0022 Who Says Darts Can't Stab People?

Chen Jue had thought that only professional players who made videos could pull off abstract stone skips like that.

He'd never expected that after just five days of practice, he could do it too!

"It really is a low-level sport."

"The skill ceiling is really low!"

Chen Jue remembered an overseas paper about stone skipping that he'd seen online.

The paper mentioned that the number of times and the distance a stone skipped across the water depended on the stone's material, its angle of entry, and its initial speed after hitting the water.

As far as physical technique went, Chen Jue had already maxed it out, putting him on par with professional players.

If he wanted to skip stones over a hundred meters like the world record holder, or make them bounce more than three hundred times, he would have to work on the equipment.

First, he could go online and buy sculpted clay stones shaped like flower petals.

Second, he could work on the physical fundamentals—his wrists, fingers, and arm strength—to increase the stone's initial speed after it left his hand.

But Chen Jue didn't make a living from stone skipping. Even if he filmed himself and posted the videos online, he probably wouldn't get as much traffic as the world record holder.

It was a niche pastime, so few people followed it. Unless you were number one in the field, nobody cared about who came second or third.

Unless Chen Jue practiced for a while longer, reclaimed the world record, and generated some buzz for himself.

But when he thought of his social anxiety and how ordinary people generally didn't want to be in front of a camera, Chen Jue felt that he probably wasn't cut out to be a comedic content creator or a Douyin influencer.

Although these days, being an influencer was associated with making big money, only a tiny portion of society could bring themselves to earn a living that way.

Most people wanted nothing to do with it, or looked down on influencers. They only watched videos online for a bit of fun.

"Man!"

"I've got max-level stone-skipping skills, but nothing to do with them."

"This really is a useless skill." Chen Jue sat on the grass and rested for a while, then casually picked up a small stone by his feet and hurled it at a large tree in the distance.

He used his right hand again, and applied his max-level stone-skipping technique.

Thud! The stone spun through the air at tremendous speed before slamming into the tree trunk with a heavy thump.

The Attribute Panel in his field of vision actually popped up with another notification!

[ Ding~ ]

[Action meets requirements]

[Darts proficiency +1]

"Huh?"

"Throwing stones can raise my darts proficiency too?"

"Wait... I don't need a target or needle darts?" Chen Jue froze for a moment, then hurriedly got up from the grass.

He picked up a stone, aimed at the same tree, and threw another one.

Thud! It hit the trunk.

This time, the panel gave him an [Excellent] rating, and his darts proficiency went up by 2.

Unconvinced, Chen Jue tried several more times. As long as he stood far enough away and aimed carefully, the panel gave him +1 or +2 proficiency even when he threw stones with his right hand.

"Hang on... let me think this through..."

"Have I had it wrong all along? Is the panel's [Darts] skill not limited to internationally popular needle darts?" Chen Jue's thoughts finally fell into place, and he went online to look it up.

He discovered that the definition of darts varied from one part of the world to another.

In China, a country whose ancient cold weapons had once dominated the battlefield, darts were especially associated with self-defense and martial arts.

There were countless types, such as plum-blossom darts, swallow darts, Meteor Darts, and tassel darts.

There were also things like the Little Li Flying Dagger and Shaolin plum-blossom needles from works of fiction.

Of course, stones could also be used as darts.

For instance, Zhang Qing, nicknamed "Featherless Arrow" in Water Margin, used flying stones. He struck fifteen of the Liangshan heroes with pebbles, then joined Liangshan and took the sixteenth seat.

Chen Jue's technique for throwing stones with the stone-skipping motion was more or less similar to Zhang Qing's flying stones.

But in the panel's eyes, it seemed that whether he threw stones or some other kind of dart, it all counted as the [Darts] skill.

The British needle darts Chen Jue had practiced before were just one branch of the broader [Darts] category.

They had simply been promoted more successfully and professionalized, with their own set of competition rules.

Unlike the art of darts in China, which very few people ever took up.

After all, these days, it was difficult to popularize a niche sport without some kind of financial backing.

"So stone skipping counts as a kind of darts, then?"

"No wonder it triggered the [Skill Combination] prompt earlier." Chen Jue closed his phone with a quiet sigh, feeling that he'd learned yet another useless but interesting fact.

After figuring out a new way to practice, Chen Jue began to enjoy himself. He alternated between his left and right hands, using the trees as targets and the stones as darts, and practiced for a little while.

When he got too tired to move, he went back to Changhe Residential District to rest.

On Wednesday, he went to work as usual.

He'd already taken the day off yesterday, so skipping work again would be a bit hard to justify.

Chen Jue had no choice but to show up at the office on time and clock in.

He'd been exercising intensely for the past few days, and his body needed time to adapt. So he planned to balance work and rest by slacking off a little at the office.

