Chapter 313 The Gate That Didn’t Open

There was no response from inside the office for a long moment. No sound—it was unclear if it was empty or just occupied.

The woman in the lab coat was clearly in a hurry. She glanced at her watch repeatedly, growing visibly impatient. Then, without waiting for any response, she turned the handle and pushed the door open.

The moment the door cracked, a folder came flying out and smacked the ground near Yunice’s feet.

“Do you not understand basic protocol?” a furious voice boomed from inside.

The papers landed right in front of Yunice. The woman who had opened the door, due to her angle, had avoided the direct hit.

Yunice glanced at the scattered documents at her feet, then looked up—only to see Wyatt’s face, twisted with anger behind his desk.

The rage on his face softened slightly when he realized it was her—but only slightly. He didn’t say anything to her, just shifted his gaze back to the executives standing at attention before him. None of them dared break the silence. Jordan wasn’t present either.

The woman in the lab coat froze, clearly stunned by the outburst. Her first instinct was to slam the door and run. But when she noticed the documents near Yunice’s feet, she hesitated. Those papers were important—they needed to go in. She couldn’t just pretend not to see them. She started wildly signaling to Yunice with her eyes, as if silently scolding her for not being more aware.

Yunice was irritated by her condescending attitude, but now was not the time for petty squabbles. Quickly, she gathered the documents, tucked them back into the folder, and stepped into the room under immense pressure. She placed the folder on Wyatt’s desk, turned around, and was ready to leave.

Then came Wyatt’s voice from behind. “Head to HR.”

Yunice’s heart dropped. What did that mean? Was he firing her? She didn’t dare ask. She just picked up her pace and left the office, closing the door behind her.

Inside, Wyatt slammed a different file onto the table. The atmosphere was suffocating. No one dared breathe.

As for the woman in the lab coat, she seemed shaken too. Her face only relaxed after the elevator doors closed. Then she looked up—only to be met with Yunice’s seething expression. Yunice had taken the fall for her.

The woman probably hadn’t expected things to go that way, but she said with complete confidence, “That’s just how it is in a workplace. Bad timing. Suck it up.” “And don’t even think about trying to explain it to the higher-ups. They hate people who mess up and make excuses. If something goes wrong and you’re there, it’s your fault.”

She fiddled awkwardly with her hair, perhaps realizing she had overstepped, but continued, “Besides, with your background, you’d probably be cut from the research center anyway.”

“Why?” she asked, blocking her path.

The woman turned, scanned Yunice from head to toe, and motioned her to follow. Yunice stepped out and watched her open the doors to the research center.

The facility radiated an icy, industrial sense of precision and danger—from the steel-lined walls to the warning signs and strict entry requirements.

The woman didn’t let Yunice enter. She stepped into a protective suit and gestured inside.

“Every researcher in here has at least a doctorate. The equipment, the chemical agents—we don’t use anything that’s available on the open market. Most doctors spend their whole lives without seeing what we have in here.”

She cast a dismissive look at Yunice. “What’s your education level?”

Yunice didn’t answer.

“You know how to use this equipment? Understand how these reagents react under different conditions? I’m not trying to scare you, but just three months ago, this lab exploded because a PhD was overworked and forgot to rinse a test tube. Four people were injured. One of them needed full-body skin grafts. Now he begs nurses to let him die every day in the burn unit.”

She added, “Mr. Wyatt might know how to run a business, but he doesn’t understand the lab. I’m not trying to target you—I’m protecting everyone here.”

As if on cue, the researchers inside—each completely sealed in silver hazmat suits—looked up in unison to stare at Yunice.

She couldn’t see their faces, but that only made them more alien—like machines built of steel and glass.

The woman returned to her station, slipping inside without another word.

The doors closed. The workers lowered their heads and resumed their work, like a synchronized assembly line.

Yunice stood at the threshold for two full minutes before turning back and heading to HR.

To her relief, HR had received no instructions about terminating her position.