The reason why she was still "stocking up" even though she had money now was to increase her fame and fully utilize the ability of Puss in Boots.
As long as her reputation was loud enough, she could have the system simulate "reasonable" abilities. This would lead more people to believe she possessed those powers, allowing her to snowball into gaining even greater strength.
Now, Apex Entertainment provided another excellent way to earn fame.
This way, she could not only easily harvest fame and abilities but also earn a massive amount of Credits from Apex Entertainment.
Most importantly, once Apex Entertainment had this "way to make money," it wouldn't be easily bankrupted by her stealing—though she felt it wouldn't go bankrupt even without it. Apex Entertainment directly became a sheep that could be infinitely shorn, and this was the kind of wool that grew back faster the more you sheared it.
"Besides," Cipher's lips curled into a proud arc, "even if I really become famous, it will be Cifera with Pardofelis's face who becomes famous. What does that have to do with me, Cipher?"
This layer of persona perfectly kept trouble at bay.
The core of the plan was decided. Next was to find the person within the Apex Entertainment branch who had enough ambition and authority to push this "cooperation"—that was Lin Mingyu.
Cipher first "unintentionally" let him know that she held important intelligence that Cifera would lust after. As long as Cifera learned there was a lead on this intelligence, she would definitely come looking for it.
This was equivalent to obtaining a clear time for Cifera's arrival.
For someone eager to rise in position, once they knew such information, they would definitely use this opportunity to strive for a chance to show off. This was nothing short of irresistible bait.
"The fish has already taken the hook." Cipher walked through the corridor with light steps, her destination clear.
She was now going to "leak" the intelligence that could "attract" Cifera, and then let Cifera invade this company.
Then, a grand drama written, directed, and acted by her—where even the "villain" was played by her—was about to begin.
...
A few hours later.
"So, it's my turn to appear again."
A lively voice rang out, and then a catgirl with light brown hair walked out of the shadows with a grin.
She was currently Cipher, having transformed into Pardofelis.
She looked up at the high-rise building belonging to the Apex Entertainment branch and rubbed her chin, muttering to herself:
"I deliberately waited several hours before showing up. I wonder how that guy named Lin Mingyu has set things up. I hope I can show off some of my strength."
After saying that, she stepped forward with a leisurely composure and walked toward the main entrance. The sensor doors slid open silently to both sides, revealing the bright and futuristic lobby before her.
However, the expected scene of alarms blaring and guards being on high alert did not appear.
In fact, before she had even fully stepped into the lobby, the moment her gaze swept across the front desk—
"Ah—!"
A suppressed scream of immense surprise came from the direction of the front desk.
The Receptionist in her standard uniform saw Pardofelis, and her eyes lit up instantly like light bulbs being switched on. Then, an excited flush immediately rushed to her face.
In the next second, under Pardofelis's slightly bewildered gaze, the Receptionist, as if afraid of missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, quickly left her workstation and jogged over to stand before Cipher.
Her breathing was a bit hurried, her hands tightly clutching her Personal Terminal, and her eyes sparkled with a burning light.
"You... are you the legendary Miss Cifera?!"
Her voice carried an uncontrollable tremble, filled with the excitement and seeking of confirmation of a fan meeting an idol.
What almost made Pardofelis's brain crash was that while the Receptionist asked this, her hand movements were also incredibly fast.
She unlocked the Terminal with extreme proficiency and then quickly opened the recording function. The lens was precisely aimed at Pardofelis's face, which was currently covered in "???", and she even subconsciously adjusted the angle, striving to frame herself in the shot as well.
Seeing this reaction from the front desk, Pardofelis was stunned for a moment. She had never expected to encounter this situation.
What's going on?! Is this the wrong script?! Me! Cifera! The high-profile wanted criminal who bathed your security in blood and emptied your warehouse!
You little girl, instead of immediately reporting to your superiors and hiding under the table shivering, or at least pretending to scream a couple of times, what are you doing?!
What's with this expression of having met your idol and being so excited you're about to faint?! And recording on the spot?!
