The sun outside had just begun to dip westward, and the sunlight still bathed the entire land, with the temperature yet to fully drop.
But this sunlight could not illuminate a certain abandoned building, nor could it light up the somewhat dark, abandoned basement.
Inside the basement, a slender young boy was curled up on the cold ground, with his wrists and ankles bound.
The boy looked about sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a thin white shirt that was slightly oversized, making him appear even more delicate and small.
At this moment, the boy seemed to be unconscious. His figure alone looked pitiful, like a pure and harmless little rabbit captured and locked up by some villain.
Although the boy’s back was to the door, even without seeing his face, it was clear that he was out of place in the gloomy basement.
He seemed more like a pampered young master raised in a castle, able to get with a mere glance what others couldn’t attain in a lifetime of effort.
But now, he was nothing more than a kidnapped bargaining chip, with no certainty of ever leaving here alive.
No matter how rare and precious a flower was, when it wilted, it’s nothing more than a heap of rotting, dead leaves.
Perhaps because the boy had struggled earlier, his fair, jade-like wrists bore red marks, looking strangely seductive.
Combined with the darkness of the basement, it gave off an indescribable feeling.
It made one’s heart beat inexplicably faster, and left a strange, unsettling sensation.
Duan Ming had just walked in and saw this scene. He attributed it to the nervousness of committing a crime for the first time and the hatred he felt toward Ren Yanqing.
Duan Ming’s eyes were filled with cold malice. No matter what, he was determined to take back the money that was rightfully his.
No matter the cost.
He paid no attention to the strange sensation that had arisen upon seeing the boy. His entire being exuded a chilling menace as he walked, expressionless, to the unconscious boy.
Then he crouched down directly in front of him, his tall figure looming menacingly, completely overshadowing the boy’s delicate and fragile frame.
It gave off an invisible sense of aggression, making one instinctively want to flee.
Unfortunately, the boy on the ground was still unconscious, entirely unaware of the danger he was facing.
But even if he knew, he’d probably only end up pitifully crying, begging to be spared.
After all, Duan Ming could easily lift the boy with one hand and just as easily decide his fate.
Duan Ming had no thoughts of pity, nor did he care whether the boy was innocent or not.
Blame it on the fact that the boy had a father like that.
The hostility in Duan Ming's eyes deepened as he looked at the unconscious boy, who seemed as though he was merely asleep, and without hesitation, he reached out his hand.
Initially, Duan Ming intended to grab the boy by his hair and roughly haul him up, but for some reason, his hand ultimately landed on the boy's collar instead.
Then, he yanked the boy up by his collar, dragging him up in a harsh manner.
Duan Ming didn't dwell on it, nor did he even notice his odd behavior. After all, he simply wanted to pull the boy up.
It didn't matter where he grabbed.
As he lifted the boy, Duan Ming got a full view of the boy's face, and he froze in place.
The boy's features were extraordinarily delicate, as if he had stepped out of a painting, like a celestial being fallen from the heavens, with not a single flaw on his body.
Even the teardrop mole by the corner of his eye added to his ethereal beauty.
It was a beauty that defied description.
Although Duan Ming had worked under Ren Yanqing for three years, as a mere laborer, he and his group never had the privilege to meet this pampered young master—nor did they ever have the opportunity.
After all, they had barely seen Ren Yanqing, the big boss, a few times.
Duan Ming wasn't even involved in the kidnapping of this young master.
So this was the first time Duan Ming had laid eyes on the young master’s face.
It was completely different from what he had imagined.
He thought the boy would resemble Ren Yanqing, but he hadn’t expected such features.
Unbelievably beautiful.
More beautiful than anyone Duan Ming had ever seen, even more beautiful than the celebrities on television.
A beauty so striking that it stirred a destructive urge deep within.
The boy’s collar was fastened all the way to the top, and being pulled up like this was clearly choking him a little.
Even though the boy had yet to regain consciousness, his delicate brows furrowed slightly, and his slender body began to tremble.
It seemed like the boy had been beaten; his white shirt was stained with dirt, and there was swelling and bruising at the corner of his mouth.
Yet none of this detracted from the boy’s beauty. Instead, it made him seem even more fragile.
Like a delicate porcelain doll, as if the slightest force would shatter him.
The boy, however, wouldn’t shatter so easily. If you applied just a little more force, it would probably only leave some marks.
Some rather peculiar-looking marks.
Duan Ming's gaze involuntarily fell on the boy's wrists, reddened from being tied, and he froze once again.
The red marks stood out against the boy’s fair, jade-like skin, resembling a drop of red ink splashing onto a watercolor painting, staining the entire world with color.
It was incredibly beautiful.
The workers certainly hadn’t taken the time to choose an aesthetically pleasing rope for tying someone up. The rope around the boy’s wrists was just a random one grabbed from the construction site.
Yet, even though it was just a rough rope meant for binding materials, when tied around the boy’s wrists, it took on a certain indescribable quality.
Not only was it charged with a certain meaning, but even the rope itself looked strikingly beautiful.
Ruan Qing's live stream had been turned on the moment he entered the "instance," and the viewers in the stream naturally saw the scene unfold.
