As the quality control supervisor of an import company, I need to finish up the storage of the final batch of king crabs before the holiday.

Just after entering the subzero freezer, the door is immediately locked shut. The alarm system also fails.

When I realize I'm starting to lose body heat, I immediately take out the hand warmers from the emergency kit.

However, the moment I apply them, a chilling sensation makes me instantly realize something is wrong.

I scream from the cold, and the walkie-talkie transmits the boisterous laughter of my fiance, Martin Clay.

"We're live-streaming the challenge of locking the company's 'Ice Queen' in the freezer. Let's see how long she lasts!"

The flirty voice of his female colleague, Lilian Saunders, also comes through, "Sierra, smile for the folks in the live stream! The number one donor wants to see it!"

I instantly understand that they're live-streaming a prank on me.

Not only do they lock me in the freezer, but they've also replaced my life-saving hand warmers with cooling patches meant for fevers!

I grit my teeth, trying hard to stay calm as I call out to them for help. "The spare… spare hand warmers… Give them to me!"

My fiance's voice rings out from the walkie-talkie, sounding unconcerned, "Oops! Lily gets cold easily, and it's her time of the month. The spares are all being used to keep her belly warm!

"You're so healthy that you can just jump around a little and you'll warm up! You might even get some tips from the number one donor!"

I stop arguing with them.

With frozen hands, I pull out the signal flare gun and aim it at the most valuable and mysterious cargo in the freezer—a tube of frozen sperm worth 200 million dollars.

The cold metal casing of the flare gun pressed against my palm, and I steadily aimed the muzzle at the silver metal canister marked "AF-001".

"Martin, are you sure you want to take it this far?" My voice trembled from the cold, but my tone was resolute.

On the other end of the walkie-talkie, Martin Clay's laughter stopped abruptly.

This was followed by Lilian Saunders' panicked voice saying, "Sierra, don't be impulsive! T-That can't be messed with recklessly!"

"Oh? So now you know I can't just touch that?" I shot back.

I chuckled coldly, and my breath formed a cloud of white vapor before me. "When you locked me in here, why didn't you think about the consequences?"

Martin remained defiant. "Sierra, stop trying to scare us! It's just a prank, isn't it? Is it worth taking it out on the company's valuable cargo?

"Do you even know what that is? And you dare to randomly aim at it? Put the flare gun down now!"

I ignored him and instead used my free hand to lightly tap the metal canister beside me. The canister emitted a crisp echo, sounding particularly piercing in the dead silence of the freezer.

"That's Ms. Jameson's lifeline! In order to have an heir, she spent a whopping 200 million dollars to acquire it from an Almoran tribal chief! It's said to be top-tier genetics that occur once in a century!

"As the quality control supervisor, I personally handled the warehousing procedures. You tell me—do I or do I not know how important it is?" I retorted.

Silence fell over the walkie-talkie. I could imagine the sudden shift of Martin's and Lilian's expressions in the monitoring room outside.

They knew better than anyone the value of this item.

Our boss, Ms. Jameson, personally supervised the process on the day this item was stored. She even demanded that the movers use brand-new gloves.

She said that if anything went even slightly wrong with this, everyone involved would be erased from this planet.

Lilian, now sounding tearful, spoke up. It was as if she had suffered a great injustice. "Sierra, we really just meant to play a joke on you and lighten the mood… You're the one who's always so cold and aloof that everyone is kind of afraid of you.

"Quickly put the gun down, okay? Martin will open the door for you in a moment."

As soon as she finished speaking, Martin immediately chimed in, "That's right, Sierra, we were just joking. I'll find a way to open the door right away. Maybe the door's too old, and the lock's circuit froze over. Don't worry. I'll go get the tools!"

While listening to their coordinated act, I felt the last bit of warmth in my heart vanish completely.

The circuit froze over? This Gorban-imported constant-temperature freezer door could operate normally in environments as cold as -58°F.

Martin seriously thought I was a fool.

"Stop pretending," I said, my voice turning cold. "You have ten seconds to open the door. Don't forget that you're still live-streaming. If Ms. Jameson sees online that her lifeline was completely destroyed because of you, do you think you'll live to see tomorrow?

