Ita Era

Chapter 197 Express Delivery

This wasn't over yet. Ding Shi went to the 81st floor with murderous intent. Since he was only going up one floor, the elevator casually put up a rule: no taking off your pants.

Ding Shi laughed in exasperation. As he stepped out of the elevator, he saw Tie Zhenzhen about to enter. Before Ding Shi could speak, Tie Zhenzhen grabbed his arms with both hands and exclaimed excitedly, "You were so handsome just now!"

"I know, you don't need to remind me." Ding Shi forgot his accusatory words and asked, "Are you working overtime too?"

Tie Zhenzhen nodded repeatedly: "Mhm."

Ding Shi looked at the wall and read the rule of the 81st floor: Danger lurks in absolute darkness.

Tie Zhenzhen explained, "Because I was the only employee who hadn't finished a single task, my supervisor asked me to work overtime."

Ding Shi nodded and said, "The Warriors Tribe must have lost quite a few people, right?"

Tie Zhenzhen nodded: "I don't like this tribe."

Ding Shi said, "Would you like me to have some tea?"

Tie Zhenzhen led the way and they sat down at a teahouse. After brewing two cups of tea, Tie Zhenzhen poured out her grievances: "This is not a copycat tribe, but a political tribe. They are looking for like-minded human elites. They do not believe that Earth has been destroyed. They believe that high-dimensional aliens have plundered humanity, kept humans in captivity in the Ita world, and occupied the entire Earth."

Ding Shi said, "What your chief said is not impossible."

Tie Zhenzhen said, "The key point is that he requires members to hand over 40% of the money and material profits from each instance."

Ding Shi asked curiously, "Then why did you join such a tribe in the first place?"

Tie Zhenzhen pouted and said, "Since I didn't join the Fire Seed, I just randomly picked a tribe."

Ding Shi was a little embarrassed: "There was a misunderstanding last time. If you submit the application again, the first sentence of the application should say: Ding Shi is in my hands."

Tie Zhenzhen asked, "How can I prove it? Last time I contacted Yu Yuan, he asked about my relationship with you, and I said we would get through the trials together. He then rejected me."

Ding Shi said, "No proof is needed, because the phrase 'Ding Shi is in my hands' fits my tone. If he contacts you, just say you're my sister." Ding Shi and Tie Zhenzhen didn't interact much, so when Yu Yuan rejected Tie Zhenzhen's application, Ding Shi didn't take it to heart.

Tie Zhenzhen retorted, dissatisfied, "I'm only 26."

Ding Shi replied casually, "I'm 24."

Tie Zhenzhen calmed herself down with tea and changed the subject: "How do we clear this dungeon?"

Ding Shi said, "You don't need to worry like that. Just rely on your intuition, and you'll definitely get through it."

Tie Zhenzhen asked in surprise, "Do you have that much confidence in me?"

Ding Shi nodded seriously and asked, "Did you play Russian roulette with Cao Ying in the last instance?"

Tie Zhenzhen nodded repeatedly: "I thought I was going to die."

Ding Shi said, "You are a lone wolf who is very suitable for mine exploration and soloing dungeons. I can't give you any advice. If I had to give you advice, it would only be this: believe in yourself."

Tie Zhenzhen nodded repeatedly: "Yes, I understand."

Ding Shi gulped down the water: "I have to go work overtime."

Tie Zhenzhen stood up and saw Ding Shi off to the elevator waiting area, saying, "You look better in a gray suit."

Ding Shi asked in surprise, "I've never worn a gray suit."

Tie Zhenzhen said, "Yes, I saw you talking to our advertising department manager at 5:50 pm."

Ding Shi was overjoyed and asked, "Have you seen me before?" He had finally found a clue to the clone.

Tie Zhenzhen nodded: "You ignored me, I think you have something very important to do."

Ding Shi asked, "Where do I work?"

Tie Zhenzhen: "You don't know where you work?"

Ding Shi said, "What you saw was my clone."

Tie Zhenzhen suddenly realized and exclaimed, "It's so similar!"

Ding Shi was speechless: "Isn't that right? It's a clone."

Tie Zhenzhen said, "He doesn't work at our company. I'll ask him for you, but the advertising department is all closed. Leave your phone number."

Ding Shi wrote down the phone number, but Tie Zhenzhen suddenly frowned and asked warily, "How can you prove that you are the Ding Shi I know?"

Ding Shi raised his hand and smacked Tie Zhenzhen on the back of the head, then stepped into the elevator, waved goodbye, and closed the elevator door.

Elevator rule: No taking off clothes.

Tie Zhenzhen was still deep in thought. What did Ding Shi's gesture to himself mean?
This means we're very familiar with each other. Would a stranger dare to do this to me? That's right, it's Ding Shi, whom I know.

……

At 19 PM sharp, an announcement was made: "Some employees, feeling guilty for not being able to work overtime for free, are considering taking revenge on other employees who are working overtime. We urge all employees working overtime to cherish this voluntary overtime opportunity. If such an employee is killed by these individuals, they will permanently lose their eligibility to work overtime."

