“Mr. Sui, it’s been a while. How have things been for you lately?”

Sui Yuesheng switched to speakerphone, and a voice with a hint of amusement came through the receiver. The tone was slow, as if catching up with an old friend.

The tech specialist looked a bit bewildered, unsure of the caller’s identity. Instinctively, he glanced at the chief, who wore a serious expression. The chief quickly made a hand signal and mouthed: “Zhao Jiayang.”

The tech specialist’s eyes widened, and he hurriedly began working on his equipment. Meanwhile, the police’s negotiation expert quickly entered work mode, pulling out a tablet and typing furiously.

Sui Yuesheng turned his head and briefly exchanged glances with Jiang Jingyun. Both of them wore equally solemn expressions—Zhao Jiayang’s voice hadn’t been mechanically altered in any way. It was unclear whether he didn’t care to hide his identity or was simply arrogant to the extreme.

Perhaps it was both.

As their gazes shifted away, just as Sui Yuesheng was about to speak, the negotiation expert raised his tablet and pointed firmly at the screen, signaling for Sui Yuesheng to voice what was displayed. Sui Yuesheng glanced at the polite and courteous phrases suggested, then frowned noticeably.

His gaze returned to the phone screen on the table, and in a cold tone, he said, “Enough with the nonsense, Zhao Jiayang. It’s late. Let’s save each other some time. Tao Fengche is with you, isn’t he? What will it take for you to release him?”

The negotiation expert’s eyes widened—throughout his career, he’d never seen a hostage’s relative speak to a kidnapper so bluntly. He nearly rushed over to cover Sui Yuesheng’s mouth, but he dared not interrupt the man’s commanding presence. Instead, he cast a desperate look toward the more composed Jiang Jingyun, hoping he could offer some persuasion.

Under his expectant gaze, the congressman helplessly shrugged, using body language to indicate that even he had no control over Sui Yuesheng.

The negotiation expert held his breath and instinctively closed his eyes, bracing for the fallout of angering the kidnapper.

“You’re bold, Sui Yuesheng,” Zhao Jiayang actually acknowledged.

Sui Yuesheng remained unfazed by the praise, silently waiting for Zhao Jiayang to continue.

“Alright then. Withdraw the people surrounding the factory and put the artificial pheromones on the market. As soon as that’s done, I’ll release him immediately. I promise I’ll return Tao Fengche to you safe and sound.”

Jiang Jingyun’s expression darkened, giving Sui Yuesheng frantic looks, but Sui Yuesheng didn’t spare him a glance. Instead, he responded immediately, “Impossible. The drug administration would never agree.”

Only Sui Yuesheng and Jiang Jingyun understood the gravity of Zhao Jiayang’s conditions.

“Come on, Sui Yuesheng. I’m not unreasonable. I won’t ask you to put it on the market tomorrow. We can take it step by step, right?” Zhao Jiayang continued, sounding almost persuasive. “You can start by pulling back your men. Hold a press conference tomorrow morning to introduce the product to the public. After that, we can work on the rest, maybe use public pressure to push the drug administration. Don’t you think?”

To others, this seemed like a generous offer. Even the police chief, after some thought, nodded at Jiang Jingyun, signaling that negotiations could proceed—after all, it was just a drug. If necessary, they could negotiate with the drug administration together.

But Sui Yuesheng remained rooted in place, his face as still as water, isolated from the world around him.

He didn’t understand why Zhao Jiayang had proposed such a deal, but he could sense the deep obsession masked beneath Zhao Jiayang’s casual tone.

Tao Fengche was like a fish on the chopping block, his life and death entirely dependent on Zhao Jiayang’s whims. The very thought sent chills through Sui Yuesheng, making him believe that he, more than anyone in the world, was desperate to save Tao Fengche.

If he had a choice, he would rather have been the one kidnapped by Zhao Jiayang. He would give anything to bring Tao Fengche back safely.

But artificial pheromones were a different matter.

This was the power of the gods, Pandora’s box. The return of artificial pheromones wouldn’t just mean that a few people could finally defy fate; it would also mean that countless others would be dragged into a whirlpool of uncontrollable consequences.

Moreover, no one would understand the catastrophic price of this development until they had reached the final step.

…Should he agree?

The air felt as thick as glue. The tech specialist’s fingers flew across the equipment, the negotiation expert waved his arms wildly, trying to capture Sui Yuesheng’s attention, urging him to speak. Jiang Jingyun looked increasingly anxious, while Yu Hebai discreetly squeezed Jiang Jingyun’s hand, hoping to offer him some strength…

But Sui Yuesheng didn’t look at anyone.

He remained in the same position, slightly lowering his head to gaze at the phone screen, his inner turmoil boiling.

After a long pause, he finally closed his eyes tightly, his right hand unconsciously clenched into a fist. His throat tightened, but his voice was eerily calm: “Zhao Jiayang, how about a different condition?”

“Sui Yuesheng, don’t be so hasty. Think it over,” Zhao Jiayang responded, maintaining his unnervingly good temper, or perhaps confident of his impending victory. “Your beloved is still here with me as a ‘guest,’ after all. Here’s a free tip—he’s quite healthy right now, but after…”

He sighed lightly, “If I get impatient, I can’t make any promises. After all, he’s my nephew. If something happens to him, I wouldn’t want it either, you know?”

