The fourth level was dedicated to radios and communication devices —and for the first time, women outnumbered men on the factory floor.
"Whoa!So there are women down here!Let's see if there's anyone cute," Justin said, eyes lighting up as he pressed against the train window.
"There are women citizens on Basement Level 2," the guide explained with a smile."But they're a lot fewer than the men.Factories like Level 4, Level 6, and Level 9 tend to have more women workers."
"Really?So, cutie guide, were you working here too?" Justin asked, leaning a little too close.
The guide stiffened, her smile faltering.
"No... I used to work somewhere else.Please... don't ask for details."
Her discomfort was obvious.
"Well, makes sense," Justin said, grinning like an idiot."A girl like you's way too cute for a place like this.All I see out there are older ladies, no offense."
I glanced out the window.
Sure enough — no one even remotely resembled the young, bright-eyed guide sitting in front of us.
"This is where we produce radios," she said, lifting the device strapped to her waist — a small black radio shaped like a bulky smartphone.
"Radios are reserved exclusively for executives."
"What?!So we can't have phones or anything?" Justin whined."I can't survive a day without my smartphone.How am I supposed to stay in touch with you, cutie?"
The guide blinked, a little flustered.
"Um... my name is Miko.If you want to call me something, please use my name."
Justin leaned in closer, wearing the world's most obnoxious smile.
"Okay, Miko.So how can I keep in touch with you?"
She laughed lightly, not seeming too bothered by his persistence.
"You can't.You don't get a radio.There's no internet here.No cell phones.Forget texting — this isn't Earth anymore."
"If you really want to talk to me... you'll have to write me a letter.Of course, I won't be giving you my address.Heehee."
Miko giggled, batting his flirtation away with ease.
"Geez... look at you two," Jack grumbled, scowling.He hated Justin even more when he acted like this.
From Level 4 onward, we couldn't use the external trains anymore.We had to transfer to internal trains to tour each floor — then take elevators up after each tour ended.
"Agh... I'm starving," I muttered."Wait. That's weird.Back in the waiting room, I never felt hungry, no matter how long we stayed."
Miko nodded knowingly.
"That's because the waiting room isn't part of Hell proper.It's more like... a 3.5-dimensional world.Time doesn't pass normally there.You don't get hungry, tired, or even feel the days slip by."
"But here — this factory — this is true 3D reality.Just like when you were alive."
"3.5D? Is that even real?Anyway, are we getting lunch or not?"
Ding—dang—dong—
Before I could finish my sentence, bells rang out from the speakers scattered across the factory.
Instantly, thousands of workers stopped moving.Slowly, sluggishly, they drifted toward exits.
"Wow, Eric!You've got perfect timing.It's lunchtime!" Miko beamed.
"Factory lunchtime is from 11 to 12.Dinner's from 5 to 6."
"Let's all hop on the train and head to the Central Block for lunch."
She waved her hand, and the train surged forward toward the heart of the factory.
Every block was connected to the Central Block by internal trains, and by now, dozens of trains were already funneling workers toward lunch.
When we stepped off, we were immediately swallowed by chaos.
The Central Cafeteria was madness.
Thousands of people — Asian, Western, Southeast Asian, all crammed together — packed the place wall to wall.The lines were endless.You needed serious patience to even get a tray.
The cafeteria was buffet-style, offering every kind of cuisine imaginable — Korean, Chinese, Western, Indian — trying to cater to the vast mix of souls.
It was everyone's first real meal in Hell.
No one held back.
Including me.
After nearly thirty minutes in line, I piled my plate high and collapsed into a seat.
The first bite — a slice of steak — melted like butter against my tongue.
It was better than anything I ever had while alive.
Everything — fresh salads, crispy sweet-and-sour pork, chewy dumplings — tasted like it came straight from a five-star hotel.
One mouthful, and I couldn't help but moan in satisfaction.
"God...This is incredible."
Even Jack, whose appetite matched his size, was awestruck.He'd stacked ten plates high and showed no signs of slowing down.
Justin, who normally bitched about everything, actually ate in silence for once.
