fantasy novels Chapter 4176 An Uneasy Atmosphere
Chapter 4176 An Uneasy Atmosphere
Chapter 4176 An Uneasy Atmosphere
Does the air smell of dust and smog?
"What do you mean?" The wine glass didn't quite understand Pinocchio's meaning. She even subconsciously quickened her breathing a few times, as if she was really sniffing the air.
However, apart from the strong, astringent smell of chocolate, there was no other unpleasant odor in the air.
Pinocchio, of course, noticed the subtle movement of the wine glass and chuckled, "Yo-ho, 'the taste of dust' doesn't refer to actual dust."
"So you mean...?"
“I can’t give you a precise answer, because finding the cause is one of the reasons I hired you.” Pinocchio turned around and looked towards the door. “I can only say that when I was in the sculpting workshop, I sensed an uneasy atmosphere.”
"As for where these smells come from, whether from the employees or from the workshop itself, I cannot be sure at the moment."
"I don't even know what this unease points to... Is it pointing to my own demise? Or is it a sign of some major impending event?"
"Everything is unknown, and this uncertainty makes me feel even more uneasy."
Pinocchio's eyes were filled with solemnity as he looked at his glass: "Under these circumstances, I cannot trust anything in the Shaping Workshop, including any of its employees."
“I feel that each of them could be a source of my unease and could bring me endless harm.”
The wine glass flickered in his eyes, and he said calmly, "...You have paranoia."
Pinocchio shook his head: "No, every manager's body is unique. And my current body is a naturally spiritual body, extremely sensitive to the mystical."
"It even reached the point of being able to foresee things; you can understand it as my talent."
"And now, my innate talent is warning me."
That's why I came to you.
The wine glass probably already guessed what was going on, but it still pretended to be ignorant: "What does this have to do with me?"
“Because you’re new here today,” Pinocchio said. “You’re currently the only one who is absolutely not involved in the ‘anxiety’ at the Shaping Workshop.”
To put it bluntly, Pinocchio, due to his spirituality, doesn't trust anyone at the current sculpting workshop.
It felt that everyone could be a source of its "unease".
Unlike the wine glass, she was a newcomer to the shaping workshop, having just arrived today.
The people of the new world are certainly not related to the sources of trouble in the old world.
Therefore, it turned to the wine glass, hoping to make it its assistant in finding and investigating the source of the "unease".
In a sense, the wine glass became "the right person" in Pinocchio's eyes at the right time.
"I need an assistant I can trust, and right now, that person is you."
When Pinocchio said this, he looked straight into the wine glass, as if to say that he would give the glass unlimited trust.
The wine glass now fully understood.
Pinocchio, as the manager of the sculpting workshop, has a talent that subtly warns him... that danger is approaching.
But it doesn't know where the danger comes from, so it wants "the wine glass," an outsider who has just entered the new century, to break the deadlock.
However, what it didn't know was that the visitors to the new world were not necessarily acquaintances of the old world's sources of trouble.
Yes, the wine glass already guessed that the "source of unease" Pinocchio mentioned was most likely the newly emerging force in the secret realm—the Rebels.
Because only the rebels can ignore the annihilation lightning punishment and cause damage to the area administrators.
The Shaping Workshop is one of only two of the five regions that currently has rebels, and the rebels here are... the Ice Maiden.
In other words, the source of the unease Pinocchio mentioned is Ice Maiden.
"You're a strange person. You've said a lot of things I don't understand, only mentioning your own anxieties, and then you want me to join you." The wine glass shrugged. "But what does any of this have to do with me?"
"Given the general trend, you will inevitably be affected as well."
"The grand scheme of things?" The wine glass scoffed. "I inexplicably ended up in this godforsaken place, not only in a different body, but also forced to work every day. If I relax even slightly, lightning strikes right in front of me. When the grand scheme arrives, will things be even worse than they are now?"
