Chapter 6, Night Encounter
Shang Jianyao pushed against the stone door time and again, until finally, the veins on his forehead bulged, his facial expression twisted and grim, as if he had exhausted all his strength, yet still did not achieve a better result
These three grooves are located at a height of two meters, with one above and two below, resembling the three vertices of an equilateral triangle
At 6:40 PM, a dispute occurred in the 'Employee Canteen' on the 577th floor, where an employee accused the canteen staff of unfairness, claiming that his portion of meat and vegetables was approximately one-tenth less than that of others. The 'Order Supervision Team' on that floor has already intervened to investigate
He used both his hands and feet, changing into various postures, from the golden rooster standing on one leg to a straight handstand, yet he was unable to achieve good results
In the order from top to bottom and from left to right, the text in the three clusters of white light is:
In the next second, he seemed to have become much more "profound".
No matter how much he concentrated, the grayish-white stone door did not retreat any further
"I forgot to wash my face, brush my teeth, and soak my feet..." Shang Jianyao muttered to himself, suddenly throwing off the blanket and rolling out of bed
Shen Du's hand trembled slightly, nearly causing him to drop the flashlight on the ground
A beam of concentrated light shot out, illuminating the sink diagonally opposite.
He immediately became enthusiastic
The stone door swayed slightly, yet did not retreat even half a step
This time, he clearly did not exert himself, yet the "constellations" reflected in his eyes became increasingly clear and brilliant
Soon, he approached the man and discovered that he was a middle-aged employee from the nearby neighborhood, named Shen Du, whom he had to address as uncle
Are you also going to listen to the sermon of the 'Guide'?
He immediately leaned forward, pressing both hands against the gray-white stone door
After the widening gap of the door, a faint light flickered, and a silver-white metallic staircase stood quietly in the darkness.
Above the gray-white stone gate, three grooves suddenly illuminated with "starlight," coalescing into white orbs. The previously ethereal characters also rolled into view, but the speed of their transformation gradually slowed.
"Uncle Shen, where are you going?" Shang Jianyao glanced around.
Uncle Shen, look, you are wearing a green coat, I am also wearing a green coat, you are a man, and I am also a man
In Room 196 of Area B on the 495th floor, Shang Jianyao, who was lying on the bed, opened his eyes
Hi! He suddenly sprang out of the "darkness" and patted the other person's shoulder
After resolving his physiological needs, Shang Jianyao exited the public restroom and prepared to return home
At 7:20 to 7:30 PM, two male employees engaged in a physical altercation in the 'Activity Center' on the 414th floor. The 'Order Supervision Team' on that floor has intervened in the investigation, and the specific reasons are yet to be reported. According to other employees present at the scene, the incident is related to the results of a unified matchmaking event
Shang Jianyao smiled and said
The illusory characters within them rolled more slowly, yet they still did not come to a halt
Shen Du felt a moment of confusion, and then suddenly realized
Therefore, we are fellow believers
He does not have a clock and does not know what time it is, but he can be certain that it is not yet 6:30 in the morning, as the streetlights have not yet turned on
The cold air of the night permeated the room, and Shang Jianyao found that he had unknowingly removed his clothes and curled up in the quilt, additionally covering himself with the thick dark green cotton coat that was by the bedside.
He looked at Shang Jianyao with a face full of terror and let out a sigh of relief
It is not yet 6 o'clock, Shen Du instinctively replied
Good evening, Uncle Shen. I would like to ask what time it is now
Within these three "stars," illusory words rapidly emerged, yet they seemed to roll and change in accordance with Shang Jianyao's thoughts, remaining perpetually unfixed
After feeling a few seconds of bloating in the lower abdomen, Shang Jianyao reached out to pick up a bulky flashlight with a black plastic casing from beside the pillow and pushed the switch forward
He exhaled, paused, stood at the door, and watched as the three clusters of "stars" in the groove quickly dimmed and vanished.
The batteries in the flashlight are part of the energy quota, and one cannot afford to waste them—many employees have prepared items such as buckets and spittoons at home to avoid going out at night. Unfortunately, those items also require a contribution to exchange.
