Chapter 717: A Million Times for You (79)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“She’s on Mount Qingping in R Nation. Contact the people there immediately, I’d like to speak to them directly over the phone.”
“Yes,” Fan s.h.i.+xin acknowledged.
“Where’s that man?”
“Waiting in another room. We didn’t let him out.”
“Very good. Tell Xiao Huang to take him here to see the sorry plight his wife is in now. Then, get rid of him.”
“Yes, Young Sir. Do we hand them over to the government?”
“Kill them then move their bodies overseas. Dump them in front of the police station abroad.”
“Yes…”
——
It was 4 pm in S Nation and 4 am in R Nation.
At this very moment, both Pei Yi and An Xiaoning were still sound asleep.
For the past few nights, her hands would be handcuffed behind her back whenever it was time for bed, and they would only be unlocked the next morning.
It had become a nightly routine.
An Xiaoning did not struggle or try to provoke him and instead just succ.u.mbed abidingly.
She would lie on her stomach to sleep every night, since it would be extremely uncomfortable to lie on her back with her hands cuffed behind her.
She went to bed early and rose early.
The lights went out at eight o’clock in the evening the day before.
However, she would be woken up by every sound she heard from outside.
At about five o’clock, the doorbell began ringing incessantly and the bedroom door was swung open forcefully. Pei Yi switched on the lights and walked toward the door.
An Xiaoning remained still with her eyes shut and continued to pretend to be asleep.
“Ancestor, S Nation has released a piece of news saying that they’re giving up the negotiation with us one-sidedly. Besides, Jin Qingyan had also asked to meet you and speak to you privately. Are you amenable to his request?”
“Get him on the line, I’d like to hear what he has to say.”
“Alright.”
Pei Yi closed the door and stared at An Xiaoning, who was lying on her stomach. “Since you’re already awake, what’s the point of pretending to be asleep?” he said sluggishly.
An Xiaoning turned around and said with a smile, “You knew?”
“I was just bluffing you. Turns out you were really pretending.”
“…”
An Xiaoning knelt on the couch in discomfort and stared at him, not allowing her dejection to be revealed.
The handset on the desk rang all of a sudden. Pei Yi proceeded to answer the call while leaning against the desk, with one hand holding the telephone while the other supporting was himself against the edge of the desk.
“Is that Mr. Jin?”
“…”
“But I’m not in need of any money. You’ve seen it yourself, your nation’s leaders have already rejected my request. If you could persuade your leaders to change their minds, perhaps there’d be a chance…”
“…”
“It can’t be helped then. You people are not sincere enough. There are only two things we do to the hostages we’ve abducted. One is to return them based on a condition, and two is to kill them. I believe you don’t need me to explain what’s going to happen to her.”
“…”
“I won’t concede no matter how much money you offer me. Would I have made that request if money was what I’m after? You’ve belittled me.” Pei Yi did not say anything else and hung up straight away.
An Xiaoning’s heart sank the moment the call ended.
She had heard that she would either be redeemed or die…
Tuoba Gucheng had given her up by rejecting the request Pei Yi had offered in exchange for her life.
“Seems like your ex-husband is really devoted to you. He’s willing to pay one billion dollars for your ransom. I’m really tempted by the huge sum of money. I didn’t know you were worth this much,” said Pei Yi.
“Mister… Pei, why did you reject him if you were tempted? Isn’t it better to exchange me for money instead of killing me?”
He walked toward the couch and taunted with a squint, “Are you getting nervous? Afraid that I’d kill you?”
An Xiaoning did not snap back and answered in a delicate and alluring voice, “Yes, I’m very afraid. I’m still young, and there are so many things I still want to do but haven’t had the chance to. I want to stay alive.”
After a moment of silence, Pei Yi answered, “You’ve heard it yourself, your nation has already given up on you. You now have two ways out. Would you like to pick one out of the two?”
“What are these two?”
“Stay here forever or die.”
Was there a need to choose?
The answer was more than obvious.
“Of course I’d pick the first. Someone like me who’s so afraid of death would naturally pick the first option. If I die at such a young age, it’d be the world’s loss.”
Although these were heartfelt words for her, Pei Yi was rather amused by them.
“Are you sure you know what staying here forever means?” He grabbed her chin and stared at her condescendingly. “It means you’ll forever belong to me and you’ll have to abide by all my instructions. You’ll have to concede willingly even if I make you a s.e.x slave and throw you to my subordinates.”
An Xiaoning made eye contact with him and forced a smile. “I understand,” she answered.
He let go of her and said, “Alright then, the first thing I’ll need you to cooperate with is to feign being dead. Those people will never give up until you’re dead. Since that’s the case, we shall film a video and send it to the president of S Nation and to Jin Qingyan, so as to make them give up all their hopes.”
Not daring to disobey him, An Xiaoning agreed, “Alright.”
Pei Yi was extremely pleased with her meek and compliant att.i.tude. He retrieved the remote control from his pocket and pressed a b.u.t.ton on it. Soon, Qin Guo entered and asked, “Do you have any orders for me?”
“Film a video of her being shot to death. Stage the execution, but make it appear as realistic as possible. I’ll supervise it myself. Bring her to get her makeup done and change into an appropriate set of clothes.”
“Ancestor… why don’t you just kill her straight for real?” Qin Guo asked after some hesitation.
“This is my decision, you don’t have to interfere. What are you waiting for? Take her out.”
“Yes…” Qin Guo did as instructed and brought her out of the room.
The room was rather warm with the heater on, and thus, they dressed her in thin fabric. However, it was freezing outside, and she immediately got the gooseb.u.mps once she left the room, causing her neck to s.h.i.+ver in the cold.
They smeared some dirt onto her face and made her change into a set of filthy clothes, which reeked of a pungent odor.
She appeared as if she had been abused physically.
They then brought her to the execution ground and made her kneel onto the ground while Pei Yi was arriving.
He was clad in a leopard print suit and had a pair of shades on, exuding the aura of a boorish gang leader, especially since he had a cigarette in his mouth as well.
The sky was still rather dark, and the white light shone on him from above created an elongated shadow.
A man, who was dressed in black from head to toe with a balaclava on his head, stood behind An Xiaoning while carrying a gun in his hands.
An Xiaoning was filled with immense fear and anxiety. While she was changing into the set of clothes earlier, Qin Guo instructed her in a loud and angry tone to say a few words during the filming of the video.
A bag of blood was hidden beneath her clothes in order to make the act appear much more realistic, so as to satisfy Pei Yi.
During the filming of the video, An Xiaoning acted according to their instructions and gave a convincing performance.
Even Pei Yi found the shriek of agony that she let out when the gun was pointed at her to be extremely realistic.
Pei Yi watched as An Xiaoning lay motionlessly on the ground like a dead person covered in blood. He was extremely pleased with the results of the staged act.