Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve
It's been the second day since they went downstairs, but today they will go to the bottom, so today is also the last day.Today, they are used to the motion of climbing stairs.Their footsteps became regular, echoing down the long, deep stairwell.Along the way, Jens has been able to immerse herself in her own thoughts, without feeling that she is going down the stairs at all.She would occasionally look up at the numbers on the landing: seventy-two, eighty-four.It's strange, why did I walk up a dozen floors all at once?Her left knee was a little painful at first, but as she walked, the pain gradually disappeared.Was it simply numb from being so tired, or was she really rejuvenated?She couldn't be sure.Moreover, she began to try not to use crutches as much as possible, because she found that every time she took a step, the crutches would often get stuck on the step boards and get in the way.She tucked the crutches under her armpits, and as she walked, she gradually realized that it would be more useful to place the crutches here, because it would make her feel as if she had an extra bone, which could last longer.
When she came to the 90th floor, she smelled manure, pigs and other livestock.Fertilizer is what these animals create.Janss originally planned to go inside and have lunch, but at this moment, she canceled her original plan and decided to continue down.Still, she couldn't help thinking about the rabbit.Back then, the rabbit escaped from another livestock area, climbed twenty floors along the stairwell without being caught, and then slipped into the soil farming area on the fifty floor, gorging itself, For three weeks, the incident turned half the bunker upside down.How on earth does it do it?
After a while, they came to the ninety-seventh floor.The ninety-seventh floor and below accounted for one-third of the entire bunker. Judging from the numbers, they had already reached the bottom floor.The entire bunker is divided into three sections of floors, each section has forty-eight floors, but her calculation is not like this.In her opinion, the 100th floor is the reasonable dividing line.Because that's like a milestone.Along the way, she kept counting how many floors she had walked. Later, when they reached the first three-digit floor, she felt that she could stop and take a rest.
She noticed that Manais was out of breath, but she herself felt refreshed, as if she had regained her youthful vigor.When she decided to go down the stairs, it was because of this hope that she did not expect her wish to come true.The day before, she had felt wasted, terrified, and exhausted. Now, those feelings were gone.At this moment, there is only one kind of fear left in her mind: she is very afraid that the feeling of fear and exhaustion before will reappear, and she is very afraid that the feeling of vitality at this moment is only temporary.She didn't dare to stop, and didn't dare to think about whether she would be tired, because she was worried that once she stopped, once she thought too much, the feeling of vitality would disappear in an instant, and she would feel tired again. In the haze of fear and exhaustion.
The floor platform is a large grid iron plate. They sat on the edge of the platform, with their elbows leaning on the railing and their feet dangling in the air. The two of them shared a small loaf of bread. They looked like two children who had skipped school.On the 100th floor, there is a constant flow of people coming and going, and the entire floor is a huge market, where everyone exchanges goods.The points that everyone gets from work can be exchanged here for things you need in life, or for anything you desire.You can see people working in various districts coming in and out here, followed by an apprentice, and you can see people bringing their families to shop, but they get separated in the crowd, calling out for their families.You can see the vendors yelling loudly and boasting.The door was fully opened to absorb more people, so the noisy voices and various smells drifted from the door to the outside platform.This platform is twice as wide as the other floors, and the grid-like iron plates are constantly vibrating, as if they are also infected with the excitement.
Looking at the crowd coming and going, looking at the unfamiliar faces, Janss could not help but be fascinated.She bit the half loaf of bread just baked this morning, enjoying the fresh yeast aroma, and suddenly felt as if she had returned to her youthful days.Manes cut a small slice of cheese and sandwiched it with a small slice of apple, and then handed it to her. At that moment, his hand accidentally touched her hand.At this moment, it is infinitely beautiful, even the crumbs on his beard are so beautiful.
"We're already ahead of schedule." As soon as he finished speaking, Manais immediately took a big bite of the fruit.For their age, this is a very exciting result and very gratifying. "I bet you that we will be able to have dinner on the 140th floor tonight."
"Now, I'm not afraid to go upstairs at all," Janss said.She had stuffed the cheese apple into her mouth and was chewing contentedly.She thought the food would taste even better when they went upstairs.However, whether it is delicious or not depends on who you eat it with.At this moment, a beggar was playing the ukulele, and the melody was mixed with the noise of the market, and it sounded so sweet.Perhaps, it is because in such an atmosphere, even ordinary things taste like delicacies.
"Maybe we should come down more often, don't you think?" she asked.
"Walking over a hundred floors? Forget it. Think about it, the scenery above us is beautiful, there are halls, and bars, so why do the people downstairs only go up once every few years?"
Janss thought as she chewed the bread.
"We don't go too far from home, do you think that's normal?"
"I don't quite understand what you mean." Manes said while chewing bread.
"Aren't you, the deputy security officer, very good at inferring hypotheses? Well, let's make an assumption. Take those ancient buildings behind the sand dunes as an example. If they are bunkers, they should often run outside the bunkers, don't you think? Do they stay in the same bunker all day? If they never come to us in their lives, and never climb up and down the stairs, do you think it is possible?"
