Fangxi's painful scream echoed throughout the entire mall like the very sound of doom itself.
Every hostage present there trembled in terror, as the presence of death suddenly felt unbearably close.
At the same time, Younshu, Alisha, and Sheyaan cried out loudly:
"Boss... Fangxi! Fangxi!"
Their faces were filled with panic and pain. Sheyaan had completely lost control of herself.
But the two gangsters continued beating Fangxi mercilessly.
With every strike, Fangxi's screams became weaker and weaker — "Aaah... Aaahhh!"
That horrifying scene became too much for Sheyaan to bear.
In complete panic, she pulled her hand away from Zavian and ran straight toward the gangsters.
Trying desperately to stop them, she cried out with tears in her voice:
"No... no, please! Stop... don't hurt him!"
But those monsters paid no attention to her desperate pleas.
They ignored her completely and continued attacking Fangxi.
And then... something inside Sheyaan finally snapped.
Gathering all her strength, she screamed at the top of her lungs:
" No..no I SAID... STOP!" Stop!"
Her furious scream was so loud and intense that it felt like time itself had frozen.
Everyone present in the mall went silent in shock.
Even the two gangsters who were beating Fangxi suddenly stopped and stared at Sheyaan in surprise.
A strange and terrifying silence spread throughout the entire mall.
When Sheyaan saw Fangxi lying on the ground — writhing in pain with blood coming from his mouth — the fear inside her was replaced by terrifying rage.
Her blood boiled with anger.
At that moment, Younshu quickly rushed forward and helped Fangxi sit up from the ground.
But Sheyaan, completely overwhelmed, ran straight toward the gang leader, YouLang.
Before he could even understand what was happening, she slapped him across the face with all her strength!
"CHHAAATAAAKKK!"
YouLang's head snapped sharply to one side. Grinding her teeth in fury, Sheyaan glared at him and said hatefully:
"I won't spare you... how dare you lay your.. hands on Fangxi!"
Yang Lang was completely stunned.
He wiped the blood from his mouth and stared at Sheyaan with burning rage.
The moment he tried to strike her back, he shouted furiously:
"How dare you raise..your hand on me?!"
But before he could touch her, Sheyaan grabbed his arm mid-air with lightning speed.
There was a strange intensity shining in her eyes at that moment. In a cold, icy voice, she said:
"Don't even dare... to raise your..hand at me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sheyaan used all her strength and twisted YouLang's arm violently behind his back.
The pain made him bend over instantly.
His arm looked completely twisted out of place.
Everyone present there — even Zavian — was left utterly shocked after seeing this side of Sheyaan.
But Sheyaan didn't stop there.
She grabbed Yang Lang's other arm with a sharp jerk and delivered a powerful kick straight to his legs with all her strength.
"AAAAAAHHH!"
A painful scream escaped YouLang's mouth.
Before he could even recover, Sheyaan quickly pulled off the tie around his neck and tightly tied both of his hands behind his back.
YouLang was completely helpless now.
Writhing in pain and rage, he kept shouting again and again —
"Hey! Let me go... let me go!"
But at this moment, Sheyaan looked completely consumed by the spirit of a "Hidden Dragon." She had no intention of stopping.
Fangxi, Younshu, and Alisha stared at her in complete shock.
They couldn't believe this was the same Sheyaan who used to get scared of even shadows.
But Zavian...?
A faint smile had appeared on his lips. It was almost as if he already knew this strength existed inside her.
Seeing Yang Lang lying helplessly on the ground, Sheyaan bent slightly toward him and said with a sharp smirk:
"So... how does it feel.. now? Being this helpless and.. powerless in front of a girl... huh?"
Her words pierced YouLang's pride like sharp arrows.
Then Sheyaan turned toward Zavian.
She stood completely straight and confidently gave him a little "Good" hand gesture.
A proud smile appeared on Zavian's face.
Sheyaan had done the impossible — she had defeated the leader of the gang himself!
YouLang, humiliated overpowered by Sheyaan, completely lost control of himself in rage and pain.
Grinding his teeth furiously, he turned toward his man and shouted in a terrifying voice.
"Kill this girl..right now!"
The moment YouLang gave the order, all eight gangsters holding loaded guns rushed toward Sheyaan at full speed.
Seeing them charging at her, Sheyaan froze for a brief moment.
Her steps slightly faltered, but she refused to move back.
She stood her ground bravely, fear visible in her eyes — yet there was also a strange courage shining within them.
The moment Fangxi, Alisha, and Younshu saw the gangsters rushing toward Sheyaan, they immediately jumped to their feet.
Their faces were filled with panic and worry. But the most terrifying change appeared in Zavian.
