[Mission: Bloody Warehouse] [Dispose of bodies (0/15)] [Clean bloodstains: 0%] [Eliminate evidence (0/13)] [Return furniture to original positions (0/16)] William looked at the mission panel, then at the chaotic mess before him.
He sighed.
Busy life, indeed.
He filled the bucket, soaked the mop, and got to work.
Once he started, he was completely focused.
He tackled the five bodies lying neatly on the clean side of the floor first, the ones covered in white sheets.
If he had to guess, these were the victors.
Clean, meaning their pockets were empty.
Dead men told no tales.
Their buddies had already stripped them of anything valuable.
Finding nothing, William felt a flash of irritation.
So he processed them quickly.
Auto-Pack worked like a charm.
The familiar wrapping sound filled the air, and the bodies turned into neat cocoons.
He tossed the cocoons aside, ignoring whatever dignity the occupants might have once had.
Then he mopped the area.
One swipe and the stains vanished.
No fuss.
But the progress bar didn’t budge.
Annoying.
He needed to see some progress.
He dragged the mop over a fresh bloodstain.
The gray concrete floor contrasted sharply with the dark red patch.
Dark red stains on concrete were supposed to be tough to clean.
But somehow, a single pass made it disappear.
Watching the bloodstain progress tick up by one reluctant percent, William felt a wave of satisfaction.
Hard work needed positive reinforcement.
Then he looked at the bright gray spot in the middle of all that red.
Even worse.
His perfectionism kicked in, and he didn’t stop to rest.
The bodies sprawled on the floor were in his way, so he tossed them aside without even bothering to wrap them.
Then he watched the bloodstain progress drop from eleven percent to ten.
William spun around.
Great.
One unlucky victim, slashed eight times, had been flung through the air, painting a beautiful crimson arc across the freshly cleaned floor.
Lesson learned.
William decided to process the obstacles first.
Wading through blood, he wrapped them all into cocoons and stacked them by the door.
Then he noticed the bloody footprints he’d left everywhere.
He felt his eye twitch.
Looking at the soles of his shoes, he needed a solution.
He wiped the mop across his soles.
Clean instantly.
Back to work.
Simple enough, but he kept having to run back and refill the bucket.
When the floor was finally spotless, William admired the clean gray surface.
Then he looked at the walls, still splattered with red.
They stood out like sore thumbs.
Bodies were fully processed at fifteen out of fifteen.
Bloodstains were at sixty-four percent.
Next came evidence collection.
A broken steel pipe.
A detached axe head and handle.
A snapped knife.
A shattered baseball bat.
The evidence was all over the place.
What a fight this must have been.
Twelve out of thirteen.
That missing piece was going to drive him crazy.
He scanned the warehouse, hunting for the final item.
Then he spotted a shelf corner stained with something yellow.
Packed.
All gone.
With the system’s help, physical volume wasn’t an issue.
A decent-sized empty shelf vanished, replaced by six yellow trash bags.
William saw the green checkmark and couldn’t help but smile.
That hit the spot.
That green check was as satisfying as biting into a cold watermelon on a summer day.
But then he turned.
The red was still there.
Persistent.
Scattered everywhere.
No choice but to keep working.
By the way, this warehouse was a total bust.
Even William, the master scavenger, couldn’t find anything worth taking.
By the time morning rolled around, the mission panel was covered in beautiful green checkmarks.
Mission complete.
The payout shot William up three levels.
He earned three skill points, bringing his total to a whopping four.
Thinking about all the time he’d spent scrubbing walls, he glanced at the Cleaner Simulator’s skill tree.
The Sponge was calling his name.
It looked way too useful.
[Sponge]: Special effectiveness against fabric materials and splatter stains.
Bought.
William looked at the massive skill tree and wisely chose to look away.
When you’re broke, you learn to keep your eyes closed.
The world was full of temptations.
He surveyed his masterpiece.
Clean concrete floors, spotless.
The walls looked brand new.
Even decades-old grime was gone.
That was skill.
A pile of cocoons sat by the door.
Too bad they’d never get to see the light of day as butterflies.
William was thoroughly satisfied with his work.
Now it was time to collect his payment.
The warehouse doors swung open for the first time all night.
The guard outside had been waiting.
He stood up and drew his gun, ready to send the rookie on his way.
But first, as a good soldier, he always checked the work before pulling the trigger.
The doors rolled open fully.
A brand-new warehouse was revealed.
The floor, once covered in oil and blood, was restored to its original gray.
The walls looked freshly painted.
The guard swallowed hard.
This was beyond cleaning.
What was the difference between this and a renovation?
He looked at the kid holding a bucket and mop and signaled for him to wait.
Then he made a phone call.
“Boss, you need to come here.
Yeah, that warehouse.
Yeah, it’s urgent.
Hard to explain over the phone.
The kid?
I won’t let you disrespect a master like that.” After hanging up, the big man’s face broke into a warm, simple grin.
He pulled up a chair for William and handed him a beer.
William sat down, letting the fizzy, malty bubbles explode on his tongue.
The fatigue from the long night melted away.
He leaned back, sipping his beer and watching the sunrise.
Pure bliss.
Soon enough, the boss arrived.
It was the same sunglasses guy from before.
Seeing William alive, comfortable, and enjoying a drink, Abi knew the kid must have done decent work.
Then his trusted man waved him over.
Abi walked closer.
His eyes, hidden behind the shades, went wide.
Was this even the same warehouse?
He looked at the neatly arranged cocoons.
He’d struck gold.