âWhat about the Big Black Bear that youâre looking for? They havenât shown up until now.ââThereâs no time for us to think about that now. If we canât deal with both at the same time, weâll do one at a time.âChristopher hummed in agreement before nodding. âI understand what you mean, but once we leave this place, itâll be extremely difficult to enter their circle again.ââI know.â Winnie hung her head to look at her feet. âWeâll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, Harold has given me time to take a shower and change my clothes, so no oneâs following us. Letâs hurry up and start working.ââAll right.â
Christopher surveyed their surroundings. âThere isnât anyone around. Harold will surely need to wash up too. We have, at most, half an hour.ââYes. If nothing goes wrong, half an hour will be more than enough for us.âAs they spoke, they rushed back as quickly as they could.Once they locked the doors and the windows, they entered the bathroom together.Christopherâs phone was special. There were two systems installed, and when he activated the hidden system, he soon contacted his department.While he was making his report, Winnie was busying herself at the side with a pen and paper. She was jotting down everything she had seen on Haroldâs computer earlier.When she was done writing, Christopher took photos of the information and sent them to his department.After ending the call, Christopher let out a heavy sigh of relief. As he exited from the hidden system, he said to Winnie in sincerity, âThank you. Without you, I might need to spend more time and more effort to get all this information.âWinnie, too, felt much more relieved after sending out the information. She flashed a smile at Christopher and said, âYouâre too courteous. Also, itâs what I should do. Furthermore, youâre my friend. Iâm willing to lend you a helping hand for this.âHowever, Christopher shook his head, his eyes reddening. âNo, no. Itâs not that Iâm being courteous. Iâm not thanking you on my own account. Iâm thanking you on behalf of my department.Youâve helped us lower the casualty rates of innocent people.
Everything youâve done today will save and have saved many lives and families. My department has asked me to thank you.âThinking of the blood, sweat, and tears that heroes like Christopher had sacrificed, Winnie found her throat tightening. She shook her head.âNo, Iâve only done something minor. The ones who should receive the thanks are you guys, but Iâll accept the gratitude from you and your department.ââMm.â Christopher inclined his head. In the next second, he lifted his arm and gave Winnie a military salute.Winnieâs heart melted, and she chuckled. âItâs my honor.âWith that, she tore the paper she wrote on into shreds and flushed them down the toilet bowl.After that, Winnie looked at the ring on her ring finger and said, âXavier, weâre moving forward with the schedule. Weâll be executing the plan tonight. If you hear this, please respond.âAs soon as she finished speaking, she received a message on her phone.It was from Xavier. Xavier: Got it. Donât worry. Begin the plan when you see my signal after the sun goes down. Be careful.Winnie touched her ring. âI got it. You too. Iâll go and prepare now. Weâre about to move out.âTen minutes later, Winnie was all done with her washing up.When she got dressed and stepped out of the bathroom, she noticed Christopher missing from the room.Winnie guessed that Harold had sent someone over to get her while she was showering, so Christopher had gone outside.With that thought in mind, she glanced out of the window and slowly clipped her hair before exiting the room.Indeed, Christopher was talking to Haroldâs bodyguard outside.Once Christopher saw her, he took a step closer and said, âLetâs go. Letâs not make Mr. Horton wait for long.âWinnie smiled at him. âMind your attitude.âChristopher sucked in a deep breath. âThis way, please, Ms. Vivian.âWinnie then hooked her arm around his and leaned her head against his shoulder.
âThatâs about right.âNot long after, they reached the spot where the car was parked at.By then, Harold was already in a clean set of clothes and was waiting on the patio.Even from afar, he could see Winnie linking arms with Christopher. Hence, the moment the two of them approached him, he began teasing, âVivian, I was thinking of having you sit in my car as a fulfillment of our previous promise, but it looks like you might prefer sitting beside Chris.ââYouâre right.â Winnie lifted her head to take a glimpse at Christopher with a frivolous smile. âHeâs my new favorite, but I might get sick of him after a while. When that happens, Iâll get someone else.ââSounds good.â Harold was smiling from ear to ear. âIâll get you anyone you like. You can even have more than one as long as youâre happy.âWinnie jovially nodded.
