Chapter 44 Infinite World [Employees can return using a vacation voucher...]
No wonder Pu Fengchun asked for his name at the end. According to the audience, the game is based on real names, and the name is the ID. Based on the ID, you can find the other person's trace in the game network.
Xue Chao wasn't too surprised. Pu Fengchun had agreed to his cooperation several times. At first, he could say it was due to the circumstances, but later it seemed to have a more "proactive" meaning. She had her own purpose.
She had fulfilled her promise; now it was his turn to keep it.
He recalled the woman's melancholy expression during the standby time. Could it be related to her deceased elder?
Before Xue Chao could even agree, a bunch of friend requests suddenly popped up, instantly filling the blank screen and overwriting Pu Fengchun's request.
Looking around, he didn't recognize any of them, but their names were all "familiar." Xue Chao had just seen them on various ranking lists, especially the guild ranking list, where several of them were even guild leaders or vice-leaders.
Larger guilds tend to be more reserved, often using their guild name to connect with players professionally.
After the game ended, out of eight players, only three survived. Only two people knew his real name: Pu Fengchun did so in his personal capacity, while Zhu Wen wanted nothing more than to skin him alive. His reputation among the players wouldn't have spread so quickly, and it would have taken them some time to gossip about him.
But the guild reacted quickly, trying to get in touch with him and have a chat. It seemed like they had a set of behavioral patterns. Xue Chao made it to the homepage of the "Rising Star" list, which met their criteria. It was probably because he was a "newcomer without a background" and a "potential talent". They were extending an olive branch to him.
If this attitude is towards a player who has become famous overnight, it is understandable, just like companies competing for talent in the market. But for a host to be so enthusiastic is more likely to be a kind of unspoken rule in the market—hosts cooperate with guilds.
Cooperation is about win-win, which means the exchange of benefits. The host has a great advantage in the early stages of the dungeon and naturally holds the bargaining chip. Guilds can attract players to join and cooperate with the host, so they must also have unique benefits and resources, such as a separate large section called "Guild Dungeon", or "Guild Raid Special Dungeon".
Since it's a raid, there's a process of distributing equipment. If you can get an item like the trench coat, it's incredibly attractive. After all, you can't take items out of the dungeon shop, but you can bring the trench coat into the dungeon. In life-or-death situations, unlike Wang Song who was reckless and foolish, it's a life-saving trump card.
Moreover, large organizations like guilds have a natural advantage: "intelligence," which can be a matter of life and death.
The top ten guilds should all have established partners. Conversely, famous hosts must also have their own networks of relationships. They have to form cliques and factions. If someone is an enemy, then you are a friend. It might be more complicated and exciting than the court, with reformers, conservatives, civil officials or military officials, supporters of the crown prince or the second, third, fourth or fifth princes, relatives of the empress or eunuchs. Just thinking about it makes my head hurt.
At this point, everyone sees him as "new" and has potential, and wants to get in first to secure a foothold for the next investment.
Even if he can't take the lead, it's still a good connection. If he can maintain his level in the first instance, he might just lead another guild to a meteoric rise—there are definitely big guilds that have made their fortunes by investing in hosts like him.
Xue Chao slumped back. This meant he couldn't act rashly. He either had to join all the groups or ignore them completely. Otherwise, he knew nothing about right and wrong, grudges, or the rules of the martial world. If he made contact with one person, they would turn around and claim he was one of their own, trapping him. Their enemies would suddenly become his enemies, and if he were to be "implicated" and ambushed in a dungeon, he wouldn't even know how he died.
Ah, if it's Zhu Wen's guild "Amusement Park," then I know why—they slapped their star player in the face, so they'll definitely seek revenge if they run into each other again.
Just thinking about it is troublesome. Xue Chao sighed in annoyance. He does things entirely based on his mood. His bottom line is to stay alive. Everything else is "whatever." When asked for his opinion, the most common responses are "no opinion," "I'm fine with anything," "you decide," and "we'll talk about it another day." To put it nicely, he's easygoing and doesn't cause much trouble. To put it bluntly, he can get by all day long, like a dead pig that doesn't care about boiling water.
He had just exited the instance and found himself still in the game world. He knew to remain vigilant and keep his guard up. But now that he had signed a humiliating contract, he suddenly "went with the tide."
Since he was sheltered in the company building and, according to the contract, his performance target for the week had been met, so he didn't have to work for the time being. His body acted faster than his brain, and he went on strike first, lounging lazily, thinking, "Let's talk about it next week."
So Xue Chao, this promising talent who was about to become famous, acted like a big shot and ignored everyone except for Pu Fengchun's application.
After becoming friends with Pu Fengchun, the two could chat, but Xue Chao was probably thinking for a while, and Pu Fengchun seemed to have gone to do other things, so Xue Chao wandered around by himself and went to browse the so-called shops again.
The company's internal shops offer everything from food and drinks to entertainment, so you won't starve or get bored to death in the villa. It can be used as a party venue or a luxurious private cinema. However, there is one strange module called "Care".
It's probably a sweet treat after a slap from some capitalists, a scam that seems like welfare but is actually exploitation.
When he clicked on it, there was only a row of lonely holiday vouchers, in different colors and with different numbers of days: one day, three days, and five days. There was also a golden "retirement voucher." He clicked on it without paying much attention and was immediately stunned.
