And then Rehman Nawwar released the trigger.

Click.

The sound echoed clearly in the battlefield.

Then

Silence.

Absolute silence.

No explosion.

No shaking ground.

No fire swallowing the city.

Nothing.

Only the sound of distant wind crossing the abandoned naval base.

Rehman’s grin slowly froze.

His thumb still remained lifted in the air.

The detonator rested uselessly in his trembling hand.

Another second passed.

Then another.

Still nothing.

The silence became heavier.

More uncomfortable.

Then suddenly

Lucian Winslow burst into laughter.

"What a clown."

Several disciples lowered their heads trying not to laugh as well.

Lucian shook his head slowly.

"Rehman."

"You should have hardwired the detonator."

His smile widened.

"Your detonator has no service."

Rehman’s expression completely changed.

"What?"

Lucian casually pointed around the battlefield.

"We deployed a jammer here just now."

The realization hit slowly.

Rehman immediately looked at the detonator screen.

No signal.

No connection.

Nothing.

Lucian chuckled softly.

"What exactly did you think, Rehman?"

"That you would enter his city and do whatever you wanted?"

Rehman suddenly laughed again.

But this laugh sounded different.

Unstable.

Almost broken.

Everyone looked at him silently.

His grin widened unnaturally.

Like a man refusing to accept reality.

Clarissa slowly rested her blood covered blade against her shoulder.

"Should I kill him?"

Her eyes looked cold.

"His laugh irritates me."

Miles slowly wiped blood from the corner of his lips.

"Let him laugh."

His exhausted eyes remained fixed on Rehman.

"One last time."

Rehman suddenly raised his voice again desperately.

"You can stop me from manually detonating it from here!"

His breathing became heavier.

"But I know one hour was not enough to find the eighteenth bomb!"

His face twisted wildly.

"And your time is almost up!"

"It will detonate automatically!"

Then suddenly his voice slowed.

"And now because the signal is lost..."

His eyes slowly widened again.

"I cannot even disarm it anymore."

Silence returned.

But this time

Nobody reacted.

No fear.

No panic.

The transmissions to the President and Sterling Security operation room had already been cut due to the jammer deployment.

But nobody here cared anymore.

Because the battlefield itself had already changed.

Lucian suddenly started chuckling again.

Then one disciple laughed.

Then another.

Soon even Clarissa smiled faintly.

Several clan warriors openly laughed now.

Rehman slowly stopped laughing himself.

Confusion slowly replaced the madness on his face.

Something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

Lucian looked directly into his eyes.

"Hey Rehman."

His grin widened.

"Can you look at the time?"

Another disciple laughed loudly behind him.

Rehman frowned immediately.

The man beside him nervously checked his phone.

Then suddenly froze.

"No... Bhaijan..."

His voice trembled.

"It is... it is..."

Rehman instantly dropped the detonator and snatched the phone violently.

His eyes moved toward the screen.

Then

Shock.

Pure shock.

The time displayed clearly.

01:48 AM.

Not PM.

His pupils shook violently.

"What..."

He checked another device immediately.

Then another.

His own phone displayed the same time.

1:48 AM.

No signal.

Yet the time remained identical.

"No..."

His breathing became unstable.

"It synced with the local timezone and internet time..."

His eyes slowly widened further.

"It is impossible."

"How can the time of the entire city change?!"

Lucian slowly clapped once.

"Did you like the surprise?"

Several disciples laughed again.

Rehman looked completely broken now.

"How..."

"How did you do this?"

Lucian smiled proudly.

"It was because of Agent Jerome."

Miles slowly chuckled weakly while listening.

Lucian continued calmly.

"He was formerly bomb squad in the army."

"And currently works for Sterling Security."

Lucian slowly walked closer.

"He carefully analyzed your bombs and discovered something important."

"Very important."

His eyes narrowed.

"He found out how all your bombs were communicating with each other."

"Because the moment you extended the detonation time earlier..."

He raised one finger.

"All seventeen bombs updated together."

Realization slowly appeared in Rehman’s face.

Lucian continued.

"Agent Jerome discovered a GSM SIM system hidden inside the network."

"You asked Dominic Cross to arrange nineteen phone numbers overnight."

"Unfortunately for you..."

Lucian smiled wider.

