Passing through the corridor and into the stairwell of the security passage, the two n, Jiang Shu and Wolf, ascended a short flight of stairs and were confronted by a tal door.
This was the door leading to the rooftop, but at the mont it was tightly shut. Even with the managent-level Black Card that Jiang Shu had stolen, they couldn’t open it; it seed like the Seges Group had already discovered their intention, and the access had been revoked.
Now, with the path to the rooftop blocked, the building outside crawling with thugs searching for the two of them, and the timing of the police station’s rescue uncertain, Jiang Shu and Wolf sat atop the stairs and activated the video on the Simulated Light Screen.
Title: "Corporate Wolves? A Blessing? Is this what the Labor Legislation brings us?"
The video’s tags below were studded with evocative keywords like "Labor Legislation," "Workplace Bullying," and "Capitalist Oppression." In this epoch, with the First and Second Districts already in turmoil over the drafting of the Labor Legislation, a video like this was undoubtedly eye-catching.
The video was short, rely ten minutes, but its overall tone was set to a cold, underworldly gray that made one imdiately uncomfortable.
It began with the corporate rules of the Seges Group, displayed on the public notice board in the common office area.
"1. All employees of the company shall put the interests of the company first, unite, work hard, and are strictly forbidden from betraying or selling out the company.
...3. Subordinate staff must comply with all reasonable requests from superiors, and any inquiries should be raised with the company’s executive departnt after fulfilling the demands.
...6. The company prioritizes efficiency; ti-wasting during work phases is strictly forbidden, with violators fined five hundred Feather Coins each ti.
...8. Comply with the company’s arrangent of days off; those who comply may receive a bonus for adjusted leave.
...The right to interpret these guidelines rests with the company’s supervision team."
Just cherry-picking a few of these rules was already enough to give off a stench of bullying.
They might seem innocuous, devoid of overt coercion and threats, yet when implented, they beca what Jiang Shu and Wolf had witnessed.
Company interests above all else? What if it clashes with personal interests?
Compliant with reasonable requests from superiors? Who defines what’s reasonable?
Strict prohibition on wasting ti? What qualifies as wasting ti?
Compliant with shift adjustnts? Unconditional compliance, with no right to choose for oneself?
...
Before entering the building to learn what was happening inside the Seges Group, Jiang Shu only felt sothing subtly off about the wording of these regulations, but after understanding the company’s details, he saw bullying woven through every line.
One could write a cyber version of "Diary of a Madman."
However, netizens who had never entered the Seges Building couldn’t empathize with him, and that’s why the following video exemplified clause by clause the essence of these terms and the kind of life these employees were enduring.
The ten-minute video was brief and soon neared its end. The last part of the video showed the brute enforcers of the supervision team jeering as they rolled up their sleeves to reveal tattooed arms, brandishing their weapons as they charged forward with fierce expressions—clearly battle-hardened.
Such characters appearing in a public company, working in the Central Business District, felt sowhat dissonant.
And the image finally froze on the leading enforcers as they viciously swung their batons, the ferocity and violence coming through the screen.
"Hmm..." Wolf watched this final scene and comnted, "This guy’s no good, his hits don’t even hurt. No, wait, all of these guys are no good, just a bunch of useless sacks."
"Uh..." Jiang Shu couldn’t help but look at him helplessly before turning his gaze to the small figure of Ding, who was standing lookout near the security passage.
To be honest, with Wolf’s physique, taking a few baton hits wouldn’t matter much, and yet he hadn’t taken a single one.
It was just Ding being too soft-hearted, which suited him just fine.
"Do you think I might have so kind of Qigong or sothing?" Wolf again brought up an enthusiastic point, "We could have Kirie look into it later. By the way, it’s been a long ti since you’ve been to our police station. Kirie seems pretty bored usually; maybe she misses you?"
"You’re overthinking it." Jiang Shu shrugged off Wolf as well.
At this mont, in the laboratory of the Seventh District Police Station, a small figure was busy in front of an experintal platform. She put a whole plate of seasoned squid into an electric oven and then poured a full glass of fruit juice into a beaker, adding a few ice cubes.
After completing all this, she finally had ti to sit down, so she lay down in the window-side lounge chair, the best spot in the laboratory for light and comfort.
The gentle morning sun bathed her in waves of warmth.
Life was truly comfortable without the Wizard, Jiang Shu, around.
But suddenly, she felt an unexplained chill even in the presence of the blazing sun, a coldness spreading throughout her body.
She sat up in surprise, puzzled by the coldness she felt, narrowing her eyes towards the sun.
Why the sense of foreboding?
Was it because she had ntioned that guy’s na?
Or because Wolf had found sothing for her to deal with again?
Confusion flickered in her eyes.
——
Inside the Seges Building in Thirteenth District, Jiang Shu and Wolf were still watching that video.
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