After Li Yada left, Pei Qian called in Assistant Xin and handed her the list for the second phase of the suffering journey.
“Send out an internal notice announcing this list. Everyone on it, regardless of where they are now, should hand over their current work and return within a week.”
“Also, take this opportunity to clarify some job transfers, such as reassigning Hu Xianbin to Rabbit Tail Livestream.”
Assistant Xin took the list and glanced at it. “Mr. Pei, Zhu Xiaocai should still be filming in the United States.”
The implication was that it might be too rushed to have him return so quickly.
Pei Qian chuckled. “This notice is mainly for him. Why else would I go to such lengths to call everyone back?”
Assistant Xin asked again, “There are only seven people on this list?”
Pei Qian nodded. “Yes, the remaining three will be selected from outside the company. Those positions haven’t been decided yet.”
Having understood everything, Assistant Xin didn’t ask any further questions and just nodded before leaving to send out the notice.
With the list finalized, Pei Qian felt more at ease.
He took a short break, then continued to ponder how to persuade Qiao Laoshi and Ruan Guangjian to willingly join the suffering journey, filling the vacancies specifically reserved for them.
…
Meanwhile, in the Shennongjia Mountains.
On a mountaintop, the department heads lay sprawled out in various positions, their eyes gazing at the sky with a sense of bewilderment.
There’s a poem that says, “I shall ascend the highest peak to see how small the mountains are.”
But they weren’t in the mood for such sentiments right now. They desperately missed Jingzhou, the ongoing GOG World Finals, and the work at their departments.
Bao Xu checked the time. “Alright, today’s training ends here. Pack up!”
“Take a rest. Tomorrow we’ll head back to Jingzhou.”
After saying this, Bao Xu turned and left to arrange their descent, giving the department heads ample private space.
After all, Bao Xu’s current role was special. With him around, these department heads felt tense even when just lying on rocks catching their breath.
Upon hearing his words, the department heads instantly perked up, their spirits revived!
Previously, they had been sprawled out like figures in a black and white photo, completely at odds with the surrounding scenery. But now, their joy was evident.
It’s finally over!
Heaven knows how we survived this past month and more!
As soon as Bao Xu was out of sight, Huang Sibo nearly cried with excitement: “Freedom! We’re finally free!”
“It was supposed to be just one month. How did it turn into an extra week?”
“I wonder which bastard kept Bao Xu in Jingzhou for an extra week, making us suffer for an additional month!”
“If I catch him, I’ll fight him to the death!”
Hu Xianbin coughed lightly. “Ahem, Brother Huang, your phone.”
Huang Sibo quickly reached out to take it. “Thanks, Xiao Hu.”
The other department heads also received their phones, eager to take a photo on the mountaintop to announce their “release” to the world.
During the suffering journey, all phones were kept in central storage and couldn’t be used freely.
Of course, before coming on the suffering journey, these department heads had already informed their families and friends that if there were emergencies, calls would be answered and messages relayed.
After posting on their social media, the first thing the department heads did was open their department’s internal group chat to see if their absence had affected operations.
The result—they weren’t sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed—was that everything was running smoothly…
While it was good that nothing unexpected had happened, did this mean the departments functioned the same with or without them?
This left the department heads feeling slightly awkward.
The mountaintop fell into temporary silence. Fatigue and joy filled these department heads’ bodies, making them willing only to move their fingers to scroll through their phones, with no desire to move any other part of their bodies.
Suddenly, Huang Sibo broke the silence.
“Hey! Check the internal notice! The new list is out!”
Hearing this, everyone immediately opened the internal notice at lightning speed and began discussing it excitedly.
“Zhu Xiaocai! I knew this guy couldn’t be lucky forever. This is what we call divine justice! You can run, but you can’t hide!” Huang Sibo had long felt unbalanced about Zhu Xiaocai.
As a department head, he was constantly taking the heat, while Director Zhu remained unscathed.
Was that fair? Absolutely not!
Thankfully, the second phase of the suffering journey had him on the list!
Xiao Peng was surprised. “Isn’t Zhu Xiaocai in the United States? What if he doesn’t come back?”
Huang Sibo snickered. “He wouldn’t dare not return. I’ll personally go to the US to hand over his work.”
Everyone first shuddered, feeling a chill, then realized that Huang Sibo’s approach was entirely appropriate.
In fact, it was perfectly reasonable.
The suffering journey should treat everyone equally. How could such a meaningful activity be enjoyed by just a few of them?
Everyone must participate! It’s better to share joy than enjoy it alone!
After examining the list carefully, some expressed approval of the names, while others found it hard to understand. Reactions varied.
“Wang Xiaobin is coming too? Good, I’ll keep an eye on Shangyang Games for him.” Ye Zhizhou wore an expression of barely contained amusement.
Shen Renjie looked serious. “Ou Tu Technology has been completely captured—both Chang You and Jiang Yuan are coming. That’s more like it. I still don’t quite understand why I was in the first batch and they’re in the second.”