Asking a wanted criminal if she is the wanted criminal right to her face, and making such a move that could easily provoke a criminal in broad daylight.
Girl, are you sane?
This behavior of yours would be the standard opening for cannon fodder in any police and bandit movie!
Has the corporate culture of Apex Entertainment become distorted to this extent?! Are the employees all this brave?!
Even though her inner thoughts were being flooded with complaints and countless question marks were circling her head, Pardofelis relied on her powerful acting skills to forcibly suppress the twitching of her lips and the complaints that were almost blurted out.
She tried to maintain the mystery and aloofness that Cifera should have, nodding slightly, and then said in Pardofelis's somewhat lazy voice:
"That's right, I am Cifera."
"Oh my god! It really is you!!!"
This confirmation was like lighting the final fuse. The surprise in the Receptionist's eyes exploded instantly. She gave a small hop of excitement on the spot and then, with lightning speed, began operating her Terminal.
Pardofelis saw very clearly that she saved that precious recording and then, with flying fingers, sent the video file into a contact dialog box labeled Manager Lin.
The moment the send button was pressed, she also quickly typed a line of words:
Manager Lin! Cifera is here! Right at the front desk! I was the first to find her! She even admitted her identity herself! [Video Attachment]
The notification sound for a successful send rang out, and the Receptionist let out a long sigh of relief as if she had completed a mission.
She held the Terminal tightly to her chest and squinted her eyes happily, her face overflowing with immense joy like she had won the jackpot, muttering to herself:
"Great... I'm the first person to discover Cifera. Promotion and a raise! Quarterly bonus doubled! The peak of my life is right in front of me!"
Pardofelis: "..."
"Wait a minute."
Pardofelis finally couldn't take it anymore. She raised her hand, making a "stop" gesture, directly interrupting the Receptionist's muttering as she immersed herself in the dream of promotion and a raise.
She tilted her head slightly, her brown cat eyes filled with undisguised confusion and speechlessness as she stared at this audacious worker.
"Hey, I say..." Her voice carried a hint of disbelief, "Do you... really not fear death at all?"
"Eh?" Having her fantasy interrupted, the Receptionist first blinked blankly, then showed an even more confused expression, "Fear death? Why ask that all of a sudden?"
Pardofelis was almost laughed to tears by this dull reaction.
She raised a finger and poked her own chest rudely, saying with an emphasized tone: "Me! Cifera! I'm the person who previously bathed the entire security force of another Apex Entertainment branch in blood and then emptied their warehouse! A standard, genuine, and heinous wanted criminal!"
As she spoke, she deliberately took a step forward. A Formless pressure filled the air, and her cat tail stood up dangerously, its sharp blade glinting with a cold light under the lamps.
Pardofelis leaned down slightly, leaning in front of the Receptionist. Her golden pupils contracted into a vertical line, and her lips curled into a smile full of malice. At the same time, her right hand slowly rose, making a threatening throat-slitting motion.
"...And you," her voice lowered, carrying a cold playfulness, "instead of screaming for the police or scurrying away with your head in your hands, you rushed in front of me like you'd found a treasure, took a video of my face, and even planned to use my 'verified photo' to exchange for a bonus and a promotion?"
She gave a light "tsk."
"Do you really think I have a good temper, or do you think... I wouldn't dare cut your throat?"
"Oh—! You mean that!"
After the Receptionist heard this, realization dawned on her face. Then, she actually showed a relaxed expression of "so you're worried about that, there's no need," and even explained with a hint of "you're overthinking it":
"Manager Lin made a rule! It must be 100% confirmed that it's the real Cifera! If the report is wrong, or if a fake is caught, that will be treated as 'intentionally disrupting a superior's work.' The fines and salary deductions are super harsh!"
Then, her tone changed, and her eyes lit up again:
"But! As long as it's confirmed to be the real Cifera, for the first person to discover and successfully report it, Manager Lin personally promised: promotion! A raise! Bonuses until your hands are soft!"
