Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 32 Field Trip
In Nan Yiwei's convoy, there was an armored vehicle fully loaded with boxes of clean water and high-grade medicines.

Shercohn expressed his sincerest gratitude and then ordered his men to "distribute the supplies properly."

The car came to a complete stop.

Nan Yiwei and Luo Luo got off the bus one after the other.

As soon as Lolo's expensive custom-made princess shoes touched the ground, she immediately frowned.

“Mr. Octopus,” she called softly.

Two bionic mechanical octopuses silently slid off the car and came to her side.

They resemble humans but have eight flexible metal arms and a purified water tank hanging on their backs.

An octopus uses a high-pressure water jet to precisely clean the ground in front of it, washing away the small amount of dust.

The other one sprays a fine mist into the air, dispelling the faint smell of coal dust and sweat.

The path they walked on became spotless and filled with the fragrance of natural flowers.

Shekorn led the two along a carefully planned route.

On both sides of the road, there were refugees doing their jobs without making any noise, and most of them had their heads down.

Nan Yiwei observed for a while and recorded this scene: silence is often the perseverance after enduring hardship.

Her gaze fell on the metal collar around her neck.

“Ms. Nan, that’s a friendship collar.”

Shercohn was well-prepared for this and spoke eloquently:

"It is mainly used for tracking and positioning to facilitate digital management, which can also reduce the number of supervisors and avoid putting pressure on workers."

"Yes, I've also seen it in the Zhongdu border defense area."

Nan Yiwei said thoughtfully, "It's a clever social management design that aligns with the philosophy of order."

"Your summary is spot on."

She took out her notebook and wrote down the sentence.

After a while, the two were taken to the model workshop.

A row of brand-new machines emitted a rhythmic, deep rumble.

Those selected, kind-looking refugees performed repetitive tasks on the assembly line.

Through repeated rehearsals, their movements became perfectly synchronized.

Nan Yiwei asked with a scholarly curiosity, "This is really interesting. The machines have a strong sense of rhythm. I think the workers in this environment must be able to enter a state of complete focus, right?"

One of the migrants paused for a moment, then understood the overseer's look and quickly nodded: "Yes, I like it very much."

Zhuang Fan stood not far away, as a member of the model workshop.

He knew that if this noise continued for more than three months, it would cause permanent hearing damage.

High-intensity repetitive labor will only cause incurable strain on their joints.

Seeing that everyone was using simple and crude tools, Nan Yiwei sincerely suggested:
"Commander, if we equip them with more ergonomic tools, their productivity should increase significantly, right? Perhaps we can set up a research group on this."

Shekorn readily agreed, praising her wisdom and kindness repeatedly.

Zhuang Fan glanced at her, then looked away from her clean, sincere face.

After leaving the workshop, the group arrived at a designated visitor area of ​​the mutant camp.

A group of bear-men were struggling to move concrete blocks, elephant-men were in charge of loading and unloading, and shark-men were still tearing logs with their teeth.

Nissen saw his former boss in the distance and became excited, his mouth bulging open in a bloody grin.

But it was quickly pinned down by a group of sharks and dragged back to the camp.

"That shark has had a toothache for several days."

After Xie Ke'en gave a brief explanation, Nan Yiwei turned her gaze elsewhere.

"They found a social division of labor that perfectly suited their physiological characteristics. Isn't this a kind of primitive harmony?"

She said to Lolo beside her, "Lolo, what do you think? If we give them something to do, they won't think about rebelling. It's a win-win situation."

"Hmm, right?" Lolo felt a little sleepy.

Afterwards, they visited the nutritional paste workshop.

Initially, Shekorn advised them against going in, saying that the smell inside was unpleasant.

But they persisted.

When Nan Yiwei saw with her own eyes that the black cockroaches had been crushed into powder and learned that it was the daily staple food of the refugees, she showed physical discomfort.

"Why... do we have to eat this? Isn't there any bread? Or potatoes?"

"These proteins are actually more nutritious than bread and are completely sustainable, providing them with the minimum calorie needs for the whole day."

Shercohn calmly explained, "Of course, it tastes like chewing wax, and the texture is just so-so."

After some embellishment and refining, Nan Yiwei gradually came to accept this view and carefully wrote it down:

"This is a profound reflection on the extravagant food culture of Zhongdu, and a testament to the great wisdom of human civilization in the face of adversity."

In the visitor area, she saw an elderly convict whose face was etched with wrinkles like a dried-up riverbed, a testament to his suffering.

She felt that the old man possessed a primal and tragic beauty.

So she took out her flexible drawing board and asked the old man to sit down so that she could “capture this noble soul weathered by time.”

Lolo felt that drawing only one face was too boring.

