Shen Siyuan jerked awake from his dream, gasping for air while feeling a numb ache in his arm.
"Where am I?"
Shen Siyuan hadn't regained his composure from the overwhelming Heavenly Tribulation, his physical body was destroyed, his soul damaged, and his Divine Sense obstructed, leaving him mentally dazed.
"Old Shen, what happened to you? Still half asleep?"
His colleague Li Kang, sitting beside him, poked him with the end of his pen when he saw Shen Siyuan staring blankly.
Only then did Shen Siyuan come to his senses, turning towards the other person.
"Kang Mazi?"
"You damn well are the 'Mazi'. Call me Brother Kang."
Li Kang tossed the pen onto the desk, wearing an annoyed expression.
Shen Siyuan ignored him, looking around. The familiar environment gradually cleared his mind.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Li Kang asked again.
Shen Siyuan nodded.
Indeed, he had just had a nightmare. He dreamed of a demonic cultivator from the Great Wilderness who, after failing the tribulation, had only a remnant soul left. It crossed into this world, intending to devour his soul for rebirth, but surprisingly it was instead defeated by Shen Siyuan and devoured.
Yet the dream felt too real, especially the memories he obtained after devouring the demon's residual soul, which felt as if they had truly happened.
In those memories, the demonic cultivator, known as the Jiuyou Demon Lord, had unleashed endless bloodshed in the Great Wilderness, was besieged by the Righteous Sect under the Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation, and ultimately perished, leaving only a residual soul, protected by its Lifebound Treasure, escaping and somehow entering Shen Siyuan's Sea of Consciousness in this world.
With that in mind, Shen Siyuan focused his thoughts, and a palm-sized Ten Thousand Soul Banner appeared in his hand.
"Damn, it's not actually a dream." Shen Siyuan was also taken aback.
He carefully examined the Ten Thousand Soul Banner in his hand. Unfortunately, the Soul Banner was already tattered, but even so, its extraordinariness was evident.
The banner's staff was jade-like, clear and transparent, with stardust-like specks moving across it. The flag surface was deep purple, and divine runes flickered at the edges, exuding a noble aura, with the words "Netherworld" on it, as if it was burning, swaying and changing continuously.
Even in its current tattered state, a mere glance by an ordinary person would cause dizziness, as if their soul might be directly drawn inside.
With a thought, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner was retracted back into his body, like using one's arm, completely unobstructed.
If this were true, could he cultivate?
As a hardworking member of society, who doesn't have the heart to take charge? Who wouldn't want to shout, "I don't want to eat beef"?
But being as insignificant as an ant, how can one soar to the skies with just ambitious dreams?
But now it was different; if he could cultivate, it was just like being given wings to fly directly to the highest heavens.
He quickly flipped through some of the residual memories of the Jiuyou Demon Lord in his mind, but soon showed a disappointed expression.
It turned out that there was no Spiritual Energy in this world, and the air was extremely turbid, completely blocking the path of internal dharma cultivation. This was why the Jiu You Netherworld Lord abandoned the Ghost Cultivation and wanted to seize rebirth, seeking the path of refining the physical body to sanctify it.
The Jiu You Netherworld Lord, though a demonic cultivator, had destroyed dynasties and stirred up countless bloody storms. Naturally, he was not lacking in Magic Skills for honing the body.
Moreover, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner contained a space within, storing the goods he had plundered over the years, including considerable Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
But Shen Siyuan had no cultivation, making it impossible to control the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and open its internal space. Moreover, given its battered state, it was also unknown how much remained of its contents.
Having a treasure mountain yet unable to find a way in, he could only sigh at the sight, which was really frustrating.
"Old Shen, your reimbursement form."
At that moment, Zhou Chuan, sitting across the partition, handed over a stack of reimbursement documents, interrupting his thoughts.
Shen Siyuan took them, only to realize they were his reimbursement forms.
Though he was an ordinary employee of the company, he also had a certain amount of reimbursement each month, mainly for overtime allowances and cab fares.
