As the sound of footsteps approached, Elisa could also see the person entering. They wore a devil mask, revealing a pair of deep amber eyes. Their thin lips naturally curved upward with a faint smile. Standing at 185 centimeters tall, they had a slender figure that exuded a cold and oppressive aura.
Elisa trembled with fear from head to toe, feeling terrified in this unfamiliar environment and apprehensive about the unknown ordeal she was about to face. Looking at everything around her, she knew that this person’s methods of torment were far from ordinary.
Accompanying him were two other men dressed in black, their faces hidden behind eerie black and white masks, with only their mouths and eyes visible.
Elisa forced herself to remain calm as she locked eyes with the man wearing the devil mask and didn’t flinch or evade. “You’re not Lukas.”
The man raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. He had just heard Elisa’s trembling voice filled with fear in the monitoring room moments ago. He hadn’t expected her to regain her composure so quickly.
Hamish’s woman was indeed different. This conclusion left a slightly unpleasant feeling in the man’s heart.
“If you want to see Lukas, I can call him for you,” the man’s tone was filled with malice.
Elisa bit her lip and changed the subject. “Who are you? Why did you kidnap Lila and bring me here for an exchange?”
“It’s Hamish who wants to make the exchange, not me.” The man approached and sat on a chair near the operating table, crossing his legs. With one hand under his armpit, he leisurely played with a syringe, his eyes filled with sinister intent as he watched Elisa struggle in vain. “Stop struggling. Those chains that bind you can’t be broken even if you try to cut them with a knife. Forcing yourself will only wear away your skin.”
Elisa’s wrists and ankles were already red, and the pain seared through her flesh. She knew she couldn’t break free, but she was unwilling to be at the mercy of others.
The man watched with great interest as Elisa writhed on the bed. It was like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web, blooming its final beauty moments before death.
“I’ve wanted to taste Hamish’s woman for a long time.” The man put down the syringe and approached, gripping Elisa’s face.
His presence felt not just icy, but malevolent, like the toxic fumes of a swamp.
“Are you afraid?”
How could she not be afraid? After all, everyone fears pain.
Elisa vaguely guessed that this person was Hamish’s enemy. She had known Hamish for so many years but had never known that he had an enemy wearing a devil mask.
“If you want to deal with Hamish, you’ve made a wrong decision. From the moment Hamish asked me to bring money in exchange for Lila, you should have known that he cares more about Lila than me.”
“Is that so?”
Elisa’s gaze flickered, but she remained silent.
The man continued, “It seems you care a lot about Hamish’s choice of Lila over you.”
Elisa’s throat went dry. “Does my concern matter?”
When no one cares about your life, who would care about your feelings? Whether she willingly accepted her fate or waited for her outcome, she would still be brought here.
To Hamish, she was just a commodity. Commodities didn’t need to be responded to; they could be easily transferred.
The man sneered, “Since that’s the case, let’s get to the point.” He suddenly released Elisa’s chin and moved to her neck, tearing the lining of her clothing, exposing her skin to the cold air. Elisa’s mind went blank in an instant.
She wanted to reach out and defend herself, but the chains restraining her wrists were too tight. Her movements only caused the chains to rattle against the wooden board.
Her teeth continued to chatter, and Elisa was so terrified that she forgot to plead for mercy.
“Don’t look at me with that expression; I haven’t done anything yet.”
The woman, with her eyes red and trembling, resembled a quivering rabbit. Rabbits were the most common creatures in dissection classes.
Living rabbits also wished to be bound to a table and have their skins slowly peeled off with a sharp knife.
From adorable to grotesque and pitiful, the man seemed to be admiring a piece of artwork as he gazed at Elisa’s fear-filled eyes.
Being blatantly scrutinized by the man was more humiliating than death itself, making Elisa’s voice hoarse as she spoke, “Just kill me directly…”
“Directly killing you would be too boring. Take a look at this dark chamber; everything inside was specially prepared for you. Rest assured, I’ll be gentle, and you’ll live well.” The man smirked and then instructed his subordinates behind him, “Install the device.”
The device the man referred to was a lie detector, which would be placed on Elisa’s head and would light up if she told a lie.
Elisa didn’t understand why they were installing a lie detector on her. But then again, did she have something that couldn’t be spoken of?
Elisa stared at him intently, her face growing paler, her eyes reddening against the backdrop. He shook his head helplessly. Didn’t she know that looking at him with those pitiful eyes only fueled his cruelty even more? It seemed that any gentle treatment was superfluous.
Elisa had fair, cold skin that turned red at the slightest touch. For instance, there were already two handprints on her shoulder.
“What are you going to do…?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough.” The man ignored Elisa’s pleading tone. He took the sealed box handed to him by his subordinate. As he opened the box, a cloud of white mist emerged.
Using a pair of tweezers, the man picked up a small, cold, ice-like object.
Just by looking at it, Elisa’s back was already covered in cold sweat.
At some point, the man’s gaze had become fierce. “Do you know what dry ice is? This thing can quickly injure the skin more than dry ice. Initially, I considered branding you with fire, but those burns are too unsightly and far less painful than this. I recently discovered this little toy, and you’ll be the first to experience it.”
The man approached her heart with the tweezers, and Elisa forgot to struggle and scream. Fear made her look like a fool as she watched the man’s actions, until the piece of dry ice was close to her heart.
That small piece of flesh quickly withered, decayed, and the dry ice melted into it. The excruciating pain was nothing less than a stabbing sensation in her heart.
“Ah!!” A piercing scream echoed in the confined space. Elisa trembled in pain, unable to control her tears, which streamed down her face.
She was like a withered leaf in the cold wind, shivering uncontrollably. She had never imagined such pain existed beyond her mental endurance.
The pain was like being flayed alive, as if plunging into extreme cold. Countless ice pillars seemed to stab her heart, making her wish for death. Yet, this was only the beginning.
The cold sweat on Elisa’s face mixed with her tears, and she weakly gasped, repeating in a low voice, “Just kill me… please, just kill me…”
“Has anyone ever told you that your terrified plea is particularly moving?”
Elisa’s body was already weak, unable to withstand a few more blows. The man took out a transparent syringe from the operating table.
He held Elisa’s delicate wrist and skillfully injected the syringe into her vein.
A slight sting spread through her bloodstream, awakening her previously numb and foggy mind.
“What did you inject into me?” Elisa asked, looking at the fluid entering her arm with astonishment.
“Don’t be afraid, it’s just a drug to invigorate your spirit. This is just the beginning. If you faint halfway through, it would be too disappointing.”