"I never think about it," Manes said.Janss could hear him implying that she shouldn't think about it either.Sometimes, you can't be sure at all, what can and can't be talked about in the outside world.These issues are usually only discussed secretly between husband and wife. So, could it be because they have been together day and night and went down the stairs together in the past two days, which made her feel that the relationship between the two is a little different?However, it may just be because she, like others, is easily infected with the excitement after the lens is cleaned, and suddenly feels that certain regulations can be not strictly followed, and everything is full of temptation.Now that the tense emotions in the bunker have been lifted, everyone will definitely take the opportunity to vent and celebrate in the next whole month.
Manes had finished eating his bread, at this moment, Janss asked him, "Should we leave?"
He nodded, and they stood up, clearing things up.At this time, a mother passed in front of them and turned her head to stare at them.Judging by her expression, she had obviously recognized who they were, but she hurried away anyway, chasing after her children.
Janss thought to herself, the deepest floor of the bunker is like another world.It's been too long since she came down to see it.However, even though she has promised herself that she must come here often in the future, deep down in her heart, she knows that she is like a rusty old machine, and she can feel the ruthlessness of the years.She understood that coming down this time might be the last time in her lifetime.
Every time you pass through a floor, you will see a new scene, but it will soon disappear behind you.When they reached the 130-story building, they passed the soil cultivation area on the ground floor, and passed a larger livestock area. The water treatment area is located downstairs in the animal husbandry area, and there was a pungent smell.When Janss walked to the gate on the 140th floor, her thoughts were still lingering on last night.She was thinking about something she had said to Manes last night.Donna seemed to be alive, but only in her memory, not with her. She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even notice that the people coming and going here were different.Here, the vast majority of people wear blue overalls, and most of the couriers carry bags of tools and parts, not food, clothes or personal items.However, when she saw the crowd at the door, she finally realized that she had come to the first floor of the mechanical and electrical area.The workers at the door were all wearing loose blue overalls, covered with old dirt.Just by looking at the tools on them, Janss could tell what kind of job that person was doing.It was already evening, she thought to herself, these people should have rushed back from all over the bunker.They've fixed things and are going home.Then she thought of how, during the day, after they had climbed the stairs for so long, they were going to work again, and it was scary just thinking about it.Then it occurred to her that she was about to face such a situation. She was the chief, and Manes was the deputy security officer, so they didn't have to wait in line, but they still decided not to abuse their power.Workers lined up in a long line at the door and took turns walking in to register.She and Manes were at the back of the line.The workers were men and women, and they signed in one by one, and handed over their work records, which contained the distance and working hours.Seeing this scene, Janss suddenly realized that she was really wasting time.During the two-day long journey, she had been thinking about her whole life, and she should have used this time to think carefully about how to persuade this Juliet to accept the appointment.Then, as the number of people in line in front dwindled, she suddenly felt a wave of panic.Before long, there was only one person left in front of them.The man pulled out his identification card, a blue E&M card, and wrote his name on a slate.Then it was their turn.They pushed open the door and took out golden identification cards.The guard looked surprised, but soon recognized who she was. "Hi sir." He called her respectfully, but Janss didn't correct him. "I didn't expect you to arrive so soon." He gestured for them to take back their identification cards, and finally picked up a piece of chalk. "Let me write for you." Janss watched as he turned the slate upside down 180 degrees, and wrote their names neatly on it, with a lot of chalk dust on the edges of his palms.Then he wrote a title under Manes' name, "Security Officer," and she still didn't correct him. "I know it's not the scheduled time yet," Janss said. "But I'd like to meet and talk to Juliet Nix right now. Is there a way?" The guard turned to look at the electronic clock behind him. "She's still on duty at the generator right now, and she won't be off for another hour. But with her personality, it might be two hours before she's willing to leave. You can wait for her in the dining room first." .” Janss looked at Manes, who shrugged: "I'm not hungry yet." "Can we meet her where she works? I'd love to see what her job is like. We'll try not to disturb her work." The guard shrugged: "Of course we will follow the chief's instructions." He raised the chalk in his hand and pointed to the hall. There was a small commotion among the people queuing at the door, and they were a little impatient. "Go to Knox. He'll find someone to take you." Knox was the head of the M&E department, and he was so huge that it was hard not to notice him.The one-piece overalls on him were the largest size Janss had ever seen in her life, and it was too tight for him.Janss couldn't help being a little curious, would the denim fabric used to make that overalls cost him more salary points?Also, how can a person's belly be so big.In addition, in addition to his huge body like a mountain, his beard is also eye-catching.It was impossible to judge the expression on his face as they walked towards him.Is he smiling, or frowning?His whole body was like a concrete wall, motionless. Janss opened his mouth to explain the purpose of his visit, and then Manes also greeted him. Only then did Janss realize that he had already met this Knox when he came down to handle the case last time.Knox nodded after listening to her, and then roared.The low and hoarse roar was as earth-shattering as thunder, and every word in that sentence was tangled together, making it impossible to understand what he said.Someone obviously understood, though, because