Chapter 1530: Start Diversionary Tactic

As Lory settled onto the capsule bed, the machinery stirred with a low mechanical sigh. From a hidden slot beside her head, a device slid forward, thin, jointed, and eerily serpentine. Its smooth metallic surface caught the cold blue glow of the chamber lights as it arched above her like a waiting predator.

Lory’s body jerked at the sudden sting, a sharp flick of pain that lasted only a heartbeat yet sent an involuntary tremor through her. It wasn’t severe; Lory didn’t even make a sound, but the sight of it was still able to drain the color from Zhao Li Xin’s face. His composure cracked in an instant, fear slipping through before he could hide it.

Zhao Li Xin subconsciously pressed his palm against the capsule’s glass. His eyes widened, breath catching in his throat, frozen between fear and anxiety.

"It’s okay," Jay said quickly—voice steady, though his eyes never left the monitor. "That’s just the anesthetic. The machine numbs the area first so she won’t feel a thing." He spoke to calm Zhao Li Xin, trying to ease Zhao Li Xin’s stress, and at the same time, he tracked every flicker on the screen.

Lory turned her head slightly, offering Zhao Li Xin a soft, reassuring smile. But the small gesture only deepened the tension in his expression. His shoulders were taut, his breath tight, restraining himself only because he feared that interfering might cause her real harm.

Inside the capsule, the single needle began to advance further, sinking in with slow and deliberate precision. On the monitor, a digital diagram illuminated its progress, tracing the needle’s exact path as it navigated between nerves and tissue.

A few seconds later, a pulsing red outline appeared: DEVICE DETECTED.

Jay’s expression tightened. The needle tip locked onto the tiny device embedded near Lory’s spine. Streams of encrypted code filled the screen, dense, impossible strings of numbers and letters rolling by too fast for the human eye. The machine decoded it with ruthless efficiency.

A prompt flashed bright:

DISABLE DEVICE? YES / NO

Jay didn’t hesitate long. He tapped YES.

Another prompt followed: BEGIN EXTRACTION.

Jay exhaled slowly before pressing START.

The machine’s hum dropped into a deeper register, vibrating through the floor like the growl of something ancient waking from a long slumber. The lights inside the capsule sharpened into an icy, clinical white. Beneath that glow, the single, slender needle anchored at the base of Lory’s neck began its real work.

It was actually very quick; it’s barely ten seconds when the device was finally extracted. A faint sting passed through Lory’s body, a flicker of pain, and then it was gone. Left behind was only a thin, one-centimeter red mark.

Almost immediately, micro-threads slipped from the machine’s internal compartment, stitching the small wound with such delicate precision that the thread was nearly invisible.

A soft hiss signaled the release of the capsule locks, and the glass surface slid open, and Zhao Li Xin was immediately caught by Lory by the shoulders, helping her upright as though she were something fragile and irreplaceable.

"Are you alright? Does it hurt?" he asked, voice low, tense—almost strained. His hands shook. His eyes were tight with dread.

The man who had walked through fire and storms without blinking his eyes now looks so much in distress, as if the sky above his head would fall at any moment. Lory felt a flicker of guilt for worrying him... and a deep, heartwarming fondness.

"I’m fine, husband," she said, patting Zhao Li Xin’s hand, which was tightly gripping hers. "It doesn’t hurt at all... just a little numb." She raised her hand to touch the back of her neck.

His expression darkened. Zhao Li Xin rose, sweeping her hair aside with trembling fingers. When he found the faint red line left behind, something shifted inside him, something sharp and dangerous. His eyes deepened, fury igniting in their depths.

This was the second time someone had dared implant that cursed device into his wife. There would never be a third, or his name will not be Zhao Li Xin.

Meanwhile, the machine deposited the extracted MADD into a small transparent containment case with a decisive click. Jay stepped over, retrieved it, and slid the box into his spatial ring with practiced efficiency.

He turned to Lory. "Try using your power."

Lory closed her eyes, and a soft purple glow began to bloom across her skin, gentle yet unmistakably potent. The purple light shimmered like ripples on the quiet lake, then slowly spread from her fingertips to the nape of her neck and engulfed her completely.

Within seconds, the faint red scar dissolved beneath the glow, first blurring, then vanishing entirely, leaving her skin flawless once more.

"The wound is gone," Zhao Li Xin breathed, the rigid tension in his face finally easing.

