Chapter 1

Clock Out. Or Die.

As quitting time approached, a pop-up notification flashed across everyone’s screens within the company network.

**[Please log off promptly at 6:00 PM. Otherwise, you might die!]**

I thought it was just some lame prank and was about to click it away when, the next second, a notification from our never-seen boss appeared: **[All departments will work until midnight tonight.]**

Only a few high-level executives had the permission to @everyone.

But this message came from an anonymous sender with a blank profile picture. There was no way to tell who it was.

Were they just rage-quitting?

"???"

"Who is this?"

**[@Sherry, HR Director, what the hell is going on?]**

**[Who enabled anonymous access?]**

...

Sherry, HR Director: **[I’m sorry, I’m checking immediately!]**

The group chat fell silent. Dead silent.

Ten minutes later, the company’s big boss, Mr. Harrison, who’d never once shown his face in the internal chat, finally popped up.

Just one sentence: **[All departments will work until midnight tonight. Project Alpha needs to launch ahead of schedule. Everyone, let's push through. Your hard work is appreciated.]**

*Whoosh whoosh whoosh!*

Immediately, a flood of replies followed: **[Got it!]**

Mr. Harrison added another line: **[HR will calculate overtime pay as per policy.]**

Suddenly, the group chat was flooded with praise and adoration.

Even in the dead of winter, the brown-nosers were popping up faster than dandelions in spring.

Especially those thumbs-up emojis – every single one of them was used with sickening, masterful skill.

Right after that, I heard Ms. Davenport, the HR VP, roaring: "Who was that anonymous sender?! Find them for me, now!"

I was just pulling my keyboard closer, resigned to bury myself in work, when the pop-up appeared again.

**Alert: [Dear diligent workers, quitting time has arrived!]**

**[If you insist on working overtime, please strictly follow the rules below!]**

**[1. Unless absolutely necessary, please avoid moving around. Outside your workstation, any other location may pose a fatal danger.]**

**[2. No smoking in public areas! Warning: The former smoking lounge poses extreme danger and is currently unusable!]**

**[3. Do NOT eat employee meals! Do NOT eat employee meals! Do NOT eat employee meals! Ordering takeout is permitted!]**

**[4. Be wary of takeout delivery personnel.]**

**[5. Do NOT make coffee! Do NOT make coffee! Do NOT make coffee!]**

**[6. These rules are active from 6:00 PM to midnight. Death quota: 4 people. May you survive!]**

**— Anonymous User!**

At this moment, the clock struck 6:00 PM—the exact time we were supposed to log off.

…

Mr. Preston, our tech department head, was yelling: "Which damn jerk did this?! I'll rip their hide off!"

Chad, at the desk to my right, and I exchanged glances.

Chad pursed his lips, then turned to our team lead, Derek: "Derek, should I go at him?"

Derek pushed up his glasses, not even bothering to look up: "Mr. Evans's team is already on it."

Chad shoved his keyboard away, clearly annoyed.

Derek used to be such a workaholic, leading our team to outperform others and earning serious respect from Mr. Harrison.

Too bad that was in the past.

To my left was Chloe, a new intern.

She was in her early twenties, full of life, and even in this cold weather, she was rocking a cute, trendy schoolgirl-style outfit with white stockings and pigtails.

Let me put it this way: in our tech field, women are already a rare gem, like finding a unicorn. And Chloe? She was a unicorn with a unicorn’s rare blood type.

As far as I know, at least a dozen male colleagues were constantly trying to get her attention.

But Chloe was sweet and well-behaved. She stuck by me after joining the team and wasn't high-maintenance at all.

Chloe cautiously looked up at me: "Alex, is this company into these kinds of games?"

"Don't sweat it, it's clearly just a prank. We just need to keep doing our jobs."

I said it easily, but my heart was thumping a bit too.

"Check your OKR progress. It’s perfect for a bit of overtime, isn’t it?"

Suddenly, Derek stood up and clapped his hands.

The ceiling lights cast a cold, stark white glow on his lean face.

"Stop discussing, everyone. Just focus on your work. Alex, pass me the topic list."

"Oh, right. Sure."

I gestured: "Chloe, can you print this for me? I'll send you the file right away."

Chloe pulled back her neck, a little scared, and mumbled softly: "Alex, the rules said not to leave our workstation…"

I almost laughed out loud. The girl was really taking it seriously.

"You actually believe that? Fine, I'll print it myself then."

"No, no, Alex! It's just a small thing, you don't need to do it. I'll go, I'll go…"

That's more like it.

"Go on, then. Hurry up."