âOkay! Letâs go. Oh, by the way, Hal, Iâve received the deposit you sent me. Iâm delighted.âA chuckle escaped Harold. âAll right. I can see that youâre happy, and that makes me happy too. Letâs go.âAgain, Winnie and Christopher were hooded.On their way to the factory, the two of them went over the rescue operation again, for Christopher would not be allowed into the underground lab again when they arrived at the factory.After entering the lab, Winnie began working away. Other than stepping out of the lab for some food at noon and for the occasional restroom break, she went nowhere else. Harold was watching her through the surveillance cameras anyway.Nevertheless, Harold was no longer in the monitor room when afternoon came. He said he was tired and needed to take a nap, and before he left, he told Winnie to keep up with the good work.That was the opportunity Winnie seized. As she calculated the time, she discreetly prepared some chemical reactions that were bound to ruin the entire lab when the right time came.As time ticked away, the sun slowly descended beneath the horizon.As the demand for the products was urgent, and the trip from the factory lab to the Horton residence would take up much time, Harold did not wish to lose the precious few hours. He had arranged for Winnie to stay in the factory for the next few days.Moreover, it was Winnieâs first day staying at the factory. To keep up with the act, Harold deliberately came to the break room to accompany Winnie for dinner.While they were eating, Harold even apologized to her, âSorry about this, Vivian. This place isnât as good as home, but once this batch of products has been handed over, you can get a good rest for a while. Iâll compensate you for this by then.ââOkay, Iâll hold you to that,â Winnie said with a smile. âBy the way, Hal, it must be dark outside. Iâve been in the basement for the entire day, and I can barely know when itâs day or night.â At that, Harold glanced at the time on his watch. âThe sky hasnât completely darkened when I came down here just now. Still, this isnât something you need to concern yourself with. Just keep an eye on the time and rest when itâs about two to three in the morning.âWinnie nodded. âThe sun goes down faster now. Weâre already halfway through our meal. Iâm sure itâs completely dark outside now.âRileyâs rescue operation would commence after sunset. Winnie was excited and looking forward to it.A while of rumination later, she turned to Harold. âOh, right. Harold, say, do you think that karma will come for people like us?âHarold nearly snorted in amusement. âWhy are you suddenly asking about that?âWinnie lifted a brow and responded, âI donât know. The question just suddenly popped into my head. Iâm interested in finding out what you think about that.âHarold sipped his wine, but instead of answering her, he asked, âWhat about you? What do you think will happen to people like us?âWinnie smiled and put down her fork. âYouâre sly, Hal. I was the one who asked you the question first, but now youâre trying to fish for my answer.ââAll right.â Harold laughed a little before putting down his wine glass and patting Winnieâs shoulder. âLet me tell you this: I donât believe in karma. Iâll do what I want to do, and Iâll kill anyone Iâm annoyed with. Iâll either take or steal the things I want. I live a much more carefree life than anyone in this world, and Iâm enjoying it! This is what will happen to me. Whatâs the matter? Why are you looking at me like this? Do you not agree with me?âAs Winnie stared at Harold, she curled her lips. âI do, but not about everything.ââOh?â Harold lifted a brow, not thinking that he had said anything wrong. âTell me what you think is wrong.âWinnie took a piece of napkin and slowly wiped her lips.âThe life you describe is indeed a carefree one, but that wonât last you forever. Someone like you, Hal, who has done horrible things and has their hands stained with blood, will end up dying horribly.ââWhat are you talking about?â Haroldâs expression darkened. âAre you saying that Iâll die horribly?ââHal, are you angry?â A look of disbelief appeared on Winnieâs face. âHave you never heard of such curses from your victims when you killed them and burned down their houses? Hal, weâre the villains, and this is how villains end.âHarold knitted his brows. âWhy are you telling me these?ââOh, nothing.â Winnie gave him a smile before filling their wine glasses. âIâm just wistfully commenting on how lucky we are to stay alive until now. Here, Harold, let me toast to you.ââOkay, letâs toast. Even if you die a horrible death in the future, youâll have me accompany you to the grave. We might not have been together at the start, but weâll be by each otherâs side when the end comes. Sounds good?âWinnie hummed in agreement before lifting her glass to clink it against Haroldâs. âWeâll be by each otherâs side when the end comes.âDeep down, however, Winnie was thinking otherwise. As if. I wonât die even if youâve decomposed. What goes around comes around, and the grim reaper is just by your doorstep!At two in the morning, everyone else excluding the guards on shift had gone to sleep.When Winnie stood up, three rhythmic knocks suddenly came out from under her feet.Almost immediately, she realized it was the signal for her from the rescue team.Previously, she had used honey to leave tracks on her way here, so she had successfully marked the location of the factory.
