Cat Meat Joy Factory

Fortunately, Wang Xia still retained a sliver of rationality and didn't scream out loud. Mirror Woman glanced at the black-clad manager, tightly bound in the mirror space. Was this the legendary Zhao Yang?

Wang Quan and the others looked puzzled. But after Wang Xia's words, "He's the one who tricked us in here," everyone immediately understood the problem.

Wang Quan said, "If he's your acquaintance, then you can question him yourselves. It's best to be quick."

Every wrong has a perpetrator, every debt a debtor. Mirror Woman pulled Wang Xia and Tang Nian Ke into the mirror. As soon as Wang Xia entered, he rushed to Zhao Yang. The man surnamed Zhao was writhing on the ground like a caterpillar, both horrified and furious, shouting:

"I warn you, I am the manager! You are workers from other workshops. Not only did you trespass into Workshop C, but you also dared to hit me. You truly disregard factory rules! Do you want to rebel? Release me at once!"

Hearing this, Wang Xia paused for a moment. The surge of anger subsided, allowing him to calm down slightly: "Zhao Yang, do you still remember who I am? I'm Wang Xia, your roommate. We..."

"Of course I know who you are! Don't claim kinship. At school, we were classmates, roommates, but here, I am the manager, your superior! You are just a low-level worker! Do you understand the hierarchy?!"

Wu Da Zhuang delivered another kick, making Zhao Yang wince in pain. Seeing everyone look at him, Wu Da Zhuang casually retracted his leg: "Sorry, this guy looks exactly like the annoying manager in my workshop. I couldn't help myself for a moment."

Opening his mouth to talk about hierarchy, reeking of a eunuch, it was truly nauseating!

"You remember me, yet you still dared to send messages to trick me into this factory?" Wang Xia clenched his fist, still clinging to a last shred of hope: "Those messages inviting me, and also inviting Stubborn Kid and Bald Brother, were they sent by you?"

Although the relationship between Wang Xia and Zhao Yang wasn't particularly close, he truly didn't want to think ill of his roommate of two years in college. As long as Zhao Yang denied it, he would believe him immediately. However, Zhao Yang casually admitted:

"Yes, I sent them."

He lay curled on the ground, his face showing a mix of smugness and regret: "It's a pity only two of you came. Otherwise, I would have been promoted to supervisor by now, sitting in an air-conditioned office, instead of being stuck in this stinking workshop as a petty manager, and being bullied by you low-level workers!"

"But a higher official crushes people. No matter what, I am still the manager. You workers had better release me quickly, or if I report this to the supervisor, you'll be finished!"

Outside the mirror, Tan Ji frowned. Wang Quan also felt that Wang Xia was talking too much nonsense, but looking at Mirror Woman, she chose to remain silent. Wang Xia was currently focused on Zhao Yang, his fists clenched so hard they trembled:

"So you did it on purpose, intentionally tricking us into this evil factory to work for nothing, just so you could climb into that manager's seat?"

"Tricking what? I am bestowing a favor upon you! Our factory is the most perfect place in all of Zhong Zhou, even the entire world! Our boss is the greatest existence on this earth." Zhao Yang's eyes were filled with fanaticism: "You can join this big family, get a small position, work hard, shine, and become fuel for the factory's expansion. What a great blessing that is!"

"Wang Xia, do you think I really wanted to invite you? You're just a rich kid, relying on your family's money, driving luxury cars and living in a villa all day, only knowing how to show off wealth and flirt with girls in front of me. A person who has never worked, only knows how to spend family money, a parasite of society! I feel like vomiting whenever I see you. If my family and Stubborn Kid's group hadn't refused to come, I would never have messaged you."

"In the eyes of a manager like me, letting someone like you be the lowest-level worker is already too good for you."

Zhao Yang was so agitated that his saliva splattered everywhere, affirming confidently: "So do you understand? My invitation to you was a show of respect, granting you an opportunity for a complete transformation. This is also the boss's grace to you..."

"Slap!"

Before Zhao Yang could finish his sentence, Wang Xia was so enraged that he trembled, kicking him and then launching a barrage of punches at his face.

Indeed, "in vino veritas." Although Zhao Yang wasn't drunk, everyone could see that his mental state was abnormal; he was clearly suffering from cognitive contamination. Because of this, he spoke without restraint despite being in a disadvantageous position, revealing all the deep-seated malice he harbored towards Wang Xia. He hated the rich, felt inferior, and always dreamed of dominating Wang Xia.

Tan Ji's brows furrowed even tighter. Fortunately, at this moment, Tang Nian Ke in the mirror spoke: "Brother, stop hitting him." She stepped forward, pulled Wang Xia's arm, and gently patted his back: "Calm down, brother. You've hit him enough. Let me take over."

