Although Shen Yu could use the combat technique Dash, it consumed enormous amounts of stamina, and the Rest Room was a long way from Spider Bud's Containment Room.
To save time, Shen Yu decisively extended his right hand and used Hornet's combat technique, [Thread Dance].
With a thought, a fine thread shot from the palm of the Red Eyes glove on Shen Yu's right hand and stuck to the ceiling overhead.
Shen Yu tugged, and his body shot forward. But he used too much force and flew straight past Spider Bud's Containment Unit, only managing to get inside by immediately using Aerial Thrust.
The Mother Spider descended in front of the panicking Terry, hooking silk out of her abdomen with her legs to wrap him up.
Just then, a scythe wrapped in silk came flying over. After slashing one of her legs, it immediately transformed into a grappling hook and wound around Terry along with the thread.
With a tug from Shen Yu, Terry abruptly flew out of the Mother Spider's attack range, then landed outside the Containment Room with a thud and a cry of pain.
Uh, I should find some time to go to Godhome and practice with Miss Hornet. These beginner techniques are seriously hard to use.
Shen Yu rubbed his left knee, which he had just banged against the floor, and sighed before looking up at the Mother Spider.
She was just as ferocious as before.
Only then did Shen Yu realize that he had been in such a hurry that he had forgotten to bring Little Knight.
Shen Yu transformed Lonesome back into a scythe and braced himself.
The Mother Spider's red eyes scanned Shen Yu before finally settling on the powerful flashlight Harvey had given him. All her memories of the last encounter came flooding back, and her legs trembled involuntarily.
Just as Shen Yu thought she was about to go berserk and prepared to leave the Containment Unit with Backstep-
The Mother Spider swiftly climbed back onto the ceiling, immediately spat out silk, and hooked it with her legs to cover every one of her eyes, finally turning herself into an enormous spider cocoon.
Is that really necessary? Shen Yu stared at the Mother Spider, who had shut herself away, feeling utterly baffled. Did I go too far last time?
"Where did you just run off to?" Harvey asked Shen Yu as he emerged from the Containment Room, looking at Terry, who was babbling in panic.
"To save this guy." Shen Yu pointed at Terry and noticed that Harvey was carrying two cases, one long and one short, with warning labels on them.
"Here. The E.G.O. the higher-ups issued you." Harvey set the two cases in front of Shen Yu and dusted off his hands.
Actually, I issued it to myself, Shen Yu quipped inwardly. He opened the cases, took out the wristwatch on top and put it on, then equipped the Frost-White Robe and Ice Crystal Spear.
"Tsk." Harvey could not help feeling a little envious as he looked at Shen Yu's E.G.O. equipment. "I had to work my way up to level IV before I got that set. You've already got it at level I."
Despite what Harvey said, he thought it was only natural.
Not only had Shen Yu saved him and his friends, but with those Anti-Physics Combat Techniques of his, he could have equipped ALEPH gear right then and there without any issue.
Harvey chuckled, handed Shen Yu a Control Department armband, and reminded him:
"I know your techniques are impressive, but remember, techniques won't necessarily save your life in this company. Also, the head of the Control Department is extremely strict. Be careful you don't get fired for making a mistake."
"Got it." Shen Yu nodded and headed toward the distant elevator with Little Knight in his arms.
"One more thing."
"What?"
"Thank you for saving Jonah and Ayla from our department." Harvey stepped forward, glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then quickly handed Shen Yu a book and whispered:
"This is a novel passed down from the Old Era. Several printing houses in my part of the Backstreets have stopped publishing it. It took me a lot of effort to get my hands on it, so don't let the higher-ups catch you with it."
"Well, thanks." Shen Yu tucked the book into his robe, nodded in acknowledgment, and entered the elevator.
"Keep it up. Make level V as soon as you can." Harvey helped Terry, who was still babbling, up from the floor and offered Shen Yu some encouragement.
Shen Yu could not help giving a wry smile. Originally, he had wanted to use LOB Points to raise his main body straight to level V. But those infernal Abnormalities needed babysitters.
[Singing Machine] needed an employee with high Temperance and Fortitude below 3, or he could simply ignore it. The employee assigned to [Plague Doctor] needed moderate Temperance, keeping the result at Good to ensure no blessing was bestowed.
[Nameless Fetus] needed consistent Best results to keep its counter from dropping, so extremely high Temperance was required to handle Meltdowns.
[Land-Dwelling Anglerfish] was the opposite. It needed an employee with low Temperance to ensure the work lasted at least forty seconds, but if their Temperance was too low and the work result was Bad, it would still escape.
Besides needing babysitters, there were also a whole slew of mechanics that were extremely unfriendly to a goldfish-brained Manager like him.
