I JOIN AN UNIMPORTANT GROUP CHAT

Steven: "Currently in China. Taking a leave of absence."

Locust: "Ok." (thumbs up emoji)

Olivia: "STEVEN! GET BACK HERE! I AM NOT ABOUT TO DO YOUR WORK!"

Olivia: • • • 

[STEVEN has 'do not disturb' turned on.]

- - -

Steven exited the messaging app. 

Ah, it was nice to be able to take a break from his part-time job. Finally… 

- 'Ding!' 

| NEW: You have been invited to ??? group chat #9 |

<Dieze, what's this?> Steven typed, spotting the notification. (It had somehow popped up, even after he had turned on 'DND'.)

[Dieze: "..." X]

[Dieze: "Idk." X]

Steven tapped the icon for the messaging app 'ThisApp' on his phone, curious to see what this 'NEW' group chat was about. But something felt off: Instead of his usual display name, it now read 'CodingBananaMonkey'. 

And the company ID was strange.

Had Dieze landed him a new online job? 

That would be nice. With a shake of his head, he dived into the group chat to find out more.

- - -

| ??? group chat #9 |

[CodingBananaMonkey(R) has joined the GC]

SlyDragonFox (SR): "Oh hey, are you new?"

CodingBananaMonkey (R): "Yep. New to the company."

SilverLionEagle (SR): "Great… a newcomer? 

SilverLionEagle (SR): "Who added him to the group chat, smh." 

└ SlyDragonFox (SR): "Hey don't be rude, Silver. Besides, he seems like a decent hire! Welcome." 

SilverLionEagle (SR): ('Snorting eagle' sticker!)

SlyDragonFox (SR): "It's nice to meet you. Do you know which department you're in?"

- - -

<Dieze, what do I say?> Steven asked, looking up from his phone. 

[Dieze: "Hi, I'm in the marketing department!" X]

Steven held his phone and typed it out… 

- - - 

| ??? group chat #9 |

CodingBananaMonkey (R): "Hi, I'm in the marketing department. It's nice to meet you. What department are you in?"

SlyDragonFox (SR): "I'm in Field Service/Event Management. I have to travel on-site to coordinate all the beta-testing G@ME's."

└ CodingBananaMonkey (R): "Cool. Is it fun?"

SlyDragonFox: • • • 

SlyDragonFox (SR): "Yeah… I don't know. I'm not a huge fan of field work, but if this works out well, I might get a promotion! My manager's telling me to keep an eye out on this one guy. A pain."

CodingBananaMonkey (R): • • • 

CodingBananaMonkey (R): "Who?"

SlyDragonFox (SR): "He's just this one player that has gathered the attention of a couple of the admins/crowdfunders already. It was only the second game…"

SlyDragonFox (SR): "...But did something interesting. For now, he has their attention, + decent sad backstory, ++ good looks… heck, could be one of the more popular content creators later on."

SilverLionEagle (SR): • • • 

SilverLionEagle (SR): "Dude, I checked the chat-logs."

SilverLionEagle (SR): "It was Earthly who added the monkey in… dumb turtle-cat." 

└ EarthlyTurtleCat (SR): "I did? I don't remember." 

EarthlyTurtleCat (SR): "Soz, whenever I see someone new in orientation, I get the urge to invite them in." (Waving Cat Sticker!)

EarthlyTurtleCat (SR): "Hey!"

CodingBananaMonkey (R): "Hey." 

EarthlyTutleCat (SR): "Oh btw, ignore Silver, he has a big head."

└ SilverLionEagle (SR): ('Steam-Coming-Out-Of-Ears' Eagle Sticker!)

└ SilverLionEagle (SR): "Dumb cat."

EarthlyTurtleCat (SR): "Ok Silver-"

EarthlyTurtleCat (SR): "Anyway."

EarthlyTurtleCat (SR): "Hello Newbie! Reach out to me if you have any questions about our company! For example, yes we have some humans in our various company kitchens, but they're part of the staff, not food! Please do not eat any! Also, also, whatever you do, don't upset any of the managers!" (Jumping Cat Sticker!)

