Chapter 137: Feigning Compliance

The midnight bell tolled, echoing through the silent manor; the surface of the fountain pool was filled with cold moonlight, as if sprinkled with a layer of crushed silver, and Ling Wu had successfully completed his 22nd birthday.

Unlike Ling Wu's leisure and comfort, Fang Kai had been living in trepidation; after leaving the Research Institute, he had keenly discovered he was being watched, and these people were pervasive, all stemming from Ling Wu's revenge.

Fang Kai shook off those who were following him, worried that his phone was being tapped, and chose to call home from a public phone booth; he wore a khaki fisherman's hat, pulling the brim low.

"Beep—"

The call was answered quickly.

Fang Kai's hanging heart settled into his stomach; he glanced at the surrounding environment, lowered his voice, and said to his wife, "Hello, Shuhua, it's Fang Kai."

There was a pause of several seconds on the other end, followed by a familiar female voice, the tone icy and devoid of human warmth: "Aren't you at the Research Institute?"

But he clearly did not think that much of it.

Fang Kai had no time to explain; he said with trepidation, "Shuhua, I have encountered huge trouble. You must immediately take the child to the Yangming Grocery Store in Lower City District D and find a man named He Chen. He will take you away from the Empire immediately."

"I will come find you once I have resolved these matters."

It was quiet; there was no more talking on the phone.

"Hello?"

Fang Kai's hand gripped the phone tightly; his concentration was at its peak, and he seemed to hear a low, barely audible chuckle from the other side of the phone line; he swallowed his saliva: "Shuhua! Is the signal bad?"

"I know."

A moment later, the voice ringing in Fang Kai's ear became very strange, not only accompanied by a buzzing electrical sound but also intermittent.

At the same time, on the other end of the connected phone line, a slender hand turned off the AI voice button on the phone screen; his voice became completely clear, clean and pleasant: "Director Fang, I will take Yangyang and the lady to the Yangming Grocery Store, don't you worry."

This was a man's voice!

Fang Kai suddenly felt as if a pair of invisible giant hands were gripping his heart; he trembled all over: "Ling Wu! What did you do to them? What did you do to them?!"

At that moment, the Fang Residence.

Ling Wu stood grandly in the living room of the Fang Residence, the glass behind him shattered all over the floor; he wore a hoodie, his slender legs wrapped in jeans, and he very politely changed into a pair of fluffy slippers to enter, like a vibrant high school student: "Director Fang, I didn't make myself clear before; the cat-and-mouse game has officially begun. The rules are set by me. I will let you escape three times; the fourth time, you will stay and play another game with me."

"How about it?"

His fingertips drew circles on the tabletop.

Listening to his voice, which sounded like the tolling of a death knell, Fang Kai's eyes turned blood-red; his nerves, which had been taut for days, completely collapsed, and he roared into the phone: "Ling Wu, what did you do to them? Yangyang is still small, he is innocent! You animal!"

"Animal..."

"I am just bad." Ling Wu shrugged, unmoved: "What can you do to me?"

Davis stood to the side, watching this thin Eldest Young Master; he lowered his head, his eyelashes drooping, a faint sorrow revealing itself between his brows.

He inexplicably wanted to reach out and smooth Ling Wu's brow.

Ling Wu said: "Director Fang, you are very funny. When you kill me, it is 'the strong prey on the weak, survival of the fittest,' but when I kill you, it is 'disregarding human ethics, cold-blooded and heartless.'"

"Is the logic of this world set by you?"

Fang Kai was powerless: "What do you want?"

"I will pay you with this life, you... you let them go, I am begging you... I beg you."

Ling Wu beckoned, and Davis pulled a chair over for him; he sat down, leaned against the back of the chair, and crossed his legs: "Fang Kai, this lowly life of yours was already mine to begin with; what qualifications do you have to negotiate with me?"

Davis stood silently behind him, watching the Eldest Young Master's feet in fluffy slippers sway; due to the posture of his crossed legs, the hem of his trousers on his right leg slid upward, revealing a section of fair, smooth lower leg and ankle; his gaze followed the swaying motion of those slender legs.

