world at all.

Now, he could glimpse a bit from the names of these apps.

The setting of this world was very different from previous worlds. It should lean toward the supernatural, perhaps even be a world of universal supernatural phenomena.

Only with universal supernatural phenomena could a company that relied on developing ghost related mobile software survive.

However, more specific details still required leaving the company and taking a look before drawing conclusions.

Ji Xiu waved Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli over, asking them to bring their phones to download other software.

“Nope!” The secretary suddenly appeared out of nowhere. No one knew when she happened to pass by. She pressed down on the phone and smiled at Ji Xiu. “Only you are a full time employee and enjoy the company benefits. The others cannot.”

Ji Xiu understood. Fine then. It seemed these apps were very useful for this mission, so the game had placed restrictions and would not let things be too easy.

This world was, after all, an A level world.

If it could be cleared casually, it would be unfair to other players who had experienced A level worlds.

Seeing Ji Xiu give up, the secretary showed a satisfied expression and continued, “You can depart to do the mission now. These few days, you have free activity. There is no need to come to the company to clock in. Just submit the mission on the tenth day.”

What were they waiting for? Ji Xiu had long been eager to see this novel world. He called out and stood up to leave.

Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli hurriedly followed.

As for the other three, they exchanged glances but stayed where they were. Only after Ji Xiu and the others were completely out of sight did they begin to move.

The secretary smiled without saying anything, standing in place and watching them leave.

…

Ji Xiu exited the company and stood on the high steps, sweeping his gaze across the unfamiliar and novel scene before him, narrowing his eyes.

This world was indeed strange.

On the street, besides ordinary people walking normally, there were also some ghostly figures drifting about, emitting yin energy, mixed among them.

People looked calm and accustomed, as if humans and ghosts appearing under the same sky, walking on the same street, was something completely normal.

Some people walked alongside ghosts, chatting and laughing.

Some people argued with ghosts, their attitudes ordinary.

There were even people holding the hands of ghosts beside them, looking intimate, like lovers.

This was a magical new world where humans and ghosts coexisted.

Ji Xiu watched, his heart stirring slightly.

At this moment, the air beside him fluctuated, and two figures, one big and one small, appeared at his side.

This was the first time Wang Qiuyue and Ji Chunsheng had appeared on their own initiative.

Previously, every time, Ji Xiu had summoned them before they came out. This time, without Ji Xiu saying a word, upon seeing this strange world, they could not wait and naturally appeared.

Ji Xiu smiled and held their hands.

He did not know why they chose to come out, but at this moment, a thought flashed through his mind.

Compared to other worlds, where Wang Qiuyue and her son needed to hide themselves whenever they appeared, in this world, their family could walk the streets normally, interact normally, without avoiding anyone.

If they could stay in this world for a few more days and take them around to have some fun, that would be nice too.

Ji Chunsheng stared at the street, excitement flickering in his eyes, eager to rush into the crowd like an unleashed puppy and experience this strange new world.

Just then, the pleated skirt girl who came out behind them let out a scream, breaking the harmonious atmosphere of the Ji family of three.

Back in the company, she and the twin sisters had stayed behind a bit, trying to find extra clues and information like Ji Xiu, or useful items, to catch up to his progress. So they came out a little later.

She did not have Ji Xiu’s ability to observe the environment. Upon stepping out of the company and seeing the ghosts on the road, her legs went soft immediately, and she screamed in terror.

Ghosts!!!

The pleated skirt girl had been doted on since childhood. After entering the game, she could not endure hardship and found a man to rely on. She had never grown, and had never seen ghosts on such a large scale.

She widened her eyes, trembling as she stared at the ghosts on the road. Her entire body shook, and she nearly collapsed to the ground, her face pale with fear.

The twin sisters were in a similar state, also very afraid, large beads of cold sweat forming on their foreheads.

However, they had weathered many storms and had climbed to A level through their own efforts. They were steadier than the pleated skirt girl. Even if afraid, they did not scream on the spot. They could still pretend to be calm and carefully look for a way to escape.

As they looked, they noticed the strangeness of the street, and actually calmed down.

This was…

Probably not dangerous.

After a round of inner struggle, they relaxed, let out a breath, and secretly observed the situation on the street.

Only the pleated skirt girl continued screaming, even drawing the attention of passersby.

Ji Xiu shouted coldly, “Quiet.”

The pleated skirt girl covered her ears, unable to hear anyone’s words.

Huang Wenli revealed a trace of irritation. Screaming and screaming, what was she screaming for? Do not anger the boss and the boss’s wife.

She rushed over and kicked the pleated skirt girl in the lower back, sending her stumbling forward and finally stopping the noise.

Ji Xiu withdrew his gaze, his brows relaxing slightly.

Seeing this, Huang Wenli immediately ran back happily to claim credit.

Of course, with Wang Qiuyue present, she did not dare to directly seek credit from Ji Xiu. But as long as the boss was happy, the boss’s wife would be happy. She could just seek credit from Wang Qiuyue.

She had thought it through well. Compared to the boss, the boss’s wife and the little boss were better thighs to cling to.

When asking the boss for help, she still had to mind her boundaries, to avoid getting too close and provoking the boss’s wife’s jealousy.

But when dealing with the boss’s wife and the little boss, there was no such concern.

In front of the boss, the boss’s wife was always gentle and especially easy to talk to.

Moreover, the mother and son were vicious ghosts with powerful strength. Even among vicious ghosts, they were at the top tier, able to devour vicious ghosts of the same level.

If she could cling to their thighs, she would never have to worry in supernatural type worlds again.

However, what no one noticed was that at the moment Wang Qiuyue and Ji Chunsheng appeared, the ghosts on the street seemed to sense something and slightly glanced in Ji Xiu’s direction.

At the same time, countless people’s phones emitted shrill alarms.

“Warning! Warning! Wild vicious ghosts detected nearby. Please immediately seek shelter!”

“Warning! Warning! Wild vicious ghosts detected nearby. Please immediately seek shelter!”

“Warning! Warning! Wild vicious ghosts detected nearby. Please immediately seek shelter!”

The belated alarms rang three times in a row. All pedestrians stopped in their tracks, looked at each other in confusion, then as if snapping back to their senses, their faces changed drastically, and they fled madly like headless flies.

The ghosts mixed among them also fled frantically, even more panicked than any human.

Vicious ghosts. Those were ruthless existences that could eat one little friend with each bite.

In less than half a minute, the road in front of the company became completely empty, not a single figure left.

The pleated skirt girl had not yet had time to settle accounts with Huang Wenli. Looking at the bare street, the anger stuck in her chest, unable to understand the situation.

As for the twin sisters, they noticed that before the pedestrians disappeared, they had glanced in this direction.

They hesitated and turned their heads, looking toward Ji Xiu.

“…”

When they clearly saw Wang Qiuyue and Ji Chunsheng, both of their faces turned deathly pale at the same time, and bean sized cold sweat instantly poured down their foreheads.