Chapter 77

Chapter 77: No More Pretending - I’m Actually Rich

Even before Lin Jianyuan quit, the frog problem at the company had already died down.

Probably because he’d regularly lose his mind at Jiang Chen, ever since his diagnosis, Jiang Chen had started calling fewer meetings.

From what Lin Jianyuan had observed, the frogs usually only showed up during Jiang Chen’s meetings.

Sometimes, it wasn’t a meeting at all, just Jiang Chen spouting off his usual nonsense.

That little slit on his throat would suddenly split open, spitting out frogs in rapid-fire bursts.

So, clearly, “Jiang Chen holding a meeting” was just code for “Jiang Chen talking crap.”

Suddenly, everything made sense.

“Sir, the frogs should mostly be…”

Lin Jianyuan had just started to point the way, but as soon as he stepped into the office building—holy shit.

Ribbit, ribbit.

Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit…

Frogs. Everywhere.

They surged and jostled like waves on the sea.

There were so many that the lobby couldn’t even contain them. Several had already hopped outside.

Strangely, the moment a frog hit sunlight, it would evaporate.

It was like instant vaporization.

Wait, no. That’s sublimation—straight from solid to gas.

Makes sense, in its own way.

After all, frogs like damp places. They can’t stand direct sunlight.

Lin Jianyuan was floored by the sheer number of frogs.

Damn, how many times had Jiang Chen poisoned the staff with his bullshit while he was gone?

The frogs had filled the entire building!

His teammates all twitched at the corners of their mouths as they entered.

Before they came, the instructor had warned them: this Aberrant wasn’t dangerous, just… numerous.

But no one said there’d be this many!

You couldn’t even step inside without hitting a frog!

Good thing regular people couldn’t see Aberrants. If they could, just walking in here would trigger anyone’s phobia.

Worse, it was late summer and still sweltering hot.

So a lot of people were wearing sandals or flip-flops as they came in.

The combat team could only watch as bare legs and feet waded right through the dense carpet of frogs.

Ribbit.

Some frogs got kicked.

Splat.

Some got squished underfoot.

But most just kept hopping, hopping.

Damp frog skin brushed across feet, ankles, calves.

Hop. Hop.

Just watching made you imagine that clammy, slimy sensation.

Disgusting.

The squad’s faces twisted in unspeakable horror.

There were so many frogs, everyone just turned off their device alerts.

Otherwise, you’d get “Aberrant detected” eighty times a second. The frogs wouldn’t drive you mad—the alarms would.

But only the repeated alerts were muted.

If a new Aberrant showed up, the devices would still sound the alarm.

The instructor cleared his throat, and everyone forced themselves to calm down.

They split up, following the original plan.

After their onboarding, everyone understood the Bureau’s rules for fieldwork.

First: protect civilians.

Second: maintain secrecy, avoid causing panic.

Aberrants feed on negative emotions.

Each type has its own preferred flavor.

But most go for fear, anxiety, unease.

So the last thing you want is a mass panic. That’s a buffet for them.

They’d gorge themselves and become much stronger.

The D-team was only physically weaker—not incompetent.

So they already had a plan.

They’d use every trick to clear or divert the crowd for a bit.

Once the Aberrant was contained and the mess cleaned up, they’d pretend nothing happened and leave.

There were 23 floors, each assigned to someone.

Lin Jianyuan picked the thirteenth floor—his old company’s floor.

Returning to his old haunt, Lin Jianyuan felt a strange nostalgia.

Standing at the company entrance, seeing the familiar punch clock behind the glass, he almost felt like he was here for another day at work.

As if none of this had ever happened.

As if it was all just a nap-time dream.

He was still the crazy guy.

The floor was still covered in frogs that Jiang Chen had spat out along with his bullshit.

Everything…

Felt like

A dream.

That old, uncontrollable anxiety welled up inside him again.

Lin Jianyuan raised his left hand, staring at his palm.

