Hearing Youlang's hateful and twisted words everyone standing there went completely numb.
Their bodies felt cold, and their minds had almost stopped working. That was so close that even breathing felt terrifying.
Amid that heavy silence, Sheyaan slowly stood up from the chair. Her face was completely calm,
as if death itself didn't scare her at all. She looked toward Fangxi, Younshu, Alisha, Zavian, and the remaining mall staff and manager.
In a quiet yet precise voice, she said,
"I think we're all forgetting..something very important..."
The moment she finished speaking, Sheyaan stepped forward confidently and instantly snatched the black remote from Younshu's hand.
Every move she made looked sharp, professional, and filled with confidence.
Raising the remote in front of everyone, she fixed her gaze on them and said,
"This remote is connected to...all the bombs... the same bombs whose timers are..running.. right now!"
Hearing Sheyaan's serious and powerful words, everyone around her fell deep into thought.
Their minds suddenly started racing, as if a ray of hope had appeared inside the darkness.
At that moment, Younshu's eyes widened with realization, and he quickly said,
"Yeah..! Sheyaan is absolutely.. right! Even Youlang's goons mentioned.. this earlier... We were so caught up in panic that we... completely forgot about it!"
The second Younshu finished speaking, Alisha immediately started thinking fast.
She looked toward the remote, and a spark of hope appeared in her eyes.
Without wasting even a second, she said,
"If that's true, then we can't afford to waste... any more time!"
Staring at the remote carefully, she continued,
"We need to use this remote to... pause the running timer first! If we can stop the countdown, then time itself will freeze..for us. And once the timer stops... we'll be able to search for all the bombs... without rushing!"
Hearing Alisha's sharp and intelligent words, the ground beneath Youlang's feet seemed to slip away.
He lay on the floor groaning in pain, yet through gritted teeth he muttered in a low, irritated voice,
"How clever… all of you filthy bastards…!"
Ignoring his bitter muttering, Fangxi quickly stepped forward and snatched the black remote from Sheyaan's hand.
Looking carefully, he noticed an 'X'-marked lever right in the middle of the remote.
On the other side, the digital monitor attached to the bomb displayed a blood-red timer rapidly counting down.
Everyone inside the mall had stopped breathing. Death was standing right in front of them.
00:09...00:08...00:07...00:06
Time was racing forward like death itself. Without wasting another second, Fangxi gripped the remote tightly. His hands trembled from fear and pressure.
Taking a deep breath, he pulled the 'X'-marked lever backward with all his strength.
00:03.
Click.
A grave silence spread across the entire mall. On the other side, the timer froze at 00:03.
The blinking red lights on the bombs stopped, and a calm green light lit up instead.
As soon as Fangxi pulled the lever, he lifted his gaze and looked at the panic written across everyone's faces. In a serious tone, he said,
"Maybe... the timer has stopped.. now! We need to find those bombs.. quickly without wasting..any more time!"
Fangxi was just about to move ahead when Sheyaan suddenly interrupted him.
There wasn't even a trace of fear on her face. Instead, a mysterious smile slowly appeared on her lips.
Stopping Fangxi, she said with a faint smile.
" Relax..."There no need to worry. We already have Zayan here, and he'll handle this job... perfectly!"
The moment Sheyaan said that, everyone standing there—the mall staff, the manager, Younshu, Alisha, and Fangxi—froze in shock.
They all slowly turned around and looked at the calm and silent Zavian. Every single pair of eyes was fixed on him.
Seeing everyone suddenly staring at him like that felt a little strange to Zavian.
Confused, he shifted his gaze and looked directly at Sheyaan, who was already watching only him with her sharp and steady eyes.
Zavian slowly raised one eyebrow and silently asked through his expression, "What exactly are you doing?"
But Sheyaan completely ignored his silent question. With a playful little smile on her lips, she quickly said,
"Zayan... you'll help us, right?"
Seeing the way Sheyaan spoke to him with so much trust and affection made Zavian's heart soften instantly.
He stayed quiet for a moment, then finally gave in without any resistance. Stepping slightly forward, he nodded his head
and he took a deep breath and side in a slow yet sharp tone,
"Alright.."
Seeing Zayan agree so confidently, a beautiful smile bloomed across Sheyaan's face.
She knew that as long as Zayan was with them, nothing was impossible.
But before anyone could say anything else, Fangxi understood the seriousness of the situation.
Without wasting a second, he turned toward the manager and said firmly,
"The mall's entrance door has been... force-locked! We need to open it.. first so everyone can..get out safely."
Hearing Fangxi's words, the mall manager slowly raised his hands and replied with complete confidence,
"Don't you worry about that,... We'll handle it. You just focus on finding.... those bombs!"
Seeing the determination inside the manager, Fangxi nodded calmly and said,
"Okay..then!"
The very next moment, Fangxi quickly turned toward Younshu, Alisha, and Sheyaan.
His face now carried the authority of a true commander. Stepping forward, he said seriously,
"While the mall staff works on opening the... entrance door, we'll split up and search for..the bombs! We don't have even a single..second to waste!"
Hearing Fangxi's powerful words, the fighting spirit inside Younshu, Alisha, and Sheyaan instantly rose.
They all nodded together and answered in one loud voice,
"Ok! Ok! Ok!"
Then the manager turned back toward his staff and the remaining people.
There was no fear of death left in their eyes anymore—only the hope of saving everyone. He raised his voice and declared,
"Alright! Then we'll go and try to... open the doors... and all of you search for the bombs! God bless us!"
Hearing the manager's courageous words, Alisha quickly nodded and said,
"Alright then...let's move!"
The very next second, the entire mall staff and the manager rushed toward the Electrical Control Room inside the mall without wasting even a moment.
