Chapter 8: Attendance |
It was past three in the afternoon. The report Wei Hongsi had submitted in the morning was still stuck at the "Director Review" stage, and he finally began to feel a sense of urgency.
The time remaining for that "system's" timed task was running out.
Even now, he still harbored doubts about whether the "system" truly existed, but that didn't hinder his desire to complete the task.
He was also very curious to see what changes the ghostly text would undergo after the task was completed.
Just as he was about to head to the pantry for some ice water, a meeting notification suddenly popped up on WD, instructing him to attend a meeting in room 2210 immediately. The meeting topic, requirements, and other details were all blank.
At the same time, several characters glowing with a yellow light appeared before his eyes.
[Risk Warning!]
Although not as startling and shocking as the red characters he had seen the previous two times, they had an exceptionally glaring quality.
Generally, a yellow warning level is lower than a red one. So, did this mean there was danger, but it wasn't particularly severe?
Exiting on the 22nd floor, he noticed the elevator lobby on this floor was different from others. Not only was there just one access corridor connected to the elevator lobby, but it also had turnstile access control gates like the main lobby on the first floor. Even the security guard stationed by the turnstile had an exceptionally different aura and demeanor.
Wei Hongsi swiped his ID card at the access control. His personal employment information appeared on the adjacent display screen, with an additional note below: "Attend 2210 meeting."
After passing through the turnstile, a security guard took out a small plastic basket and asked him to temporarily deposit all electronic devices he was carrying here.
Wei Hongsi placed his ID card inside, patted his pockets to indicate he had nothing else.
Another guard carefully scanned him with a handheld metal detector, then escorted him to meeting room 2210, giving two light knocks on the door.
The person who opened the door from inside was also a security guard. After letting Wei Hongsi in, he gestured towards a specific direction.
Seeing the guard point to a spot behind Yu Sheng, Wei Hongsi nodded and walked that way, simultaneously taking in the situation inside the conference room.
At the head of the enormous conference table, the company's President, Dai Songquan, sat in the center. On the left and right sides near the head, the general managers of the six major centers were all present.
These were the company's true senior executives. Wei Hongsi hadn't met most of them, but he had seen their photos during the onboarding training and could still match the faces.
Below the general managers sat seven more people. Apart from Yu Sheng, Wei Hongsi didn't recognize any of them. However, judging by Yu Sheng's seating position at the very end on the left, he estimated they should be at least at the director level.
Only fourteen people sat in the vast conference room, making it feel somewhat empty.
However, it was quite different from what Wei Hongsi had anticipated. Those people all wore smiles on their faces, and the room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
He walked softly to the spot behind Yu Sheng and sat down on a chair in the back row. He heard Dai Songquan talking about physical and mental health and such.
He thought to himself, so they haven't gotten to the main topic yet. But since they called me here, it should be soon.
"Everyone, please don't be like President Xia, dragging out a minor illness until it gets worse and worse, ultimately landing yourself in the hospital," Dai Songquan said while tapping on the table surface of the empty seat to his left. He then went on to discuss some health preservation methods.
In reality, the management present were generally between forty and fifty years old. Even Dai Songquan himself was only around forty-seven or forty-eight, right in the prime of his life.
Everyone understood perfectly well that Dai Songquan pulling them into these trivial conversations likely meant the company had encountered a relatively serious situation, requiring them to be isolated while some investigation work was conducted.
Having worked at the company for so many years, who could claim to be flawless? If a detailed investigation were really conducted, it would be hard to handle. But with the president speaking, who could not show support? They could only wait anxiously with smiles plastered on their faces.
The conference room door suddenly opened, and a tall, thin man wearing glasses walked in. As he entered, he smiled and nodded towards those who looked his way.
This man was the company's Vice President, Ji Yongsheng. He walked to the head of the table, gave a slight bow to Dai Songquan, and then sat down on his right.
Dai Songquan gave a slight nod and continued, "In short, everyone must take care of their health. Apart from Shiming and that young man from the Research Center, none of those present here can be considered young anymore."
Wei Hongsi noticed several gazes sweeping towards him and had no choice but to put on a smile and nod in response.
"Alright, that's all I have to say. I'll hand over the remaining time to President Ji," Dai Songquan said, then leaned back in his chair, instantly creating a distance between himself and the conference table.
Ji Yongsheng smiled and nodded to everyone, then said, "I've been dealing with some tedious matters all afternoon and arrived late. My apologies. Coincidentally, a friend sent me some tea a couple of days ago. Please have a taste, consider it my apology. If you find it agreeable, feel free to come to my office later to get some."
He looked towards the conference room door and raised his hand in a gesture. The security guard at the door opened it, and two conference service staff entered carrying trays, placing a cup in front of each person.
When one of the service staff tried to serve tea to Wei Hongsi, he waved his hand, indicating he didn't need it. He wasn't in the habit of drinking tea to begin with, and there was no table in front of him, with soft chairs on both sides, making it inconvenient to place a cup.
After the conference room door closed again, Ji Yongsheng said, "This noon, President Gu came to chat with me. As you all know, he's young and doesn't take afternoon naps. But I can't do that. I had just dozed off when he woke me up, my head was throbbing. But as soon as I heard what he had to say, I was instantly wide awake. It was even more effective than having a basin of cold water dumped over my head."
When everyone heard the first part of Ji Yongsheng's statement, they still chuckled along in response. But after hearing him finish that sentence, the atmosphere became somewhat frozen.
"You must all be very curious about what President Gu told me, right? Let's not rush. We'll follow the company's procedures," Ji Yongsheng said, looking towards a person on his right. "Director Song, please distribute the agreements to everyone."
That Director Song was named Song Jingcheng, the head of the company's Legal Department, sitting diagonally across from Yu Sheng.
He opened the folder in his hand, took out a stack of printed A4 papers, stood up, and distributed a copy to everyone present, including Dai Songquan and the several security guards in the conference room.
Wei Hongsi looked at the content printed on the paper. It turned out to be a confidentiality agreement, listing several clauses, all stipulations regarding the matters to be discussed and resolved in this meeting.
After everyone had signed, Song Jingcheng collected the agreements and handed them to Ji Yongsheng.
Ji Yongsheng carefully examined each person's signature, then clipped them into a folder. Placing his hands crossed on the table, his expression turned somewhat serious. "I will preside over this meeting in my capacity as the leader of the Emergency Response Team. Please cooperate."
