Chapter 14: Cleaning Workshop

The feeling of weakness didn’t last long.

In the blink of an eye, all discomfort vanished, and Xu Dengming, like the other employees, picked up her meal normally, took two steps back, and then discreetly activated her [Eye of Observation].

The upgraded [Eye of Observation] allowed Xu Dengming to more accurately detect changes in the color of fate on those around her.

She quickly found a clue when the temporary employees clocked in and paid their fees, the lines representing their near-term fate darkened slightly.

Something ominous had descended upon them the moment they successfully clocked in and paid.

Xu Dengming wanted to observe a bit longer, hoping to gather more information, but after just three seconds, her eyes began to feel dry and stinging, and her vision blurred.

Within the Nest Park, Xu Dengming’s cognitive abilities and the sustainability of her skills were noticeably suppressed.

Forced to deactivate [Eye of Observation], Xu Dengming’s expression darkened briefly before she calmly returned to her seat with her food.

A moment later, Wang Yanxing also returned.

The two had queued at different windows, but the meals they brought back looked identical at least in appearance.

Wang Yanxing stared at the substance on his plate and reluctantly made up his mind ans said:

“…Fine, at least it’s not nutrient paste.”

Xu Dengming poked at the mushy substance in her container with a spoon and offered a fair assessment: “It’s not much better.”

“After this trip, I feel like my tolerance for E University’s cafeteria has significantly improved.”

-Triangleroot City was a second-tier city, and even residents in the outer districts preferred regular food.

Nutrient paste was mostly reserved for orphanages, shelters, or sold to third-tier cities.

Fortunately, Triangleroot City had no shortage of orphanages and shelters, so nutrient paste never lacked a market.

Wang Yanxing stared at his breakfast and, unable to resist his hunger, took a tentative spoonful.

“It’s tasteless, like expired rice porridge.”

Xu Dengming also took a bite and then commented tactfully: “It’s quite noteworthy, adding another unpopular option to humanity’s dining repertoire all on its own.”

Just as the two were calmly filling their stomachs, a series of loud bangs suddenly echoed from nearby.

Xu Dengming turned toward the sound and saw a temporary employee had knocked over his tray.

The temporary employee’s face looked terrible his cheeks were slightly sunken, and he exuded an unhealthy, gaunt aura.

The spilled food splattered onto his shoes, and in a fit of anger, he threw his spoon to the ground, breathing heavily with slightly reddened eyes.

Many of the reserve employees were drawn by the noise and instinctively looked over, but the next moment, the chandelier above the temporary employee abruptly swayed, cracked in the middle, and plummeted straight down.

“-Ssssh!”

Perhaps because the chandelier fell too quickly, or perhaps due to an unlucky angle, the broken tip pierced through the temporary employee’s skull like tofu, emerging from his neck.

“Plop, plop plop.”

One drop, two drops, three drops—a mix of bright red and milky white fluid gushed from the wound, spreading across the floor.

Wang Yanxing: “…”

She now deeply regretted turning her head so quickly, inadvertently taking in all the horrifying sights.

Wang Yanxing hurriedly averted her gaze, bent over, and retched twice, feeling like she had completely lost her appetite for breakfast.

“What’s going on here?” she asked.

Xu Dengming lowered her gaze and then said softly,

“Before the incident, he dropped his tray. I guess that counts as rejecting the food provided by the cafeteria?”

Filling their stomachs was a requirement of the broadcast, and merely going through the motions of getting food didn’t count as fulfilling the objective.

Her voice was so faint it was almost a whisper, and Wang Yanxing didn’t catch it clearly.

Just as she was about to press for more details, the cold, familiar voice of the broadcast echoed from above the cafeteria:

“An unexpected incident has occurred in Cafeteria Three. All employees are requested to finish their meals within one minute and then leave the cafeteria. I repeat, an unexpected incident has occurred in Cafeteria Three…”

Considering the previous example was still bleeding profusely, Xu Dengming didn’t dare to neglect her meal too much.

She hastily swallowed a few mouthfuls of the unappetizing porridge before she and Wang Yanxing returned their trays to the collection point.

As they left the cafeteria, Xu Dengming made a point of observing the state of the other temporary employees.

Most of them wore expressions of fear, while a few remained expressionless, as if the recent death was just an insignificant blip in their workday.

Xu Dengming guessed that most people here, like Wang Yanxing, could feel fear and understood that death was a terrifying thing, but there was a clear gap in their logical thinking.

They couldn’t arrive at the correct conclusion that “since someone died in Nest Company’s cafeteria, everyone should leave this unsafe area and inform the outside world.”

She believed that if this company truly had nothing to do with the “instance,” the school would surely pull all the preparatory employees back to campus before the situation worsened further.

-After all, even if the job market was tough, E University’s educational philosophy hadn’t yet reached the point of trading student lives in a desperate one-for-one exchange.

Wang Yanxing, who had just recovered from the shock, staggered to the open area outside the cafeteria.

She stared blankly at the ground for a while before speaking, her emotions somewhat stabilized.

“What do we do next? Head straight to Cleaning Workshop One for the tour?”

