Chapter 25
The man said this dryly, and seemed to have no idea what to say next. After hesitating for a while, he stood up, walked to the door and opened it.
"Come..." He turned around and gestured.
Fang Shao followed. The snowstorm that had driven the man into the bar had stopped, but the cold air still rushed in from outside as the door opened. Fang Shao, who was wearing a thin coat, felt a little cold, and then he saw large flakes of snow falling from the sky, quietly but persistently, continuously, as if it would never stop.
At first glance, this vast world of ice and snow almost merged with the virtual scenery of the bar. However, unlike the flat fields and scattered cabins outside the window, Fang Shao could not see any human activity, only the high and low hills covered with snow and the sparse white birch trees growing on the mountains.
The bar is also located on a hill. There are two lines of men's footprints outside the door, from far to near. The near traces are very deep, almost submerged to the calf, but the far traces are covered by heavy snow and gradually become shallower. Halfway through, there is no trace, and it is impossible to see where they came from.
The sky is white, the ground is white, the snow is white, and the trees are white.
Almost everything in this world is white.
"Daily survival is the only goal, and death is the only outcome..." Fang Shao murmured as he looked at the strange yet familiar scenery in front of him. This sentence was written on the opening screen of "The Long Night" and runs through the entire game.
“Survival…goal…death…end…” Although the man didn’t know that these words were the summary of his life, they still struck him in the heart, and a feeling of pain and bitterness suddenly surged up.
He has lived in this boundless wilderness since he could remember. He is the only human being here. His mind is blank, with only the most basic common sense left. He doesn't know who he is, nor what happened here. All he sees is the snowy wilderness, the railways and towns abandoned by humans.
Initially, he would actively search the human bodies frozen in the snow and every abandoned building, hoping to find some clues. But most of the time, he found nothing. Especially those safes that he opened with great effort, most often found stacks of banknotes that were useless except for starting a fire. Occasionally, he would find some notes or notes with a few words, but they were just vague references to a disaster and did not help his situation at all.
He would also use weak electricity to activate the radio on nights when the aurora was shining, but the electronic equipment seemed to be broken, and no matter how carefully he waited, he would only hear a harsh "hissing" noise.
He once risked his life to go through the dark and deep mines to the coast, thinking that he could see the sea and ships at the dock. But the huge whale frozen on the shore made his heart fall into the abyss. The former overlord of the ocean could only helplessly raise his head and look up at the sky, but the sky responded with silence, and the sea that he once depended on was also silent.
Gradually, the man lost hope and his curiosity about everything.
Just survive, just survive.
Gather supplies, fish, hunt, and guard against wild animals.
One year, two years, he didn't know how many years had passed. The eternal winter and the repetitive things made him lose the concept of time.
When tools were broken, he repaired them himself; when clothes were torn, he mended them himself. When they could no longer be repaired or mended, he replaced them with bows and spears that he made himself, and wolfskin coats and leather boots and gloves that he sewed himself.
He was getting further and further away from civilization and closer to nature. He no longer thought, but acted mechanically based on instinct and habit. So when the bar appeared in front of him, he thought of it as an ordinary resting place, without thinking that he had already walked through every piece of land in this wilderness, so how could a strange building suddenly appear.
Is this a miracle?
The man thought, pointed outside, and then pointed at himself, "I have been alone here for a long, long time. I have no companions, no relatives."
He said, "Help me."
I don't want to continue living alone and then die alone like that.
"You want to turn guests into bar staff?" Fang Wei's surprised voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Is there any way? Aren't you still helping the Immortal Alliance recruit UP hosts?" Fang Shao leaned back in his chair, and the tempting aroma of food came from the operation room next to him.
This was not the smell of pre-prepared food that Fang Shao was familiar with, but the aroma of barbecue cooked on the spot. Over the past ten years, the man had been honed by the wilderness into a well-rounded life expert. He only briefly reviewed the use of the oven and then skillfully processed the rabbit meat.
Apart from giving some initial instructions and pointing out the locations of condiments and tableware, Fang Shao, the host, was completely useless and had to slip away quietly.
Fang Shao was greatly disappointed by Fang Yao's answer. "That's different. I'm just building a bridge between the Immortal Alliance and the guests. The guests can't leave their original world either. They just have the ability to upload videos, but they can't even broadcast live."
"Ah..." Fang Shao sighed softly. Although he knew the man couldn't hear the call in the operating room, he still stood up and moved away.
Hearing his cousin's voice was a little depressed, Fang Wei made another suggestion. "Don't bother thinking about it, just apply to the headquarters for a staffing position. Based on your recent performance, the headquarters should agree, it's just a matter of how much it costs." He also sighed, "I just checked this "The Long Night", the game maker's settings are indeed a bit cruel, not leaving him any hope, no wonder you want to help him so much..."
