Chapter 6

"A price, three blessings..."

Shang Jianyao glanced at the human-shaped shadow and walked straight past it, heading deeper into the hall.

The "figure" remained unchanged, still repeating the phrase "a price, three blessings" endlessly.

Several minutes later, Shang Jianyao reached the back of the hall and saw a heavy gray stone door.

It was embedded in a black metal wall, bathed in the light of the "stars," highlighting three indentations on its surface.

These three indentations were located two meters high, one above and two below, like the three vertices of an equilateral triangle.

Shang Jianyao gazed quietly for a few seconds, and his eyes suddenly reflected the brilliant "stars."

He then leaned forward, placing both hands on the gray stone door.

The indentations on the surface of the stone door lit up with white light, as if "stars" had fallen from the sky and struck them.

Inside these three "stars," illusory words quickly appeared, but they seemed to roll and change with Shang Jianyao's thoughts, never settling.

The heavy, double-leaf gray stone door creaked but refused to open a crack.

Shang Jianyao paused, took a breath, and then pushed again.

The "stars" in the three indentations dimmed as he stopped, then blossomed with bright, pure light as he exerted new force.

The illusory words inside them slowed their rolling but still did not stop.

The stone door trembled slightly but did not budge.

Shang Jianyao pushed the stone door again and again. In the end, the veins on his forehead bulged, his face twisted and fierce, as if he had used all his strength, but still achieved no better result.

"Phew." He exhaled, paused, and stood in front of the door, watching the three "stars" in the indentations quickly dim and disappear.

He gazed quietly at everything, not moving for a long time.

After a while, Shang Jianyao smiled slightly, brought his right index and middle fingers together, and pressed them to his brow.

In the next second, he seemed to become "deeper."

Then, Shang Jianyao put his left hand in his pocket, extended his right hand, and casually pressed it on the gray stone door.

This time, he clearly did not exert much force, but the "stars" reflected in his eyes became clearer and more brilliant.

On the gray stone door, the "starlight" in the three indentations suddenly brightened, forming white orbs. The illusory words also appeared, but their changes gradually slowed.

Finally, they stabilized.

In the order from top to bottom, left to right, the words in the three white orbs were:

"Detective Clown," "Sentimental Person," "Missing Hand Movements."

The gray stone door trembled slightly and retreated a bit with a creaking sound.

Behind the widened door crack, a faint light flickered, and a silver-white metal staircase stood quietly in the darkness.

Shang Jianyao tried to reach his hand through the door crack but failed.

He then tried to push his foot in, but that also failed.

He used his hands and feet, changing various positions, from standing on one leg to a straight handstand, but none of these efforts succeeded.

After testing, he confirmed that he could only fit the tips of his fingers and the tip of his nose through the door crack.

No matter how he concentrated, the gray stone door did not retreat any further.

After repeated attempts, Shang Jianyao's figure gradually became blurry.

He finally stopped, watching his body fade away.

In Room 196, Area B, 495th Floor, Shang Jianyao, lying on the bed, opened his eyes.

He saw the four-paned window illuminated by the streetlights, the wooden table bathed in dim light, the living room gradually transitioning from light to darkness, and the far end of the bench and the edge of the old bed in the dimness.

The surroundings were so quiet.

Suddenly, the loudspeakers hanging from the ceiling of the street sounded, emitting a sweet, childlike voice:

"Hello everyone, I am the news broadcaster Hou Yi. It is now 8:00 PM...

"At 5:20 PM, a small fire broke out in a factory on the 102nd floor, resulting in one death and three injuries. The fire has been extinguished, and the loss of materials is being tallied. The company's board of directors, Vice President Ji Ze, emphasized again: 'Fire is merciless, and the alarm must always be sounded'...

"Starting tomorrow, the No. 2 reactor in the 'Energy Zone' will be shut down for maintenance. All employees' energy rations will be reduced by one-quarter, with no set recovery time...

"Chief Scientist Sun Chuci of the 'Geothermal Research Institute' stated that they are exploring a better geothermal utilization model, which can maintain the optimal environment for some areas of the 'Internal Ecological Zone' while bringing a certain change in night temperatures to the 'Living Zone'...

"At 6:40 PM, a dispute occurred in the 'Employee Cafeteria' on the 577th floor. An employee accused a cafeteria server of being unfair, stating that his portion of meat was about one-tenth less. The 'Order Supervision Group' of that floor has intervened in the investigation...

