Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Absolute Obedience.

[Holy crap, the tables have turned! Is Big Sister Boss trying to swap roles?]

[Good, good, good. As expected of Big Sister Boss—absolutely dominant!]

[Brothers, can you believe it? With that tone of hers, she sounded like the boss. I was dumbfounded at first, and I actually got bluffed by her.]

[As expected of the rich lady who owns a vacation villa. Her aura is incredible!]

The NPCs in the game were naturally not that easy to fool.

Although Ning Rong fully looked like a boss, the NPC was only fooled for one or two seconds.

The foreman blocked the doorway of the break room like a small mountain, bringing enormous pressure to the player.

At close range, it was easier to see certain details on the NPC.

For example, the foreman wore only a work tank top, and the exposed skin was covered in tattoos.

At a glance, Ning Rong could see that the tattoo patterns resembled an evil god, with bizarre lines.

When the foreman’s two thick arms full of fat swung, the tattoo patterns seemed to come alive as well. The lines flowed across his upper arms like water.

If one looked carelessly, it would seem as though those red eyes were moving.

The foreman’s mung-bean-like little eyes stared viciously at Ning Rong, his thick lips moving up and down.

“Who are you?”

Because the sentence was simple, Ning Rong understood his meaning merely by reading his lips.

Ning Rong used that clumsy Mandarin of hers and said,

“Your boss.”

Because she could not hear, she could not be sure whether her pronunciation was accurate.

Hearing those three words, the foreman could not help but throw his head back and burst into laughter.

Even though Ning Rong could not hear it, she felt the strong tremor through the ground, as if a small earthquake had happened here.

The dim yellow bulb hanging from the ceiling of the break room swayed with it, the light flickering everywhere.

In the half-bright, half-dark shadows, the foreman’s gaze sharpened.

“You dare scam your grandpa? Boss? You damn—”

He spoke too fast and too urgently for Ning Rong to read his lips.

But by guessing alone, she knew the foreman was not saying anything nice.

She had no hobby of listening to other people curse.

So with an indifferent expression, she took out that black card from her Personal Space.

She held the black card between the index and middle fingers of her right hand and waved it in front of the foreman.

She did not need to say a single word.

The foreman understood her meaning immediately.

Sure enough, the moment that black card appeared, the foreman’s voice came to an abrupt halt.

At that moment, what fell silent was not only this small space.

What also fell silent was Ning Rong’s entire livestream room.

Only several seconds later did the viewers suddenly react to what they had just seen.

[What is this? Tell me, what is this?]

[Damn rich people! This is supposed to be a horror game, so why are you this rich?]

[What? I woke up too hard and saw Big Sister Boss pull out a black card. Not sure. Let me look again.]

[Even after looking a few hundred times, that black card is still there!]

[Oh? Is this another illusion trick from Big Sister Boss?]

[It must be an illusion! It must be!]

[Without question, it’s an illusion!]

Those saying illusion trick were old viewers making a joke.

Because when Ning Rong first entered the game, when she was still a complete newcomer, she had casually taken out several game coins.

That move had directly stunned Lu Wen.

Lu Wen had stared blankly, face full of disbelief, and Ning Rong had fooled him by saying it was an illusion trick.

That scene had been firmly remembered by the veteran viewers, who would occasionally bring it up to tease her.

At this time, the foreman stared blankly at that highly textured black card, suddenly losing the ability to speak.

The black card was edged in gold thread and decorated with exquisite embossed patterns.

Its texture was superb—mysterious and noble, looking incomparably elegant.

Within this tiny space, the black card declared its overwhelming presence.

It should not have appeared here.

It belonged more in a magnificent and luxurious place.

Because it was so mesmerizing.

It was the first time the foreman had seen a genuine Black Card. Someone who could casually take out a Black Card—if she was not his boss, then who else could she be?

Although he had seen the boss before, that person did not look like this. But maybe that time it had been the young boss? This time, the one who came must be the big boss!

Thinking of what he had just said, he fiercely slapped himself across the face. The sound was thunderously loud.

“Sorry, boss! My attitude just now was bad!”

Ning Rong casually put away the Black Card. Without even looking at him, she walked a few steps toward the door.

“Move.”

The foreman hurriedly shifted his thick body aside and made a welcoming gesture.

“Boss, please.”

Ning Rong passed by him without glancing sideways. After she left the break room, the foreman hurried after her.

As for why the big boss would appear in a shabby room meant only for laborers?

There had to be a purpose behind it!

The big boss would never do anything without value!

Maybe the big boss was inspecting the workers’ living conditions!

That had to be it!

The foreman automatically filled in the reason Ning Rong had appeared in the crude break room.

