Upon grasping the situation, Alpha Kilian turned to his hostage. “How do I disarm this?”
The man shook his head. “I don't know. Boss had someone set this up. All I did was cut the wire as instructed.”
In that instant, Alpha Kilian racked his brain to analyze the situation. The countdown started about the same time the wire was cut. In that case...
Alpha Kilian walked up to the broken wire and attempted to reattach it without delay. Cognizant of what Alpha Kilian was up to, the man behind him turned tail and fled.
The last thing he wanted was to be there when the place exploded.
Meanwhile, Alpha Kilian opened the box carefully. There was a square console inside with a red blinking light, and that was where the wires came out from. With nothing else around, Alpha Kilian had no idea what the console was for. Since the countdown was triggered when the wire was cut, he assumed that reconnecting the wire would be the solution.
As long as the countdown could be stopped, he would have more time to figure things out.
Holding that thought, Alpha Kilian started to reattach the wires. Despite his inherently steady demeanor, his hands trembled as he worked.
The image of Zavier dying in front of him kept playing back in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more violently his hands shook.
Alpha Kilian closed his eyes in that instant. “Alpha Kilian , you definitely can do it!”
By the time he opened them, they were filled with a renewed sense of conviction. Staring at the wire, he reconnected the cut ends as fast as he could.
The moment he did, the blinking red light on the small box began to slow down.
Alpha Kilian could feel it in his gut that it was a good sign, triggering a sigh of relief from him. It was then that Nelly and Mike arrived.
“Alpha Kilian .”
Alpha Kilian turned around when he heard his name being called. The sight of the two caused his brows to furrow. “Why did you come?”
“We were worried, so we decided to check on you,” Nelly replied.
“The man who ran out just now told us that you were in here. If you want someone to blame, blame me, Alpha Kilian . It was I who brought Nelly here,” Mike explained.
Alpha Kilian obviously knew that now wasn't the time to point fingers. He gave Nelly a grim look. “It's dangerous here, Nelly . You should leave now!”
“All the more reason for me to stay. Even though I'm not sure if I can be of help, I can, at the very least, face whatever is coming together with you,” Nelly asserted.
“Nelly ...”
“Nothing you say can change my mind!” Nelly insisted. Consequently, Alpha Kilian gave her a solemn look.
It was then that Nelly 's brows furrowed when she caught a glimpse of what was behind him. “A guide wire?”
Upon hearing her question, Alpha Kilian trailed her gaze and asked, “You recognize that thing?”
“I've seen it before. It's usually used to control a countdown mechanism,” Nelly elaborated. “Does it mean that the countdown will stop if we destroy it?” Alpha Kilian probed further.
Nelly shook her head and explained, “No, this device can only control the speed of the countdown but can't stop it. If you destroy it, you'll end up triggering the explosion instead.”
Alpha Kilian was glad that he didn't act hastily earlier. Nevertheless, he had managed to buy them some time.
With that thought in mind, he turned to Nelly and suggested, “Nelly , perhaps you might be able to help me.”
“What?” she asked in surprise.
“Come with me.” Grabbing her hand, he led her out. “Alpha Kilian , wait for me,” Mike reminded from behind.
Just as they were about to leave, the black guidewire box began to flash rapidly. “Alpha Kilian ...” Mike called out all of a sudden.
When Alpha Kilian turned around, Mike indicated the box. “Why is it blinking like that?” Alpha Kilian 's eyes narrowed slightly when he saw the red light blinking rapidly.
Nelly couldn't help but remark, “Someone must have hacked into the console to detonate it.” “Get out of here, now!” Alpha Kilian screamed at the top of his lungs.
As he fled the room with Nelly in tow, Mike was right on their heels. At the same time, a thundering explosion was heard above their heads.
Even though Alpha Kilian had shielded Nelly in his arms, the shockwave from the blast threw them some distance away.
As the three of them crashed onto the ground, they were covered by debris in the next instant.
A long while after the explosion died down, Nelly began to cough. She had only suffered light injuries under the cover of Alpha Kilian 's protection.
After she pushed Alpha Kilian 's arm away, she gradually sat up. “Alpha Kilian , Alpha Kilian ...”
