Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
Upon hearing this, He Gu asked with suspicion, "What's wrong?"
369 continued in a hushed tone, "Let me tell you, 411 has a special relationship with our manager. Whether it's manpower or other resources, he's always the first to get what he needs."
"Now that you've replaced 411… the manager is bound to take it out on you!"
He Gu sighed upon hearing this; no wonder the manager seemed to have an issue with him!
After a moment of thought, He Gu probed further, "You mentioned that 411 has an unusual relationship with the manager… What kind of unusual are we talking about?"
A strange look crossed 369's face as he replied, "Well… that's not easy to say!"
"Some say 411 is a relative of the manager, which is why he's always looked after."
"Others say… say that 411 and the manager… cough… have that sort of relationship, you know, the bent kind?"
Hearing this, He Gu's expression turned odd as well. Although it sounded strange, it didn't seem entirely impossible.
However, He Gu quickly recalled the torn diary page of 411 he had seen earlier, which suggested that 411 was wary of the manager and constantly feared being devoured.
While He Gu was pondering, hesitation flickered across 369's face before he finally glanced around and whispered, "Actually… there's another theory."
He Gu perked up his ears, "What theory?"
369 seemed hesitant, stammering, "It's said… that 411 might be a private fruit carefully cultivated by the manager, and it might be nearing maturity."
He Gu nodded slightly.
This sounded like the most plausible explanation.
Blue eats green, purple eats blue, and the "fruit" of the blue might be harder to ripen?
If 411 was indeed a private fruit carefully cultivated by the manager and was close to maturity, then it made perfect sense for the manager to be displeased with He Gu for taking out 411.
Just as He Gu thought he was getting close to the truth, 369 added, "But the problem is, I've asked several in blue, and everyone says they've never heard of a blue being eaten by a purple."
"The blues that get taken out are either killed by the greens below or… or eaten by other blues. I've never heard of a blue being eaten by a purple."
At this, 369 said uncertainly, "It seems like the purples don't eat us; their fruit… might be something else."
After listening to 369, He Gu was initially stunned, then a chill ran down his spine.
"You mean, the purples don't eat the blues… and the blues can prey on each other?"
369 nodded slightly, "I'm not sure if purples eat blues, but it's true that blues eat each other."
Hearing this, He Gu felt a chill in his heart and instinctively took a couple of steps back to maintain a distance from 369.
Seeing this, 369 smiled faintly, "Don't worry, you're not my target."
"New blues like you need at least 15 days to mature. I can't wait that long, and you can't eat me either, so naturally, we're allies."
Relieved somewhat by these words, He Gu still didn't fully trust what 369 said and asked warily, "Allies?"
369 nodded, "Being blue is actually the toughest here. Greens want to kill us, blues prey on each other, and we might even be eaten by purples… It's too hard to survive alone, you never know when you might be eaten."
He Gu's scalp tingled at these words.
Even in a world of strange tales, all this sounded too crazy.
But then he thought about it and breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed he wouldn't be targeted within 15 days, and as for after that… He Gu didn't even need 15 days; if he could survive another 11 days, he'd be able to clear the game.
Seeing He Gu silent, 369 leaned in, "What do you say, shall we form an alliance?"
"Although you're not in any danger right now, after these 15 days, who knows how many will be salivating over you."
"If we help each other out and cover for each other when we have fruit…"
He Gu naturally had little interest in 369's overtures.
But since the rules stated he should maintain good relations with colleagues in adjacent offices, He Gu wasn't going to outright reject him.
Moreover, he might get other clues from 369 later on.
With this in mind, He Gu nodded, "Alright, it's settled then!"
A gleam of joy flashed in 369's eyes as he nodded repeatedly, "Deal! Let's go eat, you're taking the newbie to cafeteria number 4 today, right?"
He Gu nodded, then asked with a hint of suspicion, "From what you're saying… you don't go to cafeteria number 4?"
369 smiled mysteriously, "We usually go to the manager's cafeteria… You definitely can't go today, but I'll take you with me tomorrow."
With that, 369 patted He Gu's shoulder and walked off first.
He Gu watched his retreating figure disappear at the stairwell, then turned to close the office door and quickly left.
Before long, He Gu arrived at the entrance of cafeteria number 4.
From a distance, he saw a figure as small and malnourished as a middle school student standing at the entrance, looking around.
Approaching, He Gu glanced at his badge; it was indeed 449.
"Manager," 449 greeted with some restraint, giving off a timid vibe.
"According to the rules, a senior colleague should treat a newcomer to a meal on their first day, but since it's just the two of us in the group…" He Gu started to explain, then felt it was redundant and simply said, "Go get two meals, just swipe your badge."
"Oh, okay," 449 responded and headed into the cafeteria.
Soon, 449 returned with two meals.
He Gu saw that each meal had both meat and vegetables, five dishes in total, and each included a dark piece of medicinal peel.
Subordinates' choices dictated what he had to eat, so despite his reluctance, He Gu had no choice but to finish what was on his tray.
449 seemed like a naive and introverted kid, silent and eating with his head down.
The meal ended without conversation.
Afterward, He Gu took 449 to the inner storage area and briefly explained his job responsibilities.
Once at the destination, He Gu led 449 into storage room 44, gave some additional instructions, and then turned to head back to his office.
But just as He Gu reached the storage room door, 449 suddenly called out, "Manager!"
He Gu stopped and turned to look at him.
449 flashed a peculiar smile, "If I encounter a situation I can't handle while on duty… If I call you, you'll come right away, won't you? "