The worker walked up close, shining his flashlight on Zhong Yi’s face again. Zhong Yi shifted his body and kicked out—the other person’s flashlight fell to the ground. The worker was greatly alarmed: “What are you doing? Thief!” He turned to run, but Zhong Yi wouldn’t give him the chance. With one grab he yanked the person in front of him. He was a professional at fighting—he twisted the man’s arms behind his back, covered his mouth, and pushed him into the warehouse: “Find rope!”

Zhang Jingchan and Li Weiyi immediately found rope. Li Weiyi even offered up a torn cloth. Zhong Yi stuffed the man’s mouth, tied him up securely in no time, and tossed him into a corner of the warehouse where he couldn’t be seen.

Though they’d escaped danger, all three broke out in a cold sweat. After leaving the warehouse, Zhong Yi asked: “Leave or continue?”

Zhang Jingchan thought briefly and answered: “We’ve already alerted them. There won’t be a second chance. Continue.”

Both Zhong Yi and Li Weiyi agreed. Following the map, just as they were about to make their way toward the factory director’s office area, they saw two more flashlight beams swaying in the distance several dozen meters away, with voices faintly drifting over: “The noise was over there.” “Hey, maybe it’s rats.” “Better go check it out, in case there are thieves…”

All three tensed up. Zhong Yi stared in the direction the people were coming from and said: “I’ll handle this. You two leave first and adapt as needed.”

Li Weiyi felt a bit uneasy leaving him alone. Zhong Yi and Zhang Jingchan exchanged glances. Zhang Jingchan nodded and pulled Li Weiyi away.

Li Weiyi: “He won’t have problems, will he?”

Zhang Jingchan: “He can handle it. If we stay we’ll just be a burden. Hurry.”

The factory leadership office was in a two-story building on the side. Zhang Jingchan also had this type of master key. The two silently infiltrated and closed the door.

When they could see the situation inside clearly, Zhang Jingchan was momentarily stunned.

An open office area, over a dozen desks, with several small rooms in the back bearing signs like “Factory Director’s Office” and “Deputy Factory Director’s Office.” At a glance, it was empty and deserted.

But in the corner of the ceiling, one fluorescent tube was lit. It looked as if someone had forgotten to turn off this light when leaving.

Zhang Jingchan signaled Li Weiyi to stay where she was while he felt his way to those small rooms, checking them one by one before calling her: “No one here, come over.”

The two headed straight for the factory director’s office. Just as they were about to start searching through file cabinets, both their phones vibrated simultaneously in their pockets.

It was a message from the two retired soldiers on the perimeter: A car is heading toward the factory.

Attached was a photo—an unremarkable black Buick sedan. The photo was blurry; they couldn’t see clearly who was inside.

Zhang Jingchan and Li Weiyi looked at each other. Before they could discuss, Li Yunmo’s message arrived.

“!!!!”

“Someone’s coming!”

“Damn, I got a clear look—it’s Liu Ying, Cheng Chuan, and your second uncle!”

“Why would they come to Furuida together? Are they the moles you’re trying to catch? Holy shit!!”

“Should I show myself? Should I try to stop them? Answer quick!”

Zhang Jingchan rapidly replied “No need.”

Li Weiyi’s heart shook as she looked toward Zhang Jingchan. He stuffed his phone back in his pocket, his eyes like condensed frost and snow: “The snakes have finally left their den. Are you afraid?”

Li Weiyi immediately answered: “What do I have to fear? Would they really dare touch me?”

“I’m afraid there’s nothing they wouldn’t dare do now. If they can kill the father, they can just as easily kill the son.”

Li Weiyi felt chills from what he said, momentarily unable to connect those three usually well-dressed executives with murder and silencing witnesses. But Zhang Jingchan showed no fear on his face. He took her hand, quickly looked left and right, and finally pulled her to hide in the narrow gap behind two large filing cabinets against the wall.

The gap was very narrow, extremely concealed, barely enough for one person. The two forced themselves in, but the position wasn’t very comfortable.

Zhang Jingchan habitually braced one hand against the wall, grabbed the filing cabinet with the other, and sheltered Li Weiyi in his embrace.

But this made Li Weiyi quite uncomfortable. After all, Zhang Jingchan was so small—what she felt wasn’t a warm embrace but rather something poking… and with her 182cm height, she couldn’t stretch out anywhere.

Actually Zhang Jingchan wasn’t having it easy either. The person in his arms had too broad a back and body too heavy. Soon he was being pressed until he couldn’t catch his breath.

There was still no movement outside.

Li Weiyi said: “Wait, let me adjust.” She struggled to turn around, wrestled one arm free, moved it behind Zhang Jingchan to brace against the wall. She let out a breath of relief, lightly grasped Zhang Jingchan’s waist and pulled him to lean against her chest, taking his place standing against the wall. Finally her long legs and arms could barely stretch out.

The weight pressing on Zhang Jingchan suddenly lightened, replaced by a warm, solid embrace from behind and powerful arms wrapped around his waist.

The two quietly stayed in this new position for a while.

Li Weiyi: “Baby.”

Zhang Jingchan ignored her.

Li Weiyi lowered her voice and called again: “Baby, can you feel my pecs? Don’t they give you a sense of security?”

Zhang Jingchan couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation: “Enough, behave yourself.” He turned his head and saw that although her mouth was still making jokes to seize the moment, her face was actually pale. He truly didn’t know whether to praise her courage or pity her fear.

Zhang Jingchan grabbed her arm in return and patted it twice, saying: “Don’t be afraid. We have four people outside. Zhong Yi is definitely lying in ambush observing. He alone can match three people. If it really comes to a fight, we’ll definitely win.”

Li Weiyi had a sudden realization: “That’s right!” Her complexion indeed improved considerably.

She praised: “Baby is still the calmest one.”

Zhang Jingchan fell silent again.

The door creaked open with a sound, followed by scattered footsteps. The two held their breath, listening as those three people walked toward the factory director’s office only a dozen or so meters away. Liu Ying’s high heel clicks were particularly crisp among them.

Between the two filing cabinets was a small gap. They were in the darkness, four eyes silently watching the arrivals.

Finance Vice President Cheng Chuan walked in front, brows tightly furrowed, still with that usual serious and cautious appearance. Marketing Director Liu Ying and Zhang Jingchan’s second uncle, Procurement Vice President Zhang Fengming, walked behind. Zhang Fengming’s hand was wrapped around Liu Ying’s waist.

All three looked unhappy.

They entered the factory director’s office without closing the door, probably to facilitate observing the surrounding movements. One window faced directly toward the filing cabinets—Li Weiyi and Zhang Jingchan could clearly see the three people’s expressions.

Cheng Chuan went straight to sit in the head seat. Liu Ying sat in a subordinate position, with Zhang Fengming next to her, sitting down with his legs crossed.

Zhang Fengming slapped his thigh twice and said: “Old Cheng, with things so tense now, why arrange to meet here? What if someone sees us…”

Cheng Chuan raised his head and interrupted him: “Would you feel safe anywhere else? Only here, all three of us have a stake—if we die, we die together; if we live, we live together.”

Li Weiyi stared fixedly at the three of them. She didn’t know what Zhang Jingchan was feeling. Setting aside Liu Ying, these two men—one was his own second uncle, one was his father’s most trusted brother.

She could only squeeze Zhang Jingchan’s slender waist with her palm to offer comfort. Zhang Jingchan didn’t turn his head, but as if understanding her intention, raised one hand to cover her palm.