"Only one telecom company operates stores after midnight."

A dangerous pause followed.

Then Lucian looked directly toward Miles.

"And do you know who owns that telecom company?"

Rehman slowly looked toward Miles.

Then realization struck him completely.

His face turned pale.

"You are joking..."

His voice cracked.

"You altered time for the entire city?"

Lucian laughed proudly.

"It was cool right?"

"I think so too."

Rehman staggered backward slightly.

"You..."

His breathing became rough.

His fingers trembled violently.

Then suddenly

He snatched a gun from the floor and raised it wildly.

Instantly every disciple moved.

But Lucian remained calm.

"Oh there is more."

His voice remained relaxed.

"Do you not want to know what happened the moment you released the trigger?"

Rehman froze again.

Confused.

Lucian smiled coldly.

"There was indeed an explosion."

Rehman’s eyes widened slightly.

Then Lucian delivered the final blow.

"America just airstruck eighteen Al Qiyan training bases."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Rehman’s body almost collapsed hearing those words.

His grip weakened.

"You..."

"You are lying..."

Lucian shook his head slowly.

"It is your own fault."

"You chose the wrong internet service provider here ."

"And allowed us access to your systems."

His eyes became sharp.

"You handed over the coordinates yourself."

Rehman opened his mouth.

But no words came out anymore.

Only disbelief.

Only destruction.

Everything he built.

Gone.

Lucian looked at the gun in Rehman’s hand calmly.

"And I suggest you put the gun down."

A faint smile appeared.

"I heard the snipers are former army."

"And there is no wind now to help you."

Before Rehman could even react

FWISH.

A disciple appeared behind him instantly.

The gun was ripped away.

His arm twisted violently backward.

Another disciple grabbed his neck and forced him onto his knees.

Rehman struggled desperately.

But it was meaningless now.

Lucian slowly walked toward him.

"Hmm."

His eyes carried disappointment.

"A coward who brought an army to defeat one man..."

He stopped directly before Rehman.

"And now stands alone."

A faint chuckle escaped him.

"How terrible."

The detonator was secured immediately.

One disciple carefully wrapped it inside a signal proof containment case while another checked the mechanism once more to ensure there were no hidden failsafes left.

A few seconds later the communication signals slowly returned.

Inside the Sterling Security operation room all the frozen screens suddenly came back to life.

The body cam feed resumed.

The first thing everyone saw was Miles Sterling slowly losing balance.

His body finally reached its limit.

The adrenaline that had kept him standing through the battlefield was fading now.

Blood covered parts of his torn clothes.

His breathing had become shallow.

His knees weakened.

Before he could fall completely, the disciples immediately stepped forward helping Clarissa support him.

Clarissa carefully held his shoulder.

For the first time since arriving on the battlefield, there was concern visible in her eyes.

"You good?"

Miles tried to answer but his voice came out weak.

Inside the operation room Monica instantly leaned toward the communication system.

"Hold a little longer Boss."

Her voice carried relief and worry together.

"The medical team is almost there."

Clarissa looked at the deep wound near Miles’ side and immediately pressed her hand firmly against it.

"He is getting tired."

She looked toward another disciple.

"Hold his wound tighter for him."

The disciple instantly obeyed.

Blood continued staining their hands.

Miles still somehow smiled faintly despite the pain.

"I will live."

Clarissa looked at him for two silent seconds.

Then shook her head softly.

"What kind of monster are you..."

Far above the abandoned naval base the sound of helicopters slowly filled the air.

The Navy forces finally arrived.

Several military helicopters landed around the area while armored units rushed out securing every corner of the battlefield.

The medical teams followed immediately carrying stretchers and emergency kits.

At the same time, the unconscious Rehman Nawwar was dragged down the stairs by armed soldiers.

His face still carried traces of rage and disbelief even while unconscious.

Several Navy soldiers walked toward Miles.

The moment they saw him standing there wounded and covered in blood, every one of them instinctively saluted.

"Greeting General."

Even exhausted, Miles still nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

One young soldier looked at the battlefield around him and unconsciously swallowed.

The bodies.

The destruction.

The blood.

And at the center of it all stood one wounded man.

Rehman slowly regained partial consciousness hearing the word General.

His blurry eyes opened weakly.

He looked toward Miles being saluted by the military.

