Main text, extra chapter: If 1
01
If Jiang Chuan is also recognized in Finland...
Finland's tertiary sector is not as well-developed as that in China. For example, online grocery shopping and home delivery are practically non-existent in Finland.
This forced Jiang Chuan to go out and buy groceries himself.
However, going out to buy groceries in Finland doesn't make him as nervous as he would back home. There are fewer people here, and everyone is very careful to maintain social distancing.
The cold weather meant everyone was bundled up tightly, which made Jiang Chuan feel even more at ease.
The Earl was afraid of the cold and refused to go out to buy groceries. But today, the old man suddenly wanted to enjoy some delicious food, and under Jiang Chuan's coercion and enticement, he went out with him.
Going out and walking is impossible on your own.
He either relies on rivers or small carts for transportation, while he just lies there paralyzed.
"Why can't we teleport back to China to buy groceries?" During his time in China, the Earl had developed a Chinese palate and found Finnish cuisine far superior to the variety of Chinese dishes.
"The country is still in a rather dangerous situation..." Jiang Chuan trailed off, as if recalling something unpleasant, and indeed he did recall some unpleasant things...
According to the information from Song Zhiming, Zhixing Games has been in a rather turbulent period recently.
"Would you like to eat this?"
Jiang Chuan refocused his attention on grocery shopping, which could be considered a peaceful life... Very good, let's keep it up.
The count shook his head dismissively.
Just then, someone suddenly spoke up not far behind Jiang Chuan: "Hello...?"
Because the language used was English, Jiang Chuan instinctively turned his head without any suspicion, assuming that the supermarket didn't allow pets inside.
Then I saw two very typical East Asian faces, a man and a woman.
Jiang Chuan shivered slightly, his mind instantly conjuring up terrifying scenarios from a long, long time in the future. However, he remained rational, hoping that the two people opposite him might not recognize him.
After all, the whole "sending Jiang Zemin to debut" thing is just Chinese people having fun on their own.
"Hello." He deliberately lowered his voice.
The man and woman opposite him stared at him with bright eyes but didn't reply for a moment, and then the three of them were left in an awkward silence.
Jiang Chuan really wanted to escape the scene, but reason told him that suddenly leaving would make him seem more suspicious, and he might be mistaken for a shoplifter and taken to the police station by the supermarket.
"You really are President Jiang, right?" The girl was the first to confirm Jiang Chuan's identity, and she gave him a big smile and extended her hand to express her friendliness.
But Jiang Chuan wasn't a normal person; he couldn't sense any friendliness, only terror.
"What, President Jiang? You've mistaken me for someone else." Using all his acting skills, Jiang Chuan frowned, seemingly very impatient.
However, the girl's attention was no longer on him at this moment. She looked past him and saw the count behind her. Then she muttered to herself, "That's right, carrying a black kitten with you, those golden eyes... and your height, so it really is President Jiang, right?"
Jiang Chuan froze.
Jiang Chuan couldn't remember how he escaped the scene afterward. All he could think about was: Is this what it means to have the red flag planted all over the world? Why are there Chinese people everywhere?
The count was initially very excited, thinking he had encountered one of his live stream fans. However, Jiang Chuan stole the spotlight from him once again.
Hmph, unwillingly.
However, the two fans were quite friendly. Apart from asking for Mr. Jiang's autograph, they didn't bother Jiang Chuan any further while he was buying groceries.
Those two were probably thinking, "I never expected an elite CEO like President Jiang to be so down-to-earth as to go grocery shopping himself. I just don't know why, since he's in Finland..."
Something just doesn't feel right.
The Spring Festival is just around the corner in China. Shouldn't we be making preparations for the Spring Festival?
After rushing home from the supermarket, the Earl once again witnessed Jiang Chuan packing his luggage. He didn't even need to ask; he had already prepared Jiang Chuan's explanation.
—It's not safe here anymore, we must move out quickly.
But this is already Finland, and just ahead is the Arctic Ocean… The count asked in confusion, “Where are you… planning to go this time?”
Jiang Chuan answered firmly: Antarctica.
02
If: a large-scale offline event really was held...
Creative Cloud Vision.
As Zhixing Games' employees grew, and given that President Jiang had already stipulated the size of each employee's office space when he first founded Zhixing Games, the company continued to expand its workforce.
So, once the contract of the company in the middle of the 15th floor expired, Song Zhiming immediately arranged for the employees to relocate.
So now the 14th and 15th floors are the office areas for Zhixing Games employees, and the 16th floor... has been converted into a rest area.
As for the innermost part of President Jiang's office area, Song Zhiming left it as a cenotaph, at least to leave something for the headquarters employees to remember him by.
It is also a kind of spiritual benchmark.
High-end office buildings are always much more strictly managed than ordinary ones, so it is virtually impossible to hold a pilgrimage event for gamers. However, this does not prevent employees who work at Chuangzhi Yunjing from taking a second look when they bring their friends to ride the elevator.
This was Luo Ju's first time visiting the Zhixing Games area.
"Is this the same Zhixing Games company that closes up around 5 PM every day?"
