Zhou Zhuang quietly approached from behind the green-haired man—still drinking merrily from his cup—wanting to see how the guy would react when he realized his boss was standing right behind him.
Before Zhou Zhuang could even speak, Netzach abruptly turned his head without warning.
Zhou Zhuang—still bent forward mid-sneak—ended up locking eyes with Netzach's drunken gaze.
A strange silence spread between them.
One side: a prank cut short, awkwardly unsure how to break the tension.
The other: a drunk brain that hadn't fully registered who was in front of him.
At that moment, Zhou Zhuang's mind flashed back to a meme from his previous life:
"Once your eyes meet… it's time for a Pokémon battle."
Thankfully, Netzach's brain finally caught up.
He squinted—and recognized the person in front of him as the Manager.
"Ah—! Isn't this our dear Manager? Hic." Netzach grinned. "What a coincidence, running into you in the company cafeteria. Didn't Angela used to bring your meals to you personally?"
"Why are your eyes twitching, Manager?"
"Oh right—where's Angela? I don't see her anywhere."
"I get it! That dead-woman Angela ditched you again so she could go enjoy herself—"
Netzach completely ignored Zhou Zhuang's frantic attempts to signal "STOP TALKING" with his eyes, and kept rambling as if nothing mattered.
"Cycles… everything in the world goes through the cycle of life and death."
"I got sick of this endless ouroboros a long time ago… or maybe I've always known the outcome, and still refused to accept it."
"Every time I wake up, I see that bright, cheerful face."
"I watch them go from clumsy… to skilled… and then fall silent—no life left at all."
"One person and the world… those two should never have been placed on opposite ends of the same scale."
Watching Netzach's drunken spiral evolve from reckless suicidal trolling into sad philosophical lament, Zhou Zhuang didn't understand a thing—
But he was deeply shaken anyway, and kept trying to warn him.
"Netzach—"
"Netzach."
Angela's voice—flat and emotionless—cut through the air.
In an instant, the heavy alcohol stink clinging to Netzach vanished as if he'd never had a drop.
"Huh? …Ah. Where am I?"
Netzach's eyes snapped clear.
He glanced around, realized he was still in the cafeteria, and let out a sigh of relief—
Then noticed the two people standing in front of him.
That half-relief immediately flowed straight back up his throat.
Netzach started coughing violently.
"Cough—cough—so it's the Manager and Angela. When did you get here?"
"We've been here for a while, Netzach," Zhou Zhuang answered.
"I… I hope I didn't do anything too embarrassing while drunk," Netzach said stiffly. "Er… Manager, you didn't see much, right?"
Zhou Zhuang's reply was merciless.
"Very unfortunately. Angela and I saw the entire process."
"From you greeting me… to you insulting Angela… to you lamenting about cycles… and then finally calming down."
"Angela couldn't stand it anymore, so she stepped in and cleared your intoxication."
Hearing that, Netzach let out a resigned sigh.
He already knew he'd basically committed every major offense in one go.
"…Sigh. Looks like there's no escaping punishment this time."
Then he turned toward Angela and tapped his own head, as if offering it up.
Angela's voice remained perfectly level as she announced the verdict:
"Head of the Safety Team, Netzach."
"In view of your violation of company regulations: prematurely ending dormancy, and unauthorized use of high-purity Enkephalin—"
"Although the source of such high-purity Enkephalin is unknown, the investigation will be postponed."
"Punishment: until the Manager unlocks the lower departments, Netzach will be stripped of sensory perception and emotional sensitivity."
Zhou Zhuang watched Netzach's expression drain from weary defeat into something corpse-like—dead, empty, with no spark left.
Netzach didn't complain.
At this point, maybe he couldn't.
"Manager."
"Huh? Yes, ma'am!"
"Manager, you need not be concerned," Angela said, smiling as she explained. "This punishment is within what Netzach can accept."
"If you feel the punishment is too severe, you may unlock the lower levels of the company as soon as possible."
"After all, the punishment lasts only until the lower departments are opened."
Zhou Zhuang felt a fresh weight settle onto his shoulders—another reason to push forward.
After all, the green-haired guy was pretty nice.
Even if, back in Zhou Zhuang's old world, people constantly mistook his gender.
Grrrrr…
Zhou Zhuang looked down at his stomach and lightly punched his fist into his palm.
"Oh right. We came here to eat!"
The little diversion had derailed him so completely that he'd forgotten his main quest.
He started walking slowly toward the nearby ordering window.
Angela watched her Manager lower his head and sigh, then followed after him.
When Zhou Zhuang reached the counter, he recalled Angela's explanation of the cafeteria "rules."
He looked up—
And realized the cafeteria counter was gone.
Somehow, he had been transported to a normal restaurant ordering station.
He stared around in surprise.
The environment had shifted into a completely different style.
People-shaped silhouettes moved through the aisles.
Others sat at tables as if enjoying food—though Zhou Zhuang couldn't actually see any dishes in front of them.
"Welcome to HamHamPangPang, sir," a voice said from the counter.
Zhou Zhuang turned his head.
A sharp, capable-looking girl had appeared behind the register at some point, watching him and waiting for him to order.
"Ah, hello," Zhou Zhuang said. "Um—do you pay after eating, or pay first and then eat?"
The waitress looked a little confused, but still answered professionally.
"Sir, to prevent dine-and-dash situations, we require payment first. Sorry about that."
"No, no, it's fine." Zhou Zhuang waved his hand. "So… have I decided what I want yet…"
He looked at the scrolling menu, saw a picture with pork knuckle, and pointed at it.
"Hi, I want this one. How much is it?"
When the waitress stated the price, Zhou Zhuang's hand froze halfway to his pocket.
Not because it was too expensive—he was in another world, weird prices were normal.
But because he suddenly remembered:
He didn't have any currency from this world.
Not a single coin.
Seeing his hand hanging in midair, the waitress frowned slightly and prompted again.
"Sir—would you like to pay by card or cash?"
"Um… could you—"
"Hello, I'll pay."
A voice from behind cut off Zhou Zhuang's sentence.
Zhou Zhuang's embarrassment instantly eased.
He turned—
And sure enough, it was Angela, standing behind him with a gentle smile.
"Angela… do you want one too?" Zhou Zhuang asked.
"No, Manager. Thank you for your kindness."
"Then I'm ordering you a drink and a snack," Zhou Zhuang declared. "No refusing. If two people eat and one doesn't touch anything, I'll feel awkward."
"As you wish," Angela said.
Satisfied, Zhou Zhuang ordered Angela a drink and a snack.
Of course, Angela paid.
They took the receipt and sat at an empty table.
"Manager," Angela asked, "why did you choose to eat at this restaurant?"
Zhou Zhuang blinked.
"Hm? What—does this place have problems?"
"No problems," Angela replied. "It's just that this is the City's largest restaurant chain, and its origin is… quite special."
"So impressive!" Zhou Zhuang said.
"Manager," Angela asked softly, "have you forgotten?"
Before Zhou Zhuang could answer, a server arrived.
"Sir, your Zwei Association Signature Pork Knuckle with Smoked Sausage—and for the lady, the Special Snack Set with Sapphire Cocktail."
Zhou Zhuang immediately started eating with gusto.
Seeing her Manager devour the food, Angela gave up on pressing him for an answer.
She picked up the cocktail Zhou Zhuang had ordered for her, ate the snacks slowly, and quietly watched him eat bite by bite.
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