Lory opened her eyes, victory gleaming in them. A mischievous smirk tugged at her lips. "Guess it worked."

"Good," Jay said, but his tone was far from casual. He turned to the computer screen, his eyes narrowed as lines of warning text scrolled across the screen in urgent red. "Because we’re going to need you."

"Oh?" Lory raised her brows.

Jay tapped the monitor. "Turns out, the moment the device was disabled without higher-up clearance, the system automatically flagged it to Central Command for a potential breach." He shifted his gaze to Lory. "They also know exactly which machine we used for the extraction, so we should expect a welcome party."

He gave her a meaningful look.

Lory’s smile only deepened. "Then I need to dress for the occasion."

"Better be quick, or you’ll miss all the fun," Jay grinned.

"No way." Lory snorted, then turned to ZhaoLi Xin. "Honey, send me back to the Mystic Realm and call me out in two minutes, okay." She made a warning gesture to remember to call her back after two minutes.

Zhao Li Xin had already anticipated this. If it were up to him, he would have preferred to let Lory stay in the Mystic Realm until they reached a safe place, but who was Lory? Staying in a safe place like any ordinary princess should, was not her style.

"Okay..." Zhao Li Xin let out a resigned sigh, and a second later, Lory’s figure disappeared in thin air,

Two minutes later, she stepped out again, no longer the girl in elegant hanfu, but a figure sharpened for battle. She wore a fitted black tactical suit that hugged her form with lethal precision, not forgetting she cast a shapeshifter spell into Raven Jane’s disguise.

The only difference was now her hair had turned into silver gray. A whimsical decision that she took out of her good mood.

Lory blinked at her surroundings, then realized they were no longer inside the Deactivation Chamber. As she tied her hair into a ponytail, a piercing alarm blared through the corridor, the shrill echo rattling the sterile walls.

’Oh, that fast,’ Lory thought.

Instead of dread, excitement unfurled across her expression, a bright spark dancing in her eyes as if this were the most interesting part of her night.

Ahead of them, lab technicians were being hurriedly escorted away while armed guards converged, their synchronized footsteps growing louder, heavier, like a drumbeat announcing an inevitable clash. Lory pressed her back to the wall beside Jay and Zhao Li Xin, leaning just enough to glimpse the incoming force.

"Lory, you give support with long-range attack," Jay said, his voice low but steady. "Li Xin and I will take close combat."

"Okay." Lory’s smile curled, sharp and eager.

A bow shimmered into existence in her hand, sleek, ethereal, woven from threads of violet light. A quiver appeared next, slung across her back, its strap crossing neatly over her chest as if it had always belonged there.

She rolled her shoulders, fingers flexing around the bowstring, then flashed a wild, unrestrained grin.

"Let’s have a blast.~"

"Figuratively or literally?" Jay asked flatly.

Lory shrugged, utterly unbothered. "Both."

"I knew you’d say that..." Jay exhaled, somewhere between resigned and unsurprised. He lifted his wrist-com to his lips. "Clift, do you copy?"

Static crackled for a heartbeat before Clift’s voice came through. "Yeah. Where are you?"

"B4," Jay replied. "I’m with Zhao Li Xin and Lory. We already got the MADD out of her."

"That’s good to hear." The relief in Clift’s voice was subtle but unmistakable. "Then I’m guessing that alarm was your doing."

"Yup. Sorry. We’ve gotta move," Jay said without shame.

"It’s fine. I’m almost done on my side," Clift answered.

"You need us to get you?" Jay asked.

"No—but you can divert their attention."

Jay slid his gaze toward Lory, who was practically vibrating with anticipation. He chuckled. "With Lory here, that won’t be a problem."

"Don’t worry," Lory smirked, her eyes glinting with far too much excitement. "I always get the attention I want."

"They’re here," Zhao Li Xin warned, his calm voice cutting through the rising tension as shadows moved at the far end of the corridor.

"Alright, gotta go," Jay said quickly.

"Be careful, buddy," Clift replied.

Jay rolled his eyes. "Seriously? I have two OP monsters with me; the one who should be worried is them." He looked helplessly at Lory, who beamed an evil grin, and Zhao Li Xin, who looked mildly bored by the incoming threat.

Clift was silent for a beat... then let out a short breath. "...Right. Forgot who you’re with. Okay, over and out."