Even though the company's funds had been stolen and it couldn't pay salaries for the time being, there were plenty of shareholders, the bosses were still around, and the company had a whole pile of quality assets. If he waited long enough, he'd eventually get his money.

But that naive hope didn't last through the morning. Chen Jue watched as his coworkers were called into the boss's office one after another.

Even his junior apprentice, Jiang Lin, was summoned to the general manager's office.

When Jiang Lin came out, he looked dazed. He hurried over to Chen Jue and whispered, "Brother Jue! The company isn't planning to pay the N+1 severance anymore!"

After hearing a heavily embellished account, Chen Jue got a general idea of what was going on.

The bosses had discussed it and decided that since there was no money in the company's accounts, they might as well come clean with the employees.

Taisheng Finance had originally planned to wind up next month. Now the chairman had run off, and there was no chance the shareholders would put in more money.

So the bosses had put their sights on the employees' severance pay, changing it from N+1 months to just one month's salary.

If the company paid the originally agreed N+1 to its fifty-odd employees, it would have to pay out several million.

But Taisheng Finance was out of money. How were they supposed to pay that?

So Zhou Yong and the others resorted to a mix of carrots and sticks. They pretended to help the employees find new jobs while threatening that anyone who refused to sign the revised severance agreement would get neither a job offer nor one month's compensation.

The company was shutting down, and the scandal had already broken. If they delayed paying wages for years, it would have nothing to do with them. They could wash their hands of the whole mess.

"You signed?"

Chen Jue looked at his naive apprentice. He saw Jiang Lin nod urgently, like a startled fawn. It was clearly his first time encountering this kind of workplace exploitation.

"Everyone who went in signed! And General Manager Zhou said that if we didn't, he'd make sure we couldn't work in this industry again," Jiang Lin replied with a bitter expression.

He only made 7,000 a month, so losing a month's salary would put a lot more pressure on his finances.

"You're still too young!" Chen Jue shook his head at the sight and didn't know what to say about this mess.

About half an hour later, it was Chen Jue's turn to enter the boss's office.

Zhou Yong was sitting on the sofa, brewing gongfu tea. Sister Li from Human Resources was there with him.

Then Chen Jue noticed the pile of severance agreements on the coffee table, each one stamped with a fingerprint and signed. He realized most of the employees had been duped by the bosses.

"Chen Jue, you know the situation, right?"

"You're a longtime employee, and you've always been reasonable. There's no money in the company's accounts right now, so we can't pay the severance. That's why we've revised the agreement."

"Take a look. If you agree, sign it, and I'll help you find a job at a guarantee company I know. I can refer your résumé, and you'll be able to start right away." Zhou Yong began appealing to their past relationship.

Chen Jue took the agreement and glanced over it. With a helpless expression, he said, "General Manager Zhou, don't bother finding me a job. I need to recover from an illness for a while."

"An illness?"

"Oh, right! Lili told me yesterday you took sick leave to get some tests done. How did they go?" Zhou Yong frowned, then immediately started asking after his health.

"The results weren't good. The doctor said I need two organs removed. Treatment will cost a lot, so I was waiting for the N+1 payout to come through before getting surgery." Chen Jue shrugged.

The boss was playing on their relationship, so Chen Jue played the pity card.

Besides, what Chen Jue said was true. Whether anyone believed him was their problem.

"It's that serious?"

Zhou Yong first showed some concern, then put on a troubled expression. "Chen Jue, the company really doesn't have any money right now. There'll be a lot of expenses when we wind things up. Once the rebate profits come back, the shareholders and I have discussed it, and there's no way we can keep paying everyone N+1."

"Unless we can get back the money Chairman Zhang took. But that's up to the authorities. We can't guarantee anything."

Watching Zhou Yong act as if he were washing his hands of everything, Chen Jue wanted to spit in his face.

When the trouble broke out two days ago, the authorities were there, and the bosses had sworn that wages would be paid as usual.

But as soon as the authorities were gone, they went back on their word.

It really showed that financial companies put profit above everything else.

Forget all that talk of workplace loyalty. Once you signed the severance agreement and walked out the door, chances were you'd never see them again.

"General Manager Zhou, if there's no N+1, I'm definitely not signing this severance agreement."

"The company's lack of money is a problem for you shareholders to figure out. If I don't get my compensation, I'll apply for labor arbitration. I have an employment contract, so you won't be able to get away with it just because the company's dissolved." Chen Jue spread his hands, looking just as helpless.

"Labor arbitration?"

"If we don't pay N+1, you'll sue us?"

"Chen Jue, we've worked together for almost four years. Do you really have to be so heartless?" Zhou Yong frowned and pretended to be surprised.

Sister Li chimed in, too, saying that the bosses had it tough, that the chairman had run off with the money, and that paying one month's salary was already the best they could do. She hoped Chen Jue, as a longtime employee, would be understanding.

Unfortunately, Chen Jue wasn't buying any of it. He kept insisting that he had it tough, too.

