novelcrest Chapter 721 There are always those who refuse to repent in the face of desire.
Chapter 721 There are always those who refuse to repent in the face of desire.
To Wu Wang, the thirty-minute wait was just a matter of playing with the cat.
But for the employees struggling inside the Desire Factory, and for the players anxiously planning their next move, those thirty minutes felt like an unbearable ordeal.
Zhao Xinghuo stood in front of the smiling man, staring at the motionless fellow, his palms constantly damp with sweat.
He has been released by the smiling man.
Meanwhile, the Smiler, who found himself unable to leave without killing a large number of employees, also remained in place in a state similar to standby.
Even so, Zhao Xinghuo, standing in front of him, could still feel a sense of oppression, as if the brute force that he had just been unable to resist was still firmly pressing down on him.
It's true that the employees trapped the Smiler, but the factory has consistently refused to provide any response.
Just as Wu Wang had predicted, the factory's original plan was to let things cool down.
Ignore these emotionally charged employees, and when they get hungry and want to eat or sleep, their enthusiasm will naturally subside.
If one day isn't enough, try two days; if two days aren't enough, try a week.
The factory has been exploiting people for countless years, and the strike of a few days is not enough to cause it to run out of energy. It can afford to wait.
But the employees' motivation and enthusiasm cannot wait.
These things will eventually be worn away by time.
At this moment, Zhao Xinghuo personally experienced the pressure that the Solidarity Union members felt when they resolutely chose to strike.
"So...this is how torturous it is."
He smiled wryly and sighed.
Some people tried to break into the talent incubation center to question the factory, but they also discovered that the elevator couldn't reach this floor at all, and the buttons didn't respond no matter how they were pressed.
Furthermore, there are no stairwells in the Desire Factory; employees cannot climb stairs to get up. Elevators are the only means of going up and down.
This is also a means that factories use to control their employees.
This situation is playing out on every floor.
After enduring a difficult thirty minutes, all the computers at the workstations simultaneously went out for three seconds, after which a line of text appeared.
The voluntary resignation channel is now officially open on floors one through three. Any employee currently in a state of inefficient asset status can go there to sign an agreement and then follow the guidance of the smiling staff to remove their wristband.
Please leave the factory premises within 48 hours after completing the formalities.
The factory respects the choices of every employee; those who stay will have their positions and benefits restored according to their current contracts.
There was no explanation, no background, and no mention of the guy who used the lives of everyone in the building as a bargaining chip.
A notice is just a notice; it should simply provide the process and timeline in a cold and impersonal way, as concise as a termination letter.
The long-standing dullness and anxiety in the factory were immediately replaced by something more complex.
Wen Xiaolou stared at the screen for a long time. The coffee he hadn't finished during the big cleaning on his workstation had long since gone cold. He looked at the words printed on the cup: "Every step is an effort towards a dream."
For the first time, he smiled genuinely.
"Every step we take now is an effort towards our desire... no, it should be an effort towards freedom."
"Wu Wang, you did it!"
Wen Xiaolou couldn't help but laugh and cry when she thought back to the first time she met Wu Wang, this strange guy with a cow and cat on his head.
Back then, I was driven crazy by his repeated computer shutdowns, and I never imagined that he would actually be able to change everything.
Moreover, this day came rather quickly, in just a few days. This change even seemed a bit absurd to Wen Xiaolou.
He glanced back at Lao Fan.
The other person also stood up.
Without saying a word, he simply picked up a potted plant on the table that had been growing for a long time but remained wilted, looked at it, and watered it one last time.
He had no intention of taking it with him.
Because that's not his.
Those were decorations distributed uniformly by the factory; anyone could get one, supposedly because green plants could relieve work fatigue and improve mood.
Old Fan stared at it for a long time, as if saying goodbye to a neighbor he had known for a long time but had never greeted.
Tie Jian was the first person to walk toward the elevator.
His steps were not fast, but his shoulders were straight, and his hands hung naturally at his sides, just as steadily as when he carried out the previous task of retrieving the bracelets.
This time, however, he wasn't going to recycle other people's bracelets.
He's going to remove his own.
"Why are you walking so fast?" Wen Xiaolou called out from behind before catching up.
Tie Jian glanced back, his lips twitching slightly. It wasn't a smile, but rather a sense of relief, as if he were expressing the release of emotions that had been suppressed for too long: "I've had enough. Every second longer is torture."
Old Fan also came up and patted the two of them on the shoulder.
"Let's go together. After we finish the resignation procedures, we'll go find Wu Wang to thank him."