Calling out to him, Nelly began to panic when she didn't get a response. She then turned her attention to Mike, who was lying on the ground nearby. She yelled, “Mike, are you all right?”
His impeccable image as an invincible man crumbled right then.
The helplessness he felt in the face of death was like poison, engulfing him from the inside.
Nelly had never seen this side of him. Her eyes became teary, and at that moment, she realized that he was not an invincible figure who could do everything. He was but a man, fraught with emotions and vulnerable.
Without saying a word, Nelly walked over and started searching through the pile of debris. Seeing that, Mike wiped away his tears and did the same.
The three of them searched in the rubble for a long time.
Even when their hands were torn and red from rummaging through the rubble, they did not stop. The search continued late into the night. Soon, the sun began to rise.
In the end, Mike was so exhausted that he plopped onto the ground.
Then, he noticed that Nelly was still rummaging through the pile of debris. Her hands were all scratched up. He furrowed his brows and said, “Nelly , your hands...”
“I'm all right,” Nelly said.
Nelly 's slender and thin fingers had turned into a mess of dirt and blood. Mike then turned to look at Alpha Kilian with knitted brows.
“Alpha Kilian , I know it's difficult for you to accept the reality. I don't believe that Dave would... But we have to accept it.”
However, his words appeared to have fallen on deaf ears. Alpha Kilian 's eyes were blank as he continued searching the rubble pile.
“Even if you don't care about yourself, you have to think about Nelly for a second. We can go on, but she's a woman, and her hands are all torn!” Mike pleaded, looking straight into his eyes.
Alpha Kilian abruptly stopped searching after hearing that.
Nelly turned around to look at Alpha Kilian and said, “I'm all right.” “Nelly ...” Mike's frown deepened.
“Let's continue searching,” Nelly said before lowering her head to proceed.
She knew how loyal Alpha Kilian was to his sworn brothers and how he blamed himself for what had happened to Zavier for many years. It was only not long ago when he found the letter that Zavier had left him that Alpha Kilian started to gradually move on. If anything were to happen to Dave this time, Nelly couldn't even begin to imagine just how distraught Alpha Kilian would be...
Hence, she just wanted to be by his side in her own way.
Nelly looked at the rock beneath her and struggled to move it. Suddenly, she felt a hand tugging at her.
The hand was a mess of flesh and blood, not unlike her own. Nelly looked up.
“Stop,” Alpha Kilian said, almost whispering. His voice was hoarse.
Nelly eyed the man before her. Despite tears brimming in her eyes, she spoke calmly and determinedly. “We have to continue.”
She turned around and continued to move the rocks.
Alpha Kilian looked at her almost unrecognizable hands and grabbed them forcefully. He seemed to be trying to hold himself back.
Unable to move with his tight grip, she met Alpha Kilian 's gaze once again. “I believe that Dave and the others will be all right. Trust me.”
Alpha Kilian clenched his jaw as a pained look flitted across his eyes. Tightening his grip, he uttered, “I'll ask Mike to send you back home.”
“You know I won't leave,” Nelly said.
Alpha Kilian looked at her. His deep, obsidian gaze was filled with restraint.
“This only happened because of me. I can't just pretend that it has nothing to do with me and leave,” Nelly enunciated.
The floodgate of emotions within Alpha Kilian burst forth with Nelly 's words. Agony and guilt came pouring out as he hollered, “This has nothing to do with you! This is all because of me! I'm the reason Dave was here. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have come here and died!”
He turned around after the outburst, so furious with himself that veins were popping on his head.
It was apparent that he was still trying to hold himself back, perhaps because he was afraid that he might hurt her.
Nelly said nothing. She understood how Alpha Kilian felt right then. Hence, no matter what he said, she wouldn't take his words to heart.
A bead of tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it off immediately. She kept mum and continued with the search.
Alpha Kilian looked in her direction when he noticed she was still searching. An inexplicable rage exploded within him as he screamed, “I said stop! Stop searching!”
He dashed over and dragged her out of the rubble. With both hands on her shoulders, he bellowed, “Didn't you hear what I said?”
Nelly merely looked at him and said nothing. Her eyes were full of compassion as she stayed by his side calmly.