soon a boy emerged from behind him.The boy was small and thin, with rare orange hair. "Go away!" Knox snarled again.Every word is glued together, there is almost no gap in the middle, just like the beard around his mouth, the whole is tangled together, and his mouth can't be seen at all. The boy was too young to feel as though he could be an apprentice yet.He waved to them, and walked briskly on.Manais thanked Knox, but Knox didn't respond, still motionless.Then they hurried after the little boy. Janss noticed that the corridors of the Mechatronics Department were extremely narrow compared to the rest of the bunker.After get off work in the morning, the corridor was crowded with people, so they had to shuttle through the crowd and squeeze their way through.The walls on both sides were bare concrete, unpainted and rough to the touch.Along the way, her shoulders kept rubbing against the wall.Overhead, with no veil under the ceiling, exposed side-by-side water pipes and electrical conduits snaking throughout the hallway.Although those pipelines were still about fifteen centimeters from the top of her head, Janss still felt a sense of oppression and instinctively wanted to lower her head.She noticed that some tall workers were walking bent over.The lights on the ceiling are very dim, and the distance between each light is very far. It feels like the whole corridor is bottomless, deep into the endless underground. The little orange-haired apprentice led them around several turns, as if he knew the whole route clearly, almost instinctively.Later, they came to a staircase.The staircase was a square right-hand turn, and they were going down two floors.As she walked, Janss began to hear a low "rumbling" sound, which became louder the further down she went.Then they walked out of the stairwell to the one hundred and forty-second floor.Once out of the stairwell, through the foyer, and into a large factory building, they saw a strange machine next to it.There is a long arm on the machine, which is as long as the combined heights of several people.There is a hole on the concrete floor, and there is a piston-like thing connected to the end of the arm at the hole. When the arm swings up and down, the piston is pushed in and pulled out, and the cycle continues.Janss slowed down, eyes wide open as she watched the rhythmic cycle of the machine's movements.There was a smell in the air, it smelled very much like some kind of chemical, a rancid smell.She couldn't guess what it was. "Is this the generator?" Manes laughed out loud, with a manly smug gesture on his face. "This is the oil pump," he said. "This is the oil well. It's what lights you up when you read at night." As he spoke, he rubbed her shoulder, then walked from beside her to the front.Janss was a little angry at him for laughing at her like this, but he rubbed his shoulders, and the anger disappeared immediately.She hurried to keep up with him and Knox's little apprentice. "The rumbling sound you hear is the generator," Manes said. "The oil pump pumps out the oil and sends it to the refinery downstairs, where it is processed and turned into fuel." Probably because this matter was mentioned during the committee meeting, Janss was vague and somewhat conceptual.Now, again, she was amazed at herself.She's supposed to be in charge of the bunker (at least in name), and there are so many things in the bunker that are strange to her. There was a constant rumble coming from the walls, and it got louder as they approached the other side of the building.The little boy with orange hair opened a double door, and at that moment, the earth-shattering "rumbling" sound immediately came oncoming, deafening.Janss suddenly flinched, not daring to go any further, and even Manes was frightened.The kid frantically waved them on, and Janss had to muster up the courage to step forward, facing the loud rumble.At this moment, she suddenly had a weird feeling, as if they were about to be taken "out".It was an absurd idea, born of a deep-rooted and most terrifying imagination-that the outside world is so terrible. She walked slowly through the door, following Manes timidly.The boy let go of the door panel, and the door immediately closed automatically with a "bang". At that moment, they suddenly felt as if they were locked in and let others slaughter them.Then the boy took out some headphones from the wall shelf, but there were no wires attached to the headphones.Janss imitated the boy's move and put the earphones on her head, and immediately the terrible rumbling noise disappeared, leaving only a slight vibration felt in the chest and the surface of the body.She finds it very strange, why put the headphone stand inside instead of outside? Then, the boy waved his hand again and said a few words to them, but they couldn't hear anything, they could only see his lips moving.They followed him through a narrow passage with gridded iron panels under their feet, much like the floor of the outer landing.The platform on each floor of the bunker stairwell is that kind of grid iron plate.Next, they turned a corner, and found that one wall had disappeared, replaced by a three-bar rail, beyond which loomed a monstrously gigantic machine.The size of the machine was almost as big as her house and office combined.She felt a vibration in her chest and skin all over her body, but at first, she couldn't see where the machine was moving, and she couldn't figure out where the vibration came from.Later, when they slowly walked around to the other end of the machine, she found an iron rod protruding from the back of the machine.The iron rod rotates at high speed and is connected to another huge machine, and on that machine there are many huge wires connected to the ceiling, each wire is as thick as a man's waistline. In this workshop, the energy of electricity can be felt everywhere.When they walked slowly to the end of the second machine, Jans finally saw a petite figure busy beside the machine.The woman looked young, wearing a coverall and a hard hat with a braid of blond hair peeking out from the back.She clutched a wrench that was nearly as long as her height.She stood next to the machine, which seemed huge and terrifying by comparison, but she didn't seem to be afraid at all.Her whole body was lying on the wrench, almost sticking to the rumbling machine, seeing it made her sweat.Seeing this scene, Janss suddenly remembered an old fairy tale.According to legend, there is a huge elephant called an elephant, and a little mouse wants to help pull out a thorn from its body.It was a strange sight for such a petite woman to repair a