88: The shattering of the restraints

Liu Big Head's voice was sharp and fawning, echoing shrilly in the empty mold storage area.

"I just saw that big guy called Wang Fugui pulling a little one and sneaking into this pile of scrap metal!"

Wang Fugui, lying on the steel beam, felt his heart stop.

This damn traitor!

The men in black below stopped their movements upon hearing this, and a dozen cold gazes shot toward the direction Liu Big Head was pointing.

The middle-aged man leading them, who looked like a Butler, was expressionless. With a gesture, several men in black immediately surrounded the huge pile of molds in a fan shape.

"Search!"

At the command, the men in black rushed in, crudely pushing aside heavy steel components, creating bursts of ear-piercing metal grinding sounds.

Liu Big Head followed behind the Butler with a wretched, sycophantic smile, as if he could already see himself receiving the reward.

However, one minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

The men in black practically turned the area upside down, but aside from oil stains and rust, they couldn't find a single soul.

"Where are they?" The Butler turned his head, his voice devoid of any warmth.

Liu Big Head's smile froze on his face, and cold sweat broke out instantly.

"No... impossible... I saw them with my own eyes, they crawled in here! They must be hiding in some crack..."

*Slap!*

A crisp, loud slap struck Liu Big Head's face.

The Butler withdrew his hand and even took out a snow-white handkerchief, slowly wiping his fingertips as if he had touched something filthy.

"Wasting my time." He dropped the words coldly, his gaze sweeping across the entire workshop. "Expand the search range! Ceilings, ventilation ducts, every corner where someone could hide—check them all! Use thermal imagers!"

Up on the steel beam, Wang Fugui's scalp tingled when he heard "thermal imager."

They couldn't stay any longer!

He looked down at Lin Xiaocao in his arms; the girl's face was buried in his chest, her body still trembling slightly from fear.

"Little Grass, hold on tight! We have to move!"

Wang Fugui's voice was extremely low, whispered right against her ear.

He no longer hesitated, locking his gaze onto a thick steam pipe running across the top of the workshop not far away.

That was the direction leading to the office area!

He adjusted his hold on Lin Xiaocao, securing her even more firmly against his chest.

The next second, his arm muscles bulged. Using the steel beam for leverage, his body swung violently into the air, and he accurately grabbed the pipe.

The pipe's surface was scalding and covered in a layer of greasy dust, making it both hot and slippery to the touch.

Wang Fugui let out a muffled groan, ignoring the burning pain in his palms. Alternating his arms, he began to move across the workshop ceiling with a speed unimaginable for an ordinary person, all while carrying another person.

This was simply hellish torture.

Lin Xiaocao's fear of heights reached its peak at this moment.

She was too terrified to even open her eyes, treating Wang Fugui as her only lifeline and clinging to him desperately.

Her arms tightly encircled his neck, and her legs instinctively wrapped around his sturdy waist.

This posture meant that with every inch Wang Fugui moved forward, he felt a soft, elastic mass pressing and rubbing against his abdomen.

Heat flooded in frantically—from the burning pipe, from the intense physical exertion, and even more so from where their bodies were tightly pressed together.

Wang Fugui's pants once again felt that terrifying pressure of being about to tear.

Dammit! This was more exhausting than fighting Zhang Qiang's gang!

He gritted his teeth, driving all stray thoughts from his mind, leaving only one: Fast! Faster!

The sounds of the search below became more frequent, and flashlight beams swept back and forth near the steel beam where they had just been.

Fortunately, the shadows of the pipes and the rising steam became their best cover.

Finally, they crawled directly above the office area.

The pipe network here was more complex and much quieter.

Wang Fugui stopped, gasping for breath, sweat dripping from his chin.

He looked down and found a square exhaust vent directly beneath him.

He recognized this place.

It was the private single-stall women's restroom for the supervisor! Chen Yun's territory!

No time to choose!

Wang Fugui held Lin Xiaocao with one arm and grabbed the metal grate of the exhaust fan with the other.

Veins bulged on his arm as he exerted force with his fingers. With a few tooth-aching creaks, the iron clips securing the grate were actually bent out of shape by his raw strength.

He removed the grate and set it aside silently.

"Little Grass, I'll lower you down first. Don't be afraid."

He spoke softly and then carefully lowered Lin Xiaocao through the vent.

As soon as Lin Xiaocao's feet touched the solid ground, her legs went weak, and she had to lean against the wall to keep from falling.

Immediately after, Wang Fugui pushed off, his muscles surging with power. His hulking frame was unnaturally agile as he leaped silently from the vent, his feet landing with only a dull, faint thud.

But even that faint sound alerted those outside.

"What was that sound?"

"It sounded like it came from the restroom."

Outside the door, the conversation and footsteps of two men in black were clearly audible.

Wang Fugui's heart leaped into his throat.

Without a second thought, he grabbed the still-dazed Lin Xiaocao and yanked her into the only stall in the restroom.

*Click.*

The sound of the lock was exceptionally clear in the dead silence.

The space was cramped to the extreme.

This was probably the most suffocating place Wang Fugui had ever been in his life.

His tall frame could only lean against the cold water tank, his legs nearly pressing against the stall door.

And Lin Xiaocao was completely encircled in his arms, pressed tightly against him face-to-face.

Due to nervousness and shock, her breathing was rapid, and her warm breath puffed against his neck, bringing waves of agonizing itchiness.

There was no room to stand in the stall, so the girl had no choice but to step on Wang Fugui's large, dust-covered Jiefang shoes.

There was not a single gap between them.

Wang Fugui could clearly feel the rise and fall of her chest, every curve of her body, and her heart pounding frantically against his own chest.

He could even smell the faint milky scent on her, mixed with sweat and fear.

It's over.

Only those two words remained in Wang Fugui's mind.

His whole body was stiff, not daring to move an inch, fearing that any slight movement would cause his already strained-to-the-limit pants to suffer a public social death on the spot.

From outside the door came the sound of the doorknob being turned.

"It's locked."

"Kick it open!"

At this critical moment, Lin Xiaocao's body suddenly shuddered.

Due to extreme tension, combined with the long period of intense friction and pressure on the pipes earlier, the chest binder that had been tightly wrapped around her chest since morning finally could no longer bear the strain.

*Snap!*

An extremely faint yet, between the two of them, incredibly clear muffled sound.

It was the sound of fabric fibers being instantly pulled apart.

The restraint, at this moment, completely burst.