The Ghost Under the Nail Lamp

"Welcome, what kind of style would you like today?" Xiaoya offered a professional smile, her tone as sweet as if it had been laced with three spoons of sugar. She had to repeat this phrase at least fifty times a day, addressing all sorts of nails with varying attitudes, slowly grinding away at her own self.

Today, a young woman wearing black-rimmed glasses walked into the shop. She was dressed in a well-tailored suit, her nails neatly trimmed but utterly unremarkable, resembling a typical white-collar worker from a cubicle. She pushed her glasses up her nose, her voice a bit tired, "Give me a simple solid color, something that makes my hands look whiter."

Xiaoya nodded, skillfully pulling out the color swatches. As she introduced the new colors, she silently guessed the woman's profession. Sales? Accountant? Or a programmer? She harbored an unexplainable curiosity about these white-collar workers who were always busy in the CBD skyscrapers. Their world seemed separated from this small nail salon by an insurmountable chasm.

The woman chose a light pink color, then fell into silence, staring blankly at the nail lamp. Xiaoya turned on the lamp, the soft ultraviolet light casting a glow on the woman's fingertips, also highlighting the dark circles under her eyes. These were the traces of overtime work, something Xiaoya was all too familiar with. Every night, she would also stare at the clock on the wall, waiting to get off work. Only then could she temporarily shed her sweet mask and be herself again.

"You've been very tired from work lately, haven't you?" Xiaoya broke the silence. She rarely initiated conversations with customers, but the exhaustion emanating from this woman made her feel a sense of kinship.

The woman was taken aback for a moment, seemingly surprised that the manicurist would initiate a conversation. She forced a smile, "It's okay, we're just rushing a project lately."

"I used to be a clerk too," Xiaoya said softly as she carefully applied the nail polish, "Staring at the computer all day, I felt like my eyes were going to go blind."

The woman seemed touched by these words. She turned her head, looking at Xiaoya seriously, "Then why aren't you a clerk anymore?"

Xiaoya paused in her actions, a bitter smile appearing on her lips, "Because I realized, my nails are much prettier than those reports."

The woman didn't ask anything further. She turned her gaze back to the nail lamp. Xiaoya also fell silent, continuing to focus on her work. The only sounds in the shop were the buzzing of the nail lamp and the woman's breathing.

Just as Xiaoya finished applying the second coat of polish and was about to begin the final curing process, the woman suddenly let out a scream.

"What's wrong?" Xiaoya was startled and quickly turned off the nail lamp.

The woman pointed at her nails, her voice trembling, "My nails… my nails… they're moving!"

Xiaoya took a closer look, and her scalp began to tingle. The woman's nails were no longer the light pink she had just applied, but had turned into a strange grayish-white color, as if they had been corroded by something. More terrifyingly, these nails were indeed slightly twitching, as if countless small insects were wriggling inside them.

She tried to touch the woman's nails, her fingertip only making contact before a chilling pain pierced through her. She quickly pulled her hand back, staring at her fingertip, where a small red dot had appeared, surrounded by a faint purplish hue.

"What's going on?" Xiaoya felt a chill rising from the soles of her feet. She thought of the recent news reports about the safety hazards of nail lamps. Could it be… could it be?

The woman was already trembling all over, screaming as she tried to flee the nail salon.

Just then, the shop door opened, and instead of other customers, a group of people in white uniforms entered. They wore thick masks and carried sprayers.

"We're from the health and epidemic prevention department," one of the men wearing glasses said, his voice calm and indifferent. "We received a report that non-standard ultraviolet lamps were used here, causing nail mutations. Please cooperate with our work."

Xiaoya and the woman were both stunned. They looked at the people in white uniforms, as if they were watching a scene from a science fiction movie.

The man continued, "Don't worry, we will conduct a comprehensive examination of you and harmlessly treat your nails. In addition, we will put you under quarantine for a period of observation."

Xiaoya watched as they took the woman away and sprayed disinfectant on everything in the shop. An indescribable feeling suddenly arose in her heart. This small nail salon seemed to have become a contaminated restricted area.

She was taken to a disinfection van. Through the window, she saw identical disinfection vans driving out of every corner of the city. Their target was every small, insignificant corner hidden behind the bustling city.

She remembered the woman saying that her "project was rushing," and it suddenly occurred to her that they were all like gears trapped in a giant machine, repeating the same actions every day, not knowing which part of the process would eventually swallow them up.

It wasn't until she was taken to a white room that she understood that their nails weren't actually moving, but that their bodies had been transformed into some new, yet incredibly absurd "product."