Employees who worked with Little Red Riding Hood or were injured by her were forbidden from entering the Big Bad Wolf's Containment Room. He also had to keep the number of Abnormality escapes below three per day...
Employees below level V would panic on the spot upon seeing [Data Deleted].
Finally, he just had to remember to visit [The Parasite Tree]'s Containment Room once every five work sessions, then collect tickets at regular intervals.
Fortunately, while sorting things out, he discovered that a god-tier employee was still alive in the Security Department.
Ron: employee level V, Health 99, Sanity 108 Movement speed: 8 Fortitude V, Prudence V, Temperance V, Justice V E.G.O. equipment: Weapon: CENSORED (Data Deleted), ALEPH, Black Template: special Attack: 15-30, speed: fast, range: short Special abilities: When attacking, this weapon has a 10% chance of performing a special attack. The wielder raises the weapon and briefly charges it, then thrusts forward rapidly once charging is complete, dealing three instances of 15-30 Black damage to all hostile units within a range of 10 in front of them. ※ When the wielder of this weapon takes damage that does not kill them outright or cause them to panic, they immediately receive healing corresponding to the damage type, equal to 40% of the damage taken. Armor: Adoration, ALEPH Resistances: Red 0.3, White 0.6, Black 0.3, Pale 1 Accessories: CENSORED (eyes), Sanity +10; Hypocrisy (headwear), Health and Sanity +3
But Mommy Adoration was nowhere to be seen in the Containment Units.
"So the previous Manager knew how to return things, huh? You bastard, did you deliberately pick this bunch to screw me over?"
Well, they might have been passed down by the Manager before that. After all, Managers changed fairly frequently in Lobotomy Corporation's story.
Since he had a god-tier employee, he could work a little overtime today and train up a batch of high-level employees.
Right, what are my stats now? The thought suddenly occurred to Shen Yu, and he controlled Manager X to bring up his main body's information.
Shen Yu: employee level I, Health: 20, Sanity: 29 Fortitude I, Prudence I, Temperance I, Justice I Movement speed: 10 E.G.O. Weapons: Frost Shard: HE, White, template: spear Attack: 6-12, attack speed: fast, range: medium Red Eyes: THTE, Red, template: other (gloves) Attack power: 1-2, speed: fast, attack range: long Special abilities: error, system unable to determine Lonesome: THTE, White, template: Cannon (flashlight) Attack power: 1-2, attack speed: extremely slow, range: long (15) Special abilities: error, system unable to determine E.G.O. armor: Frost Shard: Resistances: Red 1.3, White 0.6, Black 0.8, Pale 1.5
Lobotomy Corporation's system really isn't up to scratch. It can't even identify or display the effects of E.G.O. awakening and manifestation.
But that made sense. Apart from Red Sister and himself, there really were no other employees capable of unleashing E.G.O.'s potential. Most just used it as a club.
As for the E.G.O. armor [Lonesome], he had already turned it into a tag hanging from the flashlight. Shen Yu had wanted to try wearing two layers, but both pieces of armor were weak to Red damage, so wearing them together would only make him suffer.
These stats are pretty ordinary, X sighed as he looked at his main body's attributes. Why couldn't I get a 999 or something?
Wait, isn't an employee's base speed 4? Why is mine higher than a level V employee's? Oh, right, I got [Speed Boost] after attuning with Hornet.
That means the gains from attunement in Godhome carry over to the gains from working in Lobotomy Corporation. I should work some overtime today, raise my stats, and take on Godhome to learn some other combat techniques.
Shen Yu walked slowly while controlling his light Doppelganger, X, to make adjustments to the company. As a result, some time had already passed by the time he reached the Control Department.
Looks like I'm pretty early, Shen Yu mused as he left the elevator and looked at the empty corridor, then headed to the Training Team's assembly area.
Only after entering did he understand why there was no one in the corridor. Every employee had already assembled here, standing straight and looking directly ahead.
Shen Yu immediately had a bad feeling. Following their gazes, he saw a child-sized robot standing in the center.
She had slender limbs and a square, brown body, with a golden Mechanical Eye in its center surveying everyone coldly. Behind her was a diagram of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. (Image)
She held a thick notebook in her right hand and recorded things with a pen in her left. Yet the text on the screen at the top matched the sephirah at the root of the Tree of Life: Malkuth (Kingdom: material existence, the level of human life).
Malkuth turned toward Shen Yu, and a voice utterly unlike her body, sounding like that of a real human, came from her mouth:
"Oh, let me introduce you all. This is our new employee, Shen Yu."
After speaking, Malkuth opened her notebook, added a mark at the bottom of the table with her pen, then said to Shen Yu:
"Welcome to the Control Department, employee S1111. This is your first time being late. Since it's your first offense, I won't pursue it for now. Also, I need you to explain what you're holding in your arms."
Before you continue