Reversing Heavenly Gang: Starting with a Slap in the Face at Work

Chapter 13 Truth or Dare Bubbles

As the elevator in the mall reached the fourth floor, the first sound that came through the doors was the muffled thud of arrows hitting a target, one after another, unhurried and gentle, like someone beating a drum from a great distance.

The club's reception area was small, with warm yellow spotlights shining on the off-white walls, illuminating the five large characters: Pingming Club.

The line of smaller characters below is inscribed with "Frontier Ballad" by Lu Lun, a poet of the Tang Dynasty:

The forest is dark, the grass rustles in the wind, and the general draws his bow at night.

At dawn I searched for the white feather, but it was lost among the stone edges.

Upon entering the hall, behind a floor-to-ceiling glass wall on the left is the archery area, with ten target lanes lined up in a row. The straw targets at the end of each lane are slightly arched due to the large number of archers.

A smartly dressed coach stood in front of the shooting range, arms crossed behind a beginner. He didn't say anything, but simply used one hand to press down the beginner's shoulder and the other hand to raise the bow before stepping back.

The man raised his bow, drew the string, paused, and released it—the arrow struck the target like a meteor with a muffled thud.

Wang Lang was somewhat tempted. Little Fatty helped Wang Lang put on protective gear, picked out a light bow, and stood in front of the target area, shooting the straw target into a hedgehog shape. Wang Lang felt that this place was different from the office; it was more pure. Once the arrow flew out, it flew out. The yellow circle in the middle of the target paper didn't lie.

The two got more and more into it, as if they were treating the grass target as a toad, as an object of their misfortune, and shooting it with a thousand arrows.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.

After the two changed out of their gear, Wang Lang realized that he was drenched in sweat, and the shirt under his chest protector was soaked through, as if a cold wind had pierced through it.

Xiao Pang swiped his card at the front desk but didn't return for a long time. Wang Lang sensed something was wrong and went to the front desk to find Xiao Pang arguing with the staff.

"No, your boss said it's free if you bring friends."

"I'm sorry, sir, we haven't received any notification."

When the cashier said this, she kept her head down and didn't look at Xiao Pang. It was hard to tell if she was just reciting lines or if she was feeling guilty.

"So your boss is lying? It's not free for members to bring friends."

Seeing that the conflict had spread to the boss, the receptionist's eyes lit up with a hint of humanity: "Excuse me, sir, members need to make an appointment one day in advance if they bring friends."

What kind of bizarre requirements are these? Do I even need to make an appointment in advance?

Free but not completely free is not truly free.

Little Fatty cursed countless times in his mind: "You son of a bitch, you bastards!"

Wang Lang came over, patted the chubby boy on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down. He then asked the cashier, "Where's your boss?"

"Our boss isn't here," the receptionist said calmly.

"Then I'll call your boss." The chubby guy was like a student complaining to a teacher, hoping that he would uphold justice.

When the call connected, Xiao Pang explained the situation, and the boss's response satisfied him greatly.

"Hey bro, it's free, definitely free!"

The boss's hearty laughter calmed Little Fatty's dissatisfaction, making him even wonder if he was being too petty.

After hanging up the phone, the chubby guy waved his phone at the cashier and asked smugly, "Then I'll just leave, I don't need to pay, right?"

"Sir, the boss said it's free even without a reservation, so the venue fee and the cost of the bow and arrow are definitely waived..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Lang and Xiao Pang both raised their eyebrows: Oh no, there's another trap.

The clerk at the front desk remained expressionless and continued, "There's a consumables fee: the arrow finger guards and breastplate need to be cleaned, disinfected, and dried at a low temperature, which will cost 20 yuan."

"Why didn't you say so earlier? You were just now, and now you're doing this again!" Little Fatty couldn't hold back any longer and finally spoke in his hometown dialect.

The warm yellow spotlights at the front desk shone down from the ceiling, illuminating every asterisk and line of small print on the price list, making every penny in the customers' pockets crystal clear.

The light shone on the cashier's face, and when she said "Excuse me, sir," her mouth and eyes were separate: her mouth was forcing a smile, while her eyes were looking at the sign on the wall that read "The final interpretation right belongs to this store."

Little Fatty picked up his phone again and called his boss.