The chat exploded with rapid messages.
[If I'm not mistaken, wife’s being kidnapped, right? Why does being kidnapped look so seductive though!? How am I supposed to ever view kidnapping the same way again!]
[Help, I’m done for! Wife is so delicate! He’s so delicate that certain non-existent parts of me instantly stood at attention.]
[A tied-up wife in a basement, and the kidnapper staring at him without blinking—if nothing happens between them, wouldn’t that be a waste of this setting and atmosphere!?]
Ruan Qing ignored the chat messages in the live stream; he was currently doing his best to pretend to be unconscious.
He had no intention of confronting the kidnappers directly, because being awake would only escalate their inclination to torture him.
Although his health had improved compared to before, he was still in no condition to withstand the abuse of the workers.
Moreover, Moyamoya disease didn’t just cause memory loss. People with the condition have abnormally narrow or blocked internal carotid arteries, which form a network of abnormal blood vessels. When a crisis hits, it could lead to either brain ischemia or hemorrhage.
Without timely treatment, death was a very real possibility.
It wasn’t much better than the heart disease he’d had before—in fact, it might even be worse.
At least with the heart disease, he wouldn’t lose his memory when it acted up.
Even worse, if he unintentionally provoked the workers, they might decide to take action against him earlier than planned.
Ruan Qing had heard the worker’s words crystal clear: if the original owner's father didn’t pay up within half an hour, they would cut off one of his arms.
Ruan Qing didn't think the worker was joking. When someone reached a dead end, they’re capable of anything.
So pretending to faint and avoiding the situation was the best choice for now.
He had half an hour. Once the worker left, he could find a chance to escape within that half hour.
Ruan Qing prayed in his heart that he wouldn’t lose his memory during this time.
This dungeon was particularly difficult, so difficult that Ruan Qing wasn't confident he could clear it.
Because once he lost his memory, he would forget his identity as a player and fully believe himself to be the original owner.
Naturally, he wouldn't be able to put in any effort to clear the dungeon.
Nor would he be able to discover any clues related to the dungeon.
This situation didn’t quite align with the cooperation between him and the system.
Ruan Qing thought for a moment, then coldly spoke in his mind, 'System, if you don't want to cooperate anymore, just say so.'
The system had no way to explain and could only reply in a low voice, [It's not me.]
It wasn't the system…?
Ruan Qing didn’t say anything more, continuing to maintain his unconscious posture.
He wanted to wait for the worker to leave.
However, the worker holding Ruan Qing had been lifting him for almost a minute and still hadn’t put him down.
Ruan Qing was starting to feel like he couldn’t breathe with the collar tightening around his neck.
Logically, a normal person wouldn't be able to hold someone’s upper body weight with one hand for very long.
But this construction worker, clearly much stronger than an average person, was effortlessly holding him for a while.
And didn’t seem inclined to let go anytime soon.
Ruan Qing’s long eyelashes fluttered like feathers, as if he were about to wake up.
Only then did Duan Ming snap back to his senses. He instinctively let go of the boy and stood up, allowing him to drop back to the ground.
“Ugh…” Ruan Qing hadn’t expected the man to let go at that moment and was completely unprepared, falling to the ground.
His elbow hit the hard floor right on target.
Since Duan Ming had been crouching, the drop wasn’t high. For most people, a fall from this height wouldn’t hurt much.
Let alone cause any injury.
The original owner's body had always been weak due to illness, and even the smallest pain or discomfort would be amplified in him.
So, after this fall, Ruan Qing’s eyes reddened, and a mist of tears welled up in his beautiful eyes.
His slender, pale fingers clenched slightly from the pain, and his entire body curled up on the ground once again, trembling slightly.
He looked incredibly pitiful.
It was only after this fall that Ruan Qing realized something was wrong with this body. The abdominal pain he had felt earlier might not have been due to how hard the person had hit him.
Instead, this body seemed to magnify pain, making it several times more sensitive than a normal person's.
Pain that an ordinary person could endure became unbearable for the original owner of this body.
This was probably the nerve sensitivity caused by Moyamoya disease.
Because he had been pulled up and thrown to the ground again, Ruan Qing's shirt had slid up slightly, revealing the pale, almost translucent skin underneath, as well as his slender, delicate waist.
Duan Ming, who had initially wanted to appear fierce because the boy had woken up, froze when he saw this scene, standing there in a daze.
His gaze lingered on the boy's white, slender waist for a few seconds before it instinctively shifted to Ruan Qing’s slightly reddened eyes.
And to the boy's beautiful eyes, now glistening with tears.
Ruan Qing didn’t notice his own posture at all, but even if he had, there was probably nothing he could do about it.
After all, the moment he entered the dungeon, he was already in this kidnapped position, without any chance of escape.
But when you're having bad luck, you realize it could always get worse.
After Ruan Qing recovered a bit from the pain, he met the man's dark and ambiguous gaze—a gaze he was all too familiar with.
Ruan Qing's heart skipped a beat, and the next second, he lowered his head to avoid the man's eyes.
Another pervert coveting our baby...
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