Chapter 943: A New Fabrication |
At 4:30 pm, Lumian gathered his personal belongings, changed out of the security uniform, and prepared to leave work.
This job surprisingly had an 8-hour shift system, but he would have to take turns on night shifts later.
It had to be said that Mr. Huang Tao was not too strict in his treatment of employees, and was quite generous with the pay, even if some departments did require frequent overtime, for which Mr. Huang still provided overtime pay, and at a fairly high standard. If the overtime was too late, there were also reimbursements for late-night snacks and transportation.
So, although Mr. Huang was notorious for his womanizing, and some of the company's policies were not very friendly or respectful towards certain female employees, there were still many who were eager to join the Intis Group.
Today, Lumian had been stationed at the main entrance, not assigned to patrol the floors or monitor the security cameras. He had only encountered Zhou Mingrui once in the morning, and had not seen him since.
He was not disappointed about this, nor was he impatient—the pace was just right.
He walked towards the bus stop, braving the scorching sun, and along the way, he took out his phone to send a voice message to Franca: "I think I've left a rather strong impression on Zhou Mingrui today. Although I didn't notice any obvious changes in his expression, if I were in his shoes, I would certainly suspect that it's not a coincidence that I just happened to meet him at Dream Tutoring Classes and then immediately started working at the Intis Group—that I must be tracking him, with some hidden, sinister purpose.
"Given Zhou Mingrui's caution and prudence, he will most likely think this way.
"Since he has formed such a deep impression, I won't be going back to Xinhong District tonight. I'll find a cheap motel to stay at, and see if there are any developments at night, whether it might lead to me being kicked out of the dream."
Soon, True Hidden Blade replied: "Doesn't this risk Zhou Mingrui resigning? That's bound to be a contingency plan for such a cautious person.
"I haven't even started the job yet! I've already bought several sets of clothes, and spent quite a bit of money!"
Sensing Franca's concern about the money potentially going to waste, Lumian chuckled and replied: "It shouldn't lead to that for now. I deliberately didn't go and tamper with my background information or try to forge a fake identity before the interview, so that my personal life would be outrageous enough to not seem like I'm coming to investigate.
"Sometimes, a moderate degree of high-profile behavior can actually reduce others' suspicions of you.
"And even if Zhou Mingrui does end up resigning, you can still join the company normally. There's no rule that says Intis Group employees can't investigate Zhou Mingrui's movements after work. Plus, the Intis Group has a lot of issues hidden, like Luo Shan, and Grimm. If we can uncover them, it might give us some inspiration to find a way to awaken Mr. Fool."
He had informed Franca and the others about the problem with Grimm earlier that day.
Finally, Lumian added: "Remember to use the Information Shredder to delete the chat log."
He reached the bus stop and carried out the operation to eliminate any traces.
Soon, the bus arrived. Since it was not the usual rush hour, there weren't many passengers.
Lumian relaxed a bit.
When he had taken the subway earlier, there had been an incident where a man had tried to grope him in the crowded environment, nearly having his wrist twisted off by Lumian.
He wasn't afraid of such things, he just found it annoying and a waste of his time and energy.
If he was experiencing this as a male, what would happen if he switched to his Demoness state?
…
Dechuang Garden.
Franca played Lumian's voice message so that Jenna could hear it.
As Jenna was using the Information Shredder to delete the chat log, she was either folding the new clothes one by one or hanging them directly in the closet.
They had gone to the garment wholesale market again that morning, but this time they chose higher quality and more expensive items, spending nearly two thousand.
After washing, "baking dry", and ironing, the clothes were now ready to wear.
"I've already applied to start work tomorrow," Franca said contemplatively as she helped fold the clothes.
In her previous life, she hadn't even finished university, never getting the chance to experience work. After her transmigration, she had lived off the original body's savings for a while, then by chance became an Assassin, bidding farewell to a regular job.
Jenna smiled. "Just remember that you're going there to investigate the issues and interact with Mr. Fool's dream manifestations, not because you actually want the job. Then you won't care about how others view your work performance."
"Mm, I wonder when Zhou Mingrui will resign." Franca chuckled. "I hope I can at least get one month's salary!"
After tidying up the clothes, the two Demonesses leaned against pillows on the bed and started scrolling on their phones.
After browsing for a while, Franca clicked her tongue and said, "Mr. Huang really does have a lot of rumors surrounding him…"
Huang Tao himself rarely posted anything on social media, but it was impossible to avoid the many ex-girlfriends he had had, numbering in the hundreds, of all kinds—from famous actresses and singers to wannabe Internet celebrities who wanted to gain attention by sharing their love stories with the big company president, and even some who staged and acted out their own stories, despite having no real connection to Huang Tao.