On the other side, Fangxi, Younshu, and Alisha began scanning every corner of the mall with sharp eyes, trying to find any clue about the bombs.
Amid all the chaos and running around, Sheyaan also moved forward quickly.
A serious expression was visible on her face as she searched for the bombs. Suddenly, she turned back and said in a slightly spoiled tone,
"Zayan… are you still standing there? Help us...already!"
Hearing Sheyaan's voice, Fangxi, Alisha, and Younshu immediately turned around. Standing there,
Zavian felt slightly uncomfortable seeing everyone stare at him like that. He quickly cleared his throat
—"Ahem!"—
and slowly started walking toward Sheyaan. Seeing this, the three of them turned back again and continued searching for the bombs.
As soon as the others moved a little ahead, Zavian seized the chance. He quickly grabbed Sheyaan's arm and pulled her toward himself before saying in a slightly annoyed tone,
"Sheyaan… what exactly do you think.. I am, huh?!"
Hearing his irritated voice and feeling her arm suddenly being grabbed, Sheyaan was instantly shocked.
She stared at Zavian with wide eyes and made a small pout before saying softly,
"Hmm… what happened..to you?!"
Sheyaan suddenly pulled her hand away and quickly moved forward as she said,
"Hurry up, we need to find those... bombs fast! Otherwise… something terrible...could happen!"
Seeing Sheyaan move away from him like that instantly irritated Zavian. He couldn't tolerate it at all.
Without wasting even a second, he stepped forward, grabbed her hand again, and pulled her back toward himself.
Their eyes locked with each other. Staring deeply into her eyes, Zavian spoke in a low and heavy voice,
"Listen to me, Sheyaan… You know..about my…?"
Zavian had barely started finishing his sentence when suddenly, a painful groan echoed from behind them.
"Aaahhh…! I can't even stand up anymore…! Boss! Whs...what have you.... done to us?!"
Hearing the helpless and crying voice of his own injured goon, Youlang—who was lying on the floor covered in blood—became furious.
Gathering all his remaining strength, he slowly tried to get up from the ground
Grinding his teeth in rage, Youlang shouted furiously at his own goons,
"Shut up!" Was the real idiot for involving useless... fools like you in my.. plan!"
Hearing this pointless argument between Youlang and his men, Zavian finally lost his patience.
He stopped midway and released Sheyaan's hand. His eyes had turned cold and terrifying.
He looked toward Youlang and all the goons, then roared in such a horrifying voice that the entire hall trembled,
"Keep your mouths shut… all of you! Don't make me..angry!"
Seeing Zavian scream in such terrifying rage for the first time, Sheyaan was completely shocked. On the other side, Alisha, Younshu, and
Fangxi—who had been searching the mall for bombs—also stopped instantly.
There was such overwhelming authority in Zavian's voice that everyone's eyes immediately turned toward him
. At that moment, Youlang, blinded by anger even while lying on the floor, shouted loudly,
"How dare you yell..at me?!"
The moment Zavian heard those words, whatever little control he had left completely shattered. He exploded with fury.
Clenching his teeth, he spoke in a deadly cold voice,
"So… you won't listen...peacefully. Then I'll have to shut your mouth... myself!"
The instant he finished speaking, Zavian slowly raised one hand into the air.
SHUUUU~
The very next second, a piercing blood-red crimson aura burst out from his palm!
The entire atmosphere grew heavy under that terrifying supernatural energy.
Without wasting even a second, Zavian flicked his hand—and a heavy chair placed far away was suddenly dragged toward him—!
The moment Zavian raised his hand, the heavy iron chair suddenly slid across the floor and stopped right in front of Youlang.
The very next second, Zavian made another gesture in the air with his hand.
SWOOSH!
An unknown force suddenly lifted Youlang off the ground and slammed him violently onto the chair!
Before Youlang could even recover from the brutal impact, Zavian moved his hand once again.
One by one, all eight of his goons were thrown into the air and instantly dragged off the ground before crashing directly into Youlang's lap!
The crushing weight of the men falling on top of him nearly shattered Youlang's spine. Writhing in pain, he screamed loudly,
"Hey… Get these idiots off me..! Aaahhh!!"
But Zavian's game was far from over. With another wave of his hand, he used his mysterious power to bind all of them tightly with a thick rope in a single instant.
The grip was so precise and painfully tight that all the goons cried out together—
"Aaaaadhhh!!" "Aaauuchhh!!"
Annoyed by their pathetic screams, Zavian glanced toward a nearby mannequin.
Using his powers, he instantly pulled away the large scarves wrapped around the mannequin.
The scarves floated through the air and stopped right in front of Youlang and his goons.
Without showing even the slightest mercy, Zavian forcefully stuffed the cloths into their mouths!
Now all of their mouths were completely sealed shut, and they could do nothing except struggle helplessly in muffled pain.
All the goons, along with Youlang, had collapsed into a miserable pile on top of each other.
The grip of Zavian's magic was so powerful and iron-like that none of them could move even an inch no matter how hard they tried.
Their screams and suffering had absolutely no effect on Zavian's face; he simply didn't care at all.
After hearing their muffled cries, Zavian slightly twisted his lips and spoke in a freezing, terrifying tone filled with rage...
"Then stay piled up on each other...like this! And I don't want to hear... another sound from any of you... ever again... Understood?!"
Every single word that left his mouth felt cold and heavy like ice in the air.
After saying that, Zavian abruptly turned his face away and looked directly toward Sheyaan.
The anger in his eyes was still clearly visible.
But the others standing there... all of them had gone completely speechless.
Sheyaan, Younshu, Alisha, and Fangxi—all four of them were utterly shocked after seeing this terrifying side of Zavian and the overwhelming fury within him.
Their minds had gone blank as they stood there staring at him with wide eyes, completely lost in shoke and disbelief.