Basent
At this mont, Andrew was drowning in complete despair. The small basent contained nothing except a toilet and a narrow bed.
His hands and feet were bound by heavy chains, severely restricting his movent. He felt like a pet confined to a cage.
He didn't want to die. He desperately wanted to live.
Creak.
Just as Andrew sat lost in thought, teetering on the edge of a ntal breakdown, a soft sound echoed through the space.
The heavy iron door swung open from the outside.
Jacob and two others, all wearing masks, slowly entered the basent.
The mont Andrew saw Jacob appear, a spark of hope flickered in his despairing eyes. He looked up at Jacob with a fawning expression. "Please, let
go. You promised that if I gave you everything, you'd release . I've already given you everything I have."
Andrew continued pleading, his voice desperate and pitiful. He looked nothing like the domineering figure who had ruled the casino.
"If I promised to let you go, then naturally I will," Jacob said, his voice carrying a playful tone. His gaze settled on the disheveled Andrew. After a brief pause, he continued, "However, what you've already given isn't enough to buy your freedom. You need to pay an additional ransom."
"I'll pay! I'll pay whatever you want! Just na your price, and I'll pay it!" Hearing that money could solve this problem, Andrew responded eagerly. "As long as you let
go, I'll agree to any condition you set."
"Very good. I appreciate your cooperative attitude," Jacob said with a smile as he looked down at Andrew.
"Now, you're going to call your father. Your father is a Champion of the British Empire, isn't he? I'm quite curious to see how much ransom he'll pay to save his son. As long as your father pays enough, releasing you won't be a problem at all."
"My father will definitely pay! As long as you let
go, money isn't an issue! My dad's number is..." Andrew quickly rattled off the number.
Sylvia dialed the number Andrew provided while simultaneously encrypting the call.
Beep.
The phone rang only twice before soone picked up.
"Hello. Good afternoon." A woman's voice ca from the other end of the line.
"I'm looking for Champion yer," Jacob said. His voice had been processed by computer software, transforming it into a synthesized electronic tone.
"May I ask what this is regarding?" Upon hearing this strange voice, the woman frowned slightly but maintained her professional deanor.
"Please inform Champion yer that his son, Andrew, is currently with ." After saying this, Jacob imdiately handed the phone to Andrew, signaling him to speak.
"Mckenna, save ! Quickly, let my dad answer the phone!"
As Andrew's panicked voice rang out, Mckenna on the other end froze. Just as she was about to respond, another voice ca through the line.
"In exactly one hour, I will make another video call. Please inform Champion yer that if he doesn't want Mr. Andrew to suffer any unfortunate accidents, he should answer the video call promptly. Otherwise... Mr. Andrew might end up permanently disabled."
"No! Mckenna, you have to tell my dad! I..."
Andrew tried to say more, but the call was abruptly disconnected.
"You can rest for a while. I'll be back in half an hour," Jacob told Andrew.
Then the three of them walked out of the basent together, leaving an increasingly desperate Andrew behind.
"I think we should get custom masks made. These random masks we're wearing look ridiculous and affect our presence," Jacob said after exiting the basent. He removed his mask and rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he addressed the two people beside him.
"Then what kind of mask do you want? A Yamask like God's Coffin uses?" Raya replied with irritation in her voice.
"How about masks with fla patterns?"
"It's up to you. After all, you're the boss."
"I think that could work."
An hour could feel either long or short, depending on one's circumstances.
For Jacob, it passed like a brief rest period. For Andrew, it felt like an eternity of suffering.
Creak.
When the iron door of the basent opened once more, Andrew felt a surge of hope. He quickly scrambled to his feet to greet them, a fawning smile plastered across his face.
As long as he could survive, dignity ant nothing to him anymore.
Jacob and the other two, still wearing their masks, entered the cramped space. Sylvia walked to the table, set up the laptop, and positioned the cara carefully.
Jacob checked the ti. Almost exactly one hour had passed. He nodded to Sylvia.
Sylvia nodded back and initiated the video call.
Beep!
The video call was answered almost imdiately.
On the screen appeared a tall, middle-aged man with a full beard. Gold-rimd glasses sat on his nose, and his bulging muscles strained against his shirt.
This was Champion yer, one of the four Champions of the British Empire.
"Champion yer, hello," Jacob said politely. "It's a pleasure to et you."
"Where is Andrew?" yer's presence was commanding. His brows furrowed, giving him an air of authority even without displaying anger.
Even though Jacob held Andrew's life in his hands, yer still took control of the conversation, speaking first.
"It seems Champion yer is quite concerned about Andrew's safety. In that case..." Jacob said, then rotated the cara to face Andrew. "Andrew, say hello to your father."
"Father, save ! You have to save !" Andrew shouted desperately at yer through the screen.
"Andrew." yer carefully observed his son, and upon confirming that Andrew hadn't suffered any visible harm, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Calm down. I will bring you back."
"Alright." After allowing this brief exchange, Jacob rotated the cara back to face himself. "You've seen Andrew's condition. He's perfectly fine. Now, let's discuss business."
"Champion yer, we're going to play a little ga now." Jacob's tone carried a frivolous, playful quality, like a cynical troublemaker. "I'm going to write a ransom amount on this piece of paper. Then you'll make your offer. Champion yer, please demonstrate your greatest sincerity with your bid and do your best to redeem Mr. Andrew with money. Otherwise, Mr. Andrew might suffer a permanent disability."
"You only have one chance to make an offer. If your bid is only one-fourth of my desired price, then I can only return one of his hands or feet to you."
"For every additional quarter you et, I'll return an additional limb."
"If you et or exceed my expected ransom amount, congratulations! You'll receive a completely intact Mr. Andrew, and he'll return ho safely."
"Finally, you can also choose not to pay any ransom at all. If you make that choice, I can only try my best to send Andrew back to you in one piece. After all, mailing corpses is illegal."
Jacob's tone at this mont sounded disturbingly twisted, causing yer's brows to furrow deeper and his expression to grow increasingly dark.
This was the first ti yer had encountered such a bizarre thod of ransom negotiation, and this approach placed trendous pressure on him.
It essentially forced him to pay as much ransom as possible.
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