Chapter 596 Depletion of Strength

Chapter 596: Power Depletion

Pei Zhan wanted to press further about the A-level task, but before he could speak, he saw Su Bai already faltering and leaning toward Wu Hang.

Boss Su had always valued dignity; even when weak, he wouldn't want to be carried around or appear too disheveled in front of other players. Pushing through his unhealed body to this point was already his limit.

Wu Hang clearly understood this as well. He reached out to support Su Bai's waist, guiding him back to the sofa with a gentle, natural motion. He carefully made sure Su Bai was seated steadily before turning and walking into the manager's office.

Within a minute, Wu Hang emerged holding a red clipboard and returned to sit beside Su Bai.

Unlike the other players' cautious hesitation, Su Bai and Wu Hang had each taken on an A-level and an S-level task, without any hesitation or probing.

Strangely, the task Wu Hang received from the Headless Manager was very similar to Wen Ya's: deliver 10 cups of 'Midnight Memory Special Blend' to the 56th floor and personally watch all the guests drink the coffee.

The floor had changed, and the number of coffees to deliver had even decreased.

For a moment, the level and difficulty of the tasks became an unknown to the players. For Pei Zhan, who had been assigned the task of cleaning the restroom, he even felt that the Eerie Entities were toying with them. His fingers were pressing the clipboard edge so hard they went white.

"All employees who have received their tasks, please complete them before the time runs out. Failure to do so will result in task failure."

Just as everyone had received their tasks, the familiar receptionist walked back into the general affairs department and gestured toward the clock on the wall.

At first glance, the clock on the wall seemed unremarkable, but upon closer inspection, the clock face had 24 numbers engraved on it. The hands moved clockwise but went from the largest number to the smallest—a clear countdown.

At that moment, the hour hand was pointing to the number "5," as if indicating that only five hours remained until the end of the day.

"And this." The Headless Receptionist placed another piece of paper on the desk near the entrance.

"Hey, we've only been here for an hour or two! How is there only five hours left in the day?!" Xiong Yi shouted at the Headless Receptionist.

But the receptionist didn't get angry or respond, as if she couldn't hear him at all, and simply turned and left.

"This looks like a map of the 44th floor," Lu Jinyan said, walking over to glance at it, speaking in a low voice. "The warehouse, kitchen, and dormitory locations are all marked."

"Where'd you suddenly pop up from?" Xiong Yi jumped, his brows furrowing.

"Sorry, I naturally have a weak presence," Lu Jinyan said, scratching the back of his head apologetically.

But at this point, the players who had just received their tasks had no mood to keep chatting. They had to make the most of the remaining five hours to complete their work.

Except for Su Bai, who could stay in the general affairs department to slowly brew coffee, Pei Zhan, Wen Ya, and Wu Hang had to take the elevator to other floors to finish their tasks. While the other players' tasks could be completed on the 44th floor, Lu Jinyan, Bai Qi, and Xiong Yi had all received tasks to organize the warehouse and take inventory, while Shen Guanlan and Chu Qianren were responsible for cleaning the company's long-unused kitchen and dining hall.

So soon, the entire general affairs department was left with only Su Bai and the Headless Manager, who remained in his office without any movement.

Before leaving, Wu Hang only said he would be quick and didn't offer any additional instructions.

Su Bai wasn't surprised by this. Wu Hang wasn't the type to be overly cautious, nor would he treat Su Bai like a fragile porcelain doll, coddling him excessively.

If Wu Hang had done that, Su Bai would have been annoyed instead. After all, he was just physically weak, not lacking in combat ability. If some foolhardy entity came looking for trouble now, Xiao Huo could have a feast.

In fact, although Boss Su could barely stand steady at the moment, he was actually itching for a good, intense battle.

During his slumber, Su Bai had been in a state of Meditation, and with the addition of the power from the Eerie Tree within his body, he had gained new insights into his abilities. He now stood outside a "door," gripping the "doorknob" tightly, as if just one step away from opening it and stepping inside.

But taking that step wasn't simple. It wasn't something he could achieve by leaning against Wu Hang or brewing a few cups of coffee.

Even with his current body, he longed for a battle—a battle that belonged to him.

A battle where he didn't need to rely on puzzle pieces or stand by and watch. A battle that was his own—exhilarating and unrestrained!

Thinking this, his fingers curled slightly, his heartbeat quickening. To calm himself, he rested against the edge of the table for a moment before adjusting his state and continuing to brew the coffee required by the task.

