When everyone's watching, there's no backing out. So yeah, those two eggs—or rather, four eggs in total—ended up exposed for everyone to see.
And the ending? Tragic, obviously.
Once the evidence and culprits were caught red-handed, Director Su ordered the uniformed officers with rifles to take the two away for re-education through labor. The moment people heard "re-education," everyone's faces went pale. Enter that place, and it's almost impossible to come out alive. Who would've thought just stealing a few eggs could lead to something that serious?
The supervisor kept struggling, shouting that he had connections behind him, that he was an official employee and all that crap. His resistance only pissed the officers off more, and they knocked him out cold before dragging him away. The entire warehouse instantly went dead silent.
"I hereby announce that Zhang Luo, who just made the report, will receive all the points belonging to these two people, totaling seventy-one points. On top of that, he's awarded thirty bonus points for bravery, bringing him to a total that upgrades him to a Level 3 Star Employee. He'll also be promoted one rank and inherit the supervisor's position. Unless something unexpected happens, Zhang Luo will be our first three-star employee and soon become a team leader," Director Su said.
He glanced around at the few who looked displeased and continued coldly, "Seems relying on self-discipline doesn't work. From now on, everyone entering or leaving must go through inspection. Anyone caught sneaking out factory property will face the same consequences as those two."
A few people still looked like they wanted to argue. Director Su snorted. "If you can't accept the factory's rules, then don't accept the factory's benefits either. We can't afford to feed rule-breakers. Get out now if you don't like it. We've got too many workers already."
The place went silent again. Who'd joke about that? With such generous welfare, no one dared say a word. Even if they were unhappy, they had to swallow it.
"Damn, Zhang Luo really lucked out. Seventy-something points just like that. Looks like there's profit in catching thieves. Let's hang around and see who tries stealing next, then nab them on the spot."
Plenty of people had the same thought. After all, the first one to take the plunge always gets the biggest reward.
Manager Tuo climbed onto a stool with a megaphone in hand and shouted, "Alright, you've all seen it! The supplies have arrived!"
"When can we exchange them? Can we trade points for an egg right now?"
"I want a bowl of rice! When's the cafeteria opening?"
"I saw clothes earlier. Renting one costs three virtual coins, right? Buying it's thirty?"
The place erupted in noise again. Manager Tuo waved for silence. "If you don't quiet down, I won't say another word." That got people to hush up—well, mostly.
He continued, "Charge up your phones now. Mr. Wang Chao from Xingfu Shiyuan is here to install the Red Nematode Processing Factory app for us. With this app, all point settlements, exchanges, and task assignments will be handled digitally. Even the cafeteria will use QR codes for meals."
By the time Jing Shu arrived, Wang Chao—dark circles under his eyes—had already set up the server and local network. He was stamping his feet by the warehouse door, teaching the workers how to use the new app.
Half the workers were crowded around, still learning how to navigate the system. Others, seeing all the food inside the warehouse, had already joined the team hauling stones earlier that morning.
"Director Jing, you're here!" Wang Chao greeted her with a grin and a cloud of frosty breath. "I stayed up all night finishing the app. I even made you a boss-level admin page. Let me install it for you."
Jing Shu handed him her phone. "Thanks. It was a rush job anyway. We'll talk about your pay later."
"It's nothing. If it weren't for you, my kid would've starved already," he said, still working while he talked. "Oh, I made a few versions too—finance, HR, and more. Manager Tuo, lend me your phone a sec."
"Sure, here."
After finishing the setup, Wang Chao opened three different interfaces on his own phone and explained, "This is the HR page. It stores all employee profiles. HR can modify ranks and titles according to permissions. This one's the Finance page, which issues tasks and tracks points. Once workers hit a threshold, they'll automatically level up."
He swiped again. "This part handles item exchanges, kind of like shopping online. You use points to 'buy' something, then the warehouse issues it. The buyer confirms receipt, so everything's logged clearly. No disputes, no confusion.
And this is the regular employee page. Tap 'My' to check your level and balance. The second tab's a shopping cart for purchasing goods. The third's for taking jobs."
He tapped the "Take Job" section, and a list appeared:
[Your current LV Star Level: 2]
[Available Jobs:
Move large stones ×20, 1 point (568 slots left)
Dig foundations ×20, 1 point (139 slots left)
Supervise inspections: 20 target points per 1 point earned (49 slots left)]
"These tasks need manager approval before assignment," Wang Chao explained. "Managers can review worker history, see who's been diligent or sloppy, and decide accordingly. I already told the workers to do their jobs properly. Too many bad or average reviews, and no one will hire them for the better tasks."
Jing Shu gave him a thumbs-up.
She couldn't help but imagine a scene in the future where workers finish a job and go, "Hey boss, gimme a five-star review, yeah?" or a bunch of them refreshing the app trying to grab tasks like it's some flash sale. The image made her chuckle.
"This is the boss page," Wang Chao went on. "It has all the functions above, plus options for posting jobs, items, and announcements. Over here's the point distribution panel. How much circulating credit do you want to set up?"
Jing Shu thought for a moment. There were about two thousand people in total. With food and goods exchanges recycling over ten thousand points daily, she figured she'd just inject a large sum upfront. "Let's start with a million points."
After all, it was all hers anyway—resources and points alike. As long as she didn't convert them into virtual coins, they'd just keep circulating internally.
"What about the virtual coin exchange channel?" Wang Chao asked, wiping sweat from his forehead. "It's gotta link with the main data system. You'll need to provide an account with that balance."
He'd always thought a few dozen or hundred virtual coins was what rich people had. Now, hearing her casually talk about a million like pocket change left him speechless. How rich was Jing Shu, really?
In just a few short years, she was almost on par with Mr. Wang from Xingfu Shiyuan. Wang Chao knew how much Wang earned—tens of thousands in daily profits after feeding his own people, outsiders, and storing up food reserves.
Once Jing Shu's factory started running full-scale, who knew how much she'd rake in?
"Make it eight hundred thousand. Set up a free transaction channel under my account. The cap's eight hundred thousand," Jing Shu said.
She still had a million in her account, but she needed to save some for other plans.