Chapter 598 Nightfall

Chapter 598: Nightfall

Su Bai didn’t yet know the true purpose of the Jiaoxiang Memory Coffee Company, nor did he understand the secrets behind the eerie and bizarre behavior of the eerie entities within this building.

But he believed that the truth would eventually reveal itself bit by bit.

Like the fragments piecing together in his mind, though still incomplete, they would ultimately converge into a clear and complete picture.

Not long after, perhaps because all players had finished their day’s work, the headless receptionist appeared again at the entrance of the general department.

“Everyone, the company will now enter rest hours. You may choose to pay 10 points per person per day to rent the company dormitory, or stay in the office to spend the rest period.” The headless receptionist’s voice was actually quite pleasant, but her tone was very calm and indifferent, making it hard to detect any emotion in her words.

The reward for a C-level task was a mere 50 points. For ordinary newbie players like Lu Jinyan and Zhou Shirong, every single point had to be carefully budgeted. They hoped their points wouldn't end up negative by the end of the game, wished they wouldn’t go hungry these two months, and even dreamed of saving up some chances to pull ability blind boxes.

Naturally, no one was willing to blow 10 points on a place to crash.

As for veteran players like Pei Zhan and Wen Ya, they were gunning for the soft pity and hard pity, so they weren't about to waste points on dorms either.

The office had chairs, desks, and even couches. As long as they could endure it, they could manage somehow. Even crashing on the cold floor was better than burning points like that.

So among the ten players, only Wu Hang didn't hesitate to drop 1200 points to rent the company dormitory for himself and Su Bai for two months.

He made the call quick and clean, not giving a damn about the point cost.

That's when Su Bai realized why Wu Hang, who couldn't care less about ability blind boxes, the soft pity, or the hard pity, and had no need to pursue these things, had so boldly picked an S-level task.

He wasn’t planning to save points, nor was he aiming for any soft or hard pity—from the very beginning, he had no intention of hoarding them.

He earned big and spent just as freely.

All to make sure Su Bai could rest easy over the next two months, have a comfier setup, and not have to rough it in the office.

“Wait, points can be used to buy stuff for other people?!”

While the other players were still gawking at Wu Hang's lavish spending without a budget or regard for consequences, Pei Zhan blurted out, shocked.

“As long as you're willing.” The headless receptionist gave a slight nod. “With mutual consent, you can also come to the front desk for point transfers. The company takes a completely free and open stance on this.”

“…”

Hearing that, the general department went quiet for a beat.

Some players' expressions got complicated, as if they were quietly mulling something over.

After all... points being transferable opened up a lot of possibilities.

The headless receptionist didn't say another word and led Wu Hang and Su Bai out.

Once they were gone, the lights in the general department slowly dimmed, and eventually, the whole floor was plunged into pitch-black darkness.

Normally, players would've used this time to swap info, suss out each other's talents and abilities, and prepare for the next game.

But weirdly, as the lights dimmed, a strange drowsiness crept over everyone.

Nobody could fight it.

Fatigue quickly took over their minds, and the eight players conked out, whether sitting, sprawled, or curled up in their spots.

The whole 44th-floor office went dead quiet, save for the occasional tick of an old clock in the corner.

…

After who knows how long, a faint light quietly flickered on.

The front desk computer at Jiaoxiang Memory Coffee Company suddenly lit up, its screen glowing a sickly dark green.

The headless receptionist sat upright behind the desk, gracefully and gently working the old wired mouse, clicking open a program on the desktop.

Up on the screen popped a live surveillance feed of the general department.

In the footage, the eight players were scattered around, dead asleep—some leaning back in chairs, some slumped over desks, some curled up on the couches, totally still, like time had stopped.

The headless receptionist gently slid the mouse, switching the feed to check other departments on the 44th floor. The footage showed the other headless employees on the 44th floor had also conked out, just like the players.

But the headless receptionist didn't let up.

She tapped the keyboard, and the screen switched again, jumping to some unfamiliar floor's feed.

For some unknown reason, the headless receptionist was checking feeds from different floors and areas. Even though every player and every eerie entity in the footage seemed to be “asleep,” she stubbornly checked each one.

“Sis, you're still so dedicated.”

A voice came from the corridor beside the front desk. Standing there was the headless Manager Jiao, who had assigned tasks to Su Bai and the others earlier.

Hearing his voice, the headless receptionist paused slightly but didn't turn around. She kept quietly working the mouse, focused on scrolling through the feeds in front of her.

“Sis, I sensed the power of that great one in one of the new hires.”

Manager Jiao's tone was buzzing with excitement he could barely contain, his voice trembling a little, like he was holding back a deep longing and joy.

“Is it… is the Dream Builder about to return?” He pressed on eagerly, his voice rising a little with excitement. “When the great one returns, we won’t have to work so hard anymore, sis!”

As his words fell, Manager Jiao seemed to suddenly remember something. He paused, and his tone grew hesitant.

“But…” He stopped, his voice tinged with confusion. “How long has the great one been gone? A month? Three months? Surely not half a year already?”

Manager Jiao raised a hand and tapped his severed neck, like someone tapping their forehead to jog their memory.

“How… can’t I remember?” His tone became bewildered, his movements hesitant. “Sis, how can’t I remember?”

Manager Jiao took a hesitant half-step closer to the headless receptionist, as if hoping to get some confirmation from her.

“If I weren’t missing my head, I’d suspect I’d secretly drunk some coffee too.”

The next second, the headless manager suddenly straightened up, as if struck by some emotion. His voice lost its initial playfulness, becoming urgent and fearful.

“Sis…” Manager Jiao murmured, “How long has the Dream Builder been gone?”

“Why… why am I starting to forget what the great one looks like?”

Manager Jiao’s body began to tremble slightly, an uncontrollable fear seemingly seeping from his very bones. He clenched his hands helplessly, his voice growing faster and more panicked.

The headless receptionist finally stopped moving her mouse.

She didn’t turn around. Instead, she calmly opened the drawer beneath the front desk and took out a pre-prepared syringe.

The liquid inside the syringe was a thick brown, as dark as freshly ground bitter coffee.

The headless receptionist walked over to Manager Jiao, her movements crisp and decisive, without a hint of hesitation. She precisely plunged the syringe into Manager Jiao’s arm and steadily pushed all the liquid inside.

Manager Jiao's body suddenly went rigid in that instant, as if he had been frozen solid.

But a few seconds later, his movements returned to normal, and his expression snapped back to that same excited, animated state as before.

"Sister, you're still so on top of things."

"Sister, I sensed that master's power in one of the new employees."

As if nothing had just happened, Manager Jiao excitedly repeated the exact same words to the Headless Receptionist.

"Lord Dream Builder's gotta be close by; he'll be back any minute now." Manager Jiao's tone was light and cheerful, as if the fear, confusion, and doubt from a moment ago had never been there.

Finally, with a satisfied smile, he turned and strode away from the front desk.

The reception area fell silent once more, leaving only the Headless Receptionist sitting quietly, clicking the mouse as she continued scrolling through the surveillance footage on the computer screen.

In the darkness, her headless body gave a slight shift, as if she was thinking something over.

At last, she murmured softly, her voice drifting through the silent 44th floor—

"Even if Lord Dream Builder never returns, this building... no, this prison, has to keep running."