Doomsday Wonderland

Not being able to use force was extremely frustrating.

With Lin Sanjiu's sharp eyes, it was obvious that if she could physically confront Lily, she would strip the paint off Lily's face in less than five minutes. However, in this game, she could only watch helplessly as Lily opened the door with an enlightened expression and shrugged, saying, "No wonder you were so eager to retrieve it. Well, thank you for the humanoid Special Item. Like I said, finders keepers."

Lin Sanjiu studied her for a moment. Seeing no sound inside the room, she asked, "Did you store him away?"

Lily spread her hands, not fearing Lin Sanjiu in the slightest. "Who wouldn't do that immediately?"

Lin Sanjiu pursed her lips and nodded, then suddenly turned and left.

Of course, she wouldn't give up on the Life Coach.

Unable to retrieve him through force, she had to rely on the game's methods to force the Life Coach out of Lily's hands.

Before figuring out the specifics, she needed to secure an office for herself.

As Lin Sanjiu ran through the corridors, anger weighed on her. The game took Han Suiping and Nu Yue, seized the grand prize, and even stole the Life Coach. All she could do now was obediently play along and find an office — and it had to be a medium-sized one!

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She abruptly stopped in front of a medium-sized office door, kicked it open, glanced at the office that had six cubicle desks, and then tossed the chubby client from her back into the room. The client, seemingly not feeling any pain, got up and dizzily turned to leave.

She blocked the door with her arms, kicking him back whenever he got close. Now, she needed to rent this office quickly and hire a Level 1 employee to watch over this chubby client.

As Lin Sanjiu was about to speak, she paused.

Wait, thinking about how Qian Dao took over Whit E. Company... She shouldn't rent the office immediately.

Three players in this game took the righteous route, meticulously finding clients and renting rooms step by step, while Qian Dao was different, adopting a more pirate-like strategy.

Since the game started, there had not been an announcement about the establishment of Qian Dao's company, which means he neither rented an office nor hired employees. He probably secretly followed Whit E., which allowed him to locate Whit E.'s office. This suggested that Qian Dao had a special skill in hiding and tracking.

Given Qian Dao's attack power of 1, managing to seize the office indicated that Whit E.'s office's defense power was 0 at that time.

Whit E. was not cautious enough. He left his office before hiring a level 4 defense employee or before such an employee appeared, giving Qian Dao an opportunity.

"You can't be serious," Mrs. Manas said suspiciously. "You, who's known for being reckless, thought of not carelessly leaving the office. Could Whit E. really be that careless?" ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

'Is this really the time for self-criticism?'

Lin Sanjiu unhappily responded, "Regardless of how it happened, Qian Dao captured Whit E.'s office. Now he has an office, a level 1 guard employee, and clients. Plus, he hasn't touched his initial 100 currency. If I were him, I would immediately hire two level 5 attack employees. Who can stop their combined attack power of 3 in this game after five minutes? He could end the game just as it starts."

It must be said, Qian Dao's move instantly put all other players in a passive position. For those who genuinely rented offices and hired employees, no one has enough money to hire two level 4 defense employees now. Client profits will only be received after an hour, and if her guess is correct, no one can withstand Qian Dao's total attack power of 3 in five minutes.

So, did this mean she couldn't rent an office now?

'No, wait.'

Lin Sanjiu frowned deeply, realizing another possibility.

If she were Qian Dao, would she hire two level 5 employees and spend all 100 of the starting currency?

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After all, there was still Whit E. on this floor.

No matter how much money Whit E. had left, one thing remained unchanged: he knew exactly where the office that Qian Dao took was. If Qian Dao dared to leave the office with the level 5 employees, the chances of Whit E. taking advantage of the vacancy and recapturing the company would become very high.

While Qian Dao didn't know the locations of Lily or Lin Sanjiu, Whit E. knew his. It was clear who would take less time to find the other. Losing the company office would mean Qian Dao's level 5 employees would now belong to the new occupier, Whit E. — essentially dressing someone else for their wedding at his own expense. This meant Qian Dao would definitely have some form of defense; if his maximum attack power dropped to 2, as long as Lin Sanjiu hired a level 4 employee, her new company would naturally be safe.

