Chapter 117: Work Badge
Looking at the handwriting on the paper, which shifted from increasingly frantic to suddenly neat and smooth, Wen Jianyan felt a chill creep up his spine.
Judging from the content, this note was probably written by an employee of a Fantasy Amusement Park.
Clearly, this person had been severely affected by some form of mental pollution. The writing was messy and chaotic, carrying an eerie sense of impact.
He bent over, looking at the spot where he had just pulled out the note.
The wooden surface had become loose, with sharp edges stained by large brown marks. Among the already dried blood, fragments of fingernails were faintly visible, as if they had been forcibly scraped out with nails.
It appeared that when the person sat on the chair, their mental state had already deteriorated significantly. They had almost resorted to sacrificing their fingers to push the note in.
Wen Jianyan returned the chair to its original position, lost in thought.
Firstly, could the content of the note be trusted?
It was likely a mix of truth and delusion.
After all, the writer’s mental state had reached an extreme level of madness. Wen Jianyan himself had been polluted before, and he could deeply understand that terrifying sense of chaos.
Under these circumstances, any information exchange had to be handled carefully.
In any case, this note had provided him with a completely new perspective and approach, which was truly invaluable.
Next, he needed to confirm his conjectures.
Wen Jianyan stood up, put the note in his pocket, and then took out his phone to send a message to Wen Ya.
She was currently on the deck, accompanied by someone like Blond, who had excellent vision and was an expert at finding things. Besides him, no one else could likely find the so-called hidden map.
On the deck.
All work had come to a halt. Workers in uniforms were coming up from below deck, scanning the work badges on each employee’s chest one by one.
“Buzz.”
Just then, Wen Ya’s phone vibrated softly twice.
She discreetly lifted her gaze and scanned the nearby frog, who was scanning the badges with an instrument. Once she confirmed that the other party was far away, she covertly opened her phone and looked at the message Wen Jianyan had sent her.
…A map? On the deck?
Wen Ya was taken aback.
Then she nudged Blond with her elbow and discreetly showed him the contents of the message on her phone.
“…”
After seeing the content on the phone screen, Blond emitted an aura of resigned frustration.
The deck wasn’t incredibly large, but it certainly wasn’t small either. Plus, with all the equipment and pipes around, trying to find a map that had no specific features and might have been tucked into some crevice…
The difficulty was truly immense.
He might have had good eyes, but he wasn’t an all-powerful Doraemon!
However, even so, Blond was well aware that in this situation, they were all like grasshoppers tied to the same rope. Even if it was extremely challenging to meet the requirements, he had no choice but to do his best to accomplish them.
Inside his headgear, Blond sighed and began to change angles continuously, using his eyes to scan everything visible on the deck, trying to find the “map” that Wen Jianyan had entrusted him with.
Just as his hopes were slowly fading away, suddenly Blond’s gaze froze.
His eyes landed on a spot not far away.
Near the side of the cables, at the junction of a wooden board and some pipes, there was a faint trace of white paper visible.
…Could that be it?!
Blond’s spirits lifted.
He gestured to Wen Ya beside him and pointed in the direction of the paper.
Wen Ya understood immediately.
Carefully, she glanced at the positions of the other frogs, then began to move step by step in the direction of the map. However, before she could take more than a few steps, the nearby frogs suddenly turned their heads in her direction. Wen Ya froze in place from a distance.
However, it seemed like the frogs’ gazes didn’t linger on her.
They seemed to have completed the scans of all the employees.
One of the frogs pressed a button on the device in its hand, and in the next moment, a mechanical female voice echoed in the air: “Employee number 32486, 32492, 32495… Please step forward.”
Wen Ya was startled and looked down at her doll costume.
Her badge number was 32492, which was one of the numbers just called out.
This is not good.
“…”
Wen Ya took a deep breath and stepped out of the lineup, joining the other employees whose numbers were called and walking forward step by step.
