Chapter 215: Dark Boundless Realm 70
Abrak slowly woke up, feeling waves of pain in his face.
He tried to move his lips, but found that his mouth seemed to be taped shut, the tape wrapped several times around his face. He attempted to open his eyes, but it was pitch black, as if covered by an opaque black cloth.
As Abrak moved his tongue, he discovered several gaps between his upper and lower jaws, some teeth broken in half, with the remnants stuck in his gums. The inside of his mouth was rich in blood vessels, and he was still bleeding, the smell of blood filling his mouth.
His hands and feet felt bound as well, the restraints very tight. He seemed to be tied to a chair and was in a rather embarrassing state.
Abrak calmly decided to continue feigning unconsciousness to figure out what his situation was.
As a member of a large family, he had plenty of experience dealing with such situations. His family had even hired experts to guide him on what to do if he was kidnapped and how to negotiate with his captors. In reality, while the Popov Clan had emergency plans in place, very few family members had ever been kidnapped—nobody dared touch their bad luck, and the family’s private bodyguards were no softies. Some of his bodyguards were high-level Awakened, and Abrak trusted their professionalism.
His last memory was of being on the roof with a few female celebrities before going into the bedroom, while the bodyguards stayed in the outer room. So where were the kidnappers? Were they hiding in the bedroom?
The maid had come in and out of the room without noticing that someone had infiltrated…
Suddenly, he heard footsteps nearby; someone was approaching him.
“He should have woken up an hour and a half ago…” a young male voice said. “The sedative should have been metabolized long ago.”
“Indeed.” Another voice, obviously altered by a voice changer, echoed a gender-neutral tone. “He may have some complications.”
“I think you were too heavy-handed; he lost a lot of blood. You might have accidentally knocked him unconscious when you knocked out his teeth, causing him to remain asleep even after the sedative wore off,” the male voice calmly pointed out.
There was no trace of apology in the other person’s tone. “Sorry, I was in a bad mood at the time, and might have unconsciously applied a bit more strength… but I still controlled it; look, his skull isn’t cracked, and I didn’t use a weapon to hit him…”
Abrak: “…”
Just how hard would one need to hit to crack a skull with bare hands?! I really owe you one for not cracking my skull!
“You should have been lighter-handed, just use pliers to pull all his teeth out…” the male voice continued.
Abrak: “…?”
Goodness, this one is even harsher! Pulling out all the teeth is considered lighter-handed?! Is your definition of ‘light’ a bit abnormal?
“What’s the point in talking about this?” the other person said.
“True…” the male voice replied. “Should we find a doctor for him?”
“No need.”
“Then how do we wake him up?”
“Hit him awake.”
A bad feeling suddenly rose in Abrak’s heart. He was about to move to signal that he was awake, but the kidnapper was faster. Before he could move, a fist struck his face.
With a bang, Abrak saw stars as he fell to the ground. Unable to speak due to the tape on his mouth, he could only make muffled sounds from his nose.
“Hmm? Did you just wake up, or were you pretending to be unconscious?” the person approached him, yanked the black cloth off his head. “If it was the latter, you’re somewhat out of touch; if you’d spoken up earlier, I wouldn’t have had to hit you, would I? Look at you, taking a beating and unable to pretend any longer… Why bother?”
The person squatted down, grabbing Abrak by the hair, forcing him to lift his head. He saw a pitch-black iron mask, a blue electronic eye locking onto him, exuding a cold presence like a venomous snake or ferocious beast watching him.
Kui Xin ripped the tape off Abrak’s mouth, and Abrak coughed out a mouthful of blood, which had resulted from his teeth being broken.
“You want money? I can give it to you,” Abrak said quickly. “Just tell me how much you want!”
Ambereye looked at him and said to Kui Xin, “He seems quite sensible.”
Kui Xin indicated a number with his gloved finger. “Your ransom is ten billion.”
Abrak felt that this number sounded very familiar; Dmitri was also kidnapped for an exorbitant ransom of ten billion. Could it be that the ones kidnapping them were… The Shadowless?!
“Ten billion is not a problem,” Abrak said cautiously. “I can try to come up with the money…”
“No, it’s not ten billion; it’s twenty billion,” Kui Xin stated. “Including Dmitri’s, a total of twenty billion; not a single cent less.”
