The moment Ji Zhou stepped across the stone gate, he was stunned. He had expected that behind the gate would be some kind of cave, dark and humid. Instead, it turned out to be glowingly beautiful. The brightness wasn't caused by light that came out of nowhere. The walls were full of crystals that reflected the light into various colors.
"A, xīn lái de rén. Kuài, guòlái. (Ah, new man. Quick, come here)" A call from someone brought Ji Zhou back to reality.
He immediately followed the man's instructions and approached him.
The man gestured for him to sit on a stone along with the other workers, who formed a long line. In front of each seated man was a hole.
Ji Zhou tried to peek into the hole, but there was nothing besides darkness.
In confusion, he turned his head right and left, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. But no one gave him any clue. Everybody was busy with their own excitement.
Suddenly, a long whistle was heard. Then a high-pitched sound filled the room. The sound was very annoying to Ji Zhou, but to his surprise, everyone else seemed to enjoy it. It was almost as if they were listening to soothing music.
Soon, he saw something come out of the hole in front of the man beside him. It was some kind of stone, or something hard. The man quickly broke it into pieces. The broken pieces then disappeared into the hole.
A couple of seconds later, the hole in front of him shook slightly. It then brought up a similar stone. Ji Zhou immediately touched the stone, and the stone broke into pieces.
While trying to ignore the annoying high-pitched sound, Ji Zhou started his job as a breaker. Every half minute, the hole would bring him a stone-like object, and he would break it into pieces.
"bùgòu xiǎo. (It's not small enough)," The same voice earlier spoke to him again in a scolding way.
"Ó, hǎo de. Wǒ huì zuò dé gèng hǎo./ (Oh, okay. I will do better)" Ji Zhou responded with a stammer.
When the next stone appeared, he touched it twice. The stone broke into much smaller pieces.
"Na tai hao le (That's better)" The voice then said.
Ji Zhou nodded. From then on, he continued touching the stone twice.
But soon, he started to feel drained. He had never used his power for such a long period of time. He usually used it only occasionally, not in constant repetition like this.
Sweat dampened his clothes and hair. Some droplets even started to fall from his chin. He didn't know how much longer he could use his power before collapsing.
Suddenly, another long whistle was heard, followed by the stopping of the high-pitched sound and the vibrating hole.
Ji Zhou exhaled in relief. Saved by the bell, he thought to himself. While wiping the sweat from his forehead, he looked around.
The workers on his left and right started talking to one another with even greater excitement than before.
What the hell are they excited about? Ji Zhou wondered inwardly.
Soon, one of the guards told them to follow him. Within the crowd, Ji Zhou followed him through some kind of corridor.
They were led into a room. The ground of the room was roughly made into levels. Some people, most likely other workers, were already seated on the highest level. Ji Zhou saw Lou Lou among those people. Ji Zhou and his crowd were led to sit on a lower level.
It didn't take long for the room to become full. Then, a high-pitched sound was heard again. This time it was more annoying than before. Ji Zhou couldn't take it anymore. He stuck his fingers into his ears to block the sound.
It took him quite a while before he finally realized that the room was filled with... smoke?
No. Not smoke. More likely fog, or perhaps vapor.
Whatever it was, it was blocking his sight. He could barely see anything. Moreover, it was warm. No. Hot. It was hot.
A worker sitting next to him opened his clothes and then lay on the ground. Bare naked. He closed his eyes, but his lips formed a wide smile. He definitely enjoyed it.
Ji Zhou knew that man was not the only one because, not long after, he could hear pleasure-filled moans from above, below, to the right, and to the left.
To be honest, the warm vapor was actually enjoyable for Ji Zhou. It reminded him of a hot sauna. But the high-pitched sound was unbearable to him.
Ji Zhou sighed. He decided to just follow along with what the others did.
He stripped down, lay on the ground, and closed his eyes.
Soon, his eyes felt heavy.
A minute later, he was drifting away.
A loud siren woke Ji Zhou with a start. For a few seconds, he didn't recognize where he was.
Right. The sauna room, he thought inwardly when he saw the man next to him stand up and start dressing.
Ji Zhou quickly put his clothes on and stood up when the guard who had led them there arrived.
Once again, with the same crowd he had come with, Ji Zhou came out of the room.
Some workers stared. One of them was Lou Lou.
Lou Lou was hovering his hand over a stone that was held by a guard.
"Zou ba! (Walk!)" A guard commanded Ji Zhou, who had unconsciously stopped walking while watching what Lou Lou did.
"Oh.. Okay," Ji Zhou immediately obeyed. He glanced at Lou Lou.
His hand was still above the stone. A green light appeared from the stone.
"Wǒ kěyǐ wèn nín yīgè wèntí ma? (May I ask you a question ?)" Ji Zhou asked the guard who was now walking beside him.
"Shuo (Talk)" the guard groaned as a reply.
"Wèishéme tāmen dài zài fángjiān lǐ ér wǒmen bù chūlái? (Why do they stay in the room while we don't ?)"
"Tōngxíngzhèng tāmen píng jìnrù tèshū fángjiān. (They use their passes to enter the special room)"
"Tèshū fángjiān? (Special room ?)"
"Tíjiāole wǔ tiānhòu nǐ jiù kěyǐ. Rúguǒ nǐ qínfèn nǔlì, měitiān dū rènzhēn gōngzuò dehuà. (You can enter it five days later. If you are diligent and work everyday)"
"Zhège fángjiān yǒu shé me tèbié zhī chù? (What makes the room special ?)"
The guard grinned instead. "Wúfǎ wo jiěshì, bìxū qīnshēn ni jīnglì míngbái cáinéng.(I can't explain. You must experience it yourself to understand.)"