NOVEL NEXT Chapter 43 - Levels and Rules; Losing Face
The rules of the Canteen were fairly straightforward, and thankfully, there was no Instant Death Rule.
However, for He Gu, the real value lay in the Hidden Message.
【What heals you could also be poison】
Heal?
What did that mean?
Once again, he was faced with a sentence that lacked a clear implication, which gave He Gu a headache.
Did it mean He Gu needed to consume something seemingly poisonous to heal himself?
Or did it suggest that something seemingly healing was actually poison?
Before He Gu could ponder further, he suddenly heard someone shouting not far away, “444!”
He Gu looked up and saw a man in a blue Work Uniform waving at him, “You’re 444, right? Come over here!”
From the voice, it must be Supervisor 411 who had previously contacted him through the Intercom, right?
He Gu nodded towards the man and walked over. He glanced at the badge on the man’s chest, which indeed had the blue “411” written on it.
“Hello, Supervisor.”
He Gu politely greeted him.
The Supervisor was a man in his thirties, with somewhat dark skin, looking quite robust. His face was stern, the kind of man who didn’t appear to be fond of idle chatter.
When He Gu approached, the Supervisor first glanced at his badge, then frowned, “What happened to your face?”
He Gu’s right cheek had been scratched by a Black Cat at school yesterday. Although the wound had scabbed over, the scar was still quite noticeable.
Touching the scratch on his face, He Gu smiled awkwardly, “I was accidentally scratched by a cat yesterday. It’s no big deal.”
Hearing this, the Supervisor nodded, “Let’s go eat.”
With that, the Supervisor turned around and led He Gu into the Canteen.
Just as He Gu was about to get his food, he noticed the Supervisor heading to a table to sit down.
Also seated at the table was another man dressed in a Green Work Uniform like He Gu, who appeared to be about the same age as him.
The table was already set with three plates filled with food.
“Sit down and eat. This is your first meal at the factory, consider it my treat as your Supervisor.”
The Supervisor gestured for He Gu to sit down.
He Gu nodded and sat down, politely saying, “Thank you, Supervisor.”
Fortunately, there were three people at the table, not a solitary setting.
Just as He Gu sat down, the Supervisor pointed to the young man next to him, “This is also a colleague from our team, 441. He came last week.”
As the Supervisor spoke, 441 nodded and smiled at He Gu, “Hello, newbie.”
He Gu also nodded in greeting, “Hello.”
After the brief introduction, the Supervisor asked He Gu, “Can you finish all of it?”
He Gu glanced at the portion of food on his plate and nodded, “I can finish it.”
The Supervisor nodded, “That’s good. The Canteen has rules. No leftover food. If you can’t finish it, say it early.”
“Let’s eat first, and we can chat later.”
With that, the Supervisor stopped talking and started eating.
He Gu also picked up his chopsticks and looked at the plate in front of him.
There were seven types of dishes, both meat and vegetables. The food seemed quite decent.
After a quick scan, He Gu noticed something blackish in his plate that looked a bit like dried tofu or tree bark.
“What is this?”
He Gu asked with a puzzled look.
441 across the table glanced at it and laughed, “Oh, this? This is a specialty dish of our factory, called Medicine Skin. It’s good stuff, very nourishing!”
With that, 441 winked and made a “you know what I mean” expression.
The Supervisor, who was busy eating, looked up and his face suddenly darkened, “Why did you serve this to the newbie?”
Seeing this, 441 shrank his neck and laughed awkwardly, “Well, he’s going to eat it sooner or later. And maybe brother 444 might even like it?”
Listening to their conversation, He Gu glanced warily at 441, and sniffed the piece of dark “Medicine Skin”. It seemed to have a faint aroma of herbs.
The Supervisor explained from the side: “This is some kind of leftover from a Chinese medicinal ingredient. It’s edible and the factory provides it to the Canteen.”
“It tastes average, but it has effects like promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, and accelerating wound healing.”
“It’s already in your bowl, don’t waste it. Eat it, especially since you have a wound on your face.”
Having said that, the Supervisor gave 441 a glance, a somewhat displeased expression on his face, before he continued eating.
Observing the expressions of the Supervisor and 441, and looking at the dark “Medicine Skin” on his chopsticks, He Gu felt a sense of unease.
Could eating this cause any problems?
But the Supervisor had said so much already; would not eating it pose a risk?
He Gu quickly pondered in his mind, finding himself unable to decide for a moment.
Just then, He Gu suddenly remembered Rule One: “You may trust people wearing blue Work Uniforms.”
And the Supervisor was wearing a blue Work Uniform!
This rule was not an Instant Death Rule, and He Gu still couldn’t determine its authenticity.
From three years of watching live streams, He Gu knew that with rules, it was better to believe they were true.
When unable to distinguish between truth and deceit, always treat it as truth!
Having thought this far, He Gu gritted his teeth and ate the piece of dark “Medicine Skin”.
The texture was somewhat like pork rind, but a bit tougher, salty and savory, with a faint herbal taste. It was still acceptable.
After eating the “Medicine Skin”, He Gu didn’t feel anything wrong.
It seemed that this thing was indeed harmless, at least it wouldn’t poison him.
He Gu relaxed and started eating the rest of his meal vigorously.
No one spoke at the table; the three of them just ate their own food.
After about ten minutes, He Gu finished his meal and looked up to see that the Supervisor had finished a while ago.
The Supervisor handed a napkin to He Gu to wipe his mouth, then started speaking: “You’re a newbie. I need to explain the rules of the factory to you.”
He Gu immediately nodded: “Please, go ahead.”
The Supervisor continued at a leisurely pace: “Firstly, let’s talk about ranks. Workers in the factory are classified into ranks, also known as job ranks.”
“You don’t need to look at other people’s badges, or ask their names. You can tell their rank from their clothes.”
The Supervisor pointed at He Gu’s Green Work Uniform: “The green Work Uniform you’re wearing represents the lowest rank. Above that, there are blue, purple, and orange ranks.”
“Occasionally you may see people in suits; they’re usually high-level executives.”
Here, the Supervisor paused, before continuing: “Of course, everyone in the factory is equal. You don’t have to curry favor with anyone, even if they wear an orange jacket or are high-ranking executives, you can ignore them.”
“I mention this because there are many places in the factory where access is restricted by rank. Doors marked with green can be entered by those of green rank and above. Those marked with blue can be entered by blue-ranking staff and above, and so forth.”
“Given your current rank, except for places marked with green or unmarked, you are not authorized to enter. Remember this well.”
“By the way, there are a few old warehouses in the storage area with seals on them. Although there aren’t any signs, these are restricted areas of the factory. Stay away at all costs.”
…
The Supervisor spoke without any particular expression, methodically explaining the rules of the factory to He Gu.
He Gu listened attentively, suddenly feeling an itch on his right cheek.
It was fine at first, but the itchiness became stronger as time passed.
He Gu instinctively scratched his right cheek, only to feel something sticking to his hand.
Looking down, He Gu was startled to find a piece of shriveled skin stuck to his hand…