Product Name: One-Day Holiday Pass (Host Version)
[Product Description: Caring for employees starts with love! Upholding humanitarian principles and implementing a people-oriented work philosophy, our company promotes a new era of scientific work that balances work and rest. We're offering employees "holiday vouchers" so they can go home to rest, visit family and friends, and enjoy the perfect break!]
[Instructions for use: After purchasing a holiday voucher, the host needs to register at the store entrance to receive the voucher. Using the voucher will allow employees to return to the real world. Upon the end of the holiday, they will be immediately teleported back to the company.]
...The real world?
Xue Chao's lazy bones instantly returned to normal. He quickly scanned the coupons. There was no limit to the number of holiday coupons, but they were definitely not cheap. One day of holiday was worth 10,000 points of salary, which was equivalent to the target that he had worked hard for a week. And that was without purchasing other life-saving or necessary items.
There's only one retirement voucher, and it requires a ridiculously high "1,000,000" points with a long progress bar, making it seem like it'll be a long time before you can redeem it.
【Shop Name: Retirement Coupon】
[Product Description: Thank you for your continued dedication and outstanding contributions to the company. Congratulations on your honorable retirement!]
[Instructions for Use: Only one retirement voucher is available. Once used, the contract will immediately expire, and you will regain your freedom.]
Players and hosts should be similar. Hosts receive a salary, and players have in-game currency with the same exchange rules. Prices should also be the same. Hosts must host one game per week, and players must participate in one game per week.
Players probably also have holiday passes and retirement passes, just with different names.
From occasional vacations that allow one to return to the real world, to complete the game and retire, able to leave the infinite world forever, this whole process...
Humans are sometimes very resilient creatures. As long as there is no utter despair, even if the hope is just a faint glimmer of light from light-years away, or a vague phantom hidden in a legend, it is still something to look forward to, or even a belief. This can comfort oneself to wait a little longer, persevere a little longer, and fight a little longer.
Even though most of them perish along the way, they can still hold onto this inexplicable hope on their deathbed, comforting themselves that "this hope will light the way for those who come after, and will one day be realized."
The carrot hanging in front of the donkey's head can't be eaten, but just looking at it can make you walk a hundred miles.
The game world is extremely dangerous. Eeries and monsters are like the pervasive air, impossible to escape. Pain is a constant companion, and death is a harbinger. You never know when you'll be gone. No matter how you look at it, it fits the word "despair." If there is no way out, you'll be trapped in "utter despair," which can easily trigger negative emotions. Except for those geniuses who enjoy thrills and are "released back into the wild," both low-level and high-level players will give up in this situation. The former think, "I've done my best, and this is all I can do. I'm going to die anyway, so what else can I do?" The latter think, "I can survive a week in one dungeon, so why bother?"
Therefore, we need to set an "end point" for them, to give them an ultimate goal to strive for.
Along the way, give them small rewards as a short-term goal and as a treat. This will also solidify their "hope" and make them feel that the destination is real. After all, they can go back for a few days occasionally, so how far away is it to leave forever?
No matter how terrible life is in the real world, how difficult it is to make ends meet, or how alienated you are from everyone, after experiencing true horror, not to mention your relatives and friends, even those faces that used to be annoying will become kind—wildflowers that won't suddenly open their mouths to eat people, street corners that won't suddenly have monsters emerge, mirrors that won't show another face, good dreams without ghosts or disasters, etc., these things that are so ordinary and mundane in life can become such a heavy word as "concern".
This isn't concern; it's shameless, malicious, and an attempt to "motivate" people.
Unfortunately, these mortals are helpless; they have hearts that aren't hard enough, so they're destined to be manipulated.
Xue Chao rubbed his hair in frustration and gritted his teeth to buy two one-day holiday vouchers.
The transaction was successful, and he was reminded to pick it up at the store in the company building. He entered the building again through the back door and followed the signs of the red doors to the store inside the company.
It was a black and red version of the in-game shop. A black registration form was clipped to the trading table. Many people had already registered there, but even on real paper, the red words were like blobs of censored words, like clumps of blood that couldn't be wiped clean, making it impossible to tell who was who.
Xue Chao signed his name, guessing that only he could see the unlucky red name. The cuckoo clock on the wall poked out the silly bird and said "Thank you for your patronage" twice. The two blue holiday vouchers on the iron shelf behind the shop window were transferred to his hand through the secret passage below.
A gray-blue wooden bird peeked out and tilted its head to look at him: "Please register the initial date of your holiday voucher to begin your holiday journey~"
Xue Chao had indeed noticed, but he hadn't found any year-month diary system in the game world. Now, looking at the cuckoo clock painted bright red, he discovered that in addition to the hour, minute, and second hands, there was an even shorter hand that moved even slower than the hour hand. It looked like it hadn't moved at all, hanging on the innermost small circle of the dial, dividing the small circle into seven numbers. Unlike the Roman numerals on the outer circle, it used uppercase Chinese numerals.
He understood; corresponding to the seven days of the week, today was "Monday" in the infinite world.
His birthday is on Sunday, which would be Monday if the real world didn't pause.
If you have time, then you have something to refer to.
So he wrote "1" in the column for the start of the holiday, and the two holiday vouchers instantly burned to ashes in his hands, shattering into sparks.
"You have used your holiday coupon. Have a great holiday!"
Bennu retreated back into the cuckoo clock.
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