"First, I want to thank you for your years of dedication to the company.
Secondly, it is with regret that I must inform you that the company needs to temporarily optimize some personnel to overcome our current business hardships.
Lastly, congratulations. As a talented individual that our company is releasing into society, you have a bright future ahead of you."
On the 36th floor of Block A in Shanghai City's Starlight Building, inside a small meeting room at Xiaoju Technology, Sun Dasheng, who had just turned thirty-four, stared at the HR director sitting opposite him, his mind momentarily blank.
They had joined the company in the same year and worked together for over a decade. Just yesterday, at the company's annual party, they had sung a duet of "Tomorrow Will Be Better." He never expected that the very next day, they would be sitting together to discuss his severance contract.
Truthfully, being laid off isn't a huge surprise. I'm almost thirty-five, and my stamina isn't what it used to be. The days of grinding through the 996 work culture, chugging entire bottles at team-building events, are becoming more than I can handle. At a time like this, if the company doesn't optimize me, who would they optimize? Would they go after those prime 007 workhorses who live at the office?
He had actually been prepared for this. His plan was to return to his hometown, find a relaxed job, sell the house he was paying a mortgage on in Shanghai City, and trade it for a large villa back home. The "blessing" of 996? I'm done with that crap.
But his wife was the one standing in his way. She said if he went back to his hometown, she would divorce him.
After experiencing the glamour of a big city, what woman would be willing to go back to a small county town in the countryside?
His wife had been his college classmate, a campus beauty with a long line of admirers. Sun Dasheng was just one of them. Throughout their four years of university, he'd never seen her give anyone a second glance, and it was only after graduation that he managed to pick this flower. I used to think that my sincere efforts could move heaven and earth, that it was my relentless pursuit that finally touched her heart. But when my career stalled and promotions never came, I realized it was all just wishful thinking. She agreed to be with me back then solely because I had landed a job at a major company with a limitless financial future. She was betting on my earning potential.
Ten years ago, when he first joined the company, the warmth of their relationship rose just as fast as his salary. Back then, Sun Dasheng hadn't wanted children, preferring to spend his free time living a romantic life with just the two of them.
Five years ago, his career stagnated in middle management. Their relationship also cooled, and the first signs of conflict over life's trivialities began to appear. Sun Dasheng suggested having children, but his wife disagreed, urging him to focus more on his career. So he embraced the 007 lifestyle, turning the company into his home and his home into a hotel where he only slept.
A year ago, with no hope for promotion and a bleak future, their relationship turned ice-cold. Their house was devoid of any warmth; they were like two strangers sharing a lease, sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams. Having children was now more impossible than ever.
And now, he was being laid off.
He thought back on the first half of his life and all the maxims he had heard, and he suddenly felt the urge to laugh. "Hard work pays off," but has your hard work ever paid off? "Treat the company like your home," but has the company ever treated you like family? The company promotes a "wolf culture," but it trains its employees to be dogs. You hunt like a wolf for the company, but in the end, they won't even toss you a few dog bones. Do you still believe in the wolf culture? Even the wolves in Kekexili don't believe that crap anymore. After all, if you could just lie around and be fed like a husky, who would want to be a wolf, always alternating between feast and famine?
"Da Sheng, are you listening?" Seeing Sun Dasheng's dazed expression, the HR director looked worried. I hope nothing happens that might implicate me.
"Yes, I'm listening," Sun Dasheng snapped back to reality, his face impassive.
"That's good. Da Sheng, there's no hurdle in this world that can't be overcome. This is a trial for you, a stepping stone on your path to future success. Years from now, when you look back, you will be grateful for what you've experienced today..."
Years from now? Look back? To see my life cluttered with more and more tragedies? Sun Dasheng suddenly recalled a joke from a novel: At twenty, don't look down on the young and poor; at forty, don't look down on the middle-aged and poor; at sixty, don't look down on the old and poor. And then what? Respect for the dead? The tears of a tomb raider?
Sun Dasheng nodded. "Ah, right, right, right."
