DipNovel Chapter 139 Staff Canteen
Chapter 139 Staff Canteen
Still shaken by the riot at the garment factory, the four silently left the work area.
I arrived at the staff canteen at exactly 6 p.m.
In front of the canteen, groups of three or five prison guards in black uniforms poured in.
Lin Feng was about to follow the crowd inside when he noticed a group of trainee prison guards gathered around the cafeteria door, whispering to each other against the wall.
He exchanged a glance with Wasim, and the two quickly pushed through the crowd.
On the wall, a "Dining Rules for the Cafeteria" was emitting the smell of ink:
[Rule 1: All diners must remain quiet, behave politely, consciously maintain dining order, cherish food, and avoid waste.]
[Rule 2: "Today's Special" is a reward for prison staff. Please choose it first and eat it all; do not waste it.]
Lin Feng's gaze lingered on the phrase "must finish it all" for a moment, his brow gradually furrowing.
The rules clearly contradict Leng Meng's warning!
After a moment's consideration, he tipped the scales of trust toward Leng Meng.
There are two reasons:
1. The more a rule emphasizes something, the more suspicious it seems;
2. If Leng Meng wanted to harm him, she could have dealt with him for bribery in the office long ago. Why would she need to set up a trap in the cafeteria?
Given her overwhelming strength, she had absolutely no need to resort to such petty tricks.
[Rule 3: If the cafeteria experiences a complete power outage due to an "accident," please close your eyes immediately.]
Do not open your eyes, no matter what you hear or smell.
A bell will ring once in the darkness; that's a safety signal.
We will remember those who opened their eyes before hearing the bell.
"We will miss them..." a hoarse voice uttered the last sentence.
After a brief silence, another voice, filled with shock, blurted out: "Does that mean... they sent it?!"
These words were like a piece of ice smashed on the ground, sending a chill down the spines of everyone watching.
[Rule 4: If you feel an inexplicable gaze upon you, immediately go to the "Confession Corner" (below a painting of the ocean on the wall). Stand there quietly for one minute, and the gaze will shift.]
[Rule 5: The dining hall is for uniformed staff only. If you see anyone in prison uniform eating there, do not look them in the eye and immediately report them to the nearest official prison guard in a black uniform.]
[Rule 6: There is a wobbly table leg on the northwest corner table (number A-13) in the cafeteria. Sometimes, fragments of notes left by previous diners are hidden underneath it. Please retrieve them without attracting the attention of others.]
There are six rules in total.
After carefully reading and memorizing the text, Lin Feng turned to his companion and whispered, "Let's go inside and eat."
Ryuichi Kamishiro clenched his fingers tightly: "But we haven't figured out the reason behind these six rules yet..."
Wasim smirked: "If you could survive just by analyzing things, so many people wouldn't have died in the Ghost Stories Challenge."
There's an old saying in my hometown: "If someone comes with a hand, block them with your hand; if someone comes with a foot, block them with your foot." Let's go, what we have to face, we have to face.
........................
The four of them stepped into the cafeteria, where the interior space was more spacious than they had imagined, and the stark white fluorescent lights illuminated every corner.
The air was filled with the steam from stewing food, disinfectant, and a faint, unsettlingly sweet, fishy smell.
Looking around, almost all the people were formal prison guards in dark black uniforms. They ate in silence and talked in hushed tones, creating a repressive yet orderly rhythm.
The absence of any prisoners, which should have been reassuring, inexplicably amplified the sense of isolation here.
Lin Feng's sharp gaze swept across the surrounding walls.
Several decorative oil paintings hung on the wall, and his gaze quickly settled on the south wall—where a rather large ocean painting hung.
In the picture, a lone white sailboat struggles to navigate through dark green waves.
The sky was covered by a thick layer of leaden-gray clouds, with only a faint sliver of light peeking through, barely revealing a bleak hue.
However, what Lin Feng found slightly unusual were the waves:
Their tumbling shapes and the white waves they create present an unnatural sense of repetition, revealing a sense of boredom and weariness that the painter is unwilling to expend effort to create variation.
Is this the "confession corner" mentioned in the rules?
He subtly noted the location, glancing at the other paintings out of the corner of his eye.
Of the other five paintings, two landscapes depict a somber forest and a desolate wasteland at dusk.
The three oil paintings with religious themes seemed both unfamiliar and heavy to Lin Feng.
In the first painting, a simply dressed middle-aged man looks up in the pre-dawn light, his face filled with indescribable sorrow, and a tear about to fall wells in his eye.
The graphic violence of the second painting made him feel slightly nauseous.
A handsome young man was tied to a tree, his body riddled with arrows, like a human target used in a cruel test.
The last painting is relatively serene, depicting a young girl in a study who is startled by a sudden burst of light.
She instinctively crossed her arms over her chest, her face a mixture of fear and submission.
But the "messenger" in front of her—whose face should have been that of an angel—was completely shrouded in thick shadows.
Then, Lin Feng casually strolled towards the northwest corner.
[Cafeteria Rule 6: There is a wobbly table leg on the northwest corner table (number A-13). Sometimes, fragments of notes left by previous diners are hidden underneath it. Please retrieve them without attracting the attention of others.]
He quickly spotted the table—the number "A-13" was clearly affixed to the corner.
Moving my gaze downwards, I saw a small piece of paper folded into a square under the leg of a table on one side of the aisle.
However, four burly prison guards were sitting at that table.
They ate and chatted quietly, their voices mingling with the noise of the cafeteria.
But Lin Feng's keen hearing still managed to catch some fragments:
"...That new female prisoner, the one named Nice...damn, her figure..."
"...Tsk, even a sow looks like Diao Chan, you really don't have any taste..."
"Bullshit! I saw it with my own eyes, that woman's skin was blindingly white when she was taking a bath..."
"...I heard her sentence is quite long? Hehe, that means there will be plenty of opportunities to 'educate' her in the future..."
Lin Feng frowned, then turned around and met Vassim's gaze behind him.
Without a word, Wasim had already seen the papers under the table leg. His rugged face remained expressionless; he simply gestured slightly with his eyes towards the empty "B-11" dining table not far away and said in a low voice:
"I'll go save a seat first, and I'll go after you guys get your food."
Lin Feng nodded, and together with Tom and a nervous-looking Ryuichi Kamishiro, joined the line for food...