"Would you have listened if I had said otherwise?" Selena laughed maniacally: "Today, you will all die with me!"
All eyes fell on her, and she reveled in the moment: "There are no other exits! Only one way out! Macario, I bet you never thought you'd be fooled by a woman like me? Ha ha, I only collaborated with you to see Flora's misery and Matthew's pain.
I didn't expect you and your minions to be so useless.
Couldn't even handle Matthew... No matter, if you can't, I can. I'll bury Matthew here, avenging your father, okay?"
"You... you fooled me?"
"Yes, I deceived you. So what?" Selena coolly admitted.
She had nothing to lose, having decided to die here today. Nothing was off the table.
"You damn woman!" Macario roared: "I'll kill you!" He lunged towards her, intending to kill his betrayer.
But before he could lay a finger on her, Matthew fired.
In an instant, Macario collapsed in a pool of blood.
Selena shrugged: "Why bother? We're all going to die anyway."
"Selena, this is some sort of joke, right? How can you wish for us all to die!" Daniel couldn't believe his good daughter would trap them all: "If you truly wanted us all to die, why did you ask Matthew to bring me here? Are you trying to kill your father too?"
"Father, I never wanted to save you.
You always saw me as a pawn, never really considering me as your daughter.
I am tired of living like this, so exhausted... If it weren't for you, how could I have become this person! You pushed me into this life! I once loved Matthew, I truly loved him, but you forced me to use him! It was you who caused me to lose myself!"
Her life was a concatenation of tragedies.
The world saw only her beauty, her brilliance, her refinement as a daughter of a prestigious family, always excelling, always superior. None saw her suffering.
Daniel was left speechless, looking at the daughter he thought he knew so well.
His hands shook, his eyes widened to their utmost, as he lunged, his hands closing around his daughter's throat, frantically asking her where the bomb trigger was.
Matthew had no interest in the clash of the White father and son.
Gently clasping Flora's hand, he softly said: "Let's go."
Flora was perplexed, wondering why he suggested they leave.
Hadn't Selena just stated that there was only one way out?
But she trusted him, so she didn't question, simply nodded her head slightly.
Observing from the sidelines, not participating in the fray, Layla Gary had the opportunity to notice Matthew's every move. His confidence in escaping the crypt surprised her.
But soon, she shook her head: "There is only one path leading out, it's impossible... impossible..."
Matthew ignored her, raised his gun, aiming at the rocky wall in front, and fired several shots.
His marksmanship was excellent, his aim unerring.
Nearly ten bullets were fired into the rock wall, embedding deeply due to their force.
Casually putting his gun back in his pocket, Matthew kicked the rock wall.
Amazingly, the wall truly crumbled, revealing a faint small path beyond the cloud of dust.
Flora quickly took out her phone. There was no cell signal in the crypt, but other functions were still operable, like the flashlight.
"Stop them quickly! Winky, they can't escape!" Selena's fingernails dug into Winky's arm holding her, her hoarse voice shrieking.
But Winky remained as obedient as ever.
He kept his grip on her, watching the people leaving, slowly shaking his head: "This time I won't listen to you... Selena, we are womb twins, just the two of us... Let me be selfish once, I don't want Matthew to come between us anymore..." Winky's wish was simple, to be with Selena forever, whether in life or death.
Selena suddenly struggled fiercely, breaking free from his grip, simultaneously slapping him hard: "Who needs a womb twin like you, you trash?" She pointed at the small narrow path Matthew and his group had just entered: "Chase them! Chase them down! Bring them back to me! Don't make me hate you!"
Just then, Daniel, who had been knocked out by Winky earlier, opened his eyes. With all his strength, he tried to get up and run out.
He didn't want to die in this dark crypt.
But his good daughter didn't let him have his way.
She used all her strength to pull her father back, determined to die together.
As for Winky, he was reluctant, but the vehement hatred in Selena's eyes forced him to compromise.
He had no choice but to step into the narrow path.
Just after a few steps, a heavy thud echoed from behind, a cloud of dust obscuring vision, his eyes unconsciously shedding tears.
