Chapter 27

Chapter 27

As the Dormitory Selection Officer responsible for managing the daily lives of the trainees, Su Ximu stood in the third row from the left, listening to the casual chatter of his colleagues.

One of them, an older man who seemed quite experienced, was imparting his wisdom to the others.

"Patrol the dorms at least five times every night. If you catch any trainee still awake, just take them out!" The deceptively honest-looking older man made a sharp chopping motion with his hand, implying such trainees should be handled ruthlessly, without mercy.

"During the day, conduct surprise cleanliness checks at least three times. If you find any trainee who hasn’t cleaned their dorm properly, just—"

Another fierce chopping gesture sliced through the air.

The instance not only imposed restrictions on players but also had rules for the supernaturals within it—namely, the Employee Handbook.

The two most universal rules were:

1. Only take action against players who violate the rules.

2. Stay in character. During the instance’s operation, only behave in ways consistent with your role and profession.

These were the main points. However, depending on the personality of the instance’s master, the strictness of these rules could differ somewhat.

For example, in the previous Wang Family Courtyard instance, the Faceless Ghost, the former instance master, was particularly nitpicky. The anomalies under his command were like marionettes, forever confined to their two lines of dialogue.

The lantern-lighting servant could only light lanterns, and the foot-massaging maid could only massage feet.

Compared to Wang Family Courtyard, *Tonight's Big Star* was slightly more flexible, but not by much.

From the moment everyone was called over the PA system to gather under the neon sign, all staff present felt the familiar restrictions of the instance descend upon them.

Unless there was an anomaly among them stronger than the instance master, any employee violating the Employee Handbook would face severe consequences.

So, this experienced senior colleague only used gestures to hint at his fellow colleagues.

Recalling the agonized pleas of the "little ants" who had suffered under his hands, the honest-faced middle-aged man suppressed his trembling excitement and revealed a cruel smile.

"And remember to weigh the trainees every day. Trainees who can’t even manage themselves don’t deserve a debut spot. However much weight they gain, they must lose it. If they can’t vomit it up, then cut it off…"

At this point, a newbie asked, "Brother Gao, isn’t *Tonight's Big Star* promoted as a groundbreaking talent show? With your experience, where did you learn all this?"

The honest-faced middle-aged man, Brother Gao, didn’t avoid the question and shrugged. "My previous boss was incompetent. He spent over half a year preparing the show, but it fell through because no investors were interested."

To make matters worse, an anomaly who had seen his former boss’s project plan copied a similar show after the project failed.

That show was the current *Tonight's Big Star*.

All his experience came from the training he received under his former boss.

It was only today that it finally came in handy.

He even subtly shifted his position, hiding slightly within the neighboring fourth-row logistics team.

Exchanging a glance with Group Leader Lan242, who was quietly moving closer, he thought to himself: Thank goodness he met Group Leader Lan242 during his first job. Otherwise, he’d have no friends in his current team.

Due to some hard knocks from his earlier struggles in life, the term "youthful impulsiveness" rarely applied to Su Ximu—almost never, in fact. So, for now, he had no intention of making a scene to reform the workplace.

But that didn’t stop him from feeling instinctively uncomfortable upon hearing phrases like, "If they can’t vomit it up, then cut it off."

In the back rows, the selection management and logistics teams stood close together. Su Ximu and Blue 242 had quietly moved closer to each other.

Blue 242 glanced ahead and whispered gossip to his friend: "That Gao Ye was actually fired by his former boss. After the project failed, the boss conducted background checks on employees and found that Gao Ye had a track record of jinxing every company he worked for. The assistant director will come soon to throw him out."

"Group Leader Lan242, how do you know that?" Su Ximu widened his eyes, lowering his voice. The rush of gossiping about a new colleague with a friend for the first time was especially exciting—especially since the colleague was nearby.

Blue 242 gestured toward his team. "My teammates were chatting about it earlier. I overheard them."

By now, someone from the logistics team who knew Gao Ye had already snitched on him to the assistant director.

Blue 242 held up five fingers.

It meant that Gao Ye from the selection management team would be thrown overboard by the assistant director within five minutes.

Su Ximu trusted Group Leader Lan242’s gossip, but he was skeptical about the five-minute prediction.

Could it really happen that fast?

Then, in the blink of an eye, three minutes passed.

From a building ahead, the assistant director, followed by a new logistics team employee, rushed out energetically. Though short and stout, he moved with agility.

Upon reaching the group, the assistant director delivered a flying kick to Gao Ye, who was still pontificating.

*Splash!*

Gao Ye plummeted from the deck into the sea.

"Fish him out and get him out of here!"

The assistant director didn’t even want him dying there, considering it a bad omen.

***

The assistant director came and went like a whirlwind, not staying a second longer than necessary.

But his impact was undeniable.

At the very least, the new employees grew much quieter afterward.

