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墨書 Inktalez
"I forgot to bring my wallet..." The sunglasses obscured the woman's eyes, but her expression looked as if she were about to cry.
The Ticket Seller remained silent, standing in front of her and waiting.
"I'll help buy her ticket!" Song Pearl stood up and handed the change to the Ticket Seller.
The Ticket Seller accepted it and continued to collect her fare. The Sunglasses Woman smiled faintly at Song Pearl and said thank you.
The bus arrived at Han Village Station, and the Sunglasses Woman got off in front of Song Pearl.
Song Pearl asked the driver where Han Village Machinery Factory was located. The driver told her to keep walking west for about eight more minutes, and she could take a tricycle there.
Song Pearl nodded and thanked the driver before getting off.
After she got off, she saw the Sunglasses Woman standing by the bus waiting for her, so she nodded and said, "You don't need to pay me back; you can go."
Unexpectedly, the Sunglasses Woman smiled and said, "I still don't have any money. Aren't you going to Han Village Machinery Factory? I need to go there too; we can go together."
Song Pearl looked at the Sunglasses Woman suspiciously. "I wasn't planning on taking a taxi; it's only an eight-minute walk. I want to walk there."
"Perfect! We can walk together; it won't be lonely," the Sunglasses Woman said as she grabbed Song Pearl's arm and started walking forward.
"Why are you wearing sunglasses in winter? You don't look like a good person," Song Pearl thought to herself but ended up saying it out loud.
"Oh, I just had double eyelid surgery," the Sunglasses Woman replied, pulling down her sunglasses to reveal eyes that looked like walnuts, still red and swollen.
"So that's what it is," Song Pearl thought, feeling relieved.
The woman's enthusiastic demeanor earlier made her feel as if she had encountered a human trafficker. Although she had never met one, she had been warned since childhood about the many bad people outside and to avoid talking to strangers, regardless of their age or gender.
Under such warnings, she always felt uneasy walking alone in sparsely populated areas.
A wide asphalt road stretched into the distance, flanked by several shops and a large gas station. Further ahead to the north was the office of Han Village Town, while on the other side lay an abandoned factory.
It turned out that Han Village was a town that looked quite decent, not as impoverished as Wang Xingxing's place.
However, Song Pearl was too quick to feel happy; the further they walked, the more desolate it became, with farmland on both sides. Fortunately, they were together; walking alone would have been quite frightening. After walking for a long time without seeing any sign of the Han Village Machinery Factory,
"Did we take a wrong turn? Why have we been walking for so long without arriving?" Sunglasses Woman glanced around anxiously. "This place feels like something out of an old western."
"It shouldn't be wrong; it might just be because you're not used to walking. We've only been walking for about fifteen minutes," Song Pearl said, glancing at her wristwatch.
This watch was a gift from Song Shiting during her school days. After starting college, she left it at home and only found it again by chance this time. She discovered that it still kept accurate time and decided to wear it again.
"But look at how desolate it is around here. If a car comes by and two people get out to drag us into the vehicle to sell us, it could really happen!" Sunglasses Woman clutched Song Pearl's arm and quickened her pace.
Song Pearl hurried to keep up with Sunglasses Woman's steps. "I'm Song Pearl. What's your name?"
"I'm Hong Xinran. The Machinery Factory here needs a medical staff member, so I signed up to come over. This morning when I left home, I felt something soft in my bag and thought it was my wallet, but it turned out to be a steamed bun. My old man must have switched it on me; he doesn't want me coming to such a remote place."
"Hong Xinran? That's a beautiful name," Song Pearl complimented. Ever since she learned about names, she felt her own was rather plain. She envied others with poetic names and considered it a great regret in life not to have one herself.
"Song Pearl," Hong Xinran laughed. "Your name is lovely too! If someone sent me pearls, I wouldn't have to work at all—how wonderful that would be, haha!"
That joke wasn't funny at all; many people thought like this.
Finally, the desolate farmland was no longer the only sight ahead. Besides the barren trees, there were buildings, and to the south of the road stood two factories not far apart. At the entrance of the first factory, a Gatekeeper in uniform stood guard.
As they walked past the first factory and approached the next one, they noticed that this factory was not particularly large, but its main gate was wide. Next to the gate, a wooden sign was firmly fixed to the wall, with large black letters reading "Han Village Machinery Processing Plant."
"Wow, we finally made it," Hong Xinran said while pushing Song Pearl along. "Next time we come, we definitely need to catch the shuttle bus; this road is terrifying."
Song Pearl frowned as she stood at the factory gate. She could already see the workshop near the entrance, with its rusty doors wide open, revealing a work environment darkened by grease and soot. The strong smell of gasoline and diesel was evident even at the entrance, indicating that this factory had been in operation for more than just a year or two.
What troubled Song Pearl was not just the smell of machine oil from the production equipment and parts but rather her keen sense of smell detecting a heavy presence beyond these familiar odors. This presence was not something she recognized from her current surroundings. However, over ten years ago, she had encountered this scent before; it was not something that should belong to humans.
She instinctively felt that such a familiar presence should not exist in this crowded factory. If she were still human, what she sensed would be a kind of demonic aura.
Was there a creature here similar to her past experiences?
While Song Pearl was lost in thought at the gate, Hong Xinran had already clarified their identities with the Gatekeeper staff—they were both here to report in.
There were seven people on duty at the Gatekeeper station, with four or five young adults in their twenties standing at the entrance, dressed in uniforms and wearing hats that gave them an imposing appearance.
After Hong Xinran introduced them, an older staff member with a slight hunchback emerged from inside the Gatekeeper office. His sharp gaze swept around before he addressed those standing guard: "I just received a call. I'll take these two over there. You young ones stand your posts well; don’t let me catch you slacking off."
"Yes, Head of Section Hou. You go ahead; this is a critical time; how could we possibly slack off?" one of the Gatekeepers replied with a cheeky grin.
"You're always the first to slack off," Head of Section Hou said with a serious face but a hint of amusement as he glared at the joking Gatekeeper before motioning for Song Pearl and Hong Xinran to follow him inside.
Critical time?
While trying to sense that somewhat familiar yet strange aura, Song Pearl's ears picked up on that phrase. Had these people already discovered something?
Entering the Yard, the air became thicker, but this atmosphere was mixed with a foul odor that made Song Pearl feel quite disgusted. She sniffed, thinking it might not be from the same source.
"Xinran, do you smell something unpleasant?" Song Pearl asked her companion, Hong Xinran.
"The air is indeed not great; the pollution is severe. It's normal for safety incidents to happen in this environment; it's too backward," Hong Xinran replied. "The dust is oily; look at how dark it is!"
"You all know about the casualties that have occurred?" asked Head of Section Hou, who was walking ahead.
"Of course, who doesn't know about such a big issue? It happens once a month; it's already happened five times. If it continues, not only will this factory be shut down, but the higher-ups will also end up in prison," Hong Xinran said dismissively.
"Once a month?" Song Pearl asked. She knew no one else could detect that particular odor like she could.
"Yes, this factory has had one person die every month for five consecutive months. I came here as a health worker to be prepared in case of emergencies, to provide timely treatment when someone gets injured and prevent casualties," Hong Xinran explained to Song Pearl.
"I see..." Song Pearl said thoughtfully.
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