34. Little Ghost

Liu Qiang looked at Chi You, whose fury was no less intense than that of a vengeful spirit. After the door closed, he stammered, "Both of us received a job offer from the Fu Group."

"We are just nobodies. For the Fu Group to invite us to work at their company, there must be some unspeakable secret."

"We came to ask if you two received one too," Liu Qiang said cautiously, terrified that even the slightest increase in his volume would irritate Chi You, who was lying on the bed.

"We didn't receive one," Jiang Pan replied, standing to the side.

"What!" the other boy shouted in disbelief.

How could they not? He had asked the other person yesterday, and she had received one. It was impossible that these two hadn't.

"We offered ourselves up," Jiang Pan added.

The two men were speechless. Were they in such a hurry to seek death?

"Is the Fu Group dangerous?" Liu Qiang quickly asked upon hearing this.

"Going in is equivalent to slow suicide," Chi You said, throwing off her blanket and getting out of bed before speaking slowly.

Once inside, there is no sunlight, and one is periodically drained of vital energy and lifespan by the things kept in the dark corners. When the body can no longer endure it, those people are made to depart this world through sudden death or various traffic accidents and artificial means. Everyone working at the Fu Group is mere food for those entities. When those things are well-fed or in a good mood, the Fu Group’s business flourishes.

"What!" Liu Qiang was shocked. "Is it really that sinister?"

"Haven't you seen the compilation of Fu Group employees dying in various ways online?" Chi You looked at him and retorted.

Of course they hadn't. The Fu Group was a company they could never hope to enter in their lifetime; why would they pay attention to such things?

"Then why were we invited?" the boy asked, frowning. This was the part he truly couldn't understand.

"You two managed to walk out of that psychiatric hospital alive," Jiang Pan said, handing a bottle of mineral water to Chi You before speaking leisurely.

The two men fell silent upon hearing this. What did the two things have to do with each other? While they were deep in thought, Chi You had already gone into the bathroom to freshen up. By the time she came out, Liu Qiang had figured it out.

"Is it because of Fu Shaohuai?"

Hearing him mention that name, Chi You nodded. Not entirely stupid, then.

The two men’s faces turned pale. "We don't want to die."

"If we reject this job, they have other ways to finish us off."

"What should we do?"

Chi You suggested: "Join the company."

"But going in is a dead end," Liu Qiang replied agitatedly.

"If you don't go in, you'll die even faster."

Fu Shaohuai would never let anyone know about his past. Since those two had walked out of that psychiatric hospital alive, they had already been placed on a death list. Once you step into that psychiatric hospital, there is only one road left to take: the road to the underworld.

Go into the company, find a way, and survive.

Having reached this conclusion, the two men felt they had no other choice. It seemed they would have to go and see this den of the Fu Group for themselves.

After they left, Chi You and Jiang Pan tidied up and headed out to their jobs. As soon as they entered the company, they felt an eerie chill down their spines.

"The scent of the dead is getting stronger," Jiang Pan said, glancing around before speaking calmly.

Chi You ignored him and opened the point exchange mall in the app. She flipped to the talisman section and sighed upon seeing the sky-high point cost. Why was it so expensive? Why not leave people a way to survive? Besides, with such high costs, would anyone actually exchange for them? Could anyone even earn that many points?

Flipping to the end, Chi You noticed two lines labeled "Trial Card." Her eyes lit up. This meant that the items in these two lines could be tested? She just didn't know how long the trial period lasted.

Thinking this, she clicked on one, and a triangular talisman appeared in her hand. Holding it, Chi You felt her body warm up significantly. She checked the time: a seven-day trial.

That was enough.

She shared the news with Jiang Pan and Meng Shuyin, who had caught up with them. Both of them looked surprised. They quickly exchanged for the items and wore them; the chill that had been enveloping them vanished. As their bodies returned to normal, they were ecstatic. The deathly aura no longer dared to approach them.

Sitting at her workstation, Chi You noticed that the eyes of the other employees were becoming increasingly vacant. Although they were still working, they were no different from the living dead. Perhaps because she was wearing the talisman, Chi You saw a fat, little ghost clinging to someone. Its hands and feet were incredibly chubby, and its cheeks were so plump they were squashed together, its eyes nearly invisible behind the folds of flesh.

The little fatty was sprawled on the person's back, and the man kept rubbing his shoulders, feeling exhausted and weighed down. When someone next to him asked, the man twisted his neck and said, "I don't know why, but my shoulders feel so heavy and tired today."

With that fat little spirit clinging on, how could he not feel tired or heavy?

Perhaps Chi You's gaze was too obvious; the little fatty noticed her. As their eyes met, Chi You made a face of disgust upon seeing its face. It was hideous. The face was nothing but rolls of fat, like a meat patty.

The little fatty, stung by Chi You’s expression, left the man and floated over to her. As soon as it left, the man moved his stiff shoulders and said, "Hey, I feel better now."

Seeing the disdain on Chi You's face, the little fatty opened its wide mouth, trying to drain her vital energy, but no matter how hard it tried, nothing came out. The little fatty grew angry and humiliated, reaching out to touch Chi You, only to be repelled before it could make contact. Chi You gave it the middle finger, her face full of triumph.

This completely enraged the little fatty. And when the little fatty was angry, the Fu Group suffered.

At noon, Fu Shaohuai returned to the company in a rage. As soon as he entered his office, he slammed a file onto his desk. "The partnership was already negotiated; we were supposed to sign it today. Why did they suddenly back out at the last minute?"

The people following him watched Fu Shaohuai, trembling with fear. "The other party said they found a better partner, so they..." the project manager said cautiously.

Impossible. With those little ghosts around, there was no deal they couldn't close. Someone must have angered the spirits. Angry spirits would not help people grant their wishes.

Thinking this, Fu Shaohuai waved everyone away. After they retreated, he immediately opened the secret passage in the office and went inside. Upon entering, he truly saw one of the enshrined spirits in a fit of rage. Seeing its master return, the spirit immediately displayed its dissatisfaction.

Fu Shaohuai reached out to touch the golden statue, picked up a dagger from the side, and sliced open his arm to let the blood flow. As the arm was cut, it revealed a mass of new and old scars, crisscrossing in a truly terrifying sight.