Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Lin Yinxi opened the dormitory door and stealthily peered out. Beneath the flickering lights, two inconspicuous takeaway packages sat on the floor outside.

The one on the left was beautifully packaged. Before even reaching for it, she could smell a powerful scent of blood.

The one on the right was tied with a bow. Inside was a small strawberry cream cake.

Lin Yinxi reached out and dragged both packages into the room.

As she pulled on their bags, a camera shutter clicked in the empty, flickering corridor.

“Hm?” She looked out. Nobody was in the depths of the corridor. Only the incandescent light tubes blinked on and off.

Whenever the lights dimmed, she kept feeling that someone else was standing there.

But when they came on again, the corridor was still empty.

Meanwhile, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Rabbit Keeper had sent another message.

[Rabbit Keeper: Enjoy your blood feast [rose].]

Lin Yinxi opened his social feed.

His latest post was captioned: Feeding an employee.

Beneath it was a Live Photo.

Under the dim, flickering white lights, half the back of Lin Yinxi’s head showed through the partly open dormitory door as she furtively reached out to pull the takeaway bags toward her.

Pressing and holding the image revealed her little movements as she warily looked around.

The lighting was too dim to make out her face.

This was a photo from the delivery worker’s point of view.

Lin Yinxi felt watched.

Ha! Rabbit Keeper’s meal came with strings attached. She was only getting takeaway, yet he had to put her on his social feed for a public humiliation session.

Back in the room, she unpacked the strawberry cake. First, she sniffed it to check for strange odors, then broke it open with a fork. Finding no odd substances, she tasted a bite.

It really was human food.

She ate the cake with her remaining water, filling her stomach. Then she took a carry bag from Song Qianli’s things and put the entities’ blood feast inside, intending to save it for bribes.

Eight-twenty p.m.

After checking that her work wristband was securely in place, Lin Yinxi headed to the Feed Processing Room ten minutes early.

The corridor was cold and gloomy, with very few night-shift staff. She pressed her blue wristband against the sensor beside the door.

Beep.

“Identity confirmed. Night-Shift Feed Quality Inspector.”

“Access granted.”

Inside, Lin Yinxi found an enormous assembly-line processing room. A damp, fishy smell filled the air. Machines roared, and workers with numb expressions lined up to take their places at their workstations.

“You’re the new Feed Quality Inspector?” A team leader resembling a seahorse hopped toward Lin Yinxi, standing upright on his curled tail.

“That’s me.” She nodded.

The Seahorse Team Leader had no hands. Pointing his long snout toward a row of empty assembly lines, he said, “The Fishhead Supervisor put in a word. Said you’re an employee the higher-ups value. But if you miss the targets here, you’ll go into the grinder, however powerful your connections are.”

Then he hopped away angrily.

He seemed to despise people with connections like Lin Yinxi.

Lin Yinxi sat at the inspection station. An enormous metal conveyor belt was directly in front of her.

She looked at the edge of the workbench. A bloodstained sheet titled Guidelines for Quality Inspectors was affixed there.

Again, it bore an official seal.

[Quality Inspector Operating Procedures]

Deep Blue Aquarium employees follow a strict hierarchy. This is not a general labor position. Its operating procedures are strictly confidential. Do not disclose the following information to lower-ranking employees.

[1. A quality inspector’s job is to select acceptable feed.

You may use the red, blue, and black stamps.

Red means further processing is required. Blue means acceptable. Black means the material is not to be processed in this workshop.]

[2. During inspection, if you hear speech from the conveyor belt or see feed wriggling, apply the red stamp and immediately increase the machine’s cutting force.

Remember, visitors and your colleagues will never appear on the conveyor belt. This is residual muscle memory in the raw ingredients. They are only feed.]

[3. If you see a nameplate on feed, apply the black stamp. The conveyor will send the corresponding material back the way it came. This workshop does not process unclassified materials.]

An actual nameplate had been affixed after this rule as an example.

Like the signs bearing her own name that Lin Yinxi had seen in Zone A’s tanks, its writing was mirrored.

[4. The blue stamp is only for chunks of material with no nameplate, sound, or movement.

After receiving a blue stamp, material will enter the feeding area.

Ensure that every inspected piece of feed has completely lost all activity. Any feed retaining warmth that enters Zone A will cause the exhibits to riot.]

[5. If a material has both a voice and a nameplate, prioritize rule three.

The black stamp takes priority over the red stamp.

You do not need to understand what they are saying. As long as they have a nameplate, they do not count toward your KPIs.]

[6. Looking directly into the darkness at the end of the conveyor belt from the inspection station is strictly prohibited.

If you feel someone watching from the darkness, concentrate on the stamp in your hand.

Remember, you are a Feed Quality Inspector, not something being inspected.]

Lin Yinxi photographed the operating rules first.

Work began.

Clumps of pink meat slowly passed her on the conveyor belt.

She began stamping according to the rules.

At first, everything was normal. She applied the blue stamp.

Then she saw a pair of dark-skinned legs slowly coming from the far end of the belt.

The legs had smooth muscular contours and had been neatly severed at the tops of the thighs. She could see stark white bones inside and the cross sections of the cut flesh.

They were Chen Fei’s legs.

There was no nameplate on them.

Lin Yinxi lightly bit her lower lip, lowered her eyes, raised her hand, and applied the blue stamp.

Poor Chen Fei. Building such strong leg muscles had done him no good. Now both his legs were gone.

The repeated motion left Lin Yinxi’s wrist aching and sore.

Half an hour later, tired of the work, she wanted to escape on the pretext of a toilet break and look for clues elsewhere in the workshop.

“Lin Yinxi, save me… Help…”

Before she could leave, she saw Chu Yanran coming along the belt, half her body buried in an ice bucket.

She had no nameplate, but her cries for help were clear.

Lin Yinxi’s heart lurched.

Holding the red stamp, she looked at the pale-faced Chu Yanran.

Chu Yanran opened her mouth to speak. White frost coated her lashes and hair. Only her eyes still moved, turning in terror.

“Lin… I… I found a useful clue…”

Under rule two, Lin Yinxi had to apply the red stamp and increase the cutting force.

Further processing meant violently destroying Chu Yanran’s last remaining self-awareness.

At some point, the Seahorse Team Leader had hopped back nearby.

What should she do?

Lin Yinxi’s palms were covered in cold sweat.