"I'm giving you ten seconds. Open the door now! Ten… Nine…"

I began the countdown as my frozen finger rested on the flare gun's trigger.

The sounds of Martin's furious growl and Lilian's sobbing transmitted over the walkie-talkie.

"You madwoman! Sierra, you're a madwoman! Martin, what should we do? The viewers in the live stream are going wild, and the number one donor even says he wants to see her actually shoot…" Sierra whined.

"Shut up!" Martin yelled back.

"Three… Two…"

Just as I was about to pull the trigger, Martin almost roared out, "Don't! I'll open it! I'll open it right now!"

I breathed a sigh of relief, but my body trembled even more violently from the release of tension.

However, half a minute had passed without anything happening. By now, I was even finding it hard to breathe.

The heavy freezer door remained completely motionless.

Martin's voice came through the walkie-talkie again, "Oops, Sierra, I'm really sorry. I was too nervous just now and entered the wrong electronic lock password three times. The system has automatically locked down.

"Now… we'll have to wait for an engineer to come and unlock it."

After hearing what he said, I felt my heart sink into the abyss. The nearest engineer to the company would take at least an hour to arrive.

"Martin, are you messing with me?" I questioned.

"How can you say that?" His voice held unconcealed delight, as if he was savoring my despair. "This is called fate. God wants you to cool off properly in there."

Lilian also pretended to weakly cut in. "Sierra, since you can't get out anyway, why not go along with our live stream? The viewers all say they want to see the pitiful and frail look of the Ice Queen in the freezer.

"The number one donor just sent ten more rockets and said if you dance, he'll send ten more!"

I shook with rage, though I couldn't actually tell if it was because of the cold or my fury.

They never intended to let me out from the very beginning. The "wrong password" was just an excuse to buy time and continue this cruel live stream!

"Martin, aren't you afraid I might actually destroy this thing?"

I raised the flare gun again, but this time, my hand shook so badly that I could barely hold it.

"You won't," Martin replied.

He showed no trace of panic anymore and only said with certainty, "Sierra, I know you too well. You're very responsible, and you value the company's interests more than your own life. Last time, in order to rush a shipment, you stayed at the warehouse even with a high fever. This time is the same.

"You can't bear to destroy it. You wouldn't dare to."

His words were like a knife, precisely stabbing into my heart.

It was true that he understood me, but he was using my sense of responsibility to put me in a fatal situation.

"Moreover, I advise you not to act recklessly," he added, his voice turning cold.

"I've already reported to Ms. Jameson that you're doing a routine check and that to ensure everything is perfect, you'll be on duty in the freezer area tonight. Ms. Jameson even praised your dedication and said she'd give you a bonus.

"If you dare touch that thing, how will you explain it when Ms. Jameson arrives?"

How shameless! He twisted the truth and blocked all of my paths out.

If something were to happen to me here, it would be an accident as a result of "dedication". But if I destroyed the cargo to survive, it would be "internal theft and malicious sabotage". No matter what the outcome was, I would lose.

A chill rose from the soles of my feet and quickly spread throughout my body, even seeping into my bones. I felt my consciousness beginning to blur and my vision growing dim.

No, I couldn't die here!

I leaned against the cold shelves and forced myself to stand steady.

"Martin… for the sake of our upcoming marriage…" I spoke with a hint of pleading in my voice—this was my last hope. "If you just let me out, I could pretend nothing happened today."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the walkie-talkie.

I almost thought he would soften, but a casual remark from Lilian completely shattered my illusion.

"Oh, Sierra, you still don't know? Martin has decided to call off the engagement with you. He said being with you was too exhausting, as though he were treasuring an ice block that couldn't be warmed. Besides…"

Lilian deliberately drew out her words, her tone filled with boasting and pride. "I'm already pregnant with Martin's child. We're getting engaged next month."

With an imaginary explosion going off inside my head, I felt my mind go blank.

Pregnant? Martin called off the engagement?

