Chapter 130-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World
Chapter 130 The Company You Can't Leave (VIII)
Ring ring ring—
Zhu Ning had been about to slip away before security arrived, but the phone rang without warning, jarringly out of place inside the Contamination Zone.
A phone on Hope's desk was ringing madly. Outside, the footsteps of security guards sounded like a death knell.
Zhu Ning didn't hesitate and picked up. "Hello?"
Scritch—
Scritch— tap tap tap—
No one spoke. Only a constant scratching sound. Unlike last time, this call also had a tapping noise.
It sounded like someone was banging on something. Could this person not make any sound? She felt this call had to be important. Zhu Ning kept one ear on the door while whispering: "Hello? What's wrong?"
Scritch—
Zhu Ning heard a gust of wind. Hope's office had a window. While on the phone, she'd been watching outside. Suddenly, she spotted a dark silhouette.
That instant seemed deliberately slowed down. Zhu Ning was forced into eye contact with someone plummeting headfirst past the window, their gaze meeting hers for a fleeting moment.
BANG!
A deafening crash came through the phone, followed by a dial tone.
Zhu Ning's body went rigid. She crept toward the window and could only make out a figure lying on the ground far below. The building was too tall to see any details—but she'd seen clearly just now.
A person in black lay on the ground below. People began gathering around.
The person who'd locked eyes with her—her helmet had a hole in it. Falling headfirst, one cold eye had sized Zhu Ning up.
"She" had died again?
Why? It was only 2:40 PM—not even three o'clock. Zhu Ning hadn't even tried to leave the company. What had she triggered?
Was this the Contamination Zone's warning? Because Zhu Ning had violently seized the Outstanding Employee title?
If it was a loop, wasn't the timing far too arbitrary? Before it had been 8 PM, now it had moved up to early afternoon. Had the loop shortened, or was this not a loop at all?
"Hurry!" came a voice. "An employee's gone crazy."
The office's main door burst open and people poured in. Judging by the footsteps—dozens of them. This must be the security Brightness had called.
Security headed straight for the conference room. They all moved in one direction. Zhu Ning heard someone say: "Search the premises. Find her."
Zhu Ning put down the phone. She didn't look at the body below again. The first time was terrifying; after that, she felt nothing. She truly couldn't empathize with the version of herself down there.
Zhu Ning gathered the files from Hope's office along with her Outstanding Employee award—a full haul.
She peered through the door crack. Everyone was heading toward the conference room. She seized the moment and slipped out.
Hope's office was closer to the main entrance. She didn't use her invisibility skill—her health was low, so she was conserving everything. Zhu Ning moved fast, but opening the main door would make noise.
A nearby guard spotted her. Zhu Ning glanced back. He wore a security uniform, but instead of a sheep's head, he had a normal human head—except he had no face.
A Faceless.
He looked like a clay figure shaped by a mischievous child—rough outline molded but no features installed yet.
"Stop!" he shouted. "I found her—grab her!"
He had no mouth, yet could produce sound. After his "shout," the other guards all turned at once. Sixteen featureless faces aimed straight at Zhu Ning.
"Grab her!"
By then Zhu Ning was already out of the office area. The elevator was ahead, but between an elevator and stairs, stairs were always safer.
Zhu Ning already had one hand on the emergency stairwell door. She'd been about to use a key, but perhaps because she'd already earned Outstanding Employee status and been recognized by the Contamination Zone, the door was unlocked this time. She could open it directly.
Zhu Ning pushed through without hesitation. Her route was simple: straight from Hope's office to the rooftop. She wanted to see what was up there.
But the moment she stepped into the stairwell, she froze. Human faces protruded from both walls, as if trapped beneath white plastic film, straining to push through. They'd stretched to their limit—faces on the left squeezing into faces on the right.
Faces bulged from the handrails. Faces pressed up through the stair treads. Both walls were covered in faces.
The entire stairwell had turned grotesquely soft, as if she'd stepped into a human throat—a throat crammed with countless tiny people.