Of course, Chen Jue could more or less guess that Sister Li was guaranteed to get N+1, and that the bosses had probably promised her even more behind the scenes. Otherwise, she wouldn't be sticking up for them like this.

"If that's how it is, then there's nothing more to discuss. Go ahead and sue."

"With the company in its current state, a lawsuit could drag on for years or even decades. Don't expect to get a cent."

"If you dare sue us, the shareholders and I have some influence in Hang City. We'll make sure not a single guarantee company in Hang City will hire you again!"

When he saw that Chen Jue wouldn't budge and was set on getting the originally agreed severance, Zhou Yong dropped the act and let his ugly side show, threatening him outright.

His tone was especially forceful, as if he wielded enough power to ban Chen Jue from the entire industry with a single word.

Most people would probably have been scared into signing on the spot.

But Chen Jue had worked his way through the workplace to the age of nearly thirty. He'd seen all kinds of situations and wasn't afraid of a little verbal intimidation.

"General Manager Zhou, it's only a few tens of thousands. There's no need to make things so ugly."

"Besides, people should be like this pen: smooth when the time calls for it, and sharp when the time calls for it." Chen Jue picked up the ballpoint pen on the coffee table and toyed with it in his left hand.

"What are you trying to say?"

"You're agreeing to sign?"

Zhou Yong frowned, unable to follow Chen Jue's train of thought.

But the next second, there was a sharp pop. Zhou Yong's whole body prickled, as if he'd been shocked. The teacup in his hand tipped over onto the coffee table.

The ballpoint pen in Chen Jue's hand had already been thrown like a needle dart. It flew right past Zhou Yong's cheek and plunged into the leather sofa behind him.

The tip had pierced the sofa's upholstery, and half the pen had sunk inside.

That showed just how much force and accuracy he'd put into that throw!

Zhou Yong wasn't the only one stunned. Sister Li, who had been backing him up, shuddered and let out a couple of shrieks.

"You... you..."

"What are you doing?"

Zhou Yong had clawed his way up from nothing and was already in his forties. He'd been through plenty, so he quickly regained his composure, though his voice trembled as he challenged Chen Jue.

He'd never imagined that Chen Jue, a quiet, unassuming employee, would dare attack him to his face.

If that pen had veered just a little, it would have hit him right in the face!

The thought sent a chill through Zhou Yong.

That wasn't a ballpoint pen.

It was a deadly dart!

"I'm not trying to do anything. I just want the severance I'm entitled to."

"Since you just threatened me, I thought I'd give you a scare too. I didn't hurt you, so I'd say we're even."

Chen Jue spread his hands, then leaned back against the sofa and crossed his legs.

He felt much better after throwing the dart.

Even the +4 proficiency prompt that popped up on the panel looked a lot more pleasing.

"..."

Zhou Yong was still a little dazed, but when he heard Chen Jue say that, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He really had been afraid Chen Jue might hit him with that thing.

After all, Zhou Yong had a big business to look after. As a boss worth tens of millions, he had no reason to fight to the death over a low-level employee like Chen Jue.

Even if he didn't lose his life, getting hurt or disabled would hardly be worth it.

"Heh!"

"You're right. It's only a few tens of thousands. There's no need to make things so ugly." Zhou Yong forced out an awkward smile and hurriedly tidied up the coffee table.

"But the company really doesn't have any money right now, so we can't pay you in cash."

"Chen Jue, how about this? I'll come up with a compromise. Go to the loan-recovery department and take one of the used cars there that's worth about the same!" Zhou Yong changed his attitude and began discussing the severance Chen Jue was entitled to.

When he heard that the severance would be replaced with a car, Chen Jue first froze, then nodded in understanding. "All right, that works. Sister Li, update the contract and call me when it's ready for me to sign."

Sister Li, still shaken, didn't dare say anything else. She nodded timidly.

As he left the boss's office, Chen Jue suddenly remembered his earlier conversation with Lin Ling at the gym.

Who said darts could only be used to hit targets?

He'd grabbed a pen and thrown it like a dart to scare Zhou Yong. Now look how well-behaved the man was.

It worked much better than playing the pity card!

As for Zhou Yong and Sister Li, after watching Chen Jue leave, they stood around the pen embedded in the sofa, staring at it for a long time, still shaken.

"That's freaky!"

"Seriously freaky!"

Zhou Yong pulled out the pen and tried throwing it a couple of times himself, but the sofa leather bounced it right back out.

Seeing this, Zhou Yong became even more convinced that Chen Jue was hiding his true abilities. "Xiao Li, when we hired Chen Jue, did his résumé mention that he knew martial arts?"

"Martial arts? I've never heard anything about that!"

"We've worked together for four years..." Sister Li shook her head, looking completely baffled.

First update~

This chapter's a double, so I'm asking for votes while I'm at it!