"My colleague's brains were splattered all over the floor… did you see it…? The corridors are covered in blood…"
"We're all going to die!!! We'll all be torn apart by those monsters!!!"
"Manager! Please, open the emergency exit!!! Let me go!!!"
"Please issue an order… hehehe… please issue an order!"
"The Security Team has been wiped out… do you have anything else to say? I'm listening…"
"Audrey died because of your incompetence! How will you compensate for the losses caused by this employee?"
"..."
Listening to the nonstop screams from employees and the accusations coming from the Sephirah through the comms, X pinched his temples and remained silent.
Even with the cognitive filter reducing the realism of the live feed, watching corridors filled with flying flesh and staring at mangled corpses—even without seeing it firsthand—made it painfully clear just how horrific the scene truly was.
And the cause of it all was right there at the center of the screen—
A massive iron box , with a single human eye embedded in the keyhole at its center.
At this very moment, it was wildly swinging its two circular saws—large enough to sweep through most of the corridor. Clerks and employees who had already suffered mental breakdowns and were fleeing in panic still couldn't escape its slaughter.
"I'm sorry… everyone… this is my fault."
X 's hoarse voice echoed through the empty manager's office, heavy with self-blame.
With a trembling hand, he pressed the red-glowing button on the console once again—
Restart the Day.
The light of time reversal flashed by. All the chaos and bloodshed on the screen vanished instantly, returning everything to the calm of early morning, just before the workday began.
Staring at the work preparation interface, X felt a wave of powerlessness as his eyes fell upon the newest "?" Abnormality listed under the Security Team's containment tab.
He had already lost count of how many times today he'd been forced to make this choice.
O-05-76, the newest Abnormality contained today.
—Within the machine's keyhole, you can feel an unsettling eye staring straight at you.
Due to Qliphoth Counter meltdowns, even if X deliberately instructed employees to ignore this Abnormality, the progression of work would eventually force someone to go deal with its containment unit.
And yet, for reasons unknown, every single time an employee attempted to work with it, the Abnormality would immediately breach.
No matter the work type—Instinct, Insight, Attachment, or Repression—it was always the same.
And the most critical, most despair-inducing part was this—
Despite its bulky appearance, once O-05-76 breached containment, the combat power it displayed was utterly horrifying.
Even veteran Level IV elite employees equipped with HE-grade E.G.O weapons and armor stood no chance against it—there was no opportunity to fight back, not even to stall for time.
Once those two high-speed spinning saws were unleashed, it was usually an instant bloodbath—total annihilation.
—
After countless restarts, and after downing who knew how many bottles of mental recovery medication, X finally managed to complete the day's work under the condition that O-05-76 did not breach—and with zero casualties.
Under normal circumstances, once the day's energy quota was met, X would have had employees work overtime. That way, their attributes could be further improved, and more PE-box could be extracted for the Research Team to develop new E.G.O equipment.
But today, he was simply too exhausted.
The moment he confirmed that the required amount had been collected, X ended the workday without hesitation.
To the employees, the time they experienced might not have even amounted to eight hours—
But for X , he had been commanding operations in the manager's office for a full day and night.
If One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds hadn't unexpectedly enhanced his mental resilience with the Crown of Thorns last night, X seriously doubted whether he could have lasted until the end of today's shift.
Yet just as X dragged his heavy steps through the company's rest area—
"Hey! Manager! It's rare for you to let us off this early. Wanna come hang out with us? Have a few drinks?"
"No thanks, Justin."
X forced out a polite smile as he replied,
"I'm not feeling very well. I'll head back and rest today."
"Is that so… alright then. Take care of yourself, Manager!"
"Mm. You all have fun too—take care."
After parting with the relatively warm and friendly employees, X didn't linger. He practically hauled himself back to his room and collapsed onto the bed.
Beep—
Angela initiated a communication request.
"Hello?"
"X , I've told you many times already."
Angela's projection appeared in the center of the room.
"During work, besides meeting the company's required quotas, the most important thing you need to pay attention to is yourself."
"Thanks… I'm really happy you're worried about me, Angela."
X replied weakly.
"But I'm really fine. Don't worry."
"I don't think you've taken my words to heart at all, X ."
Angela's brows knit ever so slightly, showing faint dissatisfaction with his perfunctory response.
"Employees, to Lobotomy Corporation, are the most basic—and least valuable—expendable resources."
"Even if this entire batch dies due to various accidents, tomorrow—no, even the very next second—countless people will still be scrambling desperately for a chance to enter our company and fill those vacancies."
"Their lives are not even remotely comparable to the value of your safety."
"Alright, alright… I get it…"
X didn't give Angela the chance to continue lecturing. After brushing her off with a few words, he decisively cut the communication.
"Good night, Angela. I'm going to sleep…"
"Ah… you… fine…"
Angela could only feel helpless in the face of X 's attitude.
Yet beneath that helplessness, there was also a quiet sense of hope.
She hoped that this manager could truly maintain such a mindset—
So that when the time came… even if it were only for a few days…
She, too, might receive the gaze meant only for him.
"…Please rest well."
The virtual projection flickered once, then quickly dissolved into the air.
"Honestly… you say that, but I just can't do it…"
X buried his face into the pillow, his voice muffled.
"Watching those people… colleagues who, at least in my eyes, joked around together and got along pretty well… die one by one like that…"
"If one day, even you needed me to risk my life to save you…"
"I think… I'd probably do it without hesitation."
"…Angela."
Unfortunately, those words never reached her ears.