└ CodingBananaMonkey (R): "Got it."

- - - Blip! - - - 

Steven exited the app after a couple more messages. 

<Dieze… I don't get it?> He sent a message to Dieze. <What's this group chat for?>

[Dieze: "I added you to their company payroll." X]

<I get it.>

A voice popped up, drawing his gaze upwards.

"Steven, we're there!" Mayo shouted. 

The three of them were driving in this sporty car that was built for outdoor excursions. The group had long ditched the helicopter, mostly because in order to reach the place, they had to drive through… 

…Ten waterfalls, drive into four trees (odd), cross two shaky bridges (that somehow managed to hold the weight of the car), and one mystical shu-lin (forest) with trees that liked whacking and chasing cars. 

He could not make this stuff up.

"Just nature spirits trying to have fun," Mayo nonchalantly shook it off, as a branch smacked Steven on the face again.

Nature Spirits? Steven rubbed his cheeks. 

Besides him, he noticed Zero focused on driving on the "road" at a speed that was illegal in 120+ countries. And he was certain that Zero did not have an actual driver's license. Because when Steven had asked before: 

"I'm under 16." 

That was how Zero answered him.

(The driver's license on the car was fake.)

Finally, after driving through a crystal cave, the landscape before Steven changed dramatically. The entire atmosphere pulsated with an energy that felt mystical like melting cotton candy. The best way to describe it: 'an old, Asian scroll painting' that had been oversaturated.

Floating rocks, ranging from pebble size to that of small hills, hovered in mid-air, casting shifting shadows on the ground. Some of these rocks had cascades of water flowing from them, creating waterfalls that disappeared before reaching the ground. 

As the car progressed, glowing flora began to line the path. Luminous ferns lit the way while sparkling flowers pulsed in rhythm. The colors of the plants nearby ranged from expected greens to soothing blues and vibrant purples, with occasional flashes of gold and silver. Every now and then, Steven thought he saw what looked like fireflies but instead of a mere glow, they radiated tiny beams of lightning, buzzing the spaces they flitted across.

"And what's up with those?" Steven asked, looking up. 

"They're mountains," Zero answered.

Yeah, he knew that. But why were they upside down? 

Gigantic peaks hung from the sky, their bases lost in the thick canopy of clouds like stalactites hanging down from a cave. The mountains floated like they were in a pool of water, instead of up in the sky.

Winding through these floating cliffs were rainbows - not just simple arcs, but intricate, twisting, and turning pathways that resembled fluttering ribbons. They intertwined, creating luminous bridges between the clouds, and occasionally a 'bird?' or some flying creature would crash onto them, leaving a trail of shimmering sparks in its wake.

The car took a smooth turn and drove upon one of these rainbow bridges, before finally skidding to a stop onto one of the floating, upside-down mountains.

"Grandma!" Zero called out.

They waited… and then—

An elderly lady riding a humongous beast jumped out of a nicely-sized cottage!

'Grandma' looked like any other granny… 

…But the creature beneath her was quite a sight. 

Its coat shimmered a soft pink, like the inside of a seashell, with hints of gold dancing under the sunlight. Long, silky tufts of fur flowed from its mane, tail, and legs, moving like tendrils of a gentle ocean current.

Steven couldn't help but hold his gaze. 

The creature's elegant deer-like body was adorned with scales that sparkled as if kissed by morning dew. Its eyes, deep and wise, were the color of twilight and seemed to cradle the mysteries of a hundred lifetimes. From its forehead extended two spiraled antlers that gleamed.

As it moved, the cloven hooves barely touched the ground, giving the illusion it was walking on a bed of clouds, but each time it… 

Stepped…

- 'Chime!' 

Stepped… 

- 'Chime!' 

It was like each step released a soft chime, like a distant bell. And as the creature approached them—

"A qilin…" Steven finally realized. 

The grandma got off. Steven shook her hand, and said: "It's a pleasure to meet you." 

"Oh.. my," The grandma shook his hand. "I'm afraid you got the wrong person!"

Huh.

"That's my grandma." Zero pointed to the Qilin.