Unaware of how long had passed while in a daze, I suddenly sat up in a hurry when the creaking sound of leather shoes approached again. The workshop gradually brightened up as the lights on the operating table turned on. Sitting in the workshop, I couldn't tell the difference between day and night, nor could I figure out how much time had passed outside.

The creaking behind me stopped at Brother Qiang's side. I could only hear some rustling and shouting, then the creaking sound gradually faded away. It seemed that even with Brother Qiang's experience, someone still ended up losing an arm.

After the inspector left, I asked Brother Qiang about the situation of their team. He didn't directly reply but urged me to start assembling quickly. Being no longer a new member, the more I assembled, the higher the chance of meeting the standard. As for how many will meet the standard-

"That depends on the inspector's mood."

I quickly assembled each part to prevent any defects and also worried that Ah Mao wouldn't be able to efficiently complete his task with only one hand. We could help each other and allocate some tasks to him. Xiao Hua agreed, but Brother Wang brought up the factory rules directly: "We cannot help each other. Disabilities can be transferred."

"If you help him, he will grow a new arm, but you will lose your own arm."

"What nonsense?!" Xiao Hua was a bit confused.

"Brother Wang knows the rules well. Why didn't he tell us at the beginning? Now he suddenly appears to preach about the rules." I mocked him.

"You can try. I'm doing this for your own good." After saying this, Brother Wang fell silent.

"Song Brother..." Xiao Hua seemed hesitant.

"It's okay, I can do it. I made ten yesterday with ease, as long as I concentrate today, you guys don't need to worry."

Everyone buried themselves in their work, the plastic dolls' parts colliding constantly. Strangely, today the inspector seemed to target Brother Qiang's team. Every time not long passed, a miserable cry would sound, and we couldn't help but feel scared sitting beside them.

"Brother Qiang, what happened to your team? How did everyone suddenly start to violate the rules?" I was puzzled. In theory, Brother Qiang was so helpful to me, an outsider, so he must take good care of his teammates, and his team shouldn't have so many rule violations.

"Hurry up and assemble. The faster, the better. You must become the first in your team." Brother Qiang seemed a bit out of breath.

Becoming the first was probably impossible. Just now, I saw that Brother Wang had completed twice as many as mine. This guy must have worked here before. As he was familiar with the rules and worked so efficiently, fortunately, there was no elimination for the last in our team, otherwise, we would all be done for.

"Ding," someone in Brother Qiang's team made a defective product, the sound quickly attracted the inspector. This time, no noise or shouting, only the creaking sound of the inspector and Brother Qiang's heavy breathing.

"Xiao Song, are you the first in your team?"

"No, Lao Wang completed many more than me. He is definitely the first."

"That's fine. For a short time, you should be safe." Brother Qiang leaned out, reached out with the doll's hand, and grabbed my arm, "Survive, you must survive."

"Okay... okay, Brother Qiang." I saw that the doll's hand was missing a thumb.

Brother Qiang's whole team was penalized for rule violations. According to the director, they were all "completely devoted" to their work. In contrast, each of us in our team earned an additional 100 points of performance. For a short time, we were all safe, and because of the performance bonus, Brother Wang was going to be promoted to an inspector.

Before officially starting work, Brother Wang spoke a lot for the first time. He vividly described how cautious he was when he first entered the factory, how they explored all the rules together, and just when they thought they had found a way out, one of them, wanting to leave early, secretly hid some parts and accidentally killed two teammates. Brother Wang also lost both legs. Later, that person's conscience was struck, and helped Brother Wang complete the promotion performance. Brother Wang chose to leave. However, after leaving, he found that each company's factory had its own rules, so he decided to return to the familiar factory. He wanted to climb to the top at all costs and then change everything.

"Oh, by the way, the person back then was your neighbor, Brother Qiang." Brother Wang told me.

"Him?"

Instantly, all the discussions we had quietly talked about last night came to mind. Could it be that the disaster of Brother Qiang's team was all to help Brother Wang complete his promotion performance? I looked at the smug Brother Wang, and it seemed like he saw through my thoughts, grinning at me.

At that moment, he resembled the ferocious appearance of the inspector when going berserk.

"After I leave, you will be left with three people. If someone accidentally violates the factory rules, then the reward will be divided among the three of you." He stood up, patted his buttocks, as if bidding farewell to this position.

"I will change this place."

Turning off the red lights on the operation table, he walked into the darkness.

Watching him gradually disappear into the darkness, Ah Mao and Xiao Hua were somewhat happy. They thought that having someone on their side among the inspectors meant they could leave sooner or choose to become an inspector and no longer endure humiliation.

"Do you think one-handed individuals can become inspectors?" Ah Mao already started to daydream.

"They should. The factory rules are very clear. But, so far, I haven't seen any handicapped inspectors."

"Once they lose their hands, they cannot complete the following assessments. I think, in fact, all these rules have only one purpose."

"What purpose? To increase production?" Xiao Hua innocently asked.

"Maybe Brother Qiang's fate is their purpose."

Both of them fell into silence, just like the empty operating table next door.

In the following days, we continued assembling at a normal pace, as the quantity had exceeded a lot in the factory, completely unworried about the inspector's random checks. We even learned to bring the parts when going to the restroom, as if we had found a loophole in the factory rules.

During this time, Brother Wang's words about the more reward for fewer people kept haunting my mind. I kept pondering over everything that had happened since I entered, about the missing fingers and the blocked door with the bucket. Perhaps, from the start, Brother Wang had already planned to use guilt to make Brother Qiang help him complete the performance, and for more performance, fewer members in the team were better! My missing finger, the bucket in Xiao Hua's restroom, all had a reasonable explanation now. All for the sake of becoming an inspector, at any cost.