"From 7:20 PM to 7:30 PM, two male employees fought in the 'Activity Center' on the 414th floor. The 'Order Supervision Group' of that floor has intervened in the investigation, and the specific cause is pending. According to other employees at the scene, the incident is related to the results of the unified marriage allocation...

"...

"...

"In the final news, as always, a song will be sung a cappella. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you.

"..."

Shang Jianyao lay on the bed, out of the reach of the streetlights, listening to the broadcast with a calm expression, making no movements.

Unconsciously, he fell asleep.

When he woke up, the streetlights outside had already turned off, and the surroundings were pitch black.

The cold night air filled the room. Shang Jianyao found that he had already taken off his clothes and curled up in the bed, and even covered himself with the dark green thick cotton coat by the bed.

He had no clock and did not know what time it was, but he was sure it was not yet 6:30 AM, as the streetlights had not turned on.

He estimated that he had fallen asleep before 8:30 PM the previous night, more than two hours earlier than usual, so he woke up earlier than usual.

Feeling the bulge in his lower abdomen for a few seconds, Shang Jianyao reached for a bulky black plastic flashlight beside his pillow and pushed the switch forward.

A focused beam of light shot out, illuminating the sink across the room.

"Forgot to wash my face, brush my teeth, and soak my feet..." Shang Jianyao muttered, suddenly throwing off the covers and getting out of bed.

In the company, only higher-level employees and managers with private bathrooms could bathe in their own facilities. Others had to go to the large public baths attached to the "Activity Center."

And except for employees in special positions who needed to wash their bodies daily, everyone was limited to two baths per week, which could not be accumulated.

After getting out of bed, Shang Jianyao did not delay. He put on the dark green thick cotton coat, took the flashlight, and hurriedly opened the door, heading straight for the public toilet at the end of the street.

The batteries in the flashlight were part of the energy ration, so he dared not waste them. Many employees kept buckets and chamber pots at home to avoid going out at night, but these items also required contribution points to obtain.

At this moment, the public toilet was empty and unoccupied. The motion-sensor lights lit up dimly with Shang Jianyao's footsteps.

After taking care of his physiological needs, Shang Jianyao walked out of the public toilet, preparing to go home.

At that moment, he saw a beam of light from a flashlight coming from the corner of the corridor.

A few seconds later, a man wearing the same dark green cotton coat as Shang Jianyao walked quickly past, heading in the opposite direction of the public toilet.

Shang Jianyao stared for two seconds, then suddenly turned off the flashlight and ran silently in the darkness toward the small patch of light created by the other person.

Soon, he approached the man and recognized him as a middle-aged employee from a nearby street, Uncle Shen Du.

"Hey!" He suddenly darted out of the darkness and patted the man's shoulder.

Shen Du's hand trembled, almost dropping the flashlight.

He looked at Shang Jianyao with fear and relief, saying:

"Xiao Shang, you scared me to death!

"Don't suddenly approach and greet people in the middle of the night!"

Shang Jianyao smiled and said:

"Good evening, Uncle Shen. I wanted to ask what time it is."

"It's not yet 6:00 AM." Shen Du responded instinctively.

Outside his house was a crossroads with a wall clock.

"Where are you going, Uncle Shen?" Shang Jianyao looked around.

"I'm, I'm going to the toilet..." Shen Du stopped mid-sentence.

He was heading in the opposite direction of the nearest public toilet.

In the flashlight's light, his refined face was pale and green, whether from the cold night air or for some other reason.

After organizing his thoughts, Shen Du forced a smile:

"I'm going to the public toilet in Area C. Ah, I dropped something there last night while playing at the 'Activity Center.' I just realized it when I got up and wanted to find it quickly."

Shang Jianyao nodded, his deep brown eyes seeming to absorb the surrounding darkness.

He chuckled:

"Uncle Shen, look, you're wearing a green coat, and I'm wearing a green coat. You're a man, and I'm a man."

Shen Du was confused for a moment, then suddenly understood:

"So, we are fellow believers!"

He immediately became enthusiastic:

"You're also going to listen to the 'Guide's' sermon, right?"

"Yes." Shang Jianyao smiled in response.

PS: Please give me a recommendation!