I slay demons and monsters in a bizarre city.

Chapter 32 Digital Humans

"You absolutely have to keep this a secret. You might be among the first to be laid off! This morning I found half a sausage and a list of layoffs in the trash can next to my supervisor's desk, and you were the first one on the list!"

The buck-toothed girl grabbed Li Changgeng's arm and said, "Let me tell you, don't think you're safe just because your game design is good and you got 100 million. You know how perverted that fat, deadbeat manager is."

"It's a good thing you're a man. Even if you're subjected to the 'sexual harassment' by that fat woman, it's fine. I'm in a bad situation. I'm also on the layoff list."

The buck-toothed girl does have this habit: she arrives very early every day and, while she's at it, rummages through all the trash cans on all 17 floors that she can access, eating whatever is edible and taking whatever is usable.

The buck-toothed girl had probably just eaten breakfast and hadn't had time to rinse her mouth yet; her teeth were still covered in dark green chive leaves. Li Changgeng couldn't help but recall the dark green blood that the octopus girl had sprayed out on the ghost train at sea.

The news of the company's layoffs has been circulating for a long time. I heard that this time it is a structural layoff, which mainly refers to the gender ratio and the inefficiency and job overlap caused by the unreasonable personnel structure of departments.

Many employees were called in for talks, including the buck-toothed girl and the silly butt.

Silly Butt is an interesting person. She always likes to show her butt when she dresses. It's quite revealing, but it's just the right amount to make people's imaginations run wild while also making them feel beautiful.

Silly Butt's face is really not good-looking. He looks exactly like the "Ru Hua" girl. His face is rugged and his body is incredibly strong. His biceps are even bigger than Li Changgeng's. Otherwise, he would definitely be a heartthrob for many employees of KMS Games. As a game design company, the proportion of male employees is very high.

Li Changgeng hadn't considered what would happen if he were among those laid off. With the rapid development of technology, the unemployment rate remained high. Game companies, bioengineering companies, and artificial intelligence-related companies accounted for the vast majority of businesses. If he left KMS, Li Changgeng's only options would be other game companies. If KMS claimed to be the second best game company, no one would dare to claim the top spot.

"The unspoken rules aren't necessarily so rigid; you can give it a try." Li Changgeng didn't continue following the buck-toothed girl's words. He went to get a big cup of coffee and get back to work. As for the layoffs, he couldn't control them and could only passively accept them.

"You're crazy!" The buck-toothed girl looked at Li Changgeng's back and raised her middle finger. At least she had family. Li Changgeng was not born of a woman. The buck-toothed girl had a lot of grievances against Li Changgeng. If it hadn't been for Li Changgeng last time, the 100 million yuan prize should have been hers.

Li Changgeng arrived at the coffee shop. He was a little late to work today because he saw a tabby cat at the subway station. There were still coffee stains left by people after they got their coffee on the coffee machine counter. Li Changgeng picked up a rag, wiped it clean, and was about to press the button on the coffee machine when employee number 15 walked in with a coffee cup.

"Hey, Chang Geng! You have panda eyes, didn't you sleep well last night?"

It's the same old recipe, the same old taste, and employee number 15 is still saying the same old opening line to Li Changgeng.

Li Changgeng silently finished making the coffee and glanced back at the devout eyes of employee number 15.

"Was the tabby cat you saw at the Xianhuagang subway station a male or female cat?"

Li Changgeng felt that this game company was becoming increasingly frivolous and abnormal. The way Employee No. 15 looked at him was always the same, especially in the coffee shop. If Employee No. 15 couldn't answer Li Changgeng's questions, it was a strong indication of something. After starting work at the company, Employee No. 15's "program" was reset. Li Changgeng even had an urge to strip Employee No. 15 naked to see if his body was made of metal and electronic components, covered by a layer of human skin with blood vessels and muscles. Artificial intelligence manufacturing companies have already mastered this technology. These special people aren't called robots or automatons, but digital humans.

Due to a series of problems caused by high unemployment, the birth rate has dropped drastically. Bioengineering companies are also mass-producing cyborgs through electronic wombs. It is said that these cyborgs have already infiltrated every corner of society.

Digital humans and cyborgs differ from normal humans primarily in their ability to implant and alter memories. Theoretically, digital humans have an infinite lifespan, while cyborgs have a very short lifespan, with the longest being no more than 100 years. Cyborgs also age extremely slowly.

Li Changgeng suspected that there were very few normal people in the entire KMS game company. He even wondered if he himself was not a normal human being. The most tragic thing was that, whether they were digital humans or cyborgs, they did not know that they were not normal humans.

Employee number 15 put down his coffee cup, seemingly deep in thought. "A cat, a tabby cat? Oh, I've seen one before, a big tabby cat, definitely a male! Female cats are usually very docile, but when a female cat is in heat, she meows incessantly, which is really embarrassing."

"You know, I don't own cats, so maybe my judgment is wrong!"

Have you heard about the company's layoffs?

Li Changgeng took a small sip of coffee. Employee number 15's answer was beyond his expectations. In other words, employee number 15 usually saw him at the company's coffee shop. Today's situation was extremely special. Because Li Changgeng saw the tabby cat and a series of events caused him to be late, he ended up seeing each other outside the company building. This indirectly caused employee number 15's starting point to change. He completely forgot what he said. It was clearly a female cat with kittens about to be born, but he said it was a male cat. Only about five minutes had passed. How could employee number 15 forget? There was definitely something wrong.

Li Changgeng didn't want to dwell on whether the cat was male or female; he would just observe it from the shadows. Perhaps the entire MKS game company was part of a grand conspiracy.

"I heard that buck-toothed girl told me that many people may be laid off. Will we get a raise after the layoffs?" Li Changgeng wanted to hear what employee number 15 had to say. He was a long-time employee. KMS Games Company basically had layoff KPI assessments every quarter, and layoffs were carried out every six months. If there were no layoffs in six months, there would definitely be a large number of layoffs at the end of the year.

Li Changgeng hasn't been here long and hasn't experienced layoffs yet. He doesn't feel safe at home and doesn't want to go back for the time being. He still wants to live in the company's single dormitory. If he gets laid off, Li Changgeng might even become homeless.

"Forget about a raise, we're just beasts of burden."

Employee number 15 filled the cup with coffee and carefully held it. "Work hard. You're doing so well, you won't be laid off. But I advise you not to overthink things. Focus on what's in front of you. The world isn't what it used to be, and neither are people. Eternal night, fog, strange and supernatural events—this is now a city of monsters. Don't wander around at night."

Li Changgeng responded with a professional smile, and then blurted out the question that had been on his mind for a long time.

"Hey, number 15, what's your name? Can you tell me? If we lose each other after this, knowing each other's names might help us meet again in the future."

Employee number 15's hand trembled, spilling coffee on his plaid shirt. "My name? I can't remember!"

(End of this chapter)