The inspector with the red collar had appeared again late at night, saying that only the ones with the same red collar as himself could be trusted, warning me.

Lost in thoughts, the creaking sound echoed again, but the three of us remained calm, diligently assembling the doll parts in hand.

The creaking sound stopped behind Xiao Hua, and a familiar voice asked, "How many have you completed?"

"It's Brother Wang!" Xiao Hua shouted in excitement and immediately stood up and hugged Brother Wang.

Brother Wang, now like the other inspectors, had changed from a grey work uniform to a straight suit, wearing a dust cover. He held Xiao Hua, with a faint smile on his face.

"Brother Wang, we are close to completing the performance. I will be leaving in a few days!" Xiao Hua was filled with joy.

Brother Wang didn't respond, just smiled at Xiao Hua tenderly, like a kind elder comforting a cheerful child. In the midst of movement, I thought I saw that his collar was still black.

"Only the ones with red collars can be trusted!" The words of the inspector flashed through my mind.

"Xiao Hua, come back!" I shouted to Xiao Hua, who had yet to realize what was happening. Brother Wang suddenly grabbed Xiao Hua's right arm and violently pulled it, causing a rush of blood to gush out from the shoulder at the break, and the sudden pain broke Xiao Hua, who cried out loudly.

Ah Mao quickly stood up, and I immediately restrained him:

"Stay focused on your work!"

Ah Mao was about to curse, "Listen to me!" I shouted at him.

Blood flowed from his face to the corners of his mouth, but Brother Wang was still smiling.

"Remember to stay focused on your work." After saying that, he threw Xiao Hua's arm onto the operation table, glanced around, covered in blood, and left.

Xiao Hua exchanged her product for advanced medical technology, and soon, the heart-wrenching sobs turned into quiet sobs.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Hua, I should have warned you earlier. In fact, I always suspected that he blocked the door of your restroom that day, and he was the one responsible for Brother Qiang's entire team violating the rules." My speculation was now validated. For him to climb up at all costs in this setting was not uncommon, but indeed, he was different from the other inspectors. Even if he became a savage machine, he would still disguise himself as a smiling face.

"Song Brother, what should we do next?"

"Endure! Endure until we can leave this place."

In the following days, we were cautious, avoiding any possible accidents. Now, with Ah Mao and Xiao Hua having only one hand to work, our progress was much slower than before. People around us were replaced one after another, and gradually, we began to obsessively chant about the workload. One day, I suddenly thought, perhaps my body had already turned into a doll, and Xiao Hua would always remind me at such moments:

"Song Brother, you can definitely lead us out."

That day, the director unexpectedly came to inspect our workshop. In the narrow space, he clumsily moved his stout body, each step making him pant heavily. When he finished, he would console the workers nearby, with the duration of his consolation depending on his rest time. His voice resembled the exhaust sound of an old car from the last century, and the person being consoled could only stand straight with ears perked up, greeting him eagerly, as if someone had installed prosthetic limbs overnight to the recently amputated worker.

After a long time, the director moved behind me, and his smell of blood-stained hands heavily patted my shoulder. I uncontrollably stood up, hands as respectful against my pant seam and head down.

He scrutinized me from head to toe, noticing that I had no doll parts on me.

"This worker doesn't seem to be fully devoted to work. We must put our heart and soul into everything we do..." He kept talking incessantly, his sharp voice like a blunt needle scraping against a rusty iron door, but I couldn't move at all.

"Look at your other two coworkers, they seem more dedicated, at least it shows..."

In the gap of his words, the creaking sound suddenly resounded, and I tried hard to sit down, but my body simply didn't respond.

"It's Brother Wang!" Xiao Hua shouted, "Song Brother, sit down!"

"Little girl, you seem to know a lot of people!" He placed his hand on Xiao Hua's shoulder, and Xiao Hua stood up involuntarily.

The creaking sound was getting closer, but Xiao Hua and I could only stand there helplessly listening to the guy extol the spirit of sacrifice for the factory. When the guy arrived, we could only be fish on the chopping board.

Rapidly, I thought of the factory rules. If Ah Mao now uses the parts to distract Brother Wang, perhaps there was still a chance of survival. I glanced at Ah Mao with the hope in my eyes. It's up to you!

Seeing Brother Wang slowly approaching, Ah Mao stood up, on one side was an empty sleeve, while the other hand clutched a doll's hand tightly. He smiled at me and directly charged towards the direction of the creaking sound.

"Screw you, inspector!"

When Ah Mao appeared again, he was on the operating table.

He rushed to Brother Wang in an attempt to save Xiao Hua and me and got tangled up with him.

And when the director saw this, he hastily moved his bulky body out of the workshop.

Xiao Hua and I were saved, but Ah Mao had become a product of the factory forever.

Thanks to Ah Mao, Xiao Hua and I gained many more production performance points. We thought we could finally escape from this skinning factory, but the inspector with the red collar told me that experienced workers must shoulder more work to advance, so the standards for advancement of old employees increased with time.

"So, what should we do?"

"Stand united, for unity is strength!"

Xiao Hua worked slowly, and although we had a lot of performance guarantees, we would help each other assemble dolls every day, taking turns to lose a hand. That way, Xiao Hua and I both had a chance to use two hands to work on the workload.

Soon, a new group of recruits crowded into the workshop, creating a commotion.

"Song Brother, new people have arrived. When can we leave?"

"Xiao Hua, leaving is impossible. Becoming a part of the knife is the way out."