Chapter 40.2 Big Factory
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Wen Shi caught a glimpse of Zhou Xiaochun and Lv Tang returning on the other side. They looked really bad, and it was hard to imagine what they went through in the restroom for the past fifteen minutes. Lv Tang’s face was pale, constantly using potions to replenish his health.
There was a separate compartment in the restroom for changing sterilized gloves and such. Lv Tang seemed visibly exhausted, forgetting to zip his uniform up to the collar as required. It was Zhou Xiaochun who reminded him.
Seeing them back, Wen Shi didn’t linger. He removed the restricting jumpsuit and other gear, regaining his mobility, then turned and left the workshop.
The roadside broadcast continued to announce that the air pollution index had exceeded limits, advising everyone to reduce outdoor activities.
However, a new soothing message had been added:
“Please remain calm. At any time, there’s still the option of seeking refuge in the sanatorium.”
The pale tree leaves had gained a few inconspicuous spots compared to yesterday, and fallen leaves littered the ground. Wen Shi couldn’t help but touch his own head, “I’m afraid of breathing dirty air for too long, becoming a little baldy like you guys.”
A trembling leaf fluttered down, landing precisely on top of his head.
Wen Shi inexplicably shuddered, contemplating whether there was a way to expedite leaving the instance.
The task stated that the quota for selecting outstanding employees would be finalized next month. Tomorrow was the beginning of the next month, and the end of the month was also considered “before next month.” There was still quite a bit of maneuvering room.
With the belief of avoiding baldness, Wen Shi headed towards Workshop Three.
When he went to the dormitory with the interviewer before, Jian Qingrong had retrieved his passbook from under the table. Maybe the passbook had returned to its original place by now, but he decided to first look for Jian Qingrong, aiming to maximize their respective interests through some means.
Since the interviewer didn’t succeed yesterday, he would surely continue to pressure Jian Qingrong to cooperate for another “good deeds” campaign today. Wen Shi had to settle everything before the interviewer could.
…
The main responsibility of Workshop Three was shipping, and each shipment had its own supervisor. There wasn’t any password lock involved.
Workshop Three had the best benefits, but surprisingly, there weren’t many workers around. Since Wen Shi had entered until now, he hadn’t seen a single person. Passing by an office, he glimpsed someone moving inside through the glass and spoke as he walked, “Hello, can you help me call Jian Qingrong?”
The factory manager’s tiger skin was always easy to pull. “I have some matters regarding the application forms that I need to consult with him about.”
The excuse that worked wonders elsewhere seemed to lose its magic here.
People inside were still wandering about. Wen Shi approached because he saw a shadow. Monsters like the castle master and the blood brides didn’t have shadows. He remembered the real bride didn’t either.
As Wen Shi got closer, he noticed the glass, not cleaned for years, was too dirty to gain any insight.
Wen Shi hesitated for a moment, not pushing the door directly. He wiped away the accumulated dust from the outside of the glass with his hand and then looked inside. Through the dusty glass, he could faintly see a person standing behind the office desk. Wen Shi wasn’t sure if he should even call that a person. The person’s blood seemed drained, leaving only a thin layer of skin clinging to their bony frame. Their head appeared unusually large.
“I’ve successfully transferred to Workshop Three now. Can I, um, move to the upper floor of the dormitory…?”
The man pleaded humbly towards the vacant office desk.
【Reward ‘Meet Wang Wei’ has been activated.】
【You’ve successfully met Wang Wei. Wang Wei unexpectedly discovered a secret about the Big Factory before his death. But how will you manage to question a dead man?】
The monster didn’t lose its body after death, which was why it still had a shadow. Wang Wei’s cause of death stemmed from being scratched by the monster. Even now, his shoulder remained indented, his skin resembling a beehive in that area, as if corroded by strong acid.
Wang Wei was still racking his brain about moving upstairs when suddenly, those naturally sinister, small eyes looked towards the glass. “Are you here to apply for the upstairs dormitory too?”
The voice, mixed with anger and envy, easily bypassed the glass barrier and reached his ears intact.
Wen Shi took a step back.
“Are you also trying to snatch the spot from me?”
The pendant lamp above Wang Wei’s head swung violently, and the light bulb shattered abruptly.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Wen Shi turned around and ran frantically.
He still remembered the route to the shipping warehouse. As he ran towards it, a trace of uncertainty crept into Wen Shi’s mind. He recalled that Hai Sheng was on the night shift there. What if there was no one there now? It would be a spacious dead end.
“Is anyone there?” Wen Shi began shouting loudly. Even if just one employee appeared, it would prevent him from becoming too passive.
In the vast workshop, there wasn’t a single response.
Ding!
Suddenly, a freight elevator door not far from a large machine opened, but it was empty inside.
In horror stories, taking an elevator was as dangerous as being in a fire scene. Wen Shi glanced back and saw Wang Wei still relentlessly pursuing him.
“Let all competitors die. Go to hell…”
Wen Shi changed direction and rushed into the freight elevator, continuously pressing the door close button.
The freight elevator door slowly closed.
At the same time, Wang Wei lunged from a few meters away. Just as he was about to jump in, the freight elevator door closed, and Wen Shi heard a heavy ‘thud’ from outside.
The floor indicator lights above only lit up halfway. The freight elevator only served two underground levels.
Wen Shi pressed the button for B1.
The freight elevator descended at an unusually slow pace, and the creaking sound of the steel wires swinging made it feel like the elevator would plummet the next second. The dilapidated surroundings and dim lighting didn’t evoke any pleasant associations.
