Chapter 660

Ning Chen frowned; he hardly needed to look to know the interior must be dark and damp, for the dusty smell hitting his face was overwhelming.

Moreover, following behind the man, he only needed a glance to see that all the opened rooms on the second floor were pitch black, with no light at all.

Ning Chen deliberately stopped, pretending innocence as he asked, "You work here?"

The figure ahead stiffened, then turned around: "We train here. Only after passing the training do we qualify to enter the company and begin work."

"I see." Ning Chen nodded, asking no more, speaking with complete trust.

When the door opened, the man said to Ning Chen, "Just call me Liu Zi."

Ning Chen made an "Mm" sound.

After Liu Zi entered, he raised a hand and slapped the switch on the wall; soon, the room lit up.

Ning Chen followed closely inside; the air here was a bit choking, the smell not pleasant, making Ning Chen feel a breath trapped in his chest.

Liu Zi said, "We have no special requirements here. As long as you can use a mobile phone and type, go turn on that computer and type a few characters for me to see."

Ning Chen's gaze shifted to the dusty computer on the desk; at a glance, he saw it must be an old model from long ago, and even now it might not be able to turn on.

Liu Zi's intention was very clear.

Seeing Ning Chen hesitate to approach, Liu Zi's eyes carried a hint of scrutiny, settling on Ning Chen's face.

How keen was Ning Chen; sensing it, he immediately turned his head and sneezed, rubbing his nose while saying, "This place has quite a bit of dust, huh? That computer has way too much dust piled on it."

Hearing this, a trace of mockery flashed across Liu Zi's face.

He had thought this college student had sensed something, only to find it was merely a pampered Young Master finding it dirty.

Liu Zi said impatiently, "What's the big deal? Cangbei is like this. If you want to make big money, can't you tolerate a little dirt?"

After all, Liu Zi had handled many innocent students; he knew best how to manipulate such people, using a mix of harshness and softness to make them obedient.

After all, these were all college students with no experience whatsoever upon entering society; a few harsh words would make them obedient, and there were plenty of well-behaved students wanting to ease their families' burdens.

Sure enough, Ning Chen immediately spoke timidly, "Sorry, Brother Liu, I was wrong."

After speaking, Ning Chen walked over to the computer desk, looked down at the host, and pressed a button on it.

Liu Zi also approached at that moment, looking down at Ning Chen: "Nothing complicated. They call it training, but it's really for those who don't even know how to type. You're a college student; you surely know how to type, right?"

Ning Chen said awkwardly, "I do."

A look of determined triumph flashed in Liu Zi's eyes; while Ning Chen was bent over fiddling with the wires, Liu Zi suddenly brought his hand down heavily toward Ning Chen's neck!

Liu Zi was a burly man; over the years, he had handled countless unspeakable matters, and he believed subduing a scrawny male college student like Ning Chen was no problem.

But since Ning Chen was tall with long legs, Liu Zi used far more force than usual, striking at Ning Chen's neck with vicious intent.

Ning Chen only felt a gust of wind attack his neck, but his reaction was incredibly swift; since there was no escape to either side, he immediately ducked his head down, his forehead nearly touching the ground.

Although Liu Zi's force was great, Ning Chen's sudden bend meant that even if his hand finally landed on the back of Ning Chen's neck, it would become merely a normal collision.

So Liu Zi abruptly retracted his arm's force, pulling it back before it could even touch Ning Chen's neck.

At this moment, Liu Zi finally began to suspect Ning Chen.

Ning Chen deliberately reached out to fiddle with that tangle of messy wires; sensing Liu Zi retract his hand, he immediately stuck his head out from under the table, his expression normal, even carrying a hint of innocent joy.

"I've fixed all those wires; they won't get tangled anymore."

When Ning Chen looked up, Liu Zi barely managed to suppress the ferocious expression on his face, though his expression still seemed unnatural.

He studied the smile on Ning Chen's face, which did not seem feigned, rubbing his fingers twice: "... Very well done."

As if encouraged, Ning Chen smiled, his expression seemingly full of foolishness.

Watching Ning Chen's smile, Liu Zi guessed how much of it was fake, wondering whether that perfect dodge just now was coincidence or premeditated.

Thinking of this, Liu Zi couldn't help but probe: "Which university did you graduate from?"

"University of Science and Technology," Ning Chen said, his smile not reaching his eyes, "a diploma mill."

Liu Zi raised an eyebrow: "There are so many Universities of Science and Technology; I don't know which one you're from. But it doesn't matter. We're different from those outside companies; we don't care about degrees, and our salary is far higher than other companies. Come work here after graduation?"

Ning Chen could only nod.

Actually, he could guess that out of ten college students coming here to find work, nine would never return.

The people in this company were absolutely not as harmless as they appeared on the surface.

In fact, by the time Liu Zi and Ning Chen reached this point, Liu Zi had pretty much figured out Ning Chen's situation; he completely trusted the image Ning Chen had cultivated.

Poor, filial, shy, not particularly bright, a simple college student.

Liu Zi liked this type of college student the most; such students often shared one trait: they were very easy to manipulate.

Liu Zi frequently dealt with all kinds of people; he liked meeting students with no experience whatsoever upon entering society the most, and hated the shrewd, experienced businessmen who had struggled in society for many years and came to Cangbei to get rich.

