Chapter 1 — Napping Without a Blindfold, I Discovered My Company Was Stealing Memories

Not wearing a blindfold while taking a nap will result in a fine of 2,000 yuan? Pretending to be asleep, I witnessed a scene that made me freeze in place. My company has an immutable rule: During a mandatory one-hour lunch break, all employees must wear a company-issued blindfold. Anyone who violates will be fined 2,000 yuan. Everyone is used to it. After all, the monthly salary is up to 30,000 yuan, no one wants to make it difficult for their wallet. Furthermore, the filter element of the water plant in the tea room changes to a different color every week, but
no one saw anything unusual. Only I noticed something strange. Every time I wake up from a nap, a tiny red dot appears on the back of my colleagues' neck, exactly like a needle mark. I asked once. The other person was stunned for three seconds, then smiled and replied:
"Probably just bitten by a mosquito."
Twenty-seven people. Same location. All bitten by mosquitoes? That day, I deliberately drank some water, intending to pretend to be asleep to see what happened. But not long after, I still fell asleep. After thinking through the cause, today
Then I used it the same way again. But what I saw made me immediately stiffen in my office chair, my whole body turned cold. Exactly one o'clock in the afternoon. The speaker mounted in the corner of the office ceiling punctually sounded the melodious melody of Schubert's sleep music. Ly Van sat across from me and almost as soon as the music started, he conditioned himself to put down the mouse. She skillfully opened the drawer and took out a dark gray eye mask with the company logo printed on it. In the office, everyone is exactly like her, dynamic
Works evenly as pre-programmed. The sound of keyboard typing and mouse clicking disappears completely within just three seconds. Instead, there was the sound of chairs being pulled back, along with very soft clicking sounds when people opened drawers. This is Khai Minh Data Services Company. My third month working here. Monthly salary of 30,000 yuan, insurance and welfare benefits are paid at the highest level. The only strange rule is this. Compulsory one-hour lunch break. Furthermore, you must definitely wear one
Silk blindfold provided by the company. Anyone who violates will be fined 2,000 yuan. Lunch is eaten after the break ends. No one wants to make it difficult for their wallet. I sighed and also took out the blindfold. Its material is very good, cool and soft. But there is always a faint scent like the smell of sweet almonds. I put it on. The eyes immediately sank into absolute darkness. In my ears, the sound of my colleagues' breathing gradually became regular. Twenty-seven people. Twenty-seven even breaths. Socks
The whole thing merged into an eerie silence. I'm not sleepy. This afternoon there is an important project milestone to report, and my mind is full of numbers and charts. But I know, soon I will fall asleep. Everyone is the same. The quality of sleep here is so good that it's scary. Regardless of whether you had trouble sleeping the night before or stayed up all night, just put on this eye mask and within ten minutes you will definitely fall into a deep sleep. Furthermore, it's neither early nor late. Exactly an hour later, before the alarm went off
After about a minute or two, everyone will naturally wake up. After waking up, my spirit is extremely full, and my work efficiency in the afternoon is also surprisingly high. The company calls it:
"Highly effective energy supplement."
When I first started working, I also thought this was a top-notch welfare regime. Until half a month ago, when I accidentally discovered something. That day after lunch break, I rubbed my eyes and out of habit looked at Ly Van across from me. She is stretching. Under the light, the white nape appears distinctly. Right in the middle of her nape, close to her hairline, was a small red dot the size of a pinhead. Looks like a mosquito bite. But it didn't swell at all. Just a flat, bright red dot. At that time, I casually asked:
"Tieu Van, what's wrong with your neck?"
Ly Van's stretching movement stopped. She was stunned for exactly three seconds. His eyes were a little misty. Then he smiled and touched the back of his neck.
"Really? Probably just bitten by a mosquito, there are a lot of mosquitoes these days."
Her smile is very natural. But I still saw confusion flashing in the bottom of my eyes. It seemed like she didn't even know there was a red dot there. From that day on, I started to pay attention. Then we discovered that it wasn't just Ly Van. Even I have it. The project manager is on my left. Programmer to my right. The designer sits askew in the back. Each person, after waking up from a nap, has an identical red dot appearing in the same position on the nape of their neck. Some people are a little darker, some are a little lighter.
But the location and size are almost exactly the same. A giant question mark began to appear in my heart. Twenty-seven people. Were both bitten by the same mosquito in the same place? That cannot happen. I tried asking other people. Received the same answer as Ly Van.
"Probably just bitten by a mosquito."
Their expressions are very natural. The tone is also very calm. As if that were a very normal answer. But the more I did that, the colder my spine became. They really don't care. Or are they lying to me together? They themselves don't even know what happened? My eyes turned to the water dispenser in the tea room. The company's water purifier is very modern. It is said that the inside is equipped with a seven-stage filtration system. Every Monday morning, Luu Phuong of the administrative department comes to replace the transparent filter core on the upper floor
together. The strange thing is that the color of that filter element is different every week. Last week it was light blue. This week it's light green. Drinking water does not have any strange odors. It even has a very mild sweet taste. I suspected the problem was in the water source. So this morning, from the time I arrived at the company until now, I only drank a small glass of water. I want to pretend to sleep. I want to see what's going on in this quiet, graveyard-like office during that hour of lunch break. In the dark, I quietly pressed hard
fingernails in the palm of the hand to stay awake. The pain briefly made my consciousness clearer. But the familiar, intense and irresistible drowsiness still came like a rolling tide. It originates from where the blindfold meets the skin. Carrying that faint sweet almond scent. Arrogance entered my brain. My thinking started to slow down. The figures and charts in my head gradually blurred, then melted. The hand that was pressing on the palm also slowly relaxed. Are not
right... I always thought the problem was in the drinking water. But today I almost didn't drink water. Why am I still so sleepy... That was the last thought that appeared before I completely lost consciousness.