So, all of this hadn't been a spontaneous prank. Instead, it was a premeditated murder. They wanted me dead so they could be together legitimately.

"Sierra, don't blame me," Martin said again, his voice icy and devoid of any emotion.

Martin rambled on, "If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too dull and too domineering. Lily is gentler than you, and she understands how to care for a man better than you do. She's different from you.

"Just die in peace. Lily will take good care of everything for you—your career, your love life…"

Feelings of despair wrapped around me like a huge net, trapping me tightly. I slid down against the shelving and sat on the floor, feeling the energy slowly drain from my body.

Just then, footsteps echoed from outside the freezer, followed by a weathered voice inquiring, "Martin, you're still not off work this late? What are you doing in the monitoring room?"

It was Wallace Carr, the night-shift security guard!

A flicker of hope ignited in my heart. I mustered all my strength, grabbed the walkie-talkie, and screamed, "Wallace! Save me! I'm locked in the freezer!"

As soon as my cry for help rang out, Martin's calm voice came through the walkie-talkie, "Hey, Wallace, you're still on duty? We're just working overtime here."

Martin seemed to have switched the walkie-talkie off the public channel, which meant Wallace hadn't heard my plea.

Martin added, "Oh, Sierra is inside doing the final inventory check. It's the final shipment before the holiday, and she didn't feel at ease, so she insisted on personally supervising it. We're just here keeping her company in case something happens and she needs assistance."

Lilian immediately echoed his sentiments in an overly sugary tone, saying, "Yeah, Wallace. Sierra is so dedicated. We all tried to persuade her to rest early, but she just refused. She even said the freezer is cool and helps her think about work calmly."

Wallace seemed convinced by them, and his tone showed his approval. "Oh, Sierra is really responsible. You've all worked hard, too.

"Alright, I'll leave you to it, then. I'll make my rounds elsewhere."

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

My last shred of hope was destroyed by them so casually. I slumped on the floor and stared hopelessly at the tightly shut door.

The walkie-talkie was switched back to the private channel, and Martin's mocking laughter came through clearly.

"Did you hear that, Sierra? Everyone thinks you're a workaholic and a tough woman. Even if you freeze to death in there, you'll just be seen as a model worker who died on duty. You'll even become a positive example for educating new employees."

Lilian's laughter became even more uninhibited. "Sierra, listen. The number one donor just gifted ten more roses! He said if you get on your knees right now and bark like a puppy a few times, he'll have Martin raise the temperature a bit. How about that? You want to consider it?"

This was humiliation, just blatant humiliation. Not only did they want to take my life, but they also wanted to trample and crush my dignity before I died.

I gritted my teeth, and the taste of blood spread in my mouth. My body grew colder, and my eyelids felt as heavy as if they were lead-filled.

I knew these were signs of hypothermia progressing to mid or late stages. If this continued, it wouldn't be long before I fell into a coma, and then my heart would stop.

Was I really going to die here? In a trap carefully designed by my own fiance and his mistress?

I couldn't accept it. I was really unwilling to accept this!

Summoning the last bit of my strength, I gripped onto the shelves and staggered to my feet.

Since they left me no way out, then we could all go down together!

Just as I was about to slip, I used the final ounce of strength in my body to steady my hand holding the gun.

I no longer aimed at that test tube. Instead, I raised it slightly, aiming at the yellow, deadly insulation layer above the shelves.

Martin finally seemed to sense that something was wrong based on my actions, and his arrogant laughter stopped.

"You… Are you being serious?"

For the first time, a hint of genuine panic appeared in his voice.

I didn't answer him. I simply used all my strength to pull the trigger.

A muffled gunshot rang out, and a blinding red flame—like an angry, fiery snake—instantly shot toward that yellow foam!

In the next second, flames erupted with a loud bang.

A heart-wrenching scream from Lilian sounded through the walkie-talkie.

"Fire! Ah!"

Following that was Martin's terrified roar. "Hurry! Put out the fire! Damn it!"

However, it was all too late.

The piercing fire alarm, loud enough to be heard throughout the entire factory floor, was instantly triggered.

That sound drowned out all the maniacal laughter and screams.