Chapter 1598: Escape Plan II

Seeing them gather with such determination, Lory felt a pang of doubt. She didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, especially now, when they had just found a glimmer of hope within themselves. Yet she had to crush it in front of them, and in doing so, she felt like a cruel villain.

But she couldn’t stay silent, because she worried they would act on impulse, and cause them to die for nothing.

Lory sighed softly. "...Um, sorry to interrupt, but I think I need to remind you of a few things," she said finally, raising her hand slightly—an almost casual gesture, like an awkward student asking permission to speak.

The shift was immediate.

The Voices faltered, and conversations broke off mid-sentence. Soon, one by one, heads turned toward Lory, drawn not by her words but by the calm certainty in her tone. Lory sat leaning against the cold steel wall, one knee slightly drawn up, her posture relaxed, too relaxed for someone in this situation.

The dim light caught the calm in her expression, the steadiness in her gaze, her relaxed demeanor, a stark contrast with the intensity around them, and the man beside her...is he sleeping?

"You are...?" one of them asked, his voice cautious, suspicion laced in every syllable.

Before Jim or Joanna could respond, Lory lifted her hand.

It wasn’t a commanding gesture, nor was it forceful. Yet somehow, it carried a quiet authority that made everyone fall silent, as though their voices had been stilled by an unseen force.

"I understand you all want to run away," Lory said, her tone calm, almost gentle. Then she raised a finger. "But there are some things you should carefully consider."

Her gaze swept across them, steady and unshaken.

"First... we don’t even know where we are. So tell me—after we manage to subdue the traffickers... what then?"

Her words struck like cold water.

Expressions froze. The fragile excitement that had filled the air moments ago began to crack.

"They brought us here by ship," Lory continued, her voice unhurried, each word deliberate. "That means our destination is likely somewhere remote... perhaps an island." A brief pause. "So... is there anyone here who knows how to operate a ship? Cause we’re gonna need big transportation to move us all."

Silence answered her, without a single person speaking.

Lory did not look surprised.

"Then let’s continue," she said, almost mercilessly. "How many traffickers are there? Are they trained? How many weapons do they carry?"

The weight in the air thickened, pressing against their chests.

"And among us..." Her eyes flickered briefly toward the huddled figures, "How many can fight? And how many cannot? Children... the injured... those who have never even held a weapon."

By the time she finished, it was as if she had stripped away every illusion they clung to.

Hope was crumbling down like a sand castle, and every one of their faces turned ashen, like people who had just awakened from a pleasant dream into a cruel reality.

"Th-then what are we supposed to do?" someone stammered, voice trembling. "Just... give up?"

"I don’t want to die..." a woman sobbed, covering her face as her shoulders shook.

"I don’t believe you!" another snapped, desperation twisting his features. "Why should we trust you?!"

"Yeah—what does she even know?!"

"If you’re scared, then shut up!" someone else barked, frustration spilling over into anger.

The moment their hostility turned toward Lory, Zhao Li Xin’s eyes snapped open. His eyes turn icy and full of intense fury.

"SHUT UP!" His roar exploded like thunder.

An overwhelming force burst from him, unseen, yet devastating in its weight. It crashed over everyone in the container like a falling mountain, driving their bodies hard against the cold metal floor. Knees buckled, hands clawed desperately for support that simply wasn’t there.

The air itself seemed to thicken, turning heavy and suffocating as it pressed against their bones and stole the breath from their lungs. Tremors ran through everybody; some couldn’t even lift their heads. In that moment, fear seeped deep into their marrow, binding them in place, unable to move, unable to speak.

Even Lory was startled. It had been a long time since she had seen him furious like this.

Without hesitation, she reached out and grasped his hand, her fingers tightening around his palm. "Husband..." she called softly.

Her voice was gentle, warm, like a quiet ripple slipping through a raging storm, and just like that, the fury boiling within him dissolved. Their eyes locked, and the raging fire inside him gradually dissipated. And the next thing that happened, the suffocating pressure vanished completely.

Air turned light once more, and people gasped, coughing, dragging in desperate breaths as they struggled to push themselves off the floor. Limbs trembled, strength barely returning.

But when they looked at Zhao Li Xin again, their eyes were no longer filled with anger or doubt. Only genuine fear, even children began to cry again, including Sara.

Zhao Li Xin let out a cold snort before closing his eyes once more, as if nothing in this world was worth his attention. Like a slumbering beast briefly stirred, only to return to its rest, he withdrew into silence again. No one dared disturb him. The air grew still, heavy with unspoken fear.

Lory felt the weight of it pressing in once more, and she could only sigh softly.

Reaching into her pocket, she took out another lollipop and handed it to Sara. Her voice, when she spoke, was gentle, almost soothing.

"Calm down, everyone. My husband is a bit hot-tempered, but he won’t hurt anyone," Lory said, trying to soothe them. Unfortunately, no one believed her.

Not even Zhao Li Xin.

Lory leaned back slightly, her gaze sweeping over the group of weary, desperate men before her. A trace of helplessness crossed her expression. She understood their fear, their anger, their despair. Just as she understood Zhao Li Xin’s outburst.