huge and dangerous machine, but Janss still watched her work silently.The little apprentice opened a door, walked outside to the woman, and tugged at her overalls. The woman was not frightened by his actions.She turned her head, glanced in the direction of Janss and Maneth, raised one hand, wiped her forehead with the back of it, and hoisted the wrench on her shoulder with the other.She patted the little apprentice's head, then walked out of the door and walked up to them.Janss noticed that the girl's arms were thin and thin, but her muscles were well developed.She was only wearing the overalls, without a shirt, and the front of the overalls covered her chest, revealing only a small patch of bronzed skin below her neck.She was sweating profusely, and her wet skin glistened.The bronzed skin on her face looked a lot like those farmers in the agrarian lands.They were tanned by the plant lights.However, seeing that her clothes were covered with oil stains, it might be because her face was also covered with oil stains, so her complexion looked so dark. She walked up to Janss and Maneth, nodded to them, then, as if she recognized Maneth, she smiled at him.She didn't reach out to shake hands with Janss, and Janss was secretly glad.Then she pointed to a door, and walked through it herself.There was a cubicle, with a glass window, and the door was right by the window. Manais followed her, like a small animal following its master.Jans followed after him.At this time, the girl suddenly turned her head to look at the little boy, to see if he was coming to get in the way, only to find that the little boy was walking towards the door that he came in from, and the dim light of the power plant shone on his head. His orange hair is shiny.His task was to bring them here, and now, he has completed the task. As soon as he walked into the control room, the rumbling sound suddenly disappeared, and when the thick door was closed, the sound was almost completely inaudible.Juliet took off her hard hat and earphones and put them on the shelf.Janss tried to pull the earphones away a little bit, and found that the "rumbling" sound had become very distant, turning into a low "humming" sound, so she took off the earphones with confidence.The control room was cramped and cramped, with metal walls and flickering lights, a place Janss had never seen before.She is the chief, and this control room is also under her jurisdiction, and she hardly knows that there is such a place in the bunker, let alone how to operate it, which is a bit unreasonable. After a while, Jans's tinnitus gradually subsided. At this time, Juliet was turning the dial on the instrument and looking at the pointer in the instrument. "I thought you wouldn't come to see me until tomorrow morning," she said, concentrating on adjusting the instrument. "We're going faster than expected." Janss looked at Manes, and found that he was holding the earphones with both hands, and his body moved slightly, as if he was a little uncomfortable. "Glad we met again, Joey," he said. She nodded, then bent down to get closer to the thick glass window, looked at the huge machine outside, stretched her hands to a large console, and began to adjust the large dial on it.Turntable has faded white notches.When she operates, her eyes don't need to look at the dial at all. "Unfortunately, your partner is gone," she said, keeping her eyes on the instrument.Then, she turned to look Manes in the eyes, and Janss noticed that the girl was very beautiful.Although her whole body was dirty, she still couldn't hide her beauty.Her face was sharp and angular, her expression was a bit cool, her eyes were piercing, and she exuded an aura of extreme intelligence, which could be felt from a distance.She looked at Manais with deep frown and sympathy in her eyes. "I'm really sorry," she said. "I'm really sorry. He seems like a nice guy." "He is the best person in the world." Manais's voice was a little choked. Juliet nodded, as if agreeing with what he said.Then she turned to Jans. "Chief, did you feel the vibration of the floor? That's because the coupling of the generator is loose and can't be sealed tightly, and you have to know that the gap is less than two centimeters, and it has already vibrated so much. Do you think this Is the vibration inside already very strong, then you should really go outside, touch the case with your hands, and tell you that as soon as you touch it, your fingers will immediately go numb, and if you keep touching it, you You’ll be shaken like your bones are about to shatter.” After she finished speaking, she turned around, passed a hand between Manes and Jans, opened a huge button, and then turned back to operate the console. "The alternator has a problem, it's been vibrating violently, and it's almost falling apart. Now, I want you to imagine what happened next. Now, the gear teeth of the drive shaft are almost worn out, and the metal debris has been in the oil. Cycle, that kind of effect is like sandpaper. The next thing is, the whole machine blows up, and then the whole bunker is only on that backup generator, which is only half powered." Janss gasped. "Do you need me to find someone to help?" Manes asked. Juliet suddenly laughed. "Here, regardless of the morning shift or evening shift, everyone on duty is facing the same situation, no matter how many people there are. It is a pity that we have dismantled the backup generator at present and are going to replace the bearings. Otherwise, I will I can start the backup generator first, supply half of the power for a week, so that I can remove the drive shaft of the main generator, adjust the base, and then when the generator is running again, it will be smooth The whole machine must be as new as it is.” She glanced at Janss, “Unfortunately, the problem is that we have received an order from above to maintain a complete power supply without interruption, so I will never be able to repair the generator. In this way Then the nut would keep coming loose, and I'd have to lock it up all the time and figure out how to do a miracle and keep the generator running." "When I signed the order, I really didn't know..." "When I made the report, I tried to minimize the technical terms so that ordinary people can understand it." Juliet said. "How long will the generator last? How long before it explodes?" At this moment, Janss suddenly realized that it was not she who was interviewing the girl, but the girl who was questioning her. "How long?" Juliet laughed again, shaking her head helplessly.By this time she had made the final adjustments, so she turned and looked at the two