Repeated patterns, repeated behaviors, repeated conversations.
With midnight as the dividing line, memories only last for one day, and a new cycle begins at dawn.
Everyone in the steel plant was trapped in an endless loop of September 5th.
"Holy crap..." Lin Xiaobei subconsciously scratched his head, "My head is so itchy, it feels like a brain is growing in..."
Sun Tiantian glanced quickly at the next table out of the corner of her eye, "They were wearing long-sleeved t-shirts under their work clothes, so they must be dressed for the beginning of autumn in September."
"What do we do now... We can't just grab the steel and run away in front of so many people, can we?" Zhang Xiaojuan's CPU almost overheated.
In the endless cycle of the steel mill, these outsiders who intrude into the loop will inevitably be attacked by everyone in the steel mill if they disrupt the balance of this space.
The water sphere in Xiao Yu's palm was ready to go. "Based on my years of experience watching movies, there must be a special NPC who is the key to this cycle. As long as we find the key NPC, we can break the cycle."
“But there are hundreds of people in the entire steel plant, where are we going to find NPCs?” Han Rui silently moved a stool closer to Lu Sheng.
We can't just kill them all, can we?
As the group was discussing in hushed tones how to find the key NPC, a voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Did you enjoy the food today?" The kind-looking cafeteria lady wiped her hands with her apron and walked over to Lu Sheng and the others with a smile.
Everyone present immediately felt a sense of urgency.
The cafeteria lady's lines were different from yesterday's!
Xu Yi tilted his head slightly, a fleeting glint of sharpness flashing in his eyes behind his glasses. "The braised pork is a little saltier today than yesterday."
Everyone held their breath, silently waiting for the cafeteria lady's reply.
Xu Yi's words were a test, to see if the cafeteria aunties were also trapped in the cycle of September 5th!
"Oh dear, my hand slipped while cooking today and I accidentally added a handful of salt. Eat more rice to help it down." The cafeteria lady slapped her forehead in annoyance, and her calloused right hand casually draped over Zhang Xiaojuan's shoulder in a friendly manner. "If you're thirsty, there's a water dispenser over there. Get some water for yourselves."
New lines unlocked!
Everyone simultaneously looked up and turned to their side.
Under the dim yellow light of the cafeteria, a kind-looking middle-aged woman was gently watching them.
She wore a faded gray long-sleeved shirt with rolled-up edges, and her hair was neatly pinned up at the back of her head. Her features suggested she was only around forty years old, but her hands, worn from years of labor, were covered with wrinkles and calluses.
The apron she was wearing was very clean, and she looked simple and neat.
It's particularly eerie and unsettling that someone who exudes such gentleness is actually the key NPC to unlocking the loop in the steel factory.
Zhang Xiaojuan had her aunt's hand on her shoulder, her whole body tense and afraid to move.
"Auntie, your hand is cut." Lu Sheng took out a band-aid from his pocket, grabbed the cafeteria auntie's right hand, and glanced at her name tag.
Logistics staff member – Zhang Meihui.
Her hands were warm; Zhang Meihui was alive.
Zhang Meihui glanced down, then smiled knowingly, "It's just a small cut, nothing serious. I work every day, I'm not that delicate. Thank you, young lady."
After saying that, she tenderly rubbed Lu Sheng's smooth and delicate face with the back of her hand, "You are about the same age as my Xiao Hong, and you are both very beautiful."
It seems that all mothers have one thing in common: they love and care for any child who is about the same age as their own.
Lu Sheng's mind skipped a beat.
Before she could speak, Xu Yi stood up and stood between Zhang Meihui and Lu Sheng.
Because of Xu Yi, Zhang Meihui could only withdraw her hand.
"Where's your daughter? She should be working now, right?" Xu Yi's voice was very magnetic, giving people a sense of peace of mind.
When her daughter was mentioned, Zhang Meihui sighed and unconsciously wiped her hands on her apron. "If only she could go out to work like you guys."
"Hasn't she graduated yet?" Han Rui asked curiously.
Taking advantage of the moment Zhang Meihui removed her hand, Zhang Xiaojuan immediately got up and slipped to the side.
“She… sigh…” A bitter look suddenly appeared on Zhang Meihui’s gentle face. “Her eyesight is bad, which affects her schooling and work. She hasn’t left the house much in more than ten years.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the surrounding environment suddenly rippled.
The steel factory workers, who had just been chatting and laughing on their phones, suddenly fell silent, like a movie that had been paused.
Lu Sheng's eyes sharpened.
Sure enough, Zhang Meihui was the key NPC who influenced the entire steel plant!
When talking about her daughter who suffers from an eye disease, Zhang Meihui became emotional, which affected the entire steel plant's operations to some extent!
But soon, Zhang Meihui's expression returned to a smiling one. "Why am I telling you all this? You're all just kids. You should eat your food properly. Call me if you need anything else."
Lu Sheng kicked Zhang Xiaojuan's foot under the table.
"Auntie, don't go!" Zhang Xiaojuan immediately understood and stood up to stop Zhang Meihui. "Auntie, I left home to work when I was 12 years old and haven't been home for years. Thank you for making braised pork. It made me feel at home. Seeing you is like seeing my mother."
"How about we chat for another five cents? I want to hear it, I love to hear it."
Everyone: "..."
Sometimes you just have to be thick-skinned.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Meihui smiled kindly and said, "You are all about the same age as my children."
"Auntie, what's wrong with Xiao Hong's eyes? With medicine so advanced these days, why didn't you take her to a big city to get it checked out?" Zhang Xiaojuan pressed her advantage, seizing the opportunity to open up Zhang Meihui's inner world.
When her daughter was mentioned, Zhang Meihui opened up completely.
It seems that they had no one to confide in for many years, and they used Zhang Xiaojuan, Lu Sheng and others as a confidante. "She was naughty and didn't eat properly when she was a child, and I had a short temper when I was young."
"Once, she was fiddling with chopsticks at the dinner table, and I got angry and slapped her on the head. Unexpectedly, the force of the slap pierced her eye, and she lost sight in one eye."
As Zhang Meihui reminisced about the past, the atmosphere in the entire cafeteria instantly plummeted to freezing point.
The temperature in the air seemed to drop by more than ten degrees. Except for Lu Sheng and Xu Yi, everyone else subconsciously wrapped their coats tighter.
“Over the years, she has blamed me for this and refused to talk to me.” Zhang Meihui said, her eyes reddening, and she raised her hand to wipe away her tears.
“I haven’t been home much in the past ten years. I’ve been working here all this time. I was hoping to save enough money to take Xiaohong to a big hospital in Beijing to get a prosthetic eye.”
“I’ve already inquired before. Replacing an artificial eye costs over 100,000 yuan, and you need to replace it with a new one every few years, so you need to have at least 200,000 yuan on hand.”
“I’m from the countryside and I don’t have much education. I can only cook and do cleaning.”
"But the ordeal is almost over. The factory was in a slump for a while and hadn't paid wages. This month they'll make up for the eight months' worth of wages, and then I'll be able to save enough money."
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