Free Web NovelChapter 34: explosion 2
Inside a luxurious room, the man sat relaxed on the sofa, his feet propped up on a nearby table.
He calmly adjusted his black tie, which complemented his blue suit and red shirt.
He wore long, comfortable yellow trousers, whilst his black hair was styled with remarkable care. With his dark eyes, he cast a sidelong glance at the man standing beside him.
That man was pacing back and forth across the room like a beast locked in a cage, and the tension was evident in every movement he made.
"Calm down, Mike, and take it easy. You’re spoiling the moment," said the man in a calm tone, his manner of speaking irritating Mike even more than it calmed him.
He even felt an overwhelming urge to tear his black coat to shreds out of sheer tension, but he forced himself to stay composed.
"How can I calm down, sir? We’re destroying a project that cost us millions of gold pieces just like that, as if it meant nothing! Couldn’t you have waited at least a little while? So we could recoup some of what we’ve gathered over all these years?"
"You’ve rushed into this far too much. I swear I feel like killing myself right now. And more importantly... how can you be so calm?"
Then suddenly Mike stopped moving, as if a dangerous thought had crossed his mind.
His eyes widened slowly, before a twisted smile spread across his face. Then he burst out laughing
.
"I’m dreaming... aren’t I?" His laughter continued for a few moments before he shook his head.
"It’s just a silly nightmare. I must have had one too many this time. Yes... that’s the only explanation."
He raised his hand to his forehead and laughed again, though the laugh sounded more like a breakdown than amusement.
"I’ll wake up any moment now. I actually believed it for a moment... It’s impossible for someone like you to throw your entire fortune down the drain so easily."
His laughter gradually died away, and he looked at the man sitting opposite him with a desperate expression.
"Isn’t that right... sir?"
"Unfortunately, I’m going to have to dash your hopes, Mike... but you’re not dreaming; you’re living reality."
The man said this calmly as he picked up a glass of wine, then took a small sip as if nothing that was happening was worth worrying about.
"Stop acting like a child. You know they found me, and I had no choice but to sacrifice the project. Money can be replaced, but our lives cannot. Besides, we’re capable of starting over."
Mike still felt as if he were trapped in a bad dream.
He expected to wake up at any moment, but time passed and there was no sign of it, causing him to mutter in a faint voice, overcome by bitterness:
"All our money has vanished... No, that’s impossible. How could that happen? Sir, how are we going to start over? You know we have no savings. All the wealth we’ve accumulated over the years was in the safe, and the safe is probably buried under the rubble right now. All our hard work has gone to waste."
The man raised a single eyebrow before replying:
"Wasted? No, buried under the earth. You should have said that."
Mike stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds.
"Sir... why are you so calm?"
The man sighed and swirled his wine glass between his fingers.
"You’ve really let me down, Mike. Of all people, you’re the last person I expected to forget the contingency measures I put in place specifically for a day like this." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Mike froze in his tracks.
"You mean..."
"Yes. Everything’s fine."
Then he leaned back on the sofa, a broad smile spreading across his face.
"Who do you think I am?"
...
...
...
Nero Stateless’s perspective.
"Cough... cough..."
A sharp ringing filled my ears, whilst my vision was severely blurred. Thick smoke spread everywhere, and the ground shook violently beneath me, whilst explosions followed one after another in the distance, and I heard the sound of rocks falling all around. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
I tried to get up, but my body wouldn’t respond.
I braced myself with my right hand, trying to pull myself up, but my left arm wouldn’t move. I furrowed my brow in puzzlement and felt for it with my right hand, but I froze in my tracks.
It was gone.
All I could feel was blood... So much blood.
It was gushing from my torn shoulder like a waterfall, without stopping.
"Hah..."
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. In fact, I didn’t even try.
A faint chuckle escaped my lips, then another, and another, until I found myself laughing amidst the destruction surrounding me.
Strangely, I didn’t feel any pain.
I didn’t know if it was because of the adrenaline rushing through my veins, or because my mind hadn’t yet processed what had happened.
But of one thing I was certain.
I’m going to die.
Either I’ll bleed to death, or I’ll be buried under this rubble.
Either way, this was the end for me. And the irony was that I didn’t feel any real panic.
I was strangely calm. Perhaps because death was no longer a possibility... but had become an inescapable reality.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
I’m sorry, Dad... Mum... brother. It looks like I won’t be able to come back to you again.
I hope you won’t forget me. Because I... love you so much.
Do you miss me as much as I miss you? Do you still remember me? Do you miss me as much as I miss you?
At that thought, a faint smile touched my lips, whilst the sounds around me began to fade away little by little,
Is—
"Haaah..."
What was that sound?
Was I hallucinating? What was going on?
I could hear the strange sound clearly, so much so that it seemed I was the only one who could hear it. The screams and explosions had vanished completely, and I no longer sensed anyone around me.
Then, suddenly, a small silver beam appeared in the air.
It took only a few moments before it began to take shape, assuming a form that was all too familiar to me...
The Silver Trinity Flower.
The moment my eyes fell upon it, I was overcome by a strange feeling that was hard to describe.
I forced myself to stand up with great difficulty, so much so that I thought I might fall at any moment, but I moved towards it nonetheless.
And when I was just a step away from it, it vanished.
Then it reappeared further away.
I paused for a moment, before moving towards it once more.
But the result was the same.
Whenever I got close to her, she vanished only to reappear further away, as if leading me to a specific destination.
And so I kept following her. Time and time again. Until she suddenly vanished.
And at that very moment, everything returned. The sounds of explosions returned. The screams of people returned. And the violent tremors of the earth returned.
And yet I paid no attention to any of it.
My gaze remained fixed on the spot where the Silver Trinity Flower had vanished.
And only then did I realise where she had been leading me... the warehouse.
The place where the safe was supposed to be.
I furrowed my brow as I stared at it.
Was that supposed to mean something?
Was what had just happened connected to the Author in some way? Was he trying to tell me that I had to complete the mission?
Or was he... giving me hope? Did it mean there was a chance for us to survive?
I took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. In the end, I had nothing left to lose.
If I stayed here, I would die anyway.
But if I kept going... perhaps I might find a slim chance of survival. Or perhaps not. I clenched my teeth, then forced my exhausted body to move.
"Right..." I muttered under my breath as I began to make my way towards the warehouse. "I’m going to do it."
