Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Lin Yinxi stood at once. “Take your time unpacking. I’ll step out for a bit.”
“Don’t go. It’s almost mealtime. Let’s eat in the cafeteria together.” Song Qianli turned. Her face, like that of a kindly older girl from next door, wore a gentle smile. But her cold, clinging gaze remained fixed on Lin Yinxi.
Looking at the cabinet full of differently sized blue uniforms and remembering the rule about nonexistent roommates, Lin Yinxi wanted nothing more than huge pomelo leaves to sweep away the bad luck and drive out evil.[^pomelo]
“Actually, there’s something else I want to tell you. About last night…”
“Oh, my stomach hurts a little. Maybe I drank too much coffee today. I’ll go to the infirmary. You eat first. Don’t wait for me.” Lin Yinxi held her stomach, expressionless.
Before Song Qianli could speak again, Lin Yinxi slipped sideways out of the room and slammed the dormitory door behind her.
The moment it closed, she released a long breath.
The corridor was dimly lit.
Lin Yinxi went to neither the cafeteria nor the infirmary. She turned and headed straight for the Fishhead Supervisor’s office.
The Employee Regulations were very clear: If another employee attempted to stay in her dormitory, posing as her roommate, she must report them to her supervisor immediately and not let them take over the room.
She was going to tell on her.
Knock, knock, knock. Lin Yinxi knocked on the supervisor’s door yet again.
Eight hundred visits to the boss in one day.
“Come in.” The fish-headed entity’s wet voice came from inside.
Lin Yinxi pushed open the door. The Fishhead Supervisor sat behind a broad desk. On it was a plate of raw fish that still wriggled slightly. He was stuffing pieces into his mouth with webbed hands.
Seeing Lin Yinxi, he puffed his cheeks twice, and the white films over his eyes receded. “Not eating at mealtime? What is it? Questions about tonight’s assignment?”
Lin Yinxi hurried up to the desk, pulled over a stool, and sat down first, hands folded in front of her.
“Supervisor, I went back and read the employee manual. My dormitory is a single room, but a woman calling herself Song Qianli has moved in. She’s seriously disturbing my rest. How am I supposed to work properly like that?”
The fish-headed entity stopped chewing. “Logistics dormitories in Zone B have always been single-occupancy rooms. That rule is absolute. I’ll investigate first, confirm the intruder’s identity, and then deal with it.”
Lin Yinxi paused. “What identity do you still need to confirm? How long will that take?”
“Within the week.”
The week?
By then, Lin Yinxi would be boarding a vehicle and getting out of here.
This fish-headed entity worked painfully slowly.
He began speaking in bureaucratic platitudes. “I’ll register your report first. We have to verify the situation. Don’t be impatient. We still have to follow the procedures.”
Watching his fish mouth smack away, Lin Yinxi wanted to put a hook through it and hang him up.
“All right. Thank you, sir.”
Lin Yinxi stood, thinking over their conversation. According to the rules, Song Qianli was dangerous. To eliminate that danger, she needed the fish-headed entity to act.
Humans could not kill entities.
Lin Yinxi stared at the registration form on his desk.
Confirm her identity.
In other words, in his eyes, Song Qianli was still a potential employee whose status needed confirmation.
Unless someone proved she wasn’t.
Lin Yinxi left his office. To avoid arousing suspicion, she took out her phone after leaving and messaged Song Qianli. “I’ve got medicine from the infirmary and feel much better. Let’s meet at the cafeteria entrance.”
Before long, Song Qianli appeared at the end of the corridor.
She had changed into a blue staff uniform that looked well-fitting from the front.
But from behind, one could see a huge split, partly patched together with other fabric.
“Xi, I’m so glad you’re all right.” Song Qianli affectionately tried to link arms with her. “If you’re unwell, I can cover your shift tonight.”
“I’ve taken medicine. I’m fine now.” Lin Yinxi unobtrusively shifted half a step aside. “Let’s eat. I’m practically fainting from hunger.”
The doors of Zone B’s staff cafeteria stood open. Inside, the lighting was dim, with a scattering of blue-clad employees seated at rows of long stainless-steel tables.
This outer section was where part-time and temporary workers ate.
The serving windows were on the right.
There were three in all, corresponding to the three grades of staff meals.
“We’re temporary workers, so we can only use the Meal C window.” Quite naturally, Lin Yinxi led Song Qianli to the serving window in the farthest corner.
She considered the rules.
Perhaps she could use them to set Song Qianli up here.
Behind the window stood a masked cafeteria woman with a vacant gaze. She looked human, but barnacles covered her entire body.
Lin Yinxi picked up a tray.
With a large, heavily scratched iron ladle, the cafeteria woman scooped a heaping portion of thick, dark green mush from a metal bucket and slapped it onto Lin Yinxi’s tray.
Lin Yinxi lowered her head and sniffed. A powerful wave of nausea hit her.
The stuff gave off a pungent, fishy stench, like rotting internal organs.
This was Meal C.
This was where employees ate.
Uncontaminated humans could not eat it.
Expressionless, Lin Yinxi lifted her tray. Keeping the rules firmly in mind, she controlled her face, projecting the numb resignation of a workhorse who would eat anything.
Cattle and horses, beasts of burden. Feed them grass, milk them dry. Kill them, and their hides can become clothes. Cook their meat, and you can eat that too.
Song Qianli carried the same food. They found seats together. With her head down, she kept stuffing food into her mouth with her fingers, smearing dark green slime around her lips.
Looking decidedly queasy, Lin Yinxi stirred her lump of mush. She even stirred up a piece of scalp with hair attached.
Song Qianli ate extremely quickly.
Soon her tray was empty.
Afterward, she stared hungrily at the portion on Lin Yinxi’s tray.
Lin Yinxi pushed it forward a little. “Have mine too. My stomach hurt earlier, so I don’t have much appetite now.”
Song Qianli lifted her head, licked her fingers, and pulled the tray over with both hands. A little embarrassed, she said, “Thank you. I do so much work every day that I get hungry easily. One portion isn’t enough.”
Propping her head on one hand, Lin Yinxi looked toward the other serving windows and remarked casually, “Actually, I’m rather envious of permanent employees.”
Song Qianli bit her spoon. “Why?”
Lin Yinxi lowered her voice. “I heard Meals A and B aren’t like ours. They’re permanent employees, so they get special treatment.”
She only said different, never better or worse.
Song Qianli glanced down at the delicacy on her tray and said contentedly, “Then they’re really missing out.”
Hearing that, Lin Yinxi immediately gave a deliberately loud gasp. “Dear, are you saying Meal C is better than Meal A? How can you criticize the higher-grade meals?! You’re questioning our Head Chef’s skills!”
[^pomelo]: Pomelo leaves are traditionally used in cleansing rituals to dispel bad luck and ward off evil.