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墨書 Inktalez
The afternoon air in C City was thick and oppressive, the streets as silent as ever, even the crows too lazy to fly by.
At the mouth of a broken alley, two ragged homeless men were arguing fiercely over a piece of battered wood.
"This is mine! I slept on it last night!" one shouted.
"You're full of crap! I found it first; you stole it from me!" the other retorted.
Their voices grew louder as they shoved each other, on the verge of coming to blows. The piece of wood teetered precariously in their hands, as if the last shred of dignity in this decaying city was about to be torn apart.
However, just as they were about to erupt into violence—
The ground suddenly trembled.
It wasn't the wind or an aftershock; it was the kind of vibration that came from a whole line of iron beasts charging forward.
Both men froze, exchanging a glance. Before they could speak, a thunderous roar of engines erupted behind them, as if the very ground was roaring in response.
They slowly turned their heads, their expressions turning blank.
A massive convoy of trucks was racing toward them from the distance, the enormous vehicles sweeping across the street like war machines, their black bodies emblazoned with bold letters—"Foot Odor Energy Company."
The engines roared like beasts, tires kicking up dust and sand, as if the entire city was about to be awakened by this torrent of steel.
At the front of the convoy stood Lin Tianyou on a specially designed truck. Dressed in a lab coat, his hair whipped in the wind, and his eyes burned with fiery enthusiasm.
He picked up a megaphone from the truck, his voice booming like thunder throughout the street—
"Residents of C City! The Foot Odor Energy Company has arrived!"
"We will provide free energy! We will create new jobs!" "From today on, this city is no longer a forgotten ruin, but the starting point of all miracles!" The voice penetrated the walls and windows, like some ancient and sacred horn, striking every sleeping soul. The tightly closed window opened with a click, and someone stuck his head out, looking at the street with a frown. The wooden door that had been sealed for many years was pushed open with a creaky sound. The children hid behind their mother, looking at the convoy with fear and curiosity. Even the homeless people who were sleeping soundly in the garbage dump were awakened one after another, and looked blankly at the sudden steel team and thunderous promises. An unprecedented breath poured into the blood of this dried-up city. Not despair, but hope. And the smell of hope... maybe even a hint of... Foot Odor. As night falls, C City seems to be stained with ink. The nights in the past were always silent and cold, with only the cold wind and darkness talking to each other. In this once prosperous but now dilapidated city, about one-third of the residents have long been unable to pay their electricity bills, and the power company has kicked them out of the power supply system. These people use fires for warmth, candles for lighting, and some even survive by burning garbage. The streets at night are like ruins, with one or two flames flickering occasionally, representing not hope but the remnant of the will to survive. But tonight, everything was different.
For the first time in many years, the entire C City lit up.
Not just the streetlights in the city center, but also the buildings in the suburbs, the windows of slums, and the fluorescent tubes in factory ruins all glowed.
It was real light, not the flicker of flames, but a steady current supplied by an unbelievable source—Foot Odor Energy.
In the top-floor office of City Hall, Zheng Xuan stood quietly in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window, her arms crossed over her chest.
The office behind her was silent, with the only sound coming from the bustling city outside—a sound that had been absent for far too long—the sound of life.
Children were running below, elderly people chatted at the street corner, night markets were setting up stalls again, music played at the street corners, and neon lights flickered defiantly amidst decay.
Zheng Xuan's eyes sparkled slightly, reflecting the glow of the entire city.
She couldn't help but murmur to herself, "I haven't seen a scene like this since elementary school..."
Back then, she was just a girl standing in the crowd, looking up at the city's lights, believing they represented eternal civilization and order.
Until everything collapsed.
Now, the lights were reignited.
But this time, it wasn't the government or foreign investments; it was a man who claimed he could generate electricity from Foot Odor.
At that moment, her phone vibrated.
A message popped up on the screen—an urgent text from her contact embedded within Foot Odor Energy Company:
The construction progress of the branch office has already begun, with nighttime operations underway. Materials and manpower are sourced from the transportation channels that have long been prepared. It is estimated that the preliminary structure can be completed within seven days.
Zheng Xuan furrowed her brows as she put down her phone, feeling a whirlwind of emotions inside her.
She was astonished by the company's almost terrifying drive and resource allocation; such efficiency did not belong to this dilapidated city but felt more like a premeditated "invasion."
Yet, a sense of unease lingered within her.
Was Huang Haoran's goal truly just "energy supply"?
From the moment she first met him, she knew that what he wanted was far beyond mere cooperation, profit, or the city's reconstruction.
What he sought was control. He wanted to hold the entire city in his palm, making everyone bow at his feet.
Though the lights shone brightly, Zheng Xuan understood—
The true dawn was still far from arriving.
The next morning, before the sunlight fully bathed C City, Lin Tianyou sat inside a modified promotional vehicle. The front of the vehicle bore a striking flag of Foot Odor Energy Company, and its roof was adorned with a giant speaker and LED light strips, resembling a mobile war horn ready to awaken the slumbering artisan spirit deep within the city.
Dressed in a lab coat and wearing glasses, he sat in the passenger seat with a serious yet slightly fervent expression. He picked up the microphone connected to the vehicle's sound system and nodded to the driver, "Let's go. Drive casually; I want to shout a bit."
The engine roared as the vehicle slowly pulled out of the temporary headquarters. He cleared his throat, opened the microphone, and his voice instantly reverberated through the city's air.
"Attention citizens of C City! Foot Odor Energy Company is urgently recruiting construction personnel, technical workers, and various support staff!"
"Participants in this construction will enjoy priority hiring opportunities, daily meals, and additional reward subsidies! You will be among the first to change this city!"
The voice echoed through the speakers, resonating in the ruins, alleys, corners, and behind the smoke.
At first, few people on the street took notice, but within five minutes, a burly man with a hammer peeked around the corner, followed by more individuals who emerged as if from the ground, appearing behind shattered window frames and inside stalled cars, their eyes flickering with struggle and desire.
As the vehicle drove less than five hundred meters, the street ahead was already packed with people, surging like a flood and surrounding the entire car.
They waved resumes, certificates, tool bags, and some even stood on the hood of the car in reflective vests shouting, "I have ten years of experience in electromechanical maintenance! I can start work! Right now!"
"I know high-voltage power distribution; I can do steel structure construction! Just give me a chance!"
These individuals were not crazy; they were once the backbone of this city—only crushed by the weight of time and economy for too long.
Lin Tianyou looked out the window, seeing faces covered in dust and fatigue yet shimmering with a long-lost spark of life. These people were not here for money; they were here to be "needed again."
He realized that they could not move forward like this and immediately turned to the driver, shouting, "Turn around! Head back to the construction site! Let them go for interviews on-site!"
The front of the car slowly turned, honking to clear a path as it made its way back to the branch office's construction area, with the crowd following like a torrent behind.
This recruitment drive was not just a hiring event; it was a reconstruction of faith—
A company born from Foot Odor had unexpectedly become the starting point of hope for this city.
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