"No, he harmed us so badly. If I don't beat him to death today, I'll... Huh?" Wang Xia, in his fit of rage, was about to refuse, but suddenly realized something was off.

He saw his usually gentle cousin, who often wore elegant floral dresses, gently pulling him aside: "You're tired from hitting him, rest a bit." Then, the petite girl rolled up her work uniform sleeves, raised her hand, and aimed straight for Zhao Yang's face.

"Smack! Smack! Smack!"

Having been tricked into this fiery pit, Tang Nian Ke's anger was no less than Wang Xia's. If she had believed Zhao Yang and invited her best friend Zhao Yan Chun, wouldn't she have personally pushed her friend to her death? Thinking of this, she became even more furious. Her small arms tensed, delivering fiery slaps. The crisp slapping sounds, along with Zhao Yang's swollen and bruised face, made everyone wince in sympathy: "What powerful palm strikes, young hero!"

Tan Ji finally couldn't hold back anymore, urging them to quickly interrogate him to avoid wasting time. Mirror Woman glanced at him, then told Tang Nian Ke to stop.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away just now." Tang Nian Ke smiled awkwardly, pulled down her sleeves, and returned to Wang Xia's side, still looking like a gentle and adorable girl.

Wu Da Zhuang looked at Zhao Yang's face, swollen like a pig's head: "..." Little sister, this was more than "a little carried away."

Mirror Woman saw that the two had no intention of interrogating him, so she proactively stepped in front of Zhao Yang: "What was in the room you just entered? Why was it so tightly sealed?"

"That's a secret of Workshop C. You low-level workers have no right to know! And you, aren't you a factory worker? Why aren't you wearing a uniform?" Zhao Yang tried to open his swollen eyes to look at Mirror Woman. It seemed he didn't realize there was anything wrong with her deathly pale complexion, or perhaps his ability to distinguish his own kind had been completely contaminated.

Mirror Woman didn't bother to answer, only continuing to ask: "What kind of meat did you take from that room? Pork? Mutton? Beef? Rabbit meat? Human flesh? Or cat meat?"

Zhao Yang shouted: "I already said it's a secret! I won't tell you. Don't even think about turning me into a traitor to the factory!"

Mirror Woman noticed that when she mentioned cat meat, Zhao Yang's expression clearly changed. She pondered: "So it's cat meat? Are all Joy Sausages made from cat meat? That's why the stray cats attacked the workers?"

Zhao Yang frantically cried out: "No! Our Joy Sausages are all made from prime meat. Where would we get cat meat? Don't slander us, don't tarnish the factory's reputation! Be careful, we'll sue you for defamation!"

Mirror Woman carefully observed his expression: "So Joy Sausages aren't allowed to be taken out because you're afraid it'll be discovered they're made from cat meat?"

Zhao Yang insisted: "That's not true! I told you, the factory uses authentic, prime fresh meat!"

Wang Quan rejoiced: "So Joy Sausages are made from cat meat? The key rule is cat meat? Then the escape rule must also be related to cat meat!"

Ye Yu also agreed with this speculation. Just like in "The Unseen Daughter," the key rule was related to existence; or in "The Soccer Girl," everything revolved around the ball. Experienced individuals understood the importance of finding the key rule from a chaotic mess of rules. Although Ye Yu wasn't a veteran, she already had experience.

Tan Ji looked at Mirror Woman, saying in a deep voice: "It seems we have to go into that room and see."

Wang Quan suggested: "We can have someone wear a manager's uniform to go in."

Clothes were readily available, just stripped from Zhao Yang. But sizes were limited. Tan Ji was too tall, Wu Da Zhuang too muscular. Tang Nian Ke and Wang Quan had petite female figures. Mirror Woman couldn't leave the mirror. Looking them over, only Wang Xia was the most suitable. However, Mirror Woman was a bit concerned about his mental state.

But this time, despite his fear, Wang Xia proactively accepted the task. He understood that if they couldn't find the escape rule, they would die anyway. It was better to take a risk than to become a lunatic like Zhao Yang.

Zhao Yang, stripped of his clothes, cursed incessantly, still babbling about superiors and subordinates. Wang Xia didn't bother to argue. He stripped off Zhao Yang's stinky sock and stuffed it into his mouth. Thus, in the mirror space, a man appeared, tightly bound hand and foot, wearing only his underwear, with a stinky sock in his mouth—a truly unbearable sight.

