消失的工位

Li Ming looked up, rubbed his sore eyes, and glanced at the time in the lower right corner of his computer screen—20:58.

"Two more minutes..." he thought to himself, feeling a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

He is an engineer at DJI, responsible for the research and development of drone vision algorithms. In the past, 9 PM was the busiest time of his day. Countless nights, he had stayed at his workstation until late, battling code and wrestling with bugs. He was used to this life, and even somewhat enjoyed this "burning" feeling. After all, this is DJI, a company known for its "radical innovation," a company that changes the world.

But today, everything was different.

A week ago, the company suddenly announced a new rule: all employees must leave the company before 9 PM, or they would receive a warning. Three warnings would result in termination. This rule came without any buffer period, without any explanation, like a cold bolt of lightning that split the originally "free" night sky of DJI.

"This doesn't fit DJI's culture!" Li Ming remembered that the company's internal forum exploded at the time, with various speculations and complaints. Some said it was to cope with regulatory pressure, some said it was a precursor to the company's "optimization" of personnel, and others said it was the boss's impulsive "performance art."

Li Ming was also puzzled. He wasn't the type to "slack off." He loved his work and enjoyed the pleasure of creation. He couldn't understand why the company was forcing him to stop working, why they were driving him out of the world of code that he loved.

"Time's up!"

At 21:00 sharp, Li Ming heard a flurry of footsteps. He looked up and saw several uniformed security guards patrolling the corridor, their eyes sharp, as if searching for prey.

Li Ming quickly shut down his computer, packed up his things, and joined the crowd hurrying to leave. He felt an inexplicable sense of oppression, as if he were a worker bee driven out of the hive, having lost his direction and meaning.

Walking out of the company building, Li Ming looked up at the night sky. The night sky of Shenzhen was still dyed in a hazy color by the neon lights. He suddenly remembered the era full of passion and ambition described by Wu Xiaobo in "The Turbulent Thirty Years," the era of "pushing people to become ghosts."

"Is that era really coming to an end?" Li Ming muttered to himself.

He remembered Liang Wendao's critique of the "alienation" of modern society in "Common Sense": people are swept up in a giant machine, becoming soulless cogs, losing themselves and their freedom.

"Are we really creating value, or are we enslaved by 'value'?" Li Ming felt a wave of confusion.

He wandered aimlessly down the street and passed a 24-hour convenience store. He went in, bought a can of beer, sat on a bench by the road, and slowly drank it.

The cold liquid slid down his throat, bringing him a sense of clarity. He began to think, if he couldn't work overtime at the company, what should he do?

He could go home and spend time with his family, read a book, learn new skills, do something he enjoyed...

"But can these really replace my work at the company?" A huge question mark still lingered in Li Ming's heart.

He remembered that he had once worked overtime for several months for a project and finally succeeded in breaking through a technical bottleneck. At that moment, he felt a great sense of accomplishment, an indescribable joy.

"That feeling cannot be replaced by anything else." Li Ming smiled bitterly and shook his head.

He finished the last sip of beer and threw the empty can into the trash can. He stood up and prepared to go home.

At this moment, he saw a familiar figure walking out of the company building.

It was his colleague, Wang Wei.

"Why are you out too?" Li Ming asked.

Wang Wei smiled bitterly and said, "I... I copied the code home and continued to write."

Li Ming was stunned.

"Aren't you afraid of being discovered?"

"Afraid," Wang Wei said, "but I'm not willing to give up."

Li Ming was silent. He understood Wang Wei's feelings and the struggle in his heart.

"Perhaps, this is the fate of our generation," Wang Wei patted Li Ming on the shoulder. "We are swept forward by the times, unable to escape or turn back."

Li Ming looked at Wang Wei's receding figure, his heart filled with mixed feelings. He suddenly thought of the little people in Kafka's writings, those who struggled to survive in an absurd world but ultimately could not escape the tragic characters of fate.

"Have we also become characters in Kafka's writings?" A surge of inexplicable sadness welled up in Li Ming's heart.

He looked up at the night sky again and found that tonight's sky was darker than ever before.