"Care to play a game?" Sam suddenly turned to Lily with a sly glint in his eye.
An instinctive wave of fear swept over Lily. She knew Sam was incapable of offering anything harmless.
"What kind of game?" she asked, inhaling deeply in an attempt to steady her voice.
"A simple game of choice," Sam replied, his tone laced with mockery. "Who do you think will win? Will I capture Ethan Reed, or will Ethan tear me to shreds?"
Lily fell silent. She couldn't comprehend how the man before her could treat his own life as nothing more than a game.
"I don't know," she said finally, her voice tight. "And I don't want to choose."
"Oh, but you do," Sam countered, his fingers drumming softly against the mahogany table. The dull, rhythmic tapping reverberated through the room, each beat calculated, unrelenting.
"I'll make it easy for you," he continued. "I'll allow you to leave right now. You can go and warn Ethan Reed that the fourth level is filled with poison gas."
Lily's pupils constricted sharply. He had plucked the thought right from her mind—she had been considering it, feigning a trip to the restroom to find an opportunity to warn Ethan.
Sam radiated danger, an aura so oppressive it felt suffocating. She couldn't trust what he might do once Ethan was in his grasp.
After all, could a man who treated his own life with such reckless abandon possibly value anyone else's?
She couldn't let Ethan die because of her.
He's testing me!
The realization struck Lily like a bolt of lightning. Forcing herself to stay calm, she replied, "Even if I did tell him, it wouldn't work. He'd see me walking around the Vipers' base unscathed and free to come and go. He'd suspect something immediately. Then, in his rage, he'd probably kill me."
Sam's smile widened, an infuriatingly knowing curve of his lips. "Not necessarily. You could always spin a clever tale. Say your little brother is being held hostage by the Vipers, that you had a change of heart, managed to escape, and came here to warn him about the poison gas trap ahead. Add a few tears for effect, toss in a heartfelt apology, maybe seal it all with a passionate embrace."
He leaned forward slightly, his voice low and tantalising. "What do you think Ethan Reed's reaction would be?"
Lily didn't respond. She couldn't. The air around her felt frigid, as if Sam's words carried the chill of winter itself.
This man… He was toying with her. Twisting her and Ethan into pawns on his gameboard, moving them wherever he pleased.
Sam, as if sensing her unspoken thoughts, continued with maddening ease. "Of course, Ethan would forgive you. He'd have no choice, wouldn't he?"
"Now then," he said, leaning back into his chair as if he hadn't just shredded her composure. "He's heading to the fourth level soon. Time to make your choice: stay here with me, or run to Ethan?"
Lily could feel the walls closing in, but she refused to let him break her completely. Fear clung to her heart, but her stubbornness burned brighter.
Fixing her gaze on Sam's face, even through the tinted barrier of his glasses, she summoned every ounce of her courage.
"What is it you really want?" she demanded.
Sam raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flickering across his face. "Is it really that hard to understand? I'm offering you a chance to live. If I lose, and Ethan finds his way here, only to see the two of us chatting over steak, wine, and candlelight—well, if you apologize then, it'll be too late. He'd kill you on the spot."
He leaned back, his tone becoming almost casual. "Of course, if I win, you get to go home safe and sound, and your brother gets to become the director of Honest Mechanics Factory."
Sam tilted his head, as if pondering the possibilities. "Now, if you go to Ethan Reed, and I lose, then the two of you can have your happily-ever-after. If I win, it's still a win-win. After all, I'm not some villainous monster—I just want to ask Ethan a few questions. You'd still get to go home, and your brother? Factory director."
He rested his chin on his interlaced fingers, studying Lily with an unnerving intensity. "The choice is right in front of you. What's it going to be?"
The terms sounded logical, simple even—so straightforward that anyone would know what to choose. But Lily couldn't shake the gnawing unease in her heart. Something about this felt off, dangerously so.
"What's your real plan?" she demanded, suspicion thick in her voice.
Sam sighed dramatically and shrugged. "Miss Lily, you've truly misunderstood me. Since the start of our cooperation, have I ever harmed you? Hurt your family? Were my terms not generous enough?"
"No, but..." Lily hesitated, words faltering.
"Enough," Sam interrupted, glancing at a monitor. On the screen, Ethan was already making his way to the fourth level. "We're out of time."
Panic clawed at Lily's chest. Rising to her feet, she cast Sam a conflicted glance before heading for the door. Her fingers had barely grazed the handle when—
"Wait."
Sam's voice cut through the air like a blade. Lily froze, anger sparking in her eyes as she turned to face him. She had known it—there was no way this man would simply let her walk away.
Those Viper underlings couldn't stop Ethan Reed, so they resorted to poison gas. How could they possibly expect me to warn him?
"You're playing —"
"Fate brought us together, after all. Consider this toast my farewell gift to you." Sam smiled as he raised his wine glass, his movements precise and refined. With equal grace, he handed Lily her glass.
Lily took the glass, her gaze lingering on Sam with a mixture of defiance and resignation, before downing the wine in one swift motion. The crystal-clear rim bore the faint imprint of her delicate lips.
"Good luck."
Bang!
The door slammed shut behind her, her figure vanishing from sight.
Sam's smile deepened as he raised his own glass and finished the wine in one unhurried gulp.
"Chief, are you really letting her go warn him?" A voice from the shadows broke the stillness. Ryan Cole, who had been standing as still as a statue in the corner, stepped forward with a rare trace of concern on his face. "Isn't that too risky?"
Sam's brow furrowed slightly, the faintest hint of annoyance flickering across his features. "Are you questioning my methods?"
Ryan's expression shifted instantly, panic flashing in his eyes as he dropped to one knee. "This subordinate wouldn't dare!"
Sam shook his head, the gesture slow and almost pitying. "Ah, the foolishness of people. Tell me—do you truly believe that the poison gas on the fourth level can stop a transcendent like Ethan Reed?"
"Should… be possible, right?" Ryan Cole pondered aloud. "After all, transcendent beings are still human. They need to breathe. That special poison gas could knock out an elephant if inhaled."
"Oh, so you understand breathing is necessary?" Sam's voice dripped with mockery. "How long can you hold your breath?"
Ryan scratched his head. "A minute, maybe?"
"And how long do you think Ethan Reed can hold his breath?"
"Probably longer than me, right? Being a transcendent and all. At least two minutes, I'd guess."
"Now do you get it?"
Ryan's face twisted into an even deeper confusion. "Get what?"
Sam sighed, exasperation flashing across his features. He almost regretted not keeping one of the Vipers' senior members around—at least some of them had brains, unlike Ryan, who seemed to be all brawn and no wit.
"The entirety of the fourth level isn't that big. For someone like Ethan Reed, a transcendent, sprinting at full speed, he could cross it in just twenty seconds. Even with the iron gates I've placed to slow him down, with his steel-like body, he could break through them in under one minute and forty seconds. Now do you understand?"
Ryan finally understood. His face turned pale as he scrambled to his feet and reached out to support Sam.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked, his tone sharp.
"Chief, if even the fourth level can't stop him, then we should leave immediately! My life doesn't matter, but you must be kept safe!"
Thwack!
Before he could finish, Sam couldn't resist smacking Ryan on the bald head with his snakewood cane.
"Get out of my sight. Do you really think I sent Lily over there for no reason?"
Ryan froze, a dumbfounded expression plastered across his face. "Why, then?"
"Isn't it obvious…? Oh, forget it." Sam sighed, the weight of frustration heavy in his voice. "Explaining it to you would be a waste of breath. All you need to know is this—Lily is the real fourth trial."