Then toward Clarissa and the disciples standing beside him.

Then toward Lucian Winslow calmly smoking near the destroyed balcony.

Something inside him completely broke.

His eyes rolled back.

He became unconscious once again.

The medical team quickly surrounded Miles.

One doctor immediately checked the wound near his ribs.

Another carefully touched the back of his head.

"We need to move him to the hospital immediately."

Clarissa instantly stepped closer.

Her cold eyes alone terrified the medical team.

"Careful."

Her voice lowered dangerously.

"If anything happens to him..."

The doctors visibly stiffened.

One nurse almost stopped breathing.

Miles weakly laughed from the stretcher.

"Hey."

He looked toward Clarissa.

"Do not frighten them."

Clarissa suddenly laughed lightly.

The terrifying aura around her softened slightly.

"I was not lying though."

Even Lucian chuckled quietly hearing that.

Soon Miles was placed carefully inside the medical helicopter.

The rotors began spinning loudly again.

As the helicopter lifted into the air toward Star Harbor city, Clarissa looked toward Lucian Winslow.

"Thank you for informing us at the right time."

Lucian folded his hands behind his back calmly.

"My granddaughter said there was something wrong."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"So I investigated and contacted your clan for support."

His eyes slowly turned toward her.

"I did not know you already knew him personally."

Clarissa looked toward the disappearing helicopter carrying Miles.

"He won the Clan Tournament for me."

Lucian blinked once.

Clarissa smiled faintly.

"He is the reason I became Clan Supreme."

For the first time that entire day, Lucian Winslow’s jaw genuinely dropped.

"What?"

Then suddenly he laughed loudly.

"Nothing surprises me anymore."

Clarissa turned toward him again.

"By the way."

"How is Olivia?"

Lucian’s expression softened.

"She is doing well."

"She lives here in Star Harbor now."

Clarissa nodded slowly.

"Then I will meet her before leaving."

Lucian smiled.

"She will be very happy."

...

Inside Sterling Security’s operation room the atmosphere finally relaxed slightly after hours of pressure and fear.

Yet everyone was still working continuously.

Monica removed her headset briefly while another agent rushed toward her.

"Mr. President."

"The eighteenth bomb has finally been located."

Inside the Citadel war room President Maxwell slowly leaned back into his chair for the first time that day.

A deep sigh escaped him.

"I was waiting to hear this."

His tired eyes slowly closed for one second.

Then he reopened them calmly.

"Leave the rest to the Navy."

"We have more than enough time now to disarm everything."

Monica nodded while checking the incoming reports.

"We identified all nineteen communication connections."

"The city time synchronization has been corrected already."

She looked toward another screen.

"The city lost more than fifteen million dollars today."

"There was complete chaos in the markets after the timezone disruption."

Her voice became slightly awkward.

"The public will need an explanation."

Maxwell calmly stood up.

"Do not worry."

"I will go live this evening."

"Everyone affected will be compensated."

...

Later that evening.

The hospital corridors were unusually quiet.

Security surrounded the entire floor.

Doctors and nurses moved carefully through the restricted section.

Elena and Daniel rushed through the hallway after arriving.

Monica followed beside them.

Elena’s hands trembled continuously the closer they got to the room.

Daniel quietly supported her shoulder while trying to remain calm himself.

Then the room door slowly opened.

And Elena saw him.

Miles lay quietly on the hospital bed under white lights.

Bandages wrapped around the back of his head.

His right arm was heavily wrapped from shoulder to wrist.

More medical bandages covered parts of his torso beneath the partially open hospital gown.

Several bruises darkened parts of his neck and collarbone.

A support wrap held his ribs tightly in place due to multiple fractures.

There were small cuts across his arms that had already been stitched carefully.

Machines quietly monitored his heartbeat beside the bed.

For a moment Elena completely froze.

Then tears immediately filled her eyes.

Her lips trembled uncontrollably seeing her son in such condition.

Monica gently held her arm while Daniel supported her from the other side.

Even Daniel’s own eyes had become red now.

Miles slowly opened his eyes hearing movement inside the room.

His tired gaze slowly turned toward them.

Then

He smiled softly.

"Mom."

The moment Elena heard that one word, she completely broke down.

She rushed toward the bed immediately.