Against the Countdown

Gilbert Pierce, my wife's male trainee, bragged that he could disarm a bomb just by relying on his senses and with his eyes closed.

However, he misjudged it and triggered the bomb's secondary detonation sequence.

I stepped in at the last second and used the most dangerous method available, liquid nitrogen flash cooling, to save the entire building.

Gilbert was pulled off frontline duty and placed on suspension for review.

My wife, Jasmine Clem, tried to speak up for him, but I stopped her cold.

"If you defend him now, you won't save him. You'll just get dragged down and suspended alongside him."

Unable to handle the pressure, Gilbert blew himself up in an accident. In his suicide note, he accused Jasmine of choosing self-preservation when he needed her most.

Jasmine said nothing. She only locked that letter away in her study.

Years later, Jasmine became a nationally renowned bomb disposal expert.

During a terrorist attack, I was captured and strapped with a timed explosive.

Jasmine came to the scene personally to defuse it, but right in front of me, she repeated the exact same mistake her trainee had made years ago.

She watched the countdown and smiled lightly at me. "See? He was just nervous back then. If I had encouraged him, he'd be a hero now."

The bomb detonated, and I was blown apart.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment she was about to defend Gilbert.

She didn't know that inside that building sat the nation's most classified core servers.

I was about to rush to the scene.

The instant I realized I had been reborn, I turned around and went straight back to the dorm. I shut off my encrypted communicator without hesitation.

In my previous life, after Gilbert Pierce messed up, he spammed me nonstop, begging me to save him.

I had just finished a special operation and hadn't slept for three days, yet I still rushed in to clean up his mess.

I risked my life, enduring the burn of liquid nitrogen.

Only then did I manage to save the core servers inside the building.

Because of that, the military didn't send Gilbert to court-martial. He was only suspended and put under investigation.

As long as he didn't screw up again, he could've returned to his original post.

Yet, Gilbert couldn't handle criticism. A few sharp comments from coworkers were enough to drive him to blow himself up in an accident.

In the end, Jasmine tried to prove Gilbert's abilities and got me blown to pieces.

I yanked the blanket over my head and slept straight through to morning.

The next day, I powered my communicator back on. The screen instantly flooded with hundreds of missed calls and blood-red emergency alerts.

I took my time washing up, put on my uniform, and headed to the scene at an unhurried pace.

Outside the perimeter, the air felt so heavy that it was almost tangible. Every face was carved with despair.

Gilbert sat slumped on the ground, a complete wreck, shaking uncontrollably.

The coworkers around him glared at him, as if they wanted to tear him apart alive.

"This is all your fault, Gilbert! You just had to try that eyes-closed nonsense! Look at us now. The secondary detonation is active. None of us is getting out!"

"Just wait! General Webb's going to send every one of us to court-martial!"

Gilbert's eyes darted wildly through the crowd.

The moment he saw me, a spark of hope flared in his eyes, as if he had grabbed onto his last lifeline.

But the very next second, deep resentment seeped into his gaze.

He raised his hand and pointed straight at me, screaming with everything he had.

"It was Edmond's fault! I called him all night long. He could've saved us. He turned off his communicator on purpose. He wanted all of us dead!"

In an instant, countless stares turned into blades, stabbing straight into me.

Gilbert seized the moment and staggered toward me, holding up his communicator. The screen was packed with call logs, glaring and unmistakable.

His eyes were red, his voice hoarse and piercing, every word soaked in anguish.

"You know better than anyone what's stored in that building. It's classified at the highest level. You went offline at a moment like this. What was your goal?"

The area fell silent as everyone waited for my explanation.

I stared at Gilbert's revolting face, hatred from my past life surging up inside me.

Then, I raised my hand.

Smack!

A sharp, ringing slap landed square across his face.