Working Records in a Weird World - 32

 

| WRIAWW | Sudden Inspiration | 32

At the same moment the message was displayed, all the survivors who were busy with their own tasks seemed to be frozen in place.

Those eating and drinking in the dining room put down their chopsticks, those lifting weights in the gym set down their barbells, and everyone, without exception, paused what they were doing to listen intently to the system broadcast.

No one had expected the main system to release such a message at this time.

The simultaneous system broadcast, often jokingly referred to by survivors as the [Server-wide Announcement], is an extremely rare occurrence. It usually only happens when a new dungeon is first opened or when the final level task of a dungeon is initiated.

But now, just half a month after the ultimate dungeon had opened, how could there already be a server-wide announcement?

After hearing the broadcast, all the survivors were stunned.

"What does this mean? The ultimate dungeon is already initiating a question-level mission? Isn’t that a bit too fast?"

"Wait, the main system specifically mentioned the word 'first' in the announcement. Combined with the fact that the task completion rate in the East District of Guiyi City has met the standard, I have a bold guess, could it be that the ultimate dungeon has more than one mission-level task?!"

"I was thinking the same thing. Guiyi City has four districts: east, south, west, and north. There might be four question-level missions."

"Fuck, four?! The sky is falling!! We didn’t even know how many people were needed for one question-level mission before, and now there are four? Looks like I won’t be returning to the real world anytime soon. I might as well wash up and go to sleep."

Without a doubt, this announcement brought nothing but bad news. Because ?-level missions require the participation of all survivors, regardless of injury, once the task begins, survivors are directly teleported to the task location and cannot leave until the task is completed.

Not to mention, this is a ?-level mission in the ultimate dungeon.

The survivors were worried about their lives and filled with anxiety. High-level survivors, on the other hand, were surprised that the ultimate dungeon had more than one ?-level mission and were concerned about whether the so-called "liberation of all survivors to return to the real world" could still be achieved.

For a while, the forums were filled with grief.

At this moment, the only one who might be happy was Zong Le.

"Taikang Yongle Hospital? Ah, this task is perfect!"

He had just been planning to investigate the hospital when the main system released the ?-level mission. It was like someone delivering a pillow just as he was about to fall asleep.

Now, not only could Zong Le investigate, but he could also earn some extra money through the task, essentially getting reimbursed for his expenses. How delightful.

In a good mood, he went to the market and bought an extra pound of braised pork knuckle to marinate.

To be honest, Zong Le’s cooking skills were just average, barely enough to keep himself fed.

He never expected that during the next task, some survivors would take an interest in his braised pork knuckle. Being kind-hearted and generous, he was naturally willing to share his food with others.

"I wonder if Bai Shao can handle spicy food."

Having just become a survivor not long ago and lacking friends, Zong Le had no idea that survivors could add friends and send private messages. Naturally, he didn’t think to send a message to Bai Shao directly.

"If all else fails, when the task starts in three days, I’ll bring one of each flavor of braised pork knuckle."

After making his plans, Zong Le started chopping vegetables in his room while listening to the weird child standing at the door report on its tasks.

There was also a group of NPC ghosts standing there, each representing their respective buildings.

"Sir, the boss of Ansheng Factory has sent another invitation today, saying he’d like to treat you to a feast of fresh delicacies. Would you consider honoring him with your presence?"

"No," Zong Le replied without even turning his head.

To make things more realistic, under Zong Le’s instructions, Old Wang, the gatekeeper, had replaced the sign of Ankang Community with "Ankang Prison" yesterday. 

On top of that, it was unknown which NPC had spread his speech, which ended up being broadcast on Guiyi City’s television station.

Since then, Zong Le had been receiving a steady stream of invitations from neighboring territory owners.

These invitations came from figures deeply embedded in everyday life—like the owner of Baihui Supermarket, the manager of Fukang Food Street, the director of Ansheng Factory, and the market master of Qingcao Morning Market. 

It almost felt like they had stumbled into the local Market Supervision Bureau.

Before this, Zong Le had never imagined that such a small area in the eastern part of Guiyi City could be divided into dozens of tiny territories. However, according to the well-informed Auntie Zhang in the community, the current invitations were only from B-level local bosses. 

Compared to the A-level or even S-level weirds that truly controlled commercial districts or corporate groups, these were small fry.

"Actually, having a territory boss is already a good thing. At least it ensures the safety of the residents. In many unclaimed areas, any neighboring territory that’s short on money can come and exploit them."

The NPC with pitch-black eyes spoke with a hint of melancholy: "Our Ankang Community—oh, I mean Ankang Prison used to be one of those insignificant places. It was an old resettlement area, it was home to the elderly, weak, and disabled. They knew there was nothing to squeeze out of us, so they didn’t even bother."

After saying this, the NPC turned to urge him.

"In my opinion, you should get out and interact more with the outside world."

Under Zong Le’s overwhelming strength prowess, the weirds were completely subdued, and did not dare to entertain any thoughts of rebellion.

At the same time, in private, they engaged in heated discussions about their boss’s mysterious combat capabilities.

The first debater, Liu Rouya, stood firm against the crowd.