However, these had to be signed by the manager of his department first, then brought to the finance department for a signature, and finally, he could get the money.
And Zhou Chuan was their operations manager.
"Brother Chuan, I'm off to the finance department then." Shen Siyuan got up and glanced around.
Under the strong impact of memories, Shen Siyuan felt no discomfort. Everything around him was still so familiar, as if what had just occurred was truly just a dream.
"Brother Shen, take my reimbursement form too."
"And mine."
"In that case, you can take mine as well."
Even Manager Zhou Chuan handed over his reimbursement form.
"You guys are really..."
Shen Siyuan was speechless, but still accepted them one by one.
Guanghui Animation wasn't very large, but it had three to four hundred people divided into the online game department and the stand-alone game department, both operating independently. Shen Siyuan belonged to the online games operations department.
However, there was only one finance and administration department, managing all the company employees.
The finance department wasn't very large, consisting of only seven or eight people.
Shen Siyuan knocked on the door, and the noisy chatter inside instantly quieted.
Then a pleasant female voice came from within.
"Come in."
Only then did Shen Siyuan push open the door and enter, immediately feeling a refreshing breeze, along with the scent of powder.
Shen Siyuan didn't scrutinize the environment inside the finance department much but went straight to a young woman wearing glasses.
"Mr. Fu, I'm from the online games operations department. These are our reimbursement forms." Shen Siyuan wasted no time and handed over the documents.
Mr. Fu, about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, had a slightly chubby figure and wore black-framed glasses.
She reached out and took the documents, quickly flipping through them.
Shen Siyuan didn't leave immediately but waited quietly, because if any receipts were improperly attached, they would be returned to be re-glued.
Sure enough, Mr. Fu soon pulled out a reimbursement form and handed it back to Shen Siyuan.
"This one needs to be reattached."
"Alright."
Just as Shen Siyuan was about to take it back, a small head popped out from the side.
Looking down, Shen Siyuan felt a surge of joy, seeing a little girl hanging onto the edge of the table, standing on tiptoe, curiously peeking at the desktop.
Who would have thought this world would have ghosts, and the little girl's soul was pure and flawless, making excellent material for mending the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.
No, no, what am I thinking, Shen Siyuan quickly suppressed this frightening thought. It turned out swallowing the Jiuyou Demon Lord's residual soul had affected him.
"Bro bro, what are you doing?"
The little girl looked up at Shen Siyuan.
Only then did Shen Siyuan take a good look at her.
The little girl was around three or four years old, exquisitely like a porcelain doll, with large, lively eyes, and a chubby, adorable demeanor, making her very endearing.
Seeing Shen Siyuan not answer her question, the little girl seemed unsurprised, having long grown accustomed to being ignored over time.
Shen Siyuan found her vaguely familiar, having likely seen her in the company before.
On working days, when no one was available to watch the kids, some would be brought to the company, especially during the summer and winter holidays, as long as they didn't disrupt work, nobody minded.
It seemed this little girl was likely the child of one of the finance department employees.
So, Shen Siyuan glanced around, the entire finance department was staffed by women, except for the finance manager, who appeared to be in her forties or fifties, and a woman in her thirties; the rest were young girls like Mr. Fu.
Hence, the little girl was most likely the daughter of that woman.
Being part of the same company, Shen Siyuan naturally knew her.
The woman was named Jiang Wenxin. She wasn't exactly an employee of Guanghui Animation but was sent by the investors as a finance officer, holding a very special position in the company.
Shen Siyuan only took a cursory glance and didn't linger in the finance department for long.
But before leaving the door, he extended his hand around to gently tap on the little girl's shoulder.
The little girl was initially surprised, then her face brimmed with delight.
"Bro bro, you can see me?"
Shen Siyuan merely gave her a slight smile and turned to walk away.
The little girl immediately shuffled along, following him with tiny strides, waddling like a penguin, adorably charming.