Chapter 51: Don’t be shy, it’s just a normal reaction.

Inside the ventilation duct was a suffocating darkness.

The air was thick with the acrid tang of oxidized metal—sharp enough to sting the lungs.

Mixed with years of dust, it made every breath Lin Yu took feel like she was swallowing a mouthful of dry sand.

“Cough… cough…”
She fought back a rising fit, crawling behind Luo Shaotian in a cramped space barely a meter wide and half a meter high.

The cold, coarse iron scraped against her knees, the ones wrapped in white over-the-knee socks, sending flashes of burning pain through her skin.

And this damned lace-trimmed maid outfit she was wearing had turned into a glittering, frilly instrument of torture in such a place.

The puffy skirt was crushed and twisted beyond shape, and every so often, a stray screw jutting from the duct’s wall would snag the fabric with a nerve-jangling riiip.

‘…Someone save me.’

Inside, Lin Yu was screaming.

‘I swear I want to peel off this cursed skin!
How can wearing a skirt be this inconvenient…
Ugh, being a guy was so much easier!’

“You still holding up?”
From ahead came Luo Shaotian’s low, concerned voice.
He must have noticed the slowing rhythm of her crawling, her breathing now heavy and uneven.

“I’m fine… totally fine!”
Lin Yu immediately forced a reply, though her tired voice came out with a soft, nasal lilt that even made her cheeks burn.

“……”
Luo Shaotian fell silent for a moment, as though debating something, before his voice came again—calm and steady.
“Just a bit further. We’re almost there.”

“Mm.”
Lin Yu grunted softly in response, afraid that if she said another word, she’d start ranting about this cursed place and her even more cursed outfit.

The duct returned to silence.
Only the monotonous rustling of fabric against metal echoed through the narrow space.

To ease the tension—or maybe just to distract the exhausted girl behind him—Luo Shaotian began making small talk.
“Uh… Lulu, you… grew up in Xinhai City? Your accent doesn’t sound local.”

“Mm, sort of.”
Her vague reply was surprisingly clear.
“I—I moved here with my family when I was little. From the north.”

‘…Yep, good answer.
The north’s huge; no way he can check province by province.’

“The north?”
Luo Shaotian seemed intrigued.
That explained something—she didn’t quite carry that soft, southern temperament.
“Figures. Your personality’s a little different too—more straightforward?”

‘Straightforward? That’s because deep down I’m a damn man, dude!’
Lin Yu could feel her mouth twitch uncontrollably.

Luo Shaotian continued in that gentle, “big brother giving advice to a lost girl” tone.
“You look like you’re still in school, right?”

“Huh?”

“Which one? The Saint Trinity schools have pretty solid security.
By rights, you shouldn’t be doing something this dangerous…”

“Uh…”
A dull throb pulsed at Lin Yu’s temples.
“That’s… not something I can talk about.”
She forced a mysterious, hesitant tone.
“We… we’re under strict confidentiality agreements!”

That single phrase caught Luo Shaotian’s sharp ear.
He stopped crawling, turned his head slightly—his eyes gleaming even in the dark with curiosity and suspicion.
“Lulu, what exactly is it that you do?
Your team seems… unusually good at handling emergencies like this.”

‘Knew it! He had to ask that!’
Lin Yu’s heart gave a hard, panicked thump.

“I told you… it’s confidential!”
Lin Yu forced herself to sound firm, though her voice trembled just slightly.
“Don’t ask for details—I can’t tell you even if you do! It’s… professional ethics!”

Luo Shaotian glanced back at her.
Her eyes were darting everywhere, her flustered face full of guilt yet adorably earnest.
He couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh.
“All right, all right. I won’t ask.”

Seeing him drop the subject, Lin Yu let out a tiny sigh of relief.
‘As expected… I’m terrible at lying.’
‘Once this mess is over, I really need to learn how to fake confidence properly…’

Amid this awkward mix of tension and embarrassment, the two finally reached a fork in the duct.
Luo Shaotian stopped.
He gestured ahead, his tone switching from casual to serious.
“Our destination’s to the left, but—”

Before them, a heavy metal partition used for maintenance completely blocked the passage.
Lin Yu crawled up to look, peering past his shoulder.
Sure enough, a thick steel plate stood like an impassable wall between them and their goal.

