After returning, Zhou Zhuang sat back down where he'd left off. He lifted the cup of black tea still warm on the table and took a big gulp, forcing the nauseating sensation down.
Once his sluggish mind recovered a little, he looked at Binah, who was still sipping tea with her eyes closed. He hesitated, then asked:
"Binah… what's with all those tombstones in the R&D department?"
As he voiced the question, Zhou Zhuang recalled the game's lore. In the game, those "tombstones" were—by design—coffins belonging to special people who could become "water-drawers".
But what he had just seen didn't match the game at all.
Well… not completely different. At the very least, the moment he saw them, he recognized what they were.
Still, if they were truly "the same" as the game's setting, then the markings on the tombstones shouldn't have looked so impossible to read. Of course, he couldn't rule out that he'd simply been too far away to see them clearly.
Zhou Zhuang lowered his head slightly, thinking.
Binah gently set down her cup and looked at the manager sitting opposite her.
"How should I explain this…" Binah's voice gathered Zhou Zhuang's scattered attention back into focus.
Hearing her speak, Zhou Zhuang immediately raised his head and fixed his gaze on her, waiting.
Then, right as Binah prepared to explain, Zhou Zhuang clasped his hands together pleadingly.
"Ah—um. Binah, if you can, please use a more 'common' explanation. My IQ isn't like you smart people—mine doesn't have that many twists and turns."
At his request, Binah thought for a moment, then began.
"Truthfully, this is something you will come into contact with sooner or later. Just as you learned from that highly similar game—each tombstone symbolizes a person's life."
"But one key difference from your impression is this—"
"A large portion of the tombstones in R&D… belong to a single person."
A large portion… belongs to one person?
Zhou Zhuang frowned, confused.
"Binah, the number of tombstones I saw was insane. Even if only a small part of them belonged to one person, that's already horrifying."
"I'm not even going to ask why one person needs to be split into so many separate parts and stored like that."
"What I care about is—why did I feel dizzy and nauseous when I looked at them?"
He was curious who this "one person" was, but that could wait. The urgent issue was the physical discomfort.
That second question mattered for him—and for his employees' future work experience in R&D once it was opened.
If that sickening feeling only happened near the department, that was… still bad.
No, it was worse.
Even if the office itself was safe, his employees wouldn't be—they'd have to work in that "polluted" environment, dealing with Abnormalities.
If merely being in R&D drained your sanity before work even started…
What kind of late-game torture debuff is that?!
"Please don't worry, Manager. I'll explain this." Angela, who had been quietly drinking her tea, joined the discussion.
Zhou Zhuang turned his attention to her at once.
"Manager, what you felt just now happened because the department hasn't been opened yet—there is still 'filth' inside that hasn't been cleared, so it made you nauseous."
"Filth?" Zhou Zhuang repeated the new term.
"Filth," Binah picked up the thread, "is essentially formed from the malice within consciousness."
"Every department in the company that has not been unlocked is, in a sense, soaking in a sea of consciousness."
"Each unlocking is the act of clearing out the filth that has bred inside the department, then 'lifting' the department out—"
"And finally establishing the link."
"Oh." Zhou Zhuang nodded along.
"Got it."
"So that means my discomfort was entirely because my curiosity got the better of me."
"And under normal circumstances—once R&D is unlocked—there won't be problems like what I just experienced."
Realizing that the whole thing was basically self-inflicted, Zhou Zhuang scratched his head awkwardly and laughed.
Then he pulled out his phone from his pocket, pretending to be casual, and glanced at the screen.
"Ah! It's already this late."
Deciding not to linger, Zhou Zhuang prepared to take his leave.
"Binah, thanks for the tea. But honestly… giving tea this fancy to me is kind of a waste."
"If there's a next time, you can just give me something like a normal drink."
As Zhou Zhuang got up, Angela also rose from her seat.
"Hm? Angela, you can stay and keep enjoying tea with Binah. You don't need to stand up just to see me off."
"Most of the company I still don't recognize, but I at least know the way from R&D back to my room."
Zhou Zhuang tried to persuade her to stay and relax instead of giving up her break time for him.
"It's fine, Manager." Binah spoke calmly. "The tea I prepared has already been finished."
"And in any case, it's time for me to return to my unfinished work."
Zhou Zhuang sensed something slightly "off" in the air—just faintly—but since the other party had already offered an exit line, he couldn't exactly force the issue.
"Then Angela and I will take our leave."
"And once again—thank you for the tea, Binah."
After Angela came to his side, Zhou Zhuang thanked her again, and the two of them walked toward the office door.
Binah set down her now-empty cup and stood, watching their backs.
At the doorway, Zhou Zhuang picked up the large bag of snacks he'd brought along, then opened the door and left.
Binah remained where she was for a moment.
Then she casually waved a hand toward the table she'd been resting at—
And the table, along with the tea set, vanished from where it had been.
Binah walked to her desk, then passed it and headed toward the curtains Zhou Zhuang had opened earlier.
Unlike Zhou Zhuang—who had shoved his head into the gap—Binah simply lifted her hand and gestured.
The curtains parted to both sides, revealing the R&D environment again.
She gazed at the field of tombstones that made up the department and murmured softly:
"Yes… a large portion belongs to the sacrifice of the incompetent."
....
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