of them, crossing her arms across her chest. "It's going to blow up at any moment, like now, but it could be in a hundred years. The point is: it doesn't have to blow up, because we still have a chance to save it. I don't think anyone intends to let this machine live like this forever Shaking and screaming." At this point, she gave Jans a meaningful look, "—or wobbling like this in someone's tenure. If so, then I suggest that we pack our bags and prepare to escape Bar." Janss noticed that Manes was stiff with tension, and felt goosebumps all over her body.The girl's last words were close to betrayal, the only difference is that she said it in a metaphorical way. "I can use the name of 'power cut holiday' to declare a holiday for the whole bunker and implement power cuts." Janss suggested, "We can declare that the power cuts are to commemorate those who went out to clean the lens." Speaking of this, she thought A moment, then continued: "And, we can use this opportunity to solve more problems than just repairing the generator. We can-" "It would be really cool to see the power cut in the information area." Juliet raised her hand, rubbed her chin with the back of her hand, then rubbed her hand on her overalls a few times, and looked down. Looking at the part that was dirty by myself. "Excuse me, Chief, for speaking such foul language." Jans wanted to tell her that it was okay, because this girl was really not simple, with that kind of posture and that kind of momentum.Seeing her is like seeing herself when she was young, and she has almost forgotten what she was like when she was young.Back then, I was just like her, in order to achieve my goal, I did not hesitate to tear off the mask of elegance.She couldn't help but glanced at Manais: "Why do you emphasize that department? I mean, why do you really want to see them cut off?" Juliette laughed, dropped her folded hands, and raised them to point to the ceiling. "Why? Because the entire bunker has 144 floors, and their information area only occupies the third floor, but they use up a quarter of the entire bunker's electricity! I can count it for you—" "That's not necessary, I can figure it out." "So have their servers contributed to everyone? Have they saved anyone's life? What are those servers used for? Can they be eaten?" Janss smiled.She suddenly understood why Manais liked this girl.Moreover, she also suddenly understood what he saw in her when she was young, before she married his best friend. "Maybe we can ask the information area to reduce electricity usage for a week of maintenance, what do you think? Will they take the bait?" At this time, Manais suddenly muttered: "We came down this time, aren't we going to tell her to leave this job and accept another appointment?" Juliet glared at him suddenly. "I think I've made it clear to you—or at least to your secretary—that you don't have to look for me. Not that I have any problem with your kind of work, but because I'm needed here." She said He raised his hand and looked at something hanging on his wrist.That is a watch.The problem is, the watch seems to be broken, what is she doing with the watch? "Well, it's been a real pleasure chatting with you guys." She looked up at Janss, "Especially, it would be even more enjoyable if you agreed to implement the 'blackout holiday'. Unfortunately, my machine still needs to be adjusted Come on, and it's closing time, and I have to work overtime. Knox won't be happy if I keep working overtime like this." "Okay, then we won't waste your time," Janss said. "We haven't had dinner anyway. But, when you get off work, can you come over and chat with us? You can wash up first." Take a shower, and then come over and talk, how about it?" Juliet looked down at herself, as if wondering if she really needed a bath. "Okay," she said. "Have they arranged rooms for you yet?" Manes nodded. "Okay then, I'll look for you later. Also, don't forget the earphones." She pointed at Janss' ear, looked at Manes, nodded, and then turned and went back to work.This action is also a hint to them that now she doesn't want to talk anymore.Don't want to.
Every time you pass through a floor, you will see a new scene, but it will soon disappear behind you.When they reached the 130-story building, they passed the soil cultivation area on the ground floor, and passed a larger livestock area. The water treatment area is located downstairs in the animal husbandry area, and there was a pungent smell.When Janss walked to the gate on the 140th floor, her thoughts were still lingering on last night.She was thinking about something she had said to Manes last night.Donna seemed to be alive, but only in her memory, not with her. She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even notice that the people coming and going here were different.Here, the vast majority of people wear blue overalls, and most of the couriers carry bags of tools and parts, not food, clothes or personal items.However, when she saw the crowd at the door, she finally realized that she had come to the first floor of the mechanical and electrical area.The workers at the door were all wearing loose blue overalls, covered with old dirt.Just by looking at the tools on them, Janss could tell what kind of job that person was doing.It was already evening, she thought to herself, these people should have rushed back from all over the bunker.They've fixed things and are going home.Then she thought of how, during the day, after they had climbed the stairs for so long, they were going to work again, and it was scary just thinking about it.Then it occurred to her that she was about to face such a situation. She was the chief, and Manes was the deputy security officer, so they didn't have to wait in line, but they still decided not to abuse their power.Workers lined up in a long line at the door and took turns walking in to register.She and Manes were at the back of the line.The workers were men and women, and they signed in one by one, and handed over their work records, which contained the distance and working hours.Seeing this scene, Janss suddenly realized that she was really wasting time.During the two-day long journey, she had been thinking about her whole life, and she should have used this time to think carefully about how to persuade this Juliet to accept the appointment.Then, as the number of people in line in front dwindled, she suddenly felt a wave of panic.Before long, there was only one person left in front of them.The man pulled out his identification card, a blue E&M card, and wrote his name on a slate.Then it was their turn.They pushed open the door