Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1563

In less than five minutes, the ground was littered with bodies. James kicked open the door to the final line of defense. With Will by his side, both of them charging forward with their rifles raised, they burst directly into the laboratory's circular corridor.

Just then, Brett, who was bringing up the rear, stopped dead in front of one of the corpses. "Master Sergeant. It's Ben."

Brett shouted in disbelief. James's men had been hunting for Dean's father, Uncle Ben, for quite some time. All the clues had pointed to this triangular coastline. But no one expected him to be hiding inside this underground laboratory.

Brett quickly crouched down and pressed two fingers against Ben's carotid artery. His brow furrowed deeply as he looked up at James's retreating back. "Master Sergeant, he's completely dead."

"Leave the body for Barrett to handle," James replied, turning his head slightly, his voice as cold and sharp as a blade. "The rest of you, move in with me right now. Search every single room."

"Yes, sir."

But just as James prepared to kick open the doors to the experimental zone, Will's expression drastically changed at whatever he heard through his Bluetooth earpiece. He lunged forward and grabbed James to stop him from charging further inside.

"Master Sergeant. We have to evacuate immediately. Tyler just intercepted a message. This laboratory has been completely abandoned by their headquarters. Exactly two minutes ago, they locked down the central hub and initiated an irreversible self-destruct sequence."

Tyler's voice, cracking with panic, echoed through James's earpiece as well. Tyler explicitly stated that based on the code calculations, the self-destruct countdown would not exceed five minutes. And two of those minutes were already gone. That meant they all had less than three minutes to escape. Given how deep underground they were, even moving at maximum speed, it would take at least two minutes just to reach the exterior of the fortress.

James's tall, unyielding frame, which had been desperately pushing inward, froze instantly at those words. He turned around, his deep eyes so bloodshot they looked ready to bleed. Reason and his absolute duty as a commanding officer violently warred against his fraying nerves. Clenching his jaw, he stared at the brothers who had followed him through hell and back for years. He issued the order only a true captain could give.

Just as James was on the verge of losing all reason and turning back, Tyler's voice crackled through the earpiece once more.

"Mr. Nelson. We also intercepted chatter that a group of personnel was transferred out through a secret tunnel half an hour ago. It is highly likely the missus is among them. Major General Calony is leading a team to intercept them right now, but the enemy has heavily armed backup. He desperately needs reinforcements."

Those words successfully pulled James back from the edge of madness. His bloodshot eyes stared down the experimental corridor for one long, profound moment before he made the most decisive judgment call of his life.

"Everyone, pull out."

He spun around and took the lead, guiding his team as they sprinted toward the fortress exit at unprecedented speed.