3: Chapter 3: Resign in person

The person on the other end was clearly stunned for a moment.

"Then before three o'clock this afternoon, follow the Production Team's official TikTok account. The guest list will be pushed, so get to know it in advance."

"Alright."

The call ended.

Before Li Li's eyes, that semi-transparent light screen was still hanging there.

Right in the center, the three characters "Otherwise, Die" were bolded and outlined in red, possessing more oppressive force than his empty bank balance.

He raised his hand and flicked the edge of the light screen with his index finger.

The screen swayed half an inch, then bounced back.

Just like a roly-poly toy.

"Alright, let's see the mission."

[Ding — — First mission unlocked!]

[Mission Name: Love at First Sight (Physical Meaning)]

[Mission Description: Successfully team up with the female guest with the highest number of followers during the first pairing segment of the program recording.]

[The higher the female guest's TikTok follower count, the higher the quality of the reward.]

[Reward Tiers:]

[Under 5 million followers: Basic Survival Kit (Mineral Water × 1, Band-Aid × 1)]

[5 million - 10 million: Advanced Ability Enhancement Pack]

[10 million - 30 million: Rare Skill Unlock Card × 1]

[Over 30 million: ??? (Surprise Blind Box)]

[Hint: The system doesn't know what's in the blind box either, but it's definitely better than a Band-Aid. Probably.]

Li Li stared at the word "Probably" for three seconds.

"Is this system of yours strategically invested in by Pinduoduo?"

The light screen ignored him.

It suddenly shrank, turning into a blue light spot the size of a thumb, and drilled into his left wrist.

A faint blue line surfaced along his wrist artery for a moment, then vanished.

Li Li squeezed his wrist.

It didn't hurt. It didn't itch either. It just felt like something was stuck under his skin.

Forget about this lousy system for now.

The priority is — — cleaning up the mess left behind by the original owner.

He stood by the window, sorting things out one by one.

Favors owed? None.

People from orphanages don't have much of a social circle; the total number of people the original owner knew didn't exceed twenty.

Ex-girlfriend? No need to worry.

She had already been automatically archived as "Deleted Contact."

The only thing that needed to be handled was work.

Bei'an Architectural Design Institute.

Employed for three years.

The memory fragments provided only two key pieces of information.

First: His direct supervisor, Manager Qian, was a project director.

The drawings the original owner made had been signed by him no less than twenty times, and he hadn't shared a single cent of the commission.

Second: For a municipal project the company won, the budget didn't match the actual materials used, with a six-figure discrepancy.

The original owner had mentioned it once, but was suppressed by Manager Qian — — "Stop the f***ing meddling."

The original owner never mentioned it again.

But the memory remained.

Li Li went over these two pieces of information in his mind, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

Good stuff.

No need to write a resignation letter.

He intended to "resign" in person.

Just as he was preparing to leave, his phone vibrated.

Caller ID: Brother Qian.

The note saved by the original owner.

Seeing the word "Brother," Li Li's stomach churned reflexively.

He answered.

A barrage of profanity came smashing from the other end of the line.

"Li Li, are you f***ing dead?! Where are you for the nine o'clock meeting?! Do you have any idea that the client is hounding me for the third version of the proposal?!"

Manager Qian's voice was so loud it came with its own surround sound.

Li Li moved the phone five centimeters away from his ear.

"— — Do you think the design institute is run by your family? Your performance bonus for this month is gone! Don't even think about a bonus!"

"If you aren't at the company by one o'clock this afternoon, don't expect to get a single cent of this month's salary!"

Clack.

He hung up.

Li Li held the phone, his face expressionless.

It wasn't because he was angry.

He had heard this kind of scolding so much in his past life that his ears had grown calluses.

The construction site supervisor scolded him ten times worse than this, even insulting his mother, so he reported the construction site's safety hazards to the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau that afternoon.

The supervisor was fined three months' salary.

He was fired.

Was it a loss? Yes.

Was it satisfying?

It was incredibly satisfying.

Reporting once is satisfying, reporting continuously is always satisfying.

He stuffed the phone into his pocket, picked up the only pair of sneakers on the shoe rack that were still wearable, and crouched down to put them on.

Halfway through tying his shoelaces, he stopped.

The phone vibrated again.

It wasn't a call. It was WeChat.

He took it out and glanced at it.

Su Wantang's Moments had updated.

The attached image was a screenshot of the livestream, with 24,000 people online.

In the image, she had changed to a side-part hairstyle, and the snake-shaped ear cuff on her right ear was reflecting light.

The caption was only one line: "Tonight's livestream topic preview — — A compilation of the average-but-confident men who loved me over the years. Old fans all know who they are; new fans, come listen to the stories~"

There were over thirty comments below.

"Ahhh, Sister Tangtang is going to start firing again!"

"It's that guy who draws, right? Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter."

"How does a man like that have the nerve to still be alive?"

Li Li's thumb rested on the screen.

It paused for 0.3 seconds.

Then he swiped up gently.

The Moments feed slid away.

The next post was social news.

"The situation in the Middle East continues to be tense; multiple countries have issued emergency travel warnings — —"

In the image, above the skyline of a certain Middle Eastern city, a trail of black smoke was twisting and shooting up into the sky.

Li Li stared at the two characters for "Middle East."

He recalled what Director Pei Zhao said on the phone about "Dubai recording."

He habitually rotated his left wrist.

"...Don't be so accurate."

He didn't linger on this news.

He tied his shoelaces tight and went out.

The voice-activated light in the hallway turned on for a second, then went out.

The rental apartment was on the fifth floor, with no elevator.

When he walked to the corner of the second floor, the voice of the landlady downstairs came, shouting into the phone — — "That young man in 502? He hasn't paid rent for three months! Let me tell you, if he doesn't pay this month, I'm changing the locks!"

Three months of rent.

Another bad debt.

Li Li quickened his pace downstairs, not disturbing the landlady, and slipped out through the unit door sideways.

He hailed a taxi on the side of the road.

"Dinghe Architectural Design Co., Ltd."

"Which Dinghe? The one in Guomao or the one in Wangjing?"

"Wangjing."

The taxi merged into traffic.

Li Li leaned back in the backseat, closed his eyes, and prioritized the things he needed to do next in his mind.

First, resign.

Not the kind of resignation where you submit a letter.

Second, check the Production Team's guest list before three o'clock to confirm which female guest has the highest number of followers.

The mission requires teaming up, so he needs to figure out the situation in advance.

Third, tomorrow morning at seven o'clock, Capital Airport Terminal 3.

Three things, packed tightly.

When he was working three jobs simultaneously in his past life, it was even tighter than this.

Don't panic.

Basic operation.

Twenty minutes later, the taxi stopped downstairs at the Dinghe Building.

The glass curtain wall reflected the midday sunlight, blindingly bright.

Li Li pushed open the car door, looked up at the front of the building.

Fourteen stories; the original owner's workstation was on the ninth floor.