Chapter 37 Choice: Some people have no choice.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
A crack appeared in the gray sky, and the sun rose precisely from the west of the city.
With a "whoosh," Du Yu lowered his body, and the car drew a beautiful arc on the open ground before stopping in front of the building.
Du Yu jumped off the car clutching his helmet, stomped his feet hard to get his blood flowing back to his head, and could still hear his heart pounding wildly in his ears. This body had clearly never experienced such a thrilling activity as racing.
This might be the only advantage of working in the downtown area: there wasn't a single car on the road early in the morning, and I barely managed to keep my speed just above the speed limit. After riding for half an hour, I was able to relieve some of my urge to speed.
She has always enjoyed cycling, and now that she finally had the opportunity, she wouldn't have stopped after only half an hour if she weren't mindful of her work and her connection to the company.
"Beep—Facial recognition successful. Welcome to Dong Shiwu, D3 level employee. Have another energetic day!"
Scan your face to enter the company, and the computer automatically connects to the new office assistant AI, AI Kappa, launched by Langge Company. Its usual skin is a white Q-version octopus squatting at the check-in point. Its eight tentacles have raised particles that form blue checkered patterns.
Du Yu glanced at it curiously. If it weren't for the company's explicit rule against touching the octopus at the time clock, she would have loved to touch its round head.
"Your vehicle has been parked in the appropriate area. This is your first time commuting using this mode of transportation, and the parking location has been sent to your personal terminal."
Along with the parking map came the revised work plan for today. Unlike the usual overflowing schedules, today Dong Shi only had one task—a meeting with Manager Bu in his office.
Bu Manyin is Dong Shiwu's superior and also the deputy manager of the production department of Lange's lower city branch. She is about the same age as Dong Shiwu, but her position is more than one level higher.
Both Dong Shiwu and Bu Manyin came to the branch office in the lower city, but Dong Shiwu was among those who were demoted and whose future was bleak. Bu Manyin, on the other hand, came to the branch office to gain experience and was ready to be promoted back to headquarters as soon as the year-end report was released.
The relevant information rolled through his mind. Du Yu stepped out of the elevator and stopped in front of a private office with a nameplate. He knocked with his finger and soon heard a "Come in."
The personal terminal lit up, and Bu Manyin seemed to be on the phone with someone, giving her only a "wait a moment" look. Du Yu casually pulled out a chair and discreetly surveyed the office.
Putting aside the location, just in terms of size, this room, which is designed for one person to work, is four or five times the size of the Dongshiwu Apartment. The decor is simple yet stylish, with a faint aroma of wine lingering in the air.
The company prohibits drinking alcohol during work hours, and Du Yu knew that this was the perfume Bu Manyin was wearing. The scent of moonlight amber and mint mingled with the aroma of red wine. Smelling it for a while didn't give you a tipsy feeling; instead, it soothed your muscles and refreshed your mind.
When Bu Manyin first arrived, Dong Shiwu didn't understand and thought this person with connections was drinking at work. Another time, Bu Manyin casually gave her a sample. She took a picture, searched for the brand on it, and saw the reviews written by buyers. That's when she finally understood the perfume.
This perfume is not only rare, but it's also in high demand because it can relieve headaches caused by mental overload. One bottle costs about two or three years' salary for Dong Shiwu. She couldn't bear to use the sample Bu Manyin gave her, so she mixed it with hallucinogens and drank it, but couldn't taste the flavor.
The problem on the other end seemed rather serious. Bu Manyin listened with a frown, nodded apologetically to Du Yu, and bent down to pour her a cup of tea.
Bu Manyin had enabled privacy mode, so Du Yu couldn't hear what she was saying. The moment she got closer, strands of hair spilled out from beside her ear, and the pinkish-white pearl shone like a hot tear. Her fair fingers brushed the stray hairs aside, and the teardrop hung gently on her earlobe.
It seemed to be falling, yet it swayed gently, its fragrance both intense and fading, so close yet so far, leaving the viewer with a sudden emptiness in their heart.
Bu Manyin seemed to disagree with the person opposite her. She pursed her lips slightly, raised her hand to rub the pink tear, and her profile was clear and clean.
Among the people from the Upper City that Dong Shiwu had met, despite their good concealment, one could always discern a hint of arrogance and a desire for control from their superior facial features and raised chins.
Bu Manyin, however, was different. Her features were gentle, and she was always smiling. When she smiled, her eyes disappeared, and a small piece of flesh disappeared from her cheeks. Dong Shiwu sometimes even suspected that the lingering scent of wine on her body came from her dimples. It is said that one should drown one's sorrows in wine. With those dimples that were always full of wine, what troubles could Bu Manyin possibly have in her life?
Du Yu watched as a bystander felt a strange bitterness welling up inside him, unable to find an outlet for it, a feeling stuck in his chest, difficult to express.
Although Du Yu obtained most of Dong Shiwu's memories, he only viewed them from an outsider's perspective and could not feel the same strong resonance as someone who experienced them firsthand.
The bitterness that welled up in my heart at this moment was nothing more than the lingering spirituality within my body. It came and went quickly; in the time it took for Yu to lose focus, that inexplicable emotion had already faded away.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting."
