Chapter 1 No One Can Stop Me from Retiring
"I want to retire."
NPC Instructor No. 2133, who had originally been due to retire at the Space-Time Bureau but was told there were no more vacancies, calmly sat down across from his superior. As if anticipating what he was about to say, he reached out to stop him before he could speak, then calmly took a glass of water and placed it between them.
"Are you trying to say that you've run out of retirement quotas, or are you planning to continue promising me more? It doesn't matter. I've experienced this kind of grievance many times."
"Sixty-eight years ago, you wanted to delay retirement for five years. I thought, okay, I'm still young, it's just five years, I can just do it."
"Five years have passed, and you're saying there aren't enough new NPC guides, that they can't meet the space-time energy consumption requirements, and you're delaying retirement. This time, it won't be long, just three years. Okay, I'll grit my teeth and continue working for you."
"Three years have passed, and you said that if I extend my retirement benefits for another three years, I can get another level higher. It's not cost-effective to retire now. Fine, I believe your lies."
"Three years later, three years later, three years later, three years later, every year they said there was no retirement target. If I retired, the security I had before would be gone."
"I'm really stumped. My host circle has rotated through thirty-eight generations, and every one of them has died a tragic death since I proposed retirement. Even now, I can't help but wonder what bad luck my host has to have to encounter an NPC like me who deserves to retire."
"It was so hard, I just finished coaching this batch of hosts from the Huaxia region. I accompanied her, from a clueless naiveté to entering the military academy and eventually becoming a general in the military region, as you all expected. Isn't that brilliant, isn't it, a brilliant resume? And you still say I haven't completed my mission, haven't completed it?! What? Are you targeting the veteran employees specifically?"
"No, listen to me." The boss had just finished speaking when No. 2133 raised the water cup in her hand and placed it between them. Her quiet madness made the boss sitting opposite her subconsciously raise an eyebrow and retreat a little.
However, No. 2133 had already seen through his intentions and even asked calmly, "Is your chair uncomfortable?"
"No." The boss immediately moved forward a little bit.
"Actually, I don't ask for much. I just want enough food and clothing, not to be bound by any external factors, to be safe, happy, and healthy. If I could also have a whole spa with a hot spring bath, ah, happiness. Do you think all this is so difficult to arrange?"
The boss on the opposite side felt like a quail. He couldn't hit or scold No. 2133, because No. 2133's original identity was so sensitive.
After a long time of holding it in, the boss finally said, "There seems to be something wrong with your emotional system."
There was a bang and the water cup was raised and put down again.
"Emotions... You're actually having a relationship with a worker? All my emotions have been dedicated to my work. Back when I first started working, my emotions were so abundant, my energy was so strong, and my thoughts were so sharp. Now, when I cycle from one world to another, I just want to collapse in front of my host. As long as the host doesn't commit suicide, I will never easily interfere with their choices. Even though I work so diligently and don't disturb them, I can still be complained by the host.
"What's even more bizarre is that you actually accepted the corresponding complaint and gave me the penalty of canceling my retirement quota. No, this host is related to someone else, right?"
"You had the heart to watch me get complained about back then, and you didn't even say a nice word to me. And then, every year, the hosts assigned to me were all different, and they died in all sorts of ways. Sometimes, I don't even think of myself as the Time and Space Bureau's ace NPC guide, or the most powerful general in the Time and Space Bureau. I'm just the little brother who stole the job of the Ox-Head and Horse-Face in the underworld, the new-age ox and horse—me."
"Calm down." The boss had obviously felt threatened and stood up and stretched out his hand to try to calm the man in front of him. However, No. 2133 had already told him with his actions: I am calm, otherwise what would appear in front of you now would not be just a water cup.
No. 2133 just walked up to the table and laid down on it: "I want to retire, today, right now."
Boss: ... "How about...if you work for another year, I'll give you a stopper. Hey, hey, hey, watch the water cup in your hand. This is my office!!!"
Thirty minutes later,
"Isn't it just retirement? Look at what a fuss this has caused. But to be honest, you've really worked hard on the last three missions in the Huaxia region, and you've made a lot of progress."
Seeing No. 2133 squinting at him, the boss, covering his face, coughed and re-explained the retirement principles: "First, regarding choosing a planet, I can't choose one even if you kill me. I'm done. Go ahead and hit me. Beat me to death, and I can retire. Come on, hit me hard."
No. 2133: ...It can be seen that the boss is also calm and slightly crazy.
"You don't get to choose your plane; it's assigned randomly. As a reward, you chose not to begin your reincarnation as an infant. So, as a soul infusion, you have three lives in this lifetime. Nothing can constrain you. You have real estate to live comfortably, savings so you don't have to worry about food and drink, and someone to take care of you. Plus, a large house with hot springs nearby and luxurious decor. You can go to the hot springs anytime you want. Okay, is that all? Any other requests?"