When Christopher came over, he meticulously surveyed the topography of the area as well.After a discussion, they decided on entering via the underground sewage system.There was a lab in the factory, so there was no way an underground sewage system would not exist below the factory. At that moment, Christopherâs men were waiting for Winnie under the manhole cover.Nevertheless, the right time had not come yet, for the lab had surveillance cameras. Her sudden disappearance would raise alarm in no time.Therefore, she needed to wait for the perfect opportunity.She quietly sat back down and used the chair to cover the manhole cover.At the same time, she turned the flames of the two alcohol burners on the table to the maximum. That way, not long after she leaveâabout ten minutes at mostâthe lab would explode, and everything inside would turn to dust.After doing so, she did not need to wait for long before the lights in the lab went out all of a sudden. In the blink of an eye, the entire basement went dark.The power outage was a signal for her to leave.Before she could even do anything, someone opened the manhole cover beneath her feet. With the help of her teammates, Winnie went into the sewer in seconds.âMs. Garland, we have to hurry. They must have a backup generator here, and once they activate it, we wonât be able to escape as easily.ââMason?â Winnie instantly recognized the voice. âWhatâs the situation above? Is someone picking us up?ââYes, but according to the plan, Iâm only in charge of picking you up in the underground. Iâm not in charge of the others.ââOkay.â It was a hasty moment, and Winnie did not have much time to find out more about the plan. âLetâs leave right away. The place is about to blow in about seven to eight minutes. When that happens, the sewers might collapse too.ââNo problem,â Mason confidently answered. âWeâll be doing a turn soon.âNot long after, the corner appeared in their line of sight.However, just as they turned around the corner, Winnie bumped into someone.Instinctively, she grabbed the other personâs neck.Mason, who was right behind her, quickly stopped her. âStop, Ms. Garland! Heâs one of usâheâs on Professor Whiteâs rescue team.âOnly then did Winnie let go of the person.âGood.â Turning to the person in front of her, she asked, âIs Professor White right behind you?âBefore that person could answer her, Riley himself replied, âIâm here. Are you Yulissaâs friend? How is Yulissa?âWinnie sighed in relief when she heard Rileyâs voice. âThatâs right. Iâm Yulissa Whiteâs friend. Weâll talk about her after we get out of here.âThe group then continued forward for a few hundred meters more. Almost four to five minutes later, a thunderous sound of an explosion from behind them traveled into their ears.The entire sewer shook from the impact, and Riley nearly lost his balance.He only managed to stay on his feet because Winnie caught him in time.As he turned to look at her, he asked, âWhatâs going on? What happened inside?âWinnie chuckled. âItâs nothing; just Haroldâs lab exploding.ââWhat? What did you just say?â
Tears rolled down Rileyâs face when he registered Winnieâs words. âAre you telling me that the devilâs lab exploded? Is God finally doing something? His lab exploded! It exploded! This day has finally come!
Even if I die now, Iâll be dying in peace!â