Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1431 Organization President's Affairs

After returning to the distribution center, Lu Ning treated herself. Although the world's development was not particularly advanced, the damage to the soul was by no means lagging behind. After the treatment, her mental state finally improved, and she immediately returned to the camp of the Dream Wanderer.

However, she did not see Watanabe Fuchiko here this time.

"President, you're back?" A tourist on duty at the camp looked up, saw Lu Ning, and greeted her.

"Yuanzi..."

"The vice president went to the scene and should be back in three days if nothing unexpected happens. There are a lot of documents that need to be processed when the vice president returns..." The tourist paused for a moment and looked at Lu Ning.

"...I understand, I'll handle it."

She remembered that she had started helping with some chores last time.
Lu Ning walked into the office with a skeptical look. She had already asked Yuanzi to give her some tasks to practice handling official business, and the amount was within expectations. After all, the number of people in the Dream Night Wanderer was only about a hundred. How much trouble could happen with such a small group? She had led several hundred soldiers in the Frost Array in the game.

Then she saw five large stacks of documents on the table.

While the sheer number wasn't as astonishing as some might think, it was still far more than expected. Lu Ning sighed and sat down obediently to begin reviewing the documents.

She then discovered that there were indeed many things in these documents that puzzled her.

Although Dream Night Tour is just a small organization, it is affiliated with Golden Dawn and still has a considerable appeal to tourists. Watanabe Fuchiko has also set up a corresponding review mechanism, and the first stack of documents is a list of applicants awaiting review.

She originally thought it wouldn't be difficult, since fifth-tier tourists were all experts who had passed the first four tiers to advance, so they must have extraordinary abilities. The only requirement was to verify their character and other qualities. Yuanzi had previously consulted her with some people's files, so she had experience with this.

But when she actually looked at it, she felt it was a bit difficult.

She forgot that while gathering places like these are full of elites, there are also quite a few people with "unconventional" ways of doing things. It's not that these people have questionable character, but it's still difficult to determine whether they are suitable for her organization.

For example, the first person was a visitor who entered the scene five times in less than two months after reaching level five, sometimes even skipping the full free rest period before rushing into the next scene. This person didn't have any specific goals; they were simply curious about the level five scene and really wanted to experience it—this is part of their self-narration.

In Lu Ning's opinion, this person was probably a bit crazy. Of all the tourists she had met, whether new or old, none of them were in a hurry to enter the scene. Their ideas were different from ordinary people. They were either geniuses or madmen, or both.

Next up is a tourist plagued by bad luck, who always suffers a terrible ordeal in the scenarios and returns covered in injuries, yet still manages to get a score that's just barely enough. Most organizations wouldn't dare take this kind of person, and large organizations certainly wouldn't accept them, since some tourists who have been through so many scenarios have come to believe in superstition.

The next one, having offended someone, seeks refuge; then, between the lines, one hints at wanting to use this place as a springboard to climb to the golden dawn…

Lu Ning felt a headache coming on. Tourists in the distribution center weren't afraid of retaliation, and there were many small organizations like hers; if one didn't get in, there was always the next. So many people would clearly state their purpose on their resumes. Lu Ning didn't have much ability to conduct background checks, and she didn't know if they were hiding anything.

“Yuanzi usually looks at these kinds of things too…” Lu Ning looked through them one by one. She could tell whether some were qualified or not, but there were always some oddballs who were impossible to judge. She could only ask Yuanzi how he handled them.

She opened the last one.

"Director? Using a code name?"

That's normal. Lu Ning opened the file and saw a photo of a woman who didn't look very old. Lu Ning guessed that she was about the same age as herself.

She knew that the age of tourists at the distribution center could not be estimated by appearance. After all, when she died, she was frozen at the distribution center. The distribution center would even considerately adjust the physical condition of some older people to avoid some premature aging people suffering from this.

She paid more attention to the "director's" resume.

Starting from the second level, the director described her experience of focusing on killing members of the puppet party within the scenes, and she had encountered the puppet party in almost every scene. The long list of kills even surprised Lu Ning.

As for the reasons for joining the "Dream Night Tour," the other party also clearly stated them.