Just like the desks, the entire company was built from the flesh and blood of employees. The employees who'd been forged into the stairwell wanted out.
The path to the rooftop was blocked.
Zhu Ning had considered turning back, but security was right outside the stairwell door.
Her only option was to go down. If every Contamination Zone was a game, then the previous ones had been horror games. This one was a chase-and-escape game.
This was far too strange. Was any of this supposed to exist in a normal company?
If Zhu Ning had chosen the elevator earlier, would she have already been crushed flat by elevator-people?
Some things you could tell at a glance couldn't be solved with firearms. With the stairwell completely clogged, even shooting wildly wouldn't blast a path through.
Only one option remained: run!
Was this the hint the other "Zhu Ning" had given her? Run! It didn't mean escape this place—it meant literally run.
The stairwell's transformation spread like a contagion. Zhu Ning's running speed barely kept pace with the mutation.
The instant her heel lifted, the step beneath her morphed into a gaping mouth, jaws stretching wide to bite her ankle.
Bang!
Zhu Ning burst through a door. The faces slammed into the stairwell door behind her. Fingernails scraped against the other side.
It seemed they could only survive within the stairwell—they couldn't crawl out.
Zhu Ning caught her breath, still shaken. She'd been through many Contamination Zones, but this one was the most baffling. She couldn't figure out its pattern at all.
Going solo into a Contamination Zone this massive—forget getting help, she didn't even have someone to brainstorm with. Next time, even if she had to bring Li Nianchuan, she needed a partner.
This was basement level one. It looked familiar—she'd been here twice. One side was the cafeteria; the other was the Storage Freezer. But she'd never seen what lay beyond the freezer.
[Temperature drop detected. Current temperature: 0°C. Thermal mode auto-activated. Maximum duration: three days. Cleaner, please stay safe.]
Wrapped in her Protective Suit with a layer between her and the outside, Zhu Ning hadn't noticed anything wrong at first.
She realized the only thing looking out for her was the helmet's cold, mechanical system. She'd have to try connecting the Luxury Car to her helmet when she got back.
The Luxury Car couldn't communicate, but at least she'd have someone to talk to even when alone.
Still—why was the temperature dropping? Had the freezer door opened?
Zhu Ning hadn't known which way to go, but now she had her answer. She headed toward the Storage Freezer, her footsteps slowing as she approached.
Something was off.
The temperature on her helmet display kept falling. Now it read minus five degrees.
Sure enough, when she reached the freezer entrance, the door was wide open.
If the door was open and the power held, the entire building would become one giant refrigerator.
Wisps of cold air seeped from the freezer entrance. Zhu Ning's Protective Suit wasn't exactly insulated—she genuinely felt cold. Shivering cold.
The freezer was empty.
Zhu Ning had personally delivered Cardboard Box's body here. The mountain of corpses that had once reached the ceiling was gone—every last one. The empty freezer was like an ice chest, coated in frost.
Zhu Ning kept five meters from the freezer, afraid that if she stood at the door and someone appeared behind her, they'd shove her in and lock it.
Cautious as she was, a chill still crept up her spine. Every hair on her back stood on end.
All those Sheep-Head corpses had vanished. So where were they now?
Her back grew colder and colder, as if countless faces were pressed against it, exhaling frigid air.
Zhu Ning's body went rigid. She didn't move—sudden movements could mean death.
The smart helmet could extend her field of vision. She slowly adjusted her view and switched on the left rearview mirror. At first, all she saw was pitch black.
This dark? What was that?
Earlier she'd adjusted the magnification to examine the caves inside the Workstations. The settings were still the same—probably zoomed in too far.
She slowly adjusted the value. The black shape behind her gained definition—a long rectangle. Zoom in a little more and it was an eyeball.
A Sheep-Head's eye. A rectangular eye staring right at Zhu Ning.
Judging by position, this person was pressed right against Zhu Ning's back, standing heel-to-heel with her.
Someone was behind her.
The eye was too terrifying up close. Zhu Ning switched to a wider angle and panned downward.
