Chapter 3

"Leah being a widow is the best outcome."

He twisted open the backup oxygen bottle and directed it at the nearby flames.

The compressed pure oxygen caused the flames to erupt, reaching a height taller than an adult.

"So, I'm burning up this oxygen instead of giving it to you!"

I instinctively tried to crawl over and breathe in the small amount of oxygen leaking out, but it was impossible.

Roderick laughed, lowering his body to get closer to me.

"The fire is about to reach the load-bearing wall. Once that happens, this place will collapse completely. No one will be able to save you."

He took out an army knife and slashed my arm harshly.

"Tomorrow morning, we'll hold a moment of silence for you."

Blood immediately poured out from the wound.

In a fit of extreme anger, I mustered all my strength and slammed my head into Roderick's knee.

The taste of blood in my throat was frightening, but it brought me a sense of madness.

"Roderick, you're committing murder!"

My voice was hoarse and filled with anguish.

Hearing the commotion, Leah and the others rushed back and held me down tightly.

Roderick, who was helped up by them, pointed at the knife on the ground in panic.

"I just wanted to help him cut the wire tangled around his leg, but he lunged at me with the knife. He said the blood would bring more trouble and that we'd all die here!"

It was a complete distortion of the truth, and I wanted nothing more than to tear Roderick's mouth apart!

Leah, holding Roderick, kicked me angrily.

"Cedric! Are you even human? Just because I wouldn't let you, a senior member, abuse your privileges, you want to get us all killed? Roderick even tried to help you, but you don't deserve it!"

I forced a few broken words from my throat. "It wasn't…"

Before I could finish, Leah interrupted me with an expression of disgust.

"The one who should die in this fire is someone like you!"

Her vicious words pierced through my heart.

A teammate spat on me.

"We thought you were just jealous because Captain Sawyer favors Roderick. But you're really malicious enough to try to kill all of us. How unlucky we are to meet someone like you!"

They were once my teammates who had fought alongside me. I used to trust them with my life, and now, not a single one of them would show me any trust.

I let out a muffled sob and struggled to move my arm, which was still bleeding heavily, trying to make them see that I was the one injured, not Roderick.

None of them saw it, or maybe they simply chose not to.

They were all comforting Roderick.

"Don't be afraid, we're here for you."

"When this mission ends, we'll go and report him."

"We can't just report him. He should be sent to a military tribunal!"

Leah scoffed. "Let's see if he even makes it out of here alive."

Their words, sharp and cutting, left my heart in pieces.

The prefabricated ceiling above me began to crack, and dust started to fall.

I knew the building would collapse soon.

But I kept bleeding, and my consciousness grew fainter and fainter.

Roderick's gaze was full of malice, while Leah's was icy.

"Cedric, don't blame me. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not knowing when to back off."

I completely gave up as I lay helpless on the searing ground, waiting for death. The final breath in my lungs was squeezed out, and the suffocating pain caused my body to convulse.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, a loud, wind-like sound ripped through the air.

With a bang, the wall beside me was shattered by a tremendous force from the outside.

Several fully armored figures rushed in. Their fire suits were different from ours and were more advanced and heavier.

The leader acted quickly, locking onto my position immediately.

"Target spotted! His vital signs are weak. Commence immediate rescue!"