130 The Outpost (1)
Welcome to the Outpost
[Current instance name: "The Outpost"]
[Current instance type: Rules-Single-Tier 4-Malice.]
[You are a diligent courier, working long hours to deliver packages to customers as quickly as possible. Please control your curiosity and do not open any packages easily. Please read and memorize the "Station Regulations" before starting work. We sincerely wish you success in becoming an excellent and honorable courier.]
[Dungeon teleportation in progress—]
This is Qin Fu'an's first Tier 4 dungeon, and it's a rule-based single-player dungeon.
When Qin Fu'an opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a very familiar place.
There are express delivery stations in every residential community and street, and he was standing at the entrance of the station.
The inn wasn't open yet. Looking up, you could see an old-fashioned red and green lantern hanging above it, something that would only exist in the last century, instantly creating an atmosphere of the underworld.
The red and green lights shone on his face and body, making his already eerie green eyes appear even more inhuman.
Under the lamplight, the name of the post station glowed faintly.
The Station on the Run
They blatantly slapped the words "it's deadly" right in someone's face.
Qin Fu'an stared at it for a while, then stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Welcome to the Outpost! Please notify the courier to send or pick up your package." A hoarse, shrill voice rang out cheerfully, with a hint of excited laughter that could be detected if you listened closely.
The door opened.
It was pitch black inside, and you couldn't see anything, but a foul, pungent stench quickly filled your nostrils.
"Hello, this is your job interview." Qin Fu'an stood at the door and spoke politely.
A piercing electrical hum, like the sharp buzzing of an old-fashioned television suddenly losing its connection.
Qin Fu'an stood firmly in place, not even blinking.
Soon, new sounds rang out in the fugitive post station.
"Welcome to the Station of the Dead! Please notify the courier to send or pick up your package. For onboarding... please complete the onboarding process yourself!!"
This time, his tone was even more excited than before.
It's like they can't wait to watch the delicious little snacks unknowingly end up in the gourmet's mouth.
"..."
Silence fell again.
Qin Fu'an did not immediately set foot in this post station, which was also the area where he would be working for the foreseeable future.
He turned around first, looking at the strange creatures walking on the street just like ordinary people in the real world.
If the previous instance, "A Feast of Ghosts," was a collection of ghosts, then this instance is as densely packed with them as a zombie siege in a post-apocalyptic movie.
And they were all staring intently at him, this new little delicacy, with their necks twisted.
Upon meeting a pair of unwavering gazes, Qin Fu'an tilted his head, giving the other person a defiant look before he could provoke him.
The other party was stunned for a moment, then bared its teeth fiercely and charged towards him through the horde of monsters.
Just as its long claws were about to touch him, Qin Fu'an leisurely stepped back.
He stepped into a sticky liquid, and with a crunching sound, the strange creature that had been charging straight at him suddenly stopped, staring at him with wide, incredulous eyes.
The boy raised a slight brow at the corner of his narrow eyes, deliberately leaned forward a little, and whispered to the eerie creature, "Welcome to the Outpost for the Dead."
The ghost: "..."
Other ghosts: "..."
They've been dead for so many years, and they've never seen such reckless humans.
Under Qin Fu'an's mocking and provocative gaze, the strange creature slowly, very slowly, retracted its outstretched claw.
Then it grinned at Qin Fu'an: "You must be the new courier at the Desperate Station, right? I have a package to pick up, could you please deliver it to my house tomorrow?"
"If it's not delivered to me personally, I'll give it a one-star review."
Qin Fu'an stared at its malicious grin and chuckled, "Alright."
-
The creature, filled with an overwhelming sense of anticipation, walked away with a broad smile.
Everything around them returned to normal.
If you ignore the densely packed, bizarrely depicted creatures on the street, this scene actually looks quite familiar and harmonious.
Qin Fu'an turned around, his green eyes scanning the room.
The environment was very basic, no different from a regular express delivery station, with haphazardly placed parcel racks and a desk with a QR code on it; other than that, there was nothing.
As for the slime under his feet...
Qin Fu'an glanced down at it, and the next second he frowned in disgust.
I don't know what kind of creature left this slime; it's dirty, smelly, and disgusting, like phlegm.
Qin Fu'an would rather it be undried blood than this.
With a furrowed brow, Qin Fu'an walked into the post station, each step extremely difficult. The hurdle in his heart was even more painful than being penniless.
The green-eyed boy, bracing himself on the table, strode over, his face contorted in disgust, and reached out to turn on the light switch on the wall.
"..."
The lights inside the room and the lights on the sign were exactly the same as those in the eerie atmosphere.
Qin Fu'an looked around again and sighed.
With such a rudimentary environment, how can employees be expected to work so hard? Will they really be able to get promoted and receive a raise in the future?
If you can't get a promotion and a raise, what's the difference between you and a salted fish?
If he becomes a lazy bum, how will he support his wife and son?
"No salary?" Just a second before sitting down at his desk, Qin Fu'an abruptly stopped and asked the question that every employee in the workplace cares about most.
Inside the escape station: "..."
No one answered.
There was no strange response.
Qin Fu'an laughed in exasperation and immediately looked down at the messy documents on the table.
"20 Rules for Delivery Workers on the Gore of Life"
20 Guidelines for "Deadly Delivery Services"
"Desperate Courier Registration Form"
"Desperation..."
