Silly Bride

Chapter 245

one more person remaining in a corner.Winnie didn’t think this was a mistake on that person’s end. Rather, she believed that Harold had deliberately planned it.He’s probably arranged for this guy to assist me or steal my recipe.Still, she played it cool, pretending to put all her attention on her task at hand.It was only when she proceeded to grab some methadone hydrochloride that she acted as though she had just spotted someone else inside the room, for the rack containing the chemical so happened to be right behind that man.“Who are you? What are you doing in here?” she yelled.“I’m here to assist you,” the person replied at once.“Assist me?” Both their voices came out sounding slightly distorted due to the gas masks they were wearing.Winnie had a difficult time discerning whether this person was of young or old age, nor could she confirm if he was, in fact, Professor Riley White.“When did I say I needed an assistant? You’re a drug maker too! Do you think I don’t know what you’re up to? Don’t take me for an idiot! Seriously, I can’t believe you’re trying to steal my recipe!”The woman pretended to be furious, even going as far as to remove the person’s gas mask.The latter clearly hadn’t expected her to lash out directly like that and was caught off guard.As a result, his face now lay bare in front of Winnie, who recognized him instantly.It’s him! This is the man I’ve been looking for, although he looks so different in person compared to the photos.Winnie had already scrutinized his pictures before setting out, but all the images she came across were from five years ago.The pictures portrayed Riley as a man who looked to be in his fifties despite actually being over sixty. Not only that, but his skin looked especially well-nourished, and there wasn’t a single gray hair on his head.However, his face was now full of wrinkles, and all his hair had turned gray. He had also lost an ear, and his eyes looked bleak.Winnie couldn’t help but frown when she saw the state Riley was currently in.What on earth could these guys have put a chemistry professor like him through for him to turn out this way?With a clench of her fists, Winnie turned and walked in the direction of the surveillance camera.She then looked up and removed her gas mask before making the rage in her voice known to Harold.“Mr. Horton! Don’t you think you’re being very unreasonable right now? We haven’t even started working together, but you’re already getting someone to watch my every move? Are you going to have me killed once this guy figures out the recipe?”“I think you’ve misunderstood my intentions, Ms. Vivian,” replied Harold. “I let my subordinate stay and assist you because both he and I figured that you may not be accustomed to a new environment like this. But if you really don’t need any help, I can send him away. To be honest, I really enjoy working with someone like you, Ms. Vivian. You’re the type who says exactly what’s on your mind instead of keeping it to yourself. I understand your worries, so I’ll do my best to address anything you regard as a problem right away. Please have faith in my sincerity. Have I not brought you to my laboratory, after all?”Winnie scoffed in response, “You sure are eloquent, Mr. Horton.”“This has nothing to do with eloquence, Ms. Vivian. If you approach the other two, those brutes aren’t going to be as easy to deal with as I am. Besides, don’t you feel the safest when you’re here?”Winnie glared at the camera in brief silence. “You’re a sly one, aren’t you, Mr. Horton? But I’ll have you know that I’m extremely pissed off right now—so much that I have to do something to vent.”“Of course,” Harold said with a chuckle. “You can do whatever you want as long as you give me the goods. You can even go outside and tear this building apart when you’re done.”“Ha!” Winnie was amused. “Of course I’m not capable of doing that, but you know my temper. I can’t wait that long, so you wouldn’t mind if I just punched him a couple of times, right?”She stopped talking to Harold at once and walked straight toward Riley.The latter appeared slightly dumbfounded after hearing what she had said, but he had no intention of running away at all. With her back against the camera, Winnie furrowed her brows at Riley before throwing a punch at his stomach.There was quite some force involved, and the man immediately fell to the ground, writhing in pain.Then, Winnie pulled him back up from the floor and swiftly whispered something into his remaining ear.Riley’s eyes gleamed as soon as he heard her words.He turned to her in disbelief.Winnie hastily stepped aside to block the camera from detecting the change in Riley’s expression.“Get your ass home and look after your grandkids instead, you old geezer! What are you even still doing here inside a lab at this age?” she spat before hurling him toward the door.While sprawled out against the door, Riley couldn’t help but glance at her.She had just mentioned his granddaughter, Yulissa, whom he had not seen for a long time.The only way he could obtain any news on Yulissa was through Harold, who would only feed him tiny snippets of information about her each time.After Riley left, Winnie poured all her attention back into work.As it was her first time, she stumbled a little as she couldn’t properly grasp the right amount of catalyst during the reaction, so her first attempt was a failure.Still, she was confident in herself and quickly moved on to the second try.Meanwhile, Christopher could only remain on the ground floor since he was prohibited from entering the laboratory which was located in the basement.Despite that, he didn’t waste his time idling around. Using a washroom break as an excuse, he explored the building layout as much as he could.Upon returning, the man coincidentally bumped into Riley emerging from the floor below and tugged along by two men.This was Christopher’s first time seeing Riley in the flesh after lurking here for such a long time, and emotion swirled within him. I swear I’m going to bring him back home.A few hours later, Winnie finally removed her gas mask.She had long been drenched in sweat after wearing her protective gear for so long, and the high temperature certainly didn’t help either. After making an OK sign at the camera, she slumped into a chair.Harold and a few others made their way into the laboratory in protective gear immediately after receiving her gesture.Winnie handed him a beaker before pounding on her own shoulder lightly. “This is it. It’s not a lot. Get someone experienced to give it a try.”“Thank you for your hard work, Ms. Vivian.” Harold took the beaker and handed it to a subordinate before turning back to the woman. “I’ll be sure to reward you highly when this is over.”“As you should,” Winnie responded haughtily.Smiling, Harold said nothing more and turned around to watch his subordinate inspect the product.The latter had already taken a sip of it and immediately began to stagger backward.“Seven?” Seeing such a huge reaction from his subordinate caused a frown to replace Harold’s smile.He turned back to Winnie, preparing to question what kind of concoction she had just made.Suddenly, the subordinate let out a boisterous laugh. “This is it! This is some good stuff! I feel amazing!”Harold’s mood took a turn for the better after he saw the man lose himself.“Incredible!” he exclaimed, spinning around and grabbing Winnie by the shoulders. “You’re unbelievable, Ms. Vivian. You managed to create it at a purity level of ninety-four point seven percent! You’re a godsend. You must be tired now. Come, let’s go outside and have Chris give you a shoulder rub, and then we’ll have a hearty meal for lunch. How about that?”Winnie raised her hand to hit her shoulder again. “I do feel a little sore. That’s a pretty good suggestion, Mr. Horton. It’s true that I need to get some fresh air. Let’s go.”“Yes, let’s.” While speaking, the man