She saw countless pairs of feet.
There were people behind her. Not just one—a dense crowd of Sheep-Head corpses.
They'd appeared without a sound, pressed up against Zhu Ning's back. Frozen stiff, frost covered their bodies, and their exposed skin was a ghastly blue-gray.
They stood packed impossibly tight—foot against foot—still emanating cold air.
The cold seemed to seep into Zhu Ning's body, drilling through every pore into her marrow, freezing her into a corpse.
She'd already become an Outstanding Employee, and this was the reward? Being stared at by a mob of corpses?
Two choices. First: sprint to the freezer, lock the door, and buy temporary safety.
But then she'd be trapped. Her Protective Suit could only sustain extreme conditions for three days.
Second: fight her way through. Zhu Ning scanned her Interface for skills and items. Nothing offered a quick solution.
Having come this far, Zhu Ning chose to break through fast.
If the enemy doesn't move, I don't move. Rash action would provoke them. This called for perfect timing.
Zhu Ning felt like she was at the starting line of a sprint. In her old life, internal training always included races. Every race demanded attention to the starting gun—the instant it fired was the moment to move. Every fraction of a second counted.
Through the helmet's rearview camera, slightly distorted, the corpse behind her reached out a hand.
Now.
The instant the hand extended, Zhu Ning broke into a dead sprint. The corpse's hand grasped at empty air. Countless corpses reached out simultaneously—their frozen arms stiff and jerky.
They adjusted their orientation in unison, as if trying to catch the black sheep among them. Their postures were grotesque—countless rectangular eyes fixed on Zhu Ning.
"Join us," they said, their voices mechanical and rigid. "Join us."
The voices of the corpses were impossibly penetrating. You'd be inexplicably drawn in. When people felt helpless, joining the crowd was the simplest choice.
No need to think. Just stand with the group and you'd feel safe.
Being part of a collective was more appealing than going it alone. It was written into human DNA—this craving for the herd and the sense of security. Utterly irresistible.
This was basically a pyramid scheme company.
Zhu Ning shut off the helmet's audio receivers entirely. Now she couldn't hear a thing. She ran without stopping. No one behind her caught up—the frozen corpses were left far in her wake.
Zhu Ning looked back to see the Sheep-Head corpses standing motionless in place, like a wall blocking her retreat.
Zhu Ning frowned. This Contamination Zone hadn't actually attacked her—it seemed more like... it was herding her.
Zhu Ning had tried to reach the rooftop, so it drove her downstairs. She'd passed the Sheep-Head corpses, which blocked her retreat—funneling her in this direction.
Zhu Ning didn't even have time to go outside and check the body that had just plummeted.
When only one path remained in the world, you could only walk that path.
She entered a new corridor. Warmly decorated, hung with fresh flowers, the entire hallway bathed in a soothing pale yellow.
Hengsheng Mechanical Company's public welfare corridor. Many companies had these display corners—typically showcasing the company's heartwarming stories, making employees feel like part of the family.
Zhu Ning examined the photos carefully. This was no display corner—it was a gallery of horrors.
The photos were the same ones she'd seen in the files. Employees had "accidents" at work, but the company provided compassionate aid, covering all medical expenses at their in-house medical center.
The company's promise: Lifelong responsibility. A worry-free life.
In reality, a PR wall would never feature photos this gruesome. The Contamination Zone had exaggerated things.
The survivor, Wang Qinqian, lay on a bed wrapped head to toe in bandages, barely alive. Flowers surrounded her. Many people came to visit.
Doctors and department heads posed for photos with her. The caption beneath read: The Hengsheng family never gives up on any employee.
Department employees volunteered to care for Wang Qinqian. Professional therapists were brought in for counseling.
The whole display wall was bullshit. Below were statements from various people—leadership remarks, employee reflections, doctor interviews.
Not a single word from the victim herself.
Below was a subtitle: A true miracle of life.
Zhu Ning felt deeply uncomfortable. How was this victim any different from a PR prop? She couldn't even voice her own words.
