The next day, the door of the old warehouse creaked open heavily. Charlie came back from outside, his face still streaked with dust and sweat. He strode quickly up to Caleb, who was standing guard by the door, lowering his voice but unable to hide the tension in it.
"Boss, Captian already knows that this woman has gone missing. I've passed the news about her to him, but… he hasn't made any move at all."
Caleb frowned, his eyes dark, like murky water being stirred.
"He… doesn't care whether this woman lives or dies?"
Charlie immediately shook his head, hesitation written all over his face.
"Hard to say. Captian's mind… is hard to read."
Caleb turned around, his icy gaze fixing directly on me inside the warehouse. In that instant, I felt a killing intent that wasn't concealed in the slightest, like a blade pressed against my skin.
My heart trembled.
I was afraid—clearly so.
But at the same time, a faint emptiness welled up inside me.
As expected… in the end, I would have to save myself.
In the heart of that great demon king, I was never anything at all. If I had placed all my hope in him, I probably would have died long ago.
"Boss, we shouldn't do it yet."
Sensing Caleb's killing intent, Charlie hurriedly spoke up to stop him.
"What if Captian is just pretending to stay calm to deceive us?"
Caleb pondered for a few seconds, then finally nodded slowly. If they really killed me now, whether Captian would still obediently follow their lead would indeed be a gamble.
"Then keep her for now," he said coldly. "If she turns out to be useless… kill her."
His gaze remained locked on me, the murderous intent so obvious it made my scalp tingle. He was even more frightening than Captian, his killing aura was aimed straight at me, pure and direct, without the slightest attempt at concealment.
After that, believing that Captian wouldn't come for the time being, they gradually loosened their guard. By the time night fully fell, the entire abandoned warehouse was left with only me inside.
I almost wanted to laugh at my luck.
Not wasting a single second, I quickly used the sharp iron nail to saw at the rope. Every movement was slow, small, and careful to the extreme. I didn't know how much time had passed when suddenly I felt the rope… loosen.
It snapped!
My heart pounded so hard it nearly leapt out of my chest. I immediately struggled free, untied the rope around my legs, then opened the small cloth pouch on my body. Everything was still there acupuncture needles and powdered medicine.
I remembered clearly: among them was a powerful sedative. As long as it took effect, it would be enough to knock someone unconscious. I quickly mixed the powder with the water on the table and soaked the needles in it. There was no time to hesitate, this was a fight for survival.
Just then, chaotic, hurried footsteps rang out from outside the warehouse, pounding straight against my heart.
My heart clenched instantly.
They were back!
I didn't have time to think. Acting on instinct, I hurriedly picked up the rope. My hands trembled, but my movements were astonishingly fast as I tried to tie it back the way it had been, pretending I was still a helplessly bound piece of prey. I had just finished...
Bang!
The iron door was kicked open, metal slamming against the wall with a piercing clang. Charlie charged in like a madman, his face deathly pale, breath ragged. He lunged straight at me, lifting me off the ground. His rough arm clamped tight around me, and a cold blade was instantly pressed against my throat. My skin burned with pain; I frowned but forced myself to keep my breathing steady.
"Charlie… what are you trying to do?"
I forced my voice to stay as calm as possible, even though the blade pressed against my throat made it sting unbearably. But just then, noise suddenly erupted outside rapid footsteps, shouted voices mixed with the harsh clanging of metal.
My heart thudded.
…They were here.
Without thinking, my mind jumped to a conclusion almost instantly: Captian had brought people with him. He had finally come. I knew that great demon king wouldn't abandon me. And he was so strong, so capable of course he could save me.
A barely controllable sense of smug satisfaction spread through me, overwhelming even my fear. Charlie yanked me backward, but this time I didn't tremble.
I even smiled.
"Do you hear that?" I tilted my head, deliberately letting the blade scrape my neck, my tone slow and provocative. "The reinforcements are here."
Charlie froze for a split second.
Before he could react, I continued, biting back without the slightest restraint.
"You still haven't let go of me? In a moment, even kneeling to beg won't be enough."
Charlie's expression twisted instantly. His eyes turned bloodshot, his facial muscles twitching violently. Then he suddenly roared like a madman.
"Damn it! Well done, Captian!"
I raised an eyebrow and immediately shot back, unable to resist.
"Thanks for the compliment to my husband. He really is very capable."
Charlie ground his teeth, saliva flying with every word.
"You dared to trick us! And even attack us from behind!"
I gave a soft "oh," my tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Is that so? Then it just proves you weren't vigilant enough. How can you blame someone else?"
Charlie tightened his grip, shaking me violently, his voice hoarse with rage.
"We've all been played by him until we're spinning in circles!"
I took a deep breath. The smile on my lips hadn't faded, in fact, it was infuriatingly confident.
"Then congratulations."
"You picked the wrong person to kidnap."
In that moment, I truly believed that with just a few more minutes, all of this would be over.
Hearing that name, my heart jumped, my eyes lighting up involuntarily.
Had he… arrived?
"But it doesn't matter!" Charlie let out a harsh laugh, the grin on his face twisted and terrifying. "The woman is in my hands. Does he still dare to play tricks?"
At that moment, footsteps sounded outside the warehouse door.
They weren't hurried, nor chaotic, but slow and steady to a frightening degree each step landing on the concrete floor like a hammer striking the nerves of everyone inside the dark warehouse.