"Selena... Miss..."
"Hurry up! The crypt is about to collapse, if you don't go now, it will be too late!" A hand grabbed Winky's arm, pulling him strongly.
Startled, he looked up, it was Matthew.
He glanced at the dark path, shaking his head: "We can't get out... Miss has the crypt map, she said the exit was sealed, definitely won't let anyone escape."
"If you want to die, you can die alone here, maybe even get a shared grave with her.
Don't talk nonsense with me!" Matthew frowned, let go of his hand, not pulling him any longer: "Over ten years ago, I came here under my foster father's orders."
He was sure of his words.
Winky was persuaded and followed.
They proceeded further, the air became thinner, except for Charlie who was still unconscious, all four adults started to feel dizzy, their vision blurry, unable to see clearly what lay ahead.
A stone door with strange symbols blocked their path.
Winky and Layla Gary slumped down, leaning against the wall, seemingly given up.
Only Matthew went forward, carefully examining the peculiar symbols on the door.
And Flora still held her son tightly, regardless of how exhausted she was, she definitely wouldn't sit down and close her eyes like those two.
She knew, she had to try everything possible to get out, she still had obligations.
Her Paul was still waiting for his parents and brother to come back.
Matthew touched an indentation on the door: "There is a lock here, you need a key to open it." But they didn't have a key.
Were they destined to die here?
In the throes of frustration, Matthew was met with an intriguing interruption. Flora, her gaze piercingly fixated on the supposed "lock", murmured: "This lock seems so familiar, I believe I've seen..." She unveiled a necklace from beneath her collar, saying: "This is strikingly similar. This token was given to me by my father before I came to see you. It's referred to as... the Dragon Bone necklace."
While speaking, she detached the pendant of her necklace, attempting to fit it into the lock.
As the pendant was firmly inserted into the lock on the door, an echoing clanking noise resonated in everyone's ears and the stone door rumbled open.
The Dragon Bone necklace gifted by her father indeed was the key to this door.
Never before had she felt so fortunate to have followed Matthew to this place.
"Oh my God, it really is..."
Before she could finish, Matthew interjected: "Let's get out of here!"
The rumbling sound of the door's opening roused the two individuals seated on the cold stone floor.
Flickers of hope helped them gather their strength, and they stood, ready to continue the journey.
As they walked, Matthew explained: "There are two routes in this ancient tomb. One is the path we came in from, and the other is this one, leading to the mountain peak.
It may take a bit longer, but we will be out in no time."
His words were barely out of his mouth when the ground beneath them began to quake. The continuous loud blasts and falling debris sent an adrenaline rush through them all.
Frantically taking his son from Flora's arms, he gritted his teeth, yelling: "Hurry up! We don't have much time!"
"Boom!"
Another loud explosion made the ground tremble yet again, with the noise reverberating from above them.
Matthew's arms, cradling his son, began to shake.
Somebody from outside.
Selena wouldn't have had the ability to plant explosives on both the exits.
He started to suspect another possibility - someone outside wanted him dead.
"I can't go any further..." Layla Gary murmured weakly, about to collapse.
Before she could sit down, she was hauled upright.
It was Flora, who moved forward, encouraging her old friend: "Hang in there! We'll get out!" She firmly declared: "Layla, we're good sisters, I can't leave you here!"
To Layla's surprise, in the final moments, Flora still didn't want to abandon her.
Filled with gratitude, regret, and a tinge of pain, she nodded vehemently: "Okay, I won't give up!"
It was the collective thought of all four of them.
They must not give up; they must escape this place.
As they continued, the path's gradient steepened, and the turns became more acute.
Matthew knew they were nearing the exit.
Indeed, after a short walk, they heard a resounding rumble.
Rocks tumbled down in heaps, and a shaft of light pierced in from above.
"Boss, it's the boss!" A familiar voice echoed, followed by a rope ladder being thrown down: "The rescue boat can only accommodate four people at most. Those with strength can climb up the rope ladder." The following words were for everyone.
Both women couldn't afford to expend energy on climbing the ladder.
So, it was left to the two men.