Chapter 21

In an instant, cold sweat poured down Lü Xiangcai's back. He could almost hear his heart pounding in his chest, making a thumping sound.

Yan Shuo doesn't care about these trivial matters at all, so why...?

Until he caught a glimpse of the black blood on the tentacle out of the corner of his eye, Lü Xiangcai's pupils suddenly contracted.

—The tentacles are Yan Shuo's body. They share the same senses, so how could the latter be indifferent to what the former likes!

Yan Shuo looked at him, his tone normal, but his words sent a chill down one's spine: "Your breathing is erratic. What are you thinking about?"

Knowing he could no longer remain silent, Lü Xiangcai forced a natural smile: "It's not just one new person; there have been more than ten interns entering data into the system this month alone! Our Shengtian Group has such a prestigious reputation in the industry that it will definitely attract wave after wave of job seekers."

He picked up his phone and handed it over, openly and generously showing Yan Shuo the message history: "I think highly of this intern. Besides being diligent and capable as I told you before, he is also very ambitious and would be very suitable to become part of our management team! Coincidentally, we also need to fill the vacancies at the upper management level after this reorganization. What do you think of him?"

Upon hearing the latter part of the sentence, Yan Shuo frowned slightly.

He scrolled through the chat history, automatically ignoring Lü Xiangcai's complaints about him, and showed no expression when he saw Xie Xubai asking about the rules for interns becoming full-time employees and getting promoted.

Until I spotted the previous question.

[Xie Xubai] May I ask, does President Yan have a habit or hobby of cannibalism? (Historical message)

Yan Shuo raised his eyes: "You've awakened?"

Creatures that glimpse the true nature of the world will awaken, and after awakening, 99.99% will become monsters. This is also one of the necessary conditions for becoming a member of the Shengtian Group's management team.

Lü Xiangcai: "Yes, I also took him to the fifth floor, and he adapted very well."

Looking at what he said, there wasn't a single lie, but it took on a completely different meaning in Yan Shuo's ears.

A monster that has awakened, loves to compete for fame and fortune, and can perfectly adapt to the corrupt and extravagant lifestyle?

Yan Shuo remained indifferent, did not scroll up any further, and handed the phone back to Lü Xiangcai.

Lu Xiangcai deliberately asked, "So you agree? This person has great potential and will climb to the top sooner or later. Would you like to meet him beforehand?"

Yan Shuo showed no interest whatsoever: "No need, you can arrange it yourself."

Lu Xiangcai immediately agreed, put the phone back in his pants pocket, his palms already soaked with cold sweat.

He couldn't wait to walk out the door, planning to take a good shower later. Before he even stepped out the door, he suddenly heard Yan Shuo say, "Oh, right, there's one more thing. Starting today, the company will not hire anyone, and all employees below the fifth floor will be laid off with three times the compensation."

Lu Xiangcai stopped abruptly, turning around as if struck by lightning, his face contorted: "Dismissal?"

"But aren't those lower-level employees also caught in the company's cyclical logic? Why are they allowed to escape—"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly realized his slip of the tongue and hurriedly stopped himself, saying, "I'm sorry, Mr. Yan! I... I was just a little confused."

Yan Shuo looked at him quietly.

Just as Lü Xiangcai was so nervous that his heart was about to jump out of his throat, the man finally spoke again: "There's nothing strange about it. Just go and deal with it. If there are any problems, come and report back to me."

Lu Xiangcai knew he had lost his composure too many times today, and reason told him that he must now answer decisively: Yes.

But his mind was in turmoil, overwhelmed by an irresistible impulse, and he blurted out, "But since you know a way to escape the cycle of Shengtian Group, are you willing to remain trapped here?!"

Yan Shuo had already sat back down in his chair. Besides the company's financial reports, there were various plans and documents on the table.

He casually picked up a packet, and upon hearing the question, looked up and uttered a single word, neither loud nor soft: "Tired?"

As if he had suddenly heard an absurd joke, Yan Shuo rarely tugged at the corner of his mouth: "Why would you mistakenly think that this little cage could confine me?"

His tone, demeanor, and eyes never carried a trace of arrogance, and he spoke in a calm and even tone, yet he exuded an overwhelming sense of dominance that left people with no choice but to submit.

