heskygraduallydarkened.

Bruisedandbattered,BaiiuandiuJiayilaybesidetheflowerfield.heyhadbeenunconsciousforquitesometimeandwerenowtakingtheopportunitytorecover.heirbattlewiththerefugeesduringthedayhadnearlykilledthemboth—iuJiayi’sstaminabarhadalmostbeenemptied,whileBaiiuhadalreadybeeninaweakenedstatetobeginwith.

Butintheend,theyhadstillmanagedtoescape.

Aftercomingout,Baiiudiscoveredtwonewburlapsacksbytheedgeoftheflowerfield,largerthanbefore.heprocessorhadapparentlydeliveredtheminadvancefortonight’srose-pickingwork.

iuJiayiremainedsprawledbesideBaiiu,breathingheavily.“t’llprobablytakeanotherhourortwobeforemystaminabarrecovers.Sowhat’stheplan?Waithere?rheadintothefieldandstartpickingrosestoluretherefugeesover?”

Sheproppedherselfupandstretchedherarmsbehindherneck,looseningherstiffshouldersasshewarmedup.

“hatplanofyoursthatusestheotherfourplayersrequiresahugenumberofrefugees,doesn’tit?”iuJiayiglancedsidewaysatBaiiu.“Personally,thinkit’sinsanelydangerousandwaytooeasytobackfire.Butyou’renotgoingtochangeyourmind,areyou?”

Baiiuturnedtolookathercalmly.

“o.”

iuJiayisigheddeeplywiththewearymaturityofalittleoldladyworryingoverherhopelessunemployedson.Pressingahandtoherforehead,shelookedatBaiiuhelplessly.

“Sometimesreallywishyou,agrownmaninhistwenties,couldactalittlemoreresponsibly.Stopobsessingoverhigh-riskgamblesandlearntocleargamesthenormalway,likeordinaryplayersdo.”

“Butguessit’sstilltooearlytosaythattosomeonewithaC-rankpanel.”iuJiayishookherhead.“rowupabitfirst.Untilthen,youcankeeprelyingonme.nceyoumature,youcanrelyonyourself.”

Baiiu:“...”

“So?”iuJiayiasked.“Yourplanistousetherefugeestodrawtheotherfourplayersover,right?henhowareyouplanningtoattracttherefugeeswithoutpickingroses?”

Withoutaword,Baiiuslowlypulledabottleofperfumefromhispocket.

iuJiayistaredblanklyattheperfumeforamomentbeforeexpressionlesslyliftinghergazetoBaiiu’sface.

“hisisourlastbottleofperfume.”ervoicewasperfectlycalm.“fyouwastetheperfumeworkedsohardtoearnlastnightbyusingitasbait,’llkillyou.”

Baiiu:“...”

ecautiouslyplacedahandontheperfumecap.

iuJiayismiledsweetlyassheraisedherpoisonbottle.

“’mserious,Baiiu-gege.hisisthefirstthing’veeverearnedthroughmyownwork.You’dbetternotwasteitformeagain.Youalreadysquanderedonebottleduringtheday.”

Baiiu:“...”

Shewasgenuinelyfuriousthistime.

hough,tobefair,hisactionsduringthedayreallyhadbeenrecklesslyprovocative...

hinkingbacktowhathappenedafterward,Baiiu’sgazedriftedslightly.

“Butperfumereallyisthefastestwaytoattractrefugees.”

“fyouknewwe’dneedittonight,thenyoushouldn’thaveuseditrecklesslyonmeduringtheday!!”iuJiayifinallysnapped.“Couldyoupleasevaluetheresultsofourlaboralittle?!Stopclearinggameswiththeseinsane‘onestepfromdeath’strategiesallthetime!”

Baiiuimmediatelydroppedtohiskneesinanextremelyproperposture,restinghishandsonhisthighsasheapologizedatlightningspeed.

“’msorry.Mythoughtswereentirelyfocusedonmaximizingprofitandachievingoptimalperfumeefficiency.neglectedoursurvivalrate.hatwasmymistake.”

ight-year-oldiuJiayipointedfuriouslyatthekneelingBaiiu.

“Areyouachild?!Youcan’tjustdowhateveryouwantallthetime!”

“Yoursurvivalrateshouldbeyournumberoneprioritywhenclearinggames!fyoukeepplayinglikethis,howareyousupposedtosurviveintheeague,wheresurvivalratedeterminesvictory?!”

