A man’s hushed voice sounded in her ear, "Quick, go." Before she could even think, her body was pulled up and quickly hidden behind a pillar. George Field was already in a killing frenzy. "Kill Thomas Shannon and I’ll reward you handsomely!" "Yes, Mister!" Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾·𝗇𝖾𝗍 His attendants swarmed Thomas Shannon. BANG! BANG! BANG! Bullets struck the pillar, sending sparks flying that scorched the back of Sophie’s hand. She withdrew her hand as if she’d been electrocuted. Thomas Shannon pulled her into his embrace, his thin lips curving into a smirk as he whispered by her ear, "Little maniac, are you scared?" She raised her head in surprise. How could he ask such pointless questions at a time ? The next second, she saw Thomas Shannon take a wireless earpiece from his shirt collar and say, "Charlie River, make a move." Charlie River’s voice quickly came through the wireless earpiece, "Yes, Young Master. Young Master, be careful!" In the hail of bullets, Thomas Shannon held her waist with one hand and pressed her head into his chest with the other. The danger around them seemed to melt away into nothingness. Sophie could only hear the strong, powerful thumping of his heart against her ear. He began to count down in a low voice, "Five." The attendants’ footsteps drew closer, the gunshots grew more intense, and mixed with George Field’s wild laughter, it all formed an utterly perilous nightmare. Sophie held her breath, her nerves taut. It wasn’t the first time she had been this close to death, but this time was undoubtedly the most dangerous.The intensity of it made her scalp tingle, her mind going almost blank. Thomas Shannon’s countdown reached two. Then, as the word "one" left his lips, a massive explosion erupted. The world seemed to tilt and shake. Dust billowed everywhere. Sophie felt the floor beneath her crack open, and then an irresistible force slammed her body to the ground. Her vision darkened, and she lost consciousness completely. Meanwhile, as the explosion sounded, Charlie River, who was outside the warehouse, immediately directed the men in black to launch a rescue operation. George Field had been devious enough to install additional bombs in the warehouse beforehand. The moment Thomas Shannon stepped inside, the warehouse door had shut, locked by a ticking bomb. For anyone outside to open the door, the only way was to disarm that specific bomb. Time was critical. Charlie River could only use their own trap against them, detonating the bomb completely. He had obtained the building blueprint from the person in charge of the structure and understood the layout of the warehouse. Through the wireless earpiece, he had instructed Thomas Shannon to take cover behind the pillar—it was the strongest structural support in that area. Next to the pillar was a corner wall. The pillar and the corner would form a triangle, and if the ceiling collapsed, it should create a survivable pocket of space. Thomas Shannon’s life was on the line; Charlie River had calculated everything down to the millimeter, striving to ensure Thomas Shannon suffered minimal harm. When the explosion hit, Thomas Shannon held Sophie tightly, his body completely shielding hers in his embrace. Darkness enveloped them. Beyond the tiny, cramped space where they lay, unable to move, was nothing but collapsed rubble. The air seemed to grow thin. Thomas Shannon fumbled in the darkness, his hand searching until it found Sophie’s face. He pressed his fingertips just below her nose. Feeling the faint warmth of her breath, he finally allowed himself to relax slightly. He let out a quiet sigh, then couldn’t stop a low curse from escaping his lips, "Damn it!" He waited for a while, but there was still no noise from outside. Rescue would clearly take some time, and a good while passed in the tense silence.