Bai Liu smiled with practiced sincerity. “We have excellent teamwork efficiency. One person can do the work of a hundred.”
Liu Jiayi nodded vigorously beside him. “Mm-hm, mm-hm!”
Whether the processing worker wanted to believe them or not, the two hundred kilograms of roses piled in front of the tent were impossible to deny.
The worker could only glare at them resentfully before tossing over four bottles of low-grade rose perfume. Then he hauled away the enormous sack of roses and jerked his head in a curt gesture for them to follow.
“You’ve earned the qualification to be promoted to processing workers,” the processing worker said coldly. “Competition in this position is fierce. If your performance is poor, you’ll be replaced at any moment and demoted back to low-level flower pickers. Follow me. I’ll teach you how to become qualified processing workers.”
[System Notification: Congratulations to player Bai Liu for exceeding the requirements of the side quest]
[Task Reward: Player Bai Liu has obtained 4 bottles of low-grade perfume and has gained progress in the main quest (Promotion to Processing Worker)]
Bai Liu and Liu Jiayi exchanged a glance before following him back into the Rose Factory that operated without pause, day and night.
——————
This was Bai Liu’s second time entering the open-air plaza outside the Rose Factory.
The rose petals gathered there had been spread across thick plastic sheets to dry and be sorted. Processing workers in tightly sealed protective suits moved back and forth through the plaza. Nearby stood several massive vats filled with petals undergoing the drying process.
“Processing workers are responsible for receiving fresh dried-leaf roses collected by the lower-level flower pickers.”
The worker continued walking without looking at them as he explained.
“After receiving them, you perform preliminary cleaning and dry them either here in the plaza or on the rooftop. Once the stems, branches, and leaves have been removed, the fresh petals must be exposed to both sunlight and moonlight for twelve hours each before entering the next stage of processing.”
He pointed toward the huge pots in the corner, where workers were pouring petals inside.
“After sufficient drying, the petals are roasted or stir-fried in these vats until they turn a pale pink color, like the inner lips of a young girl. At that point, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) the preliminary processing of the dried-leaf roses is complete. Then you deliver the processed roses to the official factory workers for the next production stage.”
The worker led them once more through the same long corridor they had passed earlier. However, instead of continuing straight ahead, they turned right after passing the exhibition hall.
Another corridor stretched out before them.
Rooms lined both sides of the hallway, each marked with serial numbers, giving the place the cold atmosphere of a prison. At the far end stood a staircase leading upward.
“This is the dormitory area for processing workers. You won’t need to stay in tents anymore.” The worker gestured toward the numbered rooms. “The first, second, and third floors are standard eight-person dormitories. You can access them through that staircase. Above those floors are the factory workers’ quarters, which are two-person rooms. The top floor belongs to the perfumers. They live in spacious private suites.”
He paused briefly before adding with obvious bitterness:
“Low-level processing workers like us are not allowed onto the floors reserved for factory workers or perfumers.”
“If the top floor belongs to the perfumers,” Bai Liu asked casually, “then where is the Factory Manager’s room?”
The processing worker nearly choked on the question.
“That’s not somewhere people like you can go!” he snapped.
Bai Liu blinked innocently. “But shouldn’t I at least know where it is so I can avoid it? What if I accidentally wander into the Factory Manager’s room?”
The worker’s expression stiffened for a moment.
“You can’t just accidentally wander into the Factory Manager’s room,” he retorted sharply.
Then he hurriedly changed the subject.
“Anyway. Continue down the stairs ahead and turn right. That’s the infirmary. Employees are allowed to request sick leave there, but to prevent people from slacking off, anyone taking leave must undergo treatment in the infirmary first. Once recovered, you are expected to return to work immediately.”
Finally, the worker turned toward Bai Liu again.
“As for salary—once you become processing workers, you are considered half-official employees of the Rose Factory. As long as you complete your assigned daily quota, you’ll receive a base wage of three bottles of low-grade perfume.”
“What exactly are the daily tasks?” Bai Liu asked.
“Each person must process 240 kilograms of fresh dried-leaf roses every day and deliver them to the factory workers.”
Liu Jiayi slowly lifted her head.
“...How many kilograms did you just say?”
The worker looked at her with mocking contempt.
“Two hundred and forty kilograms. Your duties include sorting, drying, and roasting all 240 kilograms. That’s merely the basic quota. Fail to complete it, and you won’t receive your salary. If you fail for three consecutive days, you’ll be replaced by newly promoted flower pickers.”
He sneered coldly.
“For rookie processing workers, staying up all night to finish quotas is completely normal. Those dormitories are basically decoration for people like you.”
Then he gave Bai Liu’s shoulder a perfunctory pat.
“Oh, right. This information is probably wasted on you, but I’ll tell you anyway. The May Rose Festival is approaching, so the factory recently introduced an incentive system for processing workers. After completing your daily quota, every additional 60 kilograms you process earns you one bottle of mid-grade rose perfume.”
“Work hard,” he added with open ridicule. “Instead of wasting time wandering around thinking about the Factory Manager. If you can’t finish your quotas, you’ll end up as displaced Refugees within three days.”
