Chapter 185: Iconic Figure, Dark Glory

Burning corpses in the incineration chamber was second nature to Feng Mu; he simply hadn't expected the prison's incinerator to be even more advanced and professional than the equipment at the outside incineration plant.

Not only did the corpses thrown into the furnace require no manual stirring — the entire process was fully automated — even the furnace door would automatically close and lock, which forced Feng Mu to abandon his original idea of trying to use his 【Culinary Art】 skill.

Feng Mu's gaze lingered on the closed furnace door for a moment, and a trace of doubt rose in his heart: "The color of this flame seems even more gorgeous and eye-catching, but strangely, the temperature doesn't seem to match the incineration plant's high heat?"

For the majority of people, the air in this room was already stiflingly hot, as if even breathing carried a hint of scorching heat, burning hot to the point of being unbearable.

However, Feng Mu's unusual professional experience, combined with his mastered 【Culinary Art】 skill and 【Iron Bones】's tolerance for high temperatures, all gave him a sensitivity to heat control and temperature far beyond ordinary people, especially regarding the heat and temperature during corpse burning — he possessed an extraordinarily sharp perception.

"It is indeed very hot, but this heat is still not enough to be called scorching hot. Although the flames in the furnace look surging and turbulent, in reality they haven't reached the temperature they ought to have."

Feng Mu narrowed his eyes, glanced once more at the two prisoners drenched in sweat, seemed to have a thought, then turned around and led the two prisoners out of the incineration room, escorting them back to their cells.

Patrolling the cells, chatting with the prisoners in the few cells he guarded, in the afternoon escorting the prisoners to operate sewing machines, then escorting them back to their cells, finally delivering a bucket of rice gruel that looked as thick as porridge to the cells he was responsible for guarding — the day's work flow was basically familiarized.

Feng Mu's notebook was already densely filled halfway.

After a full day, Feng Mu was busy until his stomach growled with hunger; after all, he hadn't eaten a single mouthful of the cafeteria's lunch.

Once he might have been able to calmly enjoy that simple food, but now, just smelling the strong fragrance emitted by those dishes after technological processing, he felt as if every pore on his body was itching, as if sticky pus was about to seep out from within.

Feng Mu returned to his room, preparing to take off his prison uniform and clock out.

"Hey, new guy, the Captain said you're not leaving tonight — stay and pull night shift with me."

Prison Guard Wang Cong pushed the door open and entered; his uniform looked overly loose, like an ill-fitting outer shell hanging on his body.

Hair unwashed for several days was greasy and messy, plastered to his forehead, setting off his face which looked somewhat gloomy from exhaustion.

"Night shift?" Feng Mu's fingers, in the middle of unbuttoning, paused slightly, then he buttoned them back up one by one, carefully straightening his collar.

Wang Cong's gaze fell on Feng Mu; watching his serious appearance of tidying his clothes, he inexplicably found it a bit of an eyesore.

He casually smoothed back his greasy hair, a cold laugh hanging at the corner of his mouth, and said with a few hints of mockery in his tone:

"That's right. Anyway, the Captain's order has been delivered by me. If you don't want to pull night shift, you can go find the Captain and bring it up yourself, but I guess your request probably won't have any effect."

A gentle smile hung on Feng Mu's face: "Since it's the Captain's arrangement, I naturally comply. By the way, nice to meet you, I'm Feng Mu."

Wang Cong sneered, saying coldly: "Hope you can still maintain this attitude tomorrow or the day after. Hmph — I'm Wang Cong, arrived here less than half a year before you."

Feng Mu's heart gave a slight start; instantly, he understood that this Wang Cong before him, just like himself, was a newcomer being squeezed and suppressed by the prison.

Indeed, every workplace seems to inevitably have a role that gets bullied, as if without this iconic figure, the workplace's ecological environment simply cannot form a complete closure.

Feng Mu couldn't stand this kind of situation the most; merciful as he was, he couldn't turn a blind eye to bullying — he was always willing to play the good person who pushes others to complete self-redemption and fierce counterattack.

Feng Mu asked softly, while slowly picking up a brand new clean towel from the basin and gently handing it to Wang Cong.

When Wang Cong took the towel, a flash of surprise passed through his eyes, as if it had been too long since he felt this kind of human warmth; his expression seemed stunned for an instant.

Feng Mu smiled and said: "Wipe your face, your eyes will feel a bit more comfortable."

Wang Cong lightly wiped his forehead; the snow-white towel was instantly stained with a layer of grease. He smiled embarrassedly and said: "I'll wash this towel and return it to you."

Feng Mu nodded lightly and replied: "No need to be so polite."

Wang Cong took two deep breaths, lowered his head dejectedly, and said: "You guessed right — our Captain really arranged for me to pull three consecutive days of night shift."

Feng Mu frowned tightly and asked with concern: "Then haven't you not had proper rest for three days already? How can your body take it like this?"

Wang Cong irritably plucked a hair; Feng Mu's concern seemed to touch the anger in his heart, and he complained in a low voice:

"What can I do? The shift schedule is set by the Captain. Everyone else's night shifts are spread out each month, only mine are always clumped together."

Wang Cong paused, then added: "Now I'm afraid you'll be added too — I just checked the schedule, the next few days are all you and me on night shift together."

Hearing this, a gloomy killing intent flickered in the depths of Feng Mu's eyes; he could endure night shifts — after all, he was extremely good at staying up late — but he couldn't endure not eating for several consecutive days, or he'd face the risk of mutation.

This isn't a night shift issue at all — this is clearly forcing him to eat "shit." Of course, he could ask Senior Brother to bring him food every day, but Senior Brother is in a different zone after all, so there are many inconveniences.

Wang Cong gritted his teeth and said to Feng Mu: "If you have connections, you'd better go find the Captain now; otherwise, once you agree this time, it'll become precedent and be even harder to change later."

Feng Mu's eyes narrowed slightly; he smiled at Wang Cong and said gently: "If I ran, wouldn't that leave you to suffer alone? Forget it, I'll do it with you."

Feng Mu then grinned, revealing a row of neat white teeth, and said sincerely:

"During night duty, I'll take on more time — you can find a chance to rest a bit, catch up on sleep."

Wang Cong tightly gripped the towel in his palm, his eyes interwoven with gratitude and complex emotions; he lowered his head and said softly to Feng Mu: "Thank you."

Feng Mu chuckled and shook his head, saying lightly:

"Small matter — colleagues just need mutual understanding. You help me, I help you, everyone progresses together, everyone has a bright future, hehe —"

(End of Chapter)