NOVEL NEXT Chapter 39 - Clearance Invalid? Code 444
As he spoke, He Gu glanced nervously towards the window, only to find “Teacher Fang” standing inside the school gate, staring at him with a face full of resentment. However, she didn’t chase after him.
Could it be that “she” can’t leave the school gate?
With this thought, He Gu let out a deep sigh of relief.
That was close!
The truck driver beside him looked at He Gu strangely, muttering, “What a nutcase…”
Despite being dissatisfied with He Gu’s impulsive behavior, the driver started the truck after verifying his identity.
The small truck slowly drove away…
Just at that moment, a mechanical voice echoed in He Gu’s mind.
“You have successfully cleared the Instance: [Roommate’s Online Lover].”
“Instance Hidden Exploration Degree: 90%.”
“Plot Unlock Degree: 35%.”
“Clearance Rating: SS.”
“Reward: [Eyes of Delusion Breaking] have been upgraded!”
“[Eyes of Delusion Breaking] (Level 2) effect: When reading rules, you can see a hidden message and mark the instant death rule for you.”
…
Hearing this series of prompts, He Gu took a long breath.
Finally, he had cleared it.
Even though the Plot Unlock Degree was only 35%, the Hidden Exploration Degree had not reached 100%, and the Clearance Rating was not perfect…
None of that mattered anymore!
What mattered was that He Gu had survived!
At this moment, the mechanical voice in He Gu’s mind rang again:
“You have successfully cleared an Instance… However, due to your theft of an important item within the Instance, causing its dissatisfaction, this clearance is invalid. You are temporarily unable to leave the World of Strange Tales. Please continue your challenge…”
Upon hearing this, He Gu furrowed his brows.
What kind of rule was this?!
Just because he took a towel, his clearance was invalidated?!
In fact, even if the clearance had been valid, He Gu would not choose to leave the World of Strange Tales right now.
Those chosen to enter, even if they cleared an Instance, can’t leave peacefully. They need to give up a portion of their lifespan in exchange.
Typically, if one chooses to leave after clearing the first Instance, they need to pay a price of 30 years of their lifespan.
Of course, the more Instances one clears, the smaller the price to leave the World of Strange Tales.
Rumour has it that if one can find some special items, they can leave without paying any price.
He Gu shrugged, indifferent. He wasn’t planning to use 30 years of his lifespan to leave right now.
After all, he had the SSS-level talent [Eyes of Delusion Breaking]. He would just clear a few more Instances!
After making his choice, He Gu leaned back in his seat and began to rest with his eyes closed.
Perhaps because he had been too tired these past few days, He Gu quickly fell asleep.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when the driver woke him up, “Young man, we’re here.”
He Gu opened his eyes to find that they had arrived in a yard.
There was a large open space around him, and not far away was a row of warehouses. Many trucks of various types, forklifts, and some workers were busy.
A little bewildered, He Gu got out of the truck. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out behind him, “He Gu, you’re here?”
Hearing this voice, He Gu quickly turned around to see a middle-aged woman with curly hair, wearing a shirt, smiling at him.
And this person was his class’s counselor, Teacher Fang…
So, Teacher Fang actually appeared here!
Could it be that “she” had chased him here?!
In an instant, cold sweat broke out on He Gu’s forehead.
Seeing this, Teacher Fang laughed and said, “What’s the matter? Don’t you recognize me?”
“I’m the coordinator assigned to our partner unit this month. You seem quite surprised to see me?”
Hearing these words, He Gu realized that this might not be “her” incarnation.
However, didn’t the real Teacher Fang already die in a car accident last week!?
Suppressing his emotions, He Gu managed to squeeze out a smile, saying, “No… I just didn’t expect to run into you here.”
After a moment, He Gu cautiously questioned, “By the way, Teacher Fang, when did you arrive?”
Teacher Fang replied, “I came over with the special vehicle from the Kangde Traditional Chinese Medicine Factory last week, I’ve been here for almost half a month.”
Upon hearing this, He Gu felt a tightness in his chest and continued to inquire, “Did you… return to the school yesterday?”
Teacher Fang chuckled, “Of course not. Why, did you see me at the school yesterday?”
He Gu quickly shook his head, “No, I just saw a figure from behind that looked a lot like you.”
After a moment’s thought, He Gu cautiously continued, “Did the other classmates from our dormitory come with you?”
Taken aback, Teacher Fang responded, “You don’t know?”
“Sigh, all six people from your dormitory were in a car accident on their way here, they all… passed away.”
He Gu, of course, was already aware of this news.
However, hearing Teacher Fang talk about it now, He Gu felt stunned again.
Regarding this matter, He Gu had heard or read three different versions so far, and each version told a different story!
Originally, He Gu thought the most credible version should be the one in the newspaper that the Dormitory Supervisor had, but in the newspaper, Teacher Fang was clearly also a victim…
For a moment, He Gu felt as if he had overlooked some crucial information.
Seeing He Gu spacing out, Teacher Fang waved his hand in front of his eyes, “What are you daydreaming about?”
“Let’s go, I’ll take you to get your onboarding done before the HR department closes.”