Fang Shao knew that there was this option, but he was used to taking advantage of loopholes in the headquarters, so he put this option at the end. But now the idea of taking advantage of loopholes was obviously not feasible, so he still submitted the application to the headquarters obediently.
“Ding~”
After just a few minutes, the headquarters responded quickly. Although Fang Shao was still in the internship period, based on the performance and various performances of "Yuan*Bar" in the past six months, the headquarters agreed to Fang Shao's request to convert customers into employees.
What is the price?
Fang Shao's gaze slowly moved to the end.
【After special approval, we agree to this additional establishment, and at the same time, we will charge the operator a one-time handling fee of 1,000,000 yuan. If you agree, please press the confirmation button, and the relevant amount will be automatically deducted from the transaction amount. 】
Fang Shao counted the zeros on it.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
6 zeros!
One million yuan!
Although he was mentally prepared, Fang Shao was still shocked by the number and took a deep breath.
Quoting a high price is in line with the headquarters' usual style. The headquarters has always been generous within the quota and is not afraid of being taken advantage of, but if you want something beyond the quota, that's another matter.
But the price is too high. It's just a system. Does it cost 1 million?
It's a total rip off.
Fang Shao felt distressed as he pressed the confirm button.
What else can I do? Bargain with the headquarters?
Forget it, forget it. It's just a matter of selling two bottles of wine. He can find a few more wealthy customers and make back the 1 million dollars.
With this mood in mind, when the man nervously brought the fragrant roasted rabbit meat over, Fang Shao's posture of eating was more ferocious than usual.
When the man heard the good news from Fang Shao that he could stay, he excitedly gave Fang Shao a bear hug.
"I'll be called Dave from now on." As the first thing the man did after returning to reality, he gave himself a new name. "That's the first name I remember, and it's also where I first woke up."
As soon as Dave finished speaking, a second-generation ID card with a man's photo appeared in Fang Shao's hand, and the man's new name was clearly written on it.
[Name: Dave
Gender: Male Nationality: Russian
Born: December 21, 1983
Address: Yizhou City********
Citizenship number: 5101************】
Fang Shao read the information on the ID card and explained to Dave what it was used for.
Although the birthday above is directly counted back forty years from today's date, Dave doesn't mind. Instead, he keeps this date in mind.
Fang Shao looked at the ID card but found nothing wrong. He cautiously used his mobile phone to log into the 12306 APP and tried to buy a high-speed rail ticket using the ID number.
[Order EA*****, you have successfully purchased the G*** train on December 22. Please enter the station and board the train with your ticket. ]
Fang Shao smacked his lips when he saw the text message he received on his phone.
There was no problem with the ID card, and the Russian also explained Dave's appearance very well. It seems that it was right to recruit employees through formal channels, and the 1 million was indeed not paid in vain.
After canceling the train ticket, Fang Shao handed the ID card to Dave who was waiting eagerly. "Keep it. I'll go with you to get a bank card and a cell phone tomorrow. Let me make it clear that I'll help you with the money first, but I'll still have to deduct it from your salary in the future."
Dave nodded repeatedly, then shook his head violently to indicate that he didn't need the salary. The same applies to the bank card and the phone. The background of the game "The Long Night" is Canada before smartphones became popular, so Dave didn't understand that mobile phones have become a necessity for humans in modern society.
But Fang Shao had spent 1 million yuan generously, so why would he skimp on it? He decided to set Dave's salary as 2,000 yuan a month, including food and lodging (he gave Dave a camp bed in the lobby), and social security. Fang Shao did not deliberately lower or raise the price, which was considered normal in Yizhou.
From then on, Dave became a new employee of the bar. He was very enthusiastic about his work. Although Fang Shao asked him to be mainly responsible for the kitchen, in fact, Dave defined his own job scope as including everything from cleaning, taking care of cats, serving tea and water to cooking.
He was indeed capable. In the first few days, Fang Shao hardly saw him rest, and he would find something to do from time to time. Fortunately, his body was trained bit by bit in the wilderness, and he didn't complain of being tired at all.
Fang Shao tried to persuade him a few times at first, but he also understood that Dave was using busyness to lighten his burdens and increase his own value and self-confidence, so he gradually let him do what he wanted.
Therefore, Fang Shao was completely freed from the multitasking situation and could greet customers at the bar.
Fang Shao was very satisfied and Dave was very happy. The only person injured was the property cleaning lady who came to clean in the morning. She now had one less job to earn extra money.
Dave quickly adapted to modern society. He learned how to use his mobile phone, including surfing the Internet, paying, watching short videos, checking maps, and taking the subway. On Tuesdays, when he had a day off, Dave liked to walk slowly along the busy commercial streets. Sometimes, his Western appearance would attract the enthusiastic greetings of vendors, "hello, here~", and he would wave his hands and say, "Thank you, no, I don't have any money."
In three sentences, I refuse all sales pitches.
Dave, who is saving money, just wants to enjoy the excitement for free and is unwilling to spend a penny more.