He glared at Nelson and yelled, "You lied to me! I'm gonna kill you!" Slap! Shane's cheek burned with pain. Nelson had just reached out and slapped him across the face. "You still don't want to admit you're about to kill me to shut me up? You think I'm scared of you?" Nelson said. Then he stepped forward. He pulled out the scalpel in his hand and pressed it against his own neck. He lifted his chin and stared right at Shane. "You don't need to do it. I can slice my own throat. But remember this—you're the one who ruined the base. You're the one endangering my friends. You're the one who won't listen. So now you don't get cupcakes anymore. And you don't get Nelson, the guy who made you cupcakes every day." Caroline stood there, barely breathing. But she understood—this was Nelson's plan. Denton's eyes were wide open. He swallowed hard and whispered to her, "Caroline, Nelson is really brave." Tyler had come down from the upper level. When he saw what was happening, he tensed up and slid back into the metal wall, ready to rush out and protect Nelson at any second. Caroline didn't know that Nelson wasn't gambling with his life at all. Every move he made was based on his understanding of how to control Shane. Nelson was a researcher—a true science geek with achievements in medicine, tech, biology, genetics, all of it. He was skilled in every field he ventured. Of course, he understood people with "mental instability." Just now, he had used distraction, emotional pressure, breaking Shane's thought patterns, and pulling Shane's focus back online—all kinds of psychological tricks and cues. And all that fast talking earlier? They were just words he made up. But it worked. Now he held the scalpel to his own neck first, making Shane unable to guess what he would do next. That threw Shane's thoughts and plans into chaos. At this point, Shane was almost completely under Nelson's control. Sure enough, when Shane saw the scalpel at Nelson's neck, he actually reached forward as if to stop him. His lips trembled. His eyes were full of panic. His whole body shook with fear. "Don't ... Don't..."All his earlier rage and murderous energy vanished. What replaced it was a panicked, unstable worry. Nelson's bright eyes locked on Shane. A sharp glint flashed in them. His hand suddenly shook—like he couldn't control it. The scalpel cut his skin, and a drop of blood slid down his pale neck. "Oh no! Oh!" Shane screamed, his voice tearing from his chest. Caroline and Denton felt sick to their stomachs and clamped their hands over their ears. "Ahhh!" Shane howled like he couldn't take it. He snapped. He punched his own head with both hands. He scratched his face with his nails so hard that he ripped his own skin open. Flesh peeled off under his sharp nails. He looked like a monster crawling straight out of hell. He was completely out of his mind now—even worse than before. But in that same wild moment, he realized one thing. He did not want Nelson to die. He had been tricked, yes. But he still wanted more cupcakes. And he still wanted all the things Nelson had promised him. The thought of killing Nelson lasted only a split second—born from panic and emotional overload. It wasn't what he truly wanted. And now, pulled back from that extreme, his mind swung to the other side. Nelson must not die. "I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong, wrong—What?" Shane's voice stopped all at once. Caroline and Denton felt like their bodies were about to crack apart from the shockwave of the sound. Caroline quickly looked up at Nelson. She and Denton were strong, and they were standing farther away, yet even they almost fainted from that horrible scream. Nelson had to be suffering even worse. Nelson still stood straight, even though blood dripped from his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. But he didn't care. He had already thrown the scalpel aside. In his hand was a cupcake he had made earlier and stored in his storage space. And now, he was shoving it into Shane's mouth. Shane had stopped screaming because Nelson had stuffed a piece of cupcake between his lips.