【This time, Big Sister probably didn’t even use a skill, right?】

【Very sure. She didn’t.】

【When you can pull out a Black Card, who still needs skills!】

【Bold statement: the Black Card really is that useful! If I were the foreman, I’d believe her instantly too!】

【Where did Big Sister get the Black Card from?】

【Great question, but I don’t know either. Next one.】

As Ning Rong walked along the road, the foreman kept speaking in a low, flattering tone to curry favor with her.

But she could not hear him, so she gave no response the entire time.

The colder she acted, the more firmly the foreman believed in her identity.

That snobbish, superior manner was exactly what his boss should have. If one day the boss started being warm and pleasant to him, that would be the strange part.

Even though the big boss gave no response, the foreman did not dare stop talking.

Otherwise, the big boss might think he was dissatisfied with her.

“Boss, which amusement facility are you planning to inspect first?”

The foreman did not know Ning Rong could not hear. He only thought she was still unhappy with him.

That was no small matter.

If you offended leadership, who knew whether they would make life difficult for you later?

While the foreman continued fawning over her, he and Ning Rong happened to reach the roller coaster area.

It was already 6:10 in the evening. The sky had gradually darkened. Whether intentional or not, the amusement park’s lighting facilities were poor, and illumination was insufficient.

Under the dim light, the roller coaster was like a beast lurking in darkness, ready at any moment to tear the players apart and devour them whole.

At this moment, several players had gathered nearby.

They had probably originally been scattered around the area, but because this side had the brightest light, they were drawn toward it and gradually gathered here.

When they arrived, the group of players had been discussing something among themselves.

Seeing this bunch of idle “laborers,” the foreman was just about to roar at them and order them to get behind him when Ning Rong casually pointed in a certain direction and said,

“You. Come here.”

Foreman: ???

Players: ???

The foreman rubbed his fan-like hands and moved to Ning Rong’s side.

“Boss, this...”

This time, Ning Rong used the dim streetlight to clearly see his lip movements.

She could barely understand simple sentences. As for long ones, forget it—she could not interpret a single sentence.

Ning Rong ignored the foreman and directly said to Zhou Yujing, “You, come be my assistant.”

Although the foreman was dissatisfied with this decision, he did not dare say anything.

In the end, he only dared to order around the laborers under him, treating them as less than human, but he did not dare say a word against the boss above him.

Just from the two sentences Ning Rong had spoken, Zhou Yujing already guessed she must have run into some kind of problem.

Her speech was unclear, sounding rather clumsy, completely different from usual. It sounded a bit like...

Just as he was about to walk over, a young man beside him quickly stuffed an item into his hand.

The young man spoke rapidly, “Bring this and you’ll be able to hear sounds.”

Zhou Yujing quietly tightened his grip on the item.

The moment he clenched it, the item description appeared before him.

【Mini Hearing Aid: A cheap little gadget. If your hearing is bad, you probably really need it.】

He quietly said, “Thank you.”

He remembered this favor.

Because Ning Rong had specifically named him, the foreman did not dare urge him and could only let him slowly dawdle over.

Once Zhou Yujing stood at Ning Rong’s side, the foreman lightly snorted.

That snort just so happened to fall into Ning Rong’s ears, now that her hearing had recovered.

She glanced at him indifferently and said in a cold tone, “Are you dissatisfied?”

Players: !!!

The next second, the huge foreman, covered in tattoos and looking every bit like a thug, humbly scratched his head and said gently,

“No, boss.”

【My god, I got goosebumps!】

【A burly man actually used that soft ending particle! My ears! My ears!】

【I’m dying laughing. Look at this flattering act of his, arrogant before and servile after! Hard to watch!】

【Sure enough, no one can resist Big (Money) Sister’s charm.】

Hearing the word “boss,” the many players all wore different expressions.

Anyone who could appear here was no newbie player, and naturally none of them were fools.

They all knew that in the short time since entering the game, Ning Rong had obviously done something to shake off the title of “laborer” and transform into the NPC’s boss.

Some were envious, some curious, some thoughtful, and some...

Wanted to expose the lie.

“You’ve been fooled. She’s not any kind of boss at all! She’s a laborer too!”

Everyone’s attention was drawn to that voice.

Just as Ning Rong had expected, the one who spoke was Yuan Pei.

Speaking of it, the two of them originally had no real grudge.

But now, they had already become enemies who would not stop until one side died.

【As expected of Sinister Villain—truly sinister!】

【No one else said anything, only Yuan Pei had to be the attention-seeker.】

【This guy really is going head-to-head with Big Sister.】

After being questioned, Ning Rong did not refute him immediately.

If she hurried to deny it, then in the NPC’s eyes, it would instead look like a guilty conscience.

She looked calmly at Yuan Pei, saying nothing.