A pair of leather shoes appeared at the threshold. The ceiling light flickered, stretching a long shadow across the cold concrete. Captian walked in, dressed in a black trench coat and black pants, his entire presence carrying a chill so intense that I felt the temperature in the warehouse drop with every step he took.
"Take your filthy hands off her."
His voice was low, so cold it was like shards of ice falling to the ground. Captian casually spun the pistol in his hand, his movements frighteningly unhurried. The way he looked at Charlie wasn't like he was looking at a living person but at a corpse whose time of death had already been decided.
In that instant, my heart pounded wildly.
…Just him alone?
Almost reflexively, I glanced around. Shadows, overturned crates, the wind whistling through the abandoned factory, no Ronan, no Hunter, no one else. I even deliberately looked again, as if someone might step out if I stared hard enough.
No one.
It really was just him.
My heart sank to the bottom.
Was he… insane? Coming here alone?
Was he that arrogant? Or did he trust himself too much?
I wanted to ask, wanted to ask indirectly, wanted to hear him say, "Don't worry, my people are surrounding this place" but with the blade pressed tight to my throat, I could only swallow hard, screaming in despair inside my heart.
It was over.
This time, it was really over.
That arrogant demon king… did he think he was immortal?
Charlie instinctively trembled under Captian's killing aura, but with the knife still at my throat, he forced a grin, his hoarse voice dripping with provocation.
"You want me to let go? Fine." He glanced at the gun in Captian's hand, his twisted smile widening. "Put the gun down first. Otherwise..."
The blade pressed a little harder.
Leaning close to my ear, he laughed viciously, hissing each word through clenched teeth.
"... I don't mind carving a few cuts into your wife's face."
A burning pain flared at my neck. Cold steel bit into my skin, and then warm blood seeped out, sliding down my skin and bringing with it a numbing chill that ran straight up my spine.
"Try moving." Charlie growled in my ear, his alcohol-laced breath blowing against my neck, making me nauseous.
I clenched my teeth.
A miserable scream echoed in my head, and I almost burst into tears.
No one's coming to save you, Rosy. He came alone. If you rely on Captian, you'll just die together.
…Then there's only one option left save yourself.
The instant that thought formed, I forced myself to calm down, suppressing the tremor in my body and focusing all my attention on Charlie's arm gripping me, the position of his fingers, the pressure, the distance of the blade.
Captian narrowed his eyes. Veins bulged violently on the back of the hand holding the gun. His breathing deepened, like a beast driven to the edge of a cliff, waiting for the moment it would explode.
"Let her go."
His voice was low and cold, each word pressing heavily into the air.
And me caught between the blade and the smell of blood had only one thought:
If he can't save me, then I'll save myself.
At that moment, I didn't look at the knife, nor at the blood running down my neck. I only looked at him straight into those deep black eyes. Strangely, the fear from before suddenly dissipated, and even the burning pain dulled, as if everything around me had stretched and frozen in place.
"Don't listen to him," I said hoarsely, almost whispering. "Captian… don't do this for me."
Under my blurred gaze, Captian suddenly raised an eyebrow. Then, without the slightest hesitation, he released his grip. The gun fell straight onto the concrete floor with a sharp clang that echoed through the warehouse.
"Say what you want." His voice was cold and indifferent.
The sound hit me like a hammer to the head. I froze for a brief moment, unable to believe that he had really dropped the gun.
Charlie burst into wild laughter. All his previous caution vanished completely. Smugness spread across his coarse face, and the knife in his hand loosened slightly as he mocked the foolish romantic hero.
"Hahaha! See that?" he shouted. "Mr. Captian is nothing special after all! Obeying me just because of a woman!"
That very moment of slackness became the only opening.
I lunged forward almost on instinct. My body moved so fast I didn't have time to think. The acupuncture needle in my hand stabbed straight into the pressure point on Charlie's neck precise, decisive, and ruthless leaving him time only to let out a short roar before his entire body stiffened.
"You bitch!" he roared in panic.
He tried to reach for me, but his strength had already drained away. His eyes widened in terror, then quickly dulled as his massive body collapsed onto the cold ground.
"It's just a sedative," I said coldly, looking down at him. "Sleep it off and clear your head."
I didn't give him any further chance. I immediately bent down, picked up the gun from the ground, and shoved it straight into Captian's hand, urging him that there were still four more of them and that we had to leave immediately.
"Take it," I said quickly.
"If you die here, I'll be at a huge loss."
Without waiting for his reaction, I grabbed his wrist and dragged him outside, where darkness and wild grass instantly swallowed us. Twisting paths spread out before us like a maze with no exit.
"Which way?" I gasped.
Before I could steady myself, Captian's voice sounded right by my ear, low, firm, and unwavering, pointing clearly.
"Left."
And I trusted him completely, immediately pulling him in that direction.
We ran without daring to look back, breathing ragged, hearts poundind until the roar of an engine behind us snapped me back to reality.
"Damn it… they're coming," I said, my voice shaking.
Then came the sharp crack of gunfire tearing through the air. Bullets flew wildly, dirt and weeds exploding right beside my feet.
"Captian!" I screamed.
Panic surged too fast. My legs went weak, and I lost my balance, collapsing to the ground. My hands flew up to cover my ears as my voice broke in despair, asking him what we should do.
"We won't make it if we keep running!"
The very next second, a powerful force yanked me back up. Captian's hand clamped tightly around me.
"Look at me," he snarled.
He dragged me forward as his cold, ruthless voice rang in my ears, issuing the only command that mattered now...
"Run."