Ye Yu found it disgusting and threw him out. Wu Da Zhuang and the others carried Zhao Yang like a pig, locking him in the last restroom stall. A few minutes later, Tan Ji was ready and led the way out.

Wearing a black hat and mask, he looked no different from the other black-clad workers, except for his eyes. So he pulled his hat brim low, walked with his head down, and used his peripheral vision to search for his teammate Wu Jie. However, as he approached, the nearby black-clad workers suddenly paused. Their masks twitched slightly as if sniffing something. Immediately after, they all turned their heads, their green eyes fixed on Tan Ji.

Damn it! Tan Ji cursed inwardly. He didn't hesitate, turning and running for his life. At the same time, the black-clad workers let out piercing shrieks, hunched over, and charged towards him on all fours like ferocious large cats. Wang Xia, who was about to step out of the restroom, was so scared he immediately retreated.

The other black-clad workers, hearing the alarm, also abandoned their work and collectively crawled on all fours like aggressive large cats, surrounding Tan Ji. Tan Ji, relying on his high speed, weaved through the crowd. He didn't run towards the restroom but dashed straight for the workshop exit, aiming to lure these monsters away to protect his teammates.

With no manager to control them, all twenty beast-like black-clad workers gave chase. The workshop suddenly became empty. Wu Da Zhuang looked at Wang Quan: "Now what?"

Wang Quan decisively said: "Tan Ji's speed is much faster than theirs, so he should be fine. While we have the chance, let's go into that room and see."

Although Wu Jie was probably among those nineteen workers, and Wang Quan didn't want to lose her long-time teammate, rationality told her that Wu Jie was more likely dead than alive, and even if found, he would have lost all sanity. The most urgent task was to find the survival rule; otherwise, they would all meet a similar end sooner or later.

Everyone acted together for safety. Wang Xia, in his black manager's uniform, led the way and opened the door. If anything went wrong, Mirror Woman would immediately pull him into the mirror space, while also warning the others to flee.

Wang Xia trembled as he pushed open the wooden door. A strong stench of blood and flesh assaulted their noses. Under the dim yellow light, a tall figure in an apron and black rubber boots stood with his back to them. He was busy working on a long wooden table, making heavy "thump, thump, thump" sounds. At his feet was a small cart piled high with bulging black plastic bags.

Hearing the door open, the figure didn't turn around, saying loudly: "All out of bags? Wait a moment, I'll chop up the rest of this meat and then you can take it." His voice was very loud and familiar, making Wang Xia's expression change. This voice belonged to...

Remembering Mirror Woman's instructions, Wang Xia took a deep breath and took a few steps forward. Standing beside the table, he finally got a clear look at the person's appearance and what he was doing. A tall, fat figure with a bulging belly, thick lips, and hairy hands... This person was the big-mouthed chef who had almost eaten Wang Xia in the cafeteria!

Wang Xia clearly remembered that the chef's mouth could stretch all the way to his ears, as if his entire head had been cut in half, only held together by a bit of skin at the back of his neck. At this moment, the big-mouthed chef was skillfully wielding a sharp, pointed knife, expertly deboning on the chopping board, then "thwack, thwack, thwack" chopping the meat into chunks and sweeping them into black plastic bags.

Wang Xia looked up and saw the wall covered with iron hooks, on which hung the skinned, bloody carcasses of small animals, still dripping onto the floor. In the corner of the room, several large barrels were filled with bloody hides and fur, internal organs, and stark white bones!

But what caught Ye Yu's attention the most was the small bowl on the table, inside which three pieces of meat were constantly wriggling. Those were... Oddity Cores! Ye Yu's eyes immediately changed.

"Ugh!" Wang Xia didn't care about any Oddity Cores. The strong stench and the hellish scene before him made him involuntarily gag. If he hadn't covered his mouth in time, he would probably have vomited profusely.

"What's wrong with you?" The big-mouthed chef clearly didn't have as keen a sense of smell as the black-clad workers, or perhaps his sense of smell had been numbed in this foul environment.

Ye Yu was tense, ready to rescue him, but unexpectedly, Wang Xia held his ground. He tried to lower his voice, feigning discomfort: "The weather is too cold, the wind got into my stomach, so I feel a bit unwell."

The chef stopped in surprise: "It's the middle of summer, and you say it's cold?"

Wang Xia's legs trembled. He was silent for a moment, then resolutely replied: "I have weak kidneys."

"I didn't expect someone so young to already... You must be lazy and don't exercise. Look at me, I stand in the kitchen cooking every day, and my muscles are bulging. I'm not boasting, but even though I'm over fifty, there are still plenty of girls in the factory who want to sleep with me!" The chef said with a smug expression. If one didn't look at his horrifying actions, he would seem like an ordinary, vulgar middle-aged man.

