Chapter 200: Anti-Imprisonment

When Yin Huaiyu woke up again, he was in a basement with simple decor, filled with an atmosphere of decay and oppression; a lightbulb hung steadily in mid-air, like a corner abandoned by the world...

His left leg was almost numb with pain, yet cold sweat still seeped uncontrollably from his forehead, and he could still hear the sound of typing on a keyboard.

Where is this?

Where is Ling Wu?

Did he leave him behind after all?

As Yin Huaiyu struggled to lift his head, he heard the sound of a chain dragging across the floor; he looked down belatedly and saw a chain hanging from his neck, disappearing into the darkness, like a dog's leash...

Ling Wu closed his computer and walked in, seeing him in this state of humiliated endurance, and found it quite interesting: "You're finally awake."

"Ling Wu..." Yin Huaiyu opened his mouth only to find his voice so dry, as if it had been harshly seared by a branding iron, his words slurred: "You did this on purpose."

He was referring to that chain.

Ling Wu dragged a wooden chair over with one hand and sat lazily by the doorway, a half-smoked cigarette still between his fingers; white mist spread in the dim light and shadow, making his features hazy and adding a sense of mystery and danger.

At that moment, there were two people.

One sat with victory already in his grasp.

One knelt in a difficult, wretched state.

It was so clearly delineated.

"Is it very uncomfortable?" Ling Wu sat with his legs crossed, leaning his upper body into the back of the chair, his whole person inexplicably languid, like a lion just waking from a deep slumber: "I am merely paying you back in your own coin."

Paying back in his own coin?

Yin Huaiyu murmured in his heart, he really is one to hold a grudge.

He opened his mouth, but because his throat was dry and itchy, he erupted into a continuous fit of coughing: "Cough... cough... ugh..."

Ling Wu seemed to just remember that in the day he had been unconscious, he hadn't drunk a single drop of water; he got up from the chair and turned to walk outside.

He soon returned with a bowl of tap water, very cold, and then, with a show of mercy, placed it on the floor: "Are you thirsty?"

"It's a pity there's no bottled water here; I drew some tap water from the pipe, so I'll have to ask Young Master Yin's precious stomach to bear with it."

He seemed a bit apologetic.

Yin Huaiyu looked with disgust at the water in the ceramic bowl, which still rippled slightly; he felt nausea rising in his stomach, as if the water were teeming with endless viruses.

It was impossible for him to drink this water.

Ling Wu was not the least bit surprised by his refusal to drink.

After all, a pampered young master had always had the best of everything since childhood; how could he drink unclean tap water?

But Ling Wu felt it didn't matter; he didn't mind breaking and rebuilding someone who was disobedient and loved to bare their fangs, during this difficult process of breaking and rebuilding.

First, he had to change his habits, grind down his arrogance, soften his knees, and make him compliant and obedient.

Is it difficult?

It is very simple to implement; humans are creatures that seek advantages and avoid harm. Using money, power, and violence are all means to make people submit, though the latter clearly returns to the most primitive state.

Ling Wu stood before him, his gaze even more cold and detached as he looked down, almost cut from the same cloth as Jin Liangjin: "Are you not drinking?"

"Do you want me to feed you?"

Yin Huaiyu was intimidated by his expression, and for the first time, he read the word 'fear' on that face, which was beautiful to the point of being ethereal.

He reacted quickly.

What was he thinking just now?

To actually think Ling Wu was terrifying—how could he have such an absurd thought? That was Ling Wu, after all...

There was a long silence.

Ling Wu threw the cigarette butt into the trash can; he approached with that pleasant citrus scent and picked up the ceramic bowl from the floor: "Water is the source of life; you can't go without drinking water."

His cold expression was like spring returning to the earth, like ice and snow melting, carrying a hint of spring's lingering warmth: "Come, open your mouth."

"Ah."

Ling Wu's actions did not match the gentleness of his expression; he pinched Yin Huaiyu's chin, the force in his hand becoming increasingly ruthless, and he aimed the ceramic bowl at his pale, chapped lips and poured it in.

"Cough..."

Yin Huaiyu became increasingly excited, and as Ling Wu withdrew his hand, he licked his fingers, forcibly suppressing the nausea from drinking that bowl of water: "Ling Wu, if you could have been this gentle during those few days in the villa, it would have been great."

"It's truly fascinating."

His red hair, due to a lack of styling, fell down in a soft, messy way, hanging by the side of his face, but his arrogant and defiant spirit had not changed in the slightest.

