Chapter 19: Entanglement — Official Mission One

(Page 1 of 3)

Yan Qingyu was satisfied.

Early the next morning, Yan Ningxi arrived at the company as usual.

The moment she reached the office, she heard her colleagues gossiping.

“Have you heard? Chen Yongzhi actually tried to kill his wife for the insurance money—and she was pregnant, too.”

“I heard. I live in the same residential complex as him. Apparently, yesterday he deliberately sent his mother to play mahjong at a parlor nearly a mile away so that she would leave the house early.”

“I heard it from his wife’s family. Apparently, Chen Yongzhi drugged his wife with sleeping pills. He even deliberately damaged the bedroom lock. Knowing that the weather had been extremely hot these past few days, he placed cardboard boxes on the bedroom balcony and then intentionally left a lighter on top of them. He wanted to create an alibi, making it look as if the lighter had exploded and ignited the boxes by itself, burning his wife to death.”

“Oh my God, he’s absolutely vicious—and so calculating. I can’t believe someone that ruthless was living among us. Thank goodness I never crossed him before.”

“Fortunately, he was arrested. Otherwise, if he had really succeeded, he would have continued appearing among us as the victim. That would have been terrifying—like having a time bomb beside you.”

As the manager, Yu Xiangrui was listening to the gossip as well. When she saw Yan Ningxi arrive, she asked with concern, “Little Yan, are you all right? Did Chen Yongzhi do anything to you yesterday?”

Yan Ningxi shook her head. “No. The police solved the case quickly and identified him based on the clues.”

Yu Xiangrui let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. That’s good.”

Yan Ningxi was about to go to her desk when she suddenly saw a white cloud appear above Yu Xiangrui’s head. Her eyes widened instantly.

A white cloud!

That meant Yu Xiangrui was going to become the victim of a crime.

In the very center of the white cloud was an image resembling a rope.

In other words, someone intended to harm her—and the weapon would be a rope.

[Official Mission One has been activated. Upon completion, the host will receive a random, substantial reward. Please complete the mission promptly.]

Seeing the expression on Yan Ningxi’s face, Yu Xiangrui assumed her own hairstyle had become disheveled. She took out her phone and switched to the front-facing camera, but she saw nothing wrong.

Yan Ningxi felt a little awkward and said, “Manager, your hair isn’t messy. I just suddenly remembered something.”

“I see.” Yu Xiangrui smiled. “By the way, I heard your younger brother was hospitalized. Which hospital is he in?”

Yan Ningxi did not know why she was asking, and she could hardly hide the truth from her. “Nancheng First Hospital.”

Yu Xiangrui suddenly raised her voice. “What a coincidence! My younger sister is giving birth at that hospital, and it should be any day now. I was planning to visit her after work. I might as well go see your brother while I’m there.”

Yan Ningxi felt somewhat embarrassed. After all, she had only been working at the company for three months. “That would be too much trouble for you. The doctor said his condition is stable, and we’re just waiting for the surgery.”

(Page 1 of 3)

(Page 2 of 3)

“Visiting the family members of sick employees is one of the company’s responsibilities. You don’t need to refuse.”

Yan Ningxi remembered that someone was planning to harm Yu Xiangrui today. She might be safe while they were at the company.

If the two of them stayed together after work, Yan Ningxi could protect her.

“All right.” Yan Ningxi had no choice but to agree. “Thank you, Manager.”

The others continued discussing Chen Yongzhi.

Yan Ningxi returned to her desk and turned on her computer. From the corner of her eye, she saw Chi Xiaoxuan arrive. She was just about to greet her when she noticed that, on the screen of her computer—which had not even started up yet—there was also a white cloud above her own head.

And in the center of the white cloud above her head was another rope.

Yan Ningxi froze and hurriedly took out the compact mirror she always carried with her.

Sure enough, the white cloud was still above her head. She had not imagined it.

What did this mean?

Was someone planning to harm her as well?

Why did both Yu Xiangrui and she have ropes above their heads?

Could the person trying to harm them be the same culprit?

“Zero Zero Two, is this the Official Mission One you gave me? You’re dragging me, the host, into it too. Is that really fair? And why are there two people this time? Not only do I have to save someone else, I have to save myself too? Do you really think I’m capable of that?”

[Host, that is how official missions work. The difficulty increases, but so does the reward. Don’t underestimate yourself. You’re very intelligent. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have chosen you.]

“...”

Yan Ningxi said, “You’re even cleverer—first you strike me, then you offer me a sweetener.”

[Hee-hee, thank you for the compliment, Host.]

“...Then give me a hint. Am I going to die?”

[I cannot reveal that. Revealing it would result in an immediate mission failure.]

“...”

Yan Ningxi drew several deep breaths.

Don’t get angry. Don’t get angry. If anger ruins your health, no one else will suffer in your place.

The situation was not too terrible at present.

Now that she knew someone intended to harm her, she only had to make preparations in advance.

(Page 2 of 3)

(Page 3 of 3)

However, protecting herself while also keeping Yu Xiangrui safe would certainly test her intelligence.

Should she simply confess everything to the police and tell them that she had a system, then ask them to protect the two of them?

No.

Yan Ningxi shook her head vigorously.

What if they did not believe her? They would surely think she was insane. Besides, if she confessed now, the police might not arrive in time.

The incidents that had happened before were not enough to convince them that she possessed a system.

Moreover, she had already explained the reasons behind her last two reports to the police.

Then how was she supposed to protect herself and Yu Xiangrui?

Thus, throughout the entire day, aside from doing her work, she kept observing Yu Xiangrui’s movements and thinking of ways to respond.

At last, it was time to leave work. Yu Xiangrui came out of her office, car keys in hand, and called toward Yan Ningxi, “Little Yan, let’s go.”

Yan Ningxi did not dare delay for even a second. Afraid that Yu Xiangrui might lose patience and leave without her, she quickly shut down her computer.

Seeing that something seemed unusual about her, Chi Xiaoxuan asked in confusion, “Ningxi, are you going somewhere today? You look like you’re in a hurry.”

Yan Ningxi quickly explained that Yu Xiangrui was going to visit her younger brother. “That’s why I can’t leave work with you today.”

Chi Xiaoxuan nodded. “I should have gone to see your brother too, but there’s something going on at home lately. I’ll visit him when I have the time.”

Yan Ningxi thanked her and hurried to catch up with Yu Xiangrui.

As they walked, Yu Xiangrui asked, “Little Yan, you’ve been with the company for three months now. How have you been adjusting?”

“Pretty well. The atmosphere here is quite good, and it makes me want to keep working.” Yan Ningxi answered honestly.

“That’s good.” Yu Xiangrui continued, “Actually, you’re quite attractive, and you have a great figure. If you went into livestreaming or something similar, you’d definitely earn more than you do now.”

Yan Ningxi felt a little embarrassed. “I... I’m rather introverted. Livestreaming requires good speaking skills, and you have to be outgoing. I’m not really suited for it. I prefer living a quiet, low-profile life.”

She had considered becoming a livestreamer during university, but she was simply too afraid of negative comments. Whenever she saw a bad review, she would feel miserable for a long time.

(Page 3 of 3)