Chapter 3

"What are you all doing here in the middle of the night?"

It was the shift manager, Leo Swanson. He pushed through the crowd, reeking of alcohol. He was clearly quite drunk.

"What's going on? What are you all doing here gathered around Samuel's office door?"

Brad hurriedly stepped forward to explain things.

"Mr. Swanson! It's like this! The pressure-regulating valve on the main steam pipe of Unit 4 is stuck and poses a risk of exploding! I asked Samuel to go and adjust it for us, but he refused and put on airs, saying that he knew nothing about repairs! He's just blatantly lying to us!"

Leo seemed to have sobered up a bit. He exclaimed, "How could the valve have gotten stuck? How did you repair it? What's the situation now? Has the unit been depressurized? Is it leaking?"

He bombarded Brad with one question after another, making the latter even more nervous.

"It… It just suddenly got stuck during normal maintenance. There's no leak yet, but if it's not fixed soon, it's going to explode…"

Leo frowned. "Who usually handles these kinds of things?"

Brad cowered. "Me and another maintenance foreman. He's on sick leave today."

"And you can't handle it on your own?"

Brad averted his gaze and said, "I tried adjusting it a few times, but I really couldn't fix it. I was afraid that I'd cause a bigger problem if I continued fiddling with it, so I came to find Samuel."

I said from inside the door, "Mr. Swanson, in a situation like this, I highly suggest reporting it to the safety department and also calling the police and ambulance before safely evacuating everyone from the factory and nearby residents as well."

Leo was about to agree when Brad grabbed his arm and said, "No, we can't report this, Mr. Swanson! This is a crucial moment for us since we're negotiating a multi-million-dollar order with the steel mill!

"If the safety department gets involved, even if there really was no accident after all, it will be recorded, our qualifications will be downgraded, and the order will definitely fall through!"

Leo immediately sobered up completely and frowned hard.

"You're right. We can't report this."

He then knocked on my door and said, "See here, Sam. This is just a small issue. There's no need to get the higher-ups involved. Go and take a look at the valve. I'll thank you on behalf of everyone."

Brad changed his tone as well.

"Sam, I'll admit that I acted impulsively just now. I was just really anxious about it… There's no gas leak yet, so everything should still be salvageable. But if we delay this any further, the residents nearby will all be affected."

I thought that Brad probably wouldn't be able to frame me with so many people watching now. However, just as I was about to open the door, my computer dinged with a new email from the same anonymous sender.

"Don't open the door. Brad has already cleaned up the repair site. If you go, he'll make you enter the control room alone under the excuse of taking safety measures.

"The surveillance feed in the control room has already been cut off. If you go in, you'll have no way to defend yourself, and you'll have walked right into his trap."

I hurriedly withdrew my hand once again as if I'd gotten an electric shock. I politely refused through the door.

"I'm sorry, but I really am not familiar with this valve model. I might only make things worse if I try to do anything with it. I still strongly suggest reporting it to the safety department to deal with it as soon as possible."

Leo's face darkened as he lost his temper with me.

"Don't you think your excuse is too weak, Samuel? I'm in charge of production! And this problem should be easy enough for you to handle! You're just trying to get something out of it for yourself, aren't you?

"Just relax. I'll get the finance department to give you a thousand dollars tomorrow in return for your help tonight."

Brad then added in a sarcastic tone, "Mr. Swanson, he's already returned the three thousand dollars I offered to him, and you're only offering a thousand? Mr. Bigshot Williams won't even bat an eye at that!"

He then sent a message into the group chat, tagging me and saying, "Sam, I'm only earning four thousand dollars a month, and this is literally three-quarters of my pay! I know that it's not enough for you, but please just help us and adjust the valve."

That message woke everyone up in the group chat, and suddenly, the group was flooded with all sorts of nasty comments directed toward me.

"Three thousand dollars for adjusting a valve? Who the hell doesn't he think he is?"

"He's demanding compensation for something he can do in his sleep? What the hell? He's eating and sleeping on company dime, and he still thinks that we owe him big?"

"Report him to the labor bureau! People with this kind of character don't deserve to work in our plant!"

Brad then urged Leo, saying, "Mr. Swanson, we really can't delay this any longer. If the unit explodes, we're all doomed."

Leo gritted his teeth and yelled at my door.

"Samuel Williams! I'm asking you for the final time! Are you coming out to fix it or not?"

I couldn't stop shivering, not in anger, but in fear.