Sun Wei, a widowed woman, stood by her workstation, recalling the hesitation she felt a few days ago when she had just started her job and completed her first task.
Afterwards, Wu Wang chatted with her for a few minutes after the experience sharing session.
At that time, she hesitated and did not dare to make a choice directly. When the break room needed someone to tell the truth, she went there with the mindset of seeing what the situation was first. She did not speak when she first spoke the truth.
As things became increasingly complicated, she was forced to board Wu Wang's ship of destruction without knowing what to choose.
Sun Wei watched Tie Jian, Lao Fan, Wen Xiaolou and others walk past her. Each of them had a different expression on their face, but they all had one thing in common—they were all walking forward, and no one was standing still.
Looking at myself, it seems I've been standing still, always being swept along by the current situation and drifting with the tide.
She looked down at her bracelet; the prices of items related to "Return of the Deceased" in the Wish Shop had turned gray.
After all, people with inefficient assets have no right to buy things.
She thought that when she first saw this situation, she would feel sorry for her, feel unwilling to accept it, and want to give it a try.
But in the end, he found that he was just relieved.
The gray price bar didn't look like a door that God had closed; it looked more like a lock that she had finally put the key on.
So, Sun Wei also made a move.
She walked toward the elevator, and this time no one interfered; she chose to resign on her own.
More and more people started moving around on the fourth floor.
The screech of chairs sliding backwards echoed throughout the room.
No one shouted slogans, and no one blocked the passageway with the same fervor as when they besieged the Smiler.
Everyone walked quietly, converging towards the elevator, like a stage play that had just ended.
However, some people choose to leave, while others choose another path.
The doctor, who had resigned, slumped at his workstation, looking up at the halo of light on the ceiling.
He had a cigarette between his fingers, which he had somehow gotten his hands on; the ash had piled up quite a bit and hadn't been flicked off.
Voluntary separation agreements are only available to employees who are considered inefficient assets.
He had deliberately avoided physical contact with everyone, so much so that he is now one of the few normal employees in the factory and has no need to worry about being dealt with during the previous purge.
However, they have now lost the right to choose.
But the doctor who left the job didn't regret it; a hint of madness flashed in his eyes. He felt perfectly clear-headed; whether the wish loan was a trap or not didn't matter; he didn't care at all.
Because he believed he could climb out of the factory, and he even thought he was smarter than everyone else, if he really left the factory, although he could clear the debt of wish points, he would also lose the possibility of turning things around sooner or later.
He can't accept it!
As long as you stay true to yourself, you still have a chance to turn things around and earn everything you want!
Even if the opportunity were a rope hanging down from the building for hanging, he would rather grab the rope and hang himself in mid-air than let it fall to the ground!
He raised his cigarette, took a deep drag, and finished it off. As the last bit of ash fell to the ground and scattered, he stood up, threw the cigarette butt down, and stomped it out.
Then I walked toward the elevator.
He's going to explain to those who said staying was foolish that he just doesn't want to admit defeat.
But he walked very slowly, as if he were struggling with himself...
Many people upstairs shared similar thoughts with the doctor who had resigned.
After seeing the notice from the factory, they looked at each other as if to confirm something.
A man in a suit asked the person next to him, "Are you leaving?"
The other party scoffed, "Leave? If we leave now, we'll be back to square one, with nothing left!"
Someone standing nearby even laughed and said, "The factory has been running for so many years, do you really think it can collapse just because the employees make a fuss? The fact that it can open the resignation channel means that it can withstand this kind of loss."
"Once those incompetent guys who built inefficient assets are gone, those of us who remain will be the core long-term employees. The factory will definitely not treat people like us unfairly!"
Many people around him echoed his words.
The situation on the twenty-sixth floor is even more extreme.
This floor is already the highest office area.
Now most of these elite employees' workstations are empty, not because they've left, but because they're all standing in the aisle instead of heading towards the elevator.
This is like a collective statement, letting the factory know that they are not leaving and that they are willing to stay.
Several employees even walked over to the smiling man they had surrounded earlier, wanting to communicate with the factory representatives in person, express their continued loyalty, and also mention some additional conditions.
"If the factory wants us elites to stay and stabilize the situation, shouldn't it make adjustments to loan interest rates, commodity prices, and various welfare benefits?"
A man with slicked-back hair and gold-rimmed glasses spoke to the smiling man.
His tone was very polite, but there was an underlying confidence that you needed us.
"After all, so many people have left, and those who remain are the most loyal employees."
"Loyalty should be rewarded, shouldn't it?"
