Chapter 5

"In your dreams!" I spat, biting my lip so hard that blood sprayed onto the paper.

"I would rather die than let you disgusting parasites get a single penny!"

Marcus completely lost his patience.

He shoved the pilot aside and grabbed the helicopter's controls.

The helicopter suddenly dipped, diving dangerously close to the cliff where I hung.

The massive downdraft from the rotors instantly created a violent storm.

The single safety line holding me began to rip apart under the immense strain.

"Since you want to play the hero, then go die with your worthless pride!"

Marcus roared through the megaphone.

"Leo! Help our dear Director Sera on her way!"

"Once it's done, the Vice President position is yours!"

Hearing those words, Leo's eyes lit up with absolute greed.

Without a second thought, he unclipped his backup safety hook.

Using the iron rungs, he climbed rapidly until he was directly beneath me.

He reached up and grabbed my dangling right foot with both hands.

"Sorry, Sera!"

Leo screamed, his face twisted in a monstrous grin.

"But you're standing in the way of my promotion! Just drop already!"

He pulled down on my leg with all his might.

My body was yanked violently downward by the force.

At last, the safety rope around my waist gave its final, sharp snap.

Snap!

The cheap nylon rope broke completely in two.

My body lost all support, plunging straight down toward the rocky abyss.

"Ah!"

I screamed as the sensation of weightlessness instantly swallowed me.

But in the very next second of my rapid fall,

My ten fingers clawed desperately at a sharp, protruding rock edge on the cliff.

The massive force of my fall instantly tore the muscles in my shoulders.

The agonizing pain of dislocating both shoulders almost made me black out.

Below me was the endless, rocky void.

I was hanging on by nothing but ten bloody fingers, clinging desperately to the edge of the cliff.

"Oh my, this street dog just refuses to die!"

Chloe shrieked in frustration from the helicopter.

She turned around and grabbed a baseball bat from the cabin.

"Marcus, get the helicopter closer!"

"I want to knock her down myself!"

Without hesitation, Marcus maneuvered the helicopter closer to me.

The landing gear was almost touching the top of my head.

Chloe leaned halfway out of the cabin.

She raised the baseball bat, aiming straight at my hands gripping the rock.

"In your next life, remember to keep your eyes open! Don't touch things that don't belong to you."

She brought the bat down hard onto my left hand.

Crack!

The skin on my left hand split instantly, exposing white bone underneath.

My entire body convulsed in pure agony, leaving only my right hand to hold the entire weight of my body.

A few meters above, Leo laughed mockingly.

"Sera! Weren't you always so capable at the office?"

"Why don't you call your little town mayor brother again?!"

Manager Ross joined in on the mockery.

"Her phone fell down the cliff. How is she going to call anyone?"

"Maybe her brother is eating scraps under some bridge right now!"

Before their laughter could fade,

My smartwatch vibrated gently against my wrist.

I looked up at the sky.

Exactly one hundred and eighty seconds had passed since I pressed the emergency button.

My brother had told me once:

The moment I press that red button,

The entire Special Operations Command would arrive, fully armed, within three minutes.

Suddenly, a deep, deafening rumble echoed through the sky like thunder.

Marcus looked up, confused.

Chloe stopped swinging the bat.

On the cliff, every single colleague looked up at the sky in unison.

In the next second, the entire sky over the mountain range went dark.

The sun was completely blocked out.

Twenty pitch-black, heavy-duty military attack helicopters ripped through the clouds like a tidal wave of black steel!

The terrifying downdraft from the military choppers sent Marcus's small civilian helicopter spinning wildly out of control.

"Ah! Help! The helicopter is going down!"

Chloe screamed, dropping the baseball bat and clinging onto the co-pilot's seat for dear life.

Marcus fought the controls frantically, his face turning pale as a sheet.

"What is going on?!"

"Is there a military exercise here today?!"

"Why wasn't there any airspace restriction notice?!"