In the middle of the night, do not approach suddenly to greet me like this
The direction he walked completely diverged from the nearest public restroom
Shang Jianyao gazed for two seconds, suddenly turned off the flashlight, and silently jogged in the darkness towards the small circle of light created by the other party
After verification, he confirmed that he could only squeeze the tips of his fingers and the tip of his nose through the crack of the door
Shang Jianyao attempted to reach through the crack of the door, but was unsuccessful
After several minutes, Shang Jianyao arrived at the innermost part of the hall and saw a heavy gray-white stone door
He quietly observed everything, remaining still for a long time without any movement
It is so quiet all around
He chuckled and said
The figure remained unchanged, still echoing the voice of "one price, three blessings" incessantly
Shang Jianyao glanced at the humanoid light and shadow, directly bypassing "him" and walking towards the depths of the hall
After a while, Shang Jianyao revealed a slight smile, raised his right hand, and placed his index and middle fingers against his forehead
By the time he woke up, the streetlights outside had already gone out, and everything around was pitch black
Indeed," Shang Jianyao replied with a smile
Shang Jianyao lay on the bed where the light of the streetlamp could not reach, listening to the broadcast with a calm expression, without any movement
At that moment, he saw a distinct beam of light from a flashlight shining around the corner of the corridor
He finally stopped moving, watching as his body became increasingly faint
After getting out of bed, Shang Jianyao did not delay, put on the dark green thick cotton coat, took the flashlight, and hurriedly opened the door, heading straight for the public restroom at the end of the street.
Suddenly, the loudspeakers hanging from the ceiling of the street all activated at once, emitting a sweet voice tinged with a childlike quality
Under the light of the flashlight, his refined face was marked by a blend of pale and bluish hues, though it was unclear whether this was due to the chill of the night air or some other reason
For certain special positions, aside from employees who need to wash their bodies daily, all others are limited to two times per week, and any unused allowances will expire and cannot be accumulated
A series of white lights began to illuminate within the grooves on the surface of the stone gate, as if "stars" were falling from the sky and colliding inside.
It is embedded in the black metal wall, bathed in the brilliance of the "Stars," highlighting the three grooves present on its surface
Time and again, the figure of Shang Jianyao gradually became blurred.
Hello everyone, I am the news anchor Hou Yi, and it is now exactly 8 o'clock in the evening
The chief scientist of the Geothermal Research Institute, Sun Chuci, stated that efforts are underway to establish better geothermal utilization models. This can bring about certain changes in nighttime temperatures for the "living area" while maintaining the optimal environment for certain plots in the "internal ecological zone".
At 5:20 PM, a small fire broke out in a factory on the 102nd floor, resulting in one death and three injuries. The open flames have been extinguished, and the assessment of material losses is currently underway. Vice President Ji Ze, a member of the company's board of directors, reiterated: "Fire is merciless, and the alarm must ring continuously"
At last, they have settled down
He attempted to force his foot in, but was unsuccessful
The "stars" within the three grooves first dimmed with his halt, and then, during the new round of exertion, they blossomed with a bright and pure radiance
"I am going, going to the restroom..." Shen Du stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth
A few seconds later, a man wearing a dark green cotton coat similar to that of Shang Jianyao walked briskly past, turning towards a direction opposite to that of the public restroom
Starting tomorrow, the Unit 2 reactor of the 'Energy Zone' will officially undergo maintenance, and all employees' energy allocations will be reduced by one quarter, with the recovery time to be determined
At the end of the news, there is still a song sung a cappella, hoping everyone enjoys it, thank you
The gray-white stone door trembled slightly, and with the sound of rustling, it heavily retreated a bit.
Outside his house, there is a crossroad with a wall clock hanging
Shang Jianyao nodded, his deep brown eyes seemingly tinted by the surrounding pure black
"The Inference Joker", "The Affected Person", "The Absence of Hand Movements"
At this moment, the public restroom is empty and unoccupied, with the sensor light illuminating dimly with each step of Shang Jianyao.
Within the company, apart from those who are assigned to private restrooms, higher-level employees and managers, others can only use the large bathhouse attached to the "Activity Center" for bathing
Shang Jianyao paused, took a breath, and then exerted himself again to push forward
Organizing his words, Shen Du forced a smile and said
He saw the four-pane window illuminated by the streetlight, saw the wooden table bathed in dim light, saw the "living room" where light gradually transitioned into darkness, and saw the end of the bench submerged in the dim depths and the edge of the old bed.
The unusually heavy gray-white stone double door creaked, yet was reluctant to part its seams.
Continuing, Shang Jianyao casually placed his right palm on the gray-white stone door, with his left hand tucked into his pocket.
Xiao Shang, you scared me to death
Shang Jianyao quietly gazed for a few seconds, and suddenly, the brilliant "constellation of stars" was reflected in his eyes
One cost, three blessings
I went to the public restroom in Area C. Sigh, I realized this morning that I had dropped something there while playing at the 'Activity Center' last night, so I thought I should hurry and look for it.
... ...
Unbeknownst to him, he fell asleep
He estimated that he probably fell asleep last night before 8:30, which was more than two hours earlier than usual, and as a result, he also woke up earlier than normal
... ...