"Uh...?" No. 2133 was very surprised. She had just said it casually, but she didn't expect her boss to suddenly become so friendly. She felt that there was something fishy going on.
She subconsciously turned her head to look at her boss, and suddenly realized that she must not be swayed by her boss's emotions, otherwise she would be fooled into staying and working.
Thinking of this, No. 2133 made a firm decision in his heart: Retire, retire today!
So No. 2133 immediately went along with it, without making a fuss: "These retirement conditions are excellent, thank you for your trouble. By the way, I remember that according to the retirement benefits system, I still have five more opportunities to live a happy and fulfilling life in reincarnation, right?"
"Right, so you can enjoy the free time of your life after retirement."
"Yeah." Number 2133 finally smiled softly at this time. As he smiled, he turned around and shook his boss's hand. "Then if there's a good pregnancy, please remember to keep an eye out for me. In my next life, I want to enjoy life from the baby stage."
The boss's expression changed again and again, and he held back his words, but finally he said earnestly and eagerly:
"Okay, congratulations... Now that you're retired, the paperwork is complete. Please sign."
Number 2133 took the retirement confirmation manual issued by the Space-Time Bureau system and looked at the line at the bottom waiting for her signature. She couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness that finally, after all the hard work, she had finally gotten her wish. Her heart, which had stopped beating, seemed to restart at this moment, and even her emotions showed signs of returning. With trembling hands, she signed her work number with extraordinary solemnity:
She, an old employee who has worked in the Space-Time Bureau for hundreds of years, finally ushered in her retirement day today.
From now on, she will face the sea and the spring flowers;
She wanted to sense the earth and no longer turn a blind eye to the scenery of various worlds and planes;
She would pick up her bird cage and stroll to the hot springs when she had nothing to do, letting the warm water cleanse her tired heart;
She wanted to return to being kind, warm, amiable, and friendly, without having to speak harshly to anyone or constantly consume herself;
There are no more weird colleagues, no more bosses who are trying to please everyone, no more having to clock in and out on time, and most importantly, even if she does nothing but lie lazily in bed, she can still have a pension to cover her living expenses.
Ah, this is the taste of freedom, the taste of comfort, the taste of happiness.
After happily imagining his perfect retirement years, No. 2133 turned to look at his boss, who was still on the job. For some reason, the face that he had once found extremely hateful now seemed kind and pitiful. It was true that when a man is about to retire, his actions tend to be good.
"Come to think of it, we've been partners for so long, but I still don't know your employee number."
boss:……
"I'm retired anyway, so sharing my work number with someone else isn't against the rules."
While her boss was silent, the Space-Time Bureau's retirement system had already sent her a retirement naming device. After she gave herself a name, she would no longer be just a string of task numbers within the Space-Time Bureau, but would become a real human being in a certain world plane.
Number 2133 felt her heart skip a beat, but soon a stronger and more resilient heartbeat began to resound within her. She covered her heart with her hand and could not help but clench her fist, letting out a silent cry: "Yeah!"
Feeling the gaze of his calm and slightly crazy boss next to him, No. 2133 quickly restrained his expression and then named himself: Midsummer.
Sure enough, no matter how many dimensions she had traveled through or how many rounds of missions she had completed, she still liked the midsummer of that life very much.
It's really strange. She always feels that this name means a lot to her, but she can't remember the cause and effect. But never mind her. She is retired now, so she can think about this kind of thing later.
However, on the interface for submitting the corresponding name, Shengxia accidentally saw the name of her boss, but it was not a work number, but a name: He Peng.
This means that her boss had also retired before, so... was her boss forced to re-employed by the Space-Time Bureau?
Ha, ha ha ha ha, Shengxia felt inexplicably gloating. The conditions for re-employment and retirement again are much more stringent than the conditions for the first retirement. Don’t look at the boss as normal at ordinary times, maybe he has gone crazy inside.
Holding the completed retirement form happily in her hand, Shengxia didn't hear her boss's words this time. Finally, her boss accompanied Shengxia to the reincarnation platform for retired personnel of the Space-Time Bureau.
"Go ahead." The boss said casually.
Shengxia looked back at the time and space bureau to which she had dedicated hundreds of years, then turned around, took a deep breath, and entered the reincarnation platform without any regrets.
With a sizzling sound, as the reincarnation system started up, a cold electronic sound rang out in her mind:
"Thank you, Admiral Shengxia, for your hard work in our Spacetime Bureau over the years."
"According to the decision of our superiors, we are officially notifying you that you have met the retirement requirements and are allowed to retire. We have now selected the most suitable plane destination for your retirement."
"Establishing the transmission link channel. Three, two, one. Channel established successfully."
"Then...happy retirement."
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