The Last Straw

As a small business, a small business in a sub-species district that had only just clawed its way above the line of bare survival.

Zhang Cheng's War Banner Factory had virtually no ability to withstand risk.

Countless people were swindled every day in this world. He was merely one of the poor fools.

Bloodshot veins gradually spread across Zhang Cheng's eyes.

He abruptly took out his phone and dialed Pi Yi'an's number.

Just as expected.

By the time you realized you had been scammed, it might already be too late.

"The number you have dialed does not exist."

They had even canceled the number completely.

He had already paid the final balance and no longer had the slightest connection to the other party.

"Brother-in-law, how did this happen? Did you make a mistake during the process?!"

Seeing the crystal block explode, Chen Changming hurried over and said.

Zhang Cheng wanted nothing more than to tear him to pieces, yet even that would not ease the hatred in his heart.

He trembled with rage, his eyes blood-red, but he did not lay a hand on Chen Changming. It would not solve anything. He needed to calm down now.

He needed to find a way out in this desperate situation.

If there was no way out, then death was his only path.

Zhang Cheng closed his eyes and slowly pushed himself up, sitting back on his knees on the floor, ignoring the workers whispering all around him.

"President Zhang!... Cheng!"

A familiar voice rang out from the crowd. The man initially called him President Zhang, but seeing Zhang Cheng's state, he hurried forward and called him Cheng instead.

Hearing that voice and looking up at the newcomer.

Zhang Cheng could no longer hold himself together.

Men did not shed tears lightly—unless they had reached the depths of sorrow.

Zhang Cheng's tears burst forth like a spring.

He seized the newcomer's shoulders.

"Wang Kai!!"

"Cheng!"

Seeing him like this, Wang Kai's heart twisted in agony. He crouched down, intending to help Zhang Cheng to his feet.

But Zhang Cheng had gone limp as mud, impossibly heavy.

"I deserve to die! I deserve to die, Wang Kai!! I should never have ignored you! I brought this on myself!! Ah!!!"

Zhang Cheng wailed and vented at Wang Kai, his emotions completely out of control.

He clenched his fist and repeatedly smashed it against his own head.

"Enough! Don't do this!"

Wang Kai desperately gripped his wrist, taking two punches himself in the chaos.

Wang Kai signaled to several people nearby with his eyes.

Only then did a few people step forward to help him get Zhang Cheng up. They nearly had to carry him to the general manager's office.

The room immediately filled with junior managers, while the heads of the various departments looked at one another in dismay.

What were they supposed to do now?

With Wang Kai and the others comforting him, Zhang Cheng's emotions gradually settled.

"Wang Kai, what exactly happened? I still don't understand."

Zhang Cheng said with reddened eyes and an unfocused gaze.

"I... sigh."

Wang Kai hesitated, saying nothing as he merely shook his head.

"Kai, what exactly happened?!"

"Yeah, something this huge happened. What could you possibly still be hiding?"

"Exactly. We're already in this state..."

The heads of the production lines around them were also full of confusion. The factory's survival mattered enormously to them as well.

Here, they were production line managers. Anywhere else, they were nothing.

Even though the disaster had already struck, they still did not understand how it had happened.

Faced with everyone's questioning, Wang Kai's mind was in turmoil. He said impatiently:

"Stop asking!! I don't know what happened either! One of the workers on our production line told me!"

Wang Kai snapped angrily.

"A worker??"

Everyone's eyes widened at once.

Even Zhang Cheng looked over in confusion.

"He's a college student, only halfway through his first semester, but he's very capable. The Battle Flag Crystal Blocks he makes have always been the most stable!

When the blueprints were issued yesterday afternoon, he spotted the problem. He told me there had to be an issue and assured me over and over again!!

At the time... sigh!! I really should have been firmer and stopped you!"

As Wang Kai spoke, he slapped himself hard in self-reproach.

Zhang Cheng slowly rose to his feet, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"You mean... he merely looked at the blueprints and determined that there would definitely be a problem?"

Everyone around them looked equally astonished.

How was that possible?

They were veterans, yet they had not spotted any issue in the blueprints.

Besides, they had tested it before, and no problems had occurred.

"That's right. He said the stability value of the Stable Expander's return-flow circuit would be insufficient. It involved offsetting the energy weakening of the first expander.

I always thought it was enough! I went back and calculated it at least ten times! But the decimal places went all the way to the seventeenth digit.

That was far beyond what I could comprehend. I calculated all night and still got nowhere, but the moment he saw the blueprints, he mentally calculated the issue!"

Wang Kai let out a heavy sigh.

"Can I meet this person??"

With tears in his eyes, Zhang Cheng nodded and spoke almost pleadingly.

He could not blame Wang Kai for failing to bring the man to see him then, because even if Wang Kai had, he had already been blinded by excitement at the time and would not have made any wise decision.

The result would have been the same.

"I'll make a call. He's very timid and takes this job very seriously, sigh..."

Wang Kai trailed off, shook his head, and took out his phone to dial Fu Junlin's number.

At that moment, Fu Junlin had just arrived at the workshop.

As Wang Kai placed the call, Fu Junlin's ringtone sounded from within the crowd.

Wang Kai, Zhang Cheng, and the others immediately hurried out.

In an instant, Fu Junlin became the center of everyone's attention.

He had only just walked in and was wondering what this group was doing. Were they planning to hold a morning meeting here so early?

"Junlin, come here."

Wang Kai beckoned to him.

The moment Fu Junlin saw Zhang Cheng's face, smeared with tears and snot, his heart skipped a beat. Time to look for another job.

Under everyone's gaze, Fu Junlin was ushered into the office by several people.

The moment he entered, Fu Junlin became like a work of art under everyone's concentrated stares, making his skin crawl.

"Fu Junlin, I remember you!"

Zhang Cheng wiped the tears and snot from his face, trying to regain some composure before letting out a sigh.

"It's me. Uncle Kai, this..."

Fu Junlin nodded and looked toward Wang Kai.

"The crystal blocks were processed overnight yesterday, and now all the goods have already been shipped..."

"Oh..."

Before Wang Kai could finish, Fu Junlin's face showed immediate understanding. He pressed his lips together and said no more, lowering his eyelids and staring at his nose, then his mouth.

Seeing that expression, Zhang Cheng's heart hurt even more fiercely.

It seemed Fu Junlin had known all along that this would be the outcome!

He had clearly had a chance to turn everything around, yet he had let it slip through his fingers. It was truly unforgivable.

"Junlin, I know this may put you in a difficult position. It might even be impossible, but... can you think of a way to salvage this? On behalf of everyone in the factory, I'll kneel before you... I'm begging you, please think of something."

As Zhang Cheng spoke, his body began to sag downward.

Fortunately, several people reacted quickly. Fu Junlin was startled as well, and only through everyone's combined effort did they hold Zhang Cheng up.

It was clear that Zhang Cheng had lost his soul.

He had fallen completely into despair, but Fu Junlin was the only lifeline in his hopeless situation.

Fu Junlin could spot the problem at a glance. Perhaps he had a solution too, though the possibility was exceedingly slim...