Chapter 1514: Cooked up Chaos

Zhao Li Xin’s hand was still gripping hers, but his knuckles were bloodless. The muscles along his jaw twitched as if he were forcing himself not to react. His eyes, sharp, dark, and hinting with panic and anxiety, as his eyes locked on the hologram next to Lory.

Jay looked up from his tablet, his voice heavy. "Pretty much so,"

The quiet that followed was unbearable. Jay avoided eye contact altogether, his brow furrowed in concentration that barely masked his anxiety.

Clift’s usual composure had vanished, replaced by the tightness around his mouth and the restless tapping of his foot. Even Samuel, looked quite tense after hearing the fact.

Amidst all that tension, only Lory remained unnervingly calm. Her voice, when it finally broke the silence, was quiet but steady.

"Jay," she said, leaning slightly forward, "Is there a time limit for this thing to blow up?"

Jay checked the tablet again, the blue light reflecting off his face. He took a deep breath, then shook his head. "No... There isn’t."

"So as long as we don’t do anything, it won’t trigger the MADD, right?" Lory asked, her tone measured, almost casual—too calm for the situation at hand.

"I... guess so." Jay’s uncertainty bled through his voice, the hesitation in his words betraying the weight pressing down on him.

Lory nodded, accepting the vague reassurance as though it were fact. "Alright. Then our next step is to find the code, right?"

"Yeah," Jay exhaled heavily, running a hand down his face. The sigh carried more than fatigue; it was the sound of quiet acceptance. Jay understood what Lory truly meant by that simple question: stop mourning what’s done, and start moving onward.

"Good." Lory folded her arms across her chest, her eyes narrowing in thought. "So—who do you think knows the code?"

The question landed like a stone in still water, ripples of silence spreading through the room. No one spoke for several long seconds; each man lost in uneasy contemplation.

Then Clift finally exhaled through his nose and muttered, "Igor Renovich. He’s the one responsible for developing this device. If anyone should know how to disable the device, it would be him."

As if fate were listening, Samuel’s phone buzzed sharply, breaking the tension. He glanced at the screen, and his eyes widened. "Hey," he said quickly, "Igor just sent me a message. He wants to meet tomorrow." 𝖿𝖗ⅇℴ𝑚

Jay and Clift exchanged calculating glances, the kind that spoke of strategy and unspoken risks. Lory, however, smiled faintly, a sharp, deliberate curve of her lips that hinted at both confidence and danger.

"See?" she opened her arms, her voice almost playful despite the grim circumstances. "Now, we’ve got a plan."

Her calm was unnerving, yet in that moment, it was exactly what the team needed, a spark of control amid the chaos. Samuel couldn’t help but marvel at how Lory managed to steady the situation and keep everyone focused on their goal.

Even with a bomb in her head, she stayed composed and cool-headed. It was no wonder she had earned everyone’s respect and admiration. More than that, Samuel was grateful he wasn’t standing on the opposite side of her.

The more he interacted with Lory, the more he understood why Luxemborough could never win against the Lucient family.

However, not everyone shared her ease. Zhao Li Xin’s expression didn’t soften; if anything, it darkened. His gaze was locked on Lory, cold and sharp enough to slice through the tension.

Beneath that elegant exterior, fury simmered, silent, restrained, and dangerous. The air around him grew dense with murderous intent, and even Jay, Clift, and Samuel felt the weight of it pressing on their chests.

Lory understood what he was feeling eight now. How could he possibly relax when a bomb sat buried inside her head, ready to end her life at any moment? If their positions were reversed, she wouldn’t be calm either. But worrying wouldn’t defuse the situation. She knew that much. They had no choice but to focus on what could be done.

"It’s alright, Li Xin," she said softly, her voice carrying a quiet warmth that cut through his anger. "I’ve been in worse situations."

Her words startled Samuel, who blurted out without thinking, "You have?"

Lory glanced at him and gave a small, knowing smile. "I do."

Lory didn’t explain further, but she wasn’t lying. In truth, nothing could compare to the curse Lazarus had once laid upon her, the poisoned whispers that seeped into her mind, twisting her thoughts with darkness and despair until she was on the verge of losing her sanity.

There were times she could no longer tell what was real and what wasn’t. If not for Girsha and her mother’s help in suppressing parts of that curse, she would have lost herself long ago.

So a little bomb in her head was nothing for her. Thus, Lory smiled again, calm and resolute, as if the shadow of death hovering over her was nothing more than a passing inconvenience.

Late at night, the penthouse finally fell quiet. Everyone had retreated to their rooms after staying up until nearly three in the morning, preparing for their next move. Meanwhile, on the private terrace, Zhao Li Xin sat alone, sipping wine from a porcelain cup as white as snow.

Clift awoke as he sensed someone’s presence, clear, precise, and familiar. Years of training as an assassin had honed his instincts to the point where even another person’s breathing was enough to alert him. Furthermore, Zhao Li Xin didn’t bother concealing himself, so it wasn’t hard to sense his presence.

Clift stepped out of the room and went down the stairs. Through the large glass doors, he could see Zhao Li Xin sitting alone on the terrace. Clift crossed the room and headed to the kitchen. He opened the fridge, poured himself a glass of cold water, then took the glass and walked onto the terrace.

"Can’t sleep?" he asked quietly, leaning on the doorframe.

