Cleaner's Assistant

Everyone watching the screen was somewhat taken aback.

I thought I would see something incredible, or something that looked amazing.

It turned out he was a the Cleaner?

The players in front of the screen were immediately taken aback.

Because the contrast is too great!

The figure in front of me was bent over, diligently mopping the ground with both hands.

He really does look like an ordinary the Cleaner.

But the singing remained melodious, and the surrounding environment constantly reminded the players in front of the screen that danger lurked everywhere.

In this situation, would you tell someone that the Cleaner is leisurely mopping the floor?

Is that possible?

Players aren't stupid!

So this the Cleaner is probably not as simple as he seems!

[The Cleaner? How could there be the Cleaner in this situation?]

[Wait, I've never seen the Cleaner wear that kind of uniform before. Who could he be?]

In the game, the protagonist speaks in a deep voice.

He indicated that he was also unaware of the unusual situation unfolding before him.

Seeing this, Zai Zong rubbed his chin and frowned.

"Hmm, the protagonist doesn't know about this situation either, which means he hasn't encountered this the Cleaner in the previous 1000 save/load attempts. That's not right."

Zai Zong shifted his posture, continued staring at the game screen, and spoke in a deep voice.

"The protagonist says he's never seen the Cleaner wearing these clothes before, which means he's seen the Cleaner in his previous 1000 experiences. But this one is different from all the ones he's seen before, which means this is unexpected. Anyway, let's go up and take a look; this should be a random event."

As he spoke, he asked his cousin to come forward and check.

Huan Huan bit her lip and cautiously approached the eerie tango music.

Under the dim Red Light, she felt immense pressure, which was almost unbearable.

But in order not to embarrass herself in front of so many people in the live stream, she still mustered up her courage and went up.

At the same time, clear footsteps sounded.

The alarm gradually went silent.

Soon, the only sounds in the facility's corridor were her footsteps, humming, and the game music that hinted at impending danger.

Until she got close to the Cleaner.

Suddenly, the game's protagonist went out of control.

Huan Huan understood that the game had entered its storyline. Now she just needed to watch the performance.

The calculations begin in real time on the screen.

As the protagonist approached, the Cleaner, who was leisurely mopping the floor, seemed to notice and straightened up, then turned his head to look at them before turning back to face the 'group'.

Therefore, everyone in front of the screen could see that he had an ordinary, unremarkable appearance.

He is neither three-headed nor six-armed, nor is he ferocious or ruthless.

He was just wearing ordinary work clothes, carrying an ordinary mop, and doing ordinary things.

All of this tells the players without reservation that he is a normal person.

He also had a Walkman clipped to his waist, connected directly to earphones via a data cable.

This shows that...

He hummed the tango because he was engrossed in listening to the music.

Now, I've finally met the real person.

The sense of mystery is gone, but the eeriness remains.

Therefore, Zai Zong Huan Huan and Huan Huan remained wary.

At this moment, after seeing the protagonist, the Cleaner pressed the switch on the portable music player on his waist and spoke casually.

[I've been waiting for you for a long time, but you're still too late. I just finished mopping this road and don't want anyone stepping on it. Please take another road.]

As he spoke, the Cleaner braced himself against the mop handle and pounded his lower back.

[I'd like to take a vacation and find an assistant. You're a good fit, but you need to have an interview first.]

Then, he pointed in the direction the protagonist had come from behind and continued speaking.

[Leave here and go to the stationmaster's office. Tell him the Cleaner sent you. Then find the switch wire, pull it, and after you get your employment notice, you can work for me.]

This left the players completely bewildered.

Especially the Zai Zong, who was completely baffled.

What did that say?

What? You've been waiting for me for so long? What? I'm too late?

What kind of assistant position and what kind of interview?

What is all this about?

The protagonist has already said he's never seen him before, so why is this the Cleaner acting like they've known each other for ages?

Just as the players were wondering what was going on, Huan Huan found four options in front of her.

1. Who are you?

2. Have you been waiting for me for a long time?

3. What kind of interview are you referring to?

4. (Remaining silent)

As expected, there are dialogue options!

The Only Game continues to provide players with a high degree of freedom!

Of these four options, the first three are exactly what the players want to ask!

However, Huan Huan was somewhat troubled.

She has difficulty making choices, and when faced with these four options, she had no idea which one to choose.

Who is the Cleaner?

What he said was completely confusing.

So, she asked her cousin again for advice on which one to choose.

Zai Zong has difficulty making choices.

After staring at the four options for a moment and thinking it over, he decided to proceed in order!

"Choose the first one, and start from there."

