[Dog Editor-in-Chief: Where are the wide shots? Why is everything a close-up, and why are some of them completely pitch black?]
"By the time I found them, it was completely dark. There was no lighting over there—and those photos aren't just black. There's an image; you just have to turn up the brightness to see it."
However, this honest explanation did nothing to satisfy the Editor-in-Chief.
[Why waste battery on corpses? Nobody cares about these smuggled Undocumented Persons!]
[I don't care how you do it, but before tomorrow, get me those photos of the scene immediately!]
Shi Rang was simply too inexperienced. After everything that had happened in Pingyuan City, he had gained some understanding of life, but it wasn't enough.
He was ultimately inept at navigating the complexities of interpersonal relationships.
If Ying Shang were by his side, she would have seen through the real reason at a glance—this wasn't about the Photographs at all. During that phone call, the Editor-in-Chief had sensed his urgent need for money and used a seemingly reasonable excuse to get a stranglehold on him. The first goal was to crush Shi Rang's pride, and the second was to use the situation as leverage to keep him on a tight leash.
If he were someone skilled at socializing, he might have scraped together some decent pictures and used them to negotiate, or deliberately stalled for time to regain control of the conversation...
However, calm and rational analysis usually only surfaced in hindsight.
And when you didn't know how to do something, you simply didn't know.
Shi Rang turned off his phone's screen, the tiny bit of good mood he had managed to muster vanishing into thin air.
"Damn it..."
For a brief moment, he considered just texting 'I quit' and walking away. But when he remembered the compensation he had risked his life to earn—even though that hadn't been his original reason for going—and the funds he would need to search for his relatives in the future, he had no choice but to hurry out the door.
He had made his choice, and he had to see it through to the end. As always, he would push forward even if he battered and bruised himself, never turning back.
It was too late to return to Pingyuan City; the train ride alone took six hours.
Besides, he wouldn't go back to that dangerous place even if it killed him.
Shi Rang decided to head to the industrial zone in Yunling City.
When he searched for a factory area that looked somewhat similar to the actual incident site, Shi Rang found himself trembling uncontrollably. The trauma left behind was too deep, and it would likely take a long time to heal. He had hesitated before leaving the house, and it was only the bright sun overhead that finally gave him the resolve.
An industrial park during the day bore no resemblance to the madness of that industrial zone at night.
'Just get this done as quickly as possible, head home before dark, and get a good night's sleep...'
-----------------
There was a rather rebellious statement in Shi Rang's personal creed:
As long as he didn't try to climb the corporate ladder and simply did his own job dutifully, he wouldn't need to understand the convoluted, unspoken complexities of society that disguised themselves as Connections and Favors.
But after spending two hours taking photos that he felt looked incredibly similar to the actual site—even waiting for a thick cloud to block the sun to get the right lighting and shadows—and sending them to the Editor-in-Chief, that creed was severely shaken.
[Do you think this chimney looks like it belongs to an abandoned factory?]
[The trees next to it are so green. Look at this yourself, does this seem realistic?]
In the past, when Shi Rang wrote short column pieces and needed photos, he would either find them online or just snap a picture of a similar-looking building. After all, nobody was going to verify whether the photo was actually the scene of the incident for a piece of fluff journalism...
But this time was different.
No matter how hard Shi Rang tried to frame the shots, the Editor-in-Chief always found a reason to nitpick. His demands were constantly changing—one moment he wanted a Night View, the next he wanted a daytime shot of a police cordon, and shortly after he changed his mind again, saying that a Silhouette at dusk would be nice too.
Shi Rang rushed back and forth between various industrial parks. He watched as the sun gradually sank lower and lower into the sky, yet he still couldn't take a photograph that satisfied the Editor-in-Chief.
Gradually, Shi Rang's mind began to detach from his body.
'Why is it always like this?'
"This is society, this is reality. Conscience is just a fairy tale to trick children. Without the Connections I provide, you won't be able to take a single step!"
The harsh, grating voice burst forth from his memories once again.
"Fine, your wings have grown strong, haven't they? You even dare to ignore my arrangements?
"Do you think you can turn around and threaten me? You want to run away from home? Then get the hell out! I don't need a useless son like you!"
Shi Rang's head grew heavier and heavier. He tried to argue with the person in his memories, but all of his rebuttals merely crashed around inside his mind before slamming heavily into his heart.
He vaguely knew the core of the problem, but just thinking about it made him want to vomit.
'Do I really have to pander to those in power and mimic their hypocritical words and actions just to survive in this world?'
This was no longer just a battle against the Editor-in-Chief; he was also fighting against that person in his memories, against those voices.
But how could a person defeat the voices inside their own head?
After running all over the industrial zones around Yunling City, Shi Rang stopped by the side of the road. The pressure made his entire body tremble, leaving him almost breathless.
Ying Shang would have told him not to overthink things at a time like this, not to constantly dwell on the past. She might have even cried with him, helping him to forget it all.
But she was gone.
He missed Ying Shang so much.
Ying Shang's name acted like a miracle cure, finally snapping Shi Rang back to his senses. He realized he had been standing by the side of the road for so long that his body had gone numb.