So no matter what Franca and the others browsed, they would come across stories about Mr. Huang and his women every now and then, reinforcing the impressions they had formed from Roselle's diary and the corresponding legends.
However, Franca still wanted to say that Mr. Huang was truly generous with his money, and would not set traps to reclaim the gifts he had given, or have the women thrown in jail.
It was precisely because Huang Tao's many mistresses were verifiably from the administrative department of the Intis Group that Franca had discovered during her job interview that not many people were applying for the positions for the sake of the job itself.
Of course, she herself was not applying for the job for the sake of the job either, but to get close to Mr. Fool's dream manifestation.
Before Jenna could respond, Franca sighed again. "I can't even imagine what the state of the administrative department at the Intis Group must be, and for Mr. Huang to be able to manage such an administrative department and still have the company thrive, he must be really capable…"
Jenna also shared some of the other rumors she had come across about Mr. Huang, and by 11 o'clock at night, the two Demonesses put down their phones, turned off the lights, and fell asleep.
They once again found themselves in the strange space shrouded by a frozen storm, seeing Luo Shan, now in casual attire, floating at the edge of the semi-transparent barrier, having just pushed back the invasion of the bizarre creatures into the dark depths. Luo Shan turned and looked at them.
Franca and Jenna's planning had anticipated this scenario, so they did not immediately make a move, but instead returned Luo Shan's gaze.
Their eyes met, and Luo Shan's low voice spoke, "Are you also people with Beyonder powers?
"Are you here to investigate me?"
Her expression was full of wariness.
"Yes, and no." Franca responded in an ambiguous way.
Jenna used a touch of Charm and smiled amiably.
"You haven't left, and you're even willing to meet with us."
Luo Shan was silent for a few seconds before speaking, "Last night, I hid away, and discovered that you had taken my place, guarding the barrier and dealing with those monsters.
"I feel, I feel, that you must be a good person, and perhaps we can talk."
Before Jenna could respond, Luo Shan pressed on, "What do you mean, 'yes, and no'?"
Franca organized her thoughts and said seriously, "We want to approach you, to figure out the issues with you, and eliminate the hidden dangers, but we are not here to deal with you. The real target is not you."
Luo Shan became a bit confused.
Franca further explained, "We are from the future, using a time machine to return to the present, in order to find that Messiah."
"Messiah?" Luo Shan was bewildered.
What the hell are you talking about?
Franca nodded solemnly.
"In the not-too-distant future, humanity is under attack by evil forces and is on the verge of extinction. That's when a Messiah suddenly appears and rescues us, mitigating the dire situation.
"The evil forces, through some means, have created a time machine and sent some monster-disguised creatures to the present in this city, trying to eliminate the Messiah while they are still weak.
"Fortunately, the future Messiah detected this and found a way for us to also utilize the time machine.
"He exhausted the machine's last bit of power to send us back here, so that we can find and eliminate those monsters, and help the young Messiah overcome the interference and obstacles, truly awakening them.
"Our contact with you is actually to get closer to the young Messiah."
Jenna listened to Franca's narrative and was momentarily dumbfounded.
Although they had briefly discussed the general storyline beforehand, she never expected Franca to be able to present it so convincingly.
The story seemed to align quite well with the actual situation, yet there was a fundamental difference.
Luo Shan's expression fluctuated for a while, finding Franca's story too far-fetched to be true, yet strangely familiar.
As her thoughts raced, she suddenly recalled something and blurted out, "Is that future Messiah Zhou Mingrui?"
Franca was not startled. She had fabricated this story precisely to probe how much Luo Shan knew and what information she had access to.
She didn't expect Luo Shan to readily accept the ridiculous plot, but to accurately guess that the target was Zhou Mingrui.
Knowing she needs to deal with Mr. Fool's dream manifestations, but not understanding why? Jenna pondered and nodded, while Franca countered, "Why do you think so?"
Luo Shan's expression suddenly twisted in anguish.
"That voice, that voice made me give Zhou Mingrui the real Instigator beverage.
"That was the first time it made a clear demand, and promised to reward me with the Painter beverage afterwards.
"I felt having Beyonder powers was great at the time, and thought if Zhou Mingrui could also obtain them, it might not be too bad…"
At this point, Luo Shan's voice suddenly choked up.
"I-I didn't mean to harm him, I really didn't…"
Franca tensed up.
"Did Zhou Mingrui drink the Instigator potion, I mean, beverage?"
The information provided by the Major Arcana card holders did not mention Luo Shan giving Zhou Mingrui the Instigator beverage.
"I don't know." Luo Shan shook her head. "But there was some incident at the neighboring company that day, I'm not sure if it's related to this or not, I'm not sure…"
Seeing Luo Shan's mental state becoming unstable, Jenna changed the subject.
"How many times have you had those beverages?"
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