"Desperation..."
…………
"Employee Application Form for the Outpost"
Qin Fu'an flipped through at least a dozen documents, but still couldn't find any paper that listed the wages and benefits of the staff at the Desperate Inn.
To be precise, there wasn't even a perfunctory little piece of paper.
Qin Fu'an: "..."
He found his mentally challenged system 023 for the first time in a game instance.
"Can I get a refund for this game?"
His tone was somber.
023's tone was even more somber: "I'm sorry, dear, even if you are about to encounter workplace bullying, an unscrupulous boss, an unscrupulous customer, or something else... we can only deeply sympathize with your misfortune, but there is no option to quit."
Qin Fu'an: "..."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the unscrupulous viewers in the live chat were already laughing hysterically.
[Ever since I found out the streamer was in this instance, I've been looking forward to this moment, and it certainly didn't disappoint!]
[Do any of you guys understand? I'm stuck with this instance every day, and out of ten players, the first thing they ask when they enter this inn is whether there's any pay. Is this the last line of defense for working people?]
[Looks like the streamer won't be able to stick to their principles this time either, looking forward to it!]
[If I encountered a company like that, I'd report it immediately!]
[Host, I've already called the police for you. You're welcome.]
[Hello streamer, what a coincidence! I'm in your instance! I'm coming here tomorrow to send a package, so please give me the best service, or I'll give you a one-star review, darling~]
[Damn, I knew it. Once you're in a high-level dungeon, who knows if the person talking to you on screen is a real person or a ghost?]
[However, the amount of strange items is way too much! They're even in the dungeon???]
[No, you should say the streamer was unlucky. None of the other streamers I've watched before had the same instance of the monster in their streams.]
[Tragic. My condolences to the streamer in advance.]
[Oh no, my condolences for the person who bumped into the streamer.]
[Hilarious! You can tell at a glance whether someone is a new or old viewer.]
[New viewer: Lighting candles for the streamer, hoping he dies with some dignity; Old viewer: Lighting candles for the ghost, hoping it dies with some dignity.]
[Hahaha, weren't the old methods respectable enough? We have a whole professional funeral service team!]
[...]
Amidst a chorus of laughter and jokes, Qin Fu'an couldn't find a single audience member who was sympathizing with him or joining him in his accusations.
Tsk, the hearts of working people are cold and aching.
Shaking his head, Qin Fu'an sighed resignedly. Exploited animals don't care about their appearance. He grabbed some papers from the table, haphazardly wiped the unknown grime off the stool, and then cleaned it himself with his spiritual power before reluctantly sitting down.
In front of countless onlookers, the boy sat slumped on the stool like a boneless idiot, casually rummaging through the various messy documents left on the table.
[To be honest, as a long-time viewer who has been following the streamer since the first dungeon run, this is actually the first time I've seen the streamer so lazy and relaxed.]
[+1, the streamer used to have great posture, both standing and sitting. He looked slim in clothes, but muscular without them. Everyone who saw him would call him handsome. Wanna hook up?]
[Pfft, so this means he's completely letting go of pretense in single-player mode?]
[No, I should say the streamer instantly switched to worker mode. As a diligent and hardworking employee of the company, let me say this: If I can maintain a proper attitude for even a second while working for any heartless boss, I'll consider it a loss!!!]
[...Wow, luckily I'm a ghost, my job is to eat people, hehe~]
[The person upstairs is talking nonsense!! Damn it, I'm the same way. How come I'm working for a stupid boss while simultaneously slacking off and watching streamers?!]
[I've already reported that man-eating monster, you're welcome.]
[New viewer: With this attitude from the streamer, will they really be able to pass the level smoothly?]
[Long-time viewer: Yeah, yeah, why this attitude? What if the ghost dies from the evil spirit and we have to pay compensation?]
[...]
Qin Fu'an watched it again, unwilling to give up. Very well, not a single one of the audience members was genuinely helping him to condemn the unscrupulous post station and the unscrupulous officials.
The newly hired employee, Snake, pursed his lips in boredom and casually picked up the "Employee Onboarding Form for the Outpost" to look at.
"Employee Application Form for the Outpost"
The new hires wrote a long list of reasons for resigning, but all of them listed the reason as "the employee has died."
"You really don't pay wages? No benefits, no subsidies, and not even funeral expenses if you die?" Qin Fu'an asked again, unwilling to give up.
Inside the fugitive's post station, it was as quiet as a chicken's nest, except for his voice.
Qin Fu'an: "..."
Shaking his hands, Qin Fu'an found an employee form filled with death records, then grabbed a pen that was almost out of ink and, leaning over the table, wrote his name in a flamboyant, flowing style.
New employee: Qin Fu'an.
The start date is automatically generated.
Apart from that, he doesn't need to fill out anything else.
Everything was as simple as an impatient death notice.
At the same time, as he finished writing his name, the long-awaited task notification from the mentally challenged system finally sounded:
[Congratulations, player, for triggering the main quest]
[Main Quest: After joining the Outpost, you will work as a courier, handling packages. There is a 10-day probationary period. Please work hard to create a better tomorrow for the outpost owner.]
[Author's Note]
Ahhhhh, I'm out of time!! Today is so busy, so busy, so busy!!!
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