She picked up a heavy iron pickaxe from the side, handed it to the old man, and began to instruct him on the movements.

"You need to make a hoeing motion, bend your waist a little more, and look more pained; that's how you convey a sense of power."

Nan Yiwei gave the old man an apologetic look and said she would finish the painting soon.

The elderly man had not consumed enough calories for two days, and his strength was already exhausted, causing him to experience bouts of dizziness.

Under the watchful eyes of the guards, he could only remain bent over and stood there for more than an hour.

Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the ground.

After completing the line drawing, Nan Yiwei used the panel to generate the artwork with one click, and then saved it with satisfaction.

She thanked the old man, turned around politely, and asked Xie Ke'en to reward him with 1000 credits.

After the group left, the old man fainted and was dragged away like a sack.

Immediately afterwards, Nan Yiwei arrived at the front line.

She gazed at the desolate wasteland and said to her assistant:
"Can you feel it? That desolation, that oppressive feeling of being pressed in step by step. This is the first time I've truly experienced such a sensation. It's wonderful."

Lolo frowned; she couldn't stand it here any longer and went back to change into a new pair of boots.

Mr. Octopus had already filled several cans with purified water, creating a clear waterway along the main road.

Not far away was a coal mine site, where several child laborers with chapped lips were gathered around a water pit, scooping up water with their hands and secretly putting it into their mouths.

The foreman was terrified and, taking advantage of Nan Yiwei's inattention, immediately arrested them all.

Even the slightest disturbance drew the group's attention.

She saw a young child laborer staring longingly at her assistant's bottled water.

Her heart softened.

So she took out a beautifully packaged chocolate from her pocket and handed it to the boy with a gentle gesture.

The boy was terrified.

Pushed by the guard's rifle butt, he stretched out his calloused little hand and carefully took it.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

The child didn't understand what growing up meant, but under the watchful eye of the overseer, he knew he had to recite his lines:

"I want to become a proud coal miner."

"you are awesome."

Nan Yiwei recorded this scene and then left satisfied.

Less than a minute after he left.

The overseer snatched the chocolate, accused the boy of feigning helplessness to solicit "illegal items," and dragged him back to the coal mine by the hair.

Before leaving the border area, Nan Yiwei insisted on interviewing a refugee in order to obtain the most authentic first-hand information.

Xie Ke'en immediately thought of Zhuang Fan. This man was obedient, sensible, and good at flattery; he probably wouldn't say anything out of line.

Nan Yiwei chose Hua Sheng, perhaps because she valued his youthful and innocent charm.

Xie Ke'en had Zhuang Fan stand by the office door, ready to be called upon at any time, and to be replaced if Watson disobeyed.

A manager pulled Watson aside and gave him a stern warning in an unquestionable tone.

For every question, you must know how to answer it and what not to answer it; you are absolutely not allowed to give random answers.

Good performance earns you 1000 credits. Bad performance means no tomorrow.

Watson agreed; he had no other choice.

Nan Yiwei's question was very sincere: "They say that labor can redeem the soul. In the process of contributing to the construction of Linhai City, did you find a sense of mission?"

Watson lowered his head and mechanically replied, "It is my honor to serve the city."

"After you pay off your debts and leave the camp, what are your dreams for the future?"

My dream is not to die in a horde of zombies.

"My dream is to stay in the city, find a job, and support myself."

Nan Yiwei continued, "Having shared joys and sorrows here, the bond between the workers must be very strong, right? Are they like family?"

Watson recalled that a few days earlier, someone had smashed another person's head with a rock over an expired protein bar.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Although you may lack material possessions, your inner world must be very rich, right? Could you share some of your happy experiences?"

Watson remained silent for a moment, unable to think of any answer that matched her imagination.

"Or some stories, anything will do."

Watson hesitated for a moment before deciding to recount his and his sister's ordeal.

My sister, Huaxin, has lung problems.

"We served in an underground textile factory. There were no windows, and the air was always filled with cotton lint and dust. We had to shout to be heard."

"Her cough got worse and worse, and later, there was blood in what she coughed up."

"I went to the foreman and used the protein blocks I had saved up for a month to beg him to replace my filter mask with a clean one."

"He accepted my food, pointed to the oldest carding machine in the workshop, and said that the gears inside were always stuck with cotton fibers. He told me to climb in and clean it, and then he would give me a brand new mask."

"The safety door of that machine is broken, and the power switch is unstable, often tripping and restarting automatically."

"But I went in."

"I told my sister to close her eyes and not look."

"I turned off the power switch and climbed inside. It was dark and smelly inside, and I couldn't see anything at all."