The second debater, the Butcher, was even more exaggerated, claiming it was S-level weird.

After all, the boss’s strength was the pride of his subordinates.

While it was one thing to take pride in Zong Le’s power, if he was truly strong enough to defeat an S-level weird from Tianmen Mansion, he should at least be on par with them.

But when it came to this sensitive topic, even the lawless weirds didn’t dare to speculate recklessly. After all, even in Guiyi City, the number of S-level weirds was limited, and each one was a notorious figure.

If they guessed wrong and celebrated prematurely, it would be incredibly awkward. So, after some deliberation, they decided it would be best for the boss to visit other major territories to test the limits of his strength.

"The situation in Guiyi City is such that there are many lawless zones, filled with corruption and filth. It’s in dire need of your iron-fisted intervention."

By now, most people in the community knew that Zong Le had a mental illness, and they spoke carefully, catering to his whims. To an outsider, it might seem like the weirds had undergone a change of heart.

"Oh, by the way, when you have time, you should also register with the Church. Whenever a new territory boss emerges in a region, they need to register and have it recorded. In the future, if anything happens, you can also contact other territory leaders through the Church."

"Mm," Zong Le put down the knife and tossed a handful of ginger into the pot of boiling water to remove the odor. "I’m planning to go to Taikang Yongle Hospital in a few days to clean up the bad practices there. What do you know about this hospital? Tell me about it."

Hearing this, the weirds and the NPCs at the door were instantly stunned.

They exchanged glances, their faces filled with terror.

‘Wait, is the Taikang Yongle Hospital the boss mentioned that Taikang Yongle?!’

‘Isn’t that obvious? In Guiyi City, there’s only one Taikang Yongle!’

‘Then the boss must be out of his mind! That’s the largest group in Guiyi City. There’s definitely an S-level weird stationed there!’

The weirds looked at each other, and finally, the weird child mustered the courage to ask, "Sir, is the hospital you’re planning to visit the one under the Taikang Yongle Group?"

"Yes."

The worst-case scenario was confirmed, and the residents of Ankang Community couldn’t help but tremble.

Although they genuinely wanted to benefit from Zong Le’s actions, they absolutely didn’t want him to throw his life away. After all, having a boss in the community was a good thing, at least for the time being.

"The Taikang Yongle Group is the largest group in our city. It’s said that all their organizations have security personnel assigned by the group. And a large hospital like this occupies an entire building, it must have a high-level weird stationed inside—at least S-level."

The weird child cautiously suggested, "Boss... maybe you should reconsider?"

"Yeah, boss. I’ve heard that hospital does all kinds of shady deals, with the staff exploiting people. It’s really bad."

"Powerful weirds are never easy to deal with. You can imagine what that hospital is like just by thinking about it."

"The Taikang Yongle Group is incredibly wealthy. I remember they started as a financial group."

"Oh, that hospital! My seventh aunt’s cousin’s sister was treated there once. They were so heartless—they overcharge like crazy, and they wouldn’t let her leave until she paid. She had no choice but to sell her blood, and they nearly drained her dry before it was over."

"Not just that. Years ago, I heard that wealthy people with cancer could get the organs they need as long as they had the money."

Zong Le automatically ignored the dissuasive elements in their words and focused directly on the hospital’s wrongdoings.

Selling blood, trafficking organs, extortionate pricing... Each and every one of these acts made the black-haired young man’s expression turn cold.

With a bit more force in his next chop, he split the cutting board in two.

The weirds beings at the door: ???!!!

In the quiet hallway, the sound of gulping was particularly noticeable.

"There’s no need to dissuade me. A hospital like this shouldn’t exist in the first place."

Zong Le picked up the broken cutting board, completely unaware that his neighbors were nearly paralyzed by the faint murderous aura he had unintentionally leaked. 

"By the way, the scope of this operation might be a bit large. I might not be able to handle it alone, so I’ll probably need your help."

That said, Zong Le was well aware of his neighbors’ capabilities. So he added, "Of course, you won’t need to go inside the hospital. Just wait outside and support me after I’ve cleared it out."

What? The boss is planning to charge into Taikang Yongle Hospital all by himself?!

Everyone was panicking, but no one dared to offer to accompany him. After all, no one wanted to court death.

"What? You don’t want to go?"

"It's not that! It's nothing like that!" The weirds quickly shook their heads. "We're just worried about you, boss!"

Hearing his neighbors express such concern, Zong Le was deeply moved.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. I've been hospitalized in that hospital before, so I have some understanding of the situation inside. This operation isn't just a spur-of-the-moment idea."

Indeed, it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment idea, but rather a sudden impulse.

Of course, there was no need to mention that to everyone; it might scare them unnecessarily.

So, three days later, Zong Le got up early.

Because he had a mission, he deliberately skipped his morning jog and slept until he woke up naturally. After having breakfast, he went downstairs and saw his neighbors already waiting at the entrance of Building 4.

Besides the neighbors, the weird corpse that had followed him back a few days ago was also standing there.

Upon hearing that Zong Le was going to Taikang Yongle Hospital for a cleanup, it insisted on coming along.

"Alright, let's go together."

 

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