"They are lying," Robert whispered, his voice shaking as he stared at the glowing white text on the bypass terminal. He began to pace frantically behind the console, his heavy boots squeaking against the polished concrete floor. "Ethan, they have to be lying. There is no self-destruct. We built this facility from the ground up! I personally oversaw the concrete pours, the structural steel reinforcements, the electrical routing, the sewage lines. I never saw a single detonator, a single charge, or any auxiliary wiring that could blow this place. It’s a bluff. It has to be a bluff!"
"You built the physical frame, Robert," Ethan said, his voice dropping into a low, icy register that cut through the contractor's hysterical rambling. He didn't look up from the console. His fingers flew across
