Messing With Her? Are You Crazy! novel Chapter 1663

"By the time that happens... you'll be dead long before the countdown even hits zero!"

The numbers on the screen had ticked down to forty-five seconds.

The violent thudding from within the pod escalated dramatically.

Each impact felt heavier, more desperate.

Hairline fractures began spider-webbing across the surface of the reinforced glass.

Standing nearby, Julian's dark eyes swept past the dwindling numbers.

He glanced at the transparent viewing pane, where the bio-fluid was frothing wildly.

The previously dormant figure of Specimen Fourteen tensed into a grotesquely contorted posture.

Beneath its skin, black veins surged to life, creeping and spreading like a dense network of angry vines.

Julian's gaze darkened slightly behind his glasses.

The situation was deteriorating fast.

Yet, he looked back at Serena, noting her unwavering calm.

He had no idea how she planned to stop this so-called purge.

Nor did he know what the compound she had just injected was meant to do.

But he didn't intervene.

He didn't let the escalating danger force his hand into a rash decision.

He merely glanced at the timer again and asked in a low, steady voice, "Do you have this handled?"

Serena stared at the glaring red numbers, the corners of her lips pulling into a smirk.

It was a lazy, arrogant smile.

"It's nothing I can't manage."

Four simple words, offered with zero explanation.

Julian didn't doubt her for a second.

If she said it wasn't a problem, he believed her.

He didn't press her on her methods, nor did he question whether she could actually pull it off in the forty seconds she had left.

Instead, he lifted his clear gaze toward the remaining hostile operatives who were quietly trying to inch closer.

And yet... the countdown on the screen hadn't changed its steady pace.

Despite his growing dread, Commander Richter refused to hide his contempt. "Don't worry, I won't stop her."

"Because nothing she does can change the fact that Specimen Fourteen is going to die!"

"She will never break that encryption. You have thirty seconds left. Just wait and—"

He didn't get to finish.

With a sharp hiss of static, the screen displaying the blaring red countdown suddenly flickered.

[29.]

[28.]

...

And then, the numbers froze.

A split second later, the entire monitor was swallowed by a rapid cascade of dense, infinitely complex code.

Commander Richter's voice died in his throat.