So This Is Why You Were Late?

"The blanket turned into a demon and sealed me away!"

Li Si looked at Gwen with a serious expression.

"So this is why you were late?"

Gwen held the statistics sheet against her chest, expressionless, with a pen in one hand.

After staying up all night doing something stupid, Li Si had been late to work today, just as expected.

Fortunately, interns whose identities hadn't yet been entered into the system didn't have to clock in. And since Gwen was the intern team leader responsible for compiling the roster, he managed to escape punishment through the shameful back door.

Max, however, probably wouldn't be so lucky. His supervisor already liked picking on him, and Max had talked back to him after work yesterday. Now the supervisor had caught him being late today too... Well, let's observe five minutes of silence for Max.

Morning: Killing time.

Noon: Killi—uh, couldn't kill time at noon. At noon, all he could do was get lunch and then face Gwen's stern expression.

"Gwen, if you have something to say, just say it. Could you stop looking at me like that? You're kind of scaring me..."

Sitting across from Gwen in the cafeteria, Li Si gave an awkward grin after being glared at for several minutes.

"Li, it's only your second day at work, and you're already late. If you want to become a full-time employee, you need to take this seriously. And you've been far too relaxed at work. A lot of your coworkers have been talking about you..."

Gwen's expression softened a little, but the way she spoke made it hard not to picture a mother scolding her son.

The pressure was getting to Li Si, so he raised both hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I promise I won't be late again. I'll work hard to become a full-time employee."

"More importantly, you need to focus on your work. Even if you've finished your tasks, you should try to keep yourself busy. Otherwise, people will easily get the wrong impression."

Gwen seriously shared her workplace wisdom. Only after she finished did she say, "Sorry, I..."

"You don't need to apologize, Gwen. I'm happy to listen to you."

Li Si reached out to interrupt her, grinning. "I know you care about me. You don't want the company to fire me."

"Who doesn't want you to get fired!"

Gwen shot Li Si a reproachful look.

"A beautiful blonde, of course. Heh."

Li Si smiled and stared straight at Gwen.

He kept staring until her face slowly turned red. Then he spoke with confidence. "Gwen, actually, you don't need to worry about any of that. I think I'll be a full-time assistant just like you in a week or two at most."

"A week or two? Why?" Gwen was taken aback.

"How have Dr. Connors's experiments been going lately?" Li Si set down his fork and wiped his lips with a napkin.

Gwen shook her head. "Not well. The doctor got an idea while interviewing you and changed the direction of his research, but, just like before, he's stuck on a key formula."

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

Li Si smiled. "The doctor's experiment has hit a wall, so naturally, he'll think of me—the person who gave him the inspiration. If all goes as expected, he'll bring me in to help with the experiment once this one's finished. Becoming a full-time employee will follow naturally."

"How can you be sure the doctor will think you can help him solve the problem?"

Gwen continued eating in small, elegant bites. When she stopped, the skeptical look on her face was unmistakable.

"It's just a little quirk in the way people think. Besides, making me a full-time employee costs him nothing. Betting on the chance seems like a pretty good deal, doesn't it?"

Li Si shrugged and picked up a napkin beside him, handing it over.

Seeing that Gwen still wasn't convinced, he grinned and suggested, "How about we make a bet? The loser has to go to the movies with me."

"What if you lose?"

Gwen raised an eyebrow, noncommittal.

"If I lose, I'll make the sacrifice and go to the movies with you. Of course, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to add anything else."

Li Si acted as if she were the one getting a great deal, earning himself another eye roll and completing his Hyuga bloodline.

Lunch break ended.

The afternoon was more of the same. He listlessly used work hours to write the control program for the Transformer.

Only when it was time to leave did Li Si stretch and stand up. He looked as if he'd just downed five cans of Red Bull, full of energy. Carrying a large black backpack, he left Oscorp Tower and headed straight for the nearby Osir Tower.