Xu Dengming was actually pondering the same question.

Following the broadcast’s instructions clearly led to bad outcomes, as the ominous atmosphere when getting food had proven.

But trying to act freely wasn’t an option either, as the fate of the temporary employee who had dropped his spoon had already demonstrated.

Unlike the previous elevator instance, where all reliable clues were concentrated in a limited area, Nest Company covered a vast expanse, making it difficult to gather sufficient information in a short time.

Suppressing the urge to wander randomly around the compound, Xu Dengming said,

“Since there’s no better option, let’s follow the broadcast’s instructions and head to the workshop first.”

Wang Yanxing glanced at her roommate, deeply sensing that even if Xu Dengming hadn’t found a job yet, she wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about advancing further within the company.

At this thought, Wang Yanxing felt a bit dazed.

A vague idea rose in her mind since when had she started viewing the Nest Company compound as her own workplace?

Xu Dengming was pondering why the scenario didn’t directly eliminate all temporary employees but instead required them to engage in different activities in stages.

There was clearly a deeper reason worth exploring, though she hadn’t figured it out yet.

Tall, ancient trees crowded together, their twisted branches rubbing against and merging with one another.

The countless leaves on the branches nearly overwhelmed the human field of vision.

Cleaning Workshop No. 1, like Canteen No. 3, was hidden deep within the green jungle of the compound.

After finding Workshop No. 1 following the signs, Xu Dengming didn’t rush in.

Instead, she stood at the entrance, looking up to read the notice posted above.

The notice was concise and could be quickly scanned:

“Employees must change into work uniforms in the changing room before entering the workshop.”

The instruction was clear, with no additional notes or any hint of peculiarity in the wording.

Even though Xu Dengming was on guard, she had no choice but to follow the directive and change her clothes first.

The male and female changing rooms were located on either side of the workshop entrance.

Clean work uniforms were already prepared in full, allowing intern employees to take them as needed.

The uniforms were almost pure white, very thin, and designed to be worn over regular clothes.

After putting hers on, Xu Dengming could still see the color of her clothes underneath.

She noticed the hem wasn’t very loose, restricting her to small steps.

Xu Dengming suspected the uniforms were designed to limit their movement speed.

Forced to walk slowly, the two of them headed into the workshop, where they encountered the five male students from E University whom they had seen earlier in the canteen.

Xu Dengming casually called out to one of them and got straight to the point:

“Hey, can I ask-did anyone die in your dormitory last night?”

The boy, who had been standing casually with his hands in his pockets and a somewhat vacant expression, gradually replaced his relaxed demeanor with fear at Xu Dengming’s question.

His voice trembled as he replied, “At night… dead people… yes, there were several last night…”

Xu Dengming pursed her lips, feeling a chill run through her.

Without waiting for the boy to recover from his fear, she pressed on,

“Were there many deaths on your side?”

The boy shook his head in panic, “I don’t know…”

His pupils trembled incessantly, and worm-like blood vessels crept across the whites of his eyes-it seemed he was recalling something horrifying, teetering on the edge of rationality.

The chill around her grew stronger, and Xu Dengming felt her heart contracting unnaturally.

She forcibly shifted the conversation away from death: “It seems like it’s almost time for the tour. Shall we go together?”

Her topic change was abrupt, but no one around her, including Wang Yanxing, found it odd.

The blood vessels in the boy’s eyes stopped spreading.

After a moment of thought, he nodded to Xu Dengming, his tone returning to normal, “Alright, let’s hurry.”

After ending the discussion about the previous night’s events, Xu Dengming felt the chill around her begin to dissipate.

The boy rejoined his group the other four, though not within Xu Dengming’s call, had been waiting quietly nearby, not abandoning their companion.

Xu Dengming’s gaze suddenly shifted.

There were five boys in total, an odd number.

And a dormitory could accommodate two people.

Xu Dengming raised his head and looked ahead.

The fifth student walking at the front maintained a certain distance from the rest of his companions.

When Xu Dengming spoke, he remained expressionless, standing still with dark, lifeless eyes.

Those lifeless eyes were fixed on Xu Dengming.

Despite the latter’s keen sensitivity to gazes, he didn’t notice it immediately, like a worm hidden in the flesh of a fruit-only half of its body remained when it was finally noticed.

As their eyes met, Xu Dengming curled the corner of his lips into a cold smile.

“…”

The fifth boy was the first to avert his gaze.

Wang Yanxing had known Xu Dengming the longest.

She always felt that although she was smiling, there was no trace of warmth in her eyes.

If they were to encounter each other in a remote area, it would easily provoke a stranger’s urge to call the authorities for help.

She watched her classmates for a while, then her gaze involuntarily shifted forward, revealing a hint of anxiety.

Wang Yanxing was curious about the situation in the cleaning workshop.

This curiosity quietly transformed into a seed, taking root in her heart and continuously draining her patience and composure.

Xu Dengming’s heart slowly sank.

Wang Yanxing retained more common sense than the boy in front of her, but even she, who seemed unaffected, was gradually deteriorating.

The Nest Park was absolutely unsuitable for normal humans to linger.