"Why are you so late?"
In front of a company, a department supervisor was impatiently pacing back and forth.
It should be working hours by now, but today, three people haven't shown up.
They haven't just been late—they haven't come at all.
Calls aren't going through. What on earth are they doing?
And it's already been two days since anyone has seen them.
Looking at the timing, it's not like it's the World Cup, and there's still a year to go before the Olympics. There haven't been any major events recently, and no global holidays either. What could possibly cause these three people to all be absent at the same time?
These three people had no prior connections, and they weren't even close friends. So it's clear they didn't plan this together. What exactly is going on?
"Sorry, sorry, boss! I'm late!"
...
...
A person came running toward him, wearing a smile.
The supervisor was surprised to see this person.
"Curtis? How are you late too? And what's up with your eyes?"
"Ah, I've been having some troubles in life, couldn't sleep well lately, so I'm late today. Really sorry."
"Alright, alright, just get to work."
The supervisor waved his hand, signaling him to go to work. Curtis quickly thanked him. Normally, the supervisor was hard to approach, but today he was being unusually lenient. This made Curtis glance at him with a bit of curiosity.
It wasn't that the supervisor was being kind, nor that he didn't mind being late. It was just that Curtis was usually a reliable employee, and his rare tardiness was acceptable. Plus, there were still three people unaccounted for.
Suddenly, the supervisor thought of something terrible.
What if they were robbed, beaten up, and seriously injured, and if no one reported it, they might be gone?
Could all three of them be in such danger?
The probability was probably low, but still, if something like that really happened and he didn't act, he'd feel bad when he finally found out what happened to them.
After all, these three were core members of his small team. Losing even one of them would be hard to accept.
Thinking this, he quickly grabbed the phone and dialed the emergency number.
"Hello, 911."
"Hello, I need to report something. Three of my employees haven't shown up for work for three days, and I can't reach them by phone. I'm worried something bad might have happened to them. Should I report it?"
The operator on the other end asked, "Are you their supervisor?"
"Yes."
"Have you contacted their families?"
"I don't really have any contact with their families, so I don't know how to reach them."
"Alright, we'll make a note of this and dispatch officers. Please give us the names and basic information of these three people."
"Their names are…"
After the operator recorded the names, there was a slight hesitation before they said, "By the way, sir, have you heard of a game called Civilization?"
"Huh? What?" The supervisor was confused. He didn't understand why the operator suddenly brought up a game.
"Actually, since yesterday, we've received many similar reports. Our officers went to the homes of these people and found each of them sitting in front of their computers, unwilling to leave. They were all playing a game called Civilization, and they kept saying things like 'Just one more round and then I'll sleep, please don't disturb them.'"
It took the supervisor a moment to understand what was going on.
Apparently, the operator was talking about a video game, and it seemed that many people had gone missing recently because of this game.
"Well… I'm not really sure. It's just a game. Is it really causing people to disappear for days?"
The supervisor still found it hard to believe.
He had played video games before—sure, they were fun, but they wouldn't make him lose track of time for days.
"Uh, I'm not entirely sure. Our officers will look into it, but we're trying to gather information on how many people have gone missing because of this game."
The supervisor was feeling a bit bewildered, then hung up the phone.
Seeing that no one else had entered the office by now, he reluctantly returned to finish his work for the day.
But as he walked, he started to recall something.
He suddenly remembered hearing the term Civilization recently.
At the time, he hadn't paid much attention because he wasn't really interested in video games.
But now that the operator had mentioned it, he started to care.
If people were missing for a few days because of a game, while it seemed a bit far-fetched, it also seemed somewhat reasonable.
Wait, he suddenly thought about Curtis, who had never been late before, yet had shown up late today, looking exhausted with dark circles under his eyes.
It seemed like if Curtis wasn't a responsible worker, he wouldn't have come in today at all.
With this thought, he immediately turned and headed straight for Curtis's workstation.
When he reached Curtis's desk, he found Curtis sneaking a nap.
It was clear that Curtis had stayed up all night and was now trying to catch up on sleep.
"Ahem."
The supervisor cleared his throat lightly, waking Curtis up immediately.
"Ah, boss."
"It's okay, if you're really tired, resting for a bit is good for your work."
Curtis, looking embarrassed, said, "Boss, I haven't slept well these past couple of days, but I'll definitely work hard to complete the tasks you gave me."
"Mm, I believe in your ability," the supervisor nodded. "But before that, I have a question for you."
"Go ahead, boss."
"Have you heard of a game called Civilization?"
When the supervisor mentioned the name Civilization, he saw Curtis's eyes light up. That immediately made him understand what was going on.
Clearly, Curtis knew something about it.
Curtis quickly composed himself and tentatively asked, "Boss, why are you asking about this?"
The supervisor didn't hide it and said straightforwardly, "Three people haven't shown up for two days, and I can't reach them at all. I'm wondering if they're playing this game and forgot about work."
"Uh…"
The supervisor continued, "What do you know about Civilization?"
"Uh… I know a little bit."
"Come over here, show me what this game is all about."