Chapter 134: The Price of Infidelity

At the very bottom of the contract, a signature panel quickly materialized:

【Name: Shi Fei】
【Level: Lv4】
【Strength: 10/1000】
【Agility: 1486/1000】
【Armor: 208/1000】
【Charisma: 5/1000】

This was actually a Level 4 player?! Moreover, the sum of his attribute values was even higher than Huang Yan’s. Considering that all players matched into this area had only cleared a single trial map, this fellow likely possessed limitless potential for the future.

He hadn't expected this introductory map to be hiding such talented individuals. Then again, when he thought about it, this was Level 5—the highest difficulty for an introductory map. It wasn't strange to be matched with the top tier of players who had cleared the trials.

But with such a high level, how had he ended up stranded here, unable to clear the stage? What kind of players were actually successfully clearing this map? Could it be that everyone who walked out of here was as formidable as Wen Nan?

As he pondered this, his Junior Sister, unable to wait any longer, emerged from the mailroom to greet him. Spotting Wen Nan, she immediately pounced on him and hugged his arm. "Senior Brother! Why are you just standing outside like a fool? Come in quickly and see if this is the person you were looking for!"

There was no need to look; it was confirmed. He had already signed the contract. Wen Nan thought this to himself, but kept a smile on his face as he said, "Let me have a look."

Shi Fei, sitting at the desk, was like an emotionless, fully automated mailing machine. As Wen Nan approached, he didn't even spare him a glance, his hands moving incessantly—unboxing parcels, packing them, filling out shipping forms... repeating the cycle over and over.

Wen Nan straightened up and turned to his Junior Sister: "How did you find him? So quickly?"

His Junior Sister had eyes only for Wen Nan, and she was more than happy to answer his questions. She shook her head with a smile. "I didn't need to look. We already knew each other."

Wen Nan was startled. "...You know each other?"

"Yes," she nodded. She glanced at the man still working by the desk, then pulled Wen Nan into a corner and whispered, "His name is Shi Fei. We joined the company at the same time and did our new employee training together."

"He’s a very strange person. At first, I ignored him, but he kept trying to get close to me. I thought he had a crush on me, so I wanted to find a chance to reject him. But the moment I got close, he acted like he’d seen a ghost and ran away."

"Later, I couldn't be bothered with him, and he stopped approaching me. But then, one time when Boss Yang came to the company, for some reason, he started trying to get close to her instead."

"I figured he was just fickle, hovering around any pretty girl he saw, and I disliked him even more."

"Later on, I happened to mention him to Boss Yang. She told me he was deeply infatuated with her and would do anything for her, so she placed him in the mailroom of the Irene Group."

"I’ve looked at him from afar when I’ve come to the mailroom before, but he doesn't respond when I talk to him—he’s like a block of wood. I heard in the gossip group that he has some strange, rare illness and that his mind... well, it’s not quite right. It’s actually quite sad."

"But later, I joined your team and got busy with the project, so I stopped looking for him."

"It’s been so long, I’d almost forgotten. But when you asked me to find someone today, I suddenly remembered—doesn't Shi Fei fit the situation you described perfectly?"

"Senior Brother, I’m right, aren't I? It has to be him, right?"

After listening to his Junior Sister’s account, Wen Nan pieced together Shi Fei’s situation: It seemed this guy’s originally assigned target was the Junior Sister, but he hadn't been satisfied with just his target. He had tried to pursue the "rich lady" (Boss Yang) midway, but he had overplayed his hand, failed to capture either target, and triggered the soul-string.

So... this guy had tried to play both sides, dating two girls at once? The idea was fine, but if you don't have the diamond drill, you shouldn't try to handle the porcelain work.

As he was thinking this, his Junior Sister giggled. "Senior Brother, I’ve found the person for you. Now, you’ll have to come to my place, whether you want to or not."

Wen Nan reached out and pinched her round cheek. "Always trying to lure your Senior Brother home—what exactly are your intentions?"

"What else could I want?" she said brazenly. "I’m greedy for your beauty, of course!"

Wen Nan: ?

She thought for a moment and added, "And your chastity too!"

Wen Nan: ??

Seeing the changing expressions on Wen Nan's face, she waved her hand. "Don't worry, I'm just joking. I just... I want you to have a meal with me and taste my cooking. I’m a really good cook, I promise!"

Wen Nan smiled. The last girl who claimed to be a good cook had served him a lump of steaming "food" and a bowl of yellow, bubbly soup that was still sitting undigested in his stomach.

"Alright," Wen Nan agreed readily. "Since you’ve put it that way, your Senior Brother will definitely have to come and have a taste."

"I knew you wouldn't refuse me, Senior Brother!"

She stood on her tiptoes, planted a firm kiss on his cheek, and darted away. Wen Nan watched her retreating figure and shook his head with a smile. He checked the time; it wasn't lunch break yet.

However, he felt as if something was missing. He pulled up his character chat interface from the system and confirmed there were no new messages in his chat history with Guan Irene.

What was going on? Usually, the CEO would send him a message right on the dot to come to her office. Why was she ignoring him for so long this time?

Wen Nan took the elevator to the top floor and arrived at the CEO's office. Just as he was about to knock, the assistant, Xiao Liu, walked over.

"Ye Jiu? Are you looking for CEO Guan? She has business today and isn't in the office."

"Not here? Where did she go?"

According to company rules, Xiao Liu shouldn't have answered directly. But thinking of the special relationship between this man and the CEO, she leaned in close and lowered her voice.

"She went to that laboratory. She probably won't be coming out for the entire day. You know that place—no one can enter except for the CEO. You’d better wait until tomorrow to come back."

That secret laboratory?

Wen Nan acknowledged this, thanked Xiao Liu, and headed straight for the elevator to the third floor. That laboratory was indeed very secretive and inaccessible to others. But for a man whom the CEO had personally told, "If it's you, I am always waiting," getting in was too easy—he had a key.

With this in mind, Wen Nan hummed a little tune as he reached the end of the third-floor corridor, confidently making his way to a spot on the wall he knew well.

Then, Wen Nan was stunned.

The wall was perfectly seamless; he couldn't see a single crack.

Where had the door gone?!