Bu Manyin turned off the communication, her anger still lingering in her eyes, but a smile skillfully appeared on her face, and she even made a small joke: "I heard from Kappa that you came on a motorcycle today, which is not like you, junior."
Du Yu gave her a deep look. Bu Manyin was the same age as Dong Shiwu, but she had entered school much earlier. While Dong Shiwu was still suffering through final exams, Bu Manyin had already collaborated with her professor on a patent and participated in the council election as an outstanding student representative.
The two had no interaction at school and only met at the company. Bu Manyin would only call her "junior" when joking. But it could be said that a large part of Dong Shiwu's suffering in college came from her.
When you are struggling in pain, someone can easily move a mountain that you could never move in ten lifetimes, as if picking up a pebble. Dong Shiwu had mixed feelings when facing Bu Manyin, but he was still in a good state of mind.
People always change.
Du Yu brushed aside the "junior sister" comment, took a sip of tea which was bitter, and calmly put down the teacup: "Manager Bu, what is my job today?"
It would have been better if Du Yu hadn't mentioned it. As soon as she opened her mouth, Bu Manyin's brows furrowed again after relaxing, her right hand clenching her left, and she pondered for a moment:
"I'll arrange your work later. You'll be assigned a job in the Gray Fog soon, but don't worry about it. I'll continue to discuss it with headquarters. You're not an Infiltrator; this job is too dangerous for you..."
Just now, Bu Manyin was arguing with headquarters because of Dong Shiwu. During the conversation, Du Yu glanced at the work plan that Kappa had just sent and quickly skimmed through it:
"No need, I'll take the job."
"What……"
Bu Manyin had barely uttered her surprised question when she saw Du Yu click the button, and the personal terminal simultaneously transmitted a signed risk awareness agreement. She watched helplessly as the document was approved at an abnormally fast pace, and by the time she raised her hand, it had already been uploaded to headquarters.
Do you know how dangerous it is in the gray fog?
"Manager Bu, actually some people have no choice."
Yu hadn't looked at the work plan in detail, but she could tell that it was for mining ore at the Furensa docks, just the day after that group of [Mimiyin] cultists handed her the information!
Putting aside the fact that Du Yu originally wanted to investigate, even if Dong Shiwu were standing here, could she refuse the dual pressure from the cultists and headquarters?
Bu Manyin has the right to argue with headquarters, but Dong Shiwu does not.
"I told you, I would help you..."
"Thank you, Senior Bu, you're so kind to me."
Du Yu stood up, smiled at her, sensed the emotions in Dong Shiwu's remaining spiritual essence, and looked into those eyes: "But you are kind to everyone."
Bu Manyin stood frozen in place, feeling for some reason that Dong Shiwu's back looked incredibly unfamiliar. For a moment, she almost forgot where she was. An instinctive anger, as if she had been exposed, surged up, only to be firmly suppressed by reason. Du Yu's words were like ice water in winter, coldly splashed on her face.
Honestly, did she really not know why headquarters chose Dong Shiwu? With no connections, no qualifications, and bound by contracts to rely on the company, who else could she send besides her?
She had a crush on this efficient junior and even considered giving her a permanent position or bringing her back to headquarters. But while she was still making her choice, Dong Shiwu had already run out of options.
...Or, did she really have a choice?
"Kappa".
Bu Manyin sat in the chair, stunned, then suddenly called out. The camera in the corner of the ceiling turned, its voice deliberately adjusted to a gentle tone:
“A4 level employee Bu Manyin is at your service at any time.”
"...I understand the company's decisions less and less. Quark lost something, so why are we getting involved?"
"Insufficient permissions, unable to answer; insufficient permissions... Transfer to M1 level administrator Bu Zhaohai: This task involves the 'Daily Plan,' issued directly by the core AI. 'I'm glad you weren't foolish enough to fight a losing battle.' End of relay."
The camera was pointed at Bu Manyin, who was sitting there blankly. Suddenly, the woman arched her back, gasping for breath, her cheeks buried in her palms, and the pink pearl earrings by her ears shimmered like hot tears trembling on her eyelids, sparkling in her swaying hair.
"No command detected. Service terminated."
...
Amidst the excited or dazed looks of her colleagues, Du Yu packed up her things and left her workstation with a small cardboard box in her arms.
"Fifteen, aren't you coming back?"
Someone called out hesitantly, and Du Yu shook the box. The name tag with the three characters "Dong Shi Wu" on it slipped into the gap and disappeared among the many miscellaneous items.
"I'm not coming back."
...
The gray fog surged like a tide, making the artifacts of civilization appear dim and lifeless in the gray expanse. The usual deathly silence was broken by strange noises.
"Phew, this is it."
Xu Xunyuan raised her hands above her head and solemnly squatted behind the wall to observe the building in front of her. Several patrol teams passed by one after another, and some even came within a meter of her, but no one could spot her.
She memorized the location of the warehouse in front of her and was preparing to act when suddenly a hand landed on her shoulder, and a voice came from behind her:
How about some cryptocurrency mining?
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