Su Family Manor.
Lin Xuan finished composing the message, but just as he was about to send it, he hesitated.
Suddenly... a new idea struck him...
Didn't they just want the prescription?!
He could totally give it to them...
He only needed to make some slight modifications to the dosage ratios and other details of the original prescription.
As for what they intended to do with the fake prescription, what kind of beauty product they might develop, and the consequences it might cause...
Hehehe, that had nothing to do with him.
Thinking of this...
Lin Xuan smirked slyly, deleted the previous message, and started composing a new one.
[o(╥﹏╥)o Please don't hurt my dearest family.]
[I will cooperate and hand over the prescription. Please be patient.]
Then, he hit send...
On the other side.
The burly man received the message and smiled in satisfaction.
As expected, his guess was right...
This kid wouldn't shed a tear until he saw the coffin, always saying one thing but meaning another.
On the surface, it seemed like he had severed ties with Lin Jianjun and the others.
But deep down, he couldn't let go of this family bond and couldn't bear to watch his relatives suffer.
See...
With just a little trick, he had already frightened him into submission.
This little brat, with just this level of scheming, dares to play games with me?!
The burly man was immensely pleased with himself and glanced at Lin Jianjun, who was bleeding profusely from his severed finger.
He was already in so much pain that his face was contorted, and his forehead was drenched in cold sweat.
"Please, take me to the hospital first! While my finger can still be reattached. If it's too late, I might really end up crippled."
"Am I going to die? Please, help me stop the bleeding first! I'm losing too much blood, it hurts so much! Wuuu..."
Lin Jianjun was in so much pain that tears and snot were streaming down his face as he kept begging.
As the saying goes: the ten fingers are connected to the heart.
Having lived a life of luxury, when had he ever experienced the agony of losing a finger?!
Unfortunately, in the business of extortion and murder, which of them wasn't ruthless?
Facing this gruesome scene, he simply said coldly:
"Shut up! I already told you, I'll let you go when your son hands over the prescription."
After saying that.
The burly man turned around and left the room, leaving the three members of the Lin family to fend for themselves.
Only then did Lin Hao and his mother quietly breathe a sigh of relief, frantically checking on Lin Jianjun.
"Daddy, are you okay?"
"Hubby, hang in there!"
It wasn't because they had suddenly grown a conscience.
The most important thing was that they were afraid—if Lin Jianjun couldn't hold on, would the kidnappers go crazy and turn their attention to them instead...?
"That bastard Lin Xuan!!!"
"What the hell is he doing? Why hasn't he handed over the prescription yet? Is he really going to watch me die?!"
Under the intense pain.
Lin Jianjun had completely lost his rationality, his face twisted in rage, unable to even hear the concerned voices of Lin Hao and his mother.
He hated Lin Xuan to the core!!!
If that bastard had handed over the prescription earlier, how could he have ended up suffering like this?!
Before, because of the prescription's value, Lin Xuan hesitated to hand it over. That, he could still barely understand.
But now, he had already received the picture of his severed finger.
Knowing that his father was suffering in agony...
And he still hadn't handed over the prescription immediately—what the hell was he waiting for?!
Did he not realize that the longer he delayed, the lower the chances of reattaching his fingers?
If he really became crippled, the one to blame...
Would undoubtedly be that ungrateful bastard Lin Xuan!!!
There was no way he would let Lin Xuan off easily. He had to make him pay for this...
Holding onto his hatred for his unfilial son, Lin Jianjun endured the pain for half an hour.
Finally.
The door was pushed open again, and the masked kidnapper walked back in.
Seeing this, the three members of the Lin family looked relieved.
They thought Lin Xuan had put aside his resentment and finally handed over the prescription, and that they were about to be released.
Among them, Lin Jianjun was the most impatient...
He stared at his severed finger on the ground and almost roared in desperation:
"That bastard has handed over the prescription, right?! Then hurry up and take me and my finger to the hospital!"
"Without proper freezing conditions, my finger might not be able to be reattached soon! Even if it is, there's a high chance I'll be crippled!"
