The blood coursing through Zavian's veins had already warned him that danger was close.
Sensing that something terrible was about to happen he hurried to get everyone out of the shopping store as quickly as possible.
But fate always had something entirely different planning.
Their feet had barely reached the store entrance when suddenly, a terrifying gunshot echoed from the lower floor.
"Dhaaayennn!"
It wasn't just a sound — it shattered the peace and silence of the entire mall.
Before the echo of the gunshot could even fade away, terrified screams began filling the air.
"Aaaaaaaahhh! Aaaaaaaaahhh!"
Within seconds, the whole mall fell into complete chaos. Everyone started running blindly to save their lives.
Some people were clutching their children tightly while searching for safety, while others screamed desperately for their families.
Amid the panic, a heartbreaking scene unfolded — a young boy was pushing his mother in a wheelchair,
but the crowd shoved him so hard that the wheelchair slipped from his hands.
The wheelchair began rolling rapidly down the slope. The boy screamed at the top of his lungs:
"Mooooooom!"
The woman sitting in the wheelchair cried out in terror:
"Hey! Someone stop.. my wheelchair... please!"
She held tightly onto the armrests with all her strength, but in that horrifying chaos,
everyone was only trying to save themselves. No one had the time to listen to her cries for help.
Her son ran after the wheelchair as fast as he could.
Standing upstairs, Zavian, Sheyaan, Younshu, Fangxi, and Alisha froze in place.
The screams and panic below had completely shaken them.
Their eyes were wide with fear and shock, while their racing heartbeats echoed the terror spreading around them.
Younshu was starting to panic badly. With trembling lips and a shaky voice, he asked:
"Why... why is everyone screaming... like this? And the gunfire... who fired.. it?!"
At Younshu's frightened outburst, everyone turned to look at him. The same terror that had taken over the entire mall could clearly be seen in their eyes.
People were running around like a mad crowd, desperately trying to save their lives.
Fangxi took a deep heavy breath. He slowly nodded and said in a low whispering voice:
"Let's go downstairs... and see...!"
Younshu, Alisha, and Sheyaan were completely terrified. Their eyes were wide with fear,
and they kept nervously looking around again and again, as if an enemy could appear from any corner at any second.
But among all of them, Zavian stood completely different.
There wasn't even a trace of fear on his face. He stood as still as a rock, while his cold eyes carefully scanned the surroundings.
At that moment, he wasn't afraid — he was preparing for whatever was about to happen next.
Zavian stood there as firm and unwavering as an ancient banyan tree amidst the strom.
While chose consumed the surroundings his deep gaze settled on Sheyaan.
Who trembled helplessly as she watched the horrifying scene unfolding around her.
Seeing the fear in her eyes, Zavian tightly held her hand and slowly intertwined his fingers with hers.
Feeling that sudden sense of safety, Sheyaan looked at Zavian innocently. He was already staring at her with those same deep and cold eyes.
In his usual calm cold voice, he quietly said:
"Let's go see...what's happening.. downstairs."
After saying that, Zavian fearlessly moved forward while holding Sheyaan's hand.
Watching him step ahead so boldly, Fangxi, Younshu, and Alisha gathered their courage and followed behind them.
The moment they stepped onto the escalator leading downstairs, their eyes froze at the horrifying scene below.
Down there, around seven to eight armed men stood proudly with guns in their hands and arrogance written all over their faces.
They didn't look like ordinary criminals — they looked like a trained force ready to take complete control of the entire mall.
The moment Younshu saw those heavily armed men, his throat went dry with fear. In a shaky voice, he whispered:
"Who... who are these.. people? They don't look like ordinary..thugs at all!"
Hearing him, Alisha became even more nervous. In a frightened voice, she said:
"I don't think we..should go downstairs... this doesn't feel..right."
But Zavian, who never allowed fear to come near him, immediately replied:
"If we don't go..downstairs, we won't be able to... get out of here!"
After saying that, all of them slowly came down through the escalator. The sight below sent chills through their bodies.
The entire mall had fallen into a silence that felt like a graveyard. Everyone had been forced onto their knees, with their hands tied behind their backs.
Amid that horrifying silence, a painful scene caught their eyes — the woman in the wheelchair was bleeding from her leg.
She had probably hit something during the chaos, which injured her badly.
Her son was also kneeling beside her with his hands tied behind his back.
Every person inside the mall looked terrified and helpless.
Seeing all this, Sheyaan's throat tightened in fear, and she instinctively held Zavian's hand even tighter.
Fangxi, Sheyaan, Zavian, Alisha, and Younshu, quietly made their way toward the exit door.
