?<strong>Chapter 707:</strong>


    Allison had been in Verruckt’s office for barely half a day when whispers began to spread like wildfire outside. The rumor mill churned rapidly, with many taken aback by the news. A female cleaner — promoted?


    The chatter eventually made its way to the first floor.


    “Things are getting stranger by the minute. I hear Mr. Shaw has hired a new secretary,” one person remarked, half-focused on their work.


    “A secretary? I didn’t hear anything about a new hire. How’d shend the job?” another voice questioned.


    “Seriously? You must be joking. Mr. Shaw hired her himself, of course. Who else could pull that off?” came the confident reply.


    At that moment, Ken entered, his toolbox in hand, having juste from outside.


    “I heard the air conditioner in this room is on the fritz. I’m here on behalf of the maintenance department,” he said, his tone all business.


    The female researcher, who had been gossiping just moments before, immediately sprang to her feet and beckoned him over. “Yes, the air conditioner’s broken,” she confirmed.


    “We’ve been reporting it for ages, but no one ever shows up,” another researcher sighed.


    “I heard there’ve been a lot of power outagestely. The microwave in basement level one was out today, too. I think they’re prioritizing the basement repairs,” someone else added.


    “That’s true,” the female researcher nodded in agreement, her expression weary. She then eyed Ken and asked, “But your uniform doesn’t look like it belongs to the maintenance department. Which department are you actually from?”


    “I’m from the cleaning department,” Ken answered modestly, “but I know a little about electrical repairs, so I was temporarily assigned to the maintenance team.” He quickly set to work, fixing the air conditioner with practiced ease.


    The most gossip-hungry of the group leaned in, a spark of recognition lighting up her face. “Wait, I remember now! I heard a cleaner helped with electrical repairs a couple of days ago and even got hurt.”


    Everyone turned to Ken, their eyes drawn to the small white bandage wrapped around his arm.


    “That was me,” Ken said, offering a matter-of-fact exnation. “I got burned by an electrical spark while I was helping with the circuit box repairs.”


    Soon, he wrapped up his tools and prepared to leave. “The air conditioner’s fixed. I’ll be heading back now.”


    During Allison’s mission, Ken had taken the time to familiarize himself with every floor in the research institute, even infiltrating the maintenance department.


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