Embers Ad Infinitum

After opening the door with a brass key, Shang Jianyao used the light of the streetlight on the ceiling to see the familiar wooden bed, sink, expansion screws, red painted wooden table and matching armchair.

It was exactly the same as when he left.

Thanks to the good ventilation system and unique geographical environment of the underground building, Shang Jianyao didn't even feel that the room was dull, and he didn't see obvious dust accumulation.

He walked slowly inside, closed the door behind his back, took off the shabby rag hanging by the sink, turned on the faucet, and wet it.

Then, Shang Jianyao sometimes bent down, sometimes squatted down, and wiped all the places that could be wiped.

By the time he finished all this, it was exactly 7 o'clock.

Shang Jianyao, who had taken a shower and changed into regular clothes in the security department, immediately took the key and went out to the "activity center" on this floor.

Along the way, employees who had had dinner returned one after another, including many who knew Shang Jianyao.

They nodded to each other as greetings.

Soon, Shang Jianyao arrived at the "Activity Center" in Area C. He saw several young men squatting or standing chatting at the door, and Shen Du walked towards him.

The middle-aged man who "guided" Shang Jianyao to join the "Life Sacrifice" cult said with surprise on his face:

"Xiao Shang, are you back from working in the field?"

Shang Jianyao smiled and replied:

"Well, I'm back from picking up trash."

"..." Shen Du couldn't understand Shang Jianyao's answer, so he explained, "I heard it from Lao Chen. I hadn't seen you for several days before, so I thought something had happened to you, but he told me , you joined the Security Department and went out into the field."

"What a pity." Shang Jianyao responded.

"..." Shen Du couldn't keep up with his thoughts at all, and could only laugh to himself, "Everyone misses you very much, see you later."

Shang Jianyao showed a troubled expression:

"It's a pity that I didn't bring you any gifts.

"How about I put on a show?"

"No, no need." Shen Du found that he was completely talking nonsense.

He hinted at the party tomorrow morning and said goodbye to Shang Jianyao in a hurry.

Shang Jianyao then entered the "activity center" and greeted people he knew or didn't know.

Chen Xianyu, the director of the "Activity Center", was sitting on a creaky little bench. When he saw Shang Jianyao coming in, he hurriedly raised his right arm and waved, beckoning the other person to come to him.

"How was it? How was the harvest this time?" he asked curiously.

Without waiting for Shang Jianyao to answer, he pointed to the scattered items in front of him:

“Do you want the old man to help you sell it?

“Only a small number of contribution points are extracted.”

Shang Jianyao squatted down, picked up the tattered mechanical watch that Old Man Chen had not sold for a long time, and asked seriously:

"Would it be too crowded for the armored vehicles to be placed here?"

"?" Chen Xianyu didn't understand what the other party meant.

Shang Jianyao continued to ask:

"Can heavy machine guns be sold in a place like this?"

"You think the company is dead!" Old Man Chen instinctively scolded, "They will definitely ask you to hand in this kind of thing! Um... that's right, you just came back, all the gains are still under review, and you won't Know what you can get at the end.”

Speaking of this, Chen Xianyu laughed and cursed:

"You can just say this directly, why go through such a big circle?

"Also armored vehicles and heavy machine guns, why didn't you say you also got a military exoskeleton device?"

Shang Jianyao thought for a while:

“It depends on whether you really want it.

"such a pity……"

"What a shame!" Chen Xianyu cursed and then asked with concern, "How is it? This field trip went smoothly, right?"

Shang Jianyao thought about it:

"Very exciting."

"It's so exciting!" Chen Xianyu said with a smile, "What kind of dangerous field missions can newbies like you do? At most, they can only hunt rabbits in the area around the company and survive in the wild."

Shang Jianyao said "hmm":

"Rabbits are really hard to deal with."

"Haha." Chen Xianyu made a mocking voice, "I remember when I first shot rabbits, I used an old-world rifle. It should be obsolete now. In short, with one shot, the whole rabbit was broken into pieces. I was heartbroken. ah……"

At this time, an employee came over to look at the items on the stall. Old Chen quickly made an introduction and stopped talking to Shang Jianyao.

Shang Jianyao slowly straightened up, walked to the most deserted place in the far corner of the "activity center", pulled up a chair, and sat down.

