Chapter 122 Sudden Explosion
"Let's go." Asher glanced at Jones and gestured for Jones to lead the way.
They soon arrived at Factory One.
"Who is in charge of raw material procurement?" Asher asked, looking over the information Jones had given him.
Jones replied, "It's Angie, who purchases all the raw materials for the French branch."
"She purchases all the raw materials?" Nora looked up at Jones, her eyebrows knitted, "If the problem is procurement, why is Factory One the only one that has a problem?"
"Angie is an old employee and has been in charge of purchasing for a long time. I don't think it's her." Jones said carelessly.
Nora nodded and said, "Where's Angie? I'd like to meet her."
Jones made a phone call to Angie, "Angie, come to my office, please."
Ten minutes later, a middle-aged woman with curly hair and medium build walked in.
"Angie, Mr. Hawn and Miss Smith are here," Jones smiled lightly at Angie and said, "They wish to learn about the raw material procurement for 'Ice and Fire'."
Jones introduced to Asher and Nora, "This is Angie. You can ask her about raw material procurement."
Angie looked at Asher apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mr. Hawn, I can hardly absolve myself from the blame regarding the problems with the raw materials. But I can assure you that the materials I purchased are fine and all processes are carried out according to the company's specifications."
Asher asked in a deep voice, "Where are these raw materials sourced from?"
Angie brought the procurement contracts and explained to Asher, "All the raw materials for the French branch factory were purchased from these three companies, with whom we have been cooperating for more than three years and have never had any problems before."
"When the raw materials came in, were they all subjected to random inspection?" Nora lowered her eyes to the purchase contracts and asked.
"Yes, all the processes are in line with the specifications." Angie said with certainty.
"Okay, I get it. Angie, you can go back to work now." Asher went through all the information and said as he looked up at Angie.
Angie nodded respectfully, "Okay, Mr. Hawn, I'll go back to work then. If you need anything, feel free to call me."
After Angie left, Nora's eyes fell on the information in Asher's hands, "Is there a problem?"
Asher's brows knitted and he said to Jones in a cold voice, "I need a list of all the people who have access to the raw materials."
"Okay, I'll have it done right away." Jones quickly arranged for someone to send in the list.
In addition to the warehouse keepers, the transport and production workers had access to the raw materials and could take advantage of the opportunity to tamper with them as well.
Staring at the list of dozens of people, Asher pondered for a moment and then asked in a deep voice, "Where are the defective raw materials kept now?"
Jones looked out the window, "They're all in the warehouse over there."
"Only the raw materials in that warehouse have problems?" Nora followed Jones's gaze and saw that there were a dozen warehouses side by side.
Jones gave Nora a positive answer, "Yes."
Asher's eyes were cold, "Let's go check the warehouses."
The warehouse where the raw materials were stored was a few dozen meters away from the plant and normally, transport workers brought the raw materials to the plant for production.
In other words, it was also possible that something had gone wrong in transit.
"The warehouse is over there." Jones pointed to the warehouse not far away and led the way.
Nora and Asher walked behind Jones.
When they were about to reach the warehouse, Jones' cell phone suddenly rang.
He said slightly apologetically, "Mr. Hawn, excuse me, I have to take a call first."
"Okay." Asher nodded lightly and continued on with Nora.
As they approached the warehouse, Nora got somehow nervous as if something bad was going to happen.
Suddenly, heavy smoke rose up in the direction of the warehouse ahead and a hot wave of air rushed out from the roof of the warehouse with flames flashing.
"Oh no, it's going to explode!" Nora looked at the smoke and fire not far away in shock. She stopped in her tracks and pulled Asher backward.
At the same time, a loud bang shook the earth.
Rolling smoke rose into the air, forming a mushroom cloud, and red flames rolled up into the sky.
"Nora, look out!" The deafening sound of the explosion was mixed with Asher's tense and anxious voice.
Nora looked up, only to see a piece of the ceiling overturned by the wave of air flying straight towards her.
After a spinning, Nora was held firmly by Asher, who used his solid body to shield her from the steel plate and held Nora tightly in his arms.
The two fell to the ground together as Nora's back fell on the hard concrete.
It hurt...
Before losing consciousness, Nora vaguely heard Asher's low and husky voice, "Nora, don't be afraid, I'm here."
When Nora woke up again, she was already lying in the hospital.
"Asher!" Nora shouted with her remaining consciousness.
But no one answered her.
Nora opened her eyes hard and was greeted by the white walls of the hospital room.
Where was she? Why did her back hurt so bad?
Rubbing her temples hard, her consciousness began to come back together.
She remembered that she and Asher had gone to the warehouse together to check the raw materials that contained radioactive substances, but the warehouse had suddenly exploded!
At the critical juncture, it was Asher who had protected her with his body.
Asher...
Nora struggled to sit up despite the pain and was just about to get out of bed when the door to the ward opened and a young woman in a nurse's uniform walked in.
"Where's Asher?" Nora asked anxiously as she grabbed her.
"What?" the nurse was confused as if she didn't understand what Nora was talking about.
Nora then realized that she was in France and the nurse did not understand her language.
She asked again in French, "Where is Asher? Who brought me to the hospital? Is the man who was with me okay?"
"I don't know." The nurse shrugged her shoulders and answered.
Nora was a little anxious. Did something happen to Asher?
She wanted to get out of bed and go find Asher, but the nurse held her down, "Miss, you're hurt and need to rest."
"I'm fine, it's just a minor injury." Nora's eyebrows knitted together and she grew increasingly worried in her heart.
She had to hurry to find Asher and make sure he was okay.
However, the strong feeling of uneasiness swept through Nora's whole body.
If Asher was okay, he would be with her right now instead of disappearing.
Asher... Something must have happened to him.