Jiao Xiang Memory was supposedly a coffee company, but as Su Bai glanced down at the brewing instructions next to the coffee machine, it seemed the company only sold one type of coffee: "Midnight Memory Special Blend." Moreover, the beans in the machine emitted a strange, unfamiliar smell, lacking the aroma of coffee.

According to the instructions, "Midnight Memory Special Blend" was further divided into three specifications: regular, double concentrate, and triple concentrate.

Regular coffee was for guests on floors 1 to 43, double concentrate was favored by guests on floors 45 to 55, and triple concentrate was only for guests on floors 56 to 66.

Reading this information, Su Bai frowned slightly.

To him, this didn't seem like a difference in coffee flavors but rather like preparing different doses of some kind of potion based on the characteristics of the "guests" on different floors.

The strange thought flashed through his mind, but he eventually suppressed it and continued brewing regular coffee.

...

When the countdown on the wall clock hit "3," the players who had completed their tasks gradually returned to the general affairs department. Those who had organized the warehouse, kitchen, and dormitory seemed unharmed, though they looked pretty wiped out.

Pei Zhan looked terrible but was otherwise fine, nor any strange smell.

Wen Ya was in slightly better condition than Pei Zhan, but after returning, she said, sounding a bit bored, "This building feels so weird. The game company on the 24th floor is full of vengeful spirits and evil ghosts, with blood dripping all over the floor, but those things actually treat themselves like company employees. When I delivered the coffee, a few guys that looked like programmers were almost passing out from overwork. I don't know how long they'd been pulling overtime."

Having been in the game for a while, Wen Ya was no longer as aloof as when they first met. Though she still didn't give Pei Zhan and the other two a friendly look, she didn't put on airs when talking to Shen Guanlan and the others.

Su Bai hadn't left the 44th floor yet, but from Wen Ya's words, it seemed other floors in the building had companies too, and the Eerie Entities there, like Manager Jiao and the other headless humanoids, were clearly eerie beings but worked like humans?

After a while, Wu Hang, clad in a black cloak, also entered the general affairs department.

Seeing Wu Hang appear, Pei Zhan and Wen Ya let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't because they were particularly worried about Wu Hang's safety, but because Wu Hang's initial points, though high, were only slightly above Pei Zhan's.

Since Wu Hang could safely complete an S-level task, even Pei Zhan—let alone Wen Ya—might have a chance to complete an S-level task if they really pushed it.

At this moment, only Su Bai could tell something was off with Wu Hang.

Su Bai's body was weak, but the power within him was now completely different from before. Even though the building was thick with the chaotic aura of the Red Moon, he could still precisely sense the flow and fluctuation of power in each player.

And now, Su Bai could clearly detect a drain of power in Wu Hang's shell.

After all, this was just an ordinary puppet made by Wu Hang. The real Lord Ghost Witch's body was likely far away in Mist Mountain, closed to visitors. So the Red Moon power in this puppet was limited, and now nearly half of it had been used up.

What had Wu Hang run into on the 56th floor?

Su Bai wanted to ask, but when Wu Hang walked up to him, Su Bai, sitting there, looked up and saw a faint but alarming crack on Wu Hang's face under the cloak.

It was a pale white line extending from his cheekbone to his ear, like the start of a crack in porcelain.

Wu Hang's expression didn't change. Maybe for someone using a puppet shell, damage didn't hurt and didn't affect basic movement.

This new shell of his could hold limited power, had fragile joints, and its head could fall off anytime, but it was more human-like than other puppets, making it easier to stay by Su Bai's side.

Wu Hang didn't mind, but Su Bai's eyes darkened in an instant, and he reached out and grabbed him firmly.

When Wu Hang met Su Bai's gaze, he saw that the already weak man had gone even paler, and a hint of blood-red flickered in his usually gentle and calm eyes.

"Don't worry, I just consumed some power," Wu Hang said, his tone stiff, since he wasn't good at comforting others. "It'll fix itself once the power comes back. It just needs some time... mm—"

Before he could finish.

Su Bai suddenly stood up, wrapping his arms around Wu Hang's neck, and as Wu Hang froze, a little surprised, he stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

No hesitation, no warning.

A faint, subtle rustling sound came from the folds of the cloak.

Su Bai told himself clearly that he did this because the puppet would recover power slowly, and the fastest way was for Su Bai to funnel his own power into Wu Hang's shell.

Nothing more.