“Twenty billion? That’s a bit difficult,” Abrak murmured. “Most of my assets are real estate and collectibles, which are hard to liquidate. The companies I manage don’t have that much cash available all at once. Is there any way…”
“No way,” Kui Xin coldly replied. “I’m not asking you to pay that, Abrak.”
Abrak looked at Kui Xin in shock. “Are you suggesting…”
“You can’t pay that,” Kui Xin said. “Have the Popov Clan pay. I don’t want your personal assets; I want the Popov Clan’s money.”
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Abrak’s forehead.
Paying the ransom out of his pocket and having the Popov Clan pay were completely different in nature. To the outside world, he was just an illegitimate child; despite sharing the Popov surname, no matter what he did, the Popov Clan had ways to distance themselves from him. His disgrace wouldn’t tarnish the clan at all. But if the Popov Clan were to pay the ransom for him, the disgrace would fall onto them. It would be one thing for the illegitimate child to be kidnapped, but the Popov Clan spending a significant amount to ransom him… how could that be possible?
He immediately realized that the person before him wasn’t looking for money; they just wanted to slap the Popov Clan in the face, escalating the situation to the point of no return.
“Do you want to live?” Kui Xin activated a recording device. “I’m going to record a video now, and you need to be on it, sincerely pleading for the Popov Clan to pay your ransom.”
“Are you going to send this video to the media?” Abrak’s voice was hoarse.
“Yeah,” Kui Xin nodded.
“You’re trying to get me killed!” Abrak exclaimed in panic. “Polina won’t spare me. I’ve shamed the family; she will deal with me.” Suddenly, he lowered his tone. “Please don’t send the video. I can give you money; I can give you anything! If you want money from the Popov Clan, when I go back, I will face Polina’s judgment. I won’t survive. I know if I don’t hand over that money, you might kill me too, but what’s the difference between dying at your hands and dying at Polina’s? It’s all death! It would be better for me to gather the twenty billion and give it to you; you would still get so much money…”
He spoke softly, compliant, while subtly implying: “If the video is sent out, it’s a dead-end for everyone; since I’m dead either way, I won’t cooperate. If I ransom myself, it’s a win-win.”
Kui Xin’s expression revealed a strange look. “Your family really cares about their face, huh… Do you think we’re just after the money?”
Ambereye silently glanced at Kui Xin, an unusual look in his eyes.
Abrak hurriedly interjected, “Of course not! I know you may not care about money; you might be more interested in reputation or something else… But I care about my life!”
Kui Xin had no intention of continuing to converse with Abrak. The more he cooperated, the better for her; she could tarnish the reputation of the Popov Clan—look, even a member of the top-tier financial elite can show such a pathetic side, this would be a serious blow to the Popov Clan… it’s a pity that Polina’s methods were too ruthless; Abrak’s fear of her overshadowed his fear of being kidnapped.
So, the plan would continue to extract information and blackmail from Abrak; it was only a matter of time before the Popov Clan couldn’t withstand the pressure.
After taking Abrak away, Kui Xin had taken a video of his horrible state while unconscious and sent it to the news media. Now, once the news broke, the headline would definitely be—“The Shadowless Strikes Again! Abrak Popov Has Been Captured!”
Kui Xin had collected Abrak’s blood but hadn’t yet read his memories.
She nodded to Ambereye to keep watch here while she sought a secure location to obtain the intelligence from the blood.
Just as Kui Xin turned around, Augus spoke through her earpiece, “Kui Xin, there’s some unfavorable news for you; you’d best see it for yourself.”
Kui Xin was taken aback, raising her wrist to activate the communicator, projecting a screen in the air. She adjusted some settings, and a news page appeared, showing a press conference of the Popov Clan.
On the podium, there were two people: Polina and, surprisingly, Abrak!
Kui Xin’s expression hardened as she slowly turned to look at Abrak behind her.