Overtime Rules: The more times you ride the elevator, the more likely you are to be targeted by the killer. After killing the killer, please call security and be responsible for cleaning up the scene. Note 1: Security will remove the body; the victim needs to clean up the scene. Note 2: Security will provide buckets, mops, and other cleaning tools. Note 3: Do not turn your back to anyone.

Overtime assignment: Finish get off work at 22 PM. Do not die. Current danger level: 0.1%.

The landline rang. Since Ding Shi was the only surviving overtime worker from the logistics department, he could only answer the phone: "Hello."

The caller was the boss: "Xiao Ding?"

"Hi boss."

Boss: "Go to my office and take a look. There's a note on my desk with a phone number on it. I'll call you back in 10 minutes."

Ding Shi: "Boss, is it inappropriate for me to go to your office alone? People will gossip."

Boss: "It's okay, I believe in you."

Ding Shi: "No, I don't believe in myself."

Boss: "I'll call you back in 10 minutes." (Hangs up)

Damn capitalists!

Ding cursed under his breath, walked to the boss's office, took down the boss's office sign, and hung it on the sales department's door, then hung the sales department's sign on the boss's office door. He had almost been tricked to death by Dian Dian because of this trick, so theoretically, the original boss's office was now safe.

For added safety, Ding Shi also took a bundle of rope from the logistics department's toolbox. He pushed open the office door, first tested the strength of the handle, and then tied the rope to the handle.

Once everything was ready, I entered the boss's office, and sure enough, there were no problems; no system alarms were triggered.

Ding Shi used his phone to write down the numbers on a notepad, then flipped through his boss's desk. There wasn't much on the desk, but he accidentally touched the mouse, activating the computer that had been black. There was a folder on the desktop called "Photo Album".

The photo album is mostly filled with pictures of the owner and his two daughters. I recognized one of them immediately; she's my darling Bai Yan. I imagine the other one is Bai Yuan. Bai Yan is very pretty, but Bai Yuan has a different kind of beauty—she looks serene and gentle, with a soft, sweet smile.

Strangely, it's not a recent photo; it must be a photo from three years ago or even longer.

However, Ding Shi immediately put his curiosity aside, because there was a set of photos of Ding Shi in the album.

In the first image, Ding Shi is having a drink with a woman in a coffee shop. In the second image, Ding Shi stands up and points at the woman.

In the third image, Ding Shi turns and leaves.

In the fourth picture, the woman grabs a cup and throws it at Ding Shi, but she probably misses.

The fifth image shows two bodyguards in black holding Ding Shi down.

In the sixth image, four bodyguards in black are punching and kicking Ding Shi on the ground.

The seventh image shows a woman spitting out a penis.

In the eighth image, the woman steps over the ground and leaves the coffee shop.

The ninth image shows a woman in front of a luxury car, with a young man waiting at the rear door.

In the tenth picture, the bodyguard is preparing to close the rear door. Through the open rear door, a woman and a young man can be seen kissing in the back seat.

Could this woman be my mother in this instance? And that young man is Ding Ma's husband, Lin Yuan? The identities should be correct.

Why would my boss secretly film my private life? Furthermore, there's another big problem: I seem to need money, otherwise I wouldn't have been beaten like this. But why do I need this money?
Is it a breach of contract penalty? Does he want to leave Happy Company but needs compensation? Does he have gambling debts? Does he need surgery fees? Is he being extorted?
Call your boss to finish the job. Another email from the Cloning Administration comes in, this time a fill-in-the-blank question. You get 3 points for a correct answer and only lose 1 point for a wrong answer.

Question: You already know the basic identities of most people around you. Among all the people you know, who loves you the most?

Theoretically, it should be Bai Yan; that girl loves me to the core. However, this question is clearly not about love, but it doesn't rule out love either. Simply put, it's about who is truly sincere to you, and choosing the most sincere one among those who are truly sincere to you.

For this kind of question, Ding Shi doesn't need to think about it at all; just fill in the answer: Ding Shi.

Your answer is correct. You now have 3 points.

You dog system, go eat shit.

Currently, Bai Yan is the only one who is truly good to Ding Shi, but the problem is that Ding Shi is not good to Bai Yan.

First point: Ding Shi's girlfriend is Bai Yuan, Bai Yan's older sister. Under such circumstances, it is not ethical for him to seduce Bai Yan.

Secondly, Bai Yan had a falling out with her mother, who was also Ding Shi's boss, and moved out to live alone because of Ding Shi. If Ding Shi truly loved Bai Yan, he would have persuaded her to stay at home instead of living alone outside.

Thirdly, during Ding Shi's phone conversation with the private investigator, he referred to Bai Yan as a "pay-to-win" woman.

Based on the above three points, it can be seen that Ding Shi is a selfish person who loves himself more than he loves Bai Yan. Such a person would genuinely be good to himself.

Ding Shi also noticed a small detail: when he was arguing with his boss that afternoon, Bai Yan barged into the office. Bai Yan stood protectively in front of Ding Shi, and in their subsequent interactions, she didn't show any jealousy. Perhaps Bai Yan had a good mindset, but the ultimate form of love is possession, not sharing.