Zavian had become completely alert now.
His entire presence felt as solid and dangerous as a mountain, and he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
A horrifying tension spread throughout the mall.
Every single person there had only one question echoing in their hearts.
"What's going to happen..to Sheyaan now...?"
As the gangsters slowly marched toward Sheyaan with heavy footsteps, the silence of death inside the mall grew even darker.
The guns in their hands could end Sheyaan's life at any second.
But at that exact moment, something terrifying changed inside Zavian.
Zavian, who had been standing there with tightly clenched fists, suddenly loosened his grip.
His face remained cold and expressionless, yet the atmosphere around him completely shifted.
He slowly started opening the fingers of the hand with a rose-style tattoo on it.
A strange red glow suddenly started spreading through the tattoo. Zavian's eyes were still locked onto the gangsters.
But the veins on his hand had become clearly visible now, as if lava — not blood — was flowing through his body.
Meanwhile, the gangsters had surrounded Sheyaan from every side and pointed their guns directly at her head.
Sheyaan stood alone in front of death itself.
Seeing this terrifying scene, Alisha panicked and cried out loudly:
"Do something! We have to..save Sheyaan... but... but what can we even do?!"
Watching Alisha lose control, Younshu spoke in a trembling voice — yet with complete confidence:
"Don't worry... nothing will happen..to Sheyaan!"
Younshu already knew that Zavian's silent calmness was the beginning of a terrifying storm.
Seeing Sheyaan trapped amidst death itself Fangxi could no longer remain silent.
The fear within him disappeared completely as his concern of Sheyaan far outweighed his fear of death.
He began moving forward with unsteady steps, but suddenly Alisha grabbed his hand and stopped him.
"Stop! Don't be..crazy... you can't go.. near them!"
Her voice was filled with panic and fear.
"You're already injured... and you have nothing to...fight them with!"
Fangxi looked at Alisha with eyes filled with anger and pain before saying in a low but determined voice:
"I care more about.. Sheyaan's life than my injuries... and just because I... have nothing doesn't mean I can't do... anything!"
Seeing Fangxi's determination, Alisha's heart softened and she slowly let go of his hand.
Meanwhile, the gangsters had already placed their fingers on the gun triggers.
They were just about to fire when suddenly... Zavian snapped his fingers shut with lightning speed.
In the very next second, a bloody red light burst out from his hand — so bright that it almost blinded everyone.
And then, as if some dark magic had been unleashed —
"Swaaashhh!"
The lights of the entire mall disappeared in a single instant.
Complete darkness swallowed everything around them The entire mall had been swallowed by deep darkness. A terrifying silence spread everywhere.
The hostages looked around nervously in panic, but the darkness was so thick that they couldn't even see their own hands.
The staff members and the manager were equally shocked by the sudden blackout.
Taking advantage of the darkness, the gangsters lowered their guns in confusion and panic.
Tied up on the floor, Yang Lang roared furiously:
"How did the...lights go out?! Turn them back..on now!"
The moment they heard their boss's order, two gangsters rushed toward the Electrical Control Room in panic.
They quickly switched on their phone flashlights to see the path ahead. But they had no idea that darkness was Zavian's greatest weapon.
Zavian moved with lightning speed.
In a single moment, he reached Sheyaan, skillfully wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her close to himself.
The sudden movement startled Sheyaan badly.
She tried to scream, but before she could make a sound, Zavian leaned near her ear and whispered softly:
"Stay..quiet."
The moment she heard his voice, Sheyaan instantly realized it was Zavian.
In the very next second, Zavian disappeared from there with Sheyaan so quickly that it felt as if he had never even been there.
He took her into a dark and hidden corner of the mall where they would remain safe.
The gangsters didn't even realize that their target had slipped away from their hands.
Meanwhile, the chaos gave the mall staff a little courage as well.
One of the junior fashion consultants bravely stepped forward and quietly removed the scarf from the senior consultant's mouth before untying her hands..
The Senior Fashion Consultant and the Manager quickly moved toward the remaining hostages without wasting a second.
In the darkness, they quietly whispered into everyone's ears one by one,
"Hurry… get out of here and hide.. somewhere safe! Quickly!"
Hearing those words, a new spark of hope rose inside the frightened people.
Slowly and carefully, everyone began hiding in different corners of the mall. Within moments,
the Manager and the rest of the staff also slipped away and hid in safe places.
Now the atmosphere of the mall was no longer filled with fear alone; there was also a desperate determination to outsmart the enemies.
In the middle of all that chaos, Younshu moved closer to Fangxi and Alisha and whispered softly,
"Come on, we should hide..somewhere too. Once everyone is safe, only then can we.. make a proper plan to escape.. from here."
