Rule 197

At 3:07 in the morning, the freezer rang by itself. Bankrupt programmer Lin Ye applied for the night shift at the convenience store "Node 197" in order to pay off his debts and to find out the truth behind his brother Lin Yuan's disappearance six years ago. Late one night, a copy of the "Staff Rules" appeared out of thin air on the checkout counter. It was handwritten in ink and the words were skewed: "If you hear someone calling your full name after closing, don't look back and just say 'Welcome.'" For every rule that is followed, five hundred yuan will be credited to the account; violators will be responsible for the consequences. As the codes emerged one by one, he gradually saw the background of this store: there were 196 stores ahead, and the 197th employee was looking at him; Sister Zhou's hesitation, the letter from the head office, the secrets of the midnight workshop, and the account book left by his brother - all pointed to the "code" itself. When Article 0 of the code appeared on the blank page, "The 197th employee who does not exist in our store is looking at you." Lin Ye understood: the first step to survive within the rules is to learn not to look back.