Chapter 71: Get Rolling, Family Members—Everyone, Get Rolling!

The next day.

A red-topped jade slip was distributed to every team leader and manager in the Heishan Mining Area.

On the jade slip’s cover, a striking line of vermilion characters was branded:

“Ascension Group Management KPI Evaluation Pilot Plan V1.0.”

Jointly signed by:

Chairperson of the Corporate Ethics and Social Responsibility Supervision Committee — Murong Xue.

Director of Corporate Culture and Strategic Development — Zhao Wuji.

A steward infused his spiritual sense into the jade slip, and after just one glance, his fingers trembled uncontrollably.

What did he see?

The plan divided all managers into three categories: Production Management, Functional Management, and… Cultural Development.

The last one referred specifically to Zhao Wuji.

Each position came with a dense set of KPI indicators—so many that one’s spiritual consciousness would spin just reading them.

For Production Management, aside from hard metrics like “Output” and “Cost,” there were new clauses personally added by Murong Xue such as “Accident-Free Duration” and “Employee Suggestion Adoption Rate.”

That was still within reason.

But when they saw the KPIs that Zhao Wuji had tailor-made for himself, all the managers in the mining area fell silent.

“Core Values Dissemination Coverage: 100% of employees must memorize the group’s core slogan. Random inspections every month. One word wrong equals 1 point deducted.”

“Team Cohesion Index: Referenced by win rate in the ‘Tunnel-Digging Friendship Competition.’ The higher the win rate, the higher the index.”

“Positive Energy Opinion Guidance: Ratio of positive discussions to negative complaints within the mining area. Each 1% increase in positive discussion adds 2 points.”

“‘Song of Ascension’ Popularity Rate: During non-working hours, heartfelt and resonant singing from family members must be heard throughout the mining area. Graded by the patrol team.”

A steward with a face full of scars stared at the jade slip, Adam’s apple bobbing hard.

“Damn it… memorizing slogans is tied to Director Zhao’s pay?”

“So if we lose the competition, Director Zhao’s wages get cut?”

Another leaned in and whispered in horror, “Then if my wife curses me again, do I have to cover her mouth and tell her not to affect our mining area’s positive-energy metrics?”

“I see it clearly now.” The first steward exhaled a long, heavy breath. “Director Zhao… he’s pushing himself straight into the grave.”

On the morning meeting platform—

Zhao Wuji stood tall in a brand-new robe, holding a voice-amplifying artifact. Behind him, a massive jade wall glowed with projected highlights of the plan.

This spell, which he proudly called a “Presentation,” was something he’d learned overnight from Chu Feng.

“Family members!”

Through the amplifier, Zhao Wuji’s voice thundered across the mining area.

There was no trace of reluctance or numbness in his eyes—only a strange, burning fire.

“I know! This plan may confuse you, may make you question it!”

“But I tell you this—it is a revolution! A revolution against ourselves, the management!”

He pounded his chest with a dull thud.

“In the past, how did we manage? By instinct! By gut feeling! That is outdated! From today onward, Ascension Group will speak with data! With performance! With KPIs!”

He swung his arm, pointing toward the thousands of miners below.

“Whether your direct supervisor performs well will no longer be decided by himself—or by me!”

“It will be decided by you—and by data!”

“Your output, your safety, your mood—all of it will be used to evaluate your supervisors! If they make your work unpleasant, their bonuses are gone! Tell me—good or not?”

A brief silence—then,

“GOOD——!”

The roar erupted like a tidal wave, shaking the heavens and bursting eardrums.

The miners might not have understood the complex clauses, but that last line struck them like a hammer.

Whether they enjoyed their work could decide their boss’s income?

Was there such a blessing under heaven?

In an instant, every miner’s gaze toward their team leader changed.

No longer subordinates looking up—but evaluators appraising goods.

And those stewards felt a chill run down their spines as hundreds of knife-like gazes scraped their backs.

Zhao Wuji was very satisfied with this reaction.

He had found—no, surpassed—the sense of dominance he once had as Heishan Sect Master.

It was the thrill of controlling everything through “rules”—a higher kind of ecstasy.

“So!”

He took a deep breath and raised his voice even higher.

“To celebrate our group’s entry into a new era of management—and to further strengthen our team cohesion—I hereby announce!”

“The First Ascension Group Heishan Mining Area ‘Strive Forward Bravely, Create Glory Together’ Tunnel-Digging Friendship Competition will officially begin this afternoon!”

“The champion team will receive, in addition to Roasted Spirit Pig and Century-old Spirit Wine, the honorary title of ‘Champion Team!’”

He paused, sweeping his gaze across all the stewards below.

“This title will directly grant your supervising steward an additional 10 KPI points!”

“Boom!”

If the earlier cheers were loud, this time, it was an explosion!

“Holy crap! Bonus points for the boss?”

“If we win the championship, won’t our boss be swimming in bonuses this month?”

“Then won’t the boss start worshipping us like ancestors?”

Every miner’s eyes turned blood-red.

Their gazes toward their team leaders shifted instantly—from evaluators to treasure hunters spotting a priceless gem.

And those team leaders—

Their minds buzzed as the realization hit.

They looked at their sturdy, spirit-rich workers, no longer seeing employees—

But walking, gleaming KPI points!

“Monkey!” A steward dashed into his team and grabbed a wiry man by the shoulder. “This afternoon, give it everything you’ve got! Win, and I’ll give you half my bonus!”

“Ergou! Didn’t you brag your ancestor was a tomb-raider? Then this afternoon, it’s on you! Lose, and I’ll skin you alive!”

The whole square erupted into chaos.

Stewards promised every kind of benefit, threat, and reward imaginable.

Everyone’s fighting spirit had been ignited to an unprecedented peak.

On a distant hillside—

Murong Xue stood silently, her fingernails carving deep marks into the railing she gripped.

She was numb.

The intricate system she had designed to balance “Safety” and “Profit,” under Chu Feng and Zhao Wuji’s hands, had completely warped.

It had become a longer, thicker, and more tempting carrot—

And also a sharper, more precise, and utterly inescapable whip.

It not only drove the miners—it was driving the managers insane.

As she gazed at the high-spirited Zhao Wuji on stage, one phrase surfaced in her mind—

Corporate Culture Maniac.

A figure appeared beside her at some point.

“How’s it feel, Chairwoman Murong?”

Chu Feng’s unhurried voice sounded.

“Seeing your painstaking design bear such abundant fruit—doesn’t it feel… fulfilling?”

Murong Xue slowly turned her head, her cool eyes locking on him.

“This is the result you wanted? Turning everyone into lunatics who’ll do anything for KPI?”

“No,” Chu Feng shook his head, correcting her calmly. “Not lunatics—fighters.”

He looked down at the flushed, excited faces below, eyes calm and steady.

“I merely gave them a platform.”

“A platform where through hard work, they can clearly see their rewards—and even decide their own and their superior’s fate.”

Having said that, he no longer paid attention to the contemplative Murong Xue and turned to leave.

He had more important things to do.

Qi Refining Sixth Level cultivation was too low.

After consuming massive amounts of pills, his body had begun to develop a faint resistance to ordinary Qi Nourishing Pills.

His cultivation speed had slowed down.

He needed Leng Yanran to produce a stronger, more potent new product.

He had to break through quickly—to Qi Refining Seventh Level, Eighth Level, Ninth Level… and even Foundation Establishment!

Because he had a faint premonition—

A storm truly capable of threatening the survival of his “Group” was… not far away.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep