Xia Chuhe struggled between eating and not eating.

Hesitating for even a moment slowed down his movements, and several people piled up on the assembly line waiting to be installed.

The next worker in the process knocked on the assembly line in dissatisfaction.

Xia Chuhe swallowed hard. No, he couldn't eat it.

Once his reason returned, Xia Chuhe was no longer surprised by the workers' theft of food.

Xia Chuhe's family also owns a food processing plant, one of which makes pork jerky. During their free time, the factory workers can eat as much of the food as they want, as long as they don't take it out.

The workers usually get tired of eating the same food after a few days.

Following this logic, are all the workers in Nuwa's factory new employees, just like her and the middle-aged woman?

Xia Chuhe observed the other workers with a distraction. The workers were skilled and showed no signs of being novices.

The first afternoon in the instance felt exceptionally long. Xia Chuhe's legs were numb from standing for so long before he finally got off work.

The afternoon work lasted a full seven hours. By the time I came out of the workshop, it was already completely dark, and there were still some leftovers in the canteen.

Xia Chuhe ate a few mouthfuls of rice and then wanted to go back to the dormitory arranged by the foreman to sleep.

On the way, the foreman was chatting and laughing with another woman he didn't recognize. Xia Chuhe noticed that both of them had badges on the sleeves of their work clothes, which seemed to be a symbol of the foreman's status.

Xia Chuhe forced himself to stay alert and followed behind the two without making a sound.

The two foremen separated at the fork in the road between the male and female dormitories, and the female foreman entered the female dormitory.

Around noon, Xia Chuhe took a short stroll around the dormitory. The dormitory was not tall, only four stories high. The first three floors were open, but the staircase leading to the fourth floor was blocked by a locked door.

At this moment, the female foreman climbed all the way to the third floor. As she took out her keys, she glanced back and saw Xia Chuhe, then scolded, "Which dormitory are you from? Why aren't you resting? What are you doing wandering around!"

Xia Chuhe rubbed his eyes, pretending to wake up from a dream: "Huh? I was so sleepy, how did I get here? I'll go back now, I'll go back now."

Xia Chuhe slowly went downstairs and returned to his dormitory on the second floor. The dormitory was filled with a lingering dampness and stickiness, and a faint smell of foot odor.

This dormitory room had five bunk beds, crammed with ten people. Everyone had returned; some were busy washing up, others were lying in bed looking at their phones. The room was filled with a jumble of background music and AI-generated voices, occasionally punctuated by snippets of conversation like "You bumped into me" or "Watch out."

Xia Chuhe pinched his nose, not bothering to say anything, and filled a basin with water to soak his feet. After taking off his socks, he put his feet into the hot water, and a wave of sour and hot pain washed over him.

Xia Chuhe lifted his foot and saw that he had two blisters on the balls of his feet.

The middle-aged woman who lived opposite Xia Chuhe smiled and said, "You're not used to it, are you? You'll get used to it quickly once you've chosen it."

After washing his feet, Xia Chuhe turned his back to the wall, disinfected the dagger with a flame, and then punctured the blisters before lying down.

Xia Chuhe made up her mind that once everyone was asleep, she would get up and sneak into the factory at night...

The thought had barely formed in his mind when Xia Chuhe let out a long, steady breath.

The dormitory lights were off, and all was quiet. I slept soundly through the night.

Xia Chuhe was woken up by the work bell and was put on the assembly line without even having breakfast.

The fatigue from standing all day yesterday hasn't subsided yet, and I have to keep standing today.

Xia Chuhe yawned, his hungry stomach clamoring for chocolate.

After being tormented for two consecutive days, Xia Chuhe came to realize a terrible reality.

The terrifying aspect of Nuwa Factory lies not in the high-intensity labor, but in the tight work schedule and the inescapable control.

On the assembly line, even if you want to skip peeing, you have to find someone to do your work for you first.

Even when he tried to escape to the bathroom, someone outside kept urging him on – the production line couldn't stop, and they had to race against time to keep production going.

Lunch break is very short, and there are limited places to go.

When I got back to my dorm at night, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Every day, standing in front of the assembly line, Xia Chuhe feels that time is stretched out countless times, so long that it feels like a lifetime has passed.

But every day was the same, as if a lifetime had only passed in one day.

When Xia Chuhe saw the apple trees in the farm blossoming, he was surprised to find that he had unknowingly spent three days in the instance.

The past three days have passed peacefully.

It also means that nothing was gained.

Xia Chuhe lay on the bed, his eyes wide open, his palm gripping the sharp blade of a dagger.

Whenever drowsiness struck, Xia Chuhe would grip the dagger tightly, letting the sharp blade cut his palm, hoping to stay awake through the pain.

In the struggle between pain and deep sleep, Xia Chuhe remembered something.

Many factories, in order to meet orders and increase efficiency, would not stop the production lines at night, but instead arrange for the night shift workers to continue working. But now, all the workers have returned to their dormitories, and the production lines have stopped.

This doesn't align with the factory's operational logic.

What happens in a factory at night?

The dormitory lights were turned off, and Xia Chuhe waited for the others to fall asleep.

However, what she got in return was—

A soft sigh escaped her lips: "Xia, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Nine faces lined up neatly, crowding around Xia Chuhe's bedside: "Xia, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Xia Chuhe's heart clenched painfully.

With the aid of night vision, Xia Chuhe saw an incredibly familiar, almost imperceptible smile on their faces. Their lips weren't upturned, yet the smile seemed etched into their very souls.

That expression!

The facial expressions are exactly the same as those of the chocolate figurines!

Xia Chuhe sat up, clutching her stomach, and said, "My stomach isn't feeling well, I'm going to the toilet."

Xia Chuhe hid in the bathroom, sat on the toilet seat wearing only her pants, her hands smeared with blood. She waved her hand, healing the wounds on her hands.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!