He didn't look for anyone to chat with, and looked around quietly:

A group of men gathered around a small wooden table, playing cards. Whoever loses the game will have their stool removed and can only squat down to play;

Beside them, there were more people crowding around, some folding their hands and making comments, some sighing loudly and expressing regret, some laughing and laughing, and some constantly urging, wanting to play;

Further away, women like Ren Jie were sitting together, chatting about various rumors within the company. Some of them were still distracted by using rags to collect shoe soles, and using wool exchanged from the "Material Supply Market" to knit their children for the winter. clothes, and feed babies with plastic bottles that have been passed down for countless generations;

In another corner, several pairs of young people each occupied a corner and whispered there. In front of them, some had packaged candies and snacks that could be eaten, and some had orange or green glass bottles. These were all " Most people only exchange some luxuries for "material supply market" during New Years and holidays, but young people who have just been assigned to work and are in the stage of love are relatively lavish, and they can still eat and drink at home anyway;

Outside the window of the "Activity Center", at the edge illuminated by the ceiling street lights, in the hidden place between the two rows of houses, figures swayed, sometimes elongated, sometimes separated;

On the way to the "Material Supply Market", someone was carrying empty glass bottles of different colors, wanting to exchange them for some contribution points;

Any relatively open areas inside and outside the house have become battlefields for children running around...

Shang Jianyao looked at this scene with a calm expression and no movement.

After he didn't know how long he watched, Long Yuehong walked in from the door.

After greeting everyone he knew in turn, Long Yuehong spotted Shang Jianyao in the corner:

"How did you come?"

He remembered that Shang Jianyao liked to stay at home at this time, waiting for the hourly news and various subsequent radio programs.

Moreover, I just came back from outside this time, so I definitely need more rest.

Shang Jianyao did not answer Long Yuehong's question, but asked with a smile:

"Why didn't you go find that Feng, that girl at the radio station?"

"Feng Yunying." Long Yuehong sat down and let out a long sigh, "I just went to look for her and found that she was in love with someone else."

Shang Jianyao sighed:

"Hey, I did some genetic modification..."

"Stop!" Long Yuehong interrupted him forcibly and said, "Actually, I can understand. I have been away for a month. I don't know when or whether I can come back. Moreover, we ourselves don't know. We have just met and are barely friends, how could she wait for me?”

Shang Jianyao glanced at Long Yuehong:

"Do you know what I'm going to say?"

Long Yuehong replied with a solemn expression:

"This is dust."

"No." Shang Jianyao shook his head, "Even if you don't go out to work, there is not much hope."

"..." Long Yuehong didn't know whether to cry or be angry, "What you said is so hurtful!"

"Let your mother introduce you to another one." Shang Jianyao pressed the table with one hand and stood up.

"Well, there are at least two months until the next field trip..." Long Yuehong nodded and asked, "Are you going back?"

Without waiting for Shang Jianyao's response, he said to himself:

"Yes, after coming back from outside, I felt that my whole body was at ease and relaxed.

"As soon as I relaxed, I felt very tired."

As he spoke, he also stood up:

"It's better to go back to sleep."

Shang Jianyao glanced at him:

"The hourly news is about to start."

"You're not tired, and you still listen to the news?" Long Yuehong was a little surprised.

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized:

In the "Old Tune Group", I may be the only one who feels so tired...

Shang Jianyao said no more, waved his hand, said goodbye to Long Yuehong, and returned to his home.

Under the white light of the ceiling fluorescent lamp, his shadow sometimes lengthened and sometimes shortened.

Not long after, Shang Jianyao opened the door and entered the room, took off his coat and lay down on the bed.

He didn't turn on the light, letting the light from outside shine in through the window, making the room half bright and half dark without any obvious dividing line.

In such silence, the loudspeaker hanging from the ceiling outside first made a buzzing sound, and then sounded a sweet and childlike voice:

"Hello everyone, I am Hou Yi, the news announcer on the hour, it is 8 o'clock in the evening...

“Today, Vice President Lin Yang, director of the company’s board of directors, inspected the ‘energy zone’ and emphasized the need to ensure energy supply in winter...

"According to the surface meteorological forecast, in the next few days, a cold wave will move south from the ice sheet, and the black marsh wilderness will drop by 5 degrees Celsius...

"...Another case of 'unintentional illness' occurred in the factory area today, and the patient has been brought under control...

“…The Entertainment Department invites the heads of various units to discuss the year-end performance report…

"..."

The sound of the radio echoed in the slightly cold room, adding a bit of life to the place.

PS: The second update is asking for monthly votes. There are two more updates during the day~