Miss Witch doesn't want to be a diva

North Fourth District, Zihuai Mining Area.

The winter sun hung slanting in the sky, the gray earth stretched as far as the eye could see, the wind blew, and there was nothing else except this sound.

The daylight gradually reaches noon, and on the land where gray and white are intertwined, small black strips appear, moving slowly on the ground. If you don't pay attention, they will be submerged in this chaotic canvas of the earth.

As the line of sight gradually approached this long strip, a whining and rhythmic crashing sound came, making people realize that it was a long steel train.

The front of the car has a raised pattern of four prismatic wings. It can be seen that it was stamped during casting and is indelible. However, now the pattern is full of scratches and there are many dents on the edges and corners, and some of them are even polished. It seemed like it had been scratched by something.

The train keeps moving forward. Although there are constant noises and noises, the train is very quiet. There are only 16 crew members on this more than 600-meter-long steel train, and the steel carriages are also open to the open air, revealing the corrosion inside. Red rusted steel interior.

"the weather is nice today."

Sitting in the rest cabin at the front of the car, a conductor looked at the sky outside. The distant sun shone into the car, illuminating the metal baffle table in front of him. On the constantly shaking baffle, there was something in the open can. Make the fish pieces and mix them in the oily liquid.

"It's rare to have good weather. You can open the carriage to get some sunshine. In a month or two, it will start to rain again." Another conductor leaned on the back of his chair, pillowed his hands on his head, and half-opened his eyes.

"The most poisonous thing is the rain in February. I hope the company will have money to paint this car with a good coat of paint next year." The conductor in dark blue uniform complained as he poked pieces of fish meat with a fork.

"Forget it, I don't think the company wants to pay for it anymore. Do you remember the last time it was painted? I wasn't married yet." As he said that, the train conductor who was sleeping next to him reached out and grabbed it with his hat. Cover your eyes to make your nap more comfortable.

"It won't work without brushing. If this car is exposed to heavy rain a few times, it will probably be scrapped."

"The company's performance is not as good as every year. If this car is stopped, it is estimated that the next step will be to liquidate assets and prepare to let go." As old employees, they know the current situation of the company better than anyone else.

"At our age, it's hard to find a job~" As he said that, he pressed his knee with his left hand. It seemed to be rheumatism left by years of work, which made it a little itchy.

"It's hard to find a job. My nephew also graduated from high school this year, but no one asked for his resume everywhere. He also spent a lot of money renting an apartment in a big city, so his dad, my cousin, asked him to come back."

"What can I do when I come back? If you ask me, it's better to hang out in a big city first. Even working as a waiter is better than abandoning a small city." As he said this, the conductor who was about to take a nap turned over again.

"Four-leaf crystal is not good, it is better to live in a more prosperous star field. I heard that my distant aunt married an old man in the red birch star field just to leave here. Although it was very hard in the past few years, she is still struggling now. I came out with a son, two daughters, and several grandchildren.”

"Some time ago, their family came back to visit relatives and saw our place. Several young grandchildren said that our place was not as good as the fifth era escapees in the movie."

"I really couldn't stand it at the time. Fortunately, their parents were sensible and beat up the little guys and taught them a lesson before they continued talking."

"Then what happened next? Did I tell you how to immigrate there?" After eating the fish pieces, the conductor threw the box out. The iron box was flipped in the air, and the remaining oil and water spilled out, and then the iron box was thrown out. The box quickly fell behind him and hit the car body, making a clanging sound.

"It's difficult. Immigration between various star regions is not as easy as it used to be. Some residents of prosperous star regions are also very repulsive to immigrants. If any congressman dares to support such a proposal, he will be asked to step down immediately."

"Hey, as for the Federation, as promised, you are still more important." Shaking the hot water for mouthwash in his hand, the conductor complained in a strange tone.

"However, it's not completely hopeless." Perhaps because he couldn't sleep, the conductor next to him turned over.

"As long as you get into a good school, many big companies are rushing to get you. If you are a college student from a prestigious school, you can also use talent introduction channels."

"You are a college student. You can't afford it. My salary from 20 years of work combined is probably not enough for two years of college tuition."

"After they told me about it, I knew it was useless. It's not like I didn't work hard myself. As a result, I could barely reach a middle school in the area in high school. It took a lot of effort to get into this company."

"My son is 10 years old this year. I think he is more playful than I was back then. He is not motivated at all. His academic performance is a mess. There is no hope for him."

"If the company performs well and I can save some money, I will probably think about getting him a good cram school, but for now, I just hope the company can survive for a few more years."

"Hey, it's not easy."