Thankfully, Whit E. and Qian Dao were now mutually restraining each other, so she should be able to establish a company.

This train of thought frustrated Lin Sanjiu so much that she wanted to bang her head against the wall. The game had only started less than ten minutes ago, and various complex possibilities had already intertwined messily. She found it hard to believe she had pondered so long before finally deciding to rent an office.

With this in mind, she quickly stuffed the chubby client back into the room. Taking advantage of the fact that he hadn't disappeared yet, she whispered, "I'll rent this room and hire a level 1 employee to watch over him!"

The announcement immediately followed. "Congratulations on the establishment of Lin Sanjiu Company. Wishing you business prosperity."

A level 1 employee would appear in a minute, marking the start of the client's revenue timer. At least now, the client wouldn't vanish. She still needed to keep him from wandering away within this minute.

Lin Sanjiu licked her dry lips, glanced at her avatar on the office door, and saw the text below reading, "Lin Sanjiu Company Office No. 1, 1 Client, 1 Employee, Income 100 currency/hour, Office space remaining: 5 people. Cash flow: 60 currency."

The income would only be received at the end of an hour, yet rent and wages had already been deducted. She opened the door, peered into the corridor, and listened intently but heard nothing.

The game had added many corridors and rooms to this floor. The first-floor lobby's open and simple design had transformed into a maze with winding corridors, dim lighting, and endless turns on the sixtieth floor. In this maze, just having speed wouldn't ensure one's safe passage through the entire floor.

"Should we hire a level 4 employee next?" Mrs. Manas asked.

From her scant information, each of the four players in this game could potentially have 2 attack or 2 defense powers.

Hiring a level 4 employee to form a defense power of 2 would make her temporarily invincible. Hiring a level 5 employee for an attack power of 2 would mean risking a stalemate with an opponent, wasting ten units of currency, and perhaps even losing the office while on a campaign. Thus, defense was the best option for now.

"Let's hire a..." Lin Sanjiu began but then stopped mid-sentence.

She could think of it, and so could others. If everyone believes that forming 2 defensive points is currently the best choice, then... doesn't that mean there are no level 5 offensive employees outside?

If there aren't any level 5 offensive employees outside, what's the point of her hiring a level 4 defensive employee?

"Wait, perhaps some might think that since there are no level 5 offensive employees outside, some players won't hire level 4 defensive employees. This player might then choose to form 2 offensive points and attack everywhere," Mrs. Manas hastily said and then sighed. "It's like rock-paper-scissors, going in circles, never-ending."

Exactly.

Lin Sanjiu felt like banging her head against the wall again. She emitted a soft groan from her throat, sounding like a frustrated, hungry dog that could see a bone but couldn't eat it. She paced back and forth, and amidst the announcement of "Congratulations to Whit E. Company for its re-establishment, wishing business prosperity," she finally made up her mind.

Hiring a level 4 employee meant choosing defense. Lin Sanjiu would be stuck in her office, unable to go out and find clients, which was her biggest concern. Caster could only emerge from places she had been before, and she hadn't been to more than half of this floor. Therefore, relying on Advaita's ability to search for clients was sadly not feasible.

It was the inability to find clients that gave Lin Sanjiu an idea.

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Those who chose defense couldn't go out to find clients; she already had one and was still anxious. Then, wouldn't Lily, who didn't have a single client, be even more anxious?

"I think I have a way to deal with Lily," Lin Sanjiu whispered. "She wanted my humanoid Special Item, didn't she? I'll just send her another one. If I'm lucky, I might be able to retrieve the Life Coach all at once." freewebnøvel.coɱ

As she spoke, she summoned the Artist. Lily had seen Caster and her client, so she had to find a humanoid Special Item that Lily had never encountered—that left only the Artist.

"I'm going to take you somewhere," Lin Sanjiu said with some trepidation, unsure if the Artist could understand an instruction that wasn't about painting. "When we get there, give me a few minutes to think about what to paint. In the meantime, you can just spin around on the spot. Do you understand?"