"In that case, go ahead and sign this severance contract. I managed to get you an N+1 package."
Without hesitation, Sun Dasheng picked up the pen, signed his name on the contract with a flourish, and walked away with an air of composure.
The moment he stepped out of the company building, however, his shoulders slumped, and an indescribable weariness etched itself onto his face. He didn't know where to go. That cold house offered him no warmth now. He wandered aimlessly down the street until he came upon a comic convention center, where he saw all sorts of familiar and unfamiliar cosplayers. He began to stroll around, memories of his youth bubbling to the surface. He wasn't just a bookworm; anime had once been his passion. But for the sake of good grades and getting ahead in life, he had buried these hobbies deep in his heart.
"Do you believe in the light?"
On a stage, an Ultraman Tiga cosplayer shouted, his voice full of teenage bravado.
Sun Dasheng looked up. The crystal on Ultraman Tiga's forehead emitted a dazzling light that shot straight toward him. He instinctively squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, something seemed to have appeared on his retina.
What is this? A hallucination? He blinked several times, but the thing in his vision remained. Is this eye floaters? Sun Dasheng couldn't be sure and decided he should go to the hospital for a check-up. Once you reach middle age, all sorts of ailments start to creep up on you.
"Please wait a moment."
A sweet, youthful female voice came from behind him. He turned to see the Ultraman Tiga cosplayer from the stage jogging over.
"Uncle, please wait! We're doing a little interactive game." The girl cosplaying Ultraman Tiga was slightly out of breath. After catching her breath, she said, "Please answer the question: Do you believe in the light?"
So that's it. That explains why I was struck by the light. Was I chosen by the light?
"Thank you. I believe in the light!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the tiny black dot in his vision suddenly expanded, forming a virtual panel.
The panel read:
Earth OL
Name: Sun Dasheng
Level: 0 (0/10)
Beatdown Value: 0
Cash Out Value: 0
[All game rules are to be discovered by the player.]
Is this a system? Was "believing in the light" the activation phrase? What is this Beatdown Value? And what about the Cash Out Value?
"You're a grown man, how can you still believe in that childish stuff?" a scornful voice sounded from nearby. A new line of text popped up on the panel:
[You have been mocked by a passerby. Beatdown Value +10]
Sun Dasheng focused his gaze, and the panel changed:
Name: Sun Dasheng
Level: 0 (0/10)+
Beatdown Value: 10
Cash Out Value: 100,000
He ignored the taunt and stared at the panel. I understand the Beatdown Value now; it comes from the beatings dished out by society. A plus sign appeared next to my level. I guess Beatdown Value can be used as experience points to level up, though I'm not sure what leveling up does yet. The Cash Out Value also shows an amount. Is this 100,000 in cash? Could 10 points of Beatdown Value really be exchanged for 100,000? That would be absolutely magical. Is this Earth OL some kind of compensation for wage slaves who've been beaten down by society?
Sun Dasheng decided to test the level-up function first and pressed the plus sign. A warm current instantly flowed through him, making his body feel several pounds lighter. He looked down to see his beer belly had vanished.
Beatdown Value... this is good stuff. His eyes lit up as he turned to the middle-aged woman who had just insulted him. "Please, give me more. Go on, say a few more mean things."
"Are you crazy? This guy's brain is scrambled." The woman, terrified, grabbed her son's hand and hurried away.
No Beatdown Value gained. It seems I can't get it repeatedly from the same person. He was a little disappointed.
"Uncle, thank you for your answer." The girl cosplaying Ultraman Tiga held out the Dark Radiance Baton in her hand, offering it to Sun Dasheng. "This is your prize for participating. Please take it."
Sun Dasheng smiled as he accepted it. "Thank you. Aren't you afraid I'm crazy?"
"Of course not. That auntie was the one in the wrong." The girl gave a playful wave, turning to leave. "You have to believe in the light!" she called out as she walked away.
"Yeah, you have to believe in the light..."
Staring at the panel before him, Sun Dasheng felt as if a shackle deep inside him had just been unlocked.