Pinocchio looked at his glass and tilted his head. "Well, you have a point. You've hit rock bottom now, and it's unlikely things will get any worse."
Wine glass: "..."
“However, the general situation may not necessarily give you a better or worse situation, but I can.” Pinocchio: “As I said before, as long as you agree to be my deputy and work for me, you don’t have to worry about the weekly quota or the danger of Lei Fa.”
The wine glass said, "But I will also face the 'unease' you speak of, which may be more dangerous than the punishment of lightning."
Upon hearing this, Pinocchio understood that the glass was trying to negotiate with him.
It wasn't angry about this; in fact, it was somewhat pleased. Because while those swayed by words may not be reliable, a group bound together by shared interests, as long as there's no greater temptation, will at least not collapse at its core.
In this secluded place with virtually no way out, it's practically impossible for the wine glass to find greater profits.
In other words, once the glass follows its lead, it is confident that it can completely mold it into its own shape!
“I understand what you mean. Indeed, it is my fault for asking you to help me without giving anything in return… Why don’t you tell me your requirements? If they are reasonable, I will be lenient.”
"What an arrogant statement," the wine glass muttered to itself. Though it said this, its mind was racing, trying to figure out how to make demands in order to maximize its own interests.
While the man in the wine glass was pondering how to deal with Pinocchio, the viewers in the live stream were exchanging bewildered glances.
Angel, Luigi, and their water clones: "..."
Everyone was speechless.
They all thought the live stream would be temporarily suspended until Ice Maiden and Wine Glass finished work. But who could have imagined that the sequel would come so soon?
Moreover, the follow-up to this was extremely exciting.
Not only did they learn that Pinocchio had some awareness of the "Rebels," but they also learned that the administrators of the five districts all possessed special talents!
Pinocchio's gift is "spiritual intuition," and it is because of this gift that he vaguely senses the undercurrents in the sculpting workshop.
What are the talents of other managers?
Currently unknown.
If the rebels want to take complete control of the factory, they may need to investigate the talents of the other four regional managers in the future.
No, it should be three areas.
Violet, the manager of the honey-steaming workshop, is dead; her talent is no longer important. The key is the talents of the managers in the other areas. If we don't investigate them thoroughly, it could lead to disaster.
Let's get back to the present.
"If Pinocchio knew that the wine glass he invited would also become a member of the rebels, I wonder what his expression would be..." A hint of excitement flashed in Luigi's eyes. This plot development was unexpected, and he was very much looking forward to whether there would be an even more amazing development next.
The situation with the water clone was similar to Luigi's; although she didn't say anything, she was watching with great interest.
"That's the charm of binge-watching TV series," Angel thought to himself.
Luigi and his water clone's expressions were similar to Dangross's when he watched "The Alchemist of the Infernal Flame," perhaps even more expectant. After all, "The Alchemist of the Infernal Flame" was a fictional story, and the ending was already known; while the events on the other side of the wine glass were real. Often, what happens in reality is more outrageous than fictional plots, and makes people want to know what happens next.
Soon, the "new plot" continued to unfold—
After a moment of contemplation, the wine glass looked up at Pinocchio and asked, "If I asked to leave this place and return to my original body, would you agree to that?"
After the wine glass made this condition, it already knew that Pinocchio would most likely not agree, because her physical body might not be preserved and might have already been disposed of by the God-worshipping faction... But she still made the condition, because it was a necessary logic for a "newcomer". It would be really strange if she didn't even make this condition.
When Pinocchio heard the glass's condition, a hint of "as expected" flashed in his eyes; he knew the glass would make this request.
It remained silent for a moment, as if pondering how to answer.
Or rather, it's contemplating whether or not to... lie about this.
In the end, Pinocchio chose to tell the truth, because if she had been conscious when the cup was sacrificed, she should have known that her body was likely already 'dead,' with only her soul and consciousness remaining.