"Politeness is a fine virtue." Ling Wu placed the bowl on the chair and squatted down to look him in the eye, his gaze filled with the other person: "You must learn to possess it, Young Master Yin."

Yin Huaiyu did not understand what he meant: "What?"

Ling Wu explained to him with good temper: "I just fed you water."

Before Yin Huaiyu could react, he was slapped hard across the face, his entire head knocked to the side.

His eyes were filled with disbelief.

In Yin Huaiyu's impression, Ling Wu was not the type of person accustomed to violence; he radiated a scholarly, refined air from the inside out.

That was why he could not understand this moment.

Ling Wu was very dissatisfied with his impolite demeanor: "Say thank you to me."

Ling Wu hated Yin Huaiyu's self-willed, unscrupulous style of conduct, which considered no one else's wishes and only cared about his own desires.

The first time he hated such a person was with Jin Liangjin, who high-handedly believed he could control everything, and was then locked away in that airtight Research Institute, where there were no windows and no sunlight to be seen.

He hated such people the most.

Yin Huaiyu thought it was absurd; he had lived for twenty years—who was worthy of him saying thank you? Even if he did say it, would those people dare to accept it?

A bunch of lowly things.

Although Yin Huaiyu did not say thank you, Ling Wu did not make things difficult for him; he just sighed with a bit of disappointment, thinking, "Mud cannot be plastered onto a wall, and rotten wood cannot be carved."

There was plenty of time; he could teach him slowly.

Making Yin Huaiyu bow his head and admit his mistakes is harder than taking his life; he communicated with Ling Wu: "You know that I have a Positioning Chip inside my body. I don't know how long I've been unconscious, but once the Yin Family discovers I've disappeared, they will immediately come looking for me. You can't keep me locked up."

"Ling Wu, if you want to use the same method to take revenge on me, then I can stay here and play with you."

Ling Wu was surprised: "Play?"

"Do I look like someone who loves to play?"

His shoulders trembled, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud: "I admit the chip in your body is a bit troublesome, but I have resolved it through special means."

"I can guarantee that, for a short time, they will not discover anything unusual."

Yin Huaiyu furrowed his brows.

Now that his only reliance was gone, he began to feel a sense of crisis.

Ling Wu was in no hurry to tell Yin Huaiyu the reason, instead tugging on the iron chain around his neck; the chain made a sound in the empty, quiet basement, which was very oppressive to the nerves.

"Yin Huaiyu, I didn't capture you here just for the sake of revenge. I am not as childish as you, putting myself in a passive position just to vent my anger."

"I don't think it's worth it."

Ling Wu added: "You have things on you that are worth me utilizing. I want to squeeze out your last bit of usefulness... and, I am truly feeling a bit weary."

A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall; rather than letting a ticking time bomb like Yin Huaiyu hang over his head, it is better to resolve it once and for all.

In the past, Ling Wu was too hindered by the things he was planning, but now that the chess game is entering its final stages, he can act boldly and no longer be timid.

The winter month of Beidu City has arrived, so can spring be far behind?

Yin Huaiyu knows that he, as a Magician, is plotting in the shadows, and even stirring up trouble in the Empire, but he has never understood the reason why.

After all, Ling Wu is also a citizen of the Empire.

And he is targeting the great families.

Why?

Ling Wu is in a very good mood today, and his words have become a bit more frequent, tending toward the optimism of "waiting for the clouds to clear to see the moonlight," welcoming a turning point and hope.

Yin Huaiyu curled his lips: "Even if your methods are brilliant, it is impossible to make me disappear into thin air without being discovered."

He looked at the thin, slender man sitting on the wooden chair: "Ling Wu, you are just counting on the fact that I like you."

"You are just counting on this to be so unscrupulous!"

"Ah, yes." Ling Wu did not argue; he was open and honest: "Liking is a privilege you gave me with your own hands, and I am exercising my privilege."

"Is there a problem?"

Yin Huaiyu laughed: "No problem, there is absolutely no problem!"

Ling Wu stretched, and after yawning, there were physiological tears in the corners of his eyes; the relaxation of his brows and eyes made him look very tired.

"Rely on the mountains and they fall, rely on the water and it runs, relying on others is never reliable, and your liking is not some kind of immunity card." Ling Wu crossed his arms and said as if stating a fact: "Since I have taken the first step of risk and captured you,"

"That means I have made full preparations. I do not fight battles I am not prepared for."

