GameX's Downfall

The week flew by like it had a vendetta against Wen Qinxi. They say time flies when shit is good and it was indeed good for him. The entire week was spent online to the point of forgetting that he even had a job. Walking around in his underwear all day long was weirdly gratifying. He was extremely grateful for the heating system otherwise he wouldn't have been able to pull this off as cold as it was.

He was so sad when he thought of going back to work that is until the man received a weird email from HR on a Friday stating that he would be paid his full bonus. Wen Qinxi thought he was still drunk from last night and was still seeing things.

He vigorously rubbed his sluggish eyes before jumping in excitement. Wen Qinxi didn't know what changed Qie Ranzhe's mind but he didn't care enough to ask. He was so thrilled swaggering into the office as though he had won the lottery. The smile on his face on a Monday morning stunned the other employees.

"Who would be this happy on a Monday morning, so fucking exhausting?" whispered one of the employees glaring at Wen Qinxi.

Wen Qinxi tossed his bag on his desk and sat on his swivel office chair before swinging around childishly. "Fuckin awesome," he said to himself while lazily gazing up at the ceiling. He didn't know whether to write Qie Ranzhe an email thanking him for giving him another chance as he was ridden with guilt for chanting bad karma at him for an entire week.

While his mind wandered around, his office phone suddenly rung jolting him awake. He gladly answered on the third ring assuming it was about his next assignment but when he heard that voice his entire body grew cold. 'Fuck what does this bitch want now?' he thought restraining his anger.

"Wen Qinxi hope you had a lovely rest. May yo-," said Li Menxie before Wen Qinxi rudely cut the line. She wore a downcast expression in embarrassment as the phone was on louderspeaker in the board room. The board of directors all gazed at her thinking god knows what.

Her cheeks were pink in embarrassment as she said, "Ah maybe he dropped it by mistake let me me dial again," as she redialed the number. Unfortunately for her, it happened two more times before one of the board of directors decided to interject.

"Mr Wen before you cut the call, l am director Cheng and we have important matters to discuss with you concerning Flagship," said director Cheng talking so fast just in case he hung up again.

"Oh, I apologise director Cheng but l am no longer a part of Flagship please refer to the project manager Mr Zhang," replied Wen Qinxi twirling a pen in between his stubby fingers. He couldn't fathom why they were asking for him when he wasn't a part of the team for more than a week.

"Yes, we are well aware that you are no longer part of the team but you have been a part of this project since the beginning there is no one more familiar with the project than you. If its not too much trouble, may you come up to the boardroom to answer some questions," replied director Cheng his voice shaky but stern.

"Sure, I am on my way," he said as he hung up the phone. 'Why the fuck does it sound like an interrogation!' he thought to himself as he packed up everything to do with 'Flagship'. Mumbling compalints all the way, Wen Qinxi finally arrived on the director's floor were he was led to the board room.

While turning the corner he noticed a quivering manager Zhang seated in one of the offices with a pale face and panda eyes as though he hadn't slept in a while. 'What the fuck is going on?' thought Wen Qinxi when they finally reached the board room.

He was instructed to sit at the opposite end of the room with all the directors facing him. It started to feel more like a trial than a Q & A. Wen Qinxi calmed his nerves before addressing the group of fat cats with their eyes fixated on him like he owed them money.

"How may l be of assistance?" he asked in a relaxed tone, you wouldn't think he was nervous but his sweaty palms were selling him out.

"Okay Mr Wen, let's start with Flagship. Please explain how it works and use layman's terms because some of us don't understand programming," said a stout director with a partially bald head.

Wen Qinxi raised one eyebrow wondering why these greedy bastards were asking him to host a kindergarten class on a project they were all too familiar with. "Well Flaship is a realistic game new to this industry inspired by virtual reality games but in this case the gamer's consciousness is transported into the game when they connect to the gaming capsule. The capsule is fully equipped with a nutritional supplements for those clients who would love to live in the game for longer periods. Shall l carry on?" asked Wen Qinxi irritated by the fact that he had to explain something they were already aware of.

"Okay so what kind of games do the players play inside?" asked a average looking director with old man glasses.

"All in all, they are five worlds to choose from. There is modern, interstellar, ancient, beastkin and wuxia worlds. A client can choose which ever one they prefer. The daily activities include some challenges but its all based on different storylines. They can also interact with other players in the game, basically its like an escape from reality a chance to live different life in a world of your dreams."

Li Menxie barely looked up while Wen Qinxi spoke, she had her head down the whole time but suddenly spoke asking a very odd question, "What if someone's consciousness is split into five when they logged into the game?" she asked with a pitiful expression.

Wen Qinxi couldn't believe he had just heard that and chuckled. "How the hell can that happen unless the problems l pointed out weren't resolved, wait..." he said when he saw the expression on their faces.

'Who the fuck would be stupid enough to try the capsule without fixing the problems he highlighted,' he thought with a stern look on his face

"Who is it?" he asked with genuine concern. This was extremely dangerous, it meant whoever it was, was basically stuck in the game and who knows how much more damage was caused by this.

"Its CEO Qie Ranzhe," said Li Menxie with bloodshot eyes choking on her tears.

'Fuck! That shit works?' thought Wen Qinxi thinking about the bad karma chants he was making the entire week. His heart twisted ridden in guilt.

"Didn't manager Zhang fix the problems l highlighted? This shouldn't have happened," he replied in disbelief. it was obvious Qie Ranzhe wasn't just going to come out of this without some external help.

What would happen to the company if the CEO remained a cabbage in a gaming capsule. Now he realised why his full bonus was reinstated. It was because they believed he could fix it but even if he fixed the software there was no way Qie Ranzhe would simply just wake up. He decided to jump the gun and be honest.

"I might be familiar with Flagship but to be honest there is nothing l can do to help. It's best if you seek help from a therapist or something because even if l fix Flagship, there is no way he will come of this just because l twicked the program," he said hoping they would let him go.

'Fuck! I need to go look for another job asap,' he thought foreseeing the downfall of GameX.