Dazhuang waved his hand, signaling everyone not to stare and to keep moving forward.

Under his guidance, everyone arrived at the east end of the factory building, where a large curtain descended from the ceiling, concealing part of the wall.

Without a word, Dazhuang reached out and lifted the curtain, revealing a hidden small door.

There is actually a room here, Tang Xiaoquan marveled in amazement. You see, when they first entered the factory, he had observed the surroundings, yet he had not suspected this curtain layout at all.

It seems there are indeed many puzzling things about this factory!

Just as Tang Xiaoquan was lost in thought, the small door opened, and as it slowly opened, he discovered that what lay beyond was not a room, but a staircase made of wooden planks.

The staircase spiraled upward, with a total of two flights, decorated with fake trees at the corners; the factory owner seemed to be someone with a taste for life.

The reinforced floorboards creaked under the weight of their shoes. When the group finished climbing the somewhat dim two-level staircase, a straight long corridor came into view.

The corridor was about 10 meters long and divided into four single rooms from north to south. In the sunlight streaming through the thick glass windows at the side of the wall, it was visible that the doors of the four rooms were labeled as Factory Manager's Office, Reception Room, Sample Exhibition Room, and Model Room.

This was truly a turn of events, Tang Xiaoquan sighed again, simultaneously admiring the owner's layout!

After all, such a design allows clients to gain a more intuitive understanding of the factory's strength; it also facilitates management to monitor production progress; meanwhile, the reduced distances between departments improve collaborative efficiency. It's truly a win-win-win!

His thoughts wandered somewhat far, but a sudden baby's cry abruptly cut into Tang Xiaoquan's train of thought.

He frowned slightly, and after listening closely for the sound, his gaze finally landed on the Sample Exhibition Room at the end of the corridor.

"Um, brother, about the room inside..."

"Director Lin, I've done what you instructed, now I'll leave the people to you!" Before Tang Xiaoquan could finish his sentence, Dazhuang had already opened the door in front of him, and a thick scent of smoke immediately wafted out.

Wei Yang instinctively wrinkled her nose; as a girl, she was unaccustomed to this smell. Although her father used to have the habit of smoking, he was generally restrained about it around her.

Raising an eyebrow, Lin Junfu, who was puffing on a cigarette butt, glanced at the door. Upon seeing Dazhuang's dark, muscular frame, along with the Survivor Team behind him, he promptly extinguished his cigarette and inserted the butt into an ashtray.

"Haha, thank you, Dazhuang. Hey everyone, no need to stand, come in and have a seat!" Waving his hand towards the scattered chairs in front, Lin Junfu called out.

Inside the room, a heavy wooden desk was placed horizontally, with a bookcase filled with file envelopes and folders behind it. On the wall above the bookcase, the words "Integrity as Foundation, Quality as Principle" highlighted the manager's business philosophy.

As the group entered one by one, the Factory Manager's Office of nearly forty square meters soon became crowded.

Since there were limited chairs, they tactfully gave the sofa to the elderly Zhao Yunhai and the only woman in the team, Wei Yang. The others either sat on the stools or leaned against the wall.

"Hehe," Lin Junfu chuckled, standing up slowly. He rummaged through the cabinet behind him and took out a stack of paper cups: "How did you sleep last night, all comfortable?"

Speaking, he unpacked the paper cups one by one, filling them with hot water.

"Very well, it's the most restful sleep we've had in a long time!" Hu Xiaodong's words were no exaggeration, even if sounded somewhat perfunctory, for last night they indeed slept like the dead.

"Haha, that's good to hear!" Lin Junfu laughed heartily, and his tired, pale face was tinged with rare color.

"By the way, Director Lin, you said yesterday that you wanted to discuss something with us today. What is it?" Tang Xiaoquan smiled without revealing any of his inner doubts.

But in fact, from the mismatched number of survivors to the absent Factory Manager Wang, from Lin Junfu's silence on supplies to the abrupt baby's cry in the Sample Exhibition Room; all of these made Tang Xiaoquan more uneasy!

Hence, he was eager to uncover the truth hidden behind these mysteries, and the man in front of him was undoubtedly the key.

Lin Junfu leisurely returned to his seat. Habitually, he picked out a cigarette butt with some remaining tobacco from the ashtray, placed it in his mouth, lit it, and after a deliberate drag, finally spoke with knitted brows: "Frankly speaking, even I feel awkward bringing this up to you, but..."

A long, unexpected sigh came from Lin Junfu, who appeared troubled.

"Director Lin, you don't have to be polite with us. Since we're here, we're all family. Tell us, if there's anything you need us to do, just ask." Hu Xiaodong's straightforward attitude made Lin Junfu believe in his sincerity. He straightened himself, speaking solemnly: "You all can see that our situation here is very dire; we've practically reached the point of exhaustion. We've tried sending people to the village for supplies, but the result..."

Shaking his head helplessly, Lin Junfu's dark eyes glistened with a hint of sorrow: "We sent two groups in total, the first group had five people and only two returned; the second group went a few days ago with four people but... none returned."

"Didn't you send someone to the village to check the situation? Maybe those four are trapped and can't get out!" Wang Qiang, who couldn't stand by without helping, bluntly questioned without hesitation.

"Ha," Lin Junfu gave a bitter smile, touching his nose. He raised his brows, looking at Wang Qiang as if self-mockingly: "Rescue? We'd like to! But... there are only four men left here. If anything happens to us, what will happen to the women and children?"

Subdued, Wang Qiang lowered his head under Lin Junfu's gaze.

Indeed! If anything happened to them, the fate of the women and children here was predictable.

The group couldn't help but feel sympathetic for Lin Junfu's predicament.

Yet...

Four men! If he remembers correctly, there were two guards at the gate, along with Lin Junfu, which leaves one man missing. Could it be...

The first hypothesis surfaced in Tang Xiaoquan's mind!

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