After queuing up to receive their Employee Handbooks from the assistant director’s aide, the new employees dispersed in small groups to find their dormitories.

Before leaving, the selection management team also drew lots.

Trainee grades were divided into five levels: A, B, C, D, and E.

After kicking out Gao Ye, the number of selection management staff was just right.

However, the assistant director likely realized that assigning staff based on trainee grades might lead to uneven workloads.

So, it was finally decided that each dorm manager would be assigned a floor to manage.

Su Ximu drew the third floor—not too high, not too low, right in the middle.

The single dormitory by the staircase on the third floor would be his home for the time being.

Blue 242’s dorm wasn’t far either, located in a dedicated staff building at the back.

As luck would have it, after Su Ximu and Lan 242 had settled into their respective dorms, the young man standing by his window looked up—and made eye contact with the guy across the way.

Su Ximu realized that although his dorm and Group Leader Lan’s were in different buildings, their windows happened to face each other directly.

If he spoke just a little louder from his window, Lan across the way could hear him clearly.

Spotting a long clothes pole in the corner of the windowsill, he couldn’t resist pulling it out and testing whether he could reach the opposite window with it.

On the other side, the man standing by his window gave a slight smile, reached out, and firmly grasped the other end of the pole—then even shook it up and down as if shaking hands with someone.

“From now on, if we want to pass things to each other at night, we can do it like this,” the young man said, his eyes lighting up as if he’d just discovered a fun new game.

Lan didn’t say anything but responded with action, sliding a bag of snacks from his suitcase along the pole and lifting it slightly to send it gliding over to Su Ximu.

Su Ximu received the snacks with excitement—and, to return the favor, sent a bag of his own snacks back to Lan.

They went back and forth like this a few times until they realized it was almost mealtime, finally putting an end to their delightfully childish snack exchange.

Since work hadn’t officially started yet, aside from tidying up his dorm and familiarizing himself with the employee handbook, Su Ximu—now serving as a Dormitory Selection Officer—had plenty of free time.

It wasn’t until the following evening that a group of trainees, dragging suitcases of all sizes and wearing numbered badges pinned to their chests, entered the dormitory building under the guidance of the assistant director and logistics staff.

All 104 trainees crowded into the first-floor lobby, instantly filling the space to capacity.

Su Ximu knew from the schedule that these trainees had actually arrived on the island by boat early that morning.

However, they first had to participate in an on-island arrival interview arranged by the production team, followed by a final round of show auditions—explaining why they’d arrived at the dormitory so late.

Standing alongside the other staff and the assistant director, Su Ximu surveyed the trainees and thought to himself that the interview and audition process must have been physically and mentally exhausting.

Though all the trainees wore their brightest, most enthusiastic expressions for the cameras, some still looked visibly stiff.

Su Ximu himself wasn’t entirely comfortable in front of the camera either—but fortunately, the production team had no interest in filming the staff. All the cameras in the lobby were focused solely on the 104 trainees.

“Quiet!” the assistant director barked sternly through a megaphone.

The room fell silent instantly.

Satisfied, the assistant director nodded and signaled the Dormitory Selection Officers to lead their assigned trainees to settle in.

The dormitory had five floors total, with roughly twenty trainees assigned to each floor.

Su Ximu was assigned the third floor, housing trainees numbered 43 to 63. After the assistant director departed, Su Ximu—like the other officers—picked up his small megaphone, tapped it a couple of times to test it, and raised a small flag marked with the number “3,” waving it to gather his group’s attention.

“Trainees numbered 43 to 63—follow me to the third floor. Each dorm room has four beds—you may choose your own room.”

In the crowd, Trainee No. 42, Rao Fei, stared wide-eyed at the young man waving the flag ahead, feeling an oddly uncanny connection with this “big shot.”

Then he glanced at Wang Xingxing—who, coincidentally, had been assigned to the third floor alone.

To be honest, in this instance, the two experts from the General Administration were merely there for show. The real hope for their bureau to clear this instance rested entirely on Wang Xingxing.

Before becoming a player, Wang Xingxing had been known as the “Ace Trainee.”

But now, this Ace had been separated from the group and placed under the supervision of an unpredictable wild card.

With no time to properly warn Wang Xingxing, Rao Fei could only make exaggerated throat-slitting gestures as he was led away by the second-floor officer—trying desperately to signal to Wang Xingxing:

*You! The one ahead!*

*Is a big shot!*

*Be careful!*

*He fights dungeon anomalies without following the rules!*

*If he wants to kill you, he won’t hesitate!*

Wang Xingxing—who wasn’t great at reading between the lines: ? *So… you mean… I’m going to die? Killed by the one ahead?*

*Ah… so soon? Can’t I struggle a bit longer?*

Author’s Note:

Little Mu walking ahead: Let’s get the trainees settled properly first—so everyone can rest~