As he spoke, Teacher Fang took the lead and walked ahead.
He Gu glanced around, dragging his suitcase to follow.
The Kangde Traditional Chinese Medicine Factory was massive, with the warehouse alone taking up an area larger than a soccer field.
He Gu followed Teacher Fang, passing through the warehouse area, then walked along an asphalt road for over ten minutes, finally arriving in front of a ten-story administrative building.
At the entrance, there were two security guards dressed in black uniforms, holding rubber batons, and wearing black masks on their faces, which looked somewhat eerie.
Teacher Fang walked up to the security guards, took out something like a work permit for them to see. One of the guards nodded, then turned to He Gu and said, “You can go in, but leave the suitcase here.”
Listening to the muffled voice coming from behind the guard’s mask, He Gu felt puzzled, was this high level of security necessary for a traditional medicine factory?
Of course, He Gu didn’t say anything, simply nodded and placed his suitcase against the wall, then followed Teacher Fang into the building.
Upon entering the lobby on the first floor, He Gu saw many people bustling about in work uniforms.
Everyone was wearing the same style of work uniform, but the colors were different.
Some wore green, some blue, and a few wore purple.
Everyone seemed to be very busy, their steps hurried, and no one was speaking.
The large lobby was filled with people, yet aside from the sound of footsteps, there was almost no other noise.
The scene was somewhat eerie, making He Gu feel a bit suppressed.
Teacher Fang, however, seemed to be used to it, leading He Gu through the lobby to the elevator.
Soon, the elevator arrived.
Teacher Fang led He Gu into the elevator and pressed the button for the 9th floor, then pulled He Gu into a corner.
Regarding this, Teacher Fang casually explained, “This company is very strict in its management, everyone pursues efficiency, so we should stand in the corner to avoid blocking others.”
He Gu nodded thoughtfully, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
The elevator doors closed, and the elevator began to slowly ascend.
However, it stopped when it reached the 2nd floor, and the elevator doors slowly opened.
He Gu glanced towards the door and discovered that the light outside was dim, with not a soul in sight.
No one entered, and the elevator doors closed again, slowly ascending.
This time, the elevator went smoothly without any obstruction, and quickly reached the 9th floor.
Coming out of the elevator, Teacher Fang led He Gu through a long corridor and stopped in front of an office door.
“Go in, I’ll wait for you here.”
He Gu nodded and walked into the office somewhat nervously.
It was a large and brightly lit office.
There were four office desks inside, and three of them were vacant. Only a short-haired woman wearing a purple uniform was sitting at a desk in the corner.
“You’re here? Come over.”
The woman in purple called out, beckoning He Gu to come over.
As soon as He Gu got to the desk, she said, “I’m A21, that’s my employee number.”
What the hell is A21?
Don’t you have a name?
He Gu muttered in his heart, but he didn’t say anything.
A21 spoke quickly, with a strong businesswoman’s demeanor.
“I’ve received your file, and all the documents are prepared. Give me your ID and internship notice for registration, and then sign a few times to start working.”
He Gu nodded, reaching into his pocket to take out his pre-prepared ID and internship notice.
After receiving them, A21 put the internship notice into a file box, and swiped He Gu’s ID on a device that looked like a card reader.
After finishing all this, A21 returned the ID to He Gu, and handed him several documents to sign.
He Gu glanced at them, things like the Internship Agreement and Safety Commitment, he didn’t bother to read closely, and quickly signed his name.
A21 collected these documents and gave He Gu a work permit, “From now on, your number is 444, this is your work permit, you must carry it with you in the factory.”
He Gu took a look at the work permit. There was no photo, no name, no department information, nothing.
It just wrote “Work Permit” and “444” in green font.
Before He Gu had time to complain in his heart, A21 gave him a key, “The company provides a single dormitory, your room is in Dormitory Building 4, Room 44, this is your key.”
After that, A21 pointed to a 40-cm square storage box on the side of the desk, “These are the items issued to you by the company, take them back to the dormitory and rest a bit, your supervisor will contact you later to arrange your work.”
He Gu nodded, holding the box and walked out of the office.
Teacher Fang was waiting at the door, glancing at He Gu’s work permit, “You’re living in Building 4? Let’s go, I’ll take you to the dormitory.”
Saying that, Teacher Fang led He Gu to take the elevator downstairs.
Just like before, Teacher Fang stood in the corner with He Gu.
When the elevator descended to the 2nd floor, it stopped again and the cabin door opened.
However, it was dim outside, with not a single person in sight.
“Meow~”
Just then, a cat’s meow came from outside the elevator.
He Gu looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a black cat outside, tucked in a corner looking at him.
The black cat was entirely black, almost blending with the environment, but its pair of orange eyes stood out sharply.
And on its left ear, there was a triangular notch…
Seeing this ear, He Gu was suddenly taken aback, this black cat… wasn’t it the one that had scratched him in the school grove!?
Just as He Gu was about to say something, he turned his head and found that Teacher Fang was looking at the black cat with a scared expression, frantically pressing the close door button.
Not until the elevator door slowly closed did Teacher Fang obviously let out a sigh of relief…