Chapter 363: The Next Dungeon

Inside a skyscraper.

Several figures surrounded Rabbit Woman as holographic projections.

This was Nuochen Biotech's shareholder meeting.

These figures were all Rabbit Woman's blood relatives—various aunts and uncles.

She had convened the meeting because of a decision she had just announced.

"Zeng Ru, the family did let you become the executive director, but shouldn't you discuss things with us before acting?"

A lizard-like figure spoke up. It was Rabbit Woman's third aunt.

"Exactly, Xiaoru. You announced such important information without giving us any notice. The raw materials for a few of my subsidiaries just ran out. Where am I supposed to buy more now?"

A massive snake silhouette spoke. It was Rabbit Woman's youngest uncle.

"..."

Rabbit Woman looked at the surrounding figures, who had clearly come to hold her accountable. She took a deep breath.

"It's like this, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Usually, according to custom, the Wasteland experiences a one-month unstable period every year."

"My decision simply announced this unstable period ahead of schedule."

"Nonsense! What if the real unstable period arrives?!" bellowed a figure with two pig heads growing from its shoulders.

"I've already arranged for technicians to run tests. There won't be an unstable period this year."

Rabbit Woman's expression turned grim.

The unstable period they spoke of was a massive secret kept among the major corporate magnates of the Peace Heavenly Kingdom.

Every year, these major magnates would announce an unstable period for the Wasteland lasting about a month.

This timeframe served as a consumption period for the magnates' goods, also known as a period of economic scarcity.

The economy couldn't stay saturated forever. When goods piled up, they had to find a way to offload them; when funds dwindled, they had to find a way to recoup them.

The unstable period served exactly this purpose.

In reality, the Wasteland didn't experience an unstable period every year. However, under the joint propaganda of the major magnates and the government, the public had long since accepted the "fact" of an annual one-month unstable period.

"Then now is absolutely not the best time. Do you know how much money we'll lose like this?"

The lizard figure spoke again, her tone sharp and caustic.

"Exactly..." "You can't just ignore our livelihoods..." "Who does things like this..."

The clamor of complaints ignited Rabbit Woman's anger. Suppressing her impatience, she said, "Aunts and uncles, I know this was rushed, but I have my own tasks to fulfill. As for your losses..."

"I promise you that once this matter is resolved, I'll immediately contact my connections in the political sphere to secure compensation for your losses."

"..." "..." "..."

Having finally sent the crowd of holographic figures away, Rabbit Woman let out a long breath, looking grim.

It was only a slight squeeze on their profit margins, and she had announced the resolution less than half a day ago, yet they were already crying about her "ignoring their livelihoods."

If a major upheaval truly occurred, they would undoubtedly skin her alive.

A bunch of bastards. They were all just like the storybooks described—a pixiu that only eats.

After pondering for a few seconds, she dialed a number.

Unlike other numbers, this one only had two digits.

16.

There were exactly forty-nine such two-digit numbers.

They represented the forty-nine councilors of the Heavenly Kingdom Council.

Everyone knew these forty-nine councilors' phone numbers, but the rank of the person who actually answered depended on who was calling.

If you were from the Anthill, the person answering the call would be someone at the level of a squad captain from the Law Enforcement Agency.

But if Rabbit Woman called...

"Director Zeng."

A hoarse male voice sounded from the other end.

"Councilor Gu."

Seeing that he had answered, Rabbit Woman's voice relaxed a bit.

"What can I do for you, Director Zeng?" the man chuckled.

"Nothing major. I just wanted to see if you were busy lately, Councilor Gu. If there's an issue, I can help you solve it. If everything is fine, that's the best news for me."

Rabbit Woman smiled.

This was her backer.

To be precise, they were mutual backers.

She had invested in Gu Yi, helping him become a councilor of the Heavenly Kingdom Council. In return, he supported her decisions within the Zeng Family, expanding her influence.

This was a major reason she had become the executive director at such a young age.

For the children of magnate families, foresight was crucial.

Choosing Gu Yi back then was equivalent to choosing her own destiny.

Her aunts and uncles were getting so restless recently precisely because election season had arrived.

Next month's elections would cause a reshuffling of the Heavenly Kingdom Council's forty-nine seats. Whether her backer could secure reelection was hard to say.

What a pity...

They still had no idea what she and the man on the other end were planning.

"Is everything going smoothly?" she asked.

"Everything is proceeding smoothly."

Gu Yi's voice was hoarse but brimmed with deep confidence.

"The approval has passed. That distinguished person is also very satisfied with our plan."

"Good."

Hearing Gu Yi's words, joy rose in Rabbit Woman's heart. She picked up a glass of wine from the table in front of her and smiled.

"To us."

"To us."

Gu Yi smiled as well.

...

...

[The next Dungeon task has been issued.]

[Task Location: Peace Heavenly Kingdom]

[Task: "Sin Live Broadcast"]

[Task Description:

As an entity within the Heavenly Kingdom with highly distinct social classes and oppressive management, mass entertainment serves as an important method for channeling the public's emotions.

For instance, tacitly permitting the circulation of non-addictive Happy Water on the market is one way to soothe public sentiment.

Due to a proposal from a councilor of the Heavenly Kingdom Council, the Peace Heavenly Kingdom is scheduled to hold a Sin Live Broadcast in two weeks.

This councilor applied to mobilize the "power" of the Heavenly Kingdom, placing several criminals from the Great Prison and "humans" into the same nationwide broadcast to initiate a battle royale.

Note: During this broadcast, you cannot harm any resident of the Peace Heavenly Kingdom other than the participants. Otherwise, you will suffer "punishment" from the Heavenly Kingdom.

Note: In this broadcast, you only qualify to leave alive by meeting one of the following two conditions:

1. Become one of the final five survivors in the broadcast.

2. Have your broadcast Sin Value exceed one million.]

[Note: This Dungeon has additional rules that will be revealed by the organizers once the Dungeon begins.]

[Note: The next Dungeon is where you will obtain your honorary title. Any of your actions may cause variations in the honorary title you receive.]

[The next Dungeon will officially begin in two weeks.]

Yan Jing looked at the finally issued Dungeon task and blinked.

It sounded like a very interesting task.

Then...

Time to raise the stakes.

The [Chaos Missionary] ability activated.

[Your Dungeon task has been corrupted by the power of chaos. Even the power of the Heavenly Kingdom has undergone unpredictable changes.]

[The new Dungeon task has been issued.]

Yan Jing reviewed the Dungeon task after its difficulty increased and smiled.

[Survival of the final five has been changed to survival of the final three.]

[The broadcast Sin Value requirement has been changed from one million to three million.]

[This broadcast will be livestreamed simultaneously in the Surface World region where the participants reside.]

[Betting system activated.]

"This is getting more and more interesting."

Yan Jing smiled faintly and put away the System Panel.

He had nothing important to do today. He had originally agreed to open chests with Shen Youran, but they suddenly received a phone call from Wang Changnian inviting them to view the Fifth Tier Ritual he had promised to prepare for Yan Jing.

A rather excellent Ritual had appeared in the Central Region of the Fifth Ring Domain, and it had piqued Wang Changnian's interest.

Yan Jing didn't want to go out, so he had Shen Youran go instead.

"The weather's nice, so let's open the chests."

Yan Jing placed his phone to the side, recording the chest-opening process just as he had promised Shen Youran before she left.