“Couldn’t we… maybe go around it?” she asked hopefully.

“No.”
Luo Shaotian shook his head.
“This is the main duct. Every other branch connects to the factory’s production areas—where those gang members are searching right now.”

“Then… what do we do?”
Her voice cracked with rising panic.

“Don’t worry.”
He pointed to the edge of the steel plate.
“Look there.”

Lin Yu squinted, then noticed it—a narrow gap, barely twenty centimeters wide, between the partition and the wall.
And on the opposite side of the plate were four screws securing it in place.

She couldn’t help but mutter under her breath,
“…Which genius designed this garbage?!”

“To prevent intruders from unscrewing it from this side,” Luo Shaotian explained, tapping his fingers together.

Lin Yu looked at his large hands… then at the tiny gap.
There was no way he could fit through—his fingers got stuck almost immediately.
‘Damn it. His hands are way too big.’

“…Lulu.”
He turned toward her, his voice steady but filled with reluctant resolve.

Lin Yu’s green eyes widened.
“Hmm?”

Luo Shaotian nodded, pulling from his jacket pocket a small, well-worn multitool screwdriver—the kind every detective seemed to carry.
“…You’ll have to do it.”

Seeing the trust in his expression, Lin Yu didn’t protest.
She nodded firmly, took the cold metal tool from his hand, and braced herself.

To give her room to reach the screws, Luo Shaotian had to press himself flat against the opposite wall, his body practically molded against the icy steel.
Even so, the space left for her was painfully narrow.

‘…How the hell am I supposed to fit through this?!’
Lin Yu hesitated, staring at the sliver of space ahead like it was a death trap.

“Hurry, Lulu,” Luo Shaotian urged in a low, tense voice.
“We don’t have much time.”

“Y-yeah… got it…”
Lin Yu took a deep breath, held it, and slowly wriggled forward through the suffocatingly tight passage.

Her maid uniform strained with every movement, the lace brushing the cold metal walls, her slender waist twisting and pressing through the confined space—every inch a struggle against the duct itself.

The scorching heat of her body, and the strong, almost aphrodisiac scent of tobacco, made her feel uneasy. The ambiguous scent, a mixture of faint sweat and potent drugs, made her head spin.

(Calm down, calm down, calm down, Lin Yu! Lin Yu, you’re a man! You won’t mind this! It doesn’t matter… it doesn’t matter at all!)

Lin Yu desperately told herself this. She held her breath, carefully inserting the screwdriver into the narrow gap, and squeezed out those two words through clenched teeth.

Suddenly, Luo Shaotian’s slightly confused voice rang in Lin Yu’s ear:

“…Eh? Lulu, what’s wrong with your body?”

Lin Yu jerked, almost dropping the tool. Her hand, which was tightening the screwdriver, suddenly froze. She didn’t even dare to turn around, and could only force an explanation in an almost self-talking tone:

“This… it’s too stuffy in here, the air doesn’t circulate, there’s a lack of oxygen! You know what lack of oxygen is? That’s why my face is red! It’s normal!”

“Is that so?” Luo Shaotian’s tone was tinged with doubt.

“But why do I feel… you have a fever? Your ears even seem red?”

“…Okay! I already told you, no!” Lin Yu almost shouted in a low voice, her voice sounding particularly sharp because of her guilty conscience. She felt her cheeks burning as if they were about to spontaneously combust.

“…Click.”

With the last screw making a crisp metallic clang, the heavy metal partition finally clattered off.

“…All done.”

Lin Yu used the last bit of strength to push open the dusty vent, and then she felt completely exhausted. She didn’t even dare to turn around to look at the man’s expression beside her, just like a frightened rabbit, head down, panting heavily.

“…Well done.”

Luo Shaotian’s voice came to her ear, carrying a kind of warm, ambiguous scent that tickled her earlobe. Seeing the passage open, he didn’t dwell on what had just happened.

“Let’s go, we’re almost there.”

With that, Luo Shaotian took the lead, and Lin Yu followed closely behind. The two successfully entered the main passage ahead. The space here was much more spacious than before, enough for two people to walk side by side. But it was also darker and colder. The air was thick with the smell of rust, and there was even a faint smell of ozone mixed in.