Ye Yu knew he wasn't a living person, but an Oddity entity carrying memories from his lifetime, like a programmed robot, completely different from intelligent Oddities like Wu Xi.

Wang Xia breathed a sigh of relief when the chef believed him, and casually accepted the advice. After all, he was playing Zhao Yang's role; what did Zhao Yang's weak kidneys have to do with Wang Xia?

But the chef's next words made his heart leap to his throat: "Oh right, where did this mirror come from? Why are you carrying a mirror in here?" The chef was clearly not very intelligent. He didn't realize the black-clad manager had been swapped, nor did he remember having seen this mirror during the day.

Wang Xia replied: "Ah... this was a gift from someone else. I liked it so much that I always carry it with me."

"Carrying such a big mirror? It's inconvenient, and it's during working hours..."

Wang Xia quickly retorted: "The rules don't forbid carrying mirrors while working, do they?"

The chef was stunned: "...Well, it's true it's not forbidden." Strange, that sentence sounded familiar? He felt something was off but couldn't quite figure it out. He refocused on his work. Very quickly, the cat carcass on the chopping board was finished. He skillfully packed it into a black plastic bag and threw it onto the cart. "It's done. You push this batch out."

Wang Xia replied in a low voice, holding the mirror in one hand and pushing the cart out with the other. The bloodstains on the cart made him feel disgusted. As soon as he was out the door, he was about to unload the goods and return the cart when he heard a whisper from inside the mirror: "Run!"

In the very next second, an angry roar echoed from inside the room: "Stop! Zhao Yang, stop right there!"

Wang Quan and the others held their breath. Wang Quan quickly grabbed Tang Nian Ke's hand, Wu Da Zhuang grabbed Wang Xia, and the group, without thinking, rushed straight towards the workshop exit.

"Boom!" The old wooden door was slammed open. The tall, plump, big-mouthed chef, holding a blood-stained boning knife in one hand and an empty bowl in the other, charged out. It turned out that when he had just taken down another cat carcass to gut it, he discovered that the three wriggling pieces of meat in the bowl had vanished without a trace. Only he and "Zhao Yang" had entered the room. He immediately gave chase and caught sight of "Zhao Yang" fleeing with the gray-clad workers.

"Good! So it was a premeditated scheme! The guards stealing from themselves! Thieves, factory parasites!" The chef was so angry that the fat on his body trembled, and his wide mouth opened grotesquely. He charged forward with his knife like a mad boar. "Stop, you thieves!"

"Dare to steal right under my nose, I'll skin you, hang you on iron hooks to drain your blood, then mince you and cook you into a pot of meat soup!"

Hearing those threats, who would dare to stop? Especially Wang Xia, who had just witnessed the horrifying scene in the room. He wished he had eight more legs to run faster, fearing that if he was a step too slow, he would become a pile of minced meat on those iron hooks. Tang Nian Ke, despite having the weakest physique, also ran with all her might until her face was red. Fortunately, Wang Quan pulled her along, so she didn't fall behind.

Mirror Woman was the most leisurely as she was being carried, but she wasn't idle. She used her eyes to carefully observe her surroundings under the moonlight, cross-referencing with the factory map, and continuously giving orders: "Turn left. Turn right. Turn left, go around that warehouse. Alright, stop! Climb that tree and go through the warehouse window, hurry!"

That was the warehouse filled with cardboard boxes where Wang Xia and Tang Nian Ke had hidden during the day. Wang Xia, holding the mirror, found it inconvenient to climb the tree, so Wu Da Zhuang directly carried him up, helping him squeeze through the small window. The window was a few meters from the ground, but the area below was full of cardboard boxes, so jumping down was safe. Wang Quan pushed Tang Nian Ke up for Wu Da Zhuang to catch, and then both quickly squeezed into the warehouse.

The warehouse door was locked tight, with only a few slivers of moonlight filtering through the small window, leaving the rest in pitch darkness. But that darkness brought them a sense of security. Hearing the heavy footsteps of the chef fading into the distance, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Quan then quietly asked: "Why was he so furious? What did you steal from him?"

Wang Xia was bewildered, asserting that he was so scared in there that his hands and feet were fumbling, and he didn't take anything at all.

"I took it." Mirror Woman calmly spoke: "I saw three prime Cores on his table, so I conveniently took them."

Ye Yu said it without a hint of guilt. Although they were only prime Cores, to her, they were still rare and good things. Seeing the opportunity right before her eyes, she naturally had to act. Taking advantage of the situation is always faster than waiting for ideal conditions.