Polina’s voice came from the communicator: “Today, the media reported that my brother Abrak has been kidnapped. I would like to clarify again, this is nonsense, a tactic by The Shadowless to stir up public opinion. My brother Abrak is right here, sitting fine, but he was indeed attacked by unknown individuals last night…”
The man sitting beside Polina bore an uncanny resemblance to Abrak; he stood up to speak. “Yes, I was attacked last night, but fortunately, I only sustained minor injuries. My bodyguards promptly repelled the assailants, and I have reason to suspect that those who attacked me belong to The Shadowless…”
“Ms. Polina, does that mean the photo of Mr. Abrak after his supposed kidnapping is fake?” a reporter asked.
“Yes, it’s fake,” Polina replied in an unequivocal tone. “It might be a composite image, or perhaps they hired someone to impersonate Abrak; in any case, that’s not him.”
“Why would The Shadowless spread such easily debunked lies?” another reporter pressed.
“Who knows?” The man beside Polina replied with a dismissive tone. “Perhaps it’s their little strategy to gain notoriety; such a dirty underground organization can only resort to despicable tricks… Regardless, I have to stand up and respond; their tactic wasn’t successful.”
“Ms. Polina, has there been any progress in negotiations with The Shadowless? Is there still hope for Dmitri’s rescue?”
Polina adopted a sorrowful expression. “There’s no news on my son. He may truly be dead…”
The fake Abrak at the press conference performed dutifully, responding fluidly to every question from the reporters, his expressions and demeanor identical to the real Abrak.
Tied to the chair, Abrak watched the image projected by the communicator and heard Polina’s responses at the press conference. His face grew paler, his pupils dilating uncontrollably, terror almost spilling from his eyes, cold sweat soaking his clothes and hair.
Kui Xin looked at Abrak with a hint of pity. “Look…”
Her voice was like a demon’s whisper, drilling into Abrak’s ears, “You haven’t yet committed acts that would disgrace the family, and your sister has already abandoned you. Someone else is replacing you; you are now a dead man who doesn’t exist in the family.”
Ambereye said indifferently, “What a waste of effort. Now Abrak can’t even access his own assets, he’s forcing himself to become a fake… The Popov Clan won’t pay. They’d rather fabricate lies to control public opinion and deceive the masses; we underestimated their ruthlessness. For someone like Polina, whether a son or an illegitimate brother doesn’t matter; power is what counts, and she doesn’t care about family ties at all.”
Abrak looked at Kui Xin and then at Ambereye in panic, realizing he had suddenly lost all his utility.
He no longer had money, and it would be difficult for the Popov Clan to restore his position. Polina wouldn’t rescue him; she would likely have that fake Abrak replace him for a time before publicly announcing that her illegitimate brother had accidentally died—simple and clean, just like she arranged for several of her other siblings to meet unfortunate ends…
Thinking further, the Resistance had reached out to him because of his position in the Popov Clan. They wanted to cultivate him to rise up, but now that he had lost his status within the Popov Clan, he would lose value within the Resistance as well!
“Why not cooperate a bit?” Kui Xin revealed her true intentions. “The Shadowless can promise you that if successful, you can live, and we will let you go.”
She could imagine how explosive the news of “Fake and Real Abrak” would be, how much attention it would attract; this matter would definitely turn into a media firestorm.
“Really?” Hope burst forth in Abrak’s eyes.
“Really,” Kui Xin replied.
If it weren’t for the mental barriers Abrak had built using Angel coordinates, psychological control would not have been effective against him; Kui Xin wouldn’t even have had to resort to threats.
Once Kui Xin and Abrak agreed on the terms, she stepped out of the safe location and stretched. “After all that hustle, it’s time for a meal.”
“My thinking was too limited; I didn’t expect this situation could generate buzz,” Ambereye reflected. “I thought you would resolve it in a more straightforward manner, like kidnapping another member of the Popov Clan.”
“Who else could I kidnap? After two kidnappings, I’ve figured out their family’s nature—selfish, concerned about appearances. Do you believe that if I kidnapped them a third time, Polina wouldn’t manage to suppress it?” Kui Xin scoffed. “Unless we directly target Polina.”
“What about the twenty billion…” Ambereye hesitated.
“Indeed, asking a cold-blooded tycoon for money is unrealistic,” Kui Xin said. “Let’s first scrounge up some money from the news media. We might be able to grab a few million… As for the next step…”
She left her sentence unfinished.
Ambereye shot a peculiar glance at Kui Xin, wondering if she actually planned to confront Polina directly.
