Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
The moment He Gu clearly saw the number on the work badge, his mind buzzed.
369 has been taken out! That was so sudden!
It's only about half-past ten now, and that green outfit, not even waiting for the vulnerable period after midnight, just took out 369 like that!
At this moment, He Gu felt a chill down his spine.
He Gu had just formed an "alliance" with 369 today, and 369 had just promised to help him deal with the crisis tonight.
In the blink of an eye, 369 was gone!
Thinking back to the way the manager had looked at him just now, He Gu felt a shiver down his spine.
He Gu stood still, watching the manager's figure disappear from view, feeling more and more uneasy, he turned and hurried back to the office area.
To the right of He Gu's office was 369's office, where two people in white hazmat suits were already packing things up.
And right next to He Gu's office, a chubby figure in blue was dozing off at the desk.
After a moment of thought, He Gu walked to the door of this office and knocked.
"Knock, Knock, Knock."
The chubby man in the office was startled awake by the knocking, glanced at He Gu with a flash of displeasure on his face, and frowned, "What is it?"
He Gu put on a friendly smile: "Bro, I've got something I want to discuss with you."
As he spoke, He Gu made to enter the office.
But the chubby man immediately waved his hand: "Hey, hey, hey, just stand at the door and talk, you… I don't want any trouble."
Hearing this, He Gu's heart sank.
It seemed that being targeted by the manager was no secret, and it would be difficult to find an ally to help in the short term.
With that in mind, He Gu stood at the door and asked, "Bro, don't be nervous, I just want to ask, how do I go about changing shifts for my staff?"
The chubby man scoffed at the question: "Shift change? Don't waste your effort."
"You have to apply to the manager for a shift change, but you only have one person under you now, how can you change shifts? The manager won't approve it."
With that, the chubby man waved his hand impatiently, turned his head, and propped his chin with his hand to continue napping.
He Gu frowned and, not wanting to embarrass himself further, turned and went back to his own office.
He Gu had thought that as a supervisor, he had the authority to change shifts directly.
If that were the case, He Gu would now move 499 to the day shift, even if it meant he had to personally guard the storeroom.
But now it seemed that this move was unrealistic; the manager would definitely not approve it.
He Gu sat in his office, frowning in thought, feeling increasingly anxious.
The manager and 499 had clearly come prepared.
He couldn't just sit back and wait for doom!
He Gu was now beginning to empathize with 411.
Since the shift change was not an option… was there any other way?
Just then, He Gu suddenly remembered that 411 had let him off work early a few times.
That meant supervisors had the authority to let their subordinates leave early, right?
That didn't need the manager's approval, did it?
Although 411 had only let He Gu leave a few minutes to at most tens of minutes early, it would be reasonable for He Gu to let 449 leave six or seven hours early, right?
With that thought, He Gu immediately stood up and walked out.
Soon, He Gu arrived at storeroom 44.
449 was sitting leisurely at his post as usual, and upon seeing He Gu enter, he revealed a smile that was restrained yet mocking: "Supervisor, if you're really so worried about this storeroom, you might as well work here tonight."
He Gu snorted coldly: "That's exactly what I was thinking."
Hearing He Gu's words, 449 was taken aback: "What?"
He Gu looked at 449 expressionlessly: "Tonight, an important shipment is coming in, and considering it's your first night shift, to prevent any mistakes, I'll take over the duty tonight. You can leave now."
"Leave now!?" 449 clearly didn't expect He Gu to pull such a move and was momentarily at a loss: "But… it's only just past eleven!"
He Gu said indifferently: "I'm your supervisor, you only need to answer to me. If I say you can leave, then you can leave."
449 was dumbfounded by He Gu's words, and after a few seconds of hesitation: "But… but…"
He Gu snorted coldly: "No buts, now, leave and rest, and come back tomorrow night."
449's face was a picture of conflict, wanting to argue but not knowing where to start.
He Gu's move could be described as very "Do nothing."
In the end, 449 reluctantly left the storeroom, walking towards the dormitory in a daze.
Watching 449's figure disappear at the end of his sight, He Gu finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Letting a subordinate leave so early was indeed a bit too much.
But at least the rules didn't say subordinates couldn't leave early, and while He Gu's actions might risk triggering other dangerous scenarios, it was better than doing nothing.
After sending 449 away, He Gu sat in storeroom 44 to take over the shift.
Time ticked away second by second.
***
He Gu didn't know how long it had been when he suddenly heard a few caws of crows from above.
Judging from the direction of the sound, it seemed to be right outside the office window above.
He Gu was puzzled; could crows be heard here too?
Why hadn't he heard them the previous nights?
Or was it only when wearing the blue work clothes that one could hear them?
As He Gu pondered, his walkie-talkie suddenly crackled: "Shh… 444, where are you?"
It was the manager's voice; it seemed he was checking in again.
He Gu checked his phone for the time; it was 23:52.
Moreover, He Gu noticed a pattern; it seemed every time the manager came to check in, there would be cawing of crows beforehand?
Could there be a hidden rule?
After thinking it over, He Gu picked up the walkie-talkie and replied: "Manager, I'm in the storeroom."
Soon, the manager's voice came through the walkie-talkie again: "Shh… Oh? Well then, stay there and wait for me!"
Two minutes later, the manager appeared at storeroom 44.
He Gu noticed that the manager had a waist pack slung around his waist.
When he saw that He Gu was the only person in the storeroom, the manager's expression changed slightly: "Where's your subordinate?"
He Gu shrugged: "Oh, 449 might not be used to the night shift on his first day, he seemed a bit unwell, so I let him leave early."
Hearing He Gu's words, the manager was visibly stunned, then his face filled with anger: "Who gave you permission to let him leave early!"
He Gu put on a 'Do nothing' face: "The work manual doesn't say we can't let subordinates leave early. My supervisor used to let me leave early too, is that against the rules?"
The manager glared at He Gu coldly, silent for a long while, then gritted his teeth: "Remember, you can only let subordinates leave early after five at the earliest."
"And the same subordinate can only leave early three times a week!"
After saying that, the manager added: "If you continue to act recklessly and break the rules, don't blame me for dealing with you!"
With that, the manager huffed heavily, turned, and left.
Watching the manager's retreating back, He Gu's lips curled into a smile.
"So that's how it is…"