Just like Clift, Zhao Li Xin sensed his presence the moment Clift left his room, so he wasn’t surprised. Zhao Li Xin lifted the cup of wine with his long fingers and took a slow sip, his eyes still fixed on the city.

"I’ve slept enough," he said. His voice was flat, almost indifferent.

He didn’t need much sleep since reaching the Sovereign level; sleeping three hours was more than enough for him.

Clift didn’t press. He sat across from Zhao Li Xin, placing his glass on the small table between them. For a while, they simply watched the cold, stiff cityscape in silence. Neither spoke for a long moment until Clift finally broke the quiet.

"Can’t sleep because you’re worried about Lory? Or are you angry at her?" Clift teased lightly.

Zhao Li Xin’s long fingers moved the porcelain cup in a slow circular motion as he fell into deep thought, before he spoke in a quiet tone, "Just a bit angry," he admitted. "But mostly worried... and disappointed."

"To whom?" Clift frowns slightly.

"Myself." Zhao Li Xin answered shortly. He lifted the cup again, took a sip, and exhaled a long, resigned sigh. "I failed to protect her, again. It feels like no matter what I do, she always ends up hurt." his voice hints with a mix of confusion and frustration.

Clift turned his gaze toward him. "This is Lory we’re talking about. There’s nothing you could do. She has her own judgment, her own thoughts, and she’s stubborn to the bone. Well, I don’t need to explain more, I think you know her as well as I do." Jay took a long gulp of water and let out a weary breath.

The wind blew across the terrace, brushing her hair, making his face tinged with a soft melancholy. "I know... That’s why I can’t stop thinking... that one day she will slip from my hands. In fact, she almost did..."

Zhao Li Xin remembered how, in the midst of his madness, he had stabbed his sword straight through Loty’s heart, and the blood that had flowed from his chest, the warmth in his hand.

Lory kept telling him that it wasn’t his fault, but the truth was that he still couldn’t forgive himself, and he never knew if he ever would.

Clift turned silent. His gaze shifted back toward the city, the lights twinkling like scattered stars, making him feel like the only one in the world, making him want to go home, to Herriond. "Being with Lucient does tend to make you feel that way," he murmured. "Lory, Lucas... sometimes I feel like one day they’ll be so far away from me, and no matter what I do, I’ll never be able to reach them... and till this day that thought keeps me up at night, sometimes."

He shifted his gaze to Zhao Li Xin, and their eyes met. "But what can you do? Are you going to leave them?" Clift continued. "Maybe because I’m an Archknight. I could never detach myself from the Lucient’s family, from Lory, and especially not from Lucas. But you... You’re different. So...why haven’t you ever walked away?"

"Go where?" Zhao Li Xin chuckled softly. "I can’t imagine my life without her. I can barely remember what my life was like before I met her. My fate was sealed the moment I first saw her, but I’ve never regretted it... not even once."

Clift’s smile deepened. "Since you feel that way, stop thinking about it. Lory is Lucient, just like Lucas; they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Even though I don’t think the world deserves it, Lory and Lucas will never change. When the the world is in danger again, they will stand at the forefront to protect it. So what can we do? We can only protect them with everything we have, and hopefully, if someone has to die, it would be us, not them." Clift’s voice was etched with an unshakable oath.

Zhao Li Xin rarely showed a genuine smile, but this time he did and raised his cup with both hands and spoke solemnly, "I cheer to that."

_____________________________________________

The next morning, they learned more about a place called Blackridge. It turned out to be a major government project to build the world’s tallest skyscraper, nearly 4,000 feet tall and resembling a spear piercing the clouds. It was said to be the most luxurious building for residential and commercial purposes.

The place was heavily guarded, and it required high clearance to enter. Unlike Aeon, the security inside Blackridge was directly connected to the Luxembourg Central Security Center, making it difficult to bypass, as everything in and out of the building would be reported there immediately in a second.

Blackridge was also where Igor Renovich worked, though he never revealed what he actually did. They already knew he was involved in the development of MADD, though they still didn’t have the details. But they were certain Igor must know the code to disable MADD, so they had to find a way to get that information from him.

"So we’re gonna meet Igor tonight?" Lory’s face brimmed with excitement.

Clift nodded. "Yeah. Today’s a special day. They’re bringing two rare beasts into the arena, a wyvern and the Orc king. They will make a big bet over it."

"As a gambling addict, he wouldn’t miss it for the world," Samuel said dryly.

"He’ll probably ask us which one he should place the bet," Clift added with a hint of amusement.

"What if we lose?" Lory asked, worry creasing her brow.

"It’s fine," Clift replied with a sneer. "Just say it wasn’t your lucky day. Tomorrow will be better."

"A gambling addict won’t stop just because they lose once or twice," Samuel said, snorting. "After we help him win a few rounds, he’ll already be hooked on us."

Lory let out a relieved breath. "I know a drug dealer who speaks like you."

"Thank you for your compliment, Your Higness," Samuel sarcastically replied.

Jay’s grin stretched ear to ear. "Lory, wanna make a bet later?"

Lory pouted. "Hey, you know I don’t like gambling."

"Oh—right," Jay said, slapping his forehead. Then his grin widened even more. "But they’ve got the best chocolate fondue."

"Ohhh~" Lory’s eyes lit up instantly.

"Let’s not forget our plan here," Zhao Li Xin’s voice cut through Lory’s moment of joy.