and took out golden identification cards.The guard looked surprised, but soon recognized who she was. "Hi sir." He called her respectfully, but Janss didn't correct him. "I didn't expect you to arrive so soon." He gestured for them to take back their identification cards, and finally picked up a piece of chalk. "Let me write for you." Janss watched as he turned the slate upside down 180 degrees, and wrote their names neatly on it, with a lot of chalk dust on the edges of his palms.Then he wrote a title under Manes' name, "Security Officer," and she still didn't correct him. "I know it's not the scheduled time yet," Janss said. "But I'd like to meet and talk to Juliet Nix right now. Is there a way?" The guard turned to look at the electronic clock behind him. "She's still on duty at the generator right now, and she won't be off for another hour. But with her personality, it might be two hours before she's willing to leave. You can wait for her in the dining room first." .” Janss looked at Manes, who shrugged: "I'm not hungry yet." "Can we meet her where she works? I'd love to see what her job is like. We'll try not to disturb her work." The guard shrugged: "Of course we will follow the chief's instructions." He raised the chalk in his hand and pointed to the hall. There was a small commotion among the people queuing at the door, and they were a little impatient. "Go to Knox. He'll find someone to take you." Knox was the head of the M&E department, and he was so huge that it was hard not to notice him.The one-piece overalls on him were the largest size Janss had ever seen in her life, and it was too tight for him.Janss couldn't help being a little curious, would the denim fabric used to make that overalls cost him more salary points?Also, how can a person's belly be so big.In addition, in addition to his huge body like a mountain, his beard is also eye-catching.It was impossible to judge the expression on his face as they walked towards him.Is he smiling, or frowning?His whole body was like a concrete wall, motionless. Janss opened his mouth to explain the purpose of his visit, and then Manes also greeted him. Only then did Janss realize that he had already met this Knox when he came down to handle the case last time.Knox nodded after listening to her, and then roared.The low and hoarse roar was as earth-shattering as thunder, and every word in that sentence was tangled together, making it impossible to understand what he said.Someone obviously understood, though, because soon a boy emerged from behind him.The boy was small and thin, with rare orange hair. "Go away!" Knox snarled again.Every word is glued together, there is almost no gap in the middle, just like the beard around his mouth, the whole is tangled together, and his mouth can't be seen at all. The boy was too young to feel as though he could be an apprentice yet.He waved to them, and walked briskly on.Manais thanked Knox, but Knox didn't respond, still motionless.Then they hurried after the little boy. Janss noticed that the corridors of the Mechatronics Department were extremely narrow compared to the rest of the bunker.After get off work in the morning, the corridor was crowded with people, so they had to shuttle through the crowd and squeeze their way through.The walls on both sides were bare concrete, unpainted and rough to the touch.Along the way, her shoulders kept rubbing against the wall.Overhead, with no veil under the ceiling, exposed side-by-side water pipes and electrical conduits snaking throughout the hallway.Although those pipelines were still about fifteen centimeters from the top of her head, Janss still felt a sense of oppression and instinctively wanted to lower her head.She noticed that some tall workers were walking bent over.The lights on the ceiling are very dim, and the distance between each light is very far. It feels like the whole corridor is bottomless, deep into the endless underground. The little orange-haired apprentice led them around several turns, as if he knew the whole route clearly, almost instinctively.Later, they came to a staircase.The staircase was a square right-hand turn, and they were going down two floors.As she walked, Janss began to hear a low "rumbling" sound, which became louder the further down she went.Then they walked out of the stairwell to the one hundred and forty-second floor.Once out of the stairwell, through the foyer, and into a large factory building, they saw a strange machine next to it.There is a long arm on the machine, which is as long as the combined heights of several people.There is a hole on the concrete floor, and there is a piston-like thing connected to the end of the arm at the hole. When the arm swings up and down, the piston is pushed in and pulled out, and the cycle continues.Janss slowed down, eyes wide open as she watched the rhythmic cycle of the machine's movements.There was a smell in the air, it smelled very much like some kind of chemical, a rancid smell.She couldn't guess what it was. "Is this the generator?" Manes laughed out loud, with a manly smug gesture on his face. "This is the oil pump," he said. "This is the oil well. It's what lights you up when you read at night." As he spoke, he rubbed her shoulder, then walked from beside her to the front.Janss was a little angry at him for laughing at her like this, but he rubbed his shoulders, and the anger disappeared immediately.She hurried to keep up with him and Knox's little apprentice. "The rumbling sound you hear is the generator," Manes said. "The oil pump pumps out the oil and sends it to the refinery downstairs, where it is processed and turned into fuel." Probably because this matter was mentioned during the committee meeting, Janss was vague and somewhat conceptual.Now, again, she was amazed at herself.She's supposed to be in charge of the bunker (at least in name), and there are so many things in the bunker that are strange to her. There was a constant rumble coming from the walls, and it got louder as they approached the other side of the building.The little boy with orange hair opened a double door, and at that moment, the earth-shattering "rumbling" sound immediately came oncoming, deafening.Janss suddenly flinched, not daring to go any further, and even Manes was frightened.The kid frantically waved them on, and Janss had to muster up the courage to step forward, facing the loud rumble.At this moment, she suddenly had a weird feeling, as if they were about to be taken "out".It was an absurd idea, born of a deep-rooted and most terrifying imagination-that the outside world is so terrible. She walked slowly through the