novelcrest Chapter 678 Career Planning Consulting
Chapter 678 Career Planning Consulting
Wu Wang knew perfectly well what the little hill on his head was doing.
He also knew what the hawksbill turtle was thinking.
Even without turning around, you can imagine the furious expression on the other person's face when they see a cat giving the middle finger.
He followed the landmark to section C on the 10th floor, where he found the consultation room marked number 7.
This location is basically at the end of the corridor.
It was a small but extremely comfortable room.
Pushing open the door, you'll notice the warm yellow light is much softer than in the hallway, and on the table sits a potted green plant and two cups of steaming coffee.
A faint aroma of tea filled the air, not the kind of free tea served in the tea room, but a more sophisticated fragrance.
"Not bad, the design is very clever, it makes people relax immediately, especially after being exploited for who knows how long, you probably want to complain your brains out as soon as you come in."
Although Wu Wang spoke words of praise, his tone was full of sarcasm.
In a place rife with exploitation, the existence of such a relaxed and comfortable environment is definitely not a sign of a factory's conscience.
They just want employees to open up and share all their thoughts here.
This is the only way to achieve better control.
At this moment, HR-2714, the Smiler, Zhang Mingyuan, was sitting across the table.
His posture was impeccable, with his hands folded on the table and his smile never wavering.
The moment Wu Wang walked in, his pupils involuntarily contracted again, just like they did in the conference room.
This time the frequency was even faster and shorter, so short that even the overhead monitoring system wouldn't record it as an anomaly.
But Wu Wanghui, he saw it.
Even the small hill on its head was seen; its tail gently swept across Wu Wang's nape—a subconscious action of a feline when it spots its prey.
“Hello, employee #00000, welcome to this career planning consultation.” Zhang Mingyuan’s voice was as gentle as ever: “Based on the system’s analysis of your behavioral data since you joined the company, the factory believes that you can focus on integrating into the work environment at this stage. Please take a seat.”
Wu Wang pulled out a chair and sat down.
Then he crossed his legs, lifted the little hill on his head and placed it on his knees, and gently stroked the cat's fur down its back with his hand.
The hilltop also emitted a leisurely, rumbling sound like an engine, though the two knives on its claws swirling around were a bit eerie.
Wu Wang's series of actions were as natural as if he were at home.
He picked up his coffee, took a sip, and smiled, "It tastes good. Did you brew it yourself? It definitely smells better than the coffee from that crappy machine on the fourth floor, don't you think?"
Every part of this statement is a test.
It's practically like revealing your hand to the other party – I know who you are.
However, Zhang Mingyuan did not respond.
He simply began in standard jargon: “The factory suggests you focus your efforts on the lower-level office area, because the empathy you showed in handling the employee reassurance task #5982 indicates that you are better suited to interacting with frontline employees.”
“The tasks in the high-rise office area may be putting unnecessary pressure on you at the moment.”
After saying that, he lightly tapped his index finger on the table, precisely at the midpoint between where Wu Wang's cup of coffee had originally been placed and the edge of the table.
Wu Wang pursed his lips, nodding as he sipped his coffee.
It certainly looks like advice that suggests someone is seriously considering career planning.
He was actually thinking about the second meaning behind what the other person was saying.
Zhang Mingyuan's words appeared to be standard rhetoric, but in reality, they contained a hidden message.
This guy is using language that the system allows to convey information that the system does not allow!
The term "lower-level office area" usually refers to areas like the fourth floor.
That place was once the foundation of Solidarity, a place where the most easily ignited people are also the most easily overlooked corners.
Zhang Mingyuan was telling himself not to focus on those at the top who were already deeply bound by desires, but to take root at the bottom and find a way out from those who were still struggling.
Wu Wang slowly put down his coffee cup, his fingers gently stroking the rim as he said, "So, which colleagues do you think I should contact first? Which of them are most in need of help? Like employee #5982."
This statement also carries two layers of meaning.
It was both a standard consultation dialogue and a question to Zhang Mingyuan: Back then, were there any members of the Solidarity Union who could remain as clear-headed as he was? Who else could be trusted?
However, Zhang Mingyuan simply tilted his head slightly, revealing his signature thoughtful posture.
