Chapter 4

Another email popped up on my computer screen.

"Call the safety department. Brad is desperate. He'll break in and forcibly take you away."

I quickly dialed the safety department hotline.

"Hello? This is the suburb branch of Powerup Thermal Power Plant. The pressure-regulating valve on the main steam pipeline of Unit 4 is stuck, posing a risk of overpressure and an explosion. Please send someone over immediately."

There was a loud silence outside the door, followed by Leo's furious roar.

"Samuel Williams! You called the safety department? How dare you! Don't you know that your call will shut down the whole factory for rectification and millions of dollars in orders will be lost? You're putting everyone at the factory out of work!"

The other employees also got worked up when they heard what Leo said. They grew agitated and banged loudly on the door, cursing at me.

"Are you out of your damn mind, Samuel? Are you trying to get us all fired?"

"The safety department? Who the hell do you think you are to boss us around like this?"

"Break down the door! We must teach him a lesson today!"

Brad's face was white with anger. He turned to Leo in fear and said, "Mr. Swanson! We can't wait for the safety department to come here! We must get him to fix the valve at once! When they're here, we'll just tell them that Samuel made a false report, and then we'll all be saved!"

Leo's face was grim. "But he won't open the door. What can we do about it?"

"Then we'll just break the door down and tie him up before throwing him into the control room to fix it! He's going to have to fix it whether he likes it or not.

"And if anything happens to the unit, we can say that he deliberately demanded a high fee, delaying the repair time. We'll be able to pin all the blame on him, and the higher-ups won't hold us responsible!"

A ruthless glint flashed in Leo's eyes. He began kicking the door hard.

"Smash the door! Smash it down! Tie him up and throw him into the control room now!"

With the shift manager now on his side, Brad and the other employees grabbed their nearest tools and began breaking down my office door. The door rattled hard as they pounded on it, and plaster even began falling from the walls. The door itself was teetering on the verge of collapse.

I pressed myself tightly against the wall, feeling my heart pounding in my chest.

A new email appeared. "They've all gone mad, completely mad! They're stopping at nothing to keep their jobs!"

I cried, "What should I do? Am I not going to get out of this alive?"

Another email appeared. "Don't be scared. Turn on your phone camera and record everything from start to end."

I shakily dialed 911 as well.

"Hello? I want to make a police report. There are people trying to break my door down, and my safety is at risk right now."

There was a slight pause outside the door.

"What the hell? He even called the police on us? He's set on going against all of us, isn't he?" Brad's wicked voice rang out. "Hurry up and break the door down! The police will need another 20 minutes to get here! That's more than enough time for us to grab him!"

The door was quickly broken down afterward, and Brad was the first to rush in and grab me by my collar, lifting me off the ground.

"Let's see how you worm your way out of this now, Samuel Williams!"

I was then forcibly dragged out of my office toward Unit 4.

When I arrived there, it was just as the anonymous sender had warned me. Brad shoved heat-resistant gloves onto my hands and then dragged me into the control room along with him.

Even with two layers of heat-resistant clothing on me, I could feel the scorching heat emanating from the pipes.

Brad glared at me menacingly.

"You're too smart for your own good, Samuel, but what's the use of that? Look at you now—you still have to do this like you should have from the start. You wouldn't have had to suffer so much if you'd just agreed to come earlier.

"You're going to adjust this valve for me today, by hook or by crook!"

Then, he grabbed my hand and forcefully pressed it against the valve handwheel.

His grip was like an iron clamp. I struggled desperately against him, but I couldn't break free.

"Hold on! The police are coming!"

Just as my fingertips were about to touch the handwheel, the piercing sound of police sirens blared outside the plant.

Brad froze, a look of disbelief flashing on his face.

"They're here already? But it hasn't even been 15 minutes!"

I took the opportunity to snatch my hand away from him and sneered.

"Because I'd already called the police the moment I called the safety department."

The police sirens got louder and louder. Soon, footsteps stopped outside the control room door.

Brad's face turned pale with shock.