"One price, three blessings..."
Shang Jianyao glanced at the humanoid light shadow, then directly bypassed it and walked toward the deep end of the hall.
The "shadow" remained unchanged, with the voice of "One price, three blessings" echoing endlessly.
Several minutes later, Shang Jianyao reached the innermost part of the hall and saw a heavy gray-white 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 positioned about two meters high, one above and two below, resembling the three vertices of an equilateral triangle.
Shang Jianyao quietly stared at the door for a few seconds, and suddenly, the brilliant "Stars" were reflected in his eyes.
He then leaned forward, placing both hands on the gray-white stone door.
Lights began to shine from each of the indentations, like "stars" falling from the sky, crashing into the indents.
Inside these "stars," illusory characters rapidly appeared, but they seemed to swirl and change with Shang Jianyao's thoughts, never settling.
The massive gray-white door let out a creaking sound but barely moved.
Shang Jianyao paused, took a deep breath, then pushed forward again.
The "stars" in the three indentations dimmed when he stopped, but during the new surge of force, they burst into bright, pure light.
The illusory text inside slowed, but still, it didn't stabilize.
The stone door wobbled but didn't retreat a step.
Shang Jianyao pushed the door again and again, until his forehead veins bulged, his face twisted in pain, as though he had exhausted all his strength, but the result was still poor.
"Ha." He exhaled, stopped, and stood before the door, watching the three "stars" in the indentations quickly dim, fading from sight.
He silently observed for a long time, unmoving.
After quite some time, Shang Jianyao smiled slightly, raised his right hand, and placed his index and middle fingers against his brow.
In the next second, his whole body seemed to grow "deeper."
Then, Shang Jianyao casually placed his left hand in his pocket, and with his right hand stretched forward, he lightly placed it on the gray-white stone door.
This time, he didn't exert any force, but the "Stars" reflected in his eyes became clearer and more dazzling.
Above the stone door, the three indentations lit up with a sudden burst, condensing into white spheres. The previous illusory text reappeared, but the speed of their transformation gradually slowed down.
Finally, the text settled.
According to the order from top to bottom, left to right, the text in the three white light spheres read:
"Clown of Reason," "Pretentious Person," "Loss of Hand Movement."
The stone door trembled lightly, and with a grinding sound, it moved back a little.
Behind the widening door gap, faint light flickered, revealing a silver-white metal staircase rising silently in the darkness.
Shang Jianyao tried to stretch his hand through the gap, but failed.
He then tried to insert his foot, but that didn't work either.
Using both hands and feet, he changed positions, trying everything from standing on one leg to a full vertical handstand, but none of them worked.
After testing, he concluded that only his fingertips and nose could squeeze through the gap.
No matter how much he concentrated, the gray-white stone door didn't continue to move backward.
After repeated attempts, Shang Jianyao's figure gradually faded.
Finally, he stopped moving and looked at his form growing more and more translucent.
In room 196 of Zone B, 495th floor, Shang Jianyao, lying on the bed, opened his eyes.
He saw the four-windowed view illuminated by streetlamp light, the dim glow of the wooden table, the transition from light to darkness in the "living room," and the end of the bench and edge of the old bed shrouded in dimness.
The surroundings were eerily quiet.
Suddenly, the amplifiers hanging from the ceiling of the street simultaneously blared with a sweet, slightly childlike voice:
"Hello everyone, I am news anchor Hou Yi, and it's 8 PM now...
"At 5:20 PM this afternoon, a small fire broke out at a factory on the 102nd floor, causing one death and three injuries. The flames have been extinguished, and material losses are still being calculated. Board member and vice president Ji Ze emphasized again: 'Fire is ruthless, and the alarm should always ring...'
"From tomorrow, the second reactor of the 'Energy District' will undergo maintenance, and all employees' energy allocation will be reduced by a quarter, with recovery time to be determined...
"Chief scientist Sun Chuci of the 'Geothermal Research Institute' announced that they are exploring a better geothermal utilization model, which can help maintain the best environment in parts of the 'Inner Ecosystem District' while altering the nighttime temperature in the 'Living District'...