"Hurry up!!! Stop wasting time!!!!"
Faced with Lin Jianjun's outburst.
The burly man ignored him completely, squatted down, and pulled out a large iron plier from his toolbox.
Under the terrified gazes of the three Lin family members, he spoke casually:
"I gave your son a full thirty minutes, but I still haven't received any response."
"I sent him a message to ask, do you know how he replied?"
When the burly man showed Lin Xuan's reply, Lin Jianjun nearly pissed himself in fear.
That ungrateful bastard actually said...
[I know you're anxious, but don't be.]
"It seems I've been too merciful! I've given your son the impression that I'm easy to deal with?"
"Hmph! Something that could've been done in minutes, he's dragged it out for half an hour, and now he's telling me not to be anxious???"
The burly man's voice turned ice cold, and he stepped closer with the pliers. Lin Jianjun screamed in despair.
"What are you doing? Nooo!!!!!"
But it was useless. The kidnapper was ruthless. He grabbed his ring finger and with a snap, cut it off.
Amidst a piercing, anguished scream.
Lin Jianjun's second finger met its tragic end.
Blood splattered everywhere!!!
This scene terrified Lin Hao and his mother, but apart from trembling in fear, they could do nothing...
At this moment.
To prevent Lin Jianjun from passing out due to excessive blood loss and keep him conscious.
The burly man ordered Lin Jianjun to start solving math problems.
"1000 minus 7 equals what?"
"Aaaaah! It hurts!!!"
"Answer me! 1000 minus 7 equals? Otherwise, I'll cut off your middle finger too!"
"No, please! 99...3...."
"993 minus 7 equals what? Keep calculating. If you get it wrong, I'll cut off another finger."
"98...6...."
"9...79....."
Pain!
It was unbearable!!!
Lin Jianjun was utterly desperate, his face covered in tears and snot, looking utterly pathetic.
He was completely unrecognizable from his usual well-dressed, successful businessman appearance.
But to save his fingers.
He could only endure the agony and follow the burly man's orders to do math.
But the clearer his mind became, the sharper the pain in his fingers, stabbing straight into his soul...
It hurts so much!
Someone save me!!!
Who will save me!!!
That bastard who's worse than a pig or a dog, why hasn't he handed over the prescription? Why!!!!!!
At this moment.
For the first time, Lin Jianjun felt a murderous rage—he wanted to tear his own son into pieces!!!
After all, if not for him, how could he have ended up in this state?
This was all that bastard's fault. Why didn't he just die?!
Go die!!!
Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!!!!
Under this inhumane torture, Lin Jianjun had been driven half-mad by the pain, filled with overwhelming hatred toward Lin Xuan.
Seeing this.
The leader of the kidnappers finally felt much better.
He loved hearing his victims scream while torturing them—it gave him a sick pleasure.
He pulled out his phone, recorded the gruesome scene, and sent another threat to Lin Xuan.
["Ten minutes. I'm giving you the last ten minutes."]
["Don't test my patience, or suffer the consequences."]
Soon.
The message reached Lin Xuan's phone.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
"And he's already lost two fingers. Poor guy."
Looking at Lin Jianjun's miserable state.
Lin Xuan couldn't help but curl his lips into a gloating smile. Deep inside, a remnant of his past self even felt a bit of satisfaction.
He could have easily called the police or handed over the fake prescription earlier.
But he just wouldn't. Eh~~
He just wanted to play. →_→
But how could Lin Hao and his mother be left out of such fun?
As the saying goes: enjoying alone is not as fun as enjoying together.
Especially since the three of them were family!
A loving family—sharing fortune together, suffering together.
If only Lin Jianjun got to "enjoy" this, wouldn't that be too unfair?
So, without hesitation, Lin Xuan decided to drag Lin Hao and his mother into this as well.
He replied to the kidnappers with a message, his words filled with supposed desperation:
[No~~~ please don't hurt my daddy. ???]
[Yamete! o(＞﹏＜)o His pain is my pain.]
[And my mommy, my dear little brother. Please, I beg you, don't hurt them, or I will drown in a river of sorrow. o(╥﹏╥)o]
...
