Chapter 2 Prologue

Passing by Naomi, Takashima Yuji felt an inexplicable chill creeping up his back. He stopped and looked up at Naomi's body.She still kept waving those slender arms with a blank expression, and her movements were so regular and precise that it was amazing.Her movements were as usual, and she couldn't feel anything unusual.He moved his gaze to her side and saw Chunzi standing beside her.Haruko was in charge of Naomi's previous program, responsible for detailed assembly and welding, while Naomi's work was the final assembly. Yuuji leaves Naomi and Haruko, returns to the aisle and begins his usual route.The light in the factory is dim, even if it is completely dark, it will not affect their work.Tonight is for him to leave a little light, without light, he can't even walk.He stopped every few meters to inspect the work of the silent partners on both sides of the aisle.

The time is three o'clock in the morning.In the third assembly factory, there are thirty robots in operation. They don't need to rest or eat, and they work continuously 24 hours a day.There are only two workers in this factory, including Yuji, but he has never met another colleague during working hours.Because when one of them is on the day shift and the other is on the night shift, the numbers on the two punch cards will hardly overlap. Yong Er spends the long night facing thirty cold robots, and changes shifts with his colleagues at dawn.The two only meet at this time, but they often don't meet each other, because the handover matters only need to be entered into the computer.

After get off work, Yong Er changed his clothes and went back to the single dormitory, ate the unpalatable set meal in the staff restaurant specially set up for night shift workers, took a shower, and went to bed after watching the pre-recorded video tape.Sleep until evening, get up, eat a bad meal, and go to work.Thirty robots in the factory performed the exact same work as last night with normal and regular movements.Yong Er patrols around to replenish parts. This kind of life lasts for two weeks, and after two weeks, I will be on night shift again.He has been living like this for more than a year.

I can't take it anymore, Yuuji looked up at the big welding robot and muttered to himself.After the night shift, tonight is exactly the tenth day.He wants to talk to people and feel the touch of real people. He thought of his girlfriend, with her long flowing hair and features reminiscent of Japanese dolls, with whom Yuji would meet almost every Sunday.He himself was relatively taciturn, and she was less talkative than the other young girls.Even so, time with her was a refreshing refreshment for him, enough to lift his spirits enough to fight another week. But a while ago on Sunday, because she couldn't meet because of something that couldn't be dismissed, he had no choice but to go shopping alone and then go home.Although this can change the mood somewhat, it cannot be compared with dating her.

Not seeing her for more than two weeks caused Yong Er to suffer physically and mentally.And he was on night shift, so he couldn't even make phone calls. After I get married, I have to try to ask my superiors to transfer me to the department—he reminded himself again.Although he hasn't introduced him to his parents yet, he plans to marry her so that the two can get along day and night, but if he continues his current job, it will be impossible.Both plan to go out to work for the time being, so the life of not seeing each other every two weeks will continue.However, the two-shift system is common in other departments as well. It may be impossible to avoid night shifts altogether, but it is better than it is now.At least there are real people there to work with, and that alone is tempting to Yuuji, even if the income is slightly reduced.

"I don't know which genius invented this thing. I really hope he can put himself in our shoes and think about it." Yong Er couldn't help smacking his lips as he stared at a row of machine operators. At this time, the alarm bell notifying that the situation is abnormal sounds.The alarm bell sounded from the direction where Yong Er had just come. He didn't even look at the lights flashing along with the alarm bell, and walked towards the robot that sent out an abnormal message.Just by the subtle difference in voice, he can immediately identify which robot it is.Besides, the robots that often go wrong are mostly familiar faces.

"It really is you." Yong Er muttered when he saw Haruko stopped taking parts from the parts supply equipment.Having said that, it was the parts supply facility that was at fault, not the robot Haruko.Because Assembly Plant 3 produces a wide variety of products in low volumes, with parts of various sizes sitting on conveyor belts, it is not uncommon for parts to get stuck in transit. The parts supply facility is located between Haruko and Naomi. When Yong Er saw it, it was true that the part was stuck obliquely. He tried to remove the part, but he couldn't. "You're not good, I'm angry." Yonger raised his head and said to Chunzi in a low voice.

At that moment, he saw—the shadow of Naomi on Haruko moved. He had no time to turn his head or make a sound, just when he was about to run for his life, Naomi's slender steel arm hit him hard on the head wearing a work cap. He fainted immediately, and fell down on the work platform in front of the robot. Naomi fell down on top of him.He groaned faintly, but that too died away shortly afterwards. A few seconds later, the alarm bell notifying Naomi's body of an abnormal situation rang, but no one came. This happened at three o'clock in the morning. Except for Naomi and Haruko, the robots continue to work faithfully. It took them a while to "lose" the administrator before the alarm bells on their bodies rang due to the lack of various parts.