Not Dead

In an unknown land, Alex racked his brains but still could not come up with any good ideas. He had thought of asking the Swamp People to let them pass, but several attempts at communication ended in failure. Frustrated, Alex decided to force his way through. As a result, the two of them were chased and blocked by countless Swamp People. Only by relying on their speed did they barely manage to escape back into the forest.

After countless attempts over several days, they had all ended in failure. Alex and Emma had no choice but to retreat into the forest. From afar, they watched the Swamp People waving their clubs, both faces filled with frustration.

"Alex, let’s think of another way!" Emma panted heavily from exhaustion, her full chest heaving violently, her flushed little face covered in sweat.

Alex was in better shape. He was neither red-faced nor out of breath, though he was covered in wounds left by the Swamp People. Hearing Emma’s words, Alex irritably kicked a stone at his feet and roared, "Those Swamp People are absolutely hateful! We only wanted to borrow a passage, yet they’re acting as if we have some deep-seated grudge!"

As he complained, Alex suddenly heard a strange rumbling sound. Turning his head, he saw Emma lowering her head, her face bright red. They had been running back and forth all day without eating anything. Their stomachs were empty, and they were long since starving.

"You’re hungry. Let’s go back and eat something first!" Alex acted as though he had heard nothing and turned to leave. As he walked, he muttered, "Once I’m full, I’ll make those Swamp People taste what I’m capable of!"

After successfully hunting an unknown beast, Alex carried the creature, which was taller than himself, back to where they were staying: a cave. They had discovered it two days earlier, and after some alterations, it had become their temporary home.

Outside the cave was a small stream. Its babbling waters came from a mist-shrouded mountain in the distance, while its end led into the swamp. After cleaning the beast by the stream, Alex carried it into the cave, where a bonfire had already been lit.

"You’re back!" Hearing him, Emma called out without turning around. She was focused on the large pot boiling over the fire. "The soup will be ready soon. Wait a bit!"

Though the cave was crude, it contained every necessity of life, including blankets and cooking utensils. Alex and Emma had stolen these things from the Swamp People, who had in turn looted them from the orcs and the Descendants of Atlantis. Deep within the cave were two beds. Several tree trunks had been fixed into the ground to form frames, then covered with blankets to make simple wooden beds.

Alex tossed the beast from his shoulder beside the bonfire, then lazily lay down on his bed. Looking at the busy Emma, he said listlessly, "Emma, what do you think happened outside? Has World War II ended already?"

Emma’s hands froze. She looked up at Alex and shook her head. "You’re Alex, the Captain of the Howling Commandos. You should know that best."

Alex suddenly fell silent, his expression turning somewhat dim. After a long while, he said, "I’m not the Captain. Steve is."

"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to." Emma looked at Alex guiltily and hesitated before saying, "But as far as I know, what happened to Steve wasn’t Sebastian Shaw’s doing."

Alex’s expression abruptly changed. He stared fixedly at Emma, as though he wanted to devour her. "What did you say?"

Under Alex’s gaze, Emma began to tremble slightly, but she still forced herself to remain calm. "I can read minds. Sebastian Shaw can’t hide any secrets from me, so I…"

Alex sprang from the bed in one step and grabbed Emma by the neck with both hands. "You brought up Steve on purpose. What exactly are you trying to do?!" he demanded harshly.

"I only want to help you." Emma looked sadly at Alex and reached out to gently stroke his face. "Although I can’t read your mind right now, I know you’re in pain and anxious. I hope I can help you."

Alex fell silent. He released Emma and slumped onto the ground, looking up at her. "You know quite a lot."

"You have many secrets. I only know a little about them." Emma coughed lightly, ladled out a bowl of soup, and carefully handed it to Alex. "Based on what I know, I think you were deceived."

Alex took the bowl and gently blew on it. Just as he was about to drink, he abruptly looked up at Emma in astonishment. "What do you mean?"

"Although I don’t know who told you that Steve’s situation was connected to Sebastian Shaw, I can say for certain that Sebastian Shaw had nothing to do with it." Emma served herself a bowl of soup as well, carefully took a sip, and slowly continued, "And at that time, the Hellfire Club had already reached an agreement with the Allies. Sebastian Shaw could not possibly have gone after Steve."

"Why not?" Alex grew angry, and his tone became anxious. "He suffered at our hands several times. It would be perfectly normal for him to wait for a chance to retaliate."

"Sebastian Shaw has great ambitions. He wants to become the leader of the Hellfire Club." Emma ladled another bowl of soup for Alex and shook her head. "At that time, he could neither have done nor dared to do anything against the Hellfire Club’s will. On the contrary, he would have tried every possible way to please you, because that would increase his leverage within the Hellfire Club."

Alex frowned, seemingly unwilling to believe Emma’s words.

Emma saw Alex’s suspicion but did not explain further. She simply continued, "The Hellfire Club had no reason whatsoever to target Steve, yet that person told you the Hellfire Club did it. That is highly suspicious."

The person who had given him that information suddenly came to Alex’s mind. His heart jolted as he realized that he might have been set up. "You’re saying he lied to me. Then why would he do that?"

Emma shrugged and gave a soft laugh. "There are plenty of reasons. Perhaps he wanted to use you to kill Sebastian Shaw. Perhaps he wanted to use Sebastian Shaw to kill you. Or perhaps he simply wanted to sow discord between the Hellfire Club and the Allies!"

Listening to each reason Emma gave, Alex suddenly realized that he had been adorably naïve, utterly stupid, to have believed the words of someone he had threatened into submission!

As he thought this, Alex’s heart suddenly stirred. He looked at Emma excitedly and asked, "Could it be that he was the one who did something to Steve, then deliberately lied to me and said it was Sebastian Shaw?"

Emma’s brows furrowed slightly, and she nodded. "That’s very possible."

"He’s one of my subordinates—uh, coerced into it." The more Alex thought about it, the more excited he became. He paced circles around the bonfire. "He wanted to harm me, so he targeted Steve…"

After pacing for a while, Alex suddenly stopped. He stared at Emma and slowly asked, "Tell me, under those circumstances, would he truly kill Steve, or would he keep Steve alive for the time being as a bargaining chip?"

"Of course he’d keep Steve alive." Emma answered without hesitation.

"Then Steve is still alive!" Alex jumped up excitedly, his face full of an elated smile. "Isn’t he?"

Emma was startled. After all that circling around, this was what Alex had wanted to hear.

"Yes!"