The Amplified Voice
Old Li had been feeling that something was off lately.
It started with the way his colleagues looked at him, a mix of awe, envy, and a hint of barely perceptible fear. It was as if they were looking at a lucky guy who'd suddenly gotten a promotion and raise, and yet also like they were looking at a ticking time bomb. Old Li was just a regular programmer, coding diligently every day. His only hobby was having a bowl of steaming hot beef noodles at a small stall near his neighborhood entrance after work.
He started noticing details. During meetings, when he proposed some relatively conservative plans, the department head would show a hint of impatience on his face. But immediately after, his voice would become unusually loud, even laced with an undeniable sense of authority: "This plan won't work! We need a broader vision! We need to innovate boldly! We must break through ourselves in this project! No one can hold us back!"
He remembered this speech clearly because those were his exact words at the time. Though, when he said it, his voice wasn't this loud, nor was he so impassioned. He even remembered scratching his head shyly and whispering, “I just think this plan is a bit risky…”
Even stranger, when he casually complained in the pantry about “having to work overtime too much lately”, the next day, an article titled “Wolf-Pack Team, Undaunted by Overtime!” would appear in the company group chat, specifically emphasizing at the end, "We must transform personal complaints into a powerful driving force for team progress!" The tone and wording of the phrase sounded just like him, only with a voice that sounded more firm and passionate.
Old Li felt a chill down his spine. He started observing secretly. He discovered that every time he spoke during a meeting, the microphone indicator light in front of him would flicker slightly, and his voice, after some technical processing he couldn’t understand, would be amplified, modified, and even given a kind of “leadership” quality he wasn't even aware of.
He finally understood: this was the latest workplace PUA system called "Echo", developed by a company called "Sound Wave Amplification." This system analyzed employees' voices, extracted their emotions and keywords, and then amplified and reshaped them to produce a specific effect in a given context.
He discovered that when he quietly complained that the coffee was too bitter, the system would amplify the "bitter" part, turning it into a symbol of the "spirit of enduring hardship." When he expressed concerns about a new project, the system would transform his "concerns" into a bold declaration of "embracing challenges."
And he, Old Li, had become the system’s guinea pig, an amplified voice.
Old Li tried to resist. In a meeting, he deliberately spoke in an extremely low voice: "I...think...this...project...won't...work..." His voice was as low as a mosquito's buzz, and his speech was as slow as slow motion.
As soon as he finished, the system automatically converted his voice into a deep and magnetic baritone, as if a wise old man were imparting his advice: "Comrades, after careful consideration, I believe that we must handle this project with caution, proceed steadily, and take one step at a time. We cannot be blindly optimistic, and we must be down-to-earth!"
Old Li was desperate. He realized that his voice no longer belonged to him. It was controlled by this system, becoming a tool, a tool used to encourage colleagues to work overtime and conceal internal company conflicts.
He began to be reticent, avoiding giving any opinions. But even so, a simple "uh-huh" he occasionally uttered would be amplified by the system, turning it into a positive response, and even interpreted as a heartfelt endorsement of company policy.
One late night, while Old Li was working overtime alone, he accidentally found the voice samples of his boss, in addition to his and his colleagues', stored on the company's server.
This gave him a bold idea.
The next day, when the boss was giving an impassioned speech about the company's “grand vision” during the meeting, Old Li secretly activated the “Echo” system on his computer and switched the audio source to the boss's voice sample.
"The company is about to make big progress!" the boss’s voice, full of passion, transmitted through the microphone to everyone in the room.
But what followed stunned everyone.
"We can't work overtime, working overtime is shameful, we must reject 996!" "We need to increase salaries and give employees the best benefits. I want to be a good boss!" "I want to distribute the company's money to everyone, and we'll all get rich together!"
These words were exactly the result of Old Li's re-arranging and amplifying the boss's voice samples through the “Echo” system the night before.
The meeting room was as silent as a graveyard. Everyone was staring at the boss, whose face was a mix of shock and confusion.
Old Li smiled faintly in the crowd. He knew that his voice, finally, had been amplified in a different way.