I've learned through some channels that your founders have a grudge against the Puppet Party, and may even be on their internal lists. I believe joining this organization will help me continue to punish these villains. If there are other purposes, it's to learn more about the Puppet Party's internal structure to facilitate my future actions. If you want to know how to kill them, I'm happy to share some of my experience.

There was sincerity, but not much. Lu Ning didn't know why she wanted to kill members of the Puppet Party, but considering the Puppet Party's style, offending such a killing machine was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, although Lu Ning and the Puppet Party had a deep-seated grudge, most of the attacks came from the Puppet Party themselves; she had little interest in specifically targeting people.

"Forget it, let's just let it go. At least it's more specific than those other goals..."

The second stack of documents was official business. It ranged from adding facilities to the base to arranging for regular personnel. After the establishment of an organization recognized by the distribution center, points could be distributed as wages to officially employed staff through the distribution center, but there was a limit to the number of rest periods. The balance of points income and expenditure also needed to be handled here. However, this part was relatively easy for Lu Ning to handle, since things with established regulations were easier to define.

Thirdly, there are various applications from internal staff.

Lu Ning once again felt the almost insane creativity of the fifth-tier tourists.

There were suggestions to hold various small competitions, group combat training, and even hiring library staff to teach as a whole – all considered normal suggestions. Then came the proposal to erect a memorial monument in the new Tier 5 gathering place, imitating the original site and engraving the names of organization members who died there; followed by the idea that those still alive should also be engraved, to verify life and death; then someone wanted to rally other organizations to erect a monument together; and soon after, it quickly turned into absorbing other organizations to directly grow into the largest organization in the new Tier 5 gathering place, recruiting talent from all sides…

These four probably came up with this plan while drinking.

Towards the end, Lu Ning came with a "let's have some fun" attitude. Anyway, she realized that not many of the suggestions were useful, so she just picked a few normal ones to approve and that was it.

Who would have thought that at the end there would be a book club proposal suggested by Yuanzi? Lu Ning was speechless. Why didn't she just approve it herself?
The fourth stack of documents took the most time.

More formal organizations will have tourists compile their experiences of each scene into a booklet for members' reference. This is one of the most important assets of every organization; this stack contains the scene experience information submitted by tourists. However, tourists' writings are limited by their individual literary abilities; some embellish their accounts, while others produce reports that resemble research reports—this is quite normal. Usually, it's necessary to compile both a version readable by the average person and a reference book version with key keywords, making it convenient for different types of tourists to consult.

There aren't many people in Lu Ning's organization capable of organizing this material. Previously, Yuanzi handled it, so Lu Ning had no idea how difficult it would be. Now that she's started, she's discovered that typos and incoherent sentences are minor issues; the real problems are illogical arguments and unclear descriptions. Even at the fifth level, not every tourist can fully recount every experience of a scene. Lu Ning knows this is due to limitations in ability; even she can't completely recap the previous scene, let alone others.

So this task is even more troublesome than the previous ones.

Fortunately, the last stack was the smallest, and Lu Ning knew what it was—diplomacy.

Even small organizations need to communicate with each other, let alone the fact that the Night Wanderer is backed by a larger organization. These diplomatic exchanges aren't particularly formal; they're just leaders visiting each other to discuss potential benefits, changes in distribution centers, and, if possible, alliances. The problem is, this is something Lu Ning is least skilled at, while Yuan Zi always handles it with ease. The Night Wanderer maintains correspondence with many smaller organizations. After glancing at the stack, Lu Ning decided to leave it all for Yuan Zi to deal with when he returns.

Even though she skipped some of the work, she still didn't finish it all by the end of the day.

It's more tiring than a full day of forced march.

Lu Ning walked out of the barracks, greeted the people on duty, and went back to her residence.

We should hire a few more people who can handle these official duties... No, how does Yuanzi handle so many things? She might be more skilled, but the sheer number of documents can't be solved simply by being skilled and fast.

She returned home with doubts and fell asleep almost immediately upon lying down on the bed.

The next day, faced with an even larger pile of documents, she spent another whole day finally finishing what she could. All things considered, it was a reasonable workload, considering Yuanzi had gone to the scene and all these were accumulated documents and materials.

It wasn't until the third day that she had time to contact Zhao Yuqiao and visit Ye Longting.

