There Must Be Something Wrong With This Game!

Duan Fei spent the whole night trying to figure out what was wrong with his mood, but couldn’t. He ended up losing all interest in playing the game.

The next day, he boarded the subway early and headed for the Abyss company.

Even though he hadn’t played the game last night, he’d still checked the forums. He discovered that quite a few other lucky players had also been chosen to tour the Abyss company, and they all said it was an incredibly fun place.

As for just *how* fun it was...

Those people said they had signed non-disclosure agreements and were forbidden from revealing any details.

Beyond that, the forums were flooded with memes and jokes. A quick search would bring up a mountain of rumors. God only knew where all these trolls and drama-seekers crawled out from. In real life, their personas would surely crumble the moment you met them.

Some people were spreading wild rumors, claiming the company headquarters was on the Moon’s Dark Side and the CEO was actually one of the Three-Body Star People, poised to destroy the world with the game at any moment.

Others claimed the company only had three employees. But these three possessed extraordinary Talent and had mastered various Superpowers. They had supposedly hypnotized all the players into believing they were playing a game.

Still others claimed the CEO was just running the company on pure passion, that they were a relative of the CEO, and begged people to send 50 yuan so the boss could afford some KFC. In return, they promised a permanent instance in the game after its official launch.

The crazy part was, some people actually sent the money.

The most absurd theory was that entering the game meant actually traveling to another world. The poster even provided a detailed analysis to back it up, but it was riddled with errors. Anyone with half a brain could tell after a few paragraphs that the author was nuts. The content was completely illogical, yet bafflingly, tons of people agreed with it.

When the subway came to a stop, Duan Fei realized he was now underneath the Abyss company building.

As it was a government-cooperative project, the Abyss company had easily acquired ownership of an entire skyscraper. All the employees within the building were dedicated to this single game.

Seeing Duan Fei looking around, a security guard at the subway exit gestured for him to approach. After checking the forum invitation, the guard smiled and handed Duan Fei a temporary visitor badge.

Pointing to a mark on the badge, he said to Duan Fei, "This visitor badge is green, which means you can access green Level 3 areas and anywhere with a lower security classification. You can’t access the other areas, like yellow Level 2, red Level 1, or black Level 0. Also, once you’re in the elevator, don’t press any buttons. We have a dedicated elevator operator who will assist you."

"Why can’t I press any buttons?" Duan Fei asked, puzzled.

"Our elevator system was outsourced. The contractors skipped town right after they finished the job, and the maintenance has never caught up. As a result, pressing buttons randomly can easily cause an error," the guard explained with a chuckle.

"Outsourcing can be so unreliable."

"You can say that again. Okay, I’ve already contacted the manager; he’ll be down to get you shortly. When he arrives, please follow his instructions. Lastly, if you see anyone suspicious inside the building, don’t panic. Just press the insignia on your visitor badge and use it to make a call. We get corporate spies from the outside all the time. It’s a common occurrence."

Duan Fei nodded in agreement.

After all, much of Abyss’s technology was so advanced it bordered on magic. It wasn’t just other game companies; tech firms of all kinds were probably green with envy.

Before long, a young man in a black-and-white butler’s uniform walked out. He politely extended his hand toward Duan Fei and said with a smile, "You’re Duan Someone, correct? I’m the manager, Gale."

"’Manager? In the game, you’re...’"

"That’s right. I have my own character in the game as well. Now, let’s head into the building. We can talk as we walk."

Gale was a very refined young man. He stood ramrod straight inside the elevator, seemingly able to maintain his composure at all times.

Once inside the elevator, Duan Fei took a moment to examine the buttons. He noticed they weren’t marked with numbers, but with a series of strange symbols.

Duan Fei couldn’t make heads or tails of the symbols, but the elevator operator skillfully manipulated the controls, sending the two of them to a specific floor.

"Your elevator is pretty fancy!" Duan Fei remarked with admiration.

Gale was about to reply when the elevator operator cut in with a sigh. "It looks impressive, but it’s a total pain. The designer wanted something ’high-end’ to wow the players, so we ended up with this contraption. The button combination is different for every single floor. I have to memorize over a hundred of them. It feels like I’m performing ninja hand seals every time I operate the elevator."

The corner of Gale’s mouth twitched. He said resignedly, "Our company has a rather open atmosphere. Everyone is encouraged to voice their opinions on company policies."

"Are you guys hiring? I’d love to work at a place where you can just roast your manager like that," Duan Fei asked.

"Don’t. It’s exhausting, and the manager does nothing but drink coffee and slack off all day. Plus, he talks like a wannabe Riddler. Isn’t that right, Manager Gale?"

Seeing the utter embarrassment on Gale’s face, Duan Fei decided he was liking this place more and more.

’Roasting your own direct supervisor to their face... it feels so damn good!’

By the time they finally reached the office, Gale was so embarrassed he could hardly speak.

He motioned for Duan Fei to sit on the sofa and said with a strained smile, "My apologies, you’ve had to witness some... unprofessional behavior."

"Not at all. Actually, I quite enjoyed it."

"You just like seeing people get roasted, don’t you?"

"No, the key is seeing a *boss* get roasted by his subordinate. I’m a big fan of that kind of insubordination."

"A unique taste, indeed. First, congratulations on being the first to clear the long-form instance. We honestly didn’t expect it to be cleared so soon after its release. On behalf of the company, I’d like to congratulate you."

"It’s to be expected. Can we get to the point, like the rewards?"

"Wait, you don’t care about the honor at all?"

"Not in the slightest. You aren’t trying to get out of giving me my reward, are you?"

Seeing how eager Duan Fei was, Gale couldn’t help but chuckle. "How could we? Your reward won’t be canceled. I’ll arrange for it right away. The latest model gaming pod will be delivered to you shortly, but we need to run a few tests first."

Although he felt their tests were a bit excessive, the gaming pod was free, so Duan Fei figured a few tests were no big deal.

After having a staff member bring in a gaming pod, Gale had Duan Fei lie down inside it. "Next, we’ll test for compatibility," he said. "Because this is the newest model, we have to perform some calibrations. So, just lie down, try to go to sleep, and tell me how you feel when you wake up."

Duan Fei was about to say that he was a picky sleeper and had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places.

But as he lay in the comfortable gaming pod, a wave of sleepiness washed over him. He started yawning one after another, and soon an intense drowsiness took hold.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and his consciousness gradually sank into Chaos. Finally, he closed his eyes completely and fell into a deep sleep.

Watching the soundly sleeping Duan Fei, Gale turned his attention to the data displayed on the gaming pod, reviewing it carefully.

Once the data stream finished, he let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, no problems."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!