Huh? Isn't This A Galgame?-Chapter 78 - 75 Abnormalities (Requesting First Subscriptions)

Chapter 78: Chapter 75 Abnormalities (Requesting First Subscriptions)

The Erin Group Headquarters Building has a total of 12 floors, with the second floor entirely dedicated to the employee cafeteria.

At this moment, at the entrance of the spacious cafeteria, two men walk in side by side.

Both of these men are about 185cm tall. One of them is slender, with neatly combed short hair and gold-rimmed glasses. His white shirt and gray trousers are immaculately pressed, giving him the look of a refined company executive at first glance.

The other is muscular, with hair shaved close to the scalp. He wears a loose short-sleeved T-shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to reveal a tattoo on his shoulder, seemingly of Gaara’s gourd.

The refined, tall, and slender man is named Gu Jinxing, currently a level 3 player with maxed-out agility attributes.

The tattooed, muscular man is named Hu Jiayao, a level 2 player focusing on strength and armor attributes.

The company’s prescribed lunchtime starts at 12:00, and the cafeteria opens at 11:30. It is now 11:35, and the dining area is deserted. The staff at the serving area are gradually taking their places, carrying food trays and placing them at the food counter with clattering sounds.

The two men each take a tray and walk towards the food counter, one in front of the other.

Along the way, Hu Jiayao looks disgruntled and grumbles softly to his companion, "We’ve finished sweeping the two floors we were in charge of, and aside from a few low-level hidden items, we found nothing. The whole morning was basically wasted."

Gu Jinxing remains unfazed, "Let’s sweep the remaining two floors in the afternoon and see what we discover."

Hu Jiayao clicks his tongue impatiently, "According to the task description, the clues are definitely obtained from the strategy characters. We haven’t gotten any clues yet and are running around like headless chickens, not knowing what we’re supposed to do. Isn’t this just wasting time?" freewёbnoνel.com

Gu Jinxing glances at his companion, "This was the guild master’s arrangement. According to the contract, we have no choice. Besides, without map sweeping, we have nothing else to do."

That much is true.

Actually, Hu Jiayao doesn’t dislike map sweeping; on the contrary, he used to enjoy the exploration phases in games because he could pick up hidden equipment and items and gain experience.

However, the problem is, now that they’ve joined the [Wenna] guild, according to the contract, everything they find has to be handed over and contributed to the collective pool, which is quite frustrating.

Thinking of this, Hu Jiayao can’t help but rant, "The two of us are top-notch players who upgraded directly after coming out of the first trial map. Our willingness to join a small guild still in its trial operation phase is already a great honor for [Wenna] guild. Instead of being grateful, they made us sign such an unfair contract."

With a snort harboring a bit of resentment, Hu Jiayao gives a sidelong glance at the person beside him, "I really don’t understand why we had to sign it. That marionette was indeed terrifying, but it’s not like we had no chance of dealing with it ourselves. Now, we’ve signed this membership contract, tying up all our future assets."

Despite their vastly different appearances, Hu Jiayao and Gu Jinxing are actually cousins outside of the game.

Growing up together, Hu Jiayao fought well but was not very bright, while Gu Jinxing was calm and always helped him escape crises at critical moments.

Thus, Hu Jiayao, although reckless, would listen to and follow Gu Jinxing’s advice without question.

Earlier at the respawn point, Gu Jinxing mentioned that they should hand over the marionette to the man named Ye Jiu and then sign the membership contract with him. Despite being unable to comprehend, Hu Jiayao obediently listened.

However, the more he thought about it, the more something felt off.

"No, Xing, everyone matched to this map is a newbie. No matter how impressive our guild master is, he’s just an lv5 bronze player. What makes you so sure he can handle six characters and settle six marionettes?"

Gu Jinxing shook his head, "First ask whether it is, then ask why."

Hu Jiayao frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Why do you assume I believe he can handle six marionettes?"

"Why are you talking in riddles? Can’t you speak plainly?"

Gu Jinxing, a bit frustrated, patiently explained, "He doesn’t necessarily have to succeed—

"According to the respawn point’s public screen rule description, marionette transfers can only occur before the main quest begins. Which means, once we successfully hand over the marionettes to Ye Jiu, we won’t have to worry about strategy character interference for the rest of the quest.

"Because the main quest has started, Ye Jiu can’t return the marionettes.

"As you saw in the game description, the main quest’s rating isn’t related to character strategy depth, so even if Ye Jiu can’t handle our characters and ends up being controlled by the spirit threads, triggering a disaster-reversal plot, that’s his problem, not ours.

"In other words, once we shake off the troublesome marionettes, whether or not the assigned player succeeds, we can still clear the quest.

"As for Ye Jiu—

"Frankly speaking, I don’t think he can successfully walk out of this map alone with six marionettes.

"If the guild master dies or becomes incapacitated, the guild will automatically disband, rendering our contract void.

"So it’s like we’re trading a worthless piece of paper for a pass to clear an LV.5 map; why not?"

Listening to this, Hu Jiayao finally realized and gave a thumbs up to the person beside him, "I see, that’s brilliant!"

But after the praise, Hu Jiayao felt there was a big problem—

"Wait a minute... what if—I’m just saying, what if Ye Jiu really clears the map successfully?"

Hearing this question, Gu Jinxing lifted his head, a glint flashing through his glasses, "If that’s the case, we’ve hit the jackpot!"

Hu Jiayao didn’t understand, "Are you kidding?"

"I’m serious," Gu Jinxing said, "If an lv5 player can handle six marionettes and still succeed, then he’s either a hidden master already or will inevitably become a legendary figure in the future.

"In either case, if we become founding members of the guild during its initial phase with such a master, don’t you think we’ll profit?"

With these words, Hu Jiayao finally understood and nodded vigorously, "Definitely profiting! Making a huge gain!"

He even began to inexplicably look forward to the guild master’s potential success in 1v6, solidifying his status as a master.

While they were talking, more employees were trickling into the cafeteria, and the hall quickly became noisy.

The two grabbed a few dishes at random and sat down at the most secluded spot.

Hu Jiayao wolfed down half a chicken leg, only to look up and find Gu Jinxing staring at the crowd in the hall, not touching the food on his tray.

"Aren’t you eating?" Hu Jiayao asked.

Gu Jinxing raised an eyebrow, "You dare eat the food here?"

Only then did Hu Jiayao remember that this was a horror escape game, and he spit out the chicken meat that was in his mouth in fright.

Seeing his foolish expression, Gu Jinxing couldn’t help but laugh, picking up a piece of scrambled egg to eat.

Hu Jiayao, seeing this, fumed, "Were you trying to scare me on purpose?"

But just then, Gu Jinxing suddenly sobered, his eyes fixating on a certain point behind them,

"There’s something unusual."

Hu Jiayao snorted, "Trying to trick me again? Think I’ll turn around and look? I won’t be fooled this time!"

But Gu Jinxing wasn’t in the mood for jokes, standing up directly and heading towards the table behind them.

Hu Jiayao’s smile froze, "Is there really a situation?"