The largest company-operated organization in the distribution center handles a wide range of businesses and has a large workforce; it's always packed with visitors. When Lu Ning arrived at the door, she found the queue already stretched outside.

Fortunately, she had special privileges and didn't have to wait in line. Soon, a person in a white coat came out, his gaze sweeping over the people in line, and finally he saw Lu Ning outside the door.

"Hello, please follow me."

He simply walked over and nodded to Lu Ning. Lu Ning paused for a moment, then followed him into the building and into an elevator. The numbers on the elevator screen quickly changed, and they arrived at the twenty-ninth floor.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Lu Ning saw Zhao Yuqiao dressed in a white coat, looking quite respectable. If she hadn't seen his behavior in the scene, she probably would have been fooled by his appearance and thought he was a highly respected doctor.

"Hey, how have you been these past few days? I thought you'd be even later," Zhao Yuqiao said with a grin. "Come with me, I promise you won't regret it."

“I…I’ve never been to Night Garden before.” Lu Ning stepped out of the elevator with some curiosity, looking around. The person who brought her there stayed inside and didn’t follow her out.

"Hey, you received treatment from the head of the medical department on your first visit? Nobody would believe that if you told them that."

Zhao Yuqiao led her through a rather long corridor, finally stopping in front of a gray-black door with a line of text on it that Lu Ning couldn't understand.

At the door, Zhao Yuqiao cautiously raised his hand and knocked on the door three times rhythmically.

"Enter."

Zhao Yuqiao pulled the door open forcefully.

A massive machine stood in the room, with an operating table in the center, spotlessly clean. The entire room was illuminated by a light source from who-knows-where, leaving no shadows. A woman with an indifferent expression stood beside a cart, counting surgical instruments on it, the purpose of which Lu Ning could not discern at all.

This is no ordinary thing. Lu Ning possesses the secret technique for flesh shedding. Even if she doesn't understand everything related to surgery, she should be able to recognize something when she sees it.

"Go in." Zhao Yuqiao patted Lu Ning, who took a step inside. She felt as if she had passed through a curtain, and the discomfort she felt disappeared as she passed through it.

A very clear sense of "cleanliness" came through, causing Lu Ning to widen her eyes slightly.

"you are……"

“Everyone in the medical department has one maintenance opportunity per year, and I allow them to give that opportunity away. Apart from that, even if they want to have maintenance themselves, they still have to pay and wait in line.” Zhi Run glanced at Lu Ning. “Zhao Yuqiao just doesn’t really need this, but you probably do. Go up and lie down.”

"Could I please explain what 'maintenance' means?"

Zhi Run put down what he was holding and turned to look at Lu Ning.

"It seems Zhao Yuqiao is keeping us in suspense again. I'm not needed for ordinary surgeries. This surgery is a soul repair technique, a technique that only I possess in the entire distribution center."

Lu Ning was stunned for a moment: "Soul Repair Technique..."

"Lie down." Zhi Run helped Lu Ning lie down on the operating table and patiently said, "The treatment for soul damage in the distribution center is to remove the contaminated parts of the soul. This is the most brutal form of excising, and while the treatment effect is obvious, the side effects are also obvious."

"...Forgotten?"

"That's probably just the mildest form of the aftereffects."

Zhi Run pulled out tubes from the machine and attached them to Lu Ning's body with suction cup-like devices. Some of them were fixed in place even through her clothes, and the reason behind it was unclear.

"Don't you need to take it off?"

"Soul surgery has nothing to do with the body. You also know a bit about medicine? Then I can say a few more words... The principle is also very simple: use a blank soul to repair and complete the soul. Removal is not without loss. Although the soul will refit the body and heal itself, the wound does not disappear. Injuries and aging are the same for the soul, so it needs to be replenished with the same quality."

She secured a jar to the machine and then pressed a button. A pale light illuminated the operating table beneath Lu Ning. Zhi Run glanced at it and nodded slightly.

"The soul of the sixty-three intercalary months, your loss is not particularly severe."

Lu Ning opened her mouth, wanting to ask something, but at some point, she felt her control over her body begin to go numb.

"Just as I mend the missing time in the calendar, I will mend the soul in the same way, which is why I call myself that. When the soul briefly leaves the body, you will lose some bodily sensations, but that is not a problem. Now, the surgery begins."