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A short, stocky kitchen helper who looked kind of dim turned on the faucet over the sink, getting ready to wash the wok.
Water gushed out and flowed down the drain.
Everyone could clearly hear Buddy's pitiful screams as it scrambled to escape from the other end of the drain.
"Stop it!" Alex shouted. In a flash, he dashed forward and shoved the short guy aside with his shoulder, then quickly turned off the tap.
The helper slipped and fell right on top of a pile of food scraps, getting drenched in filthy water. He jumped up, clenching his fists, ready to argue with Alex.
The head chef stopped him, wobbling over with his chubby body and grumbling impatiently at Alex, "Dude, just get outta here. Don't hold us up—we're trying to work here. If dishes are late, the boss is gonna dock our pay!"
The woman cried out, "No! Buddy's still in there!"
The greasy, sulky kitchen helper who got shoved by Alex was pissed. He relied on brute strength and snapped, "The dog crawled in there by itself. What the hell's that got to do with us? Get lost! Or don't blame me if things get rough." He kept shouting while stepping up to turn the tap back on.
If the water started flowing again, Buddy would definitely get washed away. And if it ended up in the outdoor manhole, it'd be game over.
"Don't you dare!" the woman screamed like a madwoman, voice hoarse. She grabbed a big, shiny kitchen knife and slammed it down on the chopping board with a loud thunk. "If you turn that water on, I'll chop you up!"
The woman's eyes were red with rage, and the short kitchen helper instinctively stepped back.
"She's nuts, totally nuts!" the head chef muttered, dragging the helper out of the kitchen.
Alex reacted quickly. He grabbed a thin chopping board and jammed it into the gap of the last precast slab over the drain, blocking Buddy from crawling any further down.
"Buddy! Buddy! Come out, hurry up!" the woman yelled, not caring at all about the filthy floor. She dropped to her hands and knees, her face practically pressed to the slab as she called out desperately.
Buddy, pampered and spoiled, had never experienced this kind of terror. It curled up in a corner, whimpering in fear.
The woman was on the verge of breaking. She screamed her heart out, hair disheveled, covered in grime, her tear-streaked face a mess of dirt and water. You couldn't even see what she looked like anymore—she looked just like a bedraggled beggar woman.
Alex stepped forward and held her shoulders gently, trying to calm her down. "Sis, don't be like this. It's just a dog. If you really want, you can get another one."
She looked up, tears streaming down her face, and wailed hysterically, "What do you know?! Buddy's been with me for five or six years—he's part of my life!"
Buddy's cries were sounding more and more desperate.
The woman was beyond heartbroken. She stood up and grabbed Alex's shirt, shaking him like crazy as she cried, "Hurry up! Please save my Buddy!"
The dog's cries were getting sharper and weaker—things were getting serious.
The woman crouched down next to the drain, covering her face with her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
Everyone else stood outside the kitchen, afraid to step in. They were scared that if something happened to Buddy, the woman would lose it and start swinging kitchen tools around and hurt someone by accident.
Alex put his instant noodles and sausage on the stove, rolled up his sleeves, pulled the knife out of the chopping board, and stuck it into the crack between the precast slabs. He pried open a gap and started lifting the slabs one by one, inching closer and closer to Buddy.
The woman followed right behind him, crawling forward, still crying and calling out, "Buddy, don't be scared! Good boy, come out, come to mommy!"
But inside the drain, Buddy was so terrified it just kept backing away.
When they got to the last slab, Alex was stumped.
This one was over ten centimeters thick and half a meter long. One end of it was wedged tightly under the wall. No way to lift it unless they tore down the wall.
Buddy was hiding way at the far end, blocked by the chopping board. No matter how much the woman called out, it wouldn't budge.
At that point, Buddy was exhausted. It had used up all its energy trying to flee, then crawled through cold water for almost twenty minutes. It was freezing and tired. Even though it could hear her voice, it just didn't have the strength to crawl back. It could only whimper in response.
The woman completely broke down. She collapsed onto the filthy floor, covering her face with her dirty fingers and howling, "Waaah! How am I supposed to live without Buddy?!"
Buddy's whimpering was getting fainter. The woman's sobbing was turning hoarse.
Alex rolled up his sleeves, didn't even bother taking off his shoes, and stood right in the gross water inside the drain. He hunched over and tried reaching in with his right hand.
But the slab pressed against his arm. He couldn't reach in any farther. He was still ten centimeters away from the dog.
In a moment of desperation, even Alex started shouting, "Buddy! Be a good boy, come to me! Hurry, come to my hand!"
The woman saw a glimmer of hope and perked up instantly. She crawled over to him and crouched by his side. "How's it going?" she asked, eyes full of worry.
Alex shook his head painfully. "Just a little more… I almost got it."
The woman yelled, "Then think of something!"
He said, "My arm won't go any further in…"
She cried, "Then what do we do?!"
The head chef shouted from outside, "Use the fire tongs to grab him!"
The woman screamed, "No! That could kill him!"
The kitchen helper ran over holding a big hammer. "I'll smash the slab!"
The woman stopped him. "No! The debris might hit Buddy!"
One of the food runners looked panicked. "That won't work either, so what can we do?"
Alex looked at the gap between his arm and the slab, then gritted his teeth and said, "Sis, get behind me. Push my shoulder."
The woman leaned her whole body against his back and gently pushed his right shoulder with both hands.
Alex felt a warm, soft pressure. "Harder!" he urged.
The cement slab dug into the muscle of his right arm.
The woman suddenly threw herself against him and pushed hard on his left shoulder.
"Aaah!!" Alex's arm tore open—skin split and blood oozed out. He hissed in pain, gasping from the sting.
The woman couldn't bear to watch this bloody scene. Her body went limp and she let go of him.
"Waaah! Buddy! If I lose you, I don't wanna live either!" She crouched by the drain, staring at the trembling little dog, and burst into tears again. The kind of tears that could move the gods—truly heartbreaking.
Some of the food runners started crying too, silently wiping tears from their faces as they watched the tragic and touching scene and listened to Buddy's weakening cries.
"If I do something, I do it right—or not at all!" Alex took a deep breath. "Let's try again!"
The woman glanced at him, then threw herself onto his back again and pushed with all her strength. She was sweating and panting from the effort.
Alex couldn't help admiring her, thinking, So soft… smells nice… and bouncy too! Out loud, he shouted, "Harder! Push harder!"
She pushed with everything she had, her whole body pressed against him.
And then—in that instant—a wave of warmth surged from her chest straight into Alex's lower belly…
"....."