???
Blond, who was left in the line, panicked.
Huh? Wait?! Why did you leave? Who’s going to get the map now?!
While walking forward, Wen Ya subtly nodded at Blond, signaling that she was leaving the task to him.
Blond: “…”
He stared in panic as Wen Ya’s figure grew smaller and smaller in the distance, and he went from being cool-headed to feeling utterly unwell in an instant.
This… This, this, this…
No, no, no, don’t go!
However, his panicked gaze didn’t change the situation, and he could only watch helplessly as she moved farther away.
The only person who could obtain the map… was him now.
Fortunately, the frogs were also leaving the deck, along with the employees.
Blond took a deep breath, summoned his courage, and began to inch his way toward the map’s location. He finally reached the side of the cables.
However, in just a few short steps, he was already sweating from fear. Trembling, he pried open the wooden board, pulled out the piece of paper, and clenched it in his hand.
Close call.
He breathed a sigh of relief and slowly stepped back.
His heel was caught on something, causing Blond to stumble. An “ouch” escaped his mouth and dissipated into the air.
In an instant, he froze.
[Pirate Ship Staff Rule 2: Your working hours and workload on the pirate ship are not fixed. Please use the ringing of the brass bell as a signal for work handover. Do not engage in verbal communication with other sailors.]
Stiffly, Blond turned his head little by little.
Aside from the mechanical hum, the entire deck was silent. All the employees in their various costumes had turned their heads at some point, with fluffy headgear directly facing him. Numerous gazes converged on him.
Including the frogs.
Oh no, oh no.
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no—
Two green frogs walked over, one on each side, and supported Blond, who was already frozen in place. They guided him into the lineup.
The entire process maintained an extreme level of quietness.
Wen Ya watched as Blond was led away, walking towards the ship’s cabin. Her heart sank slightly involuntarily.
He had broken the rules; that’s why he was taken along.
She glanced at all the employees around her. It seemed like… all those whose numbers were called had made mistakes in the previous work segments.
If that’s the case, the destination they were about to go to probably wasn’t a good place.
Wen Ya followed the lineup, continuing forward without a change in her expression. At the same time, she discreetly sent a message to Wen Jianyan from her pocket.
***
Meanwhile, inside the cabin.
Wen Jianyan opened the message and involuntarily flinched.
The message was very short, with nothing more than three letters: [SOS]
He tucked his phone back into his pocket and lowered his gaze, lost in thought.
Clearly, Wen Ya and the others were in danger.
He recalled a sentence from the note he had found earlier, “Here we will be categorized.”
Could it be…
Were they currently categorizing the employees outside? By what criteria?
With such limited information at hand, Wen Jianyan found it difficult to draw a direct conclusion.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from outside his room.
It seemed a group of people were approaching this direction. It didn’t sound like they were passing by; rather, it seemed like they were purposefully heading straight to this room, with a clear and urgent intention.
“!”
Wen Jianyan was startled, instantly tensing up.
He had heard this type of footsteps many times before—it was the sound of footsteps made when pursuing a target: urgent, distinct, and purposeful.
Exposed?
Why?
His heart pounded wildly in his chest, and adrenaline surged through him.
Even under intense pressure, Wen Jianyan’s jawline tightened slightly. He raised his eyes and quickly scanned the entire room, not finding anything resembling surveillance cameras.
He frowned.
This shouldn’t be happening.
There were no surveillance cameras here. If there were, his location should have been exposed the moment his invisibility prop failed, rather than now.
With the passage of time, the footsteps outside were drawing closer!
Wen Jianyan held his breath, concentrating. Instinctively, he activated his invisibility prop.
“Di-di-di—”
Through the door panel, it seemed like he could hear something beeping, growing more urgent as it got closer. It was almost like…
A tracker?
Wen Jianyan suddenly looked down at his work badge hanging on his chest, his brows furrowing slightly.
Could it be?
