A Game That Sparks Deep Thought

"This office is completely empty, with only Stanley left. So where did everyone else go?"

Xia Xiao expressed confusion about the story's setting, while also feeling creeped out by the music.

"Tch, this developer must have some screws loose. A perfectly fine game, why make it so terrifying?"

Wang Chuan: Ah-choo~ Ah-choo~

Finally, the character arrived at a room with two doors, requiring a choice.

"Hmm, two doors. Men left, women right—but I'm not picking right."

Xia Xiao muttered to herself before choosing the left door.

She controlled the game character with extreme caution, stopping every few steps to check, afraid a trap might suddenly spring out.

Yet, nothing happened along the way.

"But still, not a single person in sight~"

"Stanley found it hard to believe. He decided to go to the boss's office, hoping to find answers there."

At this point, the belated narrator finally chimed in with his lines.

"Damn, are you messing with me? Picking left got me nothing? And now you want me to go to the boss's office?"

Faced with this screwed-up outcome, even Xia Xiao, who usually carried herself like a goddess, couldn't help but curse.

Clearly, she was furious inside.

Beside her, Xiao Chen blinked in confusion. What just happened?

Did the goddess just curse? No way, no way—how could the goddess curse? It must be an illusion.

He shook his head and looked at Xia Xiao with a gentle gaze.

Xia Xiao wrestled with herself internally. She didn't want to follow the narrator's instructions, but if she didn't, she wouldn't know how to proceed. In the end, she decided to go along with the narrator.

It's just going to the office, fine. Let's see what you can do to this young lady.

After passing through a long staircase, Xia Xiao finally reached her destination.

"As expected, bosses are all vampires—enjoying themselves in comfort while the employees suffer."

Looking at the decor here, completely different from downstairs and extravagantly designed, Xia Xiao couldn't help but complain.

The moment she finished speaking, she quickly covered her mouth and glanced around warily.

Finding that no one except Xiao Chen was paying attention to her, she breathed a sigh of relief.

As for Xiao Chen? Hmph, zero threat~~

Stanley arrived at the boss's office, but before Xia Xiao could search around, the narrator chimed in belatedly again, reciting his lines.

"Walking into the manager's office, Stanley was shocked to find no signs of life here either."

"What does this mean?" Stanley asked loudly, to the empty room.

Uh, maybe it means the manager went bankrupt and ran off with his mistress?

Xia Xiao controlled the game character to look around while silently complaining in her mind.

"He began frantically flipping through the papers on the boss's desk, desperate to find clues that could explain this situation."

Well then, get to flipping~~

Xia Xiao looked at the game screen, where Stanley remained motionless, and couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"But his attention was drawn to a keyboard behind the boss's desk. What was it for?"

Oh? Finally found something. But what's the use of this keyboard?

Following the narrator's prompt, Xia Xiao moved closer to the keyboard, observing it carefully, trying to find the key point.

"In fact, the terrible secret guarded by this keyboard was buried right beneath his feet. So the boss set a particularly hidden password: 2-8-4-5."

"But, of course, Stanley couldn't possibly know this."

Uh, no, he already does. It's 2845.

Xia Xiao's heart was calm as still water. She was already beyond complaining at this point.

First, you blurt out the password, then you say no one could know it. Brilliant~~

"Whatever, I wonder what's behind it? Treasure? Aliens? The manager and all the employees throwing a surprise party?"

She casually entered the password, while guessing wildly in her mind.

"But incredibly, Stanley just randomly mashed the keyboard and, by sheer luck, entered the correct password. Truly astonishing."

You literally just said it out loud~~~

Xia Xiao's mouth twitched uncontrollably. She didn't even know what to say anymore. This narrator...

Click!

Suddenly, a wall beside her began to move, and a new passage appeared before her eyes.

This hidden passage looked like an abandoned warehouse, with sunlight-style lamps shining on the other side.

"Hey, it's gloomy in here. Clearly not a good place."

Xia Xiao controlled her game character, walking cautiously.

She was a girl too, and she was still pretty scared of things like this.

Looking around, she found a retro elevator platform. After stepping inside, the screen went black.

In the blink of an eye, she arrived at a new passage lined with pipe railings.

"Where am I now? Am I going to get lost later?"

Xia Xiao complained while maneuvering her character.

She realized that after playing this game, her skill at griping had improved.

"Stanley walks straight ahead to a large door, which reads: 'Mind Control Facility.'"

Ooh, finally here!

Xia Xiao got a little excited and hurried forward. After passing through a pitch-black corridor, she reached a platform.

Turning on the lights, she discovered that this enormous room was packed with TV screens.

"What is this?"

Xia Xiao found it hard to believe as she looked at the numbers on each TV screen.

She thought back to the workstations she'd seen at the beginning, with those numbers on every seat.

Just then, the Narrator appeared, confirming her guess.

"So it really is—every TV screen corresponds to an employee. Is this a monitor?"

Xia Xiao felt a surge of anger. This company was way too much. Did the employees have no freedom at all?

At the same time, a chill crept into her heart. She suddenly wondered—was she being watched right now?

"This... this is too terrifying."

As the game character continued exploring and the Narrator kept dropping hints, Xia Xiao discovered in horror that this 'Mind Control Facility' really could control minds.

"But here's the evidence—the core of the control system. Buttons labeled with emotions: 'Happy,' 'Sad,' or 'Content.'"

Sure enough, that was exactly it.

The Narrator's lines appeared again, but Xia Xiao could no longer pay attention.

She couldn't stop herself from thinking—what if this was real?

What if she herself was under the control of a machine like this?

Eating, working, resting—everything controlled. Wouldn't that feel worse than death?

No, that can't be. This has to be stopped!

Following the Narrator's prompts, Xia Xiao arrived at the Power Supply Room.

At the end of the passage, she found two buttons.

And this was also a choice.