They all knew one thing clearly— as long as Zavian was still in the field and the darkness continued to blind the enemies, this was their best chance to survive and escape.
After hearing Younshu's words Fangxi, Younshu, and Alisha carefully moved forward through the darkness.
But suddenly Fangxi stopped and asked in a nervous low voice.
"Sheyaan... where did.. she go?"
The fear in Fangxi's voice was obvious, but Alisha quickly tried to calm him down.
"Don't worry... she's with Zayan."
Alisha already knew the truth about Zavian and his strength. She was certain that Sheyaan was currently in the safest place inside the mall. Hearing this finally gave Fangxi a little relief.
A deep and terrifying silence had spread throughout the mall. Meanwhile,
the two gangsters who had gone to the Electrical Control Room pointed their phone flashlights toward a corner where a large iron door stood. Written on it were the words:
"High Voltage – Authorized Personnel Only."
The two gangsters stepped forward and forcefully pulled down a huge lever. The very next second—the lights of the mall came back on.
The entire mall lit up once again. But the moment Youlang looked around with his furious and panicked eyes,
the ground beneath him seemed to disappear. The mall was completely empty!
Not a single hostage or staff member could be seen anywhere.
Youlang completely lost his mind. Roaring at the top of his lungs, he shouted,
"Where did..everyone go?!... Get out here!"
His furious roar echoed through the entire mall, but the only reply he received was silence.
Everyone remained hidden quietly in their spots, covering their mouths and holding their breath.
The enemy had now become blind... because his prey had vanished from his sight.
Youlang's furious roar was still echoing through the mall when one of the gangsters quickly stepped forward and untied his hands. The moment he was free, Youlang growled angrily,
"Looks like everyone used... the darkness to hide somewhere!"
Grinding his teeth in rage, he continued,
"But how long can... they keep hiding...? I'll see myself how they survive.. this game of death!"
His voice spread through the entire mall, making the hidden people feel even more terrified.
But far away from all that chaos, inside a store hidden in one corner of the mall,
the situation was completely different. Zavian and Sheyaan were safely hiding there together.
From inside, they could clearly see everything happening outside, but no one outside could see them.
Sheyaan was still badly frightened. She had wrapped her arms tightly around Zavian from behind.
Zavian gently but firmly held her by the waist and pulled her close against his chest.
In that moment, both of them could clearly hear each other's heartbeats.
After staying that close for a while, Sheyaan slowly pulled herself a little away from him.
Sheyaan looked into Zavian's eyes and said softly,
"You have magic.., don't you… you can leave from here.. anytime… so why are you.. still staying?"
Zavian replied in his usual flat but powerful tone,
"Alright then, let's leave.. together."
Hearing this, Sheyaan's eyes widened in shock. She quickly refused in panic,
"No, no… I can't leave.. Fangxi, Alisha, and Younshu..behind here! What if something happens to them? These gangsters are really..dangerous, Zayan!"
Zavian looked at her calmly and said something that touched her heart.
"I knew you..would say that… that's why I haven't left yet. Otherwise, these people are nothing... in front of me."
Seeing his confidence, Sheyaan felt a little embarrassed, but her worry still remained. She asked quietly,
"But how will we get.. out of here? And where are Fangxi and..the others now?"
Her face was filled with sadness. Seeing this, Zavian gently lifted her chin with his hand and looked into her eyes.
"Don't worry… we'll get out of here... very easily. And those three are probably hiding somewhere..just like us."
Zavian's words gave Sheyaan a new sense of courage. She smiled softly and said,
"Let's all get out of...here quickly."
Sheyaan had just finished speaking when suddenly a loud and terrifying "Chataaakkk!" sound echoed.
Youlang had started smashing the mall's glass panels with the back of his gun like a madman. Hearing the sound, Sheyaan shuddered and froze in fear.
At that moment, Youlang's furious roar echoed throughout the mall:
"Come out quietly, you bastards! If I find you, I swear none... of you will leave here alive!"
Hearing this terrifying threat, the hidden people held their breath. The gangsters began checking every corner of the mall one by one.
The silence inside the mall was so deep that even a falling pin could have been heard.
In one corner of the mall, Fangxi, Younshu, and Alisha were also hiding below.
In the middle of this fear, unfortunately Alisha's hand got trapped under Younshu's shoe.
The sharp pain made her lose control, and a loud scream escaped her mouth—"Aaaaaahhh!"
That scream broke the deadly silence and acted like a signal for Youlang.
A cruel smile appeared on his face as he immediately moved toward the direction where Alisha and the others were hiding.