Meanwhile, back in the container area, Echo was carefully peeling apart the blocks.
When she saw the metal wires inside, a chill ran down her spine.
She stood up and stared at the rows of crates before her. She had never worked with explosives, but she knew exactly what she was looking at-bombs, metal-based explosives.
Her legs went weak as she glanced back at the massive stack of containers.
“So much dynamite… My God, they don’t need this much to blow up the entire ship. What the hell are they planning?”
Metal-based explosives didn’t need fire to ignite-they could detonate on their own, with a power several times greater than regular explosives.
“This is deadly stuff,” she thought, her heart pounding.
Just as the fear started to show on her face, Ryan’s cold and domineering voice echoed around her.
Echo shivered instantly, carefully putting down what was in her hands, making sure the metal wires didn’t budge. Then, without hesitation, she bolted for the door.
Click.
Click.
She had barely taken a few steps when the black buttons on the containers lit up, and green dots suddenly appeared on the far wall. The eerie green glow lit up the dark cargo hold, making it look like dozens of ghostly flames flickering around.
“What the hell is this?” Echo glanced at the black button she had dug out earlier as she ran.
In the darkness, what had been a simple black button was now blinking and emitting a faint green light. Along with that came a ticking sound-faint at first, but since there were so many of them, the ticks echoed in the quiet hold, growing increasingly unnerving.
As soon as she heard it, every hair on the back of Echo’s neck stood up.
A timer!
Who activated the timer?
She was certain it wasn’t her. But then who did it?
Her face paled as she raced toward the door, teeth clenched so hard she felt like they’d shatter. If she found out who started it, she’d tear them apart.
BANG!
A sharp, clear thud rang out, which was more terrifying to Echo’s ears than a thunderclap.
She sprinted to the door and pushed it with all her strength. It didn’t budge.
She felt around-it was completely sealed shut.
That thud she heard was the door slamming closed, remote-controlled for sure.
This whole setup wasn’t meant to trap anyone inside; it was designed to keep people out.
Her fingers slid over the door, now sealed shut without even the smallest crack. It had been welded in an instant-no locks, not even a sliver of space.
Behind her, the ticking grew louder, each tick like a countdown to her doom.
Desperation rising, Echo slammed her palm against the iron door. She quickly tried to jam her ring into it, hoping to pry it open, but it was useless.
The door was too thick, made of solid steel, and her tools weren’t enough to make a dent.
“Shit! Who the hell did this? Bastard!”
Frantically, she felt along the door for any opening, but it was fused into one solid piece. The best she could do was scratch out a tiny crack-far from enough.
Cold sweat was dripping down her forehead, blurring her vision as panic set in. She forced herself to stay calm, chipping at the door bit by bit while adjusting the earring she wore, hoping to connect to Ryan in the control room.
“Ryan… Ryan…,” she called out, but there was no response.
“Ryan…,” she tried again, still no connection.
Echo knew the chances were slim-she didn’t even know the ship’s communication channel.
Trying to guess like this was a long shot, but she couldn’t afford to give up. There was no one else on this ship who could save her but Ryan.
Echo pried open the casing of the timer device in her hand. Inside, the delicate hands of the clock pointed to a countdown of two minutes.
The situation was critical, but Echo’s mind had never been clearer. She knew this wasn’t two minutes for her to escape; the sheer number of devices involved meant they needed this much time to activate simultaneously.
Watching the seconds tick away-over twenty already gone-she still hadn’t reached Ryan, and panic was starting to rise within her.
“Echo?” Suddenly, a cold male voice came through the silent channel, laced with confusion and uncertainty.
“It’s me! Who are you?” Echo shouted urgently, hearing the voice.
“Tiger,” the voice responded calmly.
As soon as she heard his name, Echo slammed her fist against the iron door. Of course-her other earring was with Tiger! How had she forgotten that?
“Notify Ryan right now! I’m surrounded by explosives-everything here is wired to blow. Hurry, or we’re all going to die!”
“Where are you?” Tiger’s voice tightened with concern.
“I’m in the cargo hold, on the same ship as Ryan. There’s only a minute and a half left!” Echo’s voice was fast and panicked.
Tiger, realizing the gravity of the situation and that Ryan and Echo were together, immediately cut off the connection and scrambled to contact Ryan at full speed.
“Boss! Boss!” Tiger quickly linked to Bill, and Ryan’s face appeared on the screen. Tiger’s expression was urgent as he looked at Ryan.
Ryan’s brows furrowed as he saw Tiger’s panicked face suddenly on his screen.
“Speak,” Ryan commanded in a low voice.
Bill, who was also brought in by Tiger’s sudden call, knew it had to be something serious and immediately opened several channels to form a multi-screen connection.
“Echo just contacted me. She’s on the same ship as you, and there are explosives where she is. There’s only a minute and ten seconds left until they detonate. The blast will be huge,” Tiger reported quickly, summarizing the dire situation.
Hawk’s face instantly turned pale. He jumped to his feet, exclaiming, “Boss, you need to get out of there now! I’m coming to get you!”
At that same moment, Adolph, appearing on one of the screens, suddenly shouted after tuning into a channel, “It’s a trap! Those disguised warships are all old models. Retreat now, Ryan! Hurry!”
Ryan’s expression darkened immediately, his fist clenched tight. His face cold and steely, he ordered Tiger, “Switch her channel to me.”
As Tiger cut off communication, Echo’s heart pounded in her chest, threatening to explode. She pressed on, forcing herself to work faster, cutting at the door with increasing urgency.
The eerie ticking and the sound of her cutting filled the silence, making the cargo hold feel like a terrifying death chamber.
“Your exact location?” Ryan’s cold voice came through the communicator, steady and commanding, like someone unfazed by chaos.
Hearing Ryan’s voice, Echo felt a wave of relief wash over her.
She quickly responded, her words tumbling out, “I don’t know. I’m in the cargo hold. There are a lot of containers here, all filled with some kind of metal-based explosives. The door’s sealed shut-I can’t get out. Hurry, there’s no time!”
In the captain’s room, Ryan and the others, including Adolph, turned pale at her words. Even Ryan’s expression darkened further.
Adolph clenched his teeth and growled, “Metal explosives? What are they planning?”
“Boss, get down here now! Hurry!” Hawk and Bill shouted from the rapidly approaching submarine.
From the window beside Ryan, they could see the sub emerging from the water, the hatch already opening before it even fully surfaced, and Hawk climbing out.
Ryan’s face was as cold as steel, his eyes filled with a deadly calm that sent shivers down anyone’s spine.
Ignoring the surfaced submarine, Ryan ordered, “Track her location. Now.”
Tiger and Bill scrambled, frantically searching.
Bill, following Tiger’s provided channel, worked feverishly. “I’m doing everything I can, Boss! But you need to come down here now-this isn’t a joke! Metal-based explosives are no laughing matter. Move!”
At the same time, Adolph, his face filled with urgency, called out, “Ryan, get out of there…!”