He replied, seemingly off-topic, "Based on your personality traits, I suggest you participate more in informal conversations in the break room."
"Factory research shows that interactions with colleagues outside of work can increase job satisfaction by 23 percent."
"In addition, if you are interested in the factory's promotion channels, you can pay attention to the retraining opportunities on the 49th floor. The talent incubation center has complete growth records of every outstanding employee, which are of great reference value for the career planning of new employees."
After saying that, he tapped his index finger lightly on the table again, in the same spot.
Wu Wang's gaze gradually turned cold.
In other words, Zhang Mingyuan couldn't find any other union members who had regained some semblance of clarity like him, and he wanted to develop his own downline and lead other employees.
Informal conversations in the tea room.
The choice of words is quite subtle.
Logically, there should be monitoring or listening devices everywhere in the factory.
Why would the other party deliberately bring up the conversation in the break room?
Two possibilities—
First, conversations taken in the break room may be safer than in other places.
Wu Wang mainly made this connection with the note and the coffee machine with the coffee beans.
A broken coffee machine that's been broken for so many years should have been repaired long ago if it needed fixing.
But the factory still leaves it to rot there.
This explains one reason—as long as it's still operating normally, the factory doesn't bother with it.
Because of that sticky note, employees would tap the coffee machine when it got stuck, and as a result, the coffee machine continued to operate normally, which is why the status quo has remained the same.
It could also be said that the factory simply doesn't care about these low-level employees. Perhaps in the factory's eyes, these employees will eventually be sent to a talent incubation center for recycling and reuse.
All it needs to do is wait for them to rot and stink on their own.
In this situation, the layout of the tea room is probably no different from when Zhang Mingyuan formed the Solidarity Union, and they certainly needed to have secret talks back then.
The break room is the only place where a certain number of employees can gather openly without arousing suspicion from the factory.
Therefore, the surveillance or listening equipment in the fourth-floor tea room must have been tampered with!
Secondly, there might be other information hidden in the tea room.
If we extend the conclusion from the first point, and Zhang Mingyuan guesses that the factory doesn't care about the equipment on the fourth floor, then he might be trying to hide some information after realizing the strike had failed.
They would also hide it there.
Even the recording Wu Wang heard in the file, where Zhang Mingyuan was being chased by something, might have happened near the fourth-floor tea room.
The phrase "retraining opportunity on the 49th floor" is, frankly, quite dangerous.
If the factory conducts in-depth analysis, it might actually trigger an alert for abnormal keywords.
Fortunately, Zhang Mingyuan cleverly embedded it into the standard career planning framework, as encouraging new employees to focus on promotion channels is a very routine topic. Wu Wang believes the key issue is why this statement was placed after the topic of conversation in the break room.
Is the information the other party is hiding in the tea room related to the 49th floor?
"The talent incubation center keeps complete growth records for every outstanding employee..."
Wu Wang recalled what the other party would say next.
Excellent employees are those whose value is fully extracted and utilized; having a complete record of their growth is like keeping a memory of them…
Wu Wang's gaze sharpened.
He thought of the conditions the factory had promised Zhang Mingyuan and his group—
[Making the source of memories for products related to the return of the deceased transparent]
In a sense, the smiling people are no different from those commodities; their memories and bodies have both been modified.
In other words, the information Zhang Mingyuan hid is very likely related to these memories.
For example—the precise location for storing memories!
"Meow~"
Xiao Qiu rolled over on Wu Wang's lap, making lazy meowing sounds.
Zhang Mingyuan's gaze followed the sound and fell on it.
“Your cat is very well-behaved,” he said with a smile.
Wu Wang scratched Xiao Qiu's chin and replied, "He's usually very noisy, he only quiets down in certain situations."
After saying that, he placed the cat on the table.
Xiao Qiu's claws landed precisely on the spot where Zhang Mingyuan had pointed twice earlier.
As Wu Wang finished the last sip of coffee and placed the cup back on the table, the slight clinking sound of the cup falling to the ground coincided with the first word of his next sentence.
There's something I'm curious about.
"If someone discovers important information in the factory but doesn't know how to use it, would the factory consider that an irrational act? After all, even inefficient use of wish points is subject to warnings."