She did not speak, so naturally someone spoke for her.

The foreman looked at Yuan Pei with a malicious expression.

“You’re saying she’s not the boss?”

Yuan Pei was very clear on what a change in identity meant for Ning Rong. Laborers were naturally oppressed by foremen, while bosses were naturally above foremen.

If this amusement park dungeon had a food chain, then Ning Rong would now be at the top, the foreman in the middle layer, and the lowest layer… would be the laborers.

But…

Why was he a laborer, while she became the foreman’s boss?

Clearly everyone was just players!

The foreman took a step closer to Yuan Pei.

If she wasn’t the boss, then wasn’t this guy questioning his judgment?

He had already believed she was the boss, and yet this person was saying she wasn’t? Was he going against him?

How could she not be? She must be, because he would never be wrong!

That Black Card—so dazzling, it nearly blinded him.

She was his boss!

Thinking of this, the foreman grabbed Yuan Pei by the collar and lifted him up like a chick.

The veins on the foreman’s right arm bulged as he exerted force.

“I didn’t hear clearly just now. Say that again?”

The NPC’s voice was deafening. Yuan Pei was shaken to the point of dizziness.

He quickly realized something.

The foreman’s absolute trust in Ning Rong must be because she had done something.

He didn’t have time to guess what she had done now—he could only try to reverse the situation.

As long as Ning Rong admitted she wasn’t the boss, everything would be resolved.

As long as she admitted it, his current predicament would be solved immediately.

There was no need to hesitate anymore.

Yuan Pei directly activated his third skill against Ning Rong—

【Absolute Obedience】.

His in-game identity was “Prison Warden,” and the targets of his skills were his “prisoners.” Therefore, all his skills were designed to make prisoners obedient.

Whether it was 【Skill Sealing】 or 【Item Sealing】, they were all meant to strip prisoners of hostility toward him and turn them harmless and obedient.

But 【Absolute Obedience】 was slightly different from the previous two skills.

【Item Sealing】 and 【Skill Sealing】 had a 100% success rate, because the Prison Warden naturally held authority over prisoners.

But 【Absolute Obedience】 did not.

Because prisoners had different personalities, talents, environments, and life experiences, among a group of prisoners, there would always be a few troublemakers.

Thus, when facing players with strong wills, this skill had a chance of failing.

Such rebellious players would not easily obey others.

Even if their weapons were confiscated and they had no tools left to rely on, they would still remain unyielding, proud, unbending, and unwilling to submit.

However, Yuan Pei did not believe this skill would fail against Ning Rong.

After all, she was only a newcomer who had cleared the game three times—and her last clearance was entirely thanks to 01; she had basically been carried. By that logic, she had only truly cleared it twice.

As everyone knew, newbie players had a high survival rate in their first few dungeons. Because the game would not start off too difficult, lucky ones could pass every instance in their first month.

Moreover, her real-world identity was that of a physical education graduate who had recently been struggling to find a job—and it seemed she hadn’t even found one before entering the infinite game world.

Yuan Pei’s stereotype of physical education students had always been “simple-minded, well-developed limbs.”

Ning Rong’s height and body proportions also counted as well-developed limbs.

Then she must also be simple-minded.

Unyielding, proud, never bowing, never admitting defeat?

Impossible.

She did not look like someone with that kind of firm will at all.

The more he thought about it, the more lightly he regarded Ning Rong.

He confidently activated his skill.

After activating 【Absolute Obedience】, Yuan Pei lowered his voice and slowly guided Ning Rong to say what he wanted to hear.

“Tell him you are not the boss. Be obedient.”

After speaking, he patiently waited for Ning Rong to expose herself.

Once the NPC learned she had been deceiving and misleading them all along, the NPC would definitely fly into a rage.

Even if there were still 24 hours of safe time in the game, the NPC might not immediately kill Ning Rong—but once the safe period ended, it would be hard to say.

A faint crimson madness appeared in Yuan Pei’s eyes.

He was eagerly waiting to see Ning Rong suffer. After all, they stood on opposite sides and were enemies.

But he did not get Ning Rong’s self-exposure.

What he got instead was her light, casual reply:

“You’re so greasy.”

Yuan Pei: ???

Players: ???

Viewers: 【Hahahahaha, indeed very greasy.】

【Be obedient? Are you even qualified to say that to Big Sister?】

【Yuan Oil, who are you telling to be obedient?】

【Did Yuan Oil just activate a skill?】

【Yes, you didn’t hear wrong, he did! It should be some kind of player-control skill.】

【Well then, congratulations on its failure.】

The moment the comments fell, a bright, glaring red notification suddenly appeared in front of Yuan Pei—

【Skill activation failed】

Yuan Pei: !!!