'I can't keep going on like this.'
'I need to find the key element, something that will strike the Editor-in-Chief utterly speechless in one blow. Only then can I set out and find her...'
He searched online to see if there were any abandoned industrial parks around Yunling City, but yielded no results. Without hesitation, he logged into the Management Bureau Main Station. Sure enough, he found his answer within this treasure trove of a website.
[Zone of Interest: The previously planned Yunling New District in the western suburbs of Yunling City has been abandoned due to the bankruptcy of the construction company. The industrial park, which boasted an investment of tens of billions and sought foreign capital for factory construction, failed to become operational...]
Shi Rang hailed a Taxi.
"Driver, head to the western suburbs. I'll give you directions.
"Try to drive a bit faster, can we make it before dark? I need to get there and back early..."
Huddled in the backseat of the Taxi, Shi Rang stared blankly as he scrolled through his messaging app, desperate for some outside support.
Other than Jun Zi, he didn't have any friends he could chat with. The online friends he used to talk to hadn't been in touch for years and were now strangers. Jun Zi had just posted an update a little while ago, looking like he was out dining with colleagues. Calling him now would probably just be a bother.
Shi Rang moved his finger away from the chat box.
Jun Zi probably wouldn't mind, but it was better not to burden him with bad news right after he was having a good time.
He returned to the Terminal Station once again, entering the chat page. He skimmed past "Agent Kyle," "Robin, Logistics Reserve Intern," and "Harvey, Assistant Director of Intelligence" who had inexplicably sought him out earlier...
Having no one to confide in, Shi Rang eventually just started browsing at random.
Clicking on Harvey's profile picture, he was surprised to discover that he could see the entries the man had recently viewed and edited. The two newest ones were [CVA-B-108-2: Stitched Walkers] and [Online Meeting Minutes]. Shi Rang opened the former in a new tab to read later, and clicked on the latter first.
[Communication Established]
[S4-Zinc: Is it secure to use the Terminal Station under these circumstances?]
[S2-Crusher: This is the fastest way to hold a meeting.]
[Proposal Created: Continue the renovation project and gradually deactivate all flagged facility systems (S11-Black Lightning)]
[Result: Rejected]
[S1-Sky Eagle: At present, we can only confirm that the 'Walkers' do not possess any plant fibers or similar structures, but we cannot rule out a connection to B-108.]
[S11-Black Lightning: The renovation project isn't something you can just halt with a word. Do you have any idea how many financial issues this will cause?!]
[Proposal Created: Revert all proposals to their state prior to the renovation project and proceed with the investigation as normal (S2-Crusher)]
[S5-Scorpion: Is there even a need to vote on this?]
[S2-Crusher: We cannot skip protocol. This incident has already proven that the renovation project was too high-profile, providing external forces an opportunity to infiltrate the facilities. Continuing it will trigger a series of security and Containment Breach incidents; we need to cut our losses. As for who the culprit truly is, we can investigate that slowly after the fact.]
[S11-Black Lightning: Fine. You're all just a bunch of armchair critics.]
[S2-Crusher: I believe you can solve the financial issues. Thanks for your hard work.]
[S4-Zinc: I am more inclined to believe this was a random accident...]
[Council Voting Summary]
[Approve: 4 | Oppose: 2 | Abstain: 6]
[Result: Passed]
Shi Rang had initially assumed this chat log was attached to a specific Record, serving as supplementary material to enrich the story's lore. But when he realized he couldn't view any information about these users with codename combinations, he gradually began to sense that something was off.
He switched to the introductory page for the Walkers and clicked [Edit], changing an insignificant period into a comma. After saving, the page updated, yet there was no trace of "Dump Truck" in the [Recently Edited Subjects] section on the homepage—as if he were a non-existent ghost.
He then accessed Robin's personal page, discovering that every single piece of the intern's information was completely exposed to him.
Upon closer inspection, he found he could even ban the account directly!
He could also read the chat logs between Robin and others!
[Group Training Employees Chat 1]
[IOI (Robin, Logistics Reserve Intern): Is the tuna casserole even meant for human consumption? Why does this dish even exist???]
[LOL (Jane, Field Operations Intern): Now you know why no one ever goes to the cafeteria.]
Shi Rang sat up straight in the back seat. His brows furrowed and raised in turn, before his expression finally settled into a stunned daze.
'Did I exploit some bug? Was I sorted into the Website Administrator permission group when I registered?!'
'When Harvey suddenly reached out earlier to ask who I was, could it be that he actually wanted to ask which admin's burner account I was using?'
'Moreover, aren't these people getting a bit too deep into their roleplay...?'
Right at that moment, the Taxi driver suddenly turned around, slapped the headrest of the passenger seat, and called out to Shi Rang.
"We're here, young man. I was almost speeding the whole way; that was fast enough, right?"
Shi Rang glanced out the window at the fiery red sunset and snapped back to reality.
"Thanks, driver!"
He jumped out of the Taxi, clutching his Camera, and sprinted straight toward the overgrown industrial zone. The tottering water towers and dilapidated buildings sent a chill down his spine, making him run even faster.
'I can make it. I can definitely get home before dark!'