Midnight Convenience Store survival Guide
————If you want to live till dawn, you must obey the rules.
Chapter 1: The New Loser
My name is Eric, and I'm a loser who just got a job.
The night shift pay at the convenience store was mediocre, but I was really short of money, and the part-time job during the day was exhausting, so at least I didn't have to deal with too many people. That is, if you survive, of course.
"Remember the rules." The manager, a middle-aged man with bags under his eyes as deep as two black holes, slipped me a crumpled piece of paper. "Just do it and nothing will happen."
1. After 1 a.m., if you hear footsteps between shelves, pretend you didn't hear them.
2. If you see a customer wearing a black trench coat, do not make eye contact with him or ask him what to buy.
3. If the cash register automatically prints out a blank receipt at 2:14 AM, put it in the shredder immediately without trying to read it.
4. The temperature of the refrigerator must be kept at 4℃. If the temperature is abnormal, please turn off the power supply of the refrigerator immediately and record it in the duty log.
5. After 3 am, if you hear laughter coming from the lounge, turn on all lights immediately until the laughter dies down.
6. If you find that the goods on the shelf are displaced for no reason, please rearrange them in accordance with the original position, and do not ask the reason.
7. If a beverage in the freezer drops automatically, put it back in its place within one minute and make sure all beverage labels face outward.
8. After 4 o 'clock in the morning, if you see a customer suddenly disappear while choosing products, please immediately close the store until dawn.
9. If you find that the drawer under the cash register is opened for no reason, please check whether there is an extra ancient copper coin inside, if so, please put it in the merit box outside the store.
10. Do not attempt to enter the warehouse at any time unless you hear three distinct meows.
I stared at the piece of paper, which listed ten bizarre rules, such as: "If you hear footsteps in the aisles after 1am, pretend you didn't hear them."
"Does that mean haunted?" I frown.
The manager stared at me. "If you don't, you'll hope it's just haunted."
All right, I think I'm gonna shut up.
My wretched night shift life began.
1:05 a.m. - Footsteps between shelves
At the beginning of the night shift, I decided to be a standard fish player. I dragged a bench behind the cash register and pulled out my phone to stream some boring short videos.
Then I heard footsteps.
sand sand sand
It's like a man walking slowly between the shelves.
"What the hell are guests at this time?"
I stuck my head out and looked -- the shop was empty.
The footsteps continued, even getting closer to me.
Rule number one came to mind: "If you hear footsteps between the shelves, pretend you didn't hear them."
"Well, I didn't hear anything."
So I looked down and pretended to study my phone screen.
However, the footsteps stopped at the cash register.
I can feel ** something ** standing in front of me.
Then, suddenly, a cold "hand" slapped me on the shoulder.
I almost bounced right there! But I knew I couldn't respond. So I tried to keep myself still, even deliberately taking out the coins in the cash register and counting them one by one: "... Twenty-five cents... Fifty cents..."
The thing that patted me on the shoulder paused, as if a little confused by my disregard.
Then, finally, it slowly left, the footsteps slowly away, disappeared into the depths of the shelf.
This time, it was my turn to lose cold sweat in the cash register.
Chapter 2: The "Customer" of the Black Trench Coat
1:30 a.m. - Suspicious trench coat man
A jingle --
The door was pushed open and a tall man in a black trench coat came in.
With the brim of his hat pressed down so low that he could not see his face, he moved slowly toward the drink area.
I immediately remembered the rule: "If you see a customer wearing a black trench coat, do not make eye contact with him or ask him what to buy."
Fine. I'll put my head down and pretend to wipe the register.
Just then, my colleague, Mark, a chubby night shift boy, emerged from the break room with instant noodles and let out a loud burp.
"Hey buddy, shopping at this late hour?" He said hello to the man in the trench coat.
This is it. This silly is dead.
The trench coat man slowly looked up, and under the brim of his black hat, a... Totally blurry face.
Yeah, it's blurry, like it's been rubbed with an eraser, you can't see the features.
Mark's expression froze. His face was white and his lips trembled.
"Brother, your... Your face..."
Without finishing his words, he sprayed himself with instant noodles directly and rushed back to the lounge screaming!
I kept my head down, pretending I didn't see anything, and even wiped the spilled table.
The man in the trench coat stared at me for a few seconds, then walked to the cashier, slowly put down a bill, carried a bottle of water, and quietly left the store.
The air was quiet for a whole minute.
Then I heard Mark cry from the break room, "Eric, I see a fucking weird face - no, a face without a face - whoo!"
I sighed and shouted back, "You don't have to drink coffee today, you probably won't sleep tonight!"