The corridor ended. The warm yellow wallpaper disappeared. Before her stood a massive black door—probably exactly where the Contamination Zone wanted to drive her.
The door acted like a mirror, reflecting Zhu Ning's helmet with its bloody smile.
She had a feeling that once she stepped through, she wouldn't be smiling anymore.
The door read: Outstanding Employees Only. All other employees prohibited.
A company had a place like this? Was this some kind of Outstanding Employee perk?
If Zhu Ning had stuck around a few more days, she might have learned what Outstanding Employees were entitled to. But she'd grown restless and seized the title by force.
Hope hadn't had a chance to show her the Outstanding Employee benefits before Zhu Ning flipped the table.
Zhu Ning's Employee Card unlocked the door effortlessly. She'd been accepted.
Whether you earned Outstanding Employee through hard work or through a rampage—it proved you craved being part of the company family.
What the company wanted wasn't just your individual value. They wanted absolute obedience—a genuine, heartfelt embrace of company culture. Only those with deep allegiance could access the company's core secrets.
This door might be a trap, but Zhu Ning felt she was closing in on the truth. She pushed it open—and froze.
Before her was a massive gear, roughly fifty meters tall. Where the gears meshed, human bodies were wedged in. The gears pushed bodies upward, and when two gears collided, the bodies were ground into a bloody pulp.
Bones shattered. Blood flowed. In the end, they were pressed into thin sheets of paper, transformed into some kind of material.
Had she stumbled into a manufacturing floor?
An assembly line unfolded before her. Rows of people lined both sides—they appeared to be observers, all wearing full Protective Suits with name badges on their chests.
Happy, Wish, Top, Brilliant......
Zhu Ning scanned each one. Their codenames were all premium names—meaning these were all management.
No Future.
Among all these people, Future was nowhere to be found.
When Zhu Ning entered, they'd been observing the line. Now they all stopped. "A newcomer?"
A newcomer? Their mechanical voices dripped with delight—a cruel kind of joy.
They didn't care how Zhu Ning had earned her Outstanding Employee status. They only needed her to be one.
"The Outstanding Employee is here," someone said.
"Congratulations on becoming an Outstanding Employee. You're now qualified to access our core technology." A Sheep-Head in a white lab coat suddenly came over and clasped Zhu Ning's hand. She glanced at his badge—codename Happy.
Happy's grip was powerful, as if expressing his satisfaction.
Zhu Ning was still dazed when he began painting a grand vision: "Only Outstanding Employees get access. This is the future of our Hengsheng Mechanical Design Department. We're going to be rich."
Happy's voice grew more and more excited, rising in pitch: "Once this project launches, you'll achieve financial freedom. Work hard."
"Earn this money and you'll coast through the rest of your life. The company will give you stock options."
Happy was a talker. Pie-in-the-sky promises streamed into Zhu Ning's ears one after another. Corporate pie was always designed to keep you from leaving.
Every time you considered quitting, you'd think: I've come this far—maybe I should just hang in there a little longer?
"Come." He beckoned to her.
The people lining both sides of the assembly line gazed at her eagerly, like a prestigious group welcoming its newest member.
"Come see," Happy said. "This is our future."
Future?
Was this the "Future" the jumping "Zhu Ning" had wanted her to find?
Happy shook his head vigorously after saying that: "No, no, no—not our company's future. Humanity's future."
"It can replace Contamination Spores and become a New Energy source. You're among the first humans to come into contact with it."
"Come." Happy smiled. "This is an honor reserved for the few."
This really was a cult company, wasn't it?
Then he pressed something into Zhu Ning's hands.
Zhu Ning's heart rate suddenly spiked—not from instinct, but because her helmet's internal system began flashing warnings.
[Contact with hazardous material detected. Warning: contact with hazardous material. Do not approach.]
[Warning: contact with hazardous material.]
[Radiation will damage internal organs. Warning...]
Zhu Ning stood frozen. In her hands was an unknown black object—irregularly shaped, like a lump of coal. She couldn't tell if it was some kind of crystal or a living thing. Right now, it pulsed like a heart.
