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墨書 Inktalez
Song Pearl was not afraid of monsters or strange creatures, but she was terrified of fights and brawls. She walked to the entrance of the factory area and looked towards the main gate, where many people were gathered. The entrance was brightly lit, yet there were no sounds of fighting.
Soon, Wang Shuzhi returned, holding a long iron rod in his hand, his face filled with excitement.
He saw Song Pearl and said, "It's all right now, you can go back!"
Song Pearl followed Wang Shuzhi back to the Inspection Station and asked, "Did those people get chased away so quickly?"
"Yes, they were a local gang trying to collect protection money as the New Year approaches. With our large factory and so many young men full of vigor, they couldn't easily intimidate us. So, Gatekeeper sent out a large number of patrols. Whenever someone causes trouble, everyone on duty comes to help..."
"Did a fight break out?"
"Of course it did. Those people know they can't win; they just come to stir up trouble every now and then and leave after causing a bit of chaos."
"Why not call the police?"
"Calling the police is useless. They only come to cause trouble and can't be arrested for that. Even if they were caught and released after ten months, they'd still come back to cause trouble. It's better to handle our own issues in our own way."
Wang Shuzhi washed his face with cold water using a towel and said, "If you're not going to eat, you can head back to the dormitory. There's no need to stay here; we don't have enough materials tonight, so the workshop isn't producing anything. I don't have any work tasks either, so I'll be heading to the dormitory to rest soon."
Taking a deep breath, Song Pearl asked, "Can I visit your dormitory?"
"Sure! But I should warn you first; it's a room for eight people and quite messy!" Wang Shuzhi laughed. "But it's better in winter when the air is cold; in summer, it gets really stinky."
Song Pearl bit her lip but said nothing as she locked the door with Wang Shuzhi and headed towards the male staff dormitory.
Just now, Wang Shuzhi's words deeply moved Song Pearl. She recalled the White Cat she had seen; clearly, this was something no one else could see. The tales of the female demon were merely gossip over tea, and the person climbing on the roof of that sealed house was probably a trick as well. However, the cat was indeed what she had seen, and wherever the cat appeared, there was likely danger.
Since she encountered it here, she needed to clarify things. The area with the strongest demonic energy was the Male Dormitory Area, so she decided to go take a look.
Wang Shuzhi brought Song Pearl to the Male Dormitory Area. Song Pearl still wore her oversized work uniform, and walking alongside Wang Shuzhi, aside from being shorter, she looked very much like a young man.
Therefore, even though there were people in the Male Dormitory Area, they did not mistake her for one of the Female Workers' Dormitory residents, which saved her from unnecessary conversations.
As soon as Wang Shuzhi arrived at the dormitory entrance, a cat's meow echoed.
"Did you hear that cat meowing?" Song Pearl suddenly became alert.
"I heard it. How can there still be a cat?" Wang Shuzhi replied as she opened the dormitory door.
Inside the dormitory, a young man was squatting on the ground feeding a cat with a sausage. It was a very beautiful White Cat with shiny white fur.
"Li, where did you get this cat?" Wang Shuzhi asked the young man feeding the cat.
"I caught it just now at the door; it happened to come home to catch mice. Look how beautiful this cat is!" Li said as he patted the cat's head, and the White Cat meowed in response.
There really was a cat! It wasn't just something she could see alone.
Song Pearl crouched down and stroked the cat; its white fur was soft and warm, feeling very pleasant to touch. The White Cat obediently lowered its head.
The dormitory was tidy and refreshing, unlike Wang Shuzhi's messy one.
"Is anyone else coming to the dorm tonight?" Wang Shuzhi asked Li.
"No, they all went back home since their workshop has a holiday," Li said, feeding a bit of sausage to the cat.
"Then I'll head back; you all can rest!" Song Pearl didn't want to stay too long. She didn't notice anything unusual; the cat was indeed real.
She thought that perhaps everything was just a coincidence and that she was being overly sensitive.
When Song Pearl returned to the dorm, the leftover food from last night had already been cleared away, leaving only a half-eaten radish on the table.
In the lower bunk of her bed, a girl was lying down reading. When she saw Song Pearl enter, she smiled at her.
"Hello," Song Pearl nodded at the girl.
The girl smiled back at Song Pearl and continued reading.
Song Pearl didn't feel hungry but felt very tired. She placed the large bowl of noodles on the table and climbed into bed.
She didn't change her clothes, wanting to sit for a while before sleeping. However, leaning against the blanket, she fell asleep quickly and had restless dreams.
At one point, she dreamed that the Minister was glaring at her, criticizing her for breaking the equipment at the Inspection Station. Then she dreamed that Gao Xiaoxia snatched the tools from her hands, forbidding her from touching anything. Later, she dreamed that Wang Shuzhi came to work carrying a convenience bag and took something out for her to eat, but what she pulled out was a White Cat. The White Cat's green eyes gleamed with a cold light as it lunged toward her.
Song Pearl opened her eyes with a shiver, the dormitory lights still on. She leaned over to look at the lower bunk and saw the girl reading, still engrossed in a thick book that was down to its last few pages.
Thinking about the scenes from her dream, especially the White Cat that had pounced on her, made her feel a bit unsettled. She got out of bed, put on her shoes, and walked out of the dormitory.
The dry, cold air from last night had picked up a wind, making it hard to keep her eyes open.
She had been to the entrance several times and was already familiar with it. Wang Shuzhi's dormitory was easy to find; it was the first one as soon as she entered the dorm area.
The lights at the Gatekeeper Nurse Station were off, but there were intermittent flashes of light, likely from someone playing a mobile game. The entrance was brightly lit, while the workshop across from the dormitory was closed for production, its doors tightly shut.
Separated from this workshop by a Flower Bed, the machinery in the second workshop was roaring with activity. Due to the strong wind, the large doors of that workshop were also securely closed.
The wind made it difficult for Song Pearl to keep her eyes open. She didn’t take much time to look around and arrived at Wang Shuzhi's dormitory door.
As soon as she stood at the door, the light in the Gatekeeper room turned on. The blinding beam of a flashlight shone in her eyes, and someone shouted, “Who’s there? Running around at this hour?”
“I’m looking for Wang Shuzhi. I’m from the Quality Department,” Song Pearl said, shielding her eyes with her hand.
“Looking for Wang Shuzhi, huh?” The Gatekeeper approached with the flashlight, knocked on the dormitory door, and called out, “Wang Shuzhi.”
The door was tightly shut, and no one responded.
The Gatekeeper shone the flashlight on the lock of the door. “There’s someone inside; why isn’t anyone answering? Are they sleeping so soundly?”
He slammed his hand against the door, but there was still no response.
"I remember there were more than one person living here. Are they all sleeping this soundly?" Gatekeeper kicked the door with his foot.
"It seems like there's a smell of coal," Song Pearl suddenly said. "Could it be carbon monoxide poisoning?"
Hearing this from Song Pearl, Gatekeeper stopped knocking and took a few steps back. He turned sideways and slammed his shoulder against the tightly shut dormitory door, which was knocked ajar. Gatekeeper moved the door aside, walked in, and turned on the light.
From outside, Song Pearl looked in and saw that there was indeed a coal stove in the middle of the dormitory, and the cat that had been tied to the bed leg was already gone.
"These two reckless ones, how dare they close the door so tightly while burning the stove..." Gatekeeper placed his hand over the noses of the two sleeping individuals to check for breath. There was still air, and he shouted to Song Pearl, "Quickly go to Nurse Station and call someone over! There are people here suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning!"
As soon as Song Pearl turned around, two people from Nurse Station had already arrived.
"Quick, drive them to the hospital!"
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