"When I was almost finished cleaning, I heard a buzzing sound of electricity, the machine restarted, and the drum started spinning faster and faster, and I couldn't get out."

"I heard my sister screaming outside and pounding on the machine casing, but the emergency brake lever was too far away for me to reach."

"Later, I saw the exposed gear set next to me, and I didn't hesitate."

As Watson spoke, he raised his left hand, revealing that only half of his little finger remained.

"I put my left hand into the gears, the whole machine stopped for five seconds, and then I rolled out of the waste chute."

"When the foreman saw me come out, he was a little disappointed, and then he threw the mask in my face."

He paused for a moment, looking at Nan Yiwei with an empty gaze.

"That night, my sister put on a mask and didn't cough all night."

After listening, Nan Yiwei's eyes reddened slightly, and she praised it as "a good story full of tragic power".

Watson's lips moved.

"Madam, this is true."

"Sorry," Nan Yiwei immediately corrected.

Shekorn gave him a warning look.

Nan Yiwei sensed something, turned to look at Xie Keen, and politely said, "I have a personal question that I would like to ask Watson alone."

Shercohn readily agreed and took a few steps back.

The miniature communicator in his ear allows him to clearly hear every word in the office.

Nan Yiwei leaned forward and lowered her voice:
"Please tell me the truth: in the refugee camps, were there any wage deductions, any abuse, or any form of forced punishment?"

Watson didn't need to look up to feel the warning look in Shaco's eyes.

He shook his head.

"There is no wage deduction. This is actually a factory, not much different from the outside. Everyone is working hard to pay off their debts and try to get out as soon as possible."

After the interview, Nan Yiwei made a sincere promise.

"You're a good person. Maybe I can do something for you. How much debt do you still have?"

These words gave Watson a glimmer of hope.

The assistant frowned and whispered in her ear:
“Miss, intervening in the fate of individuals may be seen as favoritism and would disrupt the delicate balance in the camp.”

Watson had excellent hearing and heard everything.

After a moment's thought, Nan Yiwei abandoned this immature idea that had just begun to emerge.

"Perhaps I should use novels to awaken everyone, as that would have more universal value."

Watson's flame was extinguished; he could even hear a "poof" sound.

Zhuang Fan's observation of everything, devoid of understanding and compassion, is itself a form of violence.

At that moment, Lolo rushed in impatiently.

"It's so boring here. Let's hurry into the city. I want to go to the shopping mall."

Nan Yiwei stopped the interview.

Zhuang Fan, who was standing by the door, did not get a chance to be interviewed.

The two were preparing to return to their hideout.

Nan Yiwei suddenly turned around.

She asked Watson if he could give her a personal item as a symbol of her resilience.

"If I see this item while I'm creating, it might remind me of everything that happened today."

Shekorn immediately replied, "Of course, it would be his honor."

He ordered Watson to get it.

Watson returned to his hideout and stood on his bunk, lost in thought. The place was empty, and he had nothing on him either.

"Can I just bite into the remaining half of the protein bar?" he asked Zhuang Fan in a low voice.

"You could face dire consequences."

Shekorn, growing impatient waiting outside, went into the hideout and scolded him for being so slow.

"No personal belongings?"

His gaze fell on Watson's neck, on the wooden pendant tied with hemp rope.

"Wouldn't this work?"

Watson instinctively covered it with his hand; it was the only keepsake his parents had left him and his sister.

Xie Ke'en reached out and roughly tore off the pendant, threw away the rope, and then walked out of the hideout.

Nan Yiwei took it.

She thought it was a miniature desk ornament used to hold down book pages. "Watson, I didn't know you liked reading."

She wanted to show it to Luo Luo, but the latter waved it away dismissively.

"It smells bad."

Mr. Octopus immediately stepped forward, carefully took the pendant, threw it into the sealed box, and began deep cleaning.

Watson stood at the door, clutching the rope in his hand, looking as if all his strength had been drained away, and stood there dejectedly.

He dared not show any sadness.

Nan Yiwei expressed her sincere gratitude and solemnly promised:

"My novel is called 'Song of Dust,' and I will make your voices heard throughout the world."

She waved again and then boarded the all-terrain exploration vehicle.

Luo Luo didn't make eye contact with them the entire time, as if they were invisible.

The convoy started moving towards the bustling area of ​​Linhai City, the dust it kicked up like a gray curtain separating the two worlds.

Zhuang Fan watched the convoy disappear into the ruins, then looked back at the numb Watson beside him. The slight ripples in his heart subsided.

He wrote down several names:

Zhongdu, the Nan family, the Wittgen family.

Afterwards, he would personally visit them so that these high-ranking and powerful people could hear what he had to say.

The true voice from the dust.

(End of this chapter)