The man Yang Sijie called Hu Kun sneered, "You'd better be smart and give me back all the money you owe me, with interest."
"How much do you want?"
"Three million US dollars, including interest."
Yang Sijie was silent for a moment, then immediately said, "No problem, but I want to hear her voice."
Hu Kun extended the phone to Susu, gesturing for her to speak.
Susu was so nervous she didn't know what to say. Yang Sijie spoke first, "Susu, is that you?"
"Yes, I don't know where this place is, it's a sealed room with no windows..." She wanted to explain her location to Yang Sijie as clearly as possible.
But Hu Kun, before she could finish, took the phone back and said to Yang Sijie, "You've heard her voice, she's your woman, alright. I haven't touched a single hair on her head; she's been well-fed and watered."
"Where are you? I'll send people to deliver the money to you."
Hu Kun said sternly, "I'll send you the location tomorrow morning. You must deliver the money yourself! No tricks, or I'll have someone chop off her fingers one by one."
"Alright, I'll wait for your news tomorrow morning."
Hu Kun hung up immediately.
Yang Sijie cursed furiously, "You bastard, daring to capture my woman!" He smashed the phone to pieces.
Mark, who had been standing opposite him, waited for him to calm down and asked, "Mr. Yang, are you really going to bring that much cash to Hu Kun tomorrow?"
Yang Sijie calmed down and chuckled, "Don't you understand what I said last time? Bring a few boxes of ghost money, and we'll send him on his way tomorrow!"
"Understood. I'll go check the number he called from right now and notify Simon and the others. We definitely won't let Miss Gu get hurt."
Yang Sijie waved his hand, signaling him to hurry.
Although Mark completely understood his meaning, he was afraid that if anything happened to Miss Gu, he wouldn't be able to bear it. He turned back and asked, "Mr. Yang, but..."
"There's no 'but.' Not only do I not have that much cash for him now, but even if I did, I wouldn't give it to him," Yang Sijie said with a cold smile. "If you give it to someone like him, he'll only demand more. Don't you understand this basic principle!"
"I understand." Mark no longer hesitated and immediately went to handle it.
...
Susu had never been so terrified.
After Hu Kun hung up Yang Sijie's call, he did not treat her as well as he had said on the phone.
Instead, he tied her to the bed in the room, blindfolded her, gagged her, and then left.
In the endless darkness, Susu didn't know if it was day or night, nor how much time had passed... She didn't know what would happen next.
The only clear thought in her mind was that Hu Kun was Yang Sijie's enemy and must hate Yang Sijie to the core.
Hu Kun brought her here to threaten Yang Sijie. After getting what he wanted, he might not keep his promise to release her.
She had seen through their world of double-crossing; only the most ruthless would be winners. Who would value trust and promises? It was truly terrifying.
She didn't know how long she had been tied up like this. In her extreme panic, she accidentally dozed off for a moment, only to be startled awake by the sudden sound of a door opening.
Someone had entered the room.
Susu trembled all over and said, "Whoever you are, don't come closer, and don't touch me!"
But she could feel the person walking closer and closer. Suddenly, the black cloth covering her eyes was ripped away.
If Hu Kun wanted to humiliate her, she wished she could bite her tongue and kill herself. But she suddenly saw the light from the ceiling, which was so dazzling she couldn't open her eyes.
A vague silhouette stood by the bed and said to her, "Susu, don't be afraid, it's okay now, it's me."
She recognized the voice as Yang Sijie's. She relaxed completely, squinting and trying to adjust to the light.
Yang Sijie was also busy removing the towel from her mouth and untying the ropes binding her.
Susu tried to get up from the bed but felt her arms were incredibly numb, lacking the strength to even move.
Yang Sijie growled in anger, "This bastard, daring to treat you like this! Throwing him into the sea to feed the fish would be too good for him!"
Hearing him say this, Susu knew that Hu Kun had not defeated Yang Sijie. Despite his fierce appearance, he was no match for Yang Sijie.
In this situation, it was certainly better for Yang Sijie to rescue her than for her to be kidnapped by Hu Kun. However, this also made her realize more clearly that Yang Sijie was even more ruthless than Hu Kun, and she shuddered from the bottom of her heart.
"Susu, say something, are you alright?" Yang Sijie saw that even though she was untied, she couldn't move and wasn't speaking. He was truly afraid Hu Kun had given her some kind of哑药 (yǎ yào -哑药 - a drug that causes muteness).
Susu made a sound and said, "I'm fine. He didn't do anything to me, my eyes just hurt, and my hands and feet are very numb."
Yang Sijie heard her speak, and the stone in his heart fell. He quickly helped her move her limbs and asked, "Do you feel any better?"
Susu took a while to recover. She could finally move her hands on her own and got up from the bed with effort, saying, "How did you find this place? Did you give Hu Kun three million US dollars?"
"Hu Kun is just a nobody. Does he think he can negotiate terms with me?" Yang Sijie said dismissively.
Susu asked, "So, did you really throw him into the sea to feed the fish?"
"Let's not talk about that. It's good that you're alright. I'll take you out of here first." Saying this, Yang Sijie tried to pick her up.
Susu immediately avoided him and asked, "What is this place? Why is the room decorated like this, and why is there no window?"
Yang Sijie did not answer her question, only saying, "You'll know when you go out."
"My legs are fine, I can walk myself." Although Susu's legs were still a bit numb, she forced herself to walk as usual, just not wanting Yang Sijie to carry her.
Yang Sijie did not force her and could only hold her hand and leave the room.
After leaving the room, Susu realized that there was not just one such room. The corridor was lined with identical rooms on both sides, with at least twenty on each side.
The lights in the corridor were red, and the transparent floor was also fitted with neon-like colored lights, as if to create a disorienting atmosphere.
Some doors were tightly shut, while others had beautiful women standing at their doorways. All sorts of women, from blonde and blue-eyed Western beauties to black beauties like black pearls, and even serene Oriental women...
Men would occasionally walk in, pacing back and forth in the corridor, choosing someone, then embracing the beauty at the doorway and closing the door.
Yang Sijie held Susu tightly in the corridor, afraid that those lecherous men would stare at Susu. He asked in a low voice, "Are you sure you want to walk out by yourself?"
Susu had already guessed what kind of place this was. She hadn't expected Hu Kun to hide her in such a place.
If Hu Kun had gotten that money, he would probably have humiliated her in every way possible.
"With you by my side, what do I have to fear? Of course, I can walk out myself."
Hearing her words, Yang Sijie felt rather pleased. His lips curved into a smile, and he held her even tighter.