“You can use your employee cards to collect roses from the flower pickers. Remember—only collect as much as you can process. Picked roses stay fresh for less than half a day. Any waste will be deducted from your wages.”
He pointed toward a nearby station.
“That’s where you collect your processing worker uniforms. Change clothes and begin work immediately.”
With that, the worker dragged away the sack of roses and hurried back toward the plaza.
[System Notification: Side Quest Triggered — Obtain one bottle of Mid-Grade Rose Dried Leaf Gas Perfume]
Liu Jiayi stayed silent for a long moment before speaking.
“A basic quota of 240 kilograms, plus another 60 kilograms for the reward task... that’s 300 kilograms total. Even if we worked twenty-four hours straight without sleep, we’d still need to process 12.5 kilograms every hour...”
“No,” Bai Liu corrected calmly while rubbing his chin in thought. “It’s worse than that. Drying alone takes an entire day and night, and that’s after collection. Which means we can’t even properly begin processing on the first day.”
He calculated quietly.
“According to that worker, if we fail to complete the basic quota within three days, we’ll be replaced. So realistically, over the remaining two days, our average workload rises to 360 kilograms per day. And if we include the reward quota...”
Bai Liu concluded in a perfectly calm tone:
“Well, this is just the standard overtime routine of corporate slaves. I can accept it.”
Liu Jiayi: “...”
For the first time in her life, Liu Jiayi began fearing her future career prospects in advance.
——————
After collecting their uniforms, they should have gone directly to the flower fields to gather roses according to instructions.
Instead, Bai Liu casually handed the entire responsibility of collecting 720 kilograms of roses to Liu Jiayi alone and announced that he needed to leave for a while.
Liu Jiayi stared at him in disbelief.
“I can’t handle that much by myself. You’d better come back quickly.”
“I know.” Bai Liu smiled as he looked down at the four bottles of perfume in his hand. “Isn’t that why I’m going to recruit extra labor?”
Just as Bai Liu turned to leave, Liu Jiayi suddenly called out to him.
“Wait.”
Bai Liu raised an eyebrow and looked back.
[System Notification: Player Liu Jiayi spent 200 points to activate the (Small TV Mute) service]
After confirming nobody was nearby, Liu Jiayi frowned and lowered her voice.
“I told you before, right? Among the four players you lured over last night, three of them were high-ranking members of the Kings Guild.”
Bai Liu nodded.
“I think the Hunter has already allied himself with the Kings Guild.” Liu Jiayi’s expression darkened. “The Hunter’s target is obviously you. As for the Kings Guild... I think their target is me.”
She pressed her lips together before continuing quietly.
“The Queen of Hearts values me highly. She’s been training me as the tactical analyst for this season’s team. If I betray the guild, it’ll seriously affect the Kings Guild’s performance in the league.”
“By dragging me into the game so openly, they’re definitely coming after you. And knowing the Queen... she’ll believe that as long as you die, I’ll eventually return to the Kings Guild.”
Liu Jiayi awkwardly tugged at the oversized protective suit. Her fingers twisted together behind her back as she turned her head away and muttered quickly:
“Sorry. You got dragged into this because of me.”
There was a reason she said that.
If Bai Liu’s only goal had been healing Liu Jiayi and saving her life, he could have simply thrown her into a third-level game and let her clear it alone.
That would have allowed Liu Jiayi to recover quickly while avoiding direct conflict between Bai Liu and the Kings Guild. Cold-hearted as it might have seemed, objectively speaking, it would have been the most rational solution.
But if Bai Liu had done that, Liu Jiayi would have been cornered alone by the Kings Guild, trapped with nowhere to escape.
The Kings Guild might not directly harm her, but they would absolutely use every possible method to restrict her freedom and force her back into the guild for the league competition.
The Queen of Hearts’ methods of manipulation were terrifyingly effective. Combined with the guild’s stockpile of mental-affecting items and the enhancement provided by the Queen’s own abilities, turning Liu Jiayi back into a loyal puppet of the Kings Guild would not have been difficult.
And Liu Jiayi absolutely did not want to return there.
She had started to fear the Queen.
She was afraid that under the Queen’s manipulation, she would once again become that little witch trapped inside endless suspicion and obsession.
But Bai Liu had entered the game beside her anyway.
He had willingly stepped forward to draw the hostility onto himself and protect her directly, even if it meant openly standing against the Kings Guild.
Liu Jiayi was not stupid. On the contrary, she was exceptionally intelligent. She understood very clearly that Bai Liu was taking all this trouble entirely because of her.
That was why she apologized.
—Back when she shielded Bai Liu from that attack, it had merely been repayment.
Little Bai Six had once saved her in the orphanage, and Bai Liu had practically risked his life to save her in the hospital.
Now she owed him again.
The realization left Liu Jiayi strangely frustrated. At this rate, she felt like she would never finish repaying her debt to Bai Liu.
After mumbling that faint apology, Liu Jiayi secretly raised her eyes slightly, trying to catch Bai Liu’s reaction from the corner of her vision.
Instead, Bai Liu responded in an utterly calm tone:
“You call that an apology? I could barely hear you.”
Liu Jiayi: “...”
