Blooming Media Company (15)

"Why are you acting all high and mighty? Do you really think you're a leader now?"

Even though Tan Jiaojiao knew enough to keep her voice down, several people had already heard the commotion and turned their heads to look.

Nan Yue pulled Tan Jiaojiao aside and whispered, "Quiet down. We're still in the company."

Tan Jiaojiao looked back, and after confirming they were far enough from the crowd, she frowned and shook off Nan Yue's hand.

"So what if we're in the company? Don't forget we don't belong here. Do you really want to get promoted and keep working your way up like you're some big shot?"

Nan Yue looked at Tan Jiaojiao, somewhat speechless. Had this woman already been brainwashed by the company?

Generally speaking, it was normal for scavengers to have different roles in a mission, and each role could lead to relevant clues.

However, this mission was unique; different roles also defined the different treatment they received.

In such a high-pressure environment, a person's mindset would inevitably change.

Nan Yue's expression darkened as she hissed, "Don't forget this is a mission. Do you want to die for not following the rules?!"

Being scolded by Nan Yue seemed to bring back some of Tan Jiaojiao's logic, and she felt a bit of lingering fear for having spoken so recklessly in the heat of the moment.

However, her pride wouldn't let it go, and she muttered a small complaint.

"So I guess the rules mean we have to treat you like a god."

For a moment, Nan Yue didn't even want to continue communicating with her. She wanted to find teammates, but that was on the premise that her teammates weren't idiots.

Nan Yue prepared to turn and leave, not even bothering to maintain a cold facade just to save Tan Jiaojiao's pride.

Tan Jiaojiao probably knew she was being unreasonable and instinctively reached out to pull Nan Yue. As she turned with her, both of them froze.

The department head from earlier was standing behind them, his eyes practically spitting fire as he looked at Tan Jiaojiao holding Nan Yue's hand.

"Tan Jiaojiao! What do you think you're doing?!"

No matter what Nan Yue said, the department head insisted that showing disrespect or resentment toward a higher-level employee was absolutely forbidden. It was a violation and a challenge to the company's authority.

"Manager, I really didn't say anything! She asked me a question and I was just answering, really, you have to believe me!"

Having been caught red-handed, Tan Jiaojiao was finally terrified, repeatedly signaling for Nan Yue to speak up for her.

She didn't realize that this behavior only looked more disrespectful to the manager. He was so angry he smashed the water cup in his hand onto the floor.

The sound of glass shattering and the department head's furious roar finally snapped Tan Jiaojiao back to reality.

She wasn't an employee; she was a scavenger. These people weren't her colleagues, and they might not even be human.

She finally shut her mouth, trembling, afraid the manager would turn into a ghost and kill her on the spot.

"You, you, and you!"

The manager pointed at several people. Nan Yue noticed they were all from the same batch that had joined the company with them, including Bi Danyuan, who had winked at her earlier.

"You're all in the same batch. If one is ignorant, everyone is responsible! All of you are going to clean the basement tonight. If I find a single speck of dust tomorrow, everyone gets a C-grade for the month!"

As soon as he said this, everyone's expressions changed.

Bi Danyuan was relatively calm, but the other NPCs who had fought hard to get into Blooming Media Company looked at Tan Jiaojiao as if they wanted to eat her alive for dragging them down.

Nan Yue stood to the side without speaking, but she saw Bi Danyuan look up and catch her eye again for a split second.

She had a feeling that Bi Danyuan was someone she could cooperate with.

Nan Yue returned to her post and stayed busy until the afternoon. When Sister Lian and the others returned, Nan Yue hadn't even gone to dinner yet.

Linda waited for Sister Lian to go inside before sauntering over. She let out a cold sneer when she saw that Nan Yue had finished her work.

"Quite capable, aren't you?"

"I'm going to eat. Don't you dare leave your post."

Nan Yue had no complaints. Missing a single meal didn't matter to her, and Linda's petty methods of torment were insignificant.

However, she didn't expect that after Linda left, Sister Lian would call her into the office.

"I heard you went to the Branding Department today?"

Nan Yue's heart tightened. As expected, there were no secrets in this massive company. She didn't know where Sister Lian's eyes and ears were, not to mention the cameras everywhere.

Nan Yue lowered her head and spoke earnestly, "I learned a lot from going out with you yesterday, but I'm still not very familiar with our company's brand designs, so I wanted to learn more."

"Mm."

Sister Lian was noncommittal about the answer. "I heard there was a newcomer in the Branding Department who didn't know the rules?"

Nan Yue remained silent for a moment before saying, "Not exactly. Perhaps she just hasn't gotten used to the company yet."

"Hasn't gotten used to it."

Sister Lian repeated the words and chuckled softly. Since Sister Lian was sitting with her back to her, facing the floor-to-ceiling window, Nan Yue couldn't see her expression clearly.

"And you? Are you used to it?"

"I'm quite used to it," Nan Yue said cautiously.

"You need to get used to it faster."

Sister Lian turned to look at Nan Yue, her gaze indifferent. "The mistake-prone newcomer, the veteran employees looking up to you, the friends who sabotage you..."

"These are all part of the job."

"They are also the steps you climb to move up."

Sister Lian looked down at her reports. "As long as you're in the company, everyone has to get used to it."

Nan Yue paused. "What if they can't?"

Sister Lian seemed surprised by the question. She looked up at Nan Yue. "Then they can only leave."

Nan Yue sat at her desk, thinking over Sister Lian's words. The first part was advice; it seemed Sister Lian liked her enough to offer a few pointers while Linda was making things difficult.

But that last sentence... Nan Yue felt Sister Lian was hinting at something.

There must be secrets in the company that only the higher-ups knew. She could try to break through with brute force, but the risk was too high. The best way was to move up as quickly as possible and see what was hidden beneath the surface.

At ten o'clock that night, Tan Jiaojiao and the other three went down to the basement warehouse. Along the way, the other two were mocking and sneering at her.

They already knew the survival rules of this company. Although they were all punished together, Tan Jiaojiao was the one who had truly offended someone.

Based on that alone, they considered themselves a level higher than her.

Listening to the two of them mock her so blatantly, Tan Jiaojiao's face flushed with shame and she snapped back a few times. One of the men raised a fist toward her.

"Old woman, you don't have a say here."

Tan Jiaojiao was furious but didn't dare say anything more.

The warehouse was massive, so they split up to clean. That was the plan, at least, but the other two didn't move at all.

In their words, it was bad enough they had to suffer the punishment with her; did she really expect them to work together too?

In her dreams!

Tan Jiaojiao was worried about being targeted by the department head tomorrow, so she actually got down on her knees and began scrubbing the floor seriously.

Bi Danyuan lowered her voice to comfort her, "Even though it's a punishment, we've gained something. We didn't even know there was a warehouse here before."

Tan Jiaojiao frowned at the people chatting in the distance before saying, "Don't you think I'm miserable enough? Hurry up and help me, or we'll never finish scrubbing!"