"At 6:40 PM, a dispute occurred in the 'Employee Cafeteria' on the 577th floor. One employee accused the cafeteria staff of unfairly portioning meat, his serving being about one-tenth less than others. The 'Order Supervision Team' of that floor has intervened for investigation...
"At 7:20 PM to 7:30 PM, two male employees fought at the 'Activity Center' on the 414th floor. The 'Order Supervision Team' of that floor has intervened, and the cause is pending further notice. According to other employees at the scene, the incident was related to the results of the unified marriage arrangement...
"...
"...To end the news, here's a song performed a cappella. Hope everyone likes it, thank you."
Shang Jianyao lay back in his bed, out of the reach of the streetlight, quietly listening to the broadcast with no movement.
Unconsciously, he drifted back to sleep.
When he woke up, the streetlights outside had already been extinguished, and the surroundings were pitch black.
The cold air of the night permeated the room. Shang Jianyao realized that at some point, he had removed his clothes and crawled into the bed, still covered with the dark green thick cotton coat on the edge of the bed.
He had no clock and didn't know what time it was. He could only be sure it was not yet 6:30 AM, because the streetlights hadn't turned on.
He estimated that he had probably fallen asleep before 8:30 PM, more than two hours earlier than usual, and so, he woke up earlier than usual as well.
After sensing a slight pressure in his lower abdomen, Shang Jianyao reached for a bulky black plastic flashlight by his pillow, flicking the switch forward.
A concentrated beam of light shot out, illuminating the washbasin across from him.
"Forgot to wash my face, brush my teeth, and soak my feet..." Shang Jianyao muttered, quickly throwing off the blanket and rolling out of bed.
Within the company, only higher-level employees and managers with assigned private bathrooms could enjoy the luxury of personal hygiene spaces. Others had to use the large communal baths at the "Activity Center."
However, for employees with specific duties requiring daily body washing, they could do so up to twice a week, with unused allocations expiring and not being accumulated.
After getting out of bed, Shang Jianyao didn't waste time. He grabbed his dark green cotton coat, took the flashlight, and hurried out the door, heading toward the public restroom at the end of the street.
The flashlight's battery was part of his energy allocation, so he couldn't afford to waste it—many employees at home used wooden tubs, spittoons, and other items to avoid going out at night. Unfortunately, those also required energy contributions.
At this moment, the public restroom was empty. The sensor lights flickered on with each of Shang Jianyao's steps, dimly illuminating the space.
After taking care of his business, Shang Jianyao was about to return home when he saw a light beam clearly coming from a flashlight around the corner.
A few seconds later, a man wearing the same dark green cotton coat as Shang Jianyao walked briskly by, turning in the opposite direction from the public restroom.
Shang Jianyao watched for two seconds, then suddenly turned off his flashlight and silently ran toward the small patch of light.
Soon, he caught up with the man, realizing it was a middle-aged employee from the nearby block—his uncle, Shen Du.
"Hey!" He suddenly jumped out from the shadows and slapped the man's shoulder.
Shen Du jumped, almost dropping the flashlight.
His face showed alarm as he looked at Shang Jianyao, then sighed in relief:
"Xiao Shang, you scared me! Don't sneak up on people like that in the middle of the night!"
Shang Jianyao smiled and replied, "Good evening, Uncle Shen. I wanted to ask, what time is it?"
"Not yet 6 AM." Shen Du instinctively responded. His house was near a crossroads with a wall clock.
"Uncle Shen, where are you heading?" Shang Jianyao glanced around.
"I'm going, going to the restroom..." Shen Du stopped midway through his sentence.
He was heading in the opposite direction of the nearest public restroom.
Under the flashlight's light, his normally refined face was pale, and it was unclear whether it was due to the cold night air or something else.
He organized his words and forced a smile:
"I'm going to the public restroom in Zone C. Oh, I lost something there last night while at the 'Activity Center.' I just wanted to check it out. It's fine, really fine."