"What if I choose the first one and then the other ones are gone?"

Huan Huan reminded him, but Zai Zong just shook his head.

"If it's gone, it's gone. It's a problem with the game mechanics. You can't save here and try every single dialogue, can you? The viewers in the live stream haven't played it yet. You have to keep some mystery so that the viewers and fans can choose different dialogues when they play."

Huan Huan agreed, saying that since it was a live broadcast, doing things this way would probably annoy the viewers and fans.

Furthermore, if you have to save and reload to try out every single dialogue, it won't be fun for viewers and fans.

So what my cousin said is quite right.

"Okay, then I'll choose the first one."

As she spoke, Huan Huan selected the first dialogue using the joystick.

Then, the protagonist spoke.

[Who are you? What are you doing here?]

Upon hearing the question, the Cleaner mopping the floor paused for a moment, then stood up and lifted the mop in her hand.

[I do 'this', isn't that obvious?]

As he spoke, he bent down and continued mopping the floor.

My name is A'Ti, and I'm a the Cleaner here. I specialize in cleaning.

He paused, looked up at the game's protagonist, and replied in a low voice.

[It's dirty here, everything needs cleaning. I can't manage alone, I need an assistant to help me. Would you like to work?]

That same phrase again.

The Zai Zong frowned. At this moment, dialogue options reappeared in the game.

1. Do the Cleaner need assistants?

2. What kind of work do you want me to do?

3. There are already many the Cleaner here.

4. (Remaining silent)

Upon seeing the four new options, Huan Huan chose the first one, just as she had agreed with her cousin.

Soon, the game's protagonist spoke.

Do the Cleaner need assistants?

Upon hearing this, the Cleaner paused in his mopping.

Then, he turned his head slightly to look at the protagonist, nodded, his expression flat, without any emotion on his face.

[Yes, I need an assistant. I'm too busy, it's too dirty and messy, I need an assistant. This current assistant isn't good enough, he's not good enough. You're perfect, you can work for me.]

Players:?

What does this mean exactly?

Does it really refer to things like cleaning?

Something doesn't feel right; it can't be that simple.

The viewers and fans in the live stream continued watching.

At this point, dialogue reappeared in the game.

1. What kind of job are you talking about?

2. Do you really have an assistant?

3. Why do you think I'm a good fit?

4. (Remaining silent)

Huan Huan chose the first one again.

The protagonist immediately spoke up as well.

[What kind of job are you talking about?]

This time, the Cleaner didn't stand up; instead, she answered while mopping the floor.

[You should take action and do the Cleaner you're supposed to do. Utilize his skills and get a job for me through the interview. It's too dirty, really too dirty. I can't even take a day off, I can't take a day off.]

After that, the conversation ended.

Huan Huan discovered that she could control it.

At the same time, another prompt appeared in the middle of the game.

Head to the station manager's office to find the switch wire mentioned by the Cleaner, A'Ti.

"The second quest is out. Is this a side quest or a main quest?"

Huan Huan murmured softly, then stepped forward to try and continue the conversation, wanting to learn more about this mysterious and daring the Cleaner.

But no matter what she did, there was no response.

The Cleaner in front of me reverted to humming a tango tune while leisurely mopping the floor.

He completely ignored the game protagonist standing next to him, acting as if he didn't exist.

"Brother, what do we do now? Do we do a mission?"

At this point, Zai Zong was also a little undecided. With such a high degree of freedom, it would be a disservice to the game to do quests without properly exploring it.

He glanced at the live stream, wanting to see if anyone had any suggestions, but found that the viewers and fans had differing opinions.

Some hoped that the Zai Zong turn back and go to the stationmaster's office as instructed by the Cleaner.

Some hoped that Zai Zong continue on his journey and go see the Z-FBC-0825 Illusion Helmet that triggered the Skyhill incident.

Some even suggested that the Zai Zong go find the W-FBC -0079 Control Room to see what kind of entity knew about the protagonist's ability to reload save files.

At this moment, the "three-way struggle" in the live broadcast room made Zai Zong ponder for a while.

Then, he tapped the table lightly, making up his mind.

That means we keep going forward, and no matter what, let's check out the Illusion Helmet first! Let's see what happens when we put this helmet on our heads!

So, following her cousin's instructions, Huan Huan nodded and walked past the Cleaner.

But then, the protagonist suddenly blurted out a sentence.

['Make good use of his abilities.' Was that the Cleaner just talking to me? Or did she use the wrong pronoun?]

The moment the protagonist finished speaking, the singing stopped.

Huan Huan immediately turned around to look, only to find that there was nothing behind her.