Chapter 405

Chapter 405: Double Action

Yan Ming set down the terminal screen and gazed steadily at the woman before him:

"According to the rules of Hope City, if an illness cannot be cured within a year, there is essentially no need for further treatment.

"Even setting that aside, can you provide any relevant documentation? Even a single medical record would suffice."

The woman’s body continued to tremble; she was well aware of her own predicament, and so was the man standing before her.

Yet, he seemed to have been specifically trained to dismantle her psychological defenses layer by layer, from the outside in.

A medical record wasn’t entirely absent, but it was for a condition that couldn’t be treated through regular medical channels and had to be handled privately by doctors roaming between the inner and outer city.

But she couldn’t mention that, nor did she dare to.

The woman glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already nine in the morning.

At noon, Mr. Aierken was supposed to drive over to have lunch with her, as they had agreed during their last meeting.

Hurry up, hurry up… she silently pleaded in her heart.

Unfortunately, her subtle movements didn’t escape Yan Ming’s sharp observation. He caught the detail and then turned to glance at the clock.

"Oh, it’s already nine o’clock."

He paused for a moment before asking:

"Are you waiting for Mr. Aierken to come and rescue you?

"He won’t be coming."

Yan Ming rose from his chair and walked to stand behind the woman.

Although her detention and interrogation were inevitable, he remained courteous, refraining from any physical contact. Instead, he stood behind her and stated coldly:

"Mr. Aierken is fifty-four years old. He served as the deputy factory manager at Factory No. 12 for eight years and as the factory manager for ten years.

"He is generous but maintains a strict approach in handling matters. He enjoys attending dances and making friends in his own way—though, of course, this ‘friendship’ is often referred to as mutual benefit in our circles.

"Yet, strangely, Mr. Aierken’s wife and two children live on the outskirts of the outer city, and his entire family leads a very modest lifestyle, saving only a small amount of money each month.

"So, madam, could you tell me where Mr. Aierken’s money is being kept?"

—

Factory No. 12 primarily produces certain daily necessities, leaning toward light industry, rather than operating a production line that requires continuous 24-hour operation.

The night shift runs until midnight each evening, with a new shift starting at six or seven in the morning.

When Zhuang Mian arrived at the factory with her team, today’s shift had already been underway for over an hour.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to arrive earlier; it was simply that Aierken’s working hours were later than those of regular workers, and he occasionally disappeared during work hours.

Half an hour after confirming Aierken had entered the factory, the fully armed Clean-up Team, led by Zhuang Mian, arrived at the factory entrance.

Security in the inner city has always been relatively good, especially after the Heart Snatcher was killed; there hadn’t been any major incidents for quite some time.

The security personnel initially intended to stop the group of individuals not wearing work uniforms, but upon seeing their attire, they realized they were dealing with something serious.

Before Zhuang Mian even had the chance to present her identification, they ceased their token resistance and didn’t even send out a warning signal to the factory.

Thus, the group strode confidently into the factory, where hundreds of workers were busy on multiple assembly lines, producing, packaging, and ultimately transporting products to the warehouse near the assembly line, the noise reverberating in every corner of the space.

"Production line ‘team leader’, come over here."

A member of the Clean-up Team called out.

The arrival of outsiders had already drawn the attention of the workers. They had developed the skill to perform their tasks without looking at the production line for short periods; their hands continued to work as they turned to look this way.

Several elderly workers who appeared to be in slightly better spirits jogged over to the few people in front of them. Just by looking at their uniforms, they knew these individuals were not to be trifled with, especially the leading woman, who looked ready to pull out a gun and shoot at any moment.

"What is today’s attendance rate?"

Zhuang Mian asked a vague question. The team leaders exchanged glances, but this was something they understood well.

"All the workers are present today, no one is on leave."

They answered in unison, but one of them quickly realized something was off and added hurriedly:

"Wait, I have one person on long-term sick leave; the rest are all here."

"Very well, stop the production line and gather everyone here."

The team leaders showed difficulty at this suggestion; shutting down the production line was no small matter. If something went wrong, they would be the ones to take the blame; no one wanted to be the scapegoat.

"Should we consult Aierken, the factory manager?"

One team leader bravely asked.

"He is no longer in that position."

Zhuang Mian replied casually. The team leaders took a few seconds to comprehend the meaning of her short statement. They dared not to slack off in front of a person who could strip the factory manager of his title with a single sentence and turned to head towards the switch. A few seconds later, they stopped the production line on that sunny winter morning.

The workers began to gather in the open space in the middle of the factory under the guidance of the team leaders. Although the machines had been shut down, the long-standing noise had already diminished their hearing, and the person in charge of maintaining order could only shout continuously as usual.

Team One was the first to assemble, and their leader looked at Zhuang Mian and asked:

"Ma’am, what should we do now?"

"Wait."

Half a minute later, there was a thudding sound of footsteps coming from the iron stand stairs:

"What’s going on? Why has the production line stopped?"

A pair of leather shoes appeared first in the direction of the stairs, followed by well-fitted pants and a slightly protruding belly, and finally, a middle-aged man with graying hair came into view.

Aierken had just been resting in his office. The good soundproofing of the office filtered the maddening noise into a soothing white noise that almost made him feel sleepy, along with the warm indoor air which began to make him drowsy.

As he dozed off while envisioning the enchanting scene for lunch, he suddenly heard the abrupt stop, and the office plunged into tranquility, bringing him back to his senses from his half-asleep state.

He quickly put on his shoes and opened the office door to head downstairs.

Please don’t let there have been another production accident—The cold weather had left some workers with stiff fingers, and this month, four workers had lost one or two fingers, severely affecting morale and production efficiency. If this continued, it might even impact their ability to meet delivery deadlines.

Thinking of this, he gripped the metal railing tightly and hurried down the stairs, and then he saw seven people waiting at the stairway.

The leading woman stared intently at his face, as if confirming something, and ultimately pulled a document from her pocket:

"Aierken, here is your arrest warrant."