No one expected Zhao Jiayang to voluntarily share information about Tao Fengche’s condition. Despite threatening Tao Fengche’s life, the news that he was currently unharmed brought a sigh of relief to the group.

But Sui Yuesheng’s attitude couldn’t have been more different.

Zhao Jiayang was threatening him… with Tao Fengche?

He furrowed his brow in confusion, realizing that some things seemed to have quietly slipped out of control without his knowledge.

Suppressing the roiling emotions within him, he forced himself to stay calm, injecting just the right amount of mockery into his voice: “What beloved, Zhao Jiayang? Are you joking? Everyone in Jingpu knows that Tao Fengche and I don’t get along. You think threatening me with his life will work?”

“Don’t forget, Zhao Jiayang, that I’m currently holding Tao Fengche’s shares and his ring. I’m only a custodian for now, but if you get rid of him, that’ll save me a lot of trouble.” Sui Yuesheng’s lips curled into a stiff smile. “If you do kill him, make sure to notify me. I’ll have a generous gift prepared and sent to your home.”

His words were laced with sarcasm, making the atmosphere even more tense.

The room was in an uproar.

Even the experienced police chief’s face turned pale. The officers exchanged bewildered glances, unable to speak due to the ongoing call, but their expressions were identical—shock.

Was Sui Yuesheng really so eager for Tao Fengche to die?

If he cared so little for his life, why go through all this trouble? What on earth were these rich people thinking?!

The bystanders were filled with varied emotions. The tech specialist’s hands moved rapidly, the negotiation expert was drenched in sweat, and Yu Hebai elbowed Jiang Jingyun.

Jiang Jingyun looked over, noticing that the expert appeared as if he needed oxygen.

But Zhao Jiayang laughed, and his laughter was filled with joy.

“Sui Yuesheng, you’re a foreigner, so you might not know. We have a saying in Kyushu: ‘The wise are often ruined by their own cleverness.’ You say you and Tao Fengche are sworn enemies…” He stretched out his words, emphasizing each one, “Do you really think I don’t know that your desk photo frame has a hidden compartment?”

Sui Yuesheng’s eyes widened in shock, his entire body freezing in place like someone had pressed the pause button. But his ears quickly flushed red. His face was filled with disbelief, mixed with a bit of confusion, as if Zhao Jiayang had hit a nerve.

How did Zhao Jiayang know about it?!

The frame was first by his bedside, then he’d deliberately moved it to his office just a few days later. Was it Xu Song, or… Assistant Zhou?

A chill ran down Sui Yuesheng’s spine as goosebumps appeared on his arm. His mind raced, and after a few seconds, he finally grasped at a fleeting thought, holding his breath: “That power outage in early September…”

“That was me,” Zhao Jiayang admitted cheerfully.

Sui Yuesheng opened his mouth to speak but found himself at a loss for words.

The negotiation expert had completely given up trying to make sense of their cryptic conversation. Just then, a sudden commotion came through the receiver.

The noise shattered Zhao Jiayang’s calm demeanor from earlier. He hastily tossed out a final ultimatum, stating the deadline was Sunday morning, and then hung up the phone.

The dial tone filled the room, and most of the people still hadn’t processed what had happened. But Jiang Jingyun, having caught something different in the earlier conversation, had a knowing look on his face, while Yu Hebai’s expression was one of inappropriate excitement, as though he was eager for more drama.

Sui Yuesheng felt Yu Hebai’s amused gaze sweeping over him. He stared at his phone for a long while, as if he could somehow reach through it to the other side of the conversation.

That commotion just now… could it be that Tao Fengche had woken up?

Was he okay now?

How much did he hear?

Sui Yuesheng didn’t want to dwell on it any longer. The red on his ears spread down to his earlobes, like the deep red of a ripe pomegranate.

No one spoke first. The conference room was enveloped in an eerie silence, like a vacuum where no sound could escape.

Finally, the quiet was broken by a tentative voice from the tech team.

“The coordinates from the phone call…” Under the weight of everyone’s gaze, he instinctively swallowed hard, clearly unused to being the center of attention, and struggled to find his words.

Sui Yuesheng, no longer concerned with his earlier embarrassment, spun around quickly, taking a few brisk steps forward, his eyes sharp: “Where are the coordinates?!”

Everything about him—his appearance, his tone, his presence—was overwhelming and aggressive. Though the tech member was an alpha male, he instinctively leaned back in his chair, his voice trembling slightly: “The location shows the kidnappers are in the open sea near Taiqing, moving at an impossible speed far beyond our current technology. I think they hacked into the network and altered the parameters, creating a fake location.”

…No wonder. No wonder Zhao Jiayang was so calm and unhurried, casually chatting with Sui Yuesheng. He had been prepared all along, not worried in the slightest about being tracked.

Jiang Jingyun sighed silently.

Just when they had finally gotten a clue, it had slipped away again. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Yu Hebai cautiously glanced at Sui Yuesheng from the corner of his eye, noticing that the light gray-blue color of his irises had darkened. Yu Hebai swallowed nervously, feeling as though he was watching a volcano on the verge of eruption.