The dust was pervasive, the roar of the crusher never ceased for a moment, the world was filled with clamorous noise, yet it seemed exceptionally quiet.
Chen Zhou sat on the old leather chair, staring blankly at the instrument display screen glowing with a bluish light in front of him, the numbers on it were stable as usual, stable like his life that he could foresee at a glance.
After a long time, Chen Zhou raised his hand and drew a smiling face on the wall covered with thick dust.
The gray-white dust fell down softly, the crooked smile drooped its corners, yet it seemed like it was crying.
Staring fixedly at this ugly smiling face, Chen Zhou involuntarily reflected on his 25 years of life.
At the end of the millennium, he was born in a rural clinic in a remote northern town.
Like countless ordinary people, he had no distinguished family background, no parents who could seize the opportunity to rise, not even a house that could be demolished for compensation.
His childhood was spent at his grandmother's house in the countryside, during which his parents worked outside, relying on physical labor to support the small family, trading illnesses in the latter half of their lives for the money of the former half.
After middle school, Chen Zhou went to town to study. He wasn't particularly smart, but he was always the most diligent, so his academic performance always stayed in the top ranks.
During the days of the college entrance exam, Chen Zhou caught a severe cold and was burning with a high fever.
The illness affected his performance, originally he could have aimed for a top school, but in the end he only got into an ordinary first-tier university.
On the advice of relatives, Chen Zhou applied for the then-popular mechanical engineering major.
After graduation, he moved around several cities but couldn't find an ideal job.
Thinking it was more stable to stay close to home, he eventually returned to the small town where he grew up.
His parents inquired on many fronts and arranged for him to work at the local cement factory, living a three-point-one-line life between the factory, canteen, and dormitory. Earning a monthly salary of 4,200 yuan, working diligently, and living in a daze.
The harsh environment eroded his body, and the bleak life buried his soul.
Those co-workers with smiles on their faces often played tricks behind their backs, dealing with them required growing more eyes, and if not careful, one might be made a scapegoat.
The slick-faced leaders preferred subordinates who flattered and swayed with the wind, sometimes Chen Zhou forced himself to agree with some insincere words, feeling nauseous.
The female colleagues, driving small cars and carrying handbags, and walking into work like a fashion show, were not to be provoked either, as no one knew which bigwig was behind them...
Such days passed day by day, 365 days and nights seemed like they were carved from the same mold, and waking up each day, he knew what was going to happen.
Chen Zhou felt he had been shredded by the roaring machines.
His life was like the limestone in the factory, from birth naturally following the arrangement of fate.
Mining, crushing, homogenizing, decomposing, burning, grinding into powder, and then remaining forever somewhere until the day the world ends...
More than once, Chen Zhou thought of leaving behind a chic resignation letter - The world is so big, I want to see it.
And then leave.
But he was ultimately just an ordinary person, bearing the heavy burden of family as an only child.
Whenever he thought of his aging parents, whose health was worsening year by year, and the relatives and friends who took care of his family over the years, Chen Zhou would give up this unrealistic and willful thought.
He could only choose to endure, choose to wait, wait for retirement, wait for death.
......
The noisy sound of the crusher grew weaker again, another day of work ended, and the dusty workers shook off their work clothes, bleached by dust, and left the factory building in twos and threes, either to go home or clamor to eat and drink at a small restaurant.
Chen Zhou returned to the dormitory alone, took off his work clothes, collapsed tiredly on the bed, and picked up his phone.
Visiting forums was one of his few hobbies, in this anonymous online community, he could speak freely, relieve the depression in his heart, and be an "interesting soul."
Scrolling his fingers up and down, Chen Zhou casually browsed through various posts.
Seeing what "high-level views" people in Dumb Forum have, if the brothers in Fishing Forum have encountered "cyber misplacement," what new jokes have been posted in the Hell Humor Forum...
Soon, a popular post titled [Challenge Robinson: Survive 10,000 Days on a Deserted Island] caught Chen Zhou's attention.
The original poster solemnly declared himself as the new administrator of the Time Travel Administration Bureau, primarily responsible for creating various "cross-time large-scale reality challenge shows," and this post was the registration entrance for the first beginner survival challenge show.
In the post, he outlined the basic rules:
[1. The challenger's situation is exactly the same as Robinson Crusoe, timing begins upon the afternoon of September 30, 1659, when the merchant ship wrecks and the challenger gets stranded on a deserted island, and completing 10,300 days constitutes a successful challenge.]
[2. The reward for a successful challenge is all the possessions the challenger has the chance to acquire during the survival process. This includes, but is not limited to, 75 James I Gold Coins, each weighing 15.4 grams, 203 James I Crown Silver Coins, each weighing 31 grams, 6 Shilling Silver Coins, each weighing 6 grams, 1,185 Spanish Silver-Plated Copper Coins, and 6 Doubloons and 7 small gold bars weighing a total of 452 grams. Note: If the challenger has the ability to acquire precious metals or luxury items not mentioned in the original work during the challenge, they also belong to the challenger.]
[3. The 10,300 days spent on the deserted island will not proportionally consume the challenger's time and life in the real world, when the challenger completes the challenge and leaves, real-time will elapse by 0.025 seconds.]
[4. The challenger will go to the deserted island alone and is not allowed to bring any items other than clothing, including but not limited to electronics, medication, books, food, tools...]