High-Altitude Worker, Unfortunately a Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Role - Chapter 34

“I’ll go,” Zhao Ke said before anyone else could speak.

Su Xi looked at Zhao Ke in confusion, but Zhao Ke nodded firmly. “I’ll go. I slept too much during the day and can’t fall asleep tonight anyway.”

Fang Jingqiu, oblivious to the tension, patted Su Xi’s shoulder. “That works. Sister Coco has a car, so she’ll be back quickly. You have a shoot tomorrow, so get some rest. We can review the proposal early tomorrow morning.”

Su Xi wanted to protest, but Zhao Ke’s gaze was too steady and resolute. Fang Jingqiu half-pushed, half-pulled Su Xi back to their dormitory.

Fang Jingqiu and Cheng Xiaotong also went home.

Zhao Ke drove alone to the Star Yue Media Building.

I can’t believe this manager. She’s exactly like my boss—a total pain.

Being an agent must be tough. Do they even get overtime pay?

If you finished the document earlier, why didn’t you have someone pick it up sooner? Why wait until midnight? And why not just email it? What is this, the Stone Age?

If it were me, I’d quit on the spot. Let someone else deal with this.

Su Xi would have to go herself, since her career depends on it. Keke’s just too kind.

The pickup truck stopped in front of the building, its glowing digital clock flashing to 00:00.

The entire building was plunged into darkness. Zhao Ke switched on her flashlight and walked toward the elevators, her footsteps echoing in the silence.

The elevator stopped on the eighteenth floor, its doors sliding open to reveal Zhao Ke’s shadow cast by the overhead light onto the plush, recessed carpet.

Zhao Ke stepped out of the elevator, her footsteps completely silent on the carpet.

The vast office area was completely dark, save for the soft moonlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the desks, chairs, and floor in a silvery glow.

It’s so quiet.

I thought we’d always have something to say.

Why am I suddenly so nervous?

The Manager’s office was located at the far end of the eighteenth floor, a separate area partitioned by glass walls. Backed by the floor-to-ceiling windows, it offered a panoramic view of City A.

Zhao Ke placed her hand on the glass door handle and pushed inward, but the door didn’t budge.

She raised her flashlight, illuminating the magnetic lock at the top of the doorframe.

“Locked,” she murmured.

Seriously? I can’t believe this.

What kind of manager is this? Doesn’t he know his own office has a lock?

Aaaargh! I’m so mad! So mad! So mad!

The flashlight beam pierced through the gleaming glass door, landing on the office desk. It illuminated the computer screen, which shimmered with a silvery light, the genuine leather swivel chair, and the narrow gap of a window cracked open above and behind the chair.

The project proposal, however, remained obscured by the computer, its details unclear.

A faint smile curved Zhao Ke’s lips. “The Manager wouldn’t mind if I climbed through the window to get it, right?”

Huh??? Zhao Ke, what are you talking about?!

What floor is she going to? If I’m not mistaken, the elevator just showed the 18th floor.

No way, no way! Keke, you can even smash the glass door if you want!

Let’s just come back tomorrow morning. One more night won’t make a difference.

After confirming she could squeeze through the window gap, Zhao Ke immediately turned around and took the elevator down.

Inside the elevator, Zhao Ke’s phone vibrated. It was Cheng Xiaotong calling.

“Sister Coco, the Manager said he keeps a spare key in the locker outside the changing room.”

“Xiaotong,” Zhao Ke replied softly, her voice carrying an inexplicable chill in the empty lobby, “please tell the Manager I’ll be waiting for him in the changing room. Okay?”

“Huh?”

On the other end, Cheng Xiaotong watched Zhao Ke rummaging through the back seat of the pickup truck on the live stream, her mind reeling.

Huh? What does this mean?

Wasn’t Zhao Ke going to break in through the window? Why is she talking about getting the key now?

I don’t get it!

Zhao Ke, carrying her toolbox, pressed the elevator button for the top floor and repeated, “Okay?”

Seriously? Is Zhao Ke really this obsessed with showing off her high-altitude skills? Even for a document?

So what if she is? Let her show off!

Cheng Xiaotong’s gaze lingered on the bullet screen for a moment before replying, “Okay, Sister Coco. Stay safe.”

Strange. Zhao Ke isn’t usually this pretentious, is she?

The wind howling across the rooftop was as fierce as the night Zhao Ke first met Qiao Qinglu after transmigrating.

Zhao Ke’s hair whipped wildly in the gale, the camera faithfully capturing her stunning face, its features sharply defined by the night.

A faint smile played on the young woman’s lips, but her eyes burned with a predatory, untamed intensity.

How ridiculous. Your signature move gets stale after a while. Do you really think you can trend every time you stand on a rooftop?

Zhao Ke glanced at the Bullet Screen, a wry smile tugging at her lips. “Not every time,” she said, “but today, I can.”

Damn, woman, you’re so arrogant.

Holy sh1t, she’s fucking cool.

What’s with the act?

Zhao Ke secured her anchor, lowered the rope with practiced ease, and smoothly descended to the small window on the eighteenth floor.

The window opened downward, its widest opening barely wide enough for two hands.

She had to first hook her lower legs through the gap, then bend backward, hanging upside down from the window, before using the upward thrust of her hands to pull herself inside.

The window was more than two meters above the floor. Zhao Ke dropped down, landing with a muffled thud on the carpet.

Roar! The superhero has arrived!

So cool! So cool!

Keke’s waist is so flexible, hee hee hee.

Zhao Ke did something strange. She took a spare rope from her waist and tightly bound the two handles of the Manager’s double glass doors together.