He worked by Jin Liangjin's side and was accustomed to seeing that decisive head of the family take a living life in just a few words.

Now he saw it again in Ling Wu.

Jin Liangjin had sent him here to monitor Ling Wu, but Davis knew that even compared to the head of the family, this Eldest Young Master was not easy to deal with.

Fang Kai was also pushed to the edge; at his wit's end, he said: "Ling Wu, you had better not push me. I kept a secret regarding the Research Institute incident back then. If you don't want everyone to know the video of your mother being killed, you had better leave us a way to live."

"Take a step back and the sky is vast; take a step forward and we perish together!"

Video?

Davis was puzzled; what video?

"Heh."

Davis heard a contemptuous sneer; that ruthless Eldest Young Master still sat lazily, his expression and posture truly as calm as if Mount Tai were collapsing before him; he stared intently at Ling Wu's profile, his expression smiling, yet it made one's teeth and mouth feel cold.

"Fine, go ahead and make it public."

Ling Wu's eyes turned completely cold: "The second you post it, I will immediately chop off Yangyang's ten fingers, gouge out his eyes, cut off his tongue, sever his limbs, turn him into a human pig, throw him into a vat of boiling oil, fish him out after he is fried, mince his meat, wrap it in dumplings, and personally feed them to your wife. The investigation data says your whole family likes meat dumplings, right?"

"No, no, no..."

"Not cruel enough!" Ling Wu's expression had been cold, but what followed was terrifying: "How about this: I will capture you, lock you in the same room as your wife, handcuff you together, give you no food or water, then throw the cooked Yangyang in front of you, and finally, we will bet on the two sides of human nature to see if, in the end, you will choose to eat your wife's flesh raw to survive, or if you will both eat Yangyang's flesh."

"Hahaha."

The Fang Residence was silent.

The other side of the phone was deathly quiet.

One dared not even breathe loudly.

Ling Wu uncrossed his legs and looked back at Davis; the expression on that beautiful face was like a nightmare: "Do you think my idea is good?"

His gaze was like a poisoned blade.

"Don't..." Fang Kai was completely terrified, his stomach churning with nausea; how could he possibly fight Ling Wu? He closed his eyes as if resigning himself to fate: "Don't! Ling Wu, I will play with you... don't treat them like that!"

Ling Wu was satisfied: "The result is the same; remember to compromise earlier next time."

"Director Fang, you would not want to see me angry."

The call hung up.

The setting sun shone in from the broken window; Ling Wu leaned his head back against the chair, his profile outlined in brilliant gold by the radiance; the ruthless and heartless demeanor vanished without a trace, as if a hundred-foot-high wave had suddenly fallen and returned to silence.

Ling Wu looked at the man with deep features and a high nose bridge before him and said: "Davis, do you think I look like my father?"

Of course he did.

It was as if they were carved from the same mold.

Davis nodded: "It resembles."

Just when Davis thought Ling Wu was going to ask him where it resembled, he saw the youth stand up; Ling Wu was wearing a youthful hoodie and jeans, looking a bit out of place when standing next to him, and he lifted his leg to step on Davis's leather shoe, grinding down hard.

Afterwards, Ling Wu lit up his phone screen and handed it to him casually: "Davis, read this passage to me."

His voice was clean and clear, with no fluctuation.

Davis took it submissively: "Yes, Young Master."

He fixed his gaze on Ling Wu's phone screen, where a chat history came into view; the contact was Jin Liangjin, who had sent several photos of Ling Wu's whereabouts, along with a message expressing loyalty.

Davis's heart sank abruptly; before he could explain, a cold, hard object was pressed against his lower abdomen.

Ling Wu used the pitch-black muzzle to twist against his abdomen through the fabric, that bone-chilling danger spreading through his limbs and bones, his tone serious and cold: "Feigning compliance while acting in opposition, you are very good."