In this situation, it has no way, nor is it possible, to return the wine glass to its original body.
"I can't do it." Pinocchio shook his head gently.
"I'm only making this small request, and you can't even do it? Then what request do you want me to make? I know nothing about this place, and any request I make is suppressed by information!" The wine glass sounded somewhat agitated.
Pinocchio the monkey gently opened his hand and slowly squeezed down, and the anger that had been rising in the wine glass inexplicably subsided.
The wine glass looked at Pinocchio with surprise and suspicion.
Pinocchio simply said, "A little trick to calm emotions. After all, decisions made in the heat of anger are often impulsive, and I hope we can have a rational conversation."
After a pause, Pinocchio continued, "It's not that I can't do this. As an administrator, at some point in the future, I will indeed have the authority to send consciousness back to the outside world."
"However, the time is not now, but in the unknown future."
It smacked its lips: "When I finally have the authority to send your consciousness back... do you think your physical body left outside will still be intact?"
Upon hearing this, the wine glass was initially dazed, but then her mind cleared. After the clarity, an unresolved sorrow welled up in her eyes, and she gently lowered her head, as if mourning her departed body.
Seeing this, Pinocchio didn't urge him, but just waited silently by his side.
But in reality, the wine glass didn't feel much sadness. She knew the answer, so she wasn't surprised at all; it was just an act.
What Wine Glass didn't expect was that her routine request would actually yield new information from Pinocchio.
—In the future, managers will have the authority to send consciousness back to the outside world.
As for this "sometime in the future," although Pinocchio didn't say, Wine Glass guesses that the timing should be after the factory manager is elected.
This point is also vaguely mentioned in Violet's diary.
In other words, as long as the rebels win the final victory, they can use their authority to return to Cloud Harbor City!
This information was very important, and the wine glass silently kept it in mind.
"I understand."
The wine glass remained silent for a moment before speaking: "Just as you said, my body can't maintain vital signs indefinitely; I might already be dead."
At this point, the wine glass said with a helpless self-deprecating laugh, "Indeed, I shouldn't have had any expectations."
Pinocchio opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end remained silent.
The wine glass continued its performance, conveying despair over the loss of its body, and a certain helpless resignation.
After a long while, the wine glass slowly regained its calm and rationality after the "emotions were exhausted".
"I can't think of any other conditions besides this one. As I said before, I know nothing about this place. How can I propose conditions that are in my favor under these circumstances?"
Pinocchio: "If every condition needs to be proposed under conditions of complete understanding, then the benefits you can get will definitely not be very high."
"The clearer you see, the tighter others hold on. You should understand this principle."
The wine glass naturally understood Pinocchio's meaning: when one party has a complete understanding of the situation, the other party will reduce its room for concessions out of fear of its control; conversely, a request made when information is incomplete may break through the other party's pre-set bottom line and bring unexpected benefits.
Wine glass: "That's true, but I know almost nothing about this place."
Pinocchio extended his hairy index finger and wiggled it gently: "Doesn't that also mean you can make a wider range of requests?"
"You make it sound like you'd agree to any request I make."
"Why don't you give it a try? Maybe I'll actually agree."
Pinocchio boldly raised the glass, and after a moment's hesitation, the glass said, "You made me say it, so I want... three promises."
Pinocchio looked quietly at the wine glass, gesturing for her to continue.
"Promise me freedom of time and space."
"Promise me more technical support."
"Finally, promise me that when the time is right, I can leave this place. Even if I don't use my original body, just this body will do."
All three requirements are broad concepts, reflecting the wine glass's cautious attitude towards this "unfamiliar factory".
After thinking for a moment, Pinocchio said, "I can try my best to meet your first two requests. After all, I need you to help me investigate the source of my unease, and I do need to give you more free time and space, as well as technical support."
"But I can't promise you the last condition. Because whether you can leave the factory with this body is not something I can decide. The ownership of the universal body is not my responsibility."