Chapter 117: Work Badge
Looking at the handwriting on the paper, which shifted from increasingly frantic to suddenly neat and smooth, Wen Jianyan felt a chill creep up his spine.
Judging from the content, this note was probably written by an employee of a Fantasy Amusement Park.
Clearly, this person had been severely affected by some form of mental pollution. The writing was messy and chaotic, carrying an eerie sense of impact.
He bent over, looking at the spot where he had just pulled out the note.
The wooden surface had become loose, with sharp edges stained by large brown marks. Among the already dried blood, fragments of fingernails were faintly visible, as if they had been forcibly scraped out with nails.
It appeared that when the person sat on the chair, their mental state had already deteriorated significantly. They had almost resorted to sacrificing their fingers to push the note in.
Wen Jianyan returned the chair to its original position, lost in thought.
Firstly, could the content of the note be trusted?
It was likely a mix of truth and delusion.
After all, the writer’s mental state had reached an extreme level of madness. Wen Jianyan himself had been polluted before, and he could deeply understand that terrifying sense of chaos.
Under these circumstances, any information exchange had to be handled carefully.
In any case, this note had provided him with a completely new perspective and approach, which was truly invaluable.
Next, he needed to confirm his conjectures.
Wen Jianyan stood up, put the note in his pocket, and then took out his phone to send a message to Wen Ya.
She was currently on the deck, accompanied by someone like Blond, who had excellent vision and was an expert at finding things. Besides him, no one else could likely find the so-called hidden map.
On the deck.
All work had come to a halt. Workers in uniforms were coming up from below deck, scanning the work badges on each employee’s chest one by one.
“Buzz.”
Just then, Wen Ya’s phone vibrated softly twice.
She discreetly lifted her gaze and scanned the nearby frog, who was scanning the badges with an instrument. Once she confirmed that the other party was far away, she covertly opened her phone and looked at the message Wen Jianyan had sent her.
…A map? On the deck?
Wen Ya was taken aback.
Then she nudged Blond with her elbow and discreetly showed him the contents of the message on her phone.
“…”
After seeing the content on the phone screen, Blond emitted an aura of resigned frustration.
The deck wasn’t incredibly large, but it certainly wasn’t small either. Plus, with all the equipment and pipes around, trying to find a map that had no specific features and might have been tucked into some crevice…
The difficulty was truly immense.
He might have had good eyes, but he wasn’t an all-powerful Doraemon!
However, even so, Blond was well aware that in this situation, they were all like grasshoppers tied to the same rope. Even if it was extremely challenging to meet the requirements, he had no choice but to do his best to accomplish them.
Inside his headgear, Blond sighed and began to change angles continuously, using his eyes to scan everything visible on the deck, trying to find the “map” that Wen Jianyan had entrusted him with.
Just as his hopes were slowly fading away, suddenly Blond’s gaze froze.
His eyes landed on a spot not far away.
Near the side of the cables, at the junction of a wooden board and some pipes, there was a faint trace of white paper visible.
…Could that be it?!
Blond’s spirits lifted.
He gestured to Wen Ya beside him and pointed in the direction of the paper.
Wen Ya understood immediately.
Carefully, she glanced at the positions of the other frogs, then began to move step by step in the direction of the map. However, before she could take more than a few steps, the nearby frogs suddenly turned their heads in her direction. Wen Ya froze in place from a distance.
However, it seemed like the frogs’ gazes didn’t linger on her.
They seemed to have completed the scans of all the employees.
One of the frogs pressed a button on the device in its hand, and in the next moment, a mechanical female voice echoed in the air: “Employee number 32486, 32492, 32495… Please step forward.”
Wen Ya was startled and looked down at her doll costume.
Her badge number was 32492, which was one of the numbers just called out.
This is not good.
“…”
Wen Ya took a deep breath and stepped out of the lineup, joining the other employees whose numbers were called and walking forward step by step.