Astheteamhealer,iuJiayifuriouslylecturedBaiiu,thetacticianwhosebrainseemedtocontainnothingexceptcalculations°•𝑜v𝑒light•°forpointsandkillefficiency.

“exttime,’lltakesurvivalrateintoconsideration.”Baiiunoddedobediently,pretendinghehadsincerelyabsorbedhercriticism.hen,withoutmissingabeat,hesmoothlyredirectedtheconversationbacktothemission.“ButforthesakeofobtainingthemaximumnumberofDriedeafRosestonight,let’sproceedwiththeoriginalplanfornow.’mopeningtheperfume.”

ishandwasalreadyonthecap.

iuJiayi:“...”

hatapologywassoperfunctoryshecouldn’tfeeleventheslightesttraceofsincerityinitatall!!!

——————————

ightdeepened.

angrdagrippedhisgunwarilyashescannedthesurroundings,preparingtohunt.

isburlapsackhadbeencasuallytossednearby.nsidewereonlyafewDriedeafRoses—notmany.

onight,angrdahadstoppedworkingafterpickingonlythatamount,becausehehadalreadyfiguredoutthetruerulesofthisgame.

hepurposeofpickingroseswasneverforplayerstoactuallygatherthemthemselves.

herealobjectivewastoplunderthelaborofothersthroughtherefugees.

Andifcollectingfortykilogramsofroseslastnighthadstillbeenbarelyachievablethroughordinarylabor,thentheeightykilogramsrequiredtonightmadeangrdaabandontheideaentirely.nstead,hechosetospendtheentirenighthuntingrefugees.

Yetsomethingfeltstrange.

Atthissametimeyesterday,countlessrefugeeshadalreadybeenattackinghimnonstop.

Buttonight—

angrdasteppedontotheridgebetweentheflowerfieldsandlookedintothedistance.Asidefromahandfulofrefugeesthathadappearedearlierintheevening,notasingleonehadshownupduringthelatterhalfofthenight.

eglanceddownatthediscardedsackbesidehimandfrownedthoughtfully.

Coulditbebecausehehadn’tpickedenoughrosestonight?adthebaiteffectweakenedcomparedtoyesterday?

Butevenso,withDriedeafRosespresenthere,itshouldn’tbepossiblefornotevenonerefugeetobedrawnover.

nthistypeofmap—onefilledwithrepetitivesceneryandmentalpollution—experiencedplayersgenerallyavoidedmovingaroundunnecessarily.Butthecurrentsituationwasclearlyabnormal.frefugeesstillfailedtoappear,angrdawouldhavenowaytocompletetonight’stask.

eftwithnochoice,hedecidedtomove.

ftherefugeeswouldn’tcometohim,thenhewouldgofindthemhimself.

heflowerfieldsatnightweredeathlysilent.

angrdawalkedcarefullyalongthenarrowridgesdividingthefields.Aroundhim,numerousflowerpickersdressedinblackgauzehoodsbentovermechanically,silentlyharvestingroses.

heyworkedwithterrifyingspeed.

hroughthethinblackgauze,angrdacouldvaguelyseepiecesoffleshandtissueoccasionallyfallingfromtheirfacesandbodies,slidingdownintothemudbelow.Yettheworkersappearednumbtoit,continuingtopickflowersfranticallyasthoughtheynoticednothingatall.

Someofthemhadhandssowitheredthatonlywhiteboneremained,yettheystilltrembledastheycontinuedworkingdesperately.

heslowerworkersshowedvisiblefearontheirfaces.heyforcedthemselvestopickfaster,coughingviolentlywhileharvestingroses.

venatthispoint,whattheyfearedwasn’twithering.

twasunemployment.

nthisworld,losingone’sjobwasmoreterrifyingthandeathitself.

angrdawithdrewhisgazeandtightenedhisgriponthegunathiswaist.

ehadseensceneslikethistoomanytimes.

Somanytimesthatbynow,hefeltnothingexceptcoldindifference.

rperhaps...

apowerlessdespair.

hiswasaworldbeyondsaving.

nceDriedRoseeafasbecamefullywidespread,therewouldnolongerbeanyroomlefttoturnthingsaround.verydeceivedandpollutedordinarypersonwouldwillinglybecomefertilizerfortheroses,pouringtheirlaborandtheirlifesavingsintothemwhilebelievingitwastheirownsalvation.

Aperfectlyroundpalemoonhunghighinthenorthernsky,castingdownahazysilverglow.

