Chapter 705:
Verruckt strode toward her, his presence overwhelming. His gaze, unreadable as stone, never left her.
“From this point forward, no one wears perfume here,” he declared.
From this point forward? That phrase hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications. It meant she wasn’t going to die just yet.
Allison’s lips curled into a faint, almost reluctant smile as she nodded. “Okay, Mr. Shaw.”
The security team in black finally escorted Verruckt out, and the researchers, too intimidated to even glance at Allison, returned to their workstations.
As he walked beside Verruckt, Jareth asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty, “Mr. Shaw, should we take care of her?”
Verruckt, unfazed, tended to his wound with a casual air. “No need. Keep her within reach. I’ll keep watch over her personally.”
“Yes, sir,” Jareth responded obediently.
When the room emptied, Allison, now fully dressed, returned to the break room. The maintenance crew had arrived and was inspecting the pipe that had burned her. They exchanged bewildered murmurs.
“This pipework is top-notch. How did they end up reversed?”
Allison, picking up a cup, offered a nonchalant explanation. “Perhaps the person who installed the pipes didn’t realize.” But in truth, it had been done deliberately.
The atmosphere in the break room had thickened with unease; none of the researchers dared to enter, sensing the growing tension.
Allison reached into the fridge, pulling out a can of iced coffee. She opened it with deliberate calm, pouring it into her cup as though the storm around her didn’t exist.
The maintenance workers, having reconnected the pipe, turned their attention to the malfunctioning microwave. One of them muttered, “That could’ve been a real mess. If two cans of coffee had been put in the microwave, this whole room could’ve gone up in smoke.”noveldrama
Allison feigned surprise. “Oh, come on. The worst that would’ve happened is a ruined cooking station.”
In truth, she knew just how close they had come to disaster. As the workers shifted the microwave, Allison subtly retrieved the items she had hidden behind it — safety in plain sight. Sometimes, the most dangerous places are the best hiding spots.
She had stashed the vial of serum and her earpiece there, counting on no one ever suspecting the microwave’s unassuming position.
In the restroom, she slipped the earpiece back into her ear. Gordon’s voice crackled through immediately. “Allison, you really took a big chance this time.”
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