Now, the only way for anyone outside to enter was by smashing the glass.

What the hell? I seriously don’t understand this time.

Don’t understand +1

Don’t understand +10086

After securing the rope, Zhao Ke approached the computer.

There was no proposal on the desk, only a few blank A4 sheets of paper.

Zhao Ke casually flipped through them twice, then inadvertently bumped the mouse, immediately waking the computer.

In the next instant, the live stream went completely black.

The bullet screen erupted into a frenzy.

Holy sh1t! What did I just see?!

I saw it too!

What was that blinding white flash?!

Is that the Manager’s computer?!

Did anyone get a clear look at the face? It looked vaguely familiar in my peripheral vision.

Me too!

This is insane!

The live stream just crashed!

So it really was… How could something like that be on the office computer?!

Disgusting!

Kong Jianshan was clearly overconfident, leaving his computer unlocked and running in the office without a second thought.

No wonder Qiao Qinglu had found it so easily.

Zhao Ke moved the mouse, the folder sitting right on the desktop. She clicked it open, revealing neatly arranged subfolders, each named after an artist. Every folder contained at least four or five photos.

A quick glance showed not only the company’s currently active artists but also dozens of unfamiliar names. A rough count suggested there were well over fifty individuals.

The live stream remained blacked out, viewers only hearing the crisp clicks of the mouse followed by Zhao Ke’s voice.

“Hello, 911? I need to report a crime.”

Thud!

A violent impact shook the glass door.

Zhao Ke looked up to see Manager Kong Jianshan, his face flushed crimson like pig liver, throwing his full weight against the door.

The camera’s view shifted, escaping the blocked screen and returning to normal. Kong Jianshan’s ferocious, brutish face suddenly filled the viewers’ screens.

“Zhao Ke! You’re fucking dead!”

“Damn it! I’m going to fucking kill you!”

Ahhhhh! What the hell was that?! Scared the sh1t out of me!

Holy sh1t! That ugly face just popped up out of nowhere! Jump scare!

Where did this guy come from?! What’s going on?!

Zhao Ke, run! It’s too dangerous!

Where did this person come from?!

Zhao Ke remained calm, unhurriedly opening two drawers until she found a USB drive that looked usable.

“Let’s see… where does this thing plug in?”

Having little experience with computers, Zhao Ke fumbled along the edges of the machine, searching for a port amidst Kong Jianshan’s frantic, deranged shouting.

Ahhh, it’s on the bottom! The main unit!

Oh my god, Keke, run!

You’re going too hard, Zhao Ke! Do you think you’re a secret agent?

“Oh, here it is.”

Following the Bullet Screen’s instructions, Zhao Ke crouched down and located the USB port.

Seeing Zhao Ke’s actions, Kong Jianshan pounded furiously on the glass door with his fists, the frame rattling violently. “Zhao Ke! You fucking dare copy even one file!”

Zhao Ke ignored him. “Anyone know how to copy this folder? Can I just drag it over?”

Yes, yes!

Just drag the one on the desktop!

Remember to delete the original file, Keke!

“Deleting the original probably won’t matter. If he dared put it on the desktop like this, there must be backups elsewhere.” Zhao Ke frowned.

Kong Jianshan was merely one of the insiders.

As the transfer progress bar reached 100%, Zhao Ke quickly crouched down and unplugged the USB drive.

She glanced up and saw Kong Jianshan dragging a chair from a nearby desk, raising it high above his head, ready to smash it through the glass door.

Too late!

Run! Run! Run!

Ignoring everything else, Zhao Ke clamped the USB drive between her teeth, spun around, and sprinted toward the small window. Using her momentum, she leaped, her hands gripping the lower edge of the window.

Crash!

The glass door shattered behind her.

“Stop right there!”

Kong Jianshan strode through the broken glass, charging toward Zhao Ke.

With a surge of strength, Zhao Ke pulled herself up, tucked her legs in, and curled them through the space between her arms. Then, with a powerful arch of her back, she swiftly wriggled through the window.

Kong Jianshan didn’t even manage to touch her heel.

Supported mostly by the rope, Zhao Ke’s toes pressed against the glass as she gripped the window frame with one hand and retrieved the USB drive from her mouth with the other.

“It’s over, Kong Jianshan. The police are already here.”

Below her, the rotating red lights of police cars pierced the night sky.

Zhao Ke gazed down at Kong Jianshan, her eyes radiating a chilling indifference and disdain, colder than the moonlight behind her.

Kong Jianshan’s twisted, furious expression was laid bare under the camera’s gaze.

“You fucking die, Zhao Ke! If I can’t live, neither will you!”

He whirled around abruptly, grabbed the monitor from his desk, and smashed it violently against the floor. Then, venting his rage, he kicked the computer chair with full force.

The monitor hit the ground, flickered twice, and went dark.

Pure madness. This is terrifying.

Thank goodness Keke got away quickly.

Speechless. What’s the point of smashing the monitor? The CPU is still intact.

When the police arrived on the eighteenth floor, they were immediately confronted by the enraged Kong Jianshan and the manager’s office, now a scene of utter chaos.

Two young, strong officers pinned Kong Jianshan down, his upper body twisted against the desk.

An older officer stepped toward Zhao Ke. “Alright, the suspect is secured. You can come down… no, you should come up here.”

Zhao Ke nodded and handed the USB drive through the small window to the officer. “All the evidence is on this.”

Kong Jianshan caught sight of Zhao Ke out of the corner of his eye and writhed against his restraints, shouting, “Zhao Ke! Don’t get cocky! You’re finished too!”