Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee

Amber lay motionless on the hospital bed, her eyes wide open. The tears streaming from the corners of her eyes spoke volumes of her fear. Fortunately, Tina was wearing a mask; otherwise, Amber would have been mortified to be seen so vulnerable in front of her, perhaps even wishing for death.

Tina squinted at Wraith, seeking an explanation with her gaze. Wraith, with a smirk, said, “We’ve implanted a mini bomb on each side of her body…” Seeing Tina’s eyes grow colder, he chuckled, “Don’t worry, it will only kill her if it explodes, not us. I do value my life, after all.”

Tina’s look turned even icier. Wraith continued, “This round, we’ll see who can perform the surgery faster and more precisely. Whoever extracts the bomb first with an endoscope wins. Just so you know, I’ve set the timer on the bombs to one minute. Be careful not to trigger them prematurely.”

“Right here?” Tina looked around the hall, frowning.

“Relax, the sterile operating room and sanitized equipment are all set,” Wraith responded, making a welcoming gesture towards Tina. Following his cue, a plump man adeptly wheeled Amber’s bed leading the way to the operating room.

The operating room was equipped with two sets of endoscopic tools. This was a psychiatric hospital, unlikely to have such surgical equipment-it was clearly Wraith’s doing. After pushing Amber into the room, the plump man, following Wraith’s instructions, gently strapped her to the operating table with the usual restraints used for psychiatric patients, softly saying, “You, you need to be good, listen, listen to Victor.”

As soon as he left, Tina and Wraith, now disinfected, entered. Wraith’s eyes gleamed with malice behind his glasses. “Though the drug I administered will paralyze you, you’ll still feel pain. We’ll try to be gentle to avoid causing too much discomfort,” he said softly.

Amber’s eyes widened in terror, unable to curse or plead, only able to cry silently.

Tina glanced at Amber briefly, unmoved by Wraith’s words. She felt no sympathy; Amber had brought this on herself. Plus, considering Hugo’s suffering in jail and recalling the twenty-three needles extracted from his body, Tina thought Amber’s pain was insignificant.

“Let’s start,” Tina stated coldly.This is the property of Nô-velDrama.Org.

Wraith flicked a switch, smiling at Tina. “The bomb is activated.”

Tina, unfazed, walked to Amber’s left side, opened her shirt, and swiftly began the operation with surgical tools. Both she and Wraith were medical geniuses; a minor endoscopic surgery was not challenging. The real challenge was extracting the bomb without triggering it or harming Amber.

As soon as the endoscopes entered Amber’s abdomen, her face turned ghostly pale from the pain. The sensation of having her abdomen cut open and objects inserted was excruciating, almost unbearable.

Yet, she dared not faint, knowing all too well the sadistic nature of the man in glasses who seemed to command the Southridge Psychiatric Facility. If it was a bomb he said was inside her, then it surely was.

Tina, adhering to her medical ethics, did not make the incisions larger or intentionally harm Amber’s organs. She located the left bomb quickly on the monitor, extracted it within thirty seconds, and halted the timer.

“You’ve lost again,” Tina said, holding the bomb. “I’ve already won two rounds. There’s no need for a third.”

Wraith, frustrated, grabbed a surgical knife and harshly made another incision on Amber’s abdomen, extracting the bomb he had seen during the endoscopy. Amber, in severe pain, nearly rolled her eyes back. If she could move, she might have bitten her tongue off from the agony.

Wraith, without bothering to suture the cut, just tossed the bomb aside, grumbling, “I’ve never heard of you performing major surgery before. How can you operate so quickly and accurately?”

“There’s a lot you don’t know,” Tina replied, as she stepped forward and extended her hand, “Empyrean Bloom.”

“No way!” Wraith protested, “Last round, finish it and then I’ll give it to you!”

“Best two out of three, those were your rules,” Tina said calmly.

“If you compete with me one more round, win or lose, I’ll give you the Empyrean Bloom!” Wraith argued stubbornly.

“Give me the Empyrean Bloom first, then I’ll compete,” Tina said flatly.

Wraith hesitated, then handed over the Empyrean Bloom, suspiciously asking, “You won’t just take it and run, will you?”

“I always keep my word,” Tina replied, somewhat exasperated. After checking the Empyrean Bloom thoroughly and ensuring it was genuine, she stored it away securely.

“Earlier rounds were your choice, for the last one, I’ll set the challenge,” Tina stated.

“Sure,” Wraith answered nonchalantly, eager to match his medical skills against Tina no matter the stakes.

“Our final challenge will be whether you end up captured by me tonight, or if you manage to escape,” Tina said with a smirk.