The shopping bads were held tightly in their hands wheel deep inside fear and hope struggled against each other.
They were holding onto each other's hands so tightly as if that was the last thread keeping them alive.
Just as they reached near the exit, a loud roaring voice suddenly echoed behind them, shaking the entire atmosphere of the mall:
"Stop...!"
That single word froze all of them in place. Younshu, Alisha, and Sheyaan felt as if their souls had gotten stuck in their throats; even their heartbeats seemed to stop for a moment.
But Zavian and Fangxi stood there fearless and unmoving like solid rocks.
When all of them turned back together, the sight in front of them was terrifying.
A tall and heavily built man dragged a chair into the center of the mall and placed it there before sitting down on it like a king, crossing one leg over the other.
He looked toward Zavian and Fangxi with heavy cold eyes and spoke in a harsh voice:
"Where do you...all think you're going...? At least come and... meet us first!"
That heavy voice forced all of them to stop in their tracks. Fangxi stared deeply at the man and replied in a cold firm tone:
"Who do you think..you are to stop.. us? People meet those who... actually matter to.. them! And who exactly..are you?"
Hearing Fangxi's fearless words, the tall rough-looking man sitting in front of them suddenly smiled. With a mocking smirk, he said:
"Wow... impressive! From the way you're...talking, it seems you're not... scared of this situation..at all!"
"By the way,..my name is.. Yang Lang!"
Fangxi's expression turned even colder as he replied:
"Hmm... nice name. And only cowards are...afraid, not someone strong... like me!"
The moment he heard that, the man burst into loud applause and laughed.
"Wow! That was..a good one... I like it!"
He pointed toward Fangxi and added:
"I really like..boys like you... you've caught my.. interest!"
In the middle of that tense atmosphere, Alisha quietly whispered:
"With all this attitude... is he gay or... something? Why is he so... interested in guys?"
Younshu, Zavian, Fangxi, and Sheyaan all heard her comment, and even in such a dangerous situation,
a small smirk appeared on all of their faces at the same time. It was almost as if they were silently making fun of Yang Lang.
The moment Yang Lang saw all of them smirking together, he froze instantly.
With a mix of shock and anger, he pointed toward them and roared:
"Hey! Why are you...all laughing?"
Fangxi looked straight into his eyes and replied with complete contempt in his voice:
"It's completely normal to..laugh at a cheap thug.. like you! Am I.. wrong?"
Those words hit the man like an arrow. His face turned red with rage, and with a furious shout, he jumped up from his chair.
"What did you say? You think I'm some... ordinary thug... huh? I'll show you right now..who I really am!"
Losing his temper completely, he immediately ordered his men:
"Hey! Capture all of them and make... them hostages. Show them their place... they're getting way... too arrogant!"
The moment the order was given, three heavily armed men rushed toward Younshu, Alisha, Zavian, Fangxi, and Sheyaan with large guns in their hands.
Seeing the dangerous situation unfold, Fangxi immediately shouted:
"Let's get out... of here!"
As soon as all of them rushed toward the exit door, it refused to open. Younshu immediately panicked and quickly said:
"Maybe the sensor...didn't detect us. Let's step back and.. try again!"
So all of them stepped back once more and then moved toward the door again, but it still didn't open.
Seeing this, everyone started losing hope — everyone except Zavian. He still stood there like a solid rock, without even a trace of fear on his face.
Fangxi quickly stepped forward, grabbed the door handle, and tried to force it open again and again, but the door didn't move at all.
At that moment, all their hope shattered. The mall entrance door didn't budge even slightly.
Then Yang Lang's mocking voice echoed from behind them:
"Stop trying... you'll only fail!"
Within seconds, Fangxi understood that the door had been forcefully locked, and Yang Lang was clearly behind it.
Sheyaan was trembling badly, but she still didn't let go of Zavian's hand. In fear, she held his hand close to her chest as if he was her last safe place in the world.
Zavian looked at her and said softly, yet reassuringly:
"Don't be scared... nothing will happen.. while I'm here!"
Sheyaan innocently nodded her head, but just then, those three armed men reached them.
Pointing their guns at everyone from behind, they ordered harshly:
"Raise your hands..and move forward quietly... no smart..moves!"
Hearing the command, everyone slowly raised their hands in fear. Younshu still had shopping bags in his hands, so they awkwardly went up along with them.
But Zavian ignored every single of them as if they didn't even exit he never raised his hand beasuse he was still holding.
Sheyaan's hand firmly in his own with slow, heavy footsteps he silently. Walked toward his deep icy gaze fixed entirely on Yang Lang.