Chapter 676

It was quitting time; no one would voluntarily return to their office unless they were staying late tonight.

But headquarters hadn't issued any notice—if overtime was required, someone would've informed them in advance. When he pushed open the door, he clearly felt those two were heading down, yet for some reason they turned back.

Was it because I came? But everyone here is an employee—why would they avoid me?

The employee thought for a moment, then looked up again.

He had no desire to meddle, but his curiosity was too strong—he desperately wanted to know who was upstairs, so he shouted toward the ceiling: "Who's there?!"

A group instantly held their breath.

Ning Chen tightened his grip on the railing, fingers turning pale with strain. He knew he couldn't confront the man below or respond.

After shouting, and receiving no reply from above, the employee frowned, suddenly sensing something wrong.

"Come down! Who are you? Running upstairs after hours?" He climbed the stairs, eyes locked on the figures above. Though frightened, he reasoned this was the company—nothing serious could happen—and marched straight up, preparing to chase the people overhead.

Ning Chen hadn't expected this man to interfere—he quickly signaled the tense group to move upward, then descended the stairs himself, ready to meet the employee face-to-face.

The employee naturally heard Ning Chen's footsteps, slowing his ascent slightly, but Ning Chen moved fast—hand in pocket, he descended slowly, looking down at the employee from above.

Their eyes met. The employee's first glance went to Ning Chen's chest—seeing his employee badge, he seemed to relax, then frowned again, tone sharp: "How did you get up here? Who authorized it?"

Ning Chen stared at him, spreading his hands: "Someone told me to come up for something. Who'd waste time coming here for no reason?"

554. Meddling, ruining good plans

The employee still looked skeptical, silent as he studied Ning Chen.

Ning Chen sighed: "I'm just grabbing something. Why act like you're facing a threat?"

"Really?" the employee said. "Then why did you go up after hearing me?"

Ning Chen smiled, a flicker of impatience in his eyes: "I wanted to see who was meddling."

The employee's face stiffened, darkened, but he said nothing more, crossing his arms to watch Ning Chen: "Fine. Go get your thing. I'll wait right here."

Ning Chen finally understood the employee's intent.

He suspected him. Above the tenth floor were areas ordinary employees couldn't access, and Ning Chen wore a standard employee badge—naturally, another ordinary employee would doubt him.

Ning Chen checked the time—he couldn't delay further. He shook his head and walked toward the employee: "Forget it. I won't get it today. I'm too tired to go back. Time to clock out!"

His tone was casual, genuinely like a worker finally done with a long day.

The employee studied Ning Chen a few moments, his guard lowering slightly—he stayed put: "Then stop dawdling. Get down quick."

Ning Chen reached the landing, standing face-to-face with the employee.

As the employee lifted his foot to descend, Ning Chen's hand shot up—amid the darkness, the employee had no time to react.

Ning Chen controlled his strike perfectly—the blow to the employee's neck silenced him instantly; he didn't even cry out, only cast one last glance at Ning Chen before his vision went black.

As if trying to memorize his face.

Ning Chen dragged the unconscious man to the wall, then returned to bring down the other five, whispering: "If no more come, we can handle them directly. Time's running out."

"But how will you get out?" Chu Muyu stepped beside Ning Chen, whispering. "The guards at the gate know us—they've been ordered not to let us out. If you try exiting through the main door, it's nearly impossible."

Ning Chen replied softly: "I have my own method. You can trust me."

Chu Muyu recalled Ning Chen's actions throughout their journey—he felt he could trust him. Besides, Ning Chen held one trump card: his nationality as a fellow countryman.

That's why the five dared follow him, despite the high chance of being caught again.

To everyone's surprise, they encountered no one in the stairwell—even walking from the seventh floor to the first, they saw no one at all.

This was undeniably lucky, but the group hid inside the first-floor stairwell, listening to the noisy commotion outside the door. Their hands were on the handle, yet they couldn't push it open.

Ning Chen turned to them: "Don't rush yet. Wait here until most people have left."

All five followed Ning Chen's orders—he told them east, they never went west. This spared him from constant explanations; escaping with them wasn't as hard as expected.

They waited nearly half an hour. Ning Chen kept precise time—he carried the fates of five people on his shoulders; every decision had to be exact, or he'd lead them to death.

His judgment proved correct. When Ning Chen pressed the handle and pushed open the stairwell door, the bright lobby held barely anyone.

All employees had left. Only a receptionist sat at the front desk, head bowed, writing something—she hadn't noticed the stairwell door slightly ajar.

But if they stepped out, she'd immediately notice. The real problem: the five from the lab wore nothing but lab coats—their signature attire. They hadn't even seen company uniforms.

In this company, all employees wore identical uniforms—if the receptionist saw them, they'd have no explanation.

Ning Chen considered: knocking out the receptionist now would be the worst option—it'd be too obvious. If the receptionist collapsed, everyone would know something was wrong.

Aside from the receptionist, the lobby was empty—but four armed men stood by the entrance.

Ning Chen stared at the four outside the glass door, thinking how to subdue them swiftly.

Subduing the four wasn't hard for Ning Chen—but the challenge was ensuring the five behind him remained unharmed. After all, the target was among them, and the others were his fellow countrymen—geniuses he could spare.

