Chapter 7: Pieces of a Puzzle

The Meeting That Should Have Been Simple

The apartment was modest—clean, organized, but undeniably small.

Zhang Wei sat on a couch that barely fit his frame, taking in the surroundings with the silent efficiency of someone trained to assess a room within seconds. The scent of disinfectant lingered in the air, masking something more lived-in—cooking oil, faint traces of medicine, and the distant aroma of tea.

Across from him, Luo Min, the collapsed worker, sat stiffly, his expression a mixture of unease and exhaustion. His wife, Yang Li, perched protectively beside him, arms crossed.

Wei had planned for a private conversation, but Yang Li was having none of it.

"You want to talk alone?" she had scoffed when he suggested it. "With my husband? After what happened? Not a chance."

Most people hesitated before defying Zhang Wei.

Not her.

Yang Li's sharp eyes were locked onto him, her stance as defensive as if he had come to steal something from them.

He respected that.

It was also incredibly inconvenient.

But Wei never forced compliance when he could get cooperation.

He exhaled lightly, leaning back slightly. "Fine. Let's talk."

Yang Li's gaze narrowed slightly at how easily he gave in, as if she had expected him to push back. Instead, she nodded, though her arms stayed crossed.

She was the type to argue first, trust later.

He could work with that.

...

The Shadows That Won't Go Away

"Tell me what you remember," Wei said, addressing Luo Min directly.

The man hesitated before clearing his throat. "I was in my section, same as usual. No heavy lifting that day. Just inspecting parts."

Wei nodded, prompting him to continue.

"I don't remember feeling bad before," Luo Min continued, frowning slightly. "One moment, I was working. The next… everything got dark."

Yang Li visibly tensed.

Wei caught the subtle movement.

"Dark?" he asked, tone careful.

Luo Min hesitated. "Not like fainting. Not like blacking out." He exhaled. "I saw shadows."

A chill crept up Wei's spine.

Yang Li jumped in immediately. "Just like the Liang factory."

He turned his gaze to her. "Excuse me?"

She grabbed her phone off the table, tapping rapidly before shoving the screen toward him. "The reports. The workers in the Liang factory—one of them collapsed. He also saw something."

Wei's expression remained neutral, but inside, his mind sharpened.

He had already made that connection.

Yet here was Yang Li, an ordinary factory worker's wife, reaching the same conclusion.

"Are you saying the factories are connected?" he asked, tone unreadable.

"I'm saying no one is asking the right questions."

Her fingers tightened around her phone. "People always want obvious explanations. But think about it—one worker collapses in your factory, another in the Liang factory, both with no symptoms, both with hallucinations before fainting? That's a pattern."

Wei stared at her for a long moment.

She was conspiratorial, sure. But she was also right.

She mistook his silence for disbelief and scoffed. "Oh, but of course—men in suits don't care about these things, right? Just cover it up and move on."

Wei almost smirked.

He set his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together. "I don't ignore patterns, Mrs. Yang. I study them."

That made her pause.

Luo Min exhaled. "I don't remember much else," he admitted. "After I collapsed, I woke up in the hospital. They said I was fine. They checked everything." He shook his head. "I don't feel sick."

Wei considered that carefully. "Nothing has changed since then? No dizziness, no fatigue?"

Luo Min shook his head.

Wei leaned back slightly. It was the same as the Liang case. The collapse was sudden, and yet, after a few days… it was as if nothing had ever happened.

Nothing but the shadows.

Yang Li was still watching him warily.

Wei shifted the conversation. "What's a regular day like at the factory? Any unusual changes before the incident?"

Luo Min scratched his head. "Same routine. But… I did notice something."

Wei raised an eyebrow.

"The machines," Luo Min said. "They weren't running as smoothly. Some sections felt… off."

"Off how?"

Luo Min hesitated. "It's hard to explain. It wasn't malfunctioning, but it was too perfect. Like everything was moving in sync, too smooth, too precise. It felt… unnatural."

Wei frowned slightly.

It was a strange observation, but he didn't dismiss it.

He glanced at his watch and exhaled. "I appreciate your time." He stood, pulling out a card and sliding it across the table toward Yang Li.

She eyed it with suspicion.

"My number," he said simply. "If anything else comes to mind."

She hesitated. Then, begrudgingly, she took it.

As Wei turned to leave, she spoke again.

"You actually care about this," she said, not a question, but a statement.

He paused by the door, glancing at her.

For a second, he considered denying it. It would be easier to lie.

Instead, he smirked slightly. "You'd be surprised."

And with that, he left.

...

A Different Kind of Report

By the time he returned to his office, the flagging protocol report was waiting for him.

Feng had already gone through it, as expected. "HR and the managers worked quickly. The red flag system will be implemented across all departments starting next week."

Wei scanned through the details. Workers would now have a structured way to report any unusual conditions—fatigue, dizziness, anything out of the ordinary.

It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was a start.

Feng continued, "Also, worker morale seems to have improved."

Wei raised an eyebrow.

Feng smirked slightly. "They like the idea of the CEO attending their dinner."

Wei chuckled. "I haven't even gone yet."

"You will," Feng said easily.

Wei only hummed in response, setting the report aside.

His mind was still back at that tiny apartment.

At the way Luo Min hesitated when talking about the machines.

At the shadows.

At Yang Li's unshakable certainty that something bigger was at play.

For once, Zhang Wei had to admit…

She might not be wrong.