At that moment, the man twisted his waist with precision, using his powerful legs to push forcefully against the rock wall. The impact of his kick cracked the rock's surface, a testament to his terrifying strength. Using that momentum, he flipped in mid-air, pulling Felicia along. He landed smoothly on solid ground.
The entire sequence happened in the blink of an eye, leaving onlookers stunned and unable to react. Kayla stared, her wide eyes fixed on them, her expression frozen in disbelief. The grin plastered on her face moments earlier twisted into a grotesque mask of shock and despair.
Kayla screamed, her fury boiling over. She had been so close! Just a little longer, and Felicia would have joined her, perishing together in this desolate crevice. But fate intervened, as someone descended from above to save Felicia.
All Kayla could do was curse the heavens. Tilting her head back, she screamed into the faint light above, "Bitch! You wretch! You'll die a horrible death!" This was her last chance to speak.
A deafening explosion erupted from above, sending massive boulders crashing down. Kayla's eyes widened in terror as the falling rocks grew closer and larger in her pupils—until—
The thunderous sound of collapsing rocks echoed through the canyon, completely sealing the vast crevice. With that, the schemes and grudges of two lifetimes were buried under the rubble, erased in an instant.
From a distance, Felicia quietly watched the mound of rocks that had become Kayla's grave. An indescribable feeling washed over her—neither satisfaction nor pity, but a passing lament. The moment passed quickly, and she turned her gaze to the man before her: Stephan.
In such a perilous situation, no one else would have risked their life to save her. Felicia had many questions—where he had been, why he hadn't responded to her calls, whether he'd retrieved the item—but this clearly wasn't the time.
The explosions above grew louder and more chaotic; staying in the canyon meant certain death. Grabbing Stephan's hand, Felicia noticed his icy-cold palm and dirt-covered bandages, filthy beyond recognition, though her Panax pseudo-ginsenoside had stopped the bleeding.
"We have to get out of here! Now!" Felicia pulled him, ready to run.
But Stephan stopped her. "This way." He grabbed her hand and led her at a sprint toward the cliff where the explosions originated—the most dangerous area. The closer they got, the more perilous it became.
Felicia was about to question his sanity when she heard the hum of helicopter blades. She looked up and spotted a sleek black helicopter circling—from the Russell family. She understood immediately. He was heading for higher ground to reach the rope ladder the helicopter would lower; the narrow canyon walls would prevent it from reaching them otherwise.
Without another word, Felicia ran with her life on the line. As they ran, she noticed the Carrell family group was gone. Before her descent into the crevice, they had lied, claiming Stephan was trapped at the bottom. She had found only Kayla. With the explosions and imminent collapse, Pete must have realized the danger and fled with his people.