The people watching held their breath and waited for the shell to explode on the roof. But a moment later, Alex had jumped off the roof, and there was still no explosion.
"Oh, my God," Celia whispered.
Celia knew a lot about mortar shells. They were launched with such velocity and power that they were impossible to stop with a human hand. Whatever Alex had used to stop the shell must have been stronger than the force behind the shell. Otherwise, he could never have stopped it.
She was incredulous. It seemed impossible that even the famed "Master Alex" could have more power than the strength of a mortar shell.
And yet, the abandoned factory building was still intact. The spectators watched Alex jump off the roof, still carrying something on his back.
Everyone was astonished. No one had seen how Alex got inside the factory, let alone how he had stopped the shell they had fired at the building. They just couldn't understand what they had just witnessed.
Although they couldn't quite make out what Alex was carrying on his back, they all guessed that it must be Heidi. Alex had rescued her.
Everything appeared to have worked out perfectly. Both Heidi and Alex were safe.
Celia was the first to react. She shouted into the walkie talkie, "What are you waiting for? Go and meet him."
The special forces operatives were startled into action by the roar from their walkie talkies, and they rushed to meet Alex. Everyone was relieved.
Then, the commander waved a flag, and a bomb disposal expert quickly climbed to the roof of the factory building. After carefully deactivating the shell, he made gestures to the people below, indicating that there was no possibility of shell detonating. After confirming that it was safe, a large number of special forces operatives ran into the abandoned factory to apprehend the kidnappers.
But within minutes, they ran back out again.
"Report! The enemy has been completely wiped out." The shocking words came from the walkie talkie. Everyone was astounded.
"How could the enemy have all been killed in such a short period of time?" Gavin murmured.
"In only two minutes," Ethan confirmed as he held two fingers up to Gavin.
"Impossible!" Ash said. "How could he possibly succeed so quickly where I failed?" He didn't believe it could be true.
But when he saw the operatives carrying out the bodies of the kidnappers, he stopped talking. There was nothing more he could say.
Alex had done it. He had saved Heidi without having to blow up the building or causing more casualties. He had turned the situation around on the kidnappers, and they were the ones who had ended up dead.
It wasn't that Ash doubted how powerful a martial arts master could be. But he couldn't believe that this young man could be even more powerful than any master he had met.
There wasn't the slightest hint of joy on Gavin's face. Instead, he was mulling over the dangerous situation that he found himself in. Alex had succeeded and had done so perfectly. Gavin thought back over all the words of disdain and criticism that he had said to Alex and knew that everyone had heard them. He also knew that several of his own colleagues had died because of his decisions. What would happen to him now?
When Alex had left earlier, he had told them that they would all see him again.
Ethan was very angry. He said, "Director Abbot. How can you explain yourself? You fool, how many agents have been harmed because you refused to listen? I hope that you kneel down in front of their families and repent."
Celia was also very angry, but she had excellent self-restraint. She went over to Gavin and said, "If you hadn't insisted on intervening right at the beginning, this situation could have turned out very differently today. Director Abbott, if you hadn't stopped Mr. Ambrose from helping earlier, those agents would still be unharmed. I can only describe your actions as stupid and arrogant."
"How could I have known what was going to happen?" Gavin asked insolently.
Celia sighed. It seemed that Gavin was refusing to take any responsibility for his actions.
The real reason that Celia was scolding Gavin was to protect him from Alex. After several days with Alex, Celia had a good understanding of his character, and she knew that he would want to punish Gavin. She felt that if she got in there and chastised Gavin first, Alex might think twice about dishing out his own punishment.
With everyone still watching, Alex quickly ran along the outer wall of the building and then jumped easily from a window on the eleventh floor.
Celia sighed. Who was Alex Ambrose really? She knew that Ash would never have insulted Alex as he did if he had known what he was really capable of.
Alex was clearly an exceptional martial arts master, and everyone knew not to insult such people.
In silence, Alex slowly put Heidi down. She seemed to be asleep, and although her face was a little haggard, her breath was even and there was no sign of injury. On her face was a satisfied smile. She appeared to be having a good dream.
Alex slowly walked over to Gavin.
"What do you want?" Gavin asked rudely.
To everyone's surprise, Alex slapped him hard across the cheek.
Ethan gasped. He had wanted to do that for a while, but being a public official, he couldn't behave in such a way. He felt that Gavin got no more than he deserved.
Then, Alex slapped Gavin a second time.
"Hey! Why aren't you helping me?" Gavin called to his subordinates. They rushed to help him, but they were stopped by Celia and Ethan.
Ethan glared at them, and the subordinates flinched and retreated. They were too nervous to cross a man like Ethan.
Gavin was shaking with anger. "Celia, what are you doing?" he yelled.
Celia didn't answer, but with a wave of her hand, several special forces operatives removed Gavin's men from the scene.
Without his men, Gavin physically withered in fear, but he still started to speak in a firm voice, "Remember—"
He was silenced by another slap.
Then, Alex grabbed Gavin by the neck and lifted him into the air.
"Put me down, put me down!" Gavin hissed.
"Stop it now," Ash interjected harshly. He and Director Abbot had worked closely together for a long time, and he couldn't just stand by and watch him being so humiliated by Alex.
Alex paid no attention. He simply raised his hand and slapped Gavin again.
"Boy, I told you to stop!" Ash roared. He could no longer hold his temper. His injuries were hurting less, and he was accustomed to people doing what he told them. If Alex didn't stop, he was prepared to fight him.
However, Alex ignored him and punched Gavin in the chest. Without much effort, he knocked him to the ground.