door, following Manes timidly.The boy let go of the door panel, and the door immediately closed automatically with a "bang". At that moment, they suddenly felt as if they were locked in and let others slaughter them.Then the boy took out some headphones from the wall shelf, but there were no wires attached to the headphones.Janss imitated the boy's move and put the earphones on her head, and immediately the terrible rumbling noise disappeared, leaving only a slight vibration felt in the chest and the surface of the body.She finds it very strange, why put the headphone stand inside instead of outside? Then, the boy waved his hand again and said a few words to them, but they couldn't hear anything, they could only see his lips moving.They followed him through a narrow passage with gridded iron panels under their feet, much like the floor of the outer landing.The platform on each floor of the bunker stairwell is that kind of grid iron plate.Next, they turned a corner, and found that one wall had disappeared, replaced by a three-bar rail, beyond which loomed a monstrously gigantic machine.The size of the machine was almost as big as her house and office combined.She felt a vibration in her chest and skin all over her body, but at first, she couldn't see where the machine was moving, and she couldn't figure out where the vibration came from.Later, when they slowly walked around to the other end of the machine, she found an iron rod protruding from the back of the machine.The iron rod rotates at high speed and is connected to another huge machine, and on that machine there are many huge wires connected to the ceiling, each wire is as thick as a man's waistline. In this workshop, the energy of electricity can be felt everywhere.When they walked slowly to the end of the second machine, Jans finally saw a petite figure busy beside the machine.The woman looked young, wearing a coverall and a hard hat with a braid of blond hair peeking out from the back.She clutched a wrench that was nearly as long as her height.She stood next to the machine, which seemed huge and terrifying by comparison, but she didn't seem to be afraid at all.Her whole body was lying on the wrench, almost sticking to the rumbling machine, seeing it made her sweat.Seeing this scene, Janss suddenly remembered an old fairy tale.According to legend, there is a huge elephant called an elephant, and a little mouse wants to help pull out a thorn from its body.It was a strange sight for such a petite woman to repair a huge and dangerous machine, but Janss still watched her work silently.The little apprentice opened a door, walked outside to the woman, and tugged at her overalls. The woman was not frightened by his actions.She turned her head, glanced in the direction of Janss and Maneth, raised one hand, wiped her forehead with the back of it, and hoisted the wrench on her shoulder with the other.She patted the little apprentice's head, then walked out of the door and walked up to them.Janss noticed that the girl's arms were thin and thin, but her muscles were well developed.She was only wearing the overalls, without a shirt, and the front of the overalls covered her chest, revealing only a small patch of bronzed skin below her neck.She was sweating profusely, and her wet skin glistened.The bronzed skin on her face looked a lot like those farmers in the agrarian lands.They were tanned by the plant lights.However, seeing that her clothes were covered with oil stains, it might be because her face was also covered with oil stains, so her complexion looked so dark. She walked up to Janss and Maneth, nodded to them, then, as if she recognized Maneth, she smiled at him.She didn't reach out to shake hands with Janss, and Janss was secretly glad.Then she pointed to a door, and walked through it herself.There was a cubicle, with a glass window, and the door was right by the window. Manais followed her, like a small animal following its master.Jans followed after him.At this time, the girl suddenly turned her head to look at the little boy, to see if he was coming to get in the way, only to find that the little boy was walking towards the door that he came in from, and the dim light of the power plant shone on his head. His orange hair is shiny.His task was to bring them here, and now, he has completed the task. As soon as he walked into the control room, the rumbling sound suddenly disappeared, and when the thick door was closed, the sound was almost completely inaudible.Juliet took off her hard hat and earphones and put them on the shelf.Janss tried to pull the earphones away a little bit, and found that the "rumbling" sound had become very distant, turning into a low "humming" sound, so she took off the earphones with confidence.The control room was cramped and cramped, with metal walls and flickering lights, a place Janss had never seen before.She is the chief, and this control room is also under her jurisdiction, and she hardly knows that there is such a place in the bunker, let alone how to operate it, which is a bit unreasonable. After a while, Jans's tinnitus gradually subsided. At this time, Juliet was turning the dial on the instrument and looking at the pointer in the instrument. "I thought you wouldn't come to see me until tomorrow morning," she said, concentrating on adjusting the instrument. "We're going faster than expected." Janss looked at Manes, and found that he was holding the earphones with both hands, and his body moved slightly, as if he was a little uncomfortable. "Glad we met again, Joey," he said. She nodded, then bent down to get closer to the thick glass window, looked at the huge machine outside, stretched her hands to a large console, and began to adjust the large dial on it.Turntable has faded white notches.When she operates, her eyes don't need to look at the dial at all. "Unfortunately, your partner is gone," she said, keeping her eyes on the instrument.Then, she turned to look Manes in the eyes, and Janss noticed that the girl was very beautiful.Although her whole body was dirty, she still couldn't hide her beauty.Her face was sharp and angular, her expression was a bit cool, her eyes were piercing, and she exuded an aura of extreme intelligence, which could be felt from a distance.She looked at Manais with deep frown and sympathy in her eyes. "I'm really sorry," she said. "I'm really sorry. He seems like a nice guy." "He is the best person in the world." Manais's voice was a little choked. Juliet nodded, as if agreeing with what he said.Then she turned to Jans. "Chief, did you feel the vibration of the floor? That's because the coupling of the generator