Chapter 3: The ghost of the freezer
2:14 AM - The stranger in the freezer
The refrigerator suddenly alarms, and the temperature display lights up red.
When I looked, the temperature had dropped to 20 degrees below zero.
Rule 4 - "The temperature of the refrigerator must be maintained at 4 ° C. If the temperature is abnormal, turn off the power immediately."
So, I went over and hit the power switch.
But just at the glass door, I saw a pale man's face pressed against the inside!
I almost shouted right there!
His lips were purple and he gasped on the glass, his eyes full of despair. "Help me... Help me..."
Wait, this isn't the guy with the receipt for help, is it? !
No, I can't open the door!
I fought the discomfort, quickly turned off the power in the cooler, and... Pretend you didn't see anything.
The shadows in the cabinet slowly disappeared.
I picked up my duty log and shivered to write:
"2:45 Freezer abnormal, power out, not open, alive."
Chapter 4: Ghost Receipts
2:45 a.m. - Mysterious distress call
The cash register suddenly rang ** * and automatically printed out a small ticket.
I tore it off and took a look at the time: 2:14.
Then I remembered the rules --
"If the cash register automatically prints out a blank receipt at 2:14 AM, put it in the shredder immediately and don't try to read what's on it."
But yet It's like telling you not to think about pink elephants, and I couldn't help but glance at the receipt.
Then a few crooked blood-red letters appeared on the face of the ticket --
"H-E-L-P..."
"Shit."
I was so frightened that I immediately threw the receipt into the shredder, listening to the sound of the paper being shredded, my heart beating like a drum.
The air was quiet for a moment.
Then, from the break room, Mark sobbed, "Eric... Did you hear someone calling for help?"
"No, I didn't hear anything, and you better not hear anything either!"
Chapter 5: Laughter at 3 a.m
3:05 AM -- Ghost laugh in the break room
There was a sudden burst of female laughter in the lounge.
Rule 5: "If you hear laughter coming from the break room after 3 a.m., turn on all lights immediately."
I didn't hesitate to turn on all the lights.
The laughter died away in an instant.
Then Mark's voice said, "Eric, I heard someone laughing. Did you hear that? "
"No, shut up and go to sleep!"
Chapter 6: Automatically Deficient Drinks
3:30 AM -- Coke, or life?
Mark was cowering in the break room, and I was sitting alone behind the cash register, force-feeding myself chicken blood to stay awake.
All of a sudden --
Baaaah! Baaaah!
The drink fell out of the cooler.
I opened my eyes wide and watched Coke, orange juice and mineral water crash to the floor.
Shit, what is it this time? !
Then, I remembered the rules:
"If a drink in a freezer automatically fails, immediately put it back where it belongs and make sure all drinks have labels facing outward."
Good. Time limit. Overtime will happen things I don't even think about.
I rushed over, crouched down to pick up the bottles and quickly put them back on the shelf, adjusting the labels to face the outside.
As soon as the last bottle of Coke was put back, a pale face suddenly appeared on the glass of the refrigerator, staring at me.
"You've misplaced..." 'said the face silently.
I was so scared that I sat on the ground, and when I looked, sure enough, I had the Coke and mineral water in the wrong place.
"Damn it..."
I scrambled to readjust and make sure all the labels were facing outward.
The face on the glass slowly disappeared.
Gasping for air, I looked up into the freezer, where my face was standing in the shadows on the shelf with a weird smile on my lips.
Chapter 7: Customers suddenly disappear
4:10 a.m. - Mystery shopper
Convenience stores are not crowded in the early hours of the morning, but some late sleepers still occasionally visit them.
However, when a woman walks in, I feel a little weak.
Wearing a red hoodie, she kept her head down and couldn't see her face, and she kept wandering slowly in front of the shelves.
After about five minutes, she grabbed a bag of chips and a bottle of water and headed for the cash register.
"Hello." I used to greet her in my usual tone.
She did not answer, but jerked her head.
And then I saw her face --
She has no eyes.
No, it wasn't that there were no features, but that her eyes were filled with something black, deep and bottomless.
"..."
Trying to keep my composure, I quickly scanned her merchandise and said, "That's $6."
She took an old bill out of her pocket, put it on the counter, took it, and... It was gone the second I blinked.
It's like she never existed.
There was still her smell in the air -- a faint smell, like... Brought out of the grave.
Then, I remembered the rules:
"After 4 a.m., if you see a customer suddenly disappear while choosing products, please close the store immediately until dawn."
Fuck, is this woman a ghost? !
