Chapter 1716

"You..." Debra tried to argue.

"No need to waste time on him. I'm taking him out," Jordan chimed in, having had enough of Enoch's cult

nonsense.

He raised his gun to fire, but Michael blocked it with a quick move. They started slugging it out.

To everyone's surprise, Michael looked genteel but hit hard.

Debra rushed over to help, but Lara blocked her path, attacking fiercely.

Unfamiliar with Lara's moves, she had to take defense.

Lara grinned, "Is that all you've got? Disappointing."

Marion and Randy rushed up to help, but ten black-clad goons poured out of the shadows, surrounding them.

Debra and Jordan got pushed farther apart.

Enoch stood still in his seat, seemingly untouchable.

"Oh, I get it," Lara taunted. "The gemstone drags you down."

Her eyes flicked to the box in Debra's hands, but she didn't care much.

Knowing it was fake, she didn't even try to grab it. Instead, she toyed with Debra.

Debra scoped the scene quickly, noticing that Jordan was losing ground and that Marion and Randy were facing some top killers.

Seeing no chance of winning, she yelled, "Stop! You want the gemstone? I'll give it to you."

Enoch waved the brawl off, intrigued.

Jordan shot her a desperate look. "No."

The gemstone was fake. If it got busted, they'd lose Erica and risk their own necks.

"I'll hand it over," Debra said, eyeing Enoch. "But first, let us see Erica."

"Are you bargaining with me?" Enoch said, amused. "You've got no leverage here."

"If you don't," Debra said, pulling a detonator from her pocket, "I'll blow this place sky-high. This bomb's big enough to trash your church, your lab, and all your work here. We just want to make sure Erica's okay. Then the gemstone's yours."

"Master, don't listen to her." Lara chimed in. "That rock's gotta be fake."

She didn't believe it for a second.

"If I've got this right," Debra said, "the gemstone's big trick is messing with magnetic fields to rewind time. You need it to stabilize Earth's field with some crazy machines. The Illuminati have been brainwashing rich folks for years to fund your experiments. But it's not just cash. You've been snagging talent too. Geniuses from everywhere building gear to crack the gemstone's makeup, pushing human limits. That machine you sank everything into? It can only tank one screw-up. That's why you're playing games with us. You can't risk it. If Drake's gem is fake, your perfect empire will be toast. Am I wrong?"