???
Blond, who was left in the line, panicked.
Huh? Wait?! Why did you leave? Who’s going to get the map now?!
While walking forward, Wen Ya subtly nodded at Blond, signaling that she was leaving the task to him.
Blond: “…”
He stared in panic as Wen Ya’s figure grew smaller and smaller in the distance, and he went from being cool-headed to feeling utterly unwell in an instant.
This… This, this, this…
No, no, no, don’t go!
However, his panicked gaze didn’t change the situation, and he could only watch helplessly as she moved farther away.
The only person who could obtain the map… was him now.
Fortunately, the frogs were also leaving the deck, along with the employees.
Blond took a deep breath, summoned his courage, and began to inch his way toward the map’s location. He finally reached the side of the cables.
However, in just a few short steps, he was already sweating from fear. Trembling, he pried open the wooden board, pulled out the piece of paper, and clenched it in his hand.
Close call.
He breathed a sigh of relief and slowly stepped back.
His heel was caught on something, causing Blond to stumble. An “ouch” escaped his mouth and dissipated into the air.
In an instant, he froze.
[Pirate Ship Staff Rule 2: Your working hours and workload on the pirate ship are not fixed. Please use the ringing of the brass bell as a signal for work handover. Do not engage in verbal communication with other sailors.]
Stiffly, Blond turned his head little by little.
Aside from the mechanical hum, the entire deck was silent. All the employees in their various costumes had turned their heads at some point, with fluffy headgear directly facing him. Numerous gazes converged on him.
Including the frogs.
Oh no, oh no.
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no—
Two green frogs walked over, one on each side, and supported Blond, who was already frozen in place. They guided him into the lineup.
The entire process maintained an extreme level of quietness.
Wen Ya watched as Blond was led away, walking towards the ship’s cabin. Her heart sank slightly involuntarily.
He had broken the rules; that’s why he was taken along.
She glanced at all the employees around her. It seemed like… all those whose numbers were called had made mistakes in the previous work segments.
If that’s the case, the destination they were about to go to probably wasn’t a good place.
Wen Ya followed the lineup, continuing forward without a change in her expression. At the same time, she discreetly sent a message to Wen Jianyan from her pocket.
***
Meanwhile, inside the cabin.
Wen Jianyan opened the message and involuntarily flinched.
The message was very short, with nothing more than three letters: [SOS]
He tucked his phone back into his pocket and lowered his gaze, lost in thought.
Clearly, Wen Ya and the others were in danger.
He recalled a sentence from the note he had found earlier, “Here we will be categorized.”
Could it be…
Were they currently categorizing the employees outside? By what criteria?
With such limited information at hand, Wen Jianyan found it difficult to draw a direct conclusion.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from outside his room.
It seemed a group of people were approaching this direction. It didn’t sound like they were passing by; rather, it seemed like they were purposefully heading straight to this room, with a clear and urgent intention.
“!”
Wen Jianyan was startled, instantly tensing up.
He had heard this type of footsteps many times before—it was the sound of footsteps made when pursuing a target: urgent, distinct, and purposeful.
Exposed?
Why?
His heart pounded wildly in his chest, and adrenaline surged through him.
Even under intense pressure, Wen Jianyan’s jawline tightened slightly. He raised his eyes and quickly scanned the entire room, not finding anything resembling surveillance cameras.
He frowned.
This shouldn’t be happening.
There were no surveillance cameras here. If there were, his location should have been exposed the moment his invisibility prop failed, rather than now.
With the passage of time, the footsteps outside were drawing closer!
Wen Jianyan held his breath, concentrating. Instinctively, he activated his invisibility prop.
“Di-di-di—”
Through the door panel, it seemed like he could hear something beeping, growing more urgent as it got closer. It was almost like…
A tracker?
Wen Jianyan suddenly looked down at his work badge hanging on his chest, his brows furrowing slightly.
Could it be?