Yin Huaiyu was very curious: if he didn't cover for him, how exactly would Ling Wu avoid the risk of angering the Yin Family for capturing him?

However, in the very next second, Ling Wu told him the answer, which was so absurd and unbelievable: "Yin Huaiyu, don't worry, I will make you willingly tell everyone that you left of your own accord."

"No one captured you."

"It was all voluntary."

Voluntary?

How is this possible?

Yin Huaiyu did not believe it: "How is that possible? Even if I say I left with you willingly, how do you explain my injuries? Do you think others won't suspect that I was kidnapped?"

Ling Wu shrugged: "Did I say I wanted to stop the mouths of the masses?"

"Let them talk. I only need to block the source and solve the root cause. Even if they know you were kidnapped, so what? I have cleaned up all the traces. As long as you, the only one who has seen the kidnapper's true face, don't say anything, then this kidnapper can be anyone, any face."

There was a faint sense of madness in Ling Wu's eyes: "Then, will they slaughter the city just to catch a kidnapper?"

Certainly not.

Beidu City is not only home to the Yin Family; the other Three Great Families could not possibly agree to such a deranged act, and the Yin Family could not possibly provoke public outrage.

Yin Huaiyu could not understand at all; it was as if his and Ling Wu's ways of thinking were not in the same dimension.

"What do you mean?"

Ling Wu crossed his fingers, looking inscrutable: "I remember when I was at your house, you said this phrase to me: 'Stockholm Syndrome.' At the time, I didn't answer your words."

So he asked Yin Huaiyu another question: "Do you want to know why?"

Yin Huaiyu was happy to listen: "Why?"

This was also the fundamental reason why he could not break Ling Wu's psychological defenses and make him dependent.

That is why he was defeated completely.

Ling Wu became interested, his voice unhurried and somewhat nonchalant: "Stockholm Syndrome, also known as hostage syndrome. According to surveys, vulnerable groups lacking the ability to resist and people with specific personality traits are more prone to this situation."

"Because of fear, they develop a psychological dependence on the perpetrator. When facing pressure and threats, they are more inclined to submit, pin their hopes on the perpetrator, and crave recognition and protection from the perpetrator, thereby developing an emotional identification."

His voice was light and slow, making the listener feel at ease.

"I wasn't afraid at the time, mainly because your methods weren't ruthless enough, and another reason is that I have already seen much more ruthless ones."

Yin Huaiyu was stunned.

What did he mean by having seen more ruthless ones?

Had Ling Wu really experienced something in the past?

Ling Wu added at the end: "What I said above might not be accurate enough."

"Let's summarize it simply; it usually satisfies the following conditions:"

"1. Survival instinct needs. 2. Feeling small favors given by the perpetrator. 3. Information closure and isolation. 4. Firm belief that one cannot escape from the perpetrator's hands."

"I have the ability to satisfy all four of these points in you simultaneously."

Yin Huaiyu leaned back against the wall, like an untamed wild horse running across a mountain ridge, laughing freely and unrestrainedly: "Ling Wu, you know very well that I am not a vulnerable group. I don't believe I can't escape, and it is even more impossible for me to bow my head."

His severed leg felt numb and tingling, a pain that was unbearable.

"That's right."

"Young Master Yin, you are not a vulnerable person, nor do you suffer from any inner inferiority," Ling Wu said, clapping his palms together. "Let's conduct an experiment."

"Let's see if the mental you can defeat the physical you."

His expression was indifferent.

Yin Huaiyu thought he was insane, yet at the same time, he was drawn to him.

He cast all other matters to the back of his mind.

Ling Wu stood up, pushed the chair aside, and pointed to the room where Yin Huaiyu was located, saying, "The room you are in has been soundproofed by me; once the door is closed, you will hear no sound, see no light, and exist in isolation and darkness, losing all subjective awareness of the passage of time. A normal person would collapse after just a few hours."

"I just don't know if Young Master Yin is gifted with extraordinary talent."

Yin Huaiyu knew he was playing for real.

"Ling Wu, are you sure you want to do this..."

He braced his hand against the wall and struggled to move toward the outside of the room, but the iron chain around his neck reached its limit; only then did Yin Huaiyu truly empathize with and understand the helplessness and bewilderment Ling Wu had felt during those days.

Ling Wu's heart was as firm as a rock; he rested his hand on the doorframe, cast a cold glance at him, and stated concisely, "I will bring you food and water, don't worry, you won't die."

"Enjoy yourself."

"The humiliation you inflicted upon me, I will return a thousandfold."