The faint bite mark was still there.

Xieyu.

He was real.

Not a hallucination.

His Xieyu. His roommate. His lover.

He was real.

He was real.

The trembling in his bones faded away.

Lin Jianyuan curled his left hand into a fist, clutching that barely-there bite mark.

His heart finally calmed.

“Boss,” the squish toy finally noticed something and asked, worried, “Are you…?”

Little Rock: “Look at that, already calling him ‘Boss.’ Squish sure knows how to suck up. Not like me—I just quietly do my job for Yuan-ge~”

Frogs croaked everywhere.

The chorus of ribbits rolled in waves.

A green tide surged toward Lin Jianyuan.

Lin Jianyuan flicked out Angel Eyeball and Abyssal Maw with a casual wave. “Get to work.”

Angel Eyeball and Abyssal Maw: “Roger.”

The plush eyeball and black plastic bag had both been enchanted; Lin Jianyuan could decide at any time whether humans could see them.

That was one of the effects of Xieyu’s mark.

One of many.

Angel Eyeball fluttered its three pairs of wings, with Abyssal Maw dangling below, jaws wide open.

Wherever the black bag swept, frogs were sucked in by a violent wind.

Like a turbo-charged vacuum cleaner—insanely efficient.

Lin Jianyuan had actually invented this move while doing chores at home.

He’d tried to use the combo as a vacuum to get the spots the robot missed. Didn’t work.

Because Abyssal Maw was an idiot.

This shark-toothed moron couldn’t tell furniture from trash. Let it loose, and it would rip up the floorboards.

After a few tag-team beatings from Xieyu and Lin Jianyuan, it got a little smarter.

Upgraded from “super idiot” to “regular idiot.”

But today’s job was just frog-catching.

Even this idiot could handle that.

If it couldn’t, Lin Jianyuan had no problem “convincing” it again.

Lin Jianyuan stood outside the company, watching the teeth and eyeball vacuum up frogs on autopilot.

For some reason, just being near the company made him want a cigarette.

He even started feeling irritated.

Guess that’s a kind of PTSD too.

He was about to go find a spot to smoke when a familiar voice caught his ear.

“Bro!!!”

It was Pei Shuo, sounding thrilled.

Lin Jianyuan turned and saw the big golden retriever of a man bounding toward him, eyes sparkling, practically wagging his tail.

“Bro! What are you doing here?” Pei Shuo’s eyes lit up. “Why didn’t you come in and say hi?”

Lin Jianyuan shrugged. “Front desk’s got a new face. I don’t have a keycard anymore. No big deal, just passing by.”

He’d stood at the entrance earlier, spotted the unfamiliar receptionist behind the glass.

She glanced up, saw him, didn’t recognize him, and went right back to work.

His keycard had long since been returned.

Standing outside, barred from entry, he finally felt it for real: he didn’t work here anymore.

No.

It should be—

“I finally fucking quit this hellhole, hallelujah!”

Still, seeing his old coworkers made him happy.

“Lin Jianyuan! Long time no see!” Qin Shi, mid-water-pour, set down the kettle in surprise.

“Lin Jianyuan?!” Su Zhiwei, red-faced from arguing with a client, dropped his keyboard and nearly teared up. “What brings you here? Are you doing okay?”

Everyone crowded around. Lin Jianyuan felt a pang of emotion.

Squish toy and Little Rock clambered onto his shoulders, left and right, marveling at how warm these coworkers were.

Socially anxious Lego was so spooked by the crowd he buried himself in the deepest corner of Lin’s pocket.

Abyssal Maw and Angel Eyeball pretended to watch, using the chance to slack off.

Lin Jianyuan shot them a look.

The eyeball-mouth vacuum snapped back to work.

“I’m good. Really, I’m doing great. Hahaha…” Lin Jianyuan answered their concern with a bright smile.

The frogs were thinning out.

The office shifted from gray back to color, everyone coming alive again.

