The Day a Ghost Went on Strike

Control of time? Did laborers even have such a thing as control of time?

Hadn’t they already sold their control when they signed the contract?

The wrist-slashing ghost was completely numb to this kind of pie-in-the-sky
talk. It grew increasingly confused and sorrowful, continuing to exacerbate the
contamination invasion with its despair.

Su Lai took off his watch and threw it directly at the sorrowful ghost. “Here.
You do it.”

Whether intentional or not, the watch hit the ghost right on its blackened
forehead. The ghost felt the pain and instinctively cried out, “Ouch!”

Rubbing its forehead, the ghost suddenly felt as if it had been shoved. Its
previously uncontrollable sadness eased, and its confused emotions gradually
receded.

But it stood there, at a loss. “Why give me the watch? My wrists are cut. I
can’t wear it.”

“The watch isn’t for you to wear.” Su Lai said calmly. “It’s for you to smash.”

The floor they were on had a time flow abnormality, out of sync with the normal
time outside the floor. And this so-called patrol-specific watch marked the flow
rate of this disordered time. Clearly, the company deliberately let the
patrolling guard see this, to increase their sense of urgency and anxiety.

Since time wasn’t behaving, just smash the watch that marked it. Smash it until
it didn’t dare move anymore!

“And the things to smash aren’t just the watch, but also the computers showing
the time. It’s manual labor.”

After all, the time on the computer screens was synchronized with the watch.

Earlier, Su Lai had tried; even when unplugged, the computers on this floor
stayed on. Clearly, the contaminants were providing the power.

The ghost was stunned. “… Smash them?”

Su Lai: “What else would you do with uncontrollable time, keep it around to be
urged and exploited by a countdown?” “Out of sight, out of mind.” He had learned
this from the Tianlong Hotel janitor. “Smash it, and maybe time will behave.”

The ghost was a bit swayed. “… That does make some sense.”

“And smashing things is very stress-relieving, especially smashing other
people’s things. Very satisfying.” Su Lai said sincerely. “Smashing company
things is even more satisfying.”

The ghost popped its eyeball back in and blinked. “How do you know?”

Su Lai: “Not long ago, I organized a thousand-person street-bashing party.
Speaking from experience.”

The ghost: “… And then?” This young man had organized a street-bashing party and
didn’t have a criminal record? After a background check, he still successfully
joined the company? Could he be a connected newbie?

Su Lai stated matter-of-factly. “It was satisfying, of course.” “Try it yourself
and you’ll know.”

If the ghost’s hand hadn’t been hanging limp, it would have already given a
thumbs-up.

Perhaps Su Lai’s words were too instigating, or maybe his suggestion just hit
the mark, but the confused ghost gradually calmed down. The more it thought, the
more sense it made.

Yeah. The company exploited their time and labor by controlling it. Smash the
watch, smash the screens, and time would disappear from sight.

Since time was shattered, there was no need to rush to complete an impossible
task…

Out of sight, out of mind was a laborer’s creed. The ghost was suddenly seeing
the light.

“What if… after smashing the watch and screens, time still moves forward?” The
ghost hesitated slightly.

Su Lai: “You’ll never know unless you try.”

Ghost: “Is it really no problem to smash company property?”

Su Lai: “The rules don’t say it’s not allowed, so it’s fine.” “If there is a
problem, just don’t admit it. Why should we take the blame? It’s their fault for
not making the rules clear.”

That made so much sense… The ghost hesitated and nodded. But the moment it was
about to smash the watch on the ground, it paused. “Why should I do the
smashing?”

Su Lai stated matter-of-factly. “The dead are the eldest. You’re eldest, you do
it.”

“…??” The ghost hadn’t expected this logic. It sounded absurd at first, but upon
closer thought, it also made sense.

Su Lai: “If anyone holds me responsible, I can report like this: Some dead ghost
smashed the watch and computers. Nothing to do with me.”

The ghost paused for half a second. “… Little brother, you’re pretty direct.”
Even if put so eloquently, wasn’t this just shifting the blame?

Su Lai: “No point beating around the bush with a dead person.”

Ghost: “…” No need to be that direct.

It had worked for years and had never seen anyone shift blame so confidently.
Young people these days were indeed different.

Su Lai: “You’ve been dead here for years. You know this floor inside out. You
know better than me how many computer screens are in these offices. You’ll smash
more thoroughly.” “And if you do it, it won’t consume time.”

The flow of time was proportional to his patrol speed. As long as he stayed put,
the flow would slow down. This would buy more time for the upcoming smashing.

Ghost: “…” “But what if we get in trouble?”

Su Lai continued: “You’re already dead. The worst that can happen is you die
again. You have the advantage of being dead. You’re already a corpse. You have
nothing left to lose. If you’re going to be punished, at least you’re in the
grave. It’s a step up.”