Yetthatsoftwhitemoonlightstoppedabruptlyattheedgeoftheflowerfield,sharplydividingtheinsidefromtheoutsideintotwoentirelydifferentworlds.

utsidethefieldswasonlycrudedarkness,likearoughcharcoalsketchuntouchedbymoonlight.

nsidethefieldswasanoilpaintingdrenchedinthecolorsofdawn.

Deepcrimsonrosesinfullbloom.

Adarksapphireskywithoutclouds.

Softpink,moisture-richsoil.

Workersinblackgauzesilentlylaboringbetweentheflowerrows.

hesweetscentofroseslingeringatthetipofone’snose,intoxicatingenoughtomaketheminddrift.

verythinglookedharmonious.

Quiet.

Peaceful.

Perfect.

fthisscenewerephotographedinvividcolorandspreadacrossnewspapersandtheinternet,endlesslypromotedbythemedia,itwouldundoubtedlybecomeaparadisecountlesspeoplelongedfor.

Andthebloodytruthhiddenbeneaththeflowerfieldwoulddisappearcompletelybeneaththatbeauty.

hedesperatemassesstaredblanklyatthisbreathtakingparadisewhilepaidmediaoutletsendlesslypraisedtherarityandpreciousnessoftheroses,glorifyingthebeautyoftheRoseFactoryuntilpeoplesubconsciouslyacceptedtheabsurdpriceoftheperfume.

Afterall,comparedtohatingtheRoseFactory—thelastbeautifulplaceleftintheworld—itwaseasiertohatethemselvesforbeingugly,withered,andtoopoortoaffordit.

hat’sright.

herosesweresorare.

heeffectsofDriedRoseeafasweresomiraculous.

fcourseitdeservedtobesoldatsuchexorbitantprices.

ftheycouldn’taffordit,thatwassimplybecausetheywerepoor.Becausetheylackedability.

hatwastheirownfault. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

otthefaultoftheroses.

heroseswerebeautiful.heroseswereuseful.

owcouldtherosespossiblybewrong?

verypieceofinformationtheyreceivedtoldthemexactlythat.

Andso,thesufferingmassesgraduallybegantreatingtheveryrosespushingthemintotheabyssastheirfinalsalvation.heyforbadeanyonefromspeakingilloftheroses.heyrejectedanyonewhotriedtoexposethetruth.heyturnedagainstallwhodeniedthevalueoftheroses.

Becausebythen,theroseshadalreadybecometheirfinalhope.

hefirsttimeangrdawitnessedthiskindofself-inflicteddestruction,hehadfeltanger.

atercamedisappointment.

hennumbness.

Andnow...

allthatremainedwasakindofalmostfrenziedcalm.

Adarkfiguresuddenlyflashedacrosstheflowerfield.

angrda’seyessharpenedinstantly.

Atthefaredgeofthefield,countlessrefugeesclusteredtogetherlikeswarmingblackants,staggeringinunisontowardasingledestination.

Unlikeyesterday,theywerenolongerwanderingaimlessly.

Somethingwasdrawingtheminonefixeddirection.

Frowning,angrdafollowedthemclosely.

Afteradvancingforsomedistance,hesawascenehorrifyingenoughtomakehisscalpgonumb.

Atthecenteroftheflowerfieldsatanopenedbottleofperfume.

Arounditgatheredadensemassofrefugees,writhingtentaclestremblingviolentlyastheysnarledandgnashedrowsofpalewhiteteeth.

Yetnomatterhowdesperatelytheylungedforward,noneofthemcouldreachtheperfume.

twasasthoughaninvisiblewallofglassseparatedthemfromit.

heinstantangrdasawthescene,acertainitemflashedthroughhismind—

[MagicSpace].

hiswasatrap.

Someonehaddeliberatelysetthisuptolureplayersover.

angrdaimmediatelydrewhisgunwithouthesitation,intendingtodestroytheperfumetrappedwithintheinvisible“glasscase”withasingleshot.

Butthemomenthemoved,hefeltanindescribablerestraint.

heairaroundhimseemedtosolidifyintoinvisiblewalls,compressingintoanimpossiblynarrowglasscorridoraroundhisbody.

issmoothdrawmotionstalledforonebriefsecond.

[Systemotification:PlayerBaiiuhasexpandedandextended(MagicSpace)totrapplayerangrda.]

—

Author’sote:

Bestie:o.2reallyworksforo.6everysingleday.’mofficiallycallinghimthestrongestofficeworkeralive.anginthere,o.2!Aslongasyoukeepworkinghard,you’llbeabletoleto.6livethelifehewantssooner!

Me:’mdyinglaughing.