At that, the Receptionist proudly straightened her back, patted her modest chest, and declared boldly as if chasing fortune in danger:
"As for fearing death? Ha! What a joke! Such a large ladder to change my fate is right in front of me. If I shrink back because I'm afraid of death and watch the opportunity slip away..." She shook her head vigorously, her eyes filled with the fear of "missing out," "that feeling would be a hundred times worse than death! What's the point of living?!"
Pardofelis: "..."
She opened her mouth, looking at this worker who equated "seeking death" with "promotion" and whose logic was impeccably self-consistent. For a moment, she was left speechless.
This bizarre train of thought made her feel as if she weren't facing a human, but some kind of strange creature completely domesticated by company KPIs.
Silence spread between the two for a few seconds before Pardofelis finally snapped out of the shock brought by the "strange creature." Then, with a hint of testing and lack of understanding, she asked:
"But... I remember the reward for the first person to find me was 'exemption from this year's KPI assessment'? When did it change to giving you a promotion and a raise?"
"Eh?? How do you know that?!" the Receptionist blurted out, her face instantly written with shock and alertness.
But in the next second, she realized she had misspoken and quickly covered her mouth, shaking her head frantically with a fawning smile on her face:
"Ah! It's nothing! You don't need to tell me! I've got a big mouth! I'll explain it clearly to you!"
She lowered her voice, with a hint of complaining from a fellow sufferer:
"That 'exemption from KPI' reward... hehe, that's 'big meat' prepared for the leaders. For little shrimp like us at the bottom, even if we really got it, do you think we could keep it? It would be a wonder if we weren't forced to resign by the higher-ups giving us small shoes to wear!" Then, she rolled her eyes, looking like she had seen through the hidden rules of the workplace. "So, Manager Lin is smart! He promised us privately that as long as we are the first to find you and report the news directly to him, he'll give us real benefits—promotion! A raise! Bonuses! That's what we can see and touch!"
At this point, she spread her hands, looking shrewd with a "this is a win-win, I win twice" expression:
"You see, this way, Manager Lin gets his dream 'Golden Medal for Exemption from KPI,' and as for me, I also get the 'Golden Key' for promotion and a raise! A perfect win-win! Everyone has a bright future!"
Pardofelis: "..."
She felt that her carefully prepared "vicious wanted criminal" persona had shattered into pieces under the Receptionist's combination of "workplace survival wisdom + interest-first."
She wanted to argue, to tell the other person that life was more important than a promotion, to point out the stupidity of this behavior... but looking at those eyes sparkling with "I've made a huge profit," all the words were blocked in her throat.
Fine... you win.
Pardofelis facepalmed in her heart. Apex Entertainment's corporate culture was truly terminally ill. Reasoning with this girl was more tiring than cracking Apex's highest-level firewall.
Although she was a bit hard-pressed to handle it, on second thought, at least this receptionist was much more "vivid" than the AI receptionist from last time who could only give mechanical responses. It could be considered... a kind of progress?
So, she decided not to waste any more precious "performance time."
However, before leaving this "strange creature" who made her want to laugh and cry at the same time, the prankster genes in Pardofelis's bones began to stir.
Having suffered such a small setback, she had to get a little "revenge" to fit her style.
"Tsk, fine, fine," Pardofelis shrugged with feigned helplessness, her face once again wearing that lazy and somewhat aloof expression, "I'll count it as you've convinced me. Then... I'll take my leave first."
After saying that, she turned around decisively and walked with light steps, as if she really intended to leave, heading straight toward the stairwell leading to the upper floors.
Seeing that this "malicious star" seemed to have really been "convinced" by her and was about to leave, the Receptionist's tense nerves finally relaxed, and a smile of relief appeared on her face.
She subconsciously waved toward Pardofelis's back, using the sweetest parting words:
"That's great then, Miss Cifera, please walk slowly, I look forward to next—"
However, the word "time" was still stuck in her throat when the professional smile on the Receptionist's face instantly froze.
Then, her pupils suddenly contracted to the size of needle points due to extreme terror!
Because in front of her where her vision was focused, that "Cifera" who had clearly walked over a dozen meters away had vanished without any warning!
Immediately afterward, an icy chill carrying a premonition of death struck her from the front without any warning!