But this time, he couldn't get through to the boss on the phone.

beep--

beep--

beep--

Little Fatty had been struggling for a while, and was sweating profusely.

He didn't understand why his fierce and violent punches always hit cotton; that feeling of powerlessness was truly unbearable.

At the company...

It was bad enough that I was always being subtly attacked at my previous company, but now that I'm a consumer, why do I feel so powerless?

What went wrong?

huh~~

The little fat boy let out the breath he had been holding.

"Never mind, where should I sweep?"

Xiao Pang opened his phone and asked the cashier.

"Twenty yuan isn't much, it's just a small amount," Little Fatty thought to himself.

"I'll sweep you, sir."

The cashier took out the barcode scanner, pressed it, and a blinding red light shone on Xiao Pang's body, right in the heart area, as if he had been shot suddenly.

"etc!"

Wang Lang reached out and gently touched Xiao Pang's arm. The red light from the barcode scanner moved away from Xiao Pang's chest, flickered, and landed on the floor tiles.

"Sir, is there any other problem?" The receptionist's tone remained calm, but her eyes rolled upwards, a sign of impatience.

Wang Lang didn't look at her, but pointed to the price list on the wall: "Is this 20 yuan for consumables written on it?"

The receptionist glanced in the direction he was pointing, then looked away, her lips drooping – an expression Wang Lang had seen countless times at the company, the kind of annoyance that said, "Here comes another nitpicker."

"Sir, the cost of consumables is a standard regulation in our store. Nail guards and chest protectors need to be cleaned and disinfected, which incurs costs."

"Did anyone mention this rule when we entered?" Wang Lang's voice was unhurried, as if he were asking a question. "We signed a safety waiver upon entering, confirming the usage guidelines for bows and arrows, but they didn't mention any consumable costs."

The receptionist's eyes darted around again, this time with a more lifelike quality, but she still wouldn't back down: "Sir, this is one of our standard charges; it's all posted on the wall."

"The price list is posted on the wall." Wang Lang pointed to the acrylic panel. "The price list doesn't include consumables fees, cleaning fees, or disinfection fees. None of the items you just mentioned are listed on the wall."

Wang Lang emphasized, "You didn't clearly display the prices, that's price gouging, do you understand?"

"Moreover," Wang Lang said, using all the knowledge he had gleaned from short videos, "you also have an obligation to provide us with free protective gear, just like restaurants must provide free tableware. If you're going to charge for it, you need to inform us and get our consent."

The chubby boy nodded vigorously beside him, as if to say: Yes, yes, that's exactly what I wanted to say.

Wang Lang didn't continue speaking. He was waiting for the receptionist's reaction to see if she would wisely admit it or continue to be stubborn.

The cashier clearly chose the latter.

She placed the barcode scanner on the table, crossed her arms, and her professional smile vanished, replaced by a cold expression: "Sir, I don't understand what you're saying. This is our store's policy. If you think it's inappropriate, you can talk to the boss."

She shrugged, not finishing her sentence. But the meaning was clear: Go find the boss if you're so capable, coming to me won't help.

Anyway—

I'm just an employee.

"Okay, I'll call the complaint management hotline and ask." Wang Lang also took out his phone.

Normally, by this point in negotiations, the shop assistant should back down; that's how it's portrayed in short videos.

To everyone's surprise, the cashier was stubborn: "Go ahead and call..."

As she spoke, she tilted her head and rolled her eyes.

Wang Lang frowned: What are you being so tough about?

But should I really fight? Actually, I've suffered quite a few injustices over the years, but I've never actually reported anyone. The reason is simple... I'm afraid of the trouble.

Hey, perfect timing to try out the new gadgets in the Heavenly Gang Shop!

Truth or Dare bubble, 100...

Black history search, 100...

Presence reduction symbol, 200...

Infection/Spread 500...

Tsk, this looks like a losing proposition no matter how you look at it, I'll choose this one.

[Truth or Dare Bubble]

[Consumes 100 Heavenly Spirit Points]

A huge, semi-transparent bubble appeared above the cashier's head, with a line of small print below it:

Change background color: OOOOOO

Adjust bubble size: 10% - 50% - 100%

This... the Heavenly Gang System is actually quite user-friendly.

Suddenly, a text appeared in the bubble.