"Speaking of which, it seems I'm about to be added to the inefficient asset watchlist."
The factory warned that the wish points had to be increased to over one hundred within 24 hours.
After taking on the job of wish consultant, Wu Wang stopped earning wish points and focused on causing trouble and influencing other employees.
So, in a few hours he might actually be placed on the watch list.
And now, when we joke around, we are actually asking the other person – are there any risks in our current way of communicating that I am unaware of?
Zhang Mingyuan's response was watertight:
"The factory encourages employees to share constructive opinions in appropriate settings, and employees seeking relevant information on career development within a reasonable framework are considered to be engaging in positive behavior."
"However, if employees use the information to disrupt the normal operation of the factory, the corresponding management mechanism will be triggered."
After speaking, he paused slightly, his tone carrying an almost imperceptible emphasis:
"It all depends on how the information is used."
A reasonable framework, an appropriate occasion, and the proper use of information.
A mysterious smile appeared on Wu Wang's face.
He understood.
This consultation room is a reasonable framework; career planning consultation is a system-approved interactive setting.
In this scenario, the conversation between the smiling person and the employee has a greater margin for error.
Even if some wording is slightly off-topic, the system will not immediately issue a warning as long as it does not explicitly cross the red line for keywords.
But once they leave the consultation room, in the corridor, office area, or any space without proper protection, if an employee says even the slightest thing that violates the rules, they're asking for trouble!
The other party was also reminding themselves to be careful about how they attracted the factory's attention.
Otherwise, one might accidentally be refined on the spot and forcibly sent to a talent incubation center for re-education.
"Understood." Wu Wang stood up and placed the small hill back on his head, saying, "Today's consultation was very helpful to me, and I will seriously consider your suggestions."
Zhang Mingyuan also stood up, gave a standard bow, and said, "It's a pleasure to serve you. You are welcome to schedule another consultation anytime. I look forward to seeing you again next time."
Watching Wu Wang turn and walk towards the door.
Zhang Mingyuan suddenly spoke up, saying something outside the consultation process: "Your shoes have slight wear on the heels. If you need to replace them with new work shoes, you can apply for logistics services through your wristband."
Are your shoes worn down at the heels?
Wu Wang did not stop walking when he heard this.
Of course he knew that was nonsense.
It's impossible for a person to wear down their heel to the point where it's visible just by walking normally.
After all, I've only been working here for one day!
So what the other party is trying to say is—watch your step.
The moment he opened the door, Wu Wang glanced down at the carpet.
He noticed a small, noticeably flattened patch on the velvet surface, a mark left by the heel of a shoe repeatedly turning on it, and it was definitely left by more than one person.
Over time, it is estimated that many people have lingered and hesitated behind this door, pacing back and forth repeatedly, which has caused this wear and tear.
[Bai] mentioned that Zhang Mingyuan's file showed several instances where he proactively contacted new employees.
They were probably all summoned by Zhang Mingyuan, and then they heard these words in this consultation room, which made them determined to do certain things.
In the end, they all regrettably ended up in the same place—a talent incubation center.
Now it's Wu's turn to perish.
The only difference from the predecessors is that—
Wu Wang applied for the position voluntarily.
He will not hesitate or waver.
"Heh, is this a reminder that the road ahead is long and arduous?"
"If I'm not prepared to burn my bridges, then I shouldn't continue to have contact with you, right?"
"You've already come this far, and you're still giving us a chance to give up? Dude, you're really a romantic at heart, a romantic to the point of being naive."
"But life is a long journey, and we must hold onto the spark of romance, otherwise what will illuminate the coldness of the mundane world and the many, heavy nights..."
Wu Wang shook his head and walked towards the elevator on the 10th floor.
He planned to return to the fourth-floor tea room to find the relics left behind by the other party.
Little Hill wagged its tail and asked, "Meow?"
[Boss, why don't you go check out what that woman on the 10th floor is up to?]
She seems really eager to win you over.
"Pick up the stuff first, then take care of the living people."
Wu Wang's voice was soft, and his steps were quick:
"What the dead leave behind is more reliable than the promises of the living." (End of Chapter)