"This outfit's pretty nice."
"Seriously, there isn't a single decent piece of clothing in this asshole's closet. It's all combat suits, nothing but combat suits."
"Maybe I should get myself a few proper outfits."
In the ready-to-wear section on the fifth floor, Alex casually picked up suits and sportswear, one set after another, holding them up in front of a full-length mirror to check them out.
At that moment, Maeve's voice came through his earpiece, ["I'm in position. I can take out the snipers anytime."]
"Have you found the bomb?"
Alex put down a white suit.
["I'm scanning. My God, this place is huge. It's going to take a bit of effort."]
Maeve said, ["You'd better hurry. The negotiation outside doesn't look good. One hostage is already dead."]
"I know."
Alex picked up a yellow tracksuit with black stripes, sized it up, then made a Bruce Lee-style nose-wiping gesture.
Only then did he toss the clothes aside, clasp his hands behind his back, and stroll out of the clothing section like he was taking a walk, casually scanning his surroundings with the X-ray function of his laser eyes.
As he passed through a corridor, he noticed a girl hiding in the storage room off to the side. Remembering that the mission requirements included rescuing hostages, he walked over and pushed the door open.
Lowering his voice, Alex said, "Is anyone here? I'm…"
"Shh!"
A girl crawled out from behind the tool racks.
"Keep your voice down, sir. There are bad guys everywhere outside."
Alex took a look. She was an Asian girl with classical features, dressed simply.
She was wearing sunglasses and holding a white cane, using it to feel out the ground around her.
Alex waved his hand in front of her eyes. She didn't react at all. Sure enough, she was blind.
"Miss, I'm—"
Just as Alex was about to identify himself, the girl grabbed his hand, "Sir, don't talk."
"Come with me, let's hide. This place is very safe. The bad guys won't find us."
"You don't need to be afraid. I believe Homelander will come save us."
Alex didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Still, being "protected" by a blind girl felt oddly novel.
This was an experience he had never had since transmigrating.
After thinking it over, he decided not to reveal his identity and instead asked, "Miss, what's your name?"
"Lin Aida," The girl smiled, "But my friends all call me Caitlin."
"Caitlin."
Alex said, "My name's John."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. John," Caitlin pulled him into the tool area.
Curious, Alex asked, "Aren't you worried that I might be a bad guy?"
"No," Caitlin shook her head, "When you came in, I already smelled you."
"You smell very fresh, like hay under the sun."
"In my experience, people with that kind of scent are always kind, gentlemanly people. So I'm sure you're not a bad person."
Caitlin covered her mouth, "We should stop talking. We might get discovered."
Alex smiled, then said, "Actually, I know a secret passage."
"Really?", Caitlin sounded doubtful.
Alex said, "I'm a pipe cleaner. I'm really good at clearing pipelines."
"I'm responsible for all the pipe cleaning in this mall. If you trust me, I can take you out of here."
Caitlin thought for a moment, then nodded, "I trust you, Mr. John."
"Alright. If you don't mind, I'll carry you on my back. It'll be faster that way."
Caitlin nodded and climbed onto Alex's back.
Alex lifted her up. Then his eyes lit up red, and two beams of laser shot out, cutting an opening in the wall of the storage room.
He gently lifted into the air, floated out through the opening, and landed on the ground with Lin Aida on his back.
Just like that, he carried the Asian girl all the way to the mall's parking lot before setting her down.
"We're at the parking lot now."
Lin Aida let out a soft cry of surprise, "So fast?"
"Of course. I told you, it's a secret passage. A shortcut only I know about," Alex guided her to the tactile paving, "We'll part ways here. You can take care of yourself, right?"
"Of course."
Lin Aida held Alex's hand.
"Thank you, Mr. John."
"Oh, right."
"Can I have your phone number? If there's a chance, I'd like to treat you to a meal."
She took out her phone.
Alex smiled and entered his number, along with the name "John."
After taking the phone back, Lin Aida used voice assistance to call Alex's number.
Only after hearing Alex's phone ring did she hang up, say goodbye, and leave.
Alex turned around, floated into the air, and flew back toward the mall.
At that moment, he noticed the massive ventilation ducts lining the outer wall of the building.
"Maeve, where do you think a bomb would be detonated to reach every corner of the mall the fastest?"
Alex looked at one of the vents and smiled.
———
A short while later, he was standing inside a ventilation duct, looking at a suitcase placed on the floor. Without even opening it, he could see a set of intricate equipment inside, along with a poison gas bomb.
"Found it."
———
["This is the second hostage!"]
On the fifth floor of the mall, a man wearing a long black coat and a rabbit mask grabbed a woman by the hair and dragged her to the window.
He crouched cautiously behind the hostage, guarding against sniper fire from the police.
["See that? This is your fault!"]
["If you don't release our comrades, there'll be a third, a fourth!"]
After saying that, he shoved the hostage out of the window.
The white woman, not yet thirty and fairly attractive, let out a scream as she fell from the building.
The ground grew larger and larger in her vision. Just as she was about to smash into the hard pavement, she suddenly realized she had stopped in midair.
Then she saw a hand in a red glove wrap around her waist, followed by a reassuring voice.
"Are you alright, ma'am?"
The woman looked up and saw a handsome face with a sunny smile.
Golden hair neatly combed back, a blue combat suit that symbolized hope. Even without the star-spangled cape, she recognized his identity at a glance.
"Homelander!"
Holding her, Alex flew toward the main entrance, landed among the police, set the woman down, and looked at the officers.
"The bomb has been disarmed. It's all fine now."
"Leave the rest to me and my teammates."
For a moment, everything went quiet.
Then thunderous applause erupted.
"Homelander!"
"Homelander!"
"Homelander!"
Amid the cheers, Alex slowly rose into the air, facing the mall and looking at the fifth floor.
"People inside, listen up. If you release the hostages voluntarily, I can plead with the judge to go easy on you."
The mall's broadcast quickly responded.
"Go to hell, Homelander. Every hostage who dies will be on your head."
"Detonate the bomb!"
Hearing that, the police instinctively shrank back, ducking behind their patrol cars.
But after a moment, there was no sound at all from inside the mall.
Then the extremists' furious voices rang out over the broadcast.
"Where's the bomb? Why isn't it reacting?"
The police immediately erupted into cheers again, all of them giving Alex a thumbs-up.
Alex smiled.
Suddenly, with a whoosh, he dragged a streak of blue light behind him and smashed straight into the fifth floor of the mall.
BANG!
The windows from the fifth to the third floors shattered at the same time. Glass fragments flew everywhere, catching the sunlight like a dazzling fireworks display.
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