Therefore, Ding Shi chose himself without hesitation.

The phone rang, and Ding Shi answered it: "Hello, Logistics Department."

The supervisor's voice came through: "Xiao Ding?"

Ding Shi: "Yes."

Supervisor: "There's a large, packed box in the warehouse containing 50 servings of snacks. Could you please distribute them? From the 2nd floor to the 51st floor. You don't need to leave the elevator; just leave the snacks at the elevator entrance."

Overtime rule: The more times you ride the elevator, the more likely you are to be targeted by a serial killer.

Although people don't need to leave the elevator, Ding Shi bet on his supervisor's head that each floor would count as one elevator ride. This job resulted in him becoming the employee with the most elevator rides during overtime.

Ding Shi knew why his supervisor was being so mean: because his supervisor had a very low approval rating. And why? Because he had chosen Bai Yan instead of his boss that day.

Ding Shi said, "Manager, wait a moment, let me go check if there are any large boxes in the warehouse."

Ding Shi placed the microphone on the table, walked to the warehouse opposite the logistics department, and sure enough, there was a large cardboard box inside. Ding Shi opened the window, picked up the large cardboard box, and threw it out of the warehouse.

Ding returned to his desk and said, "Manager, the large gift box in our warehouse has been stolen by a serial killer who can't work overtime. We should call the police immediately."

Supervisor: "Why did the serial killer steal the box?"

Ding Shi explained, "They want to lure and kill employees who are working overtime with gifts."

The supervisor asked, "Where did this serial killer come from?"

Ding Shi said, "Some employees, unable to work overtime, developed a desire to retaliate against those who did work overtime."

The supervisor retorted, "Do you even believe it yourself?"

Ding Shi: "Of course I don't believe it."

The main speaker said, "You should believe it. Simply put, he went crazy from working. Just like sudden death, he died suddenly, and he went crazy just as suddenly. Do you know why we can't call the police?"

Ding Shi: "I don't know."

The supervisor replied, "Because there might be crazy employees, or there might not be. It's just a low-probability event, so you don't need to worry."

Ding Shi asked, "Supervisor, why are you saying this?" Ding Shi understood what his supervisor meant: working overtime might drive some employees crazy, and these crazy employees were murderers.

Why does working overtime drive people crazy?

You've been working overtime for the past two weeks, and your girlfriend threatens to break up with you if you don't spend your birthday with her tonight. You've prepared a birthday gift and booked a restaurant, but when you leave work, your boss tells you: "You have to work overtime tonight." You refuse. Your boss replies: "Take it or leave it, there are plenty of other people who will."

To pay the mortgage on your future wedding home, to earn money for your future child's formula, and to prevent your future wife from complaining about your incompetence, you endure the humiliation of staying late to work overtime. Your girlfriend blocks you, and then you discover the truth of the world. Without a girlfriend, you don't need to buy a house, you don't need to earn money for baby formula, you won't be nagged by your wife, you can eat whatever you want, do whatever you want…

So you came to your senses and told the employees working overtime not to work anymore, saying there were plenty of other places that would want them. But because you were different from everyone else, in their eyes you became crazy.

The above is Ding Shi's wild idea, a forced explanation of why overworked office workers go crazy.

The supervisor replied, "I'm telling you, a crazy employee, what you call a serial killer, would never be so brain-dead as to think of a way to lure and kill an employee who is working overtime."

Ding Shi said, "Actually..."

"Young man, we've all seen your performance. You're definitely going to be a pillar of our company in the future. Keep working hard, and everything will fall into place. I'm hanging up now." The supervisor hung up the phone.

Ding Shi sighed and hung up the phone. Helplessly, he took the elevator to the first floor, found the large box in the open-air parking lot, took the elevator to the second floor, and began distributing gifts.

The good news is that the elevator rules are very simple: no pulling hair, no picking your eyes, no eating your boogers...

The bad news is that as the work progresses, the level of danger continues to increase.

After Ding Shi delivered all the gifts, the danger level reached 80%.

This made Ding Shi, who had returned to the 80th floor, think twice before taking a step, fearing that someone might jump out from some corner and stab him. He was also afraid that a colleague who smiled and greeted him might suddenly pull out a knife and stab him.

"Who is Ding Shi?"

A food delivery driver carrying a large cardboard box asked.

Another clue?
Ding Shi raised his hand, walked over, and carefully took the cardboard box, fearing the delivery guy might stab him. Then he thought, something's not right. Delivery guys have the freedom to work overtime and get overtime pay; he couldn't possibly be a serial killer.

Ding Shi carried the lightweight cardboard box back to the logistics office. He opened the box, and inside was a smaller box. He then opened the smaller box, and inside was an even smaller box.

Ding Shi opened the tiny cardboard box, inside which was a finger, a human finger, to be precise, the ring finger of a man's left hand, cut off after death.

Ding Shi wasn't frightened; instead, he was completely bewildered. Why did they need such a big box to hold just one finger?
(End of this chapter)