After saying that, the two continued to sit in the lounge and look at the land illuminated by the white sun outside. The bare gray ground had no plants, only white sand and broken stones.

This is the Four-leaf Crystal Star Territory, the north of the Emerald Skirt, a national park that was once known as the Sea of ​​Purple Sophora Trees.

——————

A few days later, North Fourth District, Qianliu City.

The originally barren land now has many buildings erected, and the prototype of a small city can be roughly seen. Apart from here, the outside world is still barren, with only sporadic tracks passing through the land, connecting this gathering place.

Occasionally, trains pass through the empty land and come to this small city, bringing a bit of excitement like blood transporting nutrients.

"Woo--" Accompanied by the sound of brakes and whistles, the train slowly stopped in the station. Then several mechanical hooks were put down on the keel in the station, the carriage was picked up, and then the chalk stones transported inside were poured onto the station. In the open space on the side.

While loading and unloading, the accompanying employees on the train also jumped off. One of them had a cigarette in his mouth, and another looked around with curiosity, as if it was his first time here.

"What, are you curious?" the companion asked.

"Yes, it seems like a city is being built here?"

"That's right."

"Tsk, tsk, it's really rare. Is there any other company that invests in building a large-scale factory in Jade Skirt?"

"It's not the company, they built it themselves. Anyway, the land here is not valuable and almost no one wants it." Another employee shook his head, handed him a cigarette, and then the two of them walked out.

While smoking cigarettes, the two of them squatted on the steps outside the station, watching the workers and some old-style autonomous mechanical units passing by on the street, and continued the conversation just now.

"Where are they from and why do they want to settle here?"

"It seems that he is an Oriental. You must have watched movies and TV series. Orientals believe in the Five Phoenixes, which is different from our life and culture."

"I know this, but I think it's a bit silly for them to do this. There are so many abandoned cities in the north of Jade Skirt. You can just find any one to settle in. Why bother to do it yourself?"

"I don't understand either, but I have talked with a familiar Easterner before. They have a relatively strong sense of rural origin and do not want to be scattered anymore. A place with relatives is home. This is what they told me. "

"Okay, but this is probably quite expensive. Where do they get the funds?"

"Part of it is that they sold off their original assets, and part of it is government support and low-interest loans provided by banks."

"The government probably also thought that if they wanted to build a city, they should buy all kinds of materials and hire workers. It would be able to boost some economic indicators and create more jobs, so they supported it."

"Look at this, don't you think? The company's only remaining calcite mine is almost unsaleable, so it's only needed here to make building materials."

While the two were talking, the chalk calcite brought in from the station was gradually being unloaded, and then trucked to a gravel plant not far away, where it was then used to make cement and concrete.

Looking at the dusty construction site, the two were quiet for a while.

"I always feel like I'm in a dream." The tall conductor pressed the cigarette butt to the ground and put it out.

"What dream?"

"I dreamed that I was still alive at the end of the Third Age thousands of years ago."

"Why do you think so?"

"Because what I see now is the same as it was then. The bustling scenes on the Internet, the beautiful starry sky, the majestic and powerful starships, the glorious extraordinary beings, are too far away from my life. It feels so fake, just Like a liar."

"Don't be like this, do you remember three years ago, when a prisoner hid in our car in order to escape the police's arrest?"

"As we approached the mining area, we were overtaken by a shuttle driven by special military police." The short young train conductor waved his arms.

"The military police wearing light gray exoskeleton armor descended directly from the shuttle and landed on the carriage. Their stealth technology was not even detected by the surveillance radar on the car until these military police fell down and stepped on the carriage, causing gravity Changes trigger alarms.”

"At the time, I thought I had encountered some wild animal or that the car had rolled over or something."

"As a result, we saw those heavily armed military police fighting with the fugitives, shooting bullets indiscriminately, and later a close fight broke out. One of the carriages was directly split into two pieces, rolled over, and the five carriages behind it were derailed."

"That was the first time I saw the high-end weapons used by the federal military and police at close range. If they are like cannons, then the firearms used by underground gangs are like small water cannons."

"The difference is huge. I estimate that a complete set of equipment for those military and police officers would cost hundreds of thousands."

"I guess there are more. Such heavily armed military police are usually at Sequence 4 or above." The tall conductor shook his head.

"I heard someone say before that during a raid on a gang in the mountains of the North Fifth District, a team of only 12 people was dispatched, and more than 600 gang members were killed, including some Sequence 4 masters."

"A Sequence 4 extraordinary job focused on combat, paired with a full set of weapons, will give you a one-sided advantage even when faced with multiple extraordinary people of the same level in the gang."