I devoured five plates without thinking — and only then noticed Miko.
She hadn't touched a thing.She just sat there, watching.
"Hey... why aren't you eating?Dieting or something?" I asked, genuinely baffled.
Miko smiled wistfully.
"When I first arrived, I was just like you.Couldn't believe how good the food was.Ate until I couldn't move."
"But after a few hundred years...It all tastes the same.Every dish, every flavor...It blurs together."
"Eventually, even eating feels like a waste of time."
"Now, I just take one calorie capsule and use the time to nap or watch TV."
She pointed to a corner where a line of people were swallowing colorful pills instead of getting food.
A capsule for survival.Nothing more.
I didn't care.
Right now, it was still my first meal.
I shoveled another forkful into my mouth and kept eating.
After stuffing ourselves, the factory tour resumed.
Each level was so massive, even by train, it took nearly an hour to cover one.
At first, we gawked at the sheer scale of it all.But after a few floors, the awe wore off.
It became... tedious.Gray.
Until we hit Level 8.
Then — a whole new world opened up.
"Whoa!Is that... is that a bottle of Valentina aged for ten thousand years?!"
"No way — that's a wine that's been aging for a hundred thousand years!"
Level 8 was the alcohol production facility.
Blocks A, B, and C cranked out ordinary beer and cheap spirits.But Block H...
Block H was different.
Thousands — maybe millions — of bottles of ultra-premium liquor lined the walls, stacked like rare books in a forbidden library.
Every bottle had aged for millennia.
Jack's eyes glittered.
"Just one sip... just one..."
"No way!" Miko snapped.
"Only high-ranking executives can even touch those bottles.I only got to taste one once because I was personally invited by a director."
"And let me tell you —It's unlike anything you'll ever drink."
Jack leaned closer, desperate.
"So what's it like?"
Miko smiled, almost dreamily.
"The flavor... it floods your whole body.You feel drunk and sober at the same time.No headaches.No nausea.Just pure euphoria."
"And the addiction...Some say it's worse than any drug."
"Stronger than weed?Stronger than coke?Stronger than ecstasy?" Justin chimed in, practically bouncing.
Miko shrugged.
"I've never done hard drugs.But I smoked weed once when I was alive."
"And compared to that?This stuff...Feels ten times better."
She said it so innocently that it was hard to tell if she was joking or serious.
But it didn't matter.
In this place, nothing mattered.
"Man, if it's that good... maybe I should ask to transfer to Block H," Justin said, half-joking, half-pleading.
Miko laughed.
"Forget it, oppa.Only workers with flawless records for tens of thousands of years get placed there."
"Maybe then — you can have a sip."
Jack let out a deep sigh.
"I was gonna bribe you to steal me a bottle... guess that's out the window."
I felt the same.
I'd never had premium liquor when I was alive.
Now, the thought of it haunted me like a ghost I'd never meet.
We left Level 8 behind, dragging our feet.
Level 9 was the last stop.
Level 10 — where the executive weapons were forged — was off-limits.
It took nearly ten hours to tour all nine levels.
When we finally gathered back at the platform near the first level, we were dead on our feet.
Exhausted.Silent.
We said goodbye to Miko there.
"Goodbye, everyone!" she waved, beaming."Work hard at the factory life!Especially you, Eric — and you too, Justin oppa. Hope we meet again soon!"
"Yeah! I'll find your address and send you a love letter!" Justin called, laughing.
They waved like old friends.
I just raised a hand awkwardly.We'd barely known each other.But it felt... strange, leaving her behind.
Strange, and maybe a little lonely.
The train shot out of the factory district, cutting through the landscape like a bullet.
Ahead of us loomed a monstrous wall — a barrier that sliced the world clean in two.
Factory District on one side.Dormitory District on the other.
The train plunged into a narrow tunnel bored through the wall, its wheels screaming against the rails.
As we emerged from the other side, the Dormitory District slowly unfolded before us.
And when I saw it—
I couldn't help it.
A curse slipped from my lips, low and bitter.