Work Machine

The factory building, three hundred meters away, looked like a workshop. Inside, rows upon rows of textile equipment were set up.

At this moment, countless workers were all working overtime, intensely focused.

Small factories like this were common in Qinggang City, especially in the satellite cities. For children born in or who entered these satellite cities, their fate, generally speaking, was to start working in factories like this once they were old enough to understand.

From then on, they would often spend their entire lives in such factory buildings.

Although wilderness refugees who had stayed in the satellite city for three years, or children born there, had the opportunity to attend school, it had to be said that a significant portion of them didn't care much about it. More people felt that instead of sending their children to school every day to get into fights and cause trouble, wasting so much time, it was better to let them start working early and earn some money.

And the satellite cities never forced the issue.

It was laughable, but Lu Xin and Teacher Lu, orphans raised under the guidance of the old director of the orphanage, knew the importance of learning. The old director had repeatedly warned them about the importance of learning, even during the most chaotic times.

So, whether in the past or now, the Crimson Moon Orphanage did its best to send the children to school and get them educated.

Of course, even so, factory overtime was the norm, but working this late was not common.

Lu Xin had already noticed that it was around two o'clock in the morning.

With his Sister's ability, he could see that in the factory building three hundred meters away, many people were still working overtime. They stood before long workbenches, divided by tasks. Some were cleaning cotton embryos, some were transporting sliver, and some were spinning coarse yarn. Accompanied by the bright, glaring lights in the factory, the entire operation was tense and orderly, appearing quite enthusiastic…

But Lu Xin saw the problem at a glance.

All the workers, at this moment, were working blankly and numbly, like precise instruments. Some had hands already bleeding from abrasion, yet they were separating cotton balls without any apparent sensation, their hands bleeding onto the cotton without notice.

Some were so tired they limped when they walked, yet they still carried cotton bale piles as large as small mountains and kept running.

Some, seeing a problem with the weaving machine, immediately reached in expressionlessly and forcefully corrected the error…

…The machine mangled his hand, but he showed no reaction.

…It was like a factory devoid of pain, or even sensation.

"Do you see the source of pollution?"

Gecko's voice sounded softly in Lu Xin's ear.

Lu Xin snapped back to reality, realizing he was the one meant to handle such matters and shouldn't be shocked by such a sight.

So he focused his gaze and quickly spotted, among all the busy workers, a particularly agitated middle-aged man. He wore a wrinkled suit, his forehead covered in sweat, but his shirt collar and tie were still neatly fastened. At this moment, he was constantly walking around the factory, gesticulating wildly, his lips moving as if speaking loudly.

Lu Xin instinctively glanced at Gecko and asked, "Is it him? What is he saying?"

Gecko didn't turn his head, merely lowering his voice and saying, "If you listen carefully, we should be able to hear…"

Lu Xin frowned slightly and turned his gaze to another side.

At this moment, Sister shot Gecko a cold, eerie glance, her eyes seeming to narrow slightly beneath her messy hair.

Similarly, Lu Xin felt his pupils constrict slightly. Everything in the factory became clearer, even the sound of the machinery, which was blurry due to the distance, became increasingly distinct.

Then, he quickly caught the sound of the man speaking loudly:

"Work, you must work!"

"We are all fortunate survivors of the Great Cataclysm. Why should we be alive when everyone else is dead?"

"Look around this city, how many people live like dogs. What meaning is there in their lives? They'll never earn a lot of money in their lives, they'll never have hope of living in the main city. And out in the wilderness, there are countless madmen wandering, countless people who can't even get enough to eat, all because they don't have work like us!"

"Therefore, only through work, only through working harder, can we live in the main city…"

"If we don't work, we'll starve to death like those outside the city…"

"Strive! Strive! If we don't work, what's the difference between us and the dead?"

"…"

His shouts were filled with passion, his voice even carrying a hint of hysteria. His voice was hoarse, even bloodshot, but he himself seemed completely unaffected, howling like a beast, forcing the sound out with all his might.

And as he roared, the speed and rhythm of the surrounding workers' movements increased, and the expressions on everyone's faces grew more fanatical.

On the ground, some who had already collapsed from exhaustion, their conditions unknown, now shakily stood up.

They gazed at the machines and cotton embryos before them as if they were the only meaningful things in their lives.

"Is that the source of pollution?"

Lu Xin's pupils constricted slightly, and he asked in a low voice.

Gecko chuckled softly and said, "Old Chen said you can see mental monsters. What can you see now?"

Lu Xin took a serious look and then gently shook his head, saying, "I can't see anything like that. I can only see a person standing there!"

"Same as me."

Gecko chuckled softly and said, "That's right. That short, plump man in the suit is the source of pollution."

"Strictly speaking, he hasn't become a source of pollution yet. He should be considered a mental anomaly. However, a mental anomaly like this is even more terrifying than a source of pollution. He has already influenced nearly a hundred employees in that small factory. And someone like him, who completely cannot control his abilities, and can no longer communicate normally, can be directly classified as a source of pollution."

"…"

In the channel, Linda's voice, or rather Tie Cui's, sounded at the opportune moment: "Zheng Yuanxiong, the director of Yuanxiong Textile Factory, is forty years old. He entered Satellite City at twenty-seven and single-handedly founded this textile factory. However, due to poor management, it has been on the verge of bankruptcy multiple times."

"Ten days ago, someone discovered the anomaly at the textile factory and reported it to the Guard Department. But because they were short-handed, by the time our investigation team arrived, the situation was already difficult to control. Everyone in this factory area has been moderately infected. They will frantically attack anyone who enters the factory and tries to stop them from working, or they will infect others and become one of them."

"Currently, everyone in their factory has been working continuously for two and a half days without eating, drinking, sleeping, or resting. If this is not stopped, they could all work themselves to death, and Zheng Yuanxiong could completely lose control at any moment!"

"And when that happens, his pollution range will significantly increase, potentially spreading to several surrounding factories!"

"..."

"Therefore, headquarters has ordered a direct cleanup!"