Lu Xiangcai hesitated, his lips trembling, "Then I..."

“You’ve been tied to this company since birth, and leaving without permission will make it very unhappy.”

Yan Shuo withdrew his gaze, flipped through the plan documents, completely unaware of how chilling his words were: "It takes a lot of effort to piece together a broken soul, so don't cause me any more trouble."

Upon hearing the word "again," Lü Xiangcai suddenly remembered something, and with a look of horror, he rolled up his sleeves and stared at them several times. Finally, he discovered the tiny, spiderweb-like stitches under his skin, as if in a dream.

"I thought it was..."

“It’s not a dream.” Yan Shuo was clearly getting impatient. “Close the door when you leave.”

Lu Xiangcai paused for a moment, then finally gave up and replied in a low voice, "Yes."

Just before leaving, he peeked through the crack in the closing door at Yan Shuo, who was lazily flipping through a proposal.

From beginning to end, those scarlet eyes remained as calm and still as an ancient well.

This man is powerful, arrogant, ruthless, indifferent to life and death, and unapproachable.

If one day, something were to make him waver... what a joke, how could that be?

Having worked under Yan Shuo for so many years, Lü Xiangcai could never have imagined such a scene, and he found it unbelievable that he would have such an absurd idea. He took a deep breath and closed the door.

But what they didn't see was that the moment the door closed, the usually calm man's expression suddenly changed, and he frowned as he stared at his own thigh.

...

[Lv Xiangcai] I'm so sorry, I suddenly encountered some urgent matters and couldn't reply to your message in time. (Hands clasped together.jpg) (Begging for forgiveness.jpg)

[Lü Xiangcai] To reiterate, the company's inner workings are beyond your comprehension, and acquiring this kind of knowledge comes at a price. However, now that you've awakened, perhaps you can improve your mental fortitude by being promoted to management. Once you reach a certain level, your resilience will increase significantly, and you'll naturally learn more.

[Lu Xiangcai]...Actually, I just heard some news. If you're planning to leave the company, you'd better do it now. It's no exaggeration to say that missing this opportunity would be catastrophic.

[Lu Xiangcai] In the end, you are just an ordinary person who got involved unintentionally. There is no need for you to risk your life for a group of people who are destined to die.

Ten minutes later.

Where is [Lu Xiangcai]?

*

The person is still alive, of course.

When Xie Xubai suddenly heard the news that nearly three thousand employees of the company would be slaughtered, his mind went blank.

Reason told him not to meddle, but his fingers inexplicably opened the group chat and scrolled through all the employees' names one by one.

After looking through the documents, he lowered his eyelashes and looked at his own cats and dogs, pondering for a long time in silence, weighing many things.

It might take ten minutes or just a minute.

Xie Xubai tapped his fingers on the keyboard and asked, "If I want to know the inside story of the company, how much are you willing to tell me?"

There was no immediate reply from the other end. I don't know if they were suddenly held back by something or if they were considering how to respond.

Xie Xubai waited for a while, but still received no news, so he decided to take Ping An to take a bath first.

Before the dog died, its body was severely corroded by sulfuric acid. After being transformed into a monster, it was directly shaped. If no measures are taken, it will forever retain the hideous appearance it had when it died.

However, ancient books only contain evil arts for enslaving monsters, and do not record how to repair their monstrous forms.

Xie Xubai looked at Ping An, who was completely unharmed, and knew that Gouzi had not revealed his true form so as not to worry him.

Guided by memory, he avoided the bloody, mangled areas, gently touching the edge of the wound, and couldn't help but ask, "Does it hurt?"

Ping An shook his head without hesitation.

Xie Xubai rubbed its head, thinking that he would ask someone after Lü Xiangcai replied. He turned around, adjusted the water temperature, and used a soft towel soaked in warm water to carefully wipe the dirt off the dog.

The bathroom was filled with steam. The dark red scabs had been washed away, and the yellowish muddy water, thickened with slurry, flowed into the sewer. It was a somewhat relaxing sight.

Xie Xubai paused when the snow-white underside of his palm was revealed, looking at the dog in surprise: "Ping An, you're actually a white dog!"