The ghost didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It sounded like a compliment, but
was it really a step up? Was being dead something to be proud of?

But the ghost was fundamentally an honest person, had suffered for being honest
its whole life, and even in death hadn’t learned its lesson. It was particularly
susceptible to sincerity.

It had come to scare people, but instead, it got persuaded.

One laborer doesn’t cheat another. Rather than being exploited by the boss, it
was better to trust this young guy and take a gamble.

To be honest, as a corpse that had been suppressed for a long time, it really
wanted to experience the thrill of trashing the office. Just imagining it felt
great. A laborer couldn’t resist such temptation!

What was it, a dead person, actually afraid of? What did it have to fear?
Unachievable KPIs or endless work?

But before all this, it was just an ordinary security guard, working to earn a
living. Now it couldn’t live anymore. Going a little crazy wasn’t too much, was
it?

It was just smashing a cheap watch and trashing a floor full of outdated
computers?

Back then, what had trapped him here was 「time.」 Now that he was thoroughly
dead, he had nothing left to lose. He might as well do something big with this
new guard and smash the time that had trapped him!

The ghost used the same force it had used to slit its wrists and, with a BAM,
smashed the watch on the ground.

Suddenly, as if it had a life of its own, the watch twitched on the ground,
making a clacking sound as it hit the tiles, like a dying cockroach struggling
after being hit by a shoe.

Su Lai immediately stomped on it with his pink flip-flop, adding a final blow.
He knew about finishing things off, especially when dealing with a creature with
strong vitality like a cockroach.

For a moment, the watch on the ground screamed shrilly, the piercing sound
making one’s scalp tingle.

After the screaming subsided, the watch was completely shattered. The time
stopped at 14:35. 25 minutes remaining until the end of the patrol.

The humming of the water cooler continued. The neatly arranged computers in the
office collectively flickered. The red static disappeared.

The pixelated Windows startup screen reappeared on the screens. But the
four-colored squares were irregular, showing a congealed distortion after
disorder. The distortion hadn’t stopped. The time display on the computer
taskbars froze for a few seconds, then suddenly started trying to move on its
own, ignoring the stopped watch.

The ghost had already tasted the joy of smashing and was on a roll. It
immediately turned and started smashing the neatly arranged computer screens!

Damned distorted time. Smash it and be done with it!

A violent clatter rang out. The computers where the contaminants had lodged
their life force squealed like trapped rats. The sound was especially pleasing
in the empty office.

Shards of broken screens flew up. Even without direct light, the fragments
reflected colorful beams, projecting rainbows onto the low, oppressive ceiling.
Irrational, but beautiful.

The frantically smashing ghost looked up and paused. It had forgotten how long
it had been dead, how long since it had seen a rainbow.

Its retina had been “tamed.” All it could see was the endless loop of office
corridors, the lifeless computer server room, and its own blood, withering from
crimson…

A rainbow. So this world still had rainbows.

Even though this rainbow was probably just an illusion from the destruction of
the contaminants, it was enough.

After being dead for years, it could still see such colorful colors…

The colorful shattered screens fell like snowflakes. The moment they hit the
carpet, the glass fragments dissolved like ice cubes, soaking the carpet wet.
Like muddy roads during the Qingming Festival, rubber boots leaving deep and
shallow marks, except the mud wasn’t rainwater, but blood.

Smash it! Smash it all! The sound of smashing computers was livelier and more
festive than drumming gongs.

The task and the time that had trapped him—let them all shatter, dissolve, and
turn into crimson mud with these screens!

The destructive power of a laborer who had been in the ground for years far
exceeded Su Lai’s expectations.

In an instant, the once orderly office was in shambles. The crackle of
electricity rose and fell. Sparks occasionally flashed from the ceiling. After
the massive destruction ceased, the floor returned to silence.

Su Lai: “Feels pretty good, doesn’t it?”

The ghost, dead for years and no longer breathing, calmed its excited emotions
like a living person. “Amazing.”

Su Lai: “Laborers. Going a little crazy is good for your health.”

The indicator light on the walkie-talkie at Su Lai’s waist flashed, but
ultimately didn’t make a sound.

Su Lai looked at the smashed watch. The hour and minute hands were broken. They
couldn’t continue moving. Time had stopped. The contamination had also stopped
spreading.

From the moment the guard entered the 11th floor to start his patrol, the
concept of 「time」 had been distorted by this floor.

「Security personnel should wear the dedicated watch and be constantly aware of
the passage of time.」 This rule being singled out and emphasized suggested that
the flow of time on this floor was independent.

And the dedicated watch on the guard’s wrist was the coordinate of the distorted
time on this floor. By disabling this coordinate, the building could no longer
control the flow of time at will. The flow of time returned to normal.

