It came out sounding badass, but I realized I had made a huge mistake. I had already noticed he was really young, plus, his girlfriend was standing next to him. A guy like that wasn’t going to give up while she was watching — he couldn’t let her think he was anything but an alpha male.
His response was instant and predictable.
“Oh, yeah? Or what?”
I groaned internally, but managed to stay calm.
“You’ll see. Listen, I’m not going to fight — ”
“We’ll see about that,” 107 interrupted me, turned away, and strode down the hallway. The girl gave me the finger, stuck her tongue out at me, and, after a moment’s thought, gave me the finger again. Then she hurried after her boyfriend, swinging her hips even more wildly than before
“I’m an idiot.” I said to myself, grabbing my bucket. “Yeah. A total idiot.”
I got the feeling I was no stranger to conflict, that I had had my share of conflict before. I was used to it. Why? I hadn’t panicked just then, facing down an obviously stronger opponent. My instinct wasn’t to back down — my heart started beating a little bit faster, but just a little bit. It didn’t start pounding uncontrollably. I regretted not holding back, but I knew that I had acted reflexively, which mean I had acted like that before. And it was likely my past conflicts often ended well for me, since I had called that guy out so boldly.
What else did I realize at that moment?
I knew I had caught a glimpse of fear in his eyes when he saw my torso. But that fear vanished once he saw my limbs. A colossus on decaying legs, with rotting arms — that’s what I was
At least I had gotten something useful out of this unexpected confrontation.
Back to collecting slime.
I picked up my bucket, went back to the room, and directed another huge chunk of slime into the bucket. Gripped the handle and started walking. Ten steps, then a quick break. Another ten steps, another break. Five steps, rest. Five more steps, rest. Three steps, rest. Another three steps and I was sending the bucket down the conveyor belt. I leaned against the wall again, my breathing even, and contemplated my trembling legs. It was unsettling… I was surprised I didn’t scream in terror at the sight of these thin, spaghetti-like appendages covered in age spots and spider veins, with their limp, feeble muscles, calloused feet and blackened, peeling nails, growing out of my torso. I should have been terrified. Maybe there was something in those immunosuppressants, some kind of sedative that made me accept my disfigured body calmly.
Task: Collect Gray Slime. Easy (O).
Description: Collect and deliver thirty-nine standard containers of gray slime to the receiver unit.
Glowing green lines appeared before my eyes, waiting patiently for me to focus on them. At least now I knew for sure that the buckets were counted right at the receiver unit. Everything worked.
The system did what it was supposed to. But the workers — they were idiots. They could’ve organized and made their lives easier. But would it actually help? I watched a sturdy woman with broad shoulders and muscular arms that any man would envy. She was effortlessly carrying two buckets while an elderly, white-haired man, panting heavily, struggled to keep up with her. These two were working together, and it was obvious he benefited from the arrangement. But what did she get out of it?
“Slow down!” She said with surprising fondness, turning to him. “Don’t hurt your back!”
“I’m fine,” he wheezed. “I’m hanging in there.”
Definitely working together. I sighed and went to pick up a fresh ‘standard container’. Thinking about how long it had taken me to turn in one bucket had me feeling disheartened. Including the confrontation and my first failed attempt, I had wasted about twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes for each bucket.
Three buckets an hour.
That’s thirty buckets in ten hours.
Even if the shift was twelve hours long (I had no idea when the evening alarm would sound), I still wasn’t going to make it.
If I could push myself and turn in a bucket every fifteen minutes, I’d have at least some hope. But I doubted I was strong enough — I could barely stand.
Whatever it took, I was determined to try my damnedest.