Osir Tower was an office building with floors available for rent. It had all the necessary facilities, but for some reason it seemed deserted. Most of the floors were empty, and the entire building was practically half-abandoned.

That had nothing to do with Li Si, though. He only wanted to do a little business in the rarely visited underground parking garage.

He made his way down the stairs at an unhurried pace. The bright daylight gave way to dim yellow lights. Just as Li Si squinted and waited for his eyes to adjust, five figures who had been impatiently waiting hurried over to him.

Hao Bruce Player, Wang Ze Player, Jack Frank Player, Ye Lin Player, Ye Xi Player.

Five people, four men and one woman, all with bright green names above their heads.

"Boss, what took you so long? I thought you weren't coming!"

Li Hao rushed to greet him. The anxious look on his face had turned to delight. "Quick, quick! I've got enough money now. Give me the stuff!"

"What's the rush? Wait until I've set up my stall."

Li Si glanced at him and lazily pulled a blue picnic blanket out of his backpack, spreading it on the ground. Then he took out the items one by one.

He arranged them on the blue picnic blanket. Exactly ten pieces of shoddily made Thunder King Set gear.

"So many?"

Li Hao beamed and reached down to pick up a set.

Li Si lazily slapped his hand away, raised his eyelids, and said, "Where's the money?"

"Right here, right here. I may lack a lot of things, but money isn't one of them."

Li Hao paid generously, tossing over two thick bundles and one thin bundle of cash. Then he happily started pulling the ragged clothes over his head.

"Mouse, you rushed over here just to buy this set of beggar's rags?"

"This is the super equipment you were talking about?"

The three men and one woman who had come with Li Hao had been silent off to one side. Seeing him put on a beggar's outfit made of rags and wires, they all looked at him suspiciously.

The girl even sniffed the clothes, covered her nose, and turned away.

"Tch, what do you know? Check the stats yourself."

Li Hao put on the clothes and gloves, instantly feeling great about himself. He glanced at the others and waved one hand in the air, sending them the stats panel.

"Holy crap!"

"Damn!"

"How can this pile of junk have stats that good?"

The three men cursed in unison, and even the short-haired female player's eyes flashed with interest.

Especially after seeing Li Hao's punches and kicks make the air whistle, the three men exchanged glances. Then, with grim expressions, they surrounded him.

"Y-You guys, what are you doing?"

Seeing their faces, Li Hao nervously backed away a few steps.

"Give the money back!"

"Mouse, that's not cool. We lent you money without a second thought, but you hid this from us and kept the whole thing secret."

The three men glared at Li Hao through gritted teeth.

"Ahem, we all started with the same amount of money. I was afraid you wouldn't lend me any."

Li Hao coughed a few times and gave them an awkward grin. "Don't worry. I've already got someone buying game currency for me. In a few days, I'll make sure each of you gets a set. Xi Xi too!"

"In a few days, why would we need you to buy it?"

"Come on, I did help you find the hidden merchant. There's only one in the entire game right now..."

"You're still making excuses? Let's get him, boys!"

With a shout, the four of them immediately fell to fighting.

But then a clear, out-of-place voice rang out. "Boss, how much for one set? I'll buy one. Also, can you alter the appearance? I can pay an extra fee for the modifications."

"Holy crap!"

"Xi Xi, where did you get all that money?"

At the sound of her voice, the four of them froze. Their eyes widened like saucers as they stared at the girl who had come with them.

"I saved it. My brother usually pays for my food and drinks."

The player Ye Xi blinked innocently.

"..."

"..."

The entire underground parking garage fell silent. You could've heard a pin drop.

Li Si didn't care about any of them. Hearing that he'd made another sale, he immediately beamed. "The two pieces make a set, so that's twenty-six thousand. The fee to alter it into tight-fitting underwear is two thousand. That'll be twenty-eight thousand dollars, please. Pay upfront, and it'll be ready next weekend."

"..."

"You profiteer..."

"So you had another trap waiting for us..."