"Kids' meal... half price for those under 1.6 meters? Please swap the sule joy in the set for orange juice, thank you."
The company cafeteria was not much different from an ordinary restaurant, with chairs and tables neatly arranged. Xu Xiaoyou carried her tray, observing her surroundings while looking for a seat.
At this time in the afternoon, there were many company employees in the restaurant—beast-men of various races, as well as some blue-skinned trolls who emitted a foul, rotting stench.
These large fellows, standing three meters tall with burly frames and body odors so pungent they were almost unbearable, caused the crowds to pinch their noses and avoid them wherever they went.
What impressed Xu Xiaoyou was the overall discipline of the company employees; even under such conditions, no commotion was triggered, and everything appeared to be in perfect order.
These trolls and ogres, who generally possessed low intelligence, actually lined up as obediently as children in a kindergarten. In her memory, they were the most stupid, savage, and unreasonable races in the urban biosphere.
'Is the brainwashing at Universal Heavy Industries really that effective? Can they actually tame these trolls and ogres, whose IQ isn't even as high as a human seven or eight-year-old, into being so submissive?'
With these thoughts, Xu Xiaoyou found a seat in a corner of the cafeteria.
After the startling realization that her feet couldn't even reach the floor once she sat down, Xu Xiaoyou grumbled indignantly, "With chairs designed this high, did they not consider the feelings of human employees at all?"
It truly surpassed her expectations—that guy Xu Nian, who looked deathly weak and frail on the outside, the type who would become the protagonist of a certain kind of adult film if thrown into a pile of burly men, could actually be so ruthless!
He didn't even blink while killing, and even had a look of excitement on his face. He was a total freak, perfectly fitting her impression of a city madman.
Though she had vaguely guessed something when she learned he worked in the security department and was an A-rank employee.
Who would have thought that Xu Nian's debt-collection experiences would be turned into an exemplary employee promotional video and played on the screen during the new employee orientation?
"This is going to be hard to fix..."
Xu Xiaoyou sighed and prodded a chunky, potato-like food with small eyes on her tray with a fork.
Leaving such a terrifying impression on those newly hired employees... at the thought of the disappointed and complicated look Aphrah had given her, Xu Xiaoyou puffed out her cheeks and stabbed the fork viciously into the potato.
There wasn't much normal food in this world; she would just have to make do.
Xu Xiaoyou thought as she put the piece of potato into her mouth.
As she chewed carefully, a rich aroma welled up, greatly whetting her appetite.
The food in the company cafeteria actually tasted quite good.
As she ate, the girl swung her legs under the table.
"Have you heard? A big shot arrived here recently, and they've been making quite a stir!"
Not far away, a green-skinned dwarf spoke mysteriously. The troll sitting beside him nodded blankly, looking confused.
"What big shot?"
"Goodness, you don't even know? Just this morning, at the Sector 7 tram station. It was all over the trending news—the one about the investigator's police brutality!"
"Investigator police brutality? Isn't that an old story?" the troll said.
The girl's swinging legs stopped, and her ears twitched slightly.
"No, no, no, this time is different. That investigator's background is anything but simple. She is the 'Little Princess' of the Oasis!"
"Bai Youyou—did you know? Her family is one of the ruling families of the Oasis—the 'Order Court.' They are the tuners of the Oasis, responsible for maintaining security and order. Her father is the current head of the house!"
'Bai Youyou... so that three-winged investigator has that name?'
'The Oasis?'
Xu Xiaoyou recalled information related to that term in her mind.
A moment later, she remembered.
Her concept of the Oasis was quite vague; she only knew it was a 'virtual hive city' that didn't truly exist in the physical world. To enter the Oasis, one had to possess an Oasis 'ticket' and a set of expensive consciousness transmission equipment.
Heaven, Eden, a utopia for the human spirit. So many evaluations of the Oasis existed, making it a place of dreams that countless people sought after.
Everything there was built on virtualization, yet every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. All data was stored in a massive server network, yet it claimed to have the most secure bank in the world.
'Only things people can't imagine, nothing the Oasis can't provide.' How many people still vividly remembered that slogan?
Even if the world's greatest artist went there, they would only feel ashamed of their lack of imagination.
Xu Xiaoyou was curious about what kind of power structure was required to keep such a world running.
"Why would someone like that come to a backwater place like ours?" The troll scratched his head.
"Who knows! I heard she rushed here immediately after her coming-of-age ceremony."
"That's why I'm saying things are in an uproar over here. Have you seen any faction dare to touch that little princess? Even after causing such a scene in the animal community, she was politely sent on her way."
"Within the company's sphere of influence, the Little Princess of the Oasis shouldn't be able to run wild, right?"
"Nonsense. I'll have to explain the business dealings between the company's upper management and the Oasis to you."
Xu Xiaoyou finished her meal and left silently.
For no other reason than she truly couldn't stand two grown men using petty tones and pinched voices to gossip.
As 6:30 PM approached, the new employees in the office all kept their distance from the blonde girl. The video from the afternoon had left too deep an impression on them.
Who knew if this city madman would suddenly have an episode and start stabbing people with a knife.
Only Glos approached as if trying to get close, warmly putting an arm around Xu Xiaoyou's shoulder.
"Xu Nian, why didn't you say earlier that you were that A-rank employee? Why pretend to be a newcomer, honestly!"
"I never said I was a newcomer," Xu Xiaoyou said flatly.
Glos paused.
Recalling carefully, the other person really hadn't said anything about being a newcomer during the afternoon; she had just remained silent the whole time while they made assumptions.
This was awkward.
"Fine, fine. I'll be counting on you for Group 11's performance from now on!" The girl pressed her hands together, her face incredibly sincere.
Seeing this, Xu Xiaoyou didn't have much to say. She nodded and stood up.
Everyone's eyes turned toward her. Some new employees were so nervous they swallowed hard.
"It's six-thirty. Aren't you all getting off work?" Xu Xiaoyou asked. "Doesn't the company not require mandatory overtime?"
After a brief silence, someone answered:
"In ten minutes, there's free company coffee. It's said to use very expensive beans that make people more energetic if drunk long-term."
Xu Xiaoyou figured it would be a waste not to take advantage of it, so she sat back down.
Sure enough, ten minutes later, someone brought over a dozen cups of coffee.
After finishing the coffee, Xu Xiaoyou stood up again. Seeing that everyone was still staring blankly at her, she frowned slightly.
"It's almost seven. Are you still not leaving?"
"At seven, there's a free late-night snack. It's very hearty."
Xu Xiaoyou thought that made sense and sat down again.
This company seemed quite ethical, providing so many benefits for employees who volunteered for overtime.
At nine o'clock, Xu Xiaoyou stretched and found that everyone around her was still buried in work.
"Why are you still not leaving?" She was completely bewildered.
'Just how hard are you people trying to outwork each other?'
"Taxis are reimbursed at ten o'clock." A toad employee, who was drinking coffee and stuffing free snacks into his large mouth while constantly tapping on his keyboard, looked back. After thinking for a moment, he added a friendly reminder: "At eleven o'clock, the day's salary is settled at 1.2 times."
Rate on N.U.