is loose and can't be sealed tightly, and you have to know that the gap is less than two centimeters, and it has already vibrated so much. Do you think this Is the vibration inside already very strong, then you should really go outside, touch the case with your hands, and tell you that as soon as you touch it, your fingers will immediately go numb, and if you keep touching it, you You’ll be shaken like your bones are about to shatter.” After she finished speaking, she turned around, passed a hand between Manes and Jans, opened a huge button, and then turned back to operate the console. "The alternator has a problem, it's been vibrating violently, and it's almost falling apart. Now, I want you to imagine what happened next. Now, the gear teeth of the drive shaft are almost worn out, and the metal debris has been in the oil. Cycle, that kind of effect is like sandpaper. The next thing is, the whole machine blows up, and then the whole bunker is only on that backup generator, which is only half powered." Janss gasped. "Do you need me to find someone to help?" Manes asked. Juliet suddenly laughed. "Here, regardless of the morning shift or evening shift, everyone on duty is facing the same situation, no matter how many people there are. It is a pity that we have dismantled the backup generator at present and are going to replace the bearings. Otherwise, I will I can start the backup generator first, supply half of the power for a week, so that I can remove the drive shaft of the main generator, adjust the base, and then when the generator is running again, it will be smooth The whole machine must be as new as it is.” She glanced at Janss, “Unfortunately, the problem is that we have received an order from above to maintain a complete power supply without interruption, so I will never be able to repair the generator. In this way Then the nut would keep coming loose, and I'd have to lock it up all the time and figure out how to do a miracle and keep the generator running." "When I signed the order, I really didn't know..." "When I made the report, I tried to minimize the technical terms so that ordinary people can understand it." Juliet said. "How long will the generator last? How long before it explodes?" At this moment, Janss suddenly realized that it was not she who was interviewing the girl, but the girl who was questioning her. "How long?" Juliet laughed again, shaking her head helplessly.By this time she had made the final adjustments, so she turned and looked at the two of them, crossing her arms across her chest. "It's going to blow up at any moment, like now, but it could be in a hundred years. The point is: it doesn't have to blow up, because we still have a chance to save it. I don't think anyone intends to let this machine live like this forever Shaking and screaming." At this point, she gave Jans a meaningful look, "—or wobbling like this in someone's tenure. If so, then I suggest that we pack our bags and prepare to escape Bar." Janss noticed that Manes was stiff with tension, and felt goosebumps all over her body.The girl's last words were close to betrayal, the only difference is that she said it in a metaphorical way. "I can use the name of 'power cut holiday' to declare a holiday for the whole bunker and implement power cuts." Janss suggested, "We can declare that the power cuts are to commemorate those who went out to clean the lens." Speaking of this, she thought A moment, then continued: "And, we can use this opportunity to solve more problems than just repairing the generator. We can-" "It would be really cool to see the power cut in the information area." Juliet raised her hand, rubbed her chin with the back of her hand, then rubbed her hand on her overalls a few times, and looked down. Looking at the part that was dirty by myself. "Excuse me, Chief, for speaking such foul language." Jans wanted to tell her that it was okay, because this girl was really not simple, with that kind of posture and that kind of momentum.Seeing her is like seeing herself when she was young, and she has almost forgotten what she was like when she was young.Back then, I was just like her, in order to achieve my goal, I did not hesitate to tear off the mask of elegance.She couldn't help but glanced at Manais: "Why do you emphasize that department? I mean, why do you really want to see them cut off?" Juliette laughed, dropped her folded hands, and raised them to point to the ceiling. "Why? Because the entire bunker has 144 floors, and their information area only occupies the third floor, but they use up a quarter of the entire bunker's electricity! I can count it for you—" "That's not necessary, I can figure it out." "So have their servers contributed to everyone? Have they saved anyone's life? What are those servers used for? Can they be eaten?" Janss smiled.She suddenly understood why Manais liked this girl.Moreover, she also suddenly understood what he saw in her when she was young, before she married his best friend. "Maybe we can ask the information area to reduce electricity usage for a week of maintenance, what do you think? Will they take the bait?" At this time, Manais suddenly muttered: "We came down this time, aren't we going to tell her to leave this job and accept another appointment?" Juliet glared at him suddenly. "I think I've made it clear to you—or at least to your secretary—that you don't have to look for me. Not that I have any problem with your kind of work, but because I'm needed here." She said He raised his hand and looked at something hanging on his wrist.That is a watch.The problem is, the watch seems to be broken, what is she doing with the watch? "Well, it's been a real pleasure chatting with you guys." She looked up at Janss, "Especially, it would be even more enjoyable if you agreed to implement the 'blackout holiday'. Unfortunately, my machine still needs to be adjusted Come on, and it's closing time, and I have to work overtime. Knox won't be happy if I keep working overtime like this." "Okay, then we won't waste your time," Janss said. "We haven't had dinner anyway. But, when you get off work, can you come over and chat with us? You can wash up first." Take a shower, and then come over and talk, how about it?" Juliet looked down at herself, as if wondering if she really needed a bath. "Okay," she said. "Have they arranged rooms for you yet?" Manes nodded. "Okay then, I'll look for you later. Also, don't forget the earphones." She pointed at Janss' ear, looked at Manes, nodded, and then turned and went back to work.This action is also a hint to them that now she doesn't want to talk anymore.Don't want to.