Rui Yuchen was surprised. “There are even girls? Qi Yan’s Cold Noodle Girl is in the capital, and she’ll be brought to Jingzhou too?”
Guo Licheng was in decent shape, though he lamented the muscle mass he had lost in recent days. “When I get back, I must tell Yaling to bring more food…”
Ma Yiqun frowned at the list. “Why are there only seven people? What about the remaining three spots? Selected from outside? That doesn’t seem right. There are still many department heads in the company who haven’t been assigned yet.”
His comment made many others notice this discrepancy.
Xiao Peng was the first to protest. “Right! Why isn’t Zhang Yuan here?”
“Ahem, Mr. Zhang is my professional mentor. If I, his junior, am here, how can he, the mentor, not be here? Is that appropriate?”
Huang Sibo agreed. “Yeah, and why isn’t Lü Mingliang here?”
Hu Xianbin also complained. “The list doesn’t include Min Jingchao either. Surely they can’t just target me from the gaming department?”
“Hmm? What’s this about job transfers at the end?”
“I’m… not in the gaming department anymore?”
Hu Xianbin had initially been concerned about why Min Jingchao wasn’t coming to suffer, but as he continued reading, he suddenly discovered additional content below the notice regarding his own job transfer.
He was being moved from the Gaming Department to Rabbit Tail Livestream!
This news hit him like a bolt from the blue, leaving him speechless for a long time.
What a disaster!
Hu Xianbin had felt that during this month of suffering in Shennongjia, he had accumulated a lot of inspiration and work motivation. Now he was just eager to get back to Tenda Games to take over new game development.
Moreover, Yu Fei had been asking him every other day when he could return, saying he could barely hold on.
Although Hu Xianbin couldn’t use his phone regularly, occasionally he would earn rewards or, when Bao Xu was feeling particularly generous, everyone could huddle in their tents and play with their phones for an hour in the evening.
Despite the poor, intermittent signal in the mountains and the cold nights, nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of people pulling their hands out of their sleeping bags to use their phones.
Hu Xianbin had been waiting to return from suffering to continue solid game development, but now this happens—his position was transferred before he even got back!
After studying the situation, He Desheng said, “It looks like a seamless transition. See, Chen Yufeng, the head of Rabbit Tail Livestream, has been assigned to come suffer, and you’re going to take over his position. No delay on either side.”
Hu Xianbin was incredulous. “What do you mean ‘no delay’? It’s a delay on both sides!”
“What’s so good about a livestreaming platform? I’m not interested! I want to make games!”
Xiao Peng patted his shoulder. “A job transfer indicates Mr. Pei’s recognition of your work abilities. He feels that you’ve been in the Gaming Department for so long with outstanding achievements that continuing there wouldn’t lead to much more progress. It’s better to transfer and develop other abilities comprehensively, striving to become well-rounded earlier.”
“As a Tenda person, you should adapt to circumstances and love whatever job you do.”
“At the livestreaming platform, you also have great potential!”
Hu Xianbin’s mouth twitched slightly. “What well-rounded person are you talking about? Since you like job transfers so much, I’ll report to Mr. Pei when I get back and tell him you find Slackin’ Internet Café work no longer challenging. Let him transfer you to Slackin’ Delivery to deliver food!”
Rui Yuchen coughed lightly. “Hey, I don’t appreciate that. Do you have something against our delivery department?”
After suffering together for a month, the department heads strangely felt that their relationships had grown closer, their bonds strengthened.
After all, suffering together creates a kind of camaraderie!
Now the only issue was hoping this suffering could be quickly popularized, allowing more people to share in this bond.
…
Meanwhile.
Pei Qian was deep in thought about how to trick Qiao Laoshi into the suffering journey when there was a knock at his office door.
Looking up, he saw Yu Fei standing in the doorway, his face a picture of existential crisis.
“Mr. Pei, what’s with the new internal notice? I see Hu Xianbin has been transferred to Rabbit Tail Livestream?!”
When Yu Fei saw this news, he was devastated.
How many times had this happened now?
Month after month, he had been serving as the acting lead game designer since August. It was supposed to be just for one month, but it had stretched to mid-November—a full three and a half months!
The first month, they said Hu Xianbin earned the Best Employee award and was going on vacation.
The second month, Hu Xianbin was seamlessly pulled away to join the suffering journey.
The third month, they learned that the suffering journey had two phases, and the second phase was in Shennongjia.
At first, it had sounded simple—Yu Fei just needed to follow Hu Xianbin’s design plans and oversee the development of “Eternal Cycle of Rebirth.”
Later, after “Eternal Cycle of Rebirth” was completed, they said they couldn’t delay the development schedule, so Yu Fei had to create the design plan for “Ghost General 2.”
And now, they weren’t even pretending anymore!
Transferring Hu Xianbin to Rabbit Tail Livestream—what did that mean?