A thousand miles away, the burly man received the message and couldn't help but grin.
Good.
Now he finally understands my power~~
Let's see if you still dare to play tricks and stall for time.
But I didn't expect this kid…
To care so much about his stepmother and his half-brother.
But that makes things even better—now I can use them as leverage too.
The more bargaining chips I have, the less he'll dare to act rashly—he'll have no choice but to follow my every command.
"9...16..."
"90...9..."
Glancing at Lin Jianjun, who was still counting, the burly man left the room once again.
Creak!
As soon as the door shut again.
Only then did Lin Jianjun dare to stop counting, and his body trembled as he instinctively wanted to scream in agony.
But fearing that the kidnappers might come back, he clenched his teeth and whimpered softly instead.
Meanwhile, beside him, Lin Hao and his mother fearfully pleaded for his help.
"Husband~~ I'm so scared! Will Xiaoxuan really hand over the prescription for us? If he doesn't, are we going to die? Wuuu..."
"Daddy, what should we do? Say something! Even if they get the prescription, won't they still kill us to keep it secret? Daddy, save us!"
Hearing the two buzzing in his ears nonstop.
The already agonized Lin Jianjun finally lost control and roared:
"What do you mean what should we do? How the hell should I know?! I'm the one who got my fingers cut off!"
"Ask, ask, ask! All you do is ask me what to do! Are you a damn idiot? Can't you think for yourself?"
"......"
After this verbal outburst, Lin Hao and his mother finally shut up and didn't dare to speak again.
However, the cold and resentful look in their eyes grew even stronger.
Of course...
Lin Jianjun, in his current state, didn't even notice.
All his attention was focused on the severed fingers on the ground, anxiety overwhelming his heart.
It had been too long…
He seriously doubted whether his little finger, the first one cut off, could still be reattached?!
Just as he was lost in panic and unease…
He suddenly noticed several black rats creeping out from the dark corners.
As if drawn by something, they scurried toward the severed fingers...
"What are you doing?"
"Get lost! (ノ｀Д)ノ Go away right now!!!!"
Lin Jianjun screamed in terror, rocking his chair desperately and struggling with all his might.
But tied to the chair and unable to move, all he could do was scream in hopes of scaring the rats away.
At first, the rats seemed to be frightened.
Whenever Lin Jianjun and the others moved the chair violently, the rats would retreat into the dark corners.
But after seeing the same act repeated a few times, the rats seemed to grow bolder.
They were no longer afraid of the Lin family's attempts to scare them away and slowly inched closer to the severed fingers.
Realizing that the humans couldn't hurt them, a few of the rats boldly grabbed the bloodied fingers and began feasting on them.
"Ahhhh!!!! w(?Д?)w"
"You damn beasts!!!"
Watching the rats gnaw on his own fingers was a despair beyond words.
Lin Jianjun was on the verge of a breakdown, screaming in agony.
Thinking back to when he cried in the rain before...
He had thought that day was the most miserable day of his life.
Now he realized how naive he had been.
Life was unpredictable—nothing but intestines stuffed into intestines!
There was no such thing as the worst—only worse!!!
As Lin Jianjun stared in utter despair.
His two severed fingers were gnawed down to bare bone before the rats finally left, satisfied.
"They can't be reattached... they can't be reattached..."
Staring at the two finger bones devoid of flesh.
Lin Jianjun let out a bitter laugh and shook his head repeatedly.
He knew that in their current state, the fingers were beyond saving—his fate as a cripple was sealed.
Click!
Just then, the door swung open, and the leader of the kidnappers returned.
As soon as he entered, he looked curiously at Lin Jianjun, wondering why he was suddenly losing his mind.
Then, he saw the severed fingers on the ground.
Seeing the fingers reduced to bare bones, he immediately understood and scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.
"Oops, my bad! I forgot this dark place had rats. Completely slipped my mind."
"But don't be so down. It's just two fingers, right? You still have eight left. Worst case, just use the other hand to live, huh?!"
Lin Jianjun: "???!!!"