The first week passed slowly.
Not because it was difficult, but because the twelve daily hours of standing in front of a moving belt stretched and stretched as if they would never end.
The belt turned.
The fruit passed.
Right, left.
Right, left.
The sa motion, the sa sound, the sa sll.
---
On the third day, a new man stood beside him.
Large-bodied, his laugh was loud and his talk was louder.
His na was Dante.
"First ti in the factory?"
"Yes."
"You'll get used to it." He laughed in an annoying voice. "Or you'll go crazy. One of the two."
Pablo continued working without replying.
But Dante was not the type of person who stays quiet.
He talked for the entire first hour about himself, about his strength, about how many sacks he could carry, about an old supervisor he had frightened once.
Pablo listened with half an ear.
In the second hour, Dante began talking about the factory.
Here, Pablo opened his ears.
"The big supervisor here, Tom, takes a percentage of every shipnt that goes out."
"aning?"
"aning if you are close to him, you get perks. If you are not close to him, you just work."
"What kind of perks?"
Dante looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Why do you ask?"
"Curiosity."
Dante laughed.
"Perks? Fewer hours, lighter work, and sotis extra salary at the end of the month."
Pablo nodded and returned to his work.
Useful information.
---
On the fifth day, Dante ca again with the sa annoying energy.
This ti he began talking loudly in front of the other workers, boasting about his strength and how much he worked.
Then he looked at Pablo.
"This little one, how does he work here? A strong wind will blow him away."
So of the workers laughed.
Pablo looked at him quietly.
"I do what is required of ."
Dante paused for a second.
Then he laughed even louder, as if Pablo had told a joke.
But he did not talk about him after that.
---
At the end of the week, Pablo sat alone during the lunch break and looked at the factory around him.
Dozens of workers, all doing the sa thing.
They co, work twelve hours, take their pay, return.
Month after month.
Year after year.
Thirty thousand monthly, unchanged.
He did not want this.
He noticed that Supervisor Tom moved freely in the factory and did not stand at a belt for hours. His salary was at least double or triple what ordinary workers took.
And the supervisors above him even more.
Promotion is the only path inside the factory.
But promotion takes ti and relationships.
He had ti.
And relationships are built.
---
In the evening, when he returned to their room, Marco was eating his al with tired eyes.
"How was your day?"
"Acceptable." Said Marco while chewing slowly. "My back still hurts."
"You'll get used to it."
Pablo sat and ate with him in silence.
After dinner, Marco looked at the bed with eyes that wanted sleep.
"You're not going to sleep?"
"Later."
Marco nodded and collapsed on his bed within minutes.
---
Pablo went out alone into nightti Naraka.
The island during the day was noisy with the clamor of factories and workers.
But the night had a different clamor.
Small bars opened their doors, music ca out of so rooms, people of all kinds moved through the narrow streets.
Pablo walked slowly, his eyes capturing everything.
In a side alley, he noticed a man standing quietly. He was not selling anything obvious, but people ca to him one by one and exchanged things with him quickly and secretly.
Pablo stood at a distance and watched.
He knew this scene well.
In his old neighborhood in his previous Earth, he had been in that man's place.
Standing on the corner, exchanging small bags, counting what was in his pocket at the end of the night.
He had been at the bottom of the ladder.
This man here seed to be the sa.
A small-ti dealer on an industrial island full of workers wanting to forget their fatigue.
The market was clear.
And the return was clear.
Pablo thought for a second.
Then he continued walking.
Not now.
Not because the idea was bad, but because the timing was wrong.
He was new to Naraka and did not know who knew whom, who owned what, and who protected whom.
Entering that world without enough knowledge in a new place was the fastest way to problems.
---
On the main street, he saw an open bar with tables inside where n sat playing.
Simple gambling: cards and Beli on the table.
He did not enter.
He stood at the door and watched for a few minutes.
He noticed who won and who lost.
He noticed that the one who always won was the man running the table, not the players.
He knew this too.
---
He returned to his room at midnight.
Marco was still sleeping deeply.
Pablo sat on his bed in the darkness.
Naraka had more than ordinary workers saw.
The factory was for a steady salary.
And the night had other things.
But everything in its ti.
Now he needed to understand more.
He closed his eyes.
Tomorrow, twelve hours ahead of him.
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