He took out his phone. There was no signal. A minute had passed, and the freight elevator was still swaying in midair.
There wasn’t much anxiety on Wen Shi’s face. He leaned back comfortably. Jian Qingrong had mentioned in his diary that the electric baton could deal with monsters, so he wasn’t panicking.
Monsters moved quickly and could climb to higher places. Directly engaging them in an open area wouldn’t favor Wen Shi. In comparison, the freight elevator suited him better, though it required a buffer space.
Suddenly, the freight elevator started plummeting at high speed, then abruptly stopped. The door wouldn’t open. To get out now, he had to risk prying the freight elevator door open.
Wen Shi didn’t take the risk. “Even ghosts aren’t in a hurry, why should I be?”
Enemy doesn’t move, I don’t move.
He took out the electric baton and lightly tapped his palm.
Outside, Wang Wei grew impatient. Why was there no sound from inside?
Finally, he couldn’t wait any longer and started using force to pry open the door.
Wang Wei’s overly long nails and slender fingers suited this job well. Wen Shi silently encouraged him.
The door opened, revealing a space to crawl out. A distorted ghostly face emerged from below.
“Hehe, found you, competitor.”
Wang Wei’s deformed head oozed constantly, his withered arm propping against the edge of the floor. He tried to squeeze his body inside completely. The elevator instantly turned red, and Wang Wei’s emaciated body appeared as if soaked in the sea for over ten days. The pungent, salty smell filled the elevator.
As these smells condensed into mist and entered his lungs with each breath, Wen Shi’s Soul Purity began to decrease.
【-1，-1……】
“I’ve… been waiting for you for a long time too!” Wen Shi wielded the electric baton and swung it down heavily, like an executioner’s blow. By the time Wang Wei tried to retract his head, it was already too late. Under the high-pressure impact, his body writhed and convulsed like a worm.
Wen Shi took the opportunity to forcefully pull him in.
Being scratched by the monster posed an infection risk. He didn’t dare let his guard down for a moment. He began interrogating, “What secret did you discover before you died?”
Fear flashed in Wang Wei’s eyes.
“Not talking, huh?” Wen Shi smiled, swinging the baton forcefully at the already sunken area of his shoulder. This agony struck straight to the soul. Wang Wei screamed in pain.
Once he confirmed that his arm had gone limp and couldn’t harm anyone, Wen Shi struck again, this time aiming for his abdomen. “From now on, every ten seconds you hesitate, my baton will descend a certain distance. Guess how long until it reaches your most vulnerable spot.”
With the【Cutting Princess】manifesting again, each word spoken by Wen Shi was enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
A gruesome and inhumane scene unfolded inside the confined compartment.
“Help—”
“Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! Help! I don’t remember anymore!”
In contrast, another voice sounded quite indifferent. “A dutiful child is born under the stick. It seems I haven’t struck hard enough.”
“I really don’t remember, my memories become chaotic every so often. I don’t know…”
Amid Wang Wei’s desperate struggle, something fell from his tattered clothes.
【Sketch of Dormitory Building*1】
Wen Shi opened it and found a hand-drawn sketch, crooked and uneven. After reading it, his gaze narrowed. The dormitory building depicted on it had a total of nine floors. Yet, when the teenager had asked about the residents on the upper floors and whether they were powerful, the dorm supervisor had mentioned that the factory manager would give face to the senior employees on the seventh and eighth floors.
Wen Shi had always thought the dormitory building had only eight floors. From the outside, it certainly appeared to have only eight floors.
However, this sketch clearly overturned that conclusion.
Wang Wei kept shivering and knocking his head. It seemed his memory was truly lacking. Wen Shi changed the subject, “After your death, you went to find Jian Qingrong. What happened then?”
Jian Qingrong’s diary only mentioned that Wang Wei had returned to the dormitory, but it didn’t elaborate on what happened afterward.
“I…”
A stronger sense of weightlessness came over them. Just as Wang Wei was about to speak, the elevator suddenly started descending again.
Wen Shi was forced to move to a corner to stabilize himself. His heart seemed to sink along with the freight elevator. When it came to a stop for the second time, he glanced at the dimly lit indicator, revealing that the elevator had reached the second underground level.
A slender and tall figure stood outside the door. In the dim light, the person slowly lifted his head. Sweat covered his body from working, and he casually swept aside the long strands of hair on his forehead, revealing a face that appeared to have been chiseled and carved like wood.
It was Jian Qingrong.
This was the first time Wen Shi had fully seen his appearance. His throat moved, trying not to display any unusual expression.
“What a coincidence,” he stopped torturing the ghost, “I was just about to come find you.”
There were quite a few murky bloodstains on Wen Shi’s work coveralls sleeves, especially on his electric baton. The grooves inside the baton were all filled with slime and blood.
Jian Qingrong didn’t look much better either. He was pulling a cart with crates, and from the sealed joints of the wooden planks, dark red blood was seeping. Inside the crates, faint growls and muffled cries resembling those of wild beasts could be heard.
Jian Qingrong fell silent for a moment, “What a coincidence.”
The two of them didn’t say anything further.
Only a single application form lay in the middle, making a rustling sound as the cold wind from below swept over it. It was the same application form that had slipped out of Wen Shi’s pocket while he was interrogating Wang Wei with too much force earlier.
There were also scattered specks of blood on the paper, and under the section for self-evaluation, Wen Shi’s neat handwriting and the mottled bloodstains intertwined perfectly:
“I am compassionate, have an outgoing and easygoing personality, can quickly get along with colleagues, possess excellent organizational and interpersonal skills…”
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