In the end, none of them was truly at fault.

Only the traffickers were.

"Honestly," she said at last, her tone turning sharp with a hint of mockery, "why are all of you so quick to give up? With that kind of attitude, how did you even survive this long?"

Their faces darkened instantly, sour and stiff, yet no one dared to argue. Perhaps, deep down, they knew her words were not wrong.

Lory brushed a strand of hair from her face, her voice easing slightly as she continued, "It’s not like what you said was useless."

As soon as they heard that, their eyes lit up, hope flickering once more.

"But," she added, lifting a finger, "we need to approach it wisely."

A brief pause, just enough to gather their attention.

"When I asked how many people can’t fight, I meant we need to calculate how many will need protection," she explained calmly.

"And when I said we need to know where we are... It’s because if we’re going to ask for help, we’ll need to send the right location."

"Help? But... our phones?" someone asked, confusion spreading through the group.

"Yes," Lory replied calmly. "They’ve placed a jamming device here. My guess is it’s outside this container, probably near the main control area or somewhere central." Her gaze moved across them. "Does anyone have experience with electronics? Something like this?"

After a brief hesitation, a man slowly raised his hand. "I... I work in a telecommunications company. I’ve seen devices like that before. Though... I don’t know if it’s the same type the traffickers are using," he admitted uncertainly.

"That’s fine," Lory said without missing a beat. "They all work on similar principles. If you find it—just destroy it."

A woman frowned. "But what if we don’t even know where to look?"

Lory answered as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "Then we find someone who does... and make them talk." Her tone was matter-of-fact, almost like a teacher explaining a lesson. She lifted a brow slightly. "Any other questions?"

"Who... are we even supposed to call?" another man asked.

"Oh—right." Lory lightly slapped her forehead, as if she had almost forgotten. "Dial triple five-zero. That’s the special hotline for the King’s Men."

The reaction was instantaneous. Everyone’s breath caught in their throat. Their eyes widened in shock.

"K–King’s Men?" someone stammered. "We can call the King’s Men?"

It was common knowledge that the King’s Men of Harland was the strongest force in the world. Some said a single member was worth fifty ordinary soldiers. They wielded weapons far beyond anything seen elsewhere, many of which belonged exclusively to them. Disciplined, fearless, and utterly loyal to their king, they were not a force one could summon lightly.

Only the Lucient family had the authority to mobilize them. Even Archknights required royal permission.

And yet—

"Yeah," Lory said simply. "Send them the code, and they’ll come."

"W-what code?" the man’s voice trembled, still unable to recover from the shock.

Lory paused. For a fleeting moment, something like reluctance crossed her face. Then she took a deep breath as if pushing the sentence from her gritted teeth. "...The code is: Cupcake needs a cherry on top."

"...."

A long, heavy silence followed; at the same time, Lory bit her lips. Thankfully, the container was dimly lit by the faint glow of a phone screen, just enough to hide the faint flush creeping across Lory’s cheeks.

After a while, someone muttered, "That... sounds like a se* things."

"I think I know an old adult video with this title..." another added under his breath.

"Oh? And how would you know?" A woman shot him a sharp look.

"I—I like classic movies..." he quickly averted his gaze.

All women look at him with disgust.

Meanwhile, Lory quietly made a note to herself: After this... I’m gonna kill Fargo.

Then another man spoke up, doubt still clinging to his voice. "Why would they come for us? We’re not even from Harland. I don’t think they have any reason to save us."

Lory smiled faintly. "No—they’ll come." Her tone was calm, certain. "Who said this has nothing to do with them? I’m one of the King’s Men. I was sent to investigate this."

The lie slipped from her lips as smoothly as truth, her expression unchanged. In a way... it wasn’t entirely false, isn’t she also the King’s Men, in a way.

Everyone was dumbfounded, but after that, the tension in the room loosened significantly, and hope ignited once more and began to take root in everyone’s heart once more. Even Jim and Joanna looked visibly more at ease, far more reassured than when they had learned she was a hunter.

"Alright," Lory continued, guiding them back on track.

"Does anyone here know how to operate a ship? This may be a large vessel, but the basics are the same—just with more controls. Most ships like this also have an automatic mode, so you wouldn’t need to handle everything manually." She paused, then added lightly, "And if no one does, I can give a quick lesson. It’s not as difficult as it looks."

"I can!"

A man stepped forward, raising his hand. He was dark-skinned, well-built, and towering, nearly two meters tall, with a stocky, muscular build and a smooth, clean bald head.

’What a big, bold, giant man,’ Lory thought.

"Okay," after taking a quick assessment of the man, Lorry asked, "What’s your name?"

"Ross," he answered shortly.

Her lips twitched faintly. "Like the flower?"

"No—double ’s.’ Ross from Rosberg," he clarified.

"I see." Lory nodded. "So, Rossberg—with double ’s.’ Can you handle the ship?"

"Yes," he answered firmly.

A faint, cunning smile slowly curved across Lory’s lips, her eyes glinting with quiet calculation. "Alright then..." she said, her voice lowering just enough to draw everyone in. "Everyone—"

She paused, letting the silence tighten around them, every gaze fixed on her. "I have a plan."