However, no matter how experienced they were, they would eventually fall in Cangbei.

526. Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a penalty.

Liu Zi seemed to realize he couldn't subdue Ning Chen and needed to maintain surface harmony, so he could only temporarily take him out of this room.

When Liu Zi led Ning Chen down from the second floor, the girl sitting below looked as if she had seen a ghost, struggling to keep herself from standing up from her stool.

Liu Zi gave her a warning glance; receiving that gaze, the girl immediately lowered her head.

Ning Chen asked, "What is her job?"

"She's here to supervise these people for me," Liu Zi said leisurely, "After all, she's a woman with such a weak constitution; she can't do anything else."

Hearing this, Ning Chen deliberately looked down at the girl once more and asked no further questions.

For now, he could only hide himself temporarily and remain vigilant against any possible attacks.

Liu Zi brought Ning Chen to the first floor and instructed the girl to brew two cups of tea.

In a moment, two cups of steaming tea with sparse tea leaves were brought up.

Ning Chen did not immediately reach for the tea on the table; instead, he focused intently and carefully observed the girl's expression.

He saw her face showed some evasion, appearing somewhat abnormal.

Ning Chen understood immediately, leaned back against the chair back: "I'm not thirsty right now."

Liu Zi took a sip of tea, then set the cup down after hearing Ning Chen's words: "Do you disdain the tea here for not being strong enough? Never mind, I heard you'll be staying here for two months; you'll have to get used to it eventually."

Ning Chen shook his head: "That's not quite it. I'm not thirsty right now..."

"Drink it," Liu Zi said. "If you don't, it's an insult to me. We'll be working together for two months, seeing each other constantly. It's just a cup of tea. Won't you drink it?"

"No," Ning Chen refused firmly. "I don't want to drink it right now. Sorry." He paused, then added, "... I just think using the restroom here will be very inconvenient. Let's skip this cup."

A dark glint flashed in Liu Zi's eyes. Looking at Ning Chen, he said with hidden meaning: "Refusing to drink is refusing to give me face."

It seemed he had no choice but to drink today.

If someone else were sitting opposite Liu Zi, they would either refuse repeatedly or obediently drink it down, given that Liu Zi's expression already looked somewhat off.

But Ning Chen was different. Ning Chen simply looked at Liu Zi, neither speaking nor refusing, slowly placing his hand on the teacup, yet not lifting it for a long while.

Liu Zi kept his gaze tightly fixed on Ning Chen's hand. After waiting a few seconds with growing impatience and seeing him still not lift and drink, he began to lose his temper: "Are you going to drink or not?"

Ning Chen seemed to hesitate for a moment, then finally nodded, lifted the cup, and drained it in one gulp.

Liu Zi's expression gradually shifted from vicious to satisfied. He knew better than anyone what would happen to a person after drinking that cup of tea.

Even as he lifted the cup, Ning Chen had already smelled its contents. It wasn't pure tea fragrance; instead, other additives had been mixed in, like some white powder—medicinal powder.

After drinking it, several outcomes were possible: one might fall into a deep sleep, or lose the ability to move entirely, but it probably wouldn't be fatal.

But Ning Chen was no fool. He had encountered this kind of trick many times before; each time, he actually had a way to escape.

Although Liu Zi kept staring at him, Ning Chen still used a small trick to make the tea flow down the corner of his mouth into his sleeve without Liu Zi noticing. The cup appeared half-empty, yet not a single drop had entered Ning Chen's mouth.

Perhaps because Ning Chen's movements were too careful and too secretive, Liu Zi didn't notice and instead believed that Ning Chen had obeyed his words and drunk the entire cup.

The sleeping drug he had added worked very well; within ten minutes at most, it would take effect and cause a normal adult male to quickly lose consciousness.

Liu Zi kept timing with a stopwatch while observing Ning Chen's reactions, while Ning Chen, through Liu Zi's eyes, detected certain things.

Since that cup of tea was indeed problematic, he had to gamble on when the added substances would take effect.

Usually, such scenes are common in movies: after drinking drugged water, it takes anywhere from three minutes at the least to fifteen minutes at the most.

Ning Chen's mind was sharp; he was practically timing it himself, waiting for time to tick away second by second, searching for the perfect moment to feign unconsciousness.

Ning Chen set the time for the drug to take effect at the ninth minute after drinking the tea.

Before pretending to fall asleep, Ning Chen specifically said, "Why do I feel a bit sleepy now... Sorry, I'll excuse myself for a moment."

But the instant Ning Chen stood up, he immediately collapsed, his bottom landing back in his original seat, his head resting on his arm, appearing to be fast asleep.

Liu Zi watched this scene with satisfaction. Only he knew how much effort it took to recruit a simple, easily deceived college student like Ning Chen.

Now that the person had fainted, what awaited him should be the next step.

Liu Zi lifted his chin: "Come here, carry him in."

The girl sitting in the corner trembled as she approached. Though dressed brightly and elegantly, her face now showed some dirt.

The girl grabbed Ning Chen's arm and pulled him backward with all her might. Although she didn't let Ning Chen fall to the ground, the jolt was felt; Ning Chen frowned slightly.