The dog was originally yellowish-brown, and he thought it was a big yellow dog.

Ping An looked at its wet, white furry paws, raised them and shook them, its eyes widening in surprise and curiosity: "Huh?"

The vengeful spirits were drawn in by the noise, and after becoming monsters, they could see colors, followed by a cry of alarm.

The king's color was washed away by humans! Humans are amazing!

The air was filled with a joyful and lively atmosphere, and the whole family completely relaxed.

So much so that when they stepped out of the bathroom and saw the half-section of a pitch-black tentacle that was curling up the remnants of the phone and constantly shrinking, none of them reacted.

The cats and dogs stared at the wriggling tentacles, first stunned, then wide-eyed, then bristled and let out a sharp roar: "Roar!!"

The next second, the tentacles flew over at a speed too fast for the naked eye to see and wrapped around Xie Xubai's ankle.

Xie Xubai was startled and reflexively tried to pull at the tentacles. He suddenly found the cold, slippery touch strangely familiar and quickly grabbed Ping An, whose mouth was already wide open.

"Wait a minute, everyone, don't get excited! This, uh, little guy? I think I recognize it!"

Before he could finish speaking, a plaintive murmur rang out from the depths of Xie Xubai's mind, childish and clear, at most eight years old.

It hurts.

My body aches.

Xie Xubai paused, then looked at the tentacles again.

The base of the tentacle is a dark shadow, like a bottomless black hole. It can float in the air or lie flat on the ground. Its cross-section is only the size of an adult's fist, which causes the thicker parts to be stuck, limiting the length that can be extended.

It was only half left, making it very difficult to wrap around Xie Xubai's ankle.

In that short while, as it pitifully cried out in pain, its slippery body slid down several centimeters, almost falling to the ground, before it hurriedly and pantingly tried to wrap itself back up.

Seeing that it showed no inclination to attack him, Xie Xubai reached out and tried to pick it up.

Perhaps because its tentacles were severely injured, it was listless and weak, which made it surprisingly relaxed.

He then examined the tattered wound, which looked unusually severe, with black blood still seeping from the edges. He couldn't help but frown: "I remember you. You are Lü Xiangcai's shadow. What happened to this wound?"

The bad guys bullied me, hit me, and it hurt.

It hurts so much.

It became more and more aggrieved as it spoke, its voice trembling with pain.

Xie Xubai looked at the horrific injuries without a second thought: "How can I help you treat them?"

Touch me. Your scent is so clean; touching me makes me feel so good.

Xie Xubai touched it hesitantly.

The tentacles immediately began to sway slowly back and forth, seemingly enjoying themselves immensely.

Meanwhile, Yan Shuo, who was empathizing with the tentacles, had long since lost interest in the proposal. His gaze was fixed on his own thighs, his expression growing increasingly strange, and his brows furrowing more and more tightly.

Xie Xubai intended to find out what was going on from Lü Xiangcai, but when he turned around, he saw the scattered pieces of his cell phone on the table, as well as a transparent, stringy liquid that looked like saliva hanging on it, and he fell silent on the spot.

The severed tentacle, noticing this, says: "I found you through it, but I accidentally broke it. I'll make it up to you, wait for me!"

It turned and disappeared into the shadows below.

On the other side, Yan Shuo heard a rustling sound and looked over with a frown.

A tentacle, still dripping black blood, rolled up the bed sheet and tossed it upwards with a "whoosh," sending the thick, white sheet flying into the air.

The indoor lights shone down, and a golden light instantly shone, making the entire bedroom shine—under the sheets was a mattress neatly made of countless gold bricks!

The tentacle tried to coil it up—but failed. It simply grabbed a gold brick at random and quickly disappeared back into the shadows.

The bedroom fell into a deathly silence.

Her shallow breaths rose and fell.

Half a minute later, Yan Shuo, who had been completely ignored, slowly and deliberately pulled the sheet off his head.

He looked up and glanced at the golden bed, which was now a complete mess.

He looked down again at the white sheets stained with black blood.

A crisp snap.

Yan Shuo crushed the folder containing the proposal with a blank expression.

Author's Note: