Old Wang was stunned for a moment when he received the egg.

This egg was slightly larger than a goose egg, grayish-white all over, with a rough surface, as if it had been rolled in mud. In the office, other colleagues were holding similar eggs, with varied expressions; some looked at them curiously, while others were completely bewildered.

"Old Wang, your hairstyle today, wow, it's trendy!" Little Zhang said, glancing at Old Wang's head while coding. Old Wang, in his early thirties and a programmer, had a freshly permed curly hairstyle, looking like a sheep that had been electrocuted.

"Yeah, just got it done." Old Wang touched his hair, his tone tinged with helplessness. "Company policy, perm your hair once a year, considered an 'annual benefit' for employees."

Old Wang had been feeling like something was off recently. Every morning, he would wake up at exactly 7:30 am, mechanically put on his work uniform, squeeze onto the subway, and then in the office, like a finely tuned machine, he would tap away at his keyboard, processing all sorts of forms and reports. Ever since the company implemented "Qiang Culture," everything had changed.

This so-called "Qiang Culture" was initially just a slogan, plastered in the most visible spot of the company corridor: Your "Qiang" is the company's "Qiang"! Every morning meeting, the leader would repeat this phrase with great passion, as if it could inject everyone with a shot of chicken blood, making them forget about overtime, performance reviews, and that they were still living human beings.

The "Concentration" training base is located in an inconspicuous gray building in the suburbs, with no sign at the entrance. Every morning at seven o'clock, students arrive one after another to begin their day of "concentration" training.

A-Qiang is a new student here. He used to be a senior executive at a company, but was demoted by his boss after spacing out during an important meeting. By chance, he saw a flyer for "Concentration," and with a try-it-out mentality, he paid a large tuition fee and joined this mysterious organization.

Old Li is a Go enthusiast. Although his skills aren't that great, only around amateur 3-dan, his passion is undeniable. He always likes to apply Go principles to life, often using terms like "honte" (the proper move), "myoshu" (the brilliant move), and "zokusyu" (the vulgar move). In his department, a new leader recently arrived, surnamed Zhao, nicknamed "Zhao Honte."

Old Wang is a retired veteran whose biggest hobby these days is strolling around his neighborhood every day. He has a smartphone with a step-counting APP called "Flying Steps." This APP is said to accumulate points based on the number of steps taken, and the points can be redeemed for small gifts. Old Wang thinks it's great and walks even more enthusiastically every day.

There's also an old man named Mr. Li in the neighborhood who also likes using this APP. Every day they meet, they have to show off each other's steps for the day. Old Wang always wins by a small margin, and Mr. Li would jealously say, "Old Wang, you walk every day, where do you think you're going?" Old Wang would always smile without saying a word, secretly delighted in his heart.

Old Liu, the director of the Spring Festival Intangible Cultural Heritage Application Office, had been losing hair a lot recently. Not because he was overworked, but because he was worried. The higher-ups had issued a strict order: the introduction for the Spring Festival's application had to be limited to 200 words.

Old Liu has been a bit annoyed lately.

Zhang San woke up, and the first thing he did wasn't to wash up, but to "beep" his wrist-mounted QR code scanner. The screen lit up, displaying: "Today's Health Code: Green. Risk Assessment: Low. Allowed to go out."

"This jelly, the color is really beautiful." Old Wang picked up his phone and took a picture of the dazzling array of jellies on the counter, posting it on his WeChat moments.

He is a food safety supervisor, and has been in this line of work for almost twenty years. His daily job is to inspect various food stores, checking the production dates, ingredient labels, and whether there are any expired or deteriorated products. He is always very serious, meticulous, and even a bit nitpicky. His colleagues secretly call him "Serious Wang."