Wu Qian felt a bit of pity for Meng Ruozhao, so when making arrangements, she specifically gave an extra instruction.
"The goal is to destroy the store, but don't hurt anyone. Remember this clearly, okay?"
The hooligans were just doing the job for money. They had seen this kind of thing many times and immediately slapped their chests in assurance.
"No problem. We definitely won't hurt anyone. You can rest assured when we handle things."
Wu Qian didn't say anything more. She gave a few more instructions, telling them to do the job cleanly and not leave any evidence.
The hooligans readily agreed.
On the weekend.
The late - night street shed the hustle and bustle of the day, leaving only the dim yellow streetlights and the occasional passing cars.
Meng Ruozhao drove her car towards home.
There weren't many cars on the road, but the traffic lights seemed to last forever.
She stared at the neon lights outside, her mind ablaze with new inspiration like a burning flame.
Just before leaving the studio, she was putting the finishing touches on Qin Mu's new Chinese - style evening dress.
Actually, the design was already perfect, but she always felt something was missing.
Just as the red light was about to turn green, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed through her mind.
Details came flooding in like a tide, making it impossible for her to ignore.
Without hesitation, she made a U - turn at the next intersection.
Inspiration was fleeting, and she had to seize it immediately.
Meanwhile, several furtive figures slithered like rats in the dark night to the back alley of [Floating Cloud Studio].
They had been scouting the place for a week and knew that the store usually cleared out at 10 p.m. and locked the door by 11 p.m.
The surrounding shops had long closed, making it the perfect time to strike.
The leading bald man surveyed the area and then made a gesture.
Another skinny accomplice stepped forward and skillfully picked the seemingly solid door lock with a tool, making a soft "click" sound.
The door was pushed open a crack, and the men filed in, turning on their dim flashlights.
Not long after, Meng Ruozhao got out of her car in a hurry and walked quickly towards [Floating Cloud Studio].
When she reached the door, she stared at the lock and was stunned.
Hadn't she locked the door when she left?
She frowned and took a look into the pitch - black store. It was as quiet as when she left.
The security in this area had always been good, and there were surveillance cameras in the store. Since she hadn't received any alarm from the surveillance, she didn't think much of it and assumed she had really forgotten to lock the door.
After all, when she left the store, her mind was still on the design, so it was normal to be careless.
So she walked directly into the store. The moment she turned on the light, she immediately sensed something was wrong.
Her heart tightened suddenly, and a chill shot up from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
There were thieves in the store!
Because she saw a flash of light from the crack of the warehouse door.
Almost instinctively, she stepped back immediately, trying to get out of the door to call the police.
However, just as she put one hand on the door and with the other hand, trembling, took out her phone from her bag and pressed the number "1".
The warehouse door "creaked" and was suddenly yanked open from the inside. A figure wearing a black baseball cap darted out.
"Damn it! There really is someone!"
The man growled.
Meng Ruozhao was terrified and immediately ran away, but the sound of her high - heels hitting the ground was too clear in the silent night.
Before she could run a few steps, her arm was grabbed from behind by a powerful force. Her phone "smacked" onto the ground, and the screen shattered and went black instantly.
She didn't even have time to scream before her mouth was tightly covered by a rough and greasy hand.
Then she was roughly dragged back by brute force into the door that looked like the gaping mouth of a monster.
The wind chimes at the door were knocked, jingling noisily, just as panicked as Meng Ruozhao's heart.
The light she had just turned on was turned off, and only the streetlights and moonlight shone in from outside.
The light was dim and distorted, illuminating four or five men with blurred faces but exuding a dangerous aura.
She was flung roughly onto the cold floor, and a sharp pain shot through her elbows and knees.
"Boss, it's a woman! She seems to be the boss of this store!"
The skinny man who had dragged her in said, trying to curry favor.
The bald man called the boss walked over and shone his flashlight unceremoniously in Meng Ruozhao's face.
The strong light blinded her, and she only heard a few lewd gasps and low laughs around her.
"Tsk, I thought the boss lady was good - looking when we scouted the place a few days ago. Now that I see her up close, she's more than just good - looking."
The bald man's tone was disgustingly lecherous.
"Too bad the client said we can't hurt anyone."
He played with Meng Ruozhao's broken phone, made sure the emergency call hadn't been made, and then casually tossed it to someone next to him.
"Watch her closely. Don't let her mess things up."
Immediately, two men stepped forward, roughly pulled Meng Ruozhao up from the ground.
Then they used the plastic cable ties they had prepared in advance to tie her hands tightly behind her back. They casually found a piece of ragged cloth and stuffed it into her mouth.
Then they pushed her roughly into the corner near the warehouse door like she was a piece of trash.
"Mm... mm..."
Meng Ruozhao struggled desperately, making muffled whimpers in her throat. Fear washed over her reason like a cold tide.
She watched helplessly as these men began to rampage through her studio.
They were obviously not ordinary thieves. They had clear goals.
Some roughly tore the ready - made clothes hanging on the display racks, cut them with daggers, and trampled them on the ground.
Some rummaged through the drawers, dumping the tools and accessories on the floor.
Some went straight to the workbench and randomly tore up the design drafts and fabric samples.
Some even picked up the computer and smashed it directly on the ground...
Meng Ruozhao's heart felt like it was being tightly squeezed by an invisible hand, and the suffocating pain spread.
These were all her hard - won achievements, the fruits of her and Xu Lin and Ai Gao's day - and - night struggles.
Anger and helplessness intertwined. Tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably but were forced back by her.
She mustn't cry. If she cried, it would really be over.
She had to calm down and find a way.
Just as she forced herself to calm down and began to secretly rub the cable ties on her wrists, the situation took a subtle turn.
A yellow - haired kid who was rummaging through the filing cabinet suddenly let out a low exclamation.
"Boss! Look at this!"
He held several customer orders and price lists in his hand.
"Damn! This piece of trash clothes costs so much? Tens of thousands?"
This immediately caught the attention of the others. Several men gathered around, and the flashlight beams focused on the papers, accompanied by exclamations.
"Is this for real? Is this fabric made of gold?"
"Look at this one. It's a custom - made item. It costs 188,000 yuan!"
"Damn it. So this bitch is so rich!"
The greedy light gradually replaced their original desire for pure destruction.
The bald boss narrowed his eyes, scanned the still - intact and exquisitely made clothes in the messy room, and changed his mind.
"Stop tearing! Pack them all up for me! Take everything that can be taken! This is all money!"
At the order, this mob immediately sprang into action. Their actions changed from destruction to looting.
They found large storage bags and cardboard boxes.
They stuffed the expensive ready - made clothes, high - end fabrics, and even some seemingly expensive tool accessories into them all at once.
After filling them up, they carried the boxes one by one to the van parked outside the door.