The person smiling remained unmoved, nodded, and replied in a gentle voice, "Your request has been recorded and will be forwarded to the human resources department for processing."
The other person took a half step back with satisfaction, and when they looked back at their colleague, there was a hint of smugness in their eyes.
He felt this was a great opportunity to make a big splash.
The factory is up and running again.
It was bustling with people coming and going.
After returning to the staff quarters, Hawksbill and the others checked the USB drive for a while but found nothing wrong with it.
He discovered that the program on the USB drive appeared to cover both employee permissions and factory authorization.
After insertion, Li Shuang, as the initiator, can designate a certain employee to be temporarily recognized by the system as having the highest privileges.
The other party is able to rewrite things like the factory's contracts.
This truly enables a real takeover of the factory.
So they decided to carry out the plan Li Shuang had suggested and insert this external program into the core of the data center.
To prevent Li Shuang's betrayal, Qing Ning also took out a contract item, making the other party swear that after inserting the USB drive, she could only select the tortoise shell as the highest authority, otherwise, she would pay the price with her life.
Although Li Shuang didn't know what had gotten into these players that made them think that this external program could directly usurp the factory's highest authority, she thought she would have to waste some more time fooling them.
But at least the outcome is good, as long as they are willing to act according to the plan.
So Li Shuang readily agreed.
In any case, the ultimate goal of the external program is to enable her to possess other people through the bracelet, and those non-existent contracts are completely irrelevant to her.
"Employees have to go to the talent incubation center to remove their wristbands before leaving the company. There must be a lot of people who want to leave. With such a large flow of people, the factory certainly can't monitor them perfectly. After all, the factory also has to be wary of Wu Wang causing trouble."
“We can sign a voluntary resignation agreement first, then sneak in during peak hours, and finally infiltrate the data center to complete our mission. If necessary, we can also send a group of people to cause some noise while queuing to attract the factory’s attention. Since we’re resigning voluntarily, we’re not worried about being punished by the factory.”
"I'm analyzing the current situation," said the tortoiseshell.
She took a deep breath and calmly said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this will be our last chance."
"After signing the resignation agreement, you can only stay for 48 hours before being kicked out. Leaving the factory doesn't mean leaving the instance. If we haven't taken over the factory by then, we'll all have to stay in this instance world for the rest of our lives."
Upon hearing her words, everyone fell silent.
They then nodded in agreement.
After all, compared to the absurd liberation of Wu's side, this kind of takeover was more practical.
They don't believe that letting go of some employees will complete the task of liberating the factory.
When all the low-level employees who supported Wu Wang leave, that bastard's road will be over.
If he chooses to leave, he will fail the mission and be trapped in the instance forever; if he chooses to stay, it will most likely be time for the factory to settle accounts with him.
Wu Wang's situation is dire → Wu Wang makes a series of blunders → Wu Wang is caught in a bitter battle → Wu Wang is in a dilemma → Wu Wang's defeat is inevitable!
We must seize this opportunity!
However, Wu Wang, who was on the minds of the players at that moment, was showing off his delicious food with Xiao Qiu in an empty restaurant.
"Meow~"
Boss, is it really okay for us to eat like this, openly under surveillance?
When will we finally see rivers of blood and fangs?
[Oh! This fish smells so good! Can you buy it for me next time, big brother?]
He was met with a question from Xiao Qiu, whose mouth was stuffed with a starfish and whose speech was incoherent.
All the surveillance cameras in the cafeteria were now pointed at this spot, for fear that they might lose track of Wu Wang again if they weren't careful.
Wu Wang didn't answer the last idiotic question. Of course he wouldn't buy it; if he wanted to eat fish, he should go catch it himself.
Speaking of which, when we get back, we can throw Little Hill into the sea on the Mary to learn how to catch deep-sea fish and stuff.
Wu Wang chuckled as he thought about it.
He then picked up a large hairy crab and laughed, "Since I can't get close to the process site anyway, I might as well take advantage of the fact that no one is in the cafeteria right now and have a good meal while the dust settles."
"As for being under surveillance..."
"We can't avoid it now, can we? Let it watch, it'll make us feel more at ease."
"You agree, right, Miss Monica? Don't just look, why don't you have some?"
"Oh, sorry, I forgot you're a virtual avatar and can't eat. What a pity."
After saying that, he glanced at his bracelet.
A virtual image of artificial intelligence emerges from above.
However, it wasn't the familiar "white" character, but rather the intelligent AI Monica that everyone had seen from the beginning—the same female figure who spoke with Wu Wang at the talent incubation center.
[Bai] is gone... (End of Chapter)