As he thought, he closed the door again.

He pressed his temples, turning to the group: "Wait here. Wait for my signal before stepping out."

All nodded at Ning Chen. He no longer hesitated—stepped directly out of the stairwell.

The moment the door opened, the receptionist looked up—her gaze sharp, studying Ning Chen, her forms forgotten.

Ning Chen acted as if just noticing her gaze, tilting his head slightly: "What's wrong?"

The receptionist's eyes moved to his badge—its photo matched his face closely—she said: "Leaving so late?"

Ning Chen nodded, feigning indifference as he strolled to the desk: "Today was packed. I don't get why this company has so much work every single day."

The receptionist paused: "Are you new?"

Ning Chen nodded: "Of course I am. You've never seen me before, right?"

The receptionist shook her head.

She truly hadn't seen him. Logically, a guy like him—if she had, she'd remember him for ages. But she had zero recollection of him—only a new hire could explain that.

She said: "Work's heavy, but the pay's decent. Stick with it."

Ning Chen replied: "I know. What else can you do? You've got to keep going. But lately, they've hired tons of new people. After we came, we heard the new hires got all the work. Me and the other new guys worked overtime till now on our first day—how are we supposed to survive this?"

His tone carried complaint—pretending to bond, but actually paving the way for the five's appearance.

The receptionist actually believed it.

555. Escaping the Bugu Group

The receptionist was also just a working person, most annoyed by overtime and other tedious matters. She pushed the form in her hand forward, and the irritation between her brows didn't look fake: "Overtime, overtime, this company just doesn't want to let people rest. Although I've been here for over a year, overtime is the norm. You and those few newcomers should look for another place to go sooner rather than later."

Did Ning Chen replied, "Although there really is a lot to do here, the pay and benefits are still pretty decent. Let's think about it a little longer."

The receptionist glanced at Did Ning Chen, nodded, and said no more.

Did Ning Chen looked outside again and asked, "Why do those few people standing outside guard here every day? Other companies hire security guards — did ours hire armed police or what?"

Hearing this, the receptionist looked up and said, "Don't ask too much, it's none of your business. Our company is keeping a few scientists brought over from other countries here… You're new, it's normal not to know."

Did Ning Chen wanted to ask more, but the receptionist shook her head: "Don't ask anymore. Some things simply can't be spoken of. Knowing about them would only add to your troubles."

Did Ning Chen had no choice but to swallow his words back.

Although this receptionist was easy to coax information out of, in reality she was neither soft nor hard to deal with, so it was still very hard for Did Ning Chen to get rid of her.

With not much time left, Did Ning Chen decided to end it quickly. He smiled and asked one last time: "When do you get off work?"

"I just started my shift."

Did Ning Chen's smile vanished in an instant. He let out a soft sigh, nodded with some regret: "In that case, pardon the offense."

The receptionist's expression froze for a moment. She had just wanted to ask Did Ning Chen why he said that, but the next second, she was chopped unconscious by Did Ning Chen's suddenly outstretched hand.

Did Ning Chen reached out to catch the Young Lady receptionist who was about to fall backward, and looked outside. The four people standing out there holding guns didn't seem to have noticed what was happening inside.

Did Ning Chen breathed a sigh of relief, and settled the Young Lady receptionist in a relatively normal posture, making her look as if she were just leaning against the stool taking a short rest, rather than already having fainted.

After finishing all this, Did Ning Chen straightened up, but did not choose to let the five people come out at this moment. He cracked his knuckles, and his gaze settled on the few people outside the glass door.

The next step was to quickly clear away the roadblock outside, to ensure that the five people still waiting in the stairwell could safely walk out of the group and rendezvous with the vehicle Did Ning Chen had arranged.

And the four people standing outside were indeed no pushovers. When Did Ning Chen walked to the very center of the hall, two of them seemed to sense something and turned their heads.

Did Ning Chen calmly walked outside step by step. He was wearing the group's exclusive clothing, and a work badge hung around his neck — enough to fool people — so that when those two turned their heads, they completely took Did Ning Chen for an ordinary employee about to get off work.

Did Ning Chen's hand gripped the glass door handle, and with a push toward himself, he pushed the glass door open.

"Brother, getting off work?" the person closest to Did Ning Chen said proactively.

It looked like he wanted to greet him. Did Ning Chen casually turned his head and gave a slight nod.

The next second, Did Ning Chen suddenly threw a punch.

Did Ning Chen's fist drew an arc through the air and landed squarely on the man's nose bridge. In an instant, a streak of bright red blood spurted out. Did Ning Chen nimbly dodged to the side, and before anyone could react, he used both hands in coordination to take the man's gun away.

The man whose gun had been taken covered his nose and couldn't speak for a moment, while the others quickly reacted. They were always on alert, so they swiftly raised their guns to prepare to fire back.

Did Ning Chen retreated a step. As the others opened fire, he pulled the trigger and shot dead the man bent over covering his nose. The bullet hit the man squarely in the forehead, and he quickly fell backward, dead with his eyes unclosed.

The bullets fired from the other muzzles were almost all aimed at Did Ning Chen's head and heart. When Did Ning Chen saw those dark, hollow gun barrels, his heart skipped a beat.