603: Can you please struggle?

Can you please struggle?

"Sis, how can you know I'll be safe?"2

Heaven smiled at him. "I just know."

"How is that reassuring?" Axel frowned at his sister's answer. "Can you tell me more? I trust you, but at the same time, I'm a little scared."

"Trusting me is all you need, Axel." Heaven leaned forward, cupping her cheek with her fist, eyes on Axel as he ate the meal she prepared for him. "You'll be safe. You might get hurt in the process, but you won't die. Do you trust me?"

"Well… I just said I do but —"

"Then there's that." She cut him off mid-sentence with a reassuring smile on her face. "You will die when I said you will, but when I say you won't, then you won't."

Axel assessed the smile on his sister-in-law's face, frowning slightly. "Do you think you're some sort of god or what? How can you say that with so much conviction and confidence?" he muttered as he shoved another spoonful of food into his mouth. 

"Hehe." 

Heaven simply chuckled as a response to his sarcasm, diverting the subject into something else. This short exchange was one of the things Axel held onto. He had trust in Heaven. However, despite trusting her, he couldn't help but fear the situation he put himself in. 

Ever since Axel started his acting lessons and playing poker, he applied it to his everyday life. He used Mrs. Deng as his test subject and once in a while, tried to bluff Moose. But alas, only Mrs. Deng would fall for his acting and bluffs. Moose was hard to deceive, as the man had a knack for seeing through people so easily. 

But at least Silas fell for it. 

His encounter with Silas was predicted, and Axel was amused by it. However, Axel had to admit his fear and the reaction he showed when Silas found out about him snooping in his business was real. It scared him genuinely and sincerely. It was not in his plan to get found out, after all. He also didn't predict that a man would be in his car and would command him at gunpoint. 

Those things were something Axel didn't predict, and thus, the root of his regrets. Did he fail? Did he sabotage his brother and Heaven's plans? Now that Axel was taken captive, would this be the end?

Myriads of questions hovered over his throbbing head. But deep in his heart, he held onto Heaven's promise. 

He won't die. 

He held onto that promise even when he regained consciousness and saw the rogues who bullied him a year ago. He stuck to the lessons he learned even when Silas appeared in the place where they held him captive, mentioning his brother and sister-in-law as a reminder of Heaven's promise. Even when Silas told him the Zhu family didn't even know Axel was held captive and asked his minions to beat him up, Axel prayed Heaven had seen this coming. 

However, his hopes slowly dwindled when the rogues dragged him somewhere and when he caught the tank, which would be his grave, his heart sank. Maybe Heaven missed this outcome, he thought. After all, it was Axel's fault he was in this situation right now. All his sister told him was to taunt Silas and stick to his irritating nature.

Did he push that character so much? If he was in Heaven's shoes, he would think she probably expected him to stay a little cautious. Even the slightest. Axel should've been more cautious. 

"I'm sorry." As both men dragged him to the tank of acid, the man dragging him spoke. Axel turned his head to him, using all his strength, only to see the regretful look on the man's face. "We didn't want to do this, but our hands are tied."

What's the point?

Axel breathed out heavily as he peeled his gaze from the man. He set his attention to the tank in the middle of this abandoned warehouse. His gaze veered up a bit, catching another person standing on the other side of the tank. 

That man wasn't within this group of rogues. That man was the same person who had him at gunpoint earlier. 

'Did Silas leave this man so he can supervise these rogues?'wondered Axel, almost laughing out loud at how Silas wanted to make sure he would die. After all, these rogues had shown signs of reluctance. They didn't want to do this and somehow, Axel was certain they were sincere about that. 

After what Heaven did to them, they should've learned their lessons for sure. They might be wicked and bullies, but they weren't foolish enough to think Heaven simply won against them because of luck.

'Mom… Dad, Basti, Miracle, Grandma, Sis… and Brother.'A thin layer of tears coated his eyes behind his swollen and wounded eyelids. 'Please don't die just like me.'

At this point, Axel truly believed he was going to die. But just as the thought crossed him, the other person dragging him whispered.

"Can you please struggle?"

"Huh?" Axel looked back at the man again, confused.

"Don't give up yet. Fight back for the last time… and buy us some time." The man's voice volumed down. "Because if you don't, we can't do anything but toss you inside that acid. You'll instantly die then. It might take time for you to disintegrate, but the fume will kill you for sure."

Axel furrowed his brows, looking at the rogue who was talking to him discreetly. What was this guy saying? He knew these rogues were simply following orders against their will. Even if Axel died in their hands, he wouldn't take it to heart. After all, the culprit was Silas.

"Come on, man," whispered the other guy, with a vestige of irritation in his voice. "That guy over there isn't one of us. He'll kill all of us if we just stop."

'Why are you… helping me?'Axel wondered to himself, but he couldn't say that out loud. All he could do was stare at the rogues in confusion. He could feel them slowing down their pace before they heard the other person — who stayed to make sure they finished the job — yell. 

"Move faster!" 

"He's heavy!" the bald rogue hissed back. "Just wait, will you!?" 

Axel snapped his eyes at the bald guy who was walking ahead of them. He didn't know what was going on, but mustering all the remaining strength he had, Axel roared and struggled. Thanks to his adrenaline and willingness to live a lot longer, he managed to create a messy scene. 

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