Chapter 71: Identity Plate, Probing

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Identity Plate, Probing

Normally, this temp work was grueling and exhausting.

But because Seraphina Sullivan had things to hoard, she was experiencing a certain kind of secretive joy.

She completely lost track of time.

At a certain point, the number on the electronic screen on the wall finally hit zero.

Seraphina Sullivan finally let out a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, without Seraphina Sullivan continuing to use the [Sweet Fragrance], the clarity in Ash’s eyes gradually returned.

He stared blankly at the workbench. "We... we’ve already processed this many?"

Seraphina Sullivan answered without batting an eye, "You were just too focused. You were working especially fast."

Ash rubbed his temples. He felt like something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Looking at the workbench piled high with pork and the zero on the wall, he could only attribute it to his "survival instinct."

Ash rolled his shoulders. ’My shoulders are really sore,’ he thought. ’I guess I really was too into it.’

"Our work is done. Does that mean we can rest?" Seraphina Sullivan asked, wiping the bloodstains from her hands as she turned to Ash.

She clearly remembered Kieran Hogan saying that only after completing their quota would they earn the right to rest.

Ash looked around the sealed butchering room, his brows furrowed. "I’m not sure... but they can’t possibly expect us to rest in a bloody place like this, can they?"

The cramped space was filled with the thick stench of blood, and a thin layer of sticky gore had already pooled on the floor.

Resting here? The very thought was nauseating.

Just as the two were wondering what to do...

"CLICK!"

The sealed iron door suddenly began to rise slowly, and a blinding white light shone in from outside.

Seraphina Sullivan squinted, seeing Kieran Hogan’s small, thin figure standing outside the door, his broken lenses reflecting a cold light.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Evander Hogan was right," Kieran Hogan said, his shrill voice holding a hint of appreciation. "This batch of temps really is good. You’re the second group to finish the task this quickly."

Seraphina Sullivan was taken aback.

’The second group?’

’Who was the first?’

’It must have been two of the other four Players.’

Seraphina Sullivan fell into deep thought. She had the Butcher Profession, which was perfectly suited for slaughtering, yet she was only the second to finish.

’As expected, those four Players are definitely hiding something.’

Seraphina Sullivan also realized a drawback of her Eye of Resume.

It could only see surface-level information. If a Player wanted to hide something, it wasn’t guaranteed to find it.

’I still need to be more careful.’

Just then, Kieran Hogan casually tossed two red metal tags toward them.

Seraphina Sullivan deftly caught one. It was a crudely made identification tag with the words [Temporary Worker ID Tag] engraved on the front and a string of numbers on the back.

[7-2-14]

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t understand what the number meant.

"These are your ID tags, and also your dorm keys."

Kieran Hogan pushed up his glasses, the corners of his mouth twisting into a grotesque arc. "Today’s task is done. Continue tomorrow. Remember..."

He suddenly leaned in close, his putrid breath washing over their faces.

"Don’t go wandering around the slaughterhouse, you hear? Be careful... you never know which dark corner you might end up dead in."

With that, he turned to leave.

Ash looked at the ID tag, a question suddenly popping into his head. He mustered his courage and called out, "Um... Sir, where do we eat? As temporary workers... the slaughterhouse should provide meals, right?"

Seraphina Sullivan, who had been about to walk away, also stopped. That was indeed a critical question.

’Even beasts of burden have to eat, right?’

Kieran Hogan slowly turned around, his eyes behind the lenses narrowing into slits.

He stared at Ash for a few seconds, then suddenly let out a bizarre cackle.

"The cafeteria...? Oh, you’ll have to find that on your own!" he said, deliberately drawing out his words. "But with your ID tags, you can indeed collect your employee meals~"

Seeing the grotesque smile on Kieran Hogan’s face, a chill ran down Seraphina Sullivan’s spine.

’He just warned us not to wander around the slaughterhouse, and now he’s telling us to find it ourselves. This Hogman is a real piece of work.’

’Maybe it’s because I just butchered so many pigs,’ Seraphina Sullivan mused, her right hand itching to just take the Hogman’s head off.

’And then sort his meat and hoard it, of course.’

’Those trotters would definitely be top-grade... ’

As Kieran Hogan walked away, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Ash wanted to ask something else, but in the dim corridor, only Kieran Hogan’s shrill voice was left echoing:

"Enjoy... your meal~"

Seraphina Sullivan clenched the ID tag in her hand, its metal edge digging painfully into her palm. She lowered her voice.

"Let’s find the dorms first. We can figure out how to find the cafeteria later."

Ash nodded, the scar on his throat bobbing as he swallowed. "But... do you really think they’ll give us a normal ’employee meal’?"

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t answer.

’Even if the food isn’t normal, I don’t care. I have a feast waiting for me in my Space, after all.’

The two of them walked slowly down the dim corridor. The air was thick with a foul, fishy stench mixed with the pungent, nauseating smell of disinfectant.

The emergency lights on the walls flickered, stretching and shrinking their shadows like distorted monsters.

"This factory’s hygiene standards are definitely not up to code," Seraphina Sullivan said suddenly, her voice exceptionally clear in the empty hallway.

Ash didn’t respond. He was focused on observing his surroundings, his ears perked, terrified that a rampaging Hogman would suddenly leap out from a corner, drag him into the darkness, and eat him alive.

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t mind, continuing to survey her surroundings.

Dried bloodstains on the floor, suspicious scratch marks on the walls, iron hooks hanging from the ceiling... everything seemed unsettling.

Finally, they arrived in front of a structure that resembled a honeycomb.

Countless metal doors lined both sides, each engraved with a number. From a distance, it looked like a gigantic morgue.

Seraphina Sullivan glanced down at the red ID tag in her hand—[7-2-14].

"It’s this way," she said in a low voice, walking toward one of the doors.

Just as she was about to reach it, the door to the next room creaked open with a "SQUEAK."

A slender man walked out.

Seraphina Sullivan froze for a moment, then her pupils contracted—

It was Dustin Sullivan!

But right now, he wasn’t wearing his signature hazmat suit. Instead, he was in a simple gray work uniform, looking clean and sharp.

Without the suit to hide him, his true face was completely revealed.

With picturesque features, fair skin, and a high-bridged nose, he looked exactly like an innocent college student.

But Seraphina Sullivan wouldn’t be fooled by his appearance.

’Someone who could finish the task faster than her was by no means simple.’

"You’ve finished the task as well?" Dustin Sullivan asked. His voice was as smooth as jade, yet it carried a faint, probing undertone.

At first, Ash was a bit confused, not understanding why this stranger was talking to them.

But he soon realized that Dustin Sullivan’s gaze had been fixed on Seraphina Sullivan the entire time, completely ignoring his existence.

Seraphina Sullivan subtly moved to stand in front of Ash and smiled faintly. "Yeah, just got lucky."

Dustin Sullivan’s gaze lingered on her for a few seconds before he said meaningfully, "Processing 100 ’live pigs’ in such a short time... can’t be explained by luck alone."

His eyes swept almost imperceptibly over Seraphina Sullivan’s hands, which didn’t show even the slightest tremor of exhaustion.

Seraphina Sullivan’s heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained calm. "Same to you."

Their eyes met for a second, and it felt as if invisible sparks flew through the air.

Seraphina Sullivan understood that he was testing her.