Thump thump thump—
The black object throbbed in her hands, contracting violently like a heart. It quickly corroded her Protective Suit gloves, making direct contact with her skin.
The thing seemed to emit some kind of radiation—or its corrosive power was off the charts. It had already permeated her entire body.
Zhu Ning felt a searing pain in her chest. Her mouth was filled with the taste of blood. She had a high pain tolerance and rarely cried out.
But this time the agony was like swallowing a fistful of steel needles. Utterly unbearable. She suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
She was wearing her helmet. The blood splattered inside it, instantly staining the electronic display. Mixed in were even bits of flesh.
She felt her organs dissolving at terrifying speed—like swallowing a bottle of sulfuric acid. Organs melting away.
Bones became impossibly brittle—a gentle squeeze and they'd snap.
Her skin broke out in sores. Countless tiny blisters spread across her body. Pop one and pus oozed out slowly.
But no matter how many you burst, new sores kept forming.
Then her limbs and features began to dissolve rapidly. A light touch and her nose fell off. A gentle tug and her tongue separated from her mouth.
She tried to pick up her nose and reattach it, but couldn't—because the moment she reached out, her fingers began crumbling away inch by inch.
She was becoming fragile. Like a doll that could be assembled and disassembled at will.
She couldn't stop vomiting blood. It instantly soaked the inside of her helmet, splattering the display with droplets.
[Sanity decreased by 5%]
Zhu Ning snapped awake. She was still holding the unknown substance. Her gloves were still intact.
Thump—
The black object pulsed.
Whether or not this thing was the "future," one thing was certain: it was extremely corrosive.
The Contamination Source wanted Zhu Ning to experience what it had experienced? Was this what those employees had faced?
An ordinary employee—maybe their name was just a cheap object. Cardboard Box, Keyboard, Curtain.
They'd been selected through rounds of screening, never daring to slack off, giving everything they had. Finally, they'd earned the title of Outstanding Employee.
They received the supreme honor—permission from upper management to observe the company's core secrets, to work on the most vital project.
They walked unknowingly into a radiation zone, handling an unknown substance. Management described it as the future.
The future of humanity, no less.
It quickly began corroding the human body. Soft organs stood no chance against its devastating corrosion.
At first, people developed minor "issues"—trouble breathing—but thinking of the promised stock options and the grand blueprint, these little problems were bearable.
The company covered medical treatment, after all. With healthcare costs so high outside, the company was already being so generous—what more could you ask for?
By that point, it felt like the future was right within reach. They could no longer leave the company.
Employees fell victim one by one. The Mechanical Design Department alone had eighteen casualties, yet the files summed it up in a single breezy line: Accident during work.
Their families received three million in compensation—a fortune for ordinary people. No one wanted to investigate further.
Zhu Ning took a deep breath and handed the unknown substance back. She felt that any more contact would literally make her fall apart.
Run!
Every fiber of her being screamed at her to flee immediately.
Zhu Ning had only been in contact with it for five seconds, but something was already wrong. Her whole body felt weak. The unknown substance had invaded her. She could barely stand.
"Hello?" Someone waved a hand in front of her face.
Zhu Ning's instinct was to run, but there was nowhere to go. She could only watch helplessly as they closed in around her.
"We have someone who needs help," Happy shouted. "Doctor! Doctor! Get a doctor!"
Zhu Ning's eyelids grew heavy. The last thing she heard was: "Don't worry—we never abandon anyone in our family. We will save you."
Happy, Wish, Co-op, Win-win, and the others surrounded Zhu Ning. They all said:
We will save you.
Author's Note
Hey everyone, I'm back! I took a day off yesterday and owed you a chapter, so today's is a two-in-one. I'll slowly pay back the rest of my bonus chapters. Right now I'm drowning in debt (chapters owed) and my coffers are bare (zero stockpiled chapters)......
I saw in the comments that someone shares the same name, so the sole survivor's name has been changed to Wang Qinqian~
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