Lin Jianyuan glanced at his old desk—still empty.

He raised an eyebrow.

Pei Shuo caught his look and grinned. “Bro, after you left, they couldn’t hire anyone! Isn’t that hilarious? Jobs are hard to find, but no one wants to jump into this pit. Jiang Chen said there’d be plenty of people to replace you, but look—no one’s even applied!”

“Actually, I’ve been venting about our company on Xiaohongshu,” Qin Shi whispered, “Someone asked about the benefits, and I immediately went anonymous to warn them.”

“Holy shit, I saw that post too!” Su Zhiwei burst out laughing. “I messaged them privately and told them this place is a trap—don’t even think about it!”

Everyone cracked up.

Someone asked, “So how are you doing now? Found a new job?”

The question brought a sudden hush.

Everyone shot the guy a look. He remembered—Lin Jianyuan had said he’d found a job before leaving.

His wife had set it up.

But everyone knew about his wife…

Sympathy and sadness flickered in their eyes.

Lin Jianyuan rubbed his chin, debating whether to tell them he was now making 200k a month with a government position.

Could he even say that?

Would that break his NDA?

Suddenly, an even more annoying voice than a wet frog came from upstairs.

“Oh, what’s all this fuss about?”

Jiang Chen leaned over the second-floor railing, looking down with a sneer.

“Well, if it isn’t Lin Jianyuan. No wonder everyone’s slacking off. Old colleague’s back for a visit, huh?”

Everyone’s smiles froze.

A collective eye-roll.

“Get back to work!” Jiang Chen barked. “He’s unemployed—do you all want to join him?”

Jiang Chen had heard about Lin Jianyuan’s situation.

Now that Lin Jianyuan had quit, Jiang Chen didn’t have to worry about this lunatic causing trouble.

He was an outsider now. If he acted up, Jiang Chen would just call the cops and have him thrown out.

Maybe even get him sent back to the psych ward.

Crazies should stay in the hospital where they belong!

Don’t come out and mess with normal people!

Under Jiang Chen’s open threats, everyone swallowed their anger and slunk back to their desks.

Pei Shuo looked pissed too. As he passed Lin Jianyuan, he whispered, “Bro, ignore him. I’ll come find you for a chat later.”

Lin Jianyuan glanced up at Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen looked down, smug, shaking his leg.

Wearing that “what can you do, psycho?” face.

Clearly, he’d already forgotten the last lesson.

That’s how idiots are.

Never learn from pain.

But things were different now. Lin Jianyuan worked for the Bureau, had a government post. He couldn’t just go wild anymore.

Besides, he was on a mission.

If something happened, he wouldn’t be the only one in trouble—the instructor would get dragged down too.

So, no choice.

Only one way.

Lin Jianyuan sighed, raised his hand. “Everyone, hold up. Just give me a minute.”

Everyone paused.

Jiang Chen scowled. “Lin Jianyuan, what are you—”

He was cut off by a barrage of WeChat notifications!

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

The dings kept coming.

Everyone looked down at their phones, faces going pale with shock.

“Holy shit! Lin Jianyuan, why’d you just send me money?!”

“Me too!”

“Whoa, 1688!”

“Mine says 1688 too!”

“Holy crap!”

“Holy shit!”

“Holy fuck!!!”

The exclamations erupted everywhere!

Jiang Chen’s eyes bulged. He frantically checked his own phone.

But his WeChat was empty.

No new messages.

Everyone else was staring at their phones and shouting.

Guess who wasn’t on the list~

Jiang Chen: “…”

“Red packet limit was 200, so I just transferred the money.”

Lin Jianyuan said modestly.

“Sorry, not pretending anymore.”

Lin Jianyuan looked up, shot Jiang Chen a mocking glance.

“Truth is, I’m rich.”

Pei Shuo: “Huh?”

Qin Shi & Su Zhiwei: “What??”

Jiang Chen: “What????”

Jiang Chen’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.