"The Federation's military power is still extremely powerful, which is beyond the imagination of ordinary people."

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. The goods on the train have been unloaded. It's time for us to return." After saying that, the two stood up and looked at the gathering place in front of them again.

"I hope it can be built when I come next time. Maybe I can sell some specialties and the like." The two of them muttered quietly and walked towards the inside of the station.

————

North Fourth District, Zihuai Mining Area.

In the dark night, the cold wind blew across the sandy and gravelly land, and occasionally searchlights swayed, illuminating the distant night sky.

In this pitch-black land, this mining area is like an elliptical vortex indented layer by layer. Between each layer are high and straight rock walls. The traces of manual excavation are particularly obvious. Occasionally, a large truck Along the ever-increasing giant circle, spiraling downward, the two cones reflected by the car lights were particularly obvious in the night.

After arriving at the mine pit at the bottom, the excavating machine placed the excavated ore in the truck, and then the truck circled upward again and poured the ore into the parked train carriage.

In this way, it takes about two days and two nights to load a batch, and then the train will take the ore away to complete an order.

In the underground mining area, workers wearing helmets drove a robotic arm to continuously cut off pieces of white crystals. During this period, dust was everywhere, and it was only the small water pipe next to the robotic arm that sprayed water mist to stop it.

Even so, the environment here is still harsh, and long-term inhalation of dust can cause various occupational diseases.

Another large piece of white crystal was cut off, and then the worker adjusted the position, set the parameters, and jumped out of the driver's seat.

For the next twenty minutes or so, the robotic arm will continue to work under the control of AI until it encounters a complex mineral deposit or arrives at the scheduled time.

Arriving at the small isolated tin room not far away, the worker wiped the dust off his hands, then took off his helmet and leaned on a trestle chair nearby.

"I'm so exhausted. It's so boring to wear this helmet." In addition to him, there was a safety officer in the room, but at this moment the safety officer was just leaning on his chair in boredom, watching the robotic arms digging automatically outside the window.

"You'd better wear it. It's not like you don't know that if you breathe in too much dust, you will get sick."

"The money for a new lung won't be enough even if I sell you."

"Forget it, I'm over 60 years old and I won't live much longer." He lay down and drank the ice water he drew aside to quench his thirst.

"The average life expectancy in the Federation is 85 years, which is still enough." The security officer glanced at him.

"We are the one being averaged. Don't compare yourself with those people in the Central Star Territory. It's not surprising that they live to be 150 years old."

"While you can still move in these few years, be happy, otherwise you won't be able to feel comfortable when you get older."

The two continued to chat without saying a word, until finally, the worker said something.

"Why do you think people are so tired? It's obviously not the slave society of the past."

After saying that, he stared blankly at the mechanical excavation arm that was still working tirelessly.

"Sometimes I feel like that machine, without soul, without thinking, just repeating actions."

"No one whipped me, no one pointed a gun at me, but I still couldn't rest."

"Maybe he was exploited?" the security officer said with a smile.

"Maybe, but it doesn't feel right either."

"Some companies make money but don't distribute it to their employees. But here, you and I know that the company can't make any money at all. Who else wants such a stone?"

"Companies that cannot make profits should be eliminated. This is what I loved to say when I was young, but I dare not say it now because I am really afraid that the company will disappear."

"At least I can still get a salary now, but once I lose my job at my age, I basically won't be able to find a job."

"Lying at home and letting my children make money for me and help me treat my illness, I feel like I am dragging him down for his whole life and carrying a burden at an age when he can best work hard."

"It's so hard, this life."

He murmured, and through the glass, he seemed to see the passionate, youthful and agile version of himself running past many years ago.

‘I’m going to the Central Star Territory to attend college. ’

The girl he once liked waved goodbye to him like this, then boarded the super-light plane and never came back.

He still had her communication method, but he never sent another message.

Because he knew that from then on, the two of them were in two worlds, and with the heavy labor, his cheeks lost their luster and became ugly and greasy. He even dared not look in the mirror for a while.

Why exactly is it that the flexible and energetic self that was once full of ideas and ideals slowly died in time, and now all that is left is just a soulless body.

Is it because of himself, or because he didn’t work hard enough? But he was really tired and tried his best to do it.

Is it because of society? But what caused the current situation? His poor mind was unable to distinguish between the increasingly complex economic environment and the countless dazzling industry occupations.

"well……"

With a sigh, white mist condensed on the glass, blocking his vision. Then he picked up the helmet at hand, put it on himself, then opened the door and walked out.

We have to continue working, we can't let the robotic arm stop.

It cannot stop, it is a machine, and its value must be maximized. This is its value here.