I had no time to hesitate, so I rushed over and locked the shop.
As soon as the door was locked, a piercing cold came through the glass door.
I peeked through the crack in the door --
The woman was standing outside the glass door, motionless, with a hollow smile.
Her heart slowly opened and closed, and I could not hear the sound, but I could understand what she was saying
"You closed the door too slowly..."
The cold sweat on my back soaked through my clothes.
Chapter 8: The truth of copper money and warehouse
4:30 a.m. - What's under the cash register
The night was drawing to a close, and my state of mind was close to breaking down.
But it's not over yet.
I glanced down at the register and suddenly noticed that the drawer was open for no reason.
The rules once again emerged in my public account:
"If you find that the drawer under the cash register has been opened for no reason, please check to see if there is an extra ancient copper coin in it, and if so, find the merit box it has placed outside the store."
I carefully opened the drawer, and sure enough, an old copper coin lay quietly inside.
But it's... It vibrates a little, like a living thing.
"What the hell..."
I swallowed, carefully picked up the coins, and walked quickly to the shop door.
The air outside was cold and bleak, and I could feel that the night was darker than the candlelight.
The merit box was in the square outside the shop, and I walked quickly to it and threw the copper coins into it.
Just as the coins fell in, I heard a long sigh.
But I didn't dare turn straight back to the store and lock the door.
Then I heard...
There were three clear cat noises from the warehouse.
Meow -- meow -- meow
I suddenly froze.
The rules say: "Do not attempt to enter the warehouse at any time unless you hear three cat noises."
warehouse It was locked the whole time. There was no cat in there.
But now, I have to go in.
I looked sideways at the surveillance screen, and in the picture, the warehouse door was slowly opening by itself.
"Shit... I shouldn't be on this night shift."
I went to the warehouse.
When I opened the door, it was dark inside, but there was a battered table in the corner with a... Strange notepad.
As I approached, three letters appeared on the cover of the notepad --
"DR."
Which doctor?
I had an image in my mind of a man in a white lab coat with wire-rimmed glasses, writing something down in a lab, his face full of enthusiasm.
Just to the southwest, a sudden and frightening cry came from the lounge
"Eric!! The rear --"
I suddenly turned --
The warehouse doors slammed shut and the world plunged into darkness.
I crouched down, closed my eyes, threw the notebook away, and said to myself: Fuck the doctor, fuck the doctor, I don't see anything...
Chapter 9: Warehouse custody and employee's retaliation
At 4:00 a.m., the night shift at the convenience store officially went into extreme survival mode.
I leaned against the checkout counter, my mind already dark. Mark stood by, pumping energy drinks into his mouth and muttering, "This stupid shop isn't for people..."
Just to the southeast, a mechanosynthetic voice suddenly boomed over the radio
"Non-designated person has been detected trying to enter the warehouse. Please follow the rules."
"Warehouse?" I snapped my eyes open.
Through the security camera, I saw a squatting figure at the door of the warehouse trying to pick the lock.
What's more, that person is... Tom the day clerk? !
"Shit, is he okay?" Mark looked at the screen in horror.
I made a quick decision and picked up the phone. "Tom, are you okay?"
On the camera, Tom's movements stiffened, then he turned sharply, looked around like a guilty cat, and finally violated the camera with an awkward smile that was more social than animal.
"Uh... Me to I just forgot my wallet..."
"Your wallet is right next to the register." I exposed him without mercy.
"..." Tomton arranged, then twisted violently, trying to smash the warehouse door open with brute force.
Baaaah!
The warehouse door didn't budge, but Tom himself bounced back, flying backwards, knocking over a shelf and spilling potato chips all over the floor.
Immediately afterwards, the broadcast was established again:
"Allow contacts by default and initiate countermeasures."
'Wait, wait! Before I could stop it, I heard the lock of the warehouse door click to unlock, and then two robotic arms reached out from behind the door, grabbed Tom by the ankles, and dragged him violently into the warehouse!
"Ahhhhhhh!!" Tom's screams echoed through the convenience store, making Mark and I stand on end.
A moment later, the warehouse door closed automatically, the radio sounded, and the scene added a sentence
"The intruder has been recovered by the system and there is no cause for concern."
??
Of course we're worried!
"... Shall we ignore it?" Mark whispered.
"... Yes."
Tom, we're going to miss you.
Chapter 10: The 4:45 a.m. time loop
To ease the shock, we decided to make a cup. However, as soon as I reached the beverage section, the coke in the freezer suddenly fell down.
I glanced at Mark, and he glanced back at me.