Smashing the time displays on the computer screens was an extra layer of
insurance. Who knew if the contaminants would play tricks through the screens?

Su Lai’s inference was confirmed. The so-called “blessed retribution” picked on
the weak, bullied the honest.

“Little brother, what’s your plan now?” Having just experienced the excitement,
the ghost suddenly felt lost now that it was quiet again.

Su Lai: “Still have to finish the patrol.” “Time outside this floor is still
flowing normally.”

“You’re right…” The ghost couldn’t stay still. It started finding things to do,
suddenly diligently scrubbing the floor. But its severed wrists kept falling
off.

Su Lai sighed. he tore the rag in half and used one half to bandage the ghost’s
hand.

“Little brother, you’re a really good person.” The ghost exclaimed again.

Su Lai: “We’re both laborers. We understand each other.”

“Sigh, beasts of burden in life, turn into ox-headed horses in death. Always
beasts. When will it ever end…” After the excitement of trashing the office had
cooled, the ghost fell back into confusion.

Ghosts had no tears, only blood. If it cried, the floor would get dirty.

Su Lai looked at it quietly, thinking this overly emotional ghost should be
taken to the hospital for a blood drive.

Su Lai: “Put a knife to the leader’s throat, harden your heart, and you’ll have
an end.” “If that doesn’t work, blow up the whole office building.”

Ghost: “…”

Patrol time was still at 14:35. Su Lai patrolled at a normal speed. Perhaps
because the contamination had stopped spreading, the previously endless loop of
office corridors had disappeared, returning to a normal office layout.

Su Lai walked through every corner of the offices. It took him less than ten
minutes.

When he returned from his patrol, the ghost was still diligently wiping the
walls and mopping the floor. The water from the faucet was clear, with a faint
smell of bleach, completely covering the smell of blood in the break room.

The previously hated smell of disinfectant was now reassuring.

After its outburst, the ghost stopped complaining and crying. It forgot its
original intent of scaring people. It suddenly became very quiet, like a
spiritual body that didn’t really exist.

It wiped away its own bloodstains repeatedly. Apart from the sounds of rinsing
the rag and scrubbing the floor, it made no noise.

In between wiping, it would occasionally look out the break room window. The
four characters 「Fortuitous Retribution Building」 were blurry dots of light in
the thick fog. Reflected from the glass into its dilated pupils, they looked
like a colorful mosaic.

It couldn’t see anything. Just the thick, impenetrable fog and the colorful
world pixelated beyond.

It seemed to realize it was thoroughly trapped in Fortuitous Retribution
Building. That’s why it became so quiet. Desperate yet calm.

The indicator light on the walkie-talkie flashed again. Su Lai pressed the play
button. A crackling sound came through. The signal was bad, unclear. Without
even needing to hear clearly, Su Lai knew the person in charge was pointing and
whispering about his destructive behavior.

He loved seeing them get frustrated and unable to do anything to him.

“11th floor patrol complete. No abnormalities found. Report complete.” After
finishing his own report, Su Lai pressed the off button, considering the patrol
task concluded.

The ghost in the break room heard the commotion. Seeing the walls and tiles
clean of bloodstains, it quickly rinsed the rag and handed it to Su Lai. “Little
brother, leave now that you’re done. This isn’t a good place.”

The broken elevator indicator light came back on. Su Lai pressed the floor
button. “Come downstairs with me. Follow me. We’ll deal with this building
properly.”

The ghost was silent for a moment. Finally, it lowered its head. “I’m dead. I’m
not a guard here anymore. I don’t have an ID badge. I can’t move freely around
the office building…”

Su Lai took out 1120’s ID card. “Just make do. Use this for now?”

The ghost smiled for the first time. A wry smile. “I can’t leave… It’s not time
yet…” “I can’t leave…”

Su Lai didn’t say anything. He took the rag and nodded.

His grandmother had said before that ghosts have their own rules. Before karmic
ties are resolved and the truth comes to light, a ghost has difficulty leaving
the site of its death. Besides, this middle-aged wrist-slashing ghost was an
honest employee, the type who would punch in and out diligently.

The elevator doors opened before Su Lai. As he entered, the ghost waved goodbye
with its bare, bloody wrist. Behind it was the ruined office, the dim lights
flickering.

The scene was both horrifying and filled with the warmth of shared hardship.

Su Lai made a silent decision. It seemed he would have to continue being a
contractor.

“See you later, little brother.” The ghost said.

“Wait for me to blow up this building. I’ll introduce you to a good job.” Su Lai
promised. “No need to be a beast of burden. Salary paid in advance.”

Ghost: “Don’t give me that pie in the sky. I’ve accepted my fate.”

“You’re already dead. No need to accept that fate.” “See you later.” Su Lai’s
“see you later” was never just a polite phrase. He meant what he said.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the office building, Bai Ke couldn’t stop
sneezing.