“Brother, you’re being biased. How could they have left at 5 o’clock? They left right on time at 5 o’clock. I’m so envious. I get off work at 6 o’clock every day, and I walk down from the 17th floor. The 14th, 15th, and 16th floors are all dark. Do you know how lonely I feel? Luckily, I have my family members on the 14th floor and below to keep me company.”
As they were talking, Luo Ju looked at Luo Xingchao with a puzzled expression: "Why are you knocking on the door?"
"You don't understand, do you? What I'm doing is called double-clicking to mark the location. The map isn't unlocked yet. Try exploring it again next time."
"But you said they get off work at 5:00, and it's only two or three in the afternoon. How come I haven't seen anyone?"
Luo Xingchao was somewhat disappointed.
"I'm not too sure about that either. There aren't many people on each floor, and it's usually very quiet." Luo Ju looked around, but could only see the interior decorated like something out of a workplace drama; he didn't see a single person.
Fortunately, a cleaning lady happened to pass by.
"Auntie, I'd like to ask where all the employees of this company have gone? I haven't seen any of them at work."
The aunt also looked at it, and then said in a rather complicated tone: "You mean this company? After their annual meeting, they start taking turns to rest, and the holiday lasts until the Spring Festival. Then, during the Spring Festival, they have another 7-day holiday. It's estimated that they won't officially start work until after the New Year."
"If you have any urgent matters, you should contact them online."
Luo Ju and Luo Xingchao simultaneously pressed a question mark. Rotational leave? There are still more than ten days until the Spring Festival, how come there's a holiday already??
Is the annual meeting already over?
*This feels like a novel, but it's being used as a web novel about workplace reform.
Luo Ju and Luo Xingchao exchanged a glance and instantly understood what the other was thinking. They were indeed good brothers for many years.
Are we the characters in Yu Hua's "To Live"?
This is unfair!!!
03
If: The business owners and the gaming industry bosses finally had a conversation, and then they made an astonishing discovery...
He Feiang was playing a game called Zhixing Game with a few friends (Note: This is not a cultivation simulator, nor is it the online version of "The Way of the Corporate Slave," but the Zhixing Game developed by fans).
Zhao Wu became interested in the Zhixing game. As soon as one round ended, he took his phone and searched for information about the Zhixing game online.
Zhao Wu happened to see Jiang Chuan's previous interview on the GDR platform, and wanting to learn more about today's young talents, he clicked to watch.
Aside from the few quotations that netizens have hailed as gospel, the entire article contained little else. Zhao Wu had planned to scroll to the end, give it a like, and leave, but then he saw the image at the very end of the article.
That damn, terrifying, eerie black cat.
Looking at the picture again, the label below identifies it as the mascot of Zhixing Games.
What? !
Zhao Wu was struck dumb. He picked up his phone and held it up in front of everyone. Before he could even formulate his words, he excitedly tried to speak: "No, this cat, this cat!"
His brother, who had the same experience preparing for the bar exam, also realized what was happening and was so frightened that he dropped the controller in his hand, afraid of being influenced by the Zhixing Games works on the screen.
"Is this cat from Zhixing Games?"
"This is fucking outrageous!"
After learning the details, He Feiang frowned and said, "No wonder people in the industry say that Zhixing Games is strange and eerie. Do you think they're using some kind of mysterious power?"
"Similar to the kind of ghost children raised in Thailand?" Xiang Ji replied.
Several people shivered simultaneously.
Zhixing Games not only did this evil thing, but it also received unanimous praise and support from everyone. Even the boss was revered as a saint and teacher.
GDR officials were completely unaware of this.
Is the world playing me?
He Feiang continued to add to the strange things about Zhixing Games: "As a game company, they don't allow their employees to work overtime at all. Whether you say it's the boss's personal style or something else, I believe it."
"But what's even more outrageous is why employees aren't allowed to stay at the company until the evening? This is explicitly prohibited."
"Is it because the company is a completely different place at night?"
"Including when their first game won an award, I heard from the rumors that the judges disagreed. And even though the award was given to Southern Games Studio, such a big award is an honor. Is Nanlinqing under some kind of spell to be willing to give it up so easily?"
"Anyway, I'm not going to give up the award that I worked so hard to win."
"Then there's a terrifying saying circulating in our circle: no matter what kind of game it is, if there's another game in the release window that's going to be released, it's best to avoid it."
"Why?" Xiang Ji asked curiously.
"It absorbs heat!"
"No, a more accurate description would be...grabbing the spotlight."
He Feiang got a little agitated as he spoke, knowing that he already had two victims around him: "As long as they are launched at the same time, no matter how much the competing company promotes them, the maximum effectiveness of the promotional resources will ultimately come back to Zhixing Games."
"Things like 'Out-of-Body Simulator' and 'Your Truth'—I really can't understand the latter; how exactly does it work?"
"Before, we were just stealing the spotlight from our competitors; now we're absorbing all the online buzz."
Xiang Ji tapped his head and suddenly had a brilliant idea: "Why don't we get rid of this scourge?" It would be a great way to boost his merit, and maybe he could even ascend to immortality.
As soon as he said this, the people who were sitting around him immediately moved a meter away from him.
It was clearly a "If you want to die, don't drag us down with you" attitude.
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