Shi Jun remained completely oblivious to the impending danger. Even as he enjoyed his peaceful afternoon at the café, the kidnappers sent by Shi Wen were already closing in silently, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
As night fell, a freezing winter wind howled through the streets. The dim streetlights cast long, distorted shadows against the pavement, adding an unsettling air of tension to the darkness.
Shi Jun walked alone on his way back. His silhouette stretched out far behind him, swaying slightly with each step. Suddenly, a black sedan materialized beside him like a phantom. The doors flew open, and several masked men tumbled out of the vehicle in a series of swift, highly practiced movements. They surrounded Shi Jun instantly, forming an impenetrable circle.
Shi Jun’s heart leaped. Instantly sensing the danger, he turned to flee, but the kidnappers were far too quick. Before he could even take a single step, it was already too late. One of the men lunged at him with immense force, clamping a hand tightly over Shi Jun’s mouth to stifle his cries.
Shi Jun’s eyes widened and his heart raced as he struggled against the grip. However, the kidnapper’s hands were like iron clamps, pinning him completely. The other men moved efficiently, roughly binding his hands behind his back. Pain flared through his wrists, but he could only endure it as they shoved him brutally into the backseat. The door slammed shut with a heavy thud, cutting him off from the outside world.
The engine roared to life, sounding exceptionally piercing in the quiet night.
Shi Jun had already deduced exactly who was behind this. A cold light flashed in his eyes, but with his body restrained by the thugs, he chose not to waste his energy resisting for the moment. The car sped through the dark streets before finally grinding to a halt.
Shi Jun was shoved out of the vehicle. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, a dilapidated, abandoned factory loomed before him. The thugs marched him deep inside the facility, down a long hallway, and finally locked him inside a small room. The space was damp and dreary, the air thick with the smell of mold.
Sitting on the freezing ground, Shi Jun could feel the chill seeping into his bones.
Shi Wen looked down at the tightly bound Shi Jun, a sinister smile curling at the corners of his mouth. “Shi Jun, you’ve finally fallen into my hands. Let’s see where you can run now!” His voice was low and mocking, dripping with contempt for his brother’s apparent stupidity.
Shi Jun raised his head, his sharp gaze locking onto Shi Wen, who was standing in the corner. A look of pure amusement and disdain crossed his face. “Shi Wen, I knew you were the mastermind behind this all along. Aside from a despicable coward like you, I doubt anyone else harbors such an obsessive hatred for me.”
Shi Wen let out a cold snort. “You’re clever, but unfortunately, you’re far too arrogant. Did you honestly think you could defeat me with your pathetic little tricks? You are incredibly naive.” His voice was chillingly cruel, as if he were already visualizing a grand spectacle. He stared down at Shi Jun, his deep, emotionless eyes carrying an unspoken intent to kill. The narrow, cramped room felt heavy with an oppressive atmosphere of dread.
Shi Jun merely arched an eyebrow, his lips slanting into a cold smirk. “Oh? So according to you, I don’t even have the right to stay alive?” His voice carried a biting irony, completely devoid of fear.
Shi Wen shrugged indifferently, his eyes full of malicious mockery. “Naturally.”
“Hahaha…”
Shi Jun burst into a sudden, entirely inappropriate laugh. “Shi Wen, you really can’t wait even a single second, can you? It’s been less than twenty-four hours since the last kidnapping attempt, and yet here you are again, acting so desperately impatient.”
Shi Wen’s expression hardened instantly. “Shut up! Not another word!” he barked.
Shi Jun ignored him, continuing his mockery. “Tell me, Shi Wen as an illegitimate child who possesses absolutely nothing, how did you manage to hire these people to help you? The Shi family company is currently bleeding money. Where exactly did you get the funds to pay them?”
Shi Wen’s face turned an ashen green. He gritted his teeth, fury flashing through his eyes. Shi Jun’s words had pierced straight through his armor, tearing open the deep wounds left by years of being marginalized.
Memories flooded back of the days he spent living in the shadows of the Shi family ignored, disdained, and overlooked. His mother was nothing more than a homewrecker who had ruined another woman’s family, and he was merely a shameful, forgotten bastard.
“I refuse to accept this!” Shi Wen yelled, his eyes growing increasingly unhinged as he glared at Shi Jun with a bloodthirsty madness. “Why do you get to be the glamorous eldest son of the Shi family while I have to hide away like a filthy rat? I want everything! I hate the Shi family! That’s why…” He took a step closer, his gaze crazed. “That’s why I’m going to destroy it all! I’m going to make every single one of you pay!”
Shi Jun cut him off, his tone flat. “What do you have to be bitter about? Father has coddled and spoiled you for years. Even though you’re an illegitimate child, no one ever dared to lay a finger on you. Is that still not enough for you?”
Hearing this, Shi Wen’s face contorted into a hideous grimace. “I don’t care about his pathetic kindness! I despise the hypocritical look on his face whenever he looks at me! I want nothing more than to grind him under my heel and make him look up at me!”
“You’re completely insane,” Shi Jun replied, his voice cold and filled with utter disdain for Shi Wen’s ungrounded delusions. “No one has wronged you, and no one owes you a single thing.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Shi Wen sneered, recovering his composure. “You’re in my hands now, and I am going to ruin you completely. Do you see these men behind me? They were all prepared specifically for you. Enjoy yourself.”
As Shi Wen mocked him, the men beside him picked up cameras and aimed the lenses directly at Shi Jun.
Shi Jun merely tilted his head slightly, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his lips. He was completely unmoved by the threat. He let out a low, mocking chuckle. “Did you truly believe I walked into this completely unprepared? If I allowed myself to be caught by you, it means I have the power to walk away whenever I please.”
An uneasy flicker passed through Shi Wen’s eyes. He had never expected Shi Jun to remain so calm and collected under these circumstances. Could he really have a trick up his sleeve? He stared at Shi Jun with growing uncertainty, a wave of anxiety slowly creeping into his chest. He began to realize that perhaps things were not going to be as simple as he had planned.
Shi Jun continued to taunt him smoothly. “Did you really think you could keep me trapped here with just a handful of low-level thugs? Shi Wen, you are vastly overestimating yourself.”
Shi Wen’s face darkened completely, his gaze locking onto his brother. The absolute contempt and mockery reflecting in Shi Jun’s eyes poured gasoline onto the fire of his rage, making the tension in the narrow room thick enough to cut with a knife.