Rule number seven: If a beverage in the freezer automatically expires, immediately put it back in its place and make sure all beverage labels face outward.
"You pick it up."
"No, you pick it up."
"... Play guessing."
"Good," said Hermione.
We stood in front of the freezer, quietly playing a game of rock, paper, scissors.
And I lost.
I gritted my teeth and picked up the can of Coke and was about to put it back when I suddenly noticed a strange number on the temperature display in the freezer -- 04:45.
"Mark... What time is it?" My voice is shaking a little.
Mark glanced at his watch and his face changed abruptly. "... At 4:45 a.m."
A feeling of foreboding crept up my spine.
At this time, the convenience store broadcast was re-established
"Time anomaly detected, please repair as soon as possible."
In a moment when this sentence fell, our eyes were black, and when we opened our eyes again, we found ourselves standing back where we were two minutes ago, and the Coke in the freezer was still not in the moment!
... We're stuck in a time loop? !
"Fuck ah ah ah!!
"Quickly, quickly put the drink back!!" "Shouted Mark.
I immediately scrambled to put the coke back in its place and even arranged the label neatly.
One minute later, the time display recovers and the announcement "The time exception has been successfully repaired." is displayed.
We collapsed to the ground, gasping for air in fear.
"What the hell is this stupid shop..." Mark was crying.
Chapter 11 The Mysterious Customer in Black
5:30 in the morning.
When the man in the black trench coat pushed open the store door, my heart raced.
Rule number two: If you see a customer wearing a black trench coat, do not make eye contact with him or ask him what to buy.
That's the fucking customer in black!
I quickly pulled Mark's sleeve, small voice: "Quick, head down, don't look at him."
Mark nodded, and the two of us kept our heads down, focused on the computer screen at the cash register, looking like we couldn't drift out.
And yet --
"Ahem."
There was a muffled voice in front of us.
The man in black was standing at the cash register.
The atmosphere dropped to a freezing point and I felt I could hardly breathe.
Okay, he's gonna talk to us!
What are we gonna do? How to respond? Or continue to play dead?
In those few seconds as the air moved, the man in black finally spoke
"... Two packs of cigarettes, please."
??
Wait, that's different from the rules??
He just came to buy cigarettes??
We looked up stiffly, only to find that the man in black was actually handsome, with regular features, and looked like an ordinary social animal.
"Uh..." I carefully took two packs of cigarettes and handed them to him, trying not to look him in the eye. "Total... Errrm... Fifteen dollars."
The man in black pulled out a 20-note bill and waited impassively for his change.
The whole transaction was suspiciously smooth.
After getting the cigarette, the man in black nodded and said lightly: "Thank you."
And then... And he went away.
??
Just gone??
"..." Mark and I looked at each other.
"... So, what were we so nervous about?"
Mark took a deep breath and broke down. "If I had known he was just here to buy cigarettes, I would have asked, 'Do you need a lighter?'"
"Fuck, you're crazy!"
"All right... But I really think he's just a normal guy..."
I looked back at the door, and the back of the man in black had disappeared at the end of the morning light street.
perhaps Some rules, not necessarily for the Manhattan monster, but to keep us from doing stupid things, you know?
For example -- disturbing a work slave who smokes after working late at night?
At this moment, I finally understood one thing -
Rules are important, but the temper of the work slave... More important.
Finally
I stared at Tom, who had mysteriously disappeared from the surveillance frame, at Mark, who was still drinking his energy drink with his legs up, at the old copper money that had appeared out of thin air from the quick cash register, and finally in the direction of the man in black who had nearly scared me but had only come to buy cigarettes.
This has made me have a strong idea --
Go fuck the convenience store! I quit!
I pulled the name tag off my chest, slammed it on the cash register, and said to Mark aggressively, "Mark, I quit! Are you leaving?
Mark froze for a moment, then threw up his hands proudly: "No more."
We strode toward the store door, two handsome open the door, just stepped out of the station at that moment, the convenience store radio suddenly rang:
"Employee autonomy is detected, triggering the ultimate clause: Door locked, please return to your post."
"..."
I forced my head to look, and found that behind the glass door was displayed a blood-red letter:
[Employees are not allowed to leave the company if the contract is not full]
The door was locked and the Windows soldered, and the street outside seemed separated by the morning light,
Mark's mouth twitched and he whispered, "... You say, "Can we take the rules of this stupid shop to labor arbitration?"
I looked up at the sky in despair. "... I don't think we can even get a lawyer."
Convenience Store: You think you quit your job, but really you just moved on to your next shift.
- It's all over, but you're always working the night shift.
END