Neither of them spoke. A subtle and awkward atmosphere, like an invisible film, enveloped them. Lin Yu walked behind Luo Shaotian with her head down, feeling her cheeks still burning like a red-hot iron.

(…Calm down! Lin Yu, calm down!)

She frantically gave herself mental suggestions:

(…It’s just… it’s just a normal physiological reaction! Yes! Don’t embarrass yourself!)

Just then, Luo Shaotian suddenly stopped.

“…We’re here.”

His voice broke the silence. Lin Yu abruptly raised her head and followed his gaze. At the end of the pipe directly in front of them, there appeared an exit emitting a faint light. It was a patch of light fragmented by blinds. Behind the light, a faint “humming” sound could be heard.

“It’s the power distribution room!”

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a barely suppressed excitement in each other’s eyes. They silently crawled out of the ventilation shaft.

Sure enough, this was the factory. Rows of huge power distribution cabinets stood like black tombstones. They were inscribed with various colors and… a low “humming” sound. In the air, there was a faint stench.

“This is it! This is definitely it!” Luo Shaotian lowered his voice, his face…

Lin Yu didn’t speak. She held up her bracelet, like a traveler on the verge of thirst in the desert, frantically searching for that life-saving green light in the central power distribution room of the rooftop.

The frequency indicator light on the screen, filled with the words “Plan Master,” was humming. The smell of electricity was even stronger here. She eagerly raised the bracelet on her wrist.

One step. Two steps. Three steps… On the screen, the red cross representing “hope” was still moving.

(Could it be… that Luo Shaotian’s family also has no signal?)

Just as she was about to be completely swallowed by this belated despair— the moment the rusty windows closed! That damned red X finally flashed faintly, then turned into an extremely bright green signal!

“Great!” Lin Yu was so excited she almost shouted on the spot. She didn’t even have time to talk to the person next to her before she used her finger, which was trembling with tension and excitement, to press the “!” button on the holographic screen.

It worked! As long as she pressed this button, she would be sent to the command center within ten seconds! Manager Qian, Ye Yeying, Chen Bing, and those familiar figures would immediately appear!

She barely managed to turn into a faint grid of Luo Shaotian to share this joy. Her slender fingers, trembling slightly, pressed the largest and most conspicuous “SOS” distress signal and real-time location.

The highest-ranking official in District C of Dawn Company, Li Qing, and others received the message immediately!

Then, those seniors would rush into the building like black vans and beat them all to a pulp. She and Luo Shaotian were saved.

Just a moment before her fingertips were about to touch the virtual button—

“Bang—!!”

A crisp and clear gunshot rang out. Time seemed to stretch out abruptly, accompanied by a metallic and crystalline blast as a bullet precisely struck her wrist.

“Crack—!”

A deadly electric spark ignited from the polymer material and crystal!

Like a divine soldier descending from the heavens, the bullet struck the very thing that represented “hope,” tearing through the silence without warning!

A glowing [Contract Bracelet] exploded instantly, accompanied by a deadly electric spark!

The semi-transparent holographic screen, like a spiderweb of cracks, flickered.

“Ugh—!” Lin Yu cried out in pain. A searing pain shot through her wrist. She looked down and saw a bloodstain with visible bone left on her wrist.

Bright red blood was flowing uncontrollably from her limp fingertips. On the floor, blooming flowers of hope appeared, and in the instant before they descended, light was completely swallowed up.

She looked in disbelief at the open door of the electrical room. Ah Que, the one as thin as a sparrow, stood there. She held a pistol in her hand. The muzzle was still emitting a faint bluish smoke.

(It was the one Luo Shaotian had used before because of that… damn it!)

“Heh…” Ah Que revealed a cold smile, her two eyes flashing, locking onto the room.

Behind her, the Butcher’s towering figure… The glass that had been smashed by the heavy hammer instantly went out completely. A sound came from the direction where the gunshot came from.

Blood gushed from the wound on that fair, jade-like wrist, dripping down the dusty wall, forming a flower of blood. It was mercilessly shattered, completely swallowed by the deeper darkness.

At the doorway. A small red-haired girl, quietly… A cold glass bead, which had fallen at the factory entrance due to an electric shock, was shining through the air.

The shadow of the gun blocked the only exit. The direction from which the gunshot came.