Chapter 46: The Work Machine

Three hundred meters away, the factory building seemed to be a workshop, lined with rows of textile machinery.

Countless workers were currently working late into the night, immersed in tense overtime.

There were many small factories like this in Qinggang City, especially within its Satellite Cities. For children who migrated to the Satellite City or were born there, their fate, generally, was to enter such factories and start working once they were old enough to understand things.

Often, they might spend their entire lives confined within those factory walls.

Although wasteland refugees who had stayed in the Satellite City for over three years, or children born there, had the opportunity to enter schools and pursue education, it must be acknowledged that the vast majority of people didn’t place much importance on this. More felt it was better to have their children start working early to earn some money rather than sending them to school daily to fight and cause trouble, wasting valuable time.

And the Satellite City administration never forced the issue.

Ironically, it was orphans like Lu Xin and Teacher Xiaolu, raised under the guidance of the former dean of the orphanage, who understood the importance of learning. The former Old Dean, even in the most chaotic days, had repeatedly stressed the importance of studying.

Therefore, both in the past and now, the Red Moon Orphanage did its utmost to ensure the children attended school.

Of course, even with that, factory overtime was common, but working this late was rare.

Lu Xin had already noticed that it was now around 2 a.m.

Utilizing Little Sister’s ability, he could see that many people were still working in the distant factory building. They stood before long workbenches, working in coordinated division of labor. Some were cleaning cotton buds, some were transporting slivers, and some were spinning roving. Under the factory’s bright, harsh lighting, the whole scene was tense yet orderly, radiating a fervent energy…

But in a single glance, Lu Xin spotted the problem.

All the workers seemed like precision instruments, performing their tasks with vacant, numb expressions. Some had hands raw and bleeding from the work, yet mechanically stripped cotton balls without a flicker of sensation, completely unaware their blood was staining the cotton;

Some walked with a limp, exhausted, yet constantly ran while shouldering mountainous bundles of woven cloth;

Some saw a weaving machine malfunction and expressionlessly shoved their hands into it, forcing the error back into place…

…The machine mangled the hand, yet the worker showed no reaction.

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

…

“See the Source of Contamination?”

Gecko’s voice softly whispered into Lu Xin’s ear.

Lu Xin then realized he was here to handle this situation; he shouldn’t be shocked by such a sight.

So he focused his gaze and quickly spotted a particularly agitated middle-aged man amidst all the busy workers. He wore a wrinkled suit, drenched in sweat, yet his shirt and tie beneath were fastened neatly. He paced incessantly on the factory floor, wildly gesturing with his arms, his lips moving rapidly as though shouting something loudly.

Lu Xin instinctively glanced at Gecko, “Is it him? What’s he saying?”

Gecko didn’t turn his head, just muttered softly, “Concentrate… we should be able to hear…”

Lu Xin frowned slightly and shifted his attention.

At that moment, Little Sister coldly glanced at Gecko, her eyes seemingly narrowing slightly beneath her disheveled hair.

Simultaneously, Lu Xin felt his pupils constrict. Everything within the factory became sharper and clearer. Even the faint, muffled sounds of distant machine rotation grew increasingly distinct in his ears.

Soon, he captured the man’s loud, shouting voice:

“Work! You must work!”

“We are the lucky ones who survived the Cataclysm! Why should others die while we live?”

“Look at this city! How many live like dogs? What meaning do their lives have? They’ll never get rich; they’ll never get to live in the Main City! And out in the Wilderness? Endless Maniacs roam! Countless can’t even get enough food! It’s all because they don’t have work like we do!”

“That’s why the only way we can live in the Main City is through work! Through harder work!”

“If we don’t work, we’ll starve to death like those Outside the City!”

“Go for it! Really go for it! If we don’t work, how are we any different from the dead?!”

“……”

His shouts were passionate, verging on hysterical. His voice was hoarse, perhaps even strained to bleeding, but he seemed completely unaware. He roared like a beast, forcing the words out with sheer volume.

As he bellowed, the surrounding workers accelerated their pace and intensified their rhythm. Expression on every face grew increasingly fanatical.

On the ground, people who had collapsed earlier from exhaustion, seemingly dead to the world, now staggered back to their feet.

They gazed at the machines and cotton buds before them as though looking upon the only meaningful thing in life.

…

“Is that the Source of Contamination?”

Lu Xin’s pupils contracted slightly as he whispered.

Gecko chuckled quietly, “Lao Chen said you could see Psychic Entities. What can you see now?”

Lu Xin looked intently, then shook his head gently, “Can’t see one like that. Only see a man there.”

“Same as me,” Gecko murmured with a low laugh. “Correct. That short, fat guy in the suit is the Source of Contamination.”

“Strictly speaking, he hasn’t transformed into a Source of Contamination yet; he should be classified as a Mental Aberrant. Only, this kind of Mental Aberrant is even more terrifying than a typical Source. He’s already affected nearly a hundred employees in that small factory. And like those who utterly fail to restrain their abilities, who can no longer even communicate normally… he essentially qualifies as a Source of Contamination right now.”

…

At that moment, Linda’s voice – or rather, Tie Cui’s voice – chimed into the channel: “Zheng Yuanxiong, factory director of Yuanxiong Textiles, age 40, entered the Satellite City at 27 and single-handedly founded this textile factory. However, poor management led it close to bankruptcy several times.”

“Ten days ago, the anomaly in this factory was reported to the Guard Bureau. But due to manpower shortages, by the time our Investigation Team arrived, the situation was already spiralling out of control. Everyone inside this complex was moderately Contaminated, attacking anyone who entered the factory floors and tried to stop them working, or attempting to Contaminate others to become one of them.”

“Now, everyone inside these factory buildings has been working non-stop for two and a half days. No food, no water, no sleep, no breaks. If not stopped, they will likely work themselves to death. Zheng Yuanxiong himself is also on the verge of a complete Loss of Control!”

“And at that point, the range of his Contamination would expand dramatically, potentially spreading to several surrounding factories!”

“…”

“Headquarters has issued the order: proceed with immediate Purge!”