Chapter 53: The Hostage’s Gambit

Chen Lin felt the situation had spiraled out of control. Anyone who wasn’t an idiot could see that Shihan had made up her mind to take things to the ultimate level of harmony with him.

If anything, the situation had never really been in his hands since he got tased.

Of course, Chen Lin didn’t want things to go that far.

But no matter how hard he racked his brain, resistance seemed impossible under the current circumstances.

He wanted to escape, but without subduing Shihan, he wouldn’t get a chance.

So he had only one option to gain a sliver of an opportunity to overpower her: get her to untie his hands.

“Shihan, I promise I’ll behave. Can you untie my hands? If we’re going to do that kind of thing, having my hands bound is really inconvenient. We can’t do much like this,” Chen Lin suddenly said to her.

Of course, he had no intention of actually doing anything. This was just a delaying tactic.

He wanted to trick Shihan into releasing his hands, to find a chance to escape. Once his hands were free, even if Shihan had the stun gun, he figured he could still take a risk.

Maybe he could even snatch the stun gun from her when she wasn’t paying attention and turn the tables.

When Shihan heard Chen Lin say he wanted to do more unspeakable things to her, her face flushed bright red. Her mind filled with pixelated images.

If Chen Lin went through with the whole package, she didn’t know what kind of weird state she’d end up in, and it scared her a little.

But she knew this wasn’t the time to be afraid. After all, she was the one who had orchestrated this situation.

“N-no… don’t do too many… indecent things…” Shihan retorted.

She was the one pushing for the ultimate harmony, but she wasn’t ready for that many positions yet.

“I’ll keep it under control, I promise!” Seeing a chance, Chen Lin pressed on.

“A man’s mouth is a lying ghost. I don’t believe you… Who knows if you’ll listen to my pleas once you’re in control? And I’m worried that once I untie you, you won’t actually behave,” Shihan voiced her concerns.

Chen Lin wasn’t stupid. He knew why she was telling him this. If he could dispel her worries, she would probably agree to untie him.

So he didn’t hesitate. “Give me a chance. You can trust me completely. I have no intention of running away. I don’t even know where we are. Where would I go?”

But before he could finish, Shihan shook her head calmly. “No. I can’t trust you right now.”

“What do I need to do to earn your trust?” Chen Lin asked.

Shihan thought for a moment. “Have you heard of a ‘hostage token’?”

“I’ve heard a bit about it,” Chen Lin replied.

He remembered his history teacher mentioning this ancient custom. The so-called ‘hostage token’ was used mostly by marginal groups to enhance internal cohesion and show loyalty to an individual or organization.

Simply put, it was a pledge of allegiance when joining an illegal group.

For example, bandits would require a new recruit to kill someone as a demonstration of reliability.

Seeing that Chen Lin knew what it was, Shihan nodded.

In modern society, examples of hostage tokens were not uncommon. Shihan had seen many investors seeking her father’s funding and trust, often required to offer such pledges.

In this real world, just being a good speaker or making fancy PowerPoints wasn’t enough to earn trust and investment.

“I need a ‘hostage token’,” Shihan said.

“What kind of hostage token?” Chen Lin asked back.

“It’s simple. Stay as you are and do it with me once. After we finish properly, I’ll trust you won’t run away, and I’ll untie you immediately,” Shihan explained.

Chen Lin felt like they had gone in a circle and were back at square one. His head ached.

He didn’t want to do this, not just out of respect for himself, but also for Shihan. He didn’t want her to make a rash decision she’d regret.

Seeing Chen Lin’s hesitation, Shihan’s face turned cold. “You’ve been hesitating for so long… I get it. You were trying to trick me. As soon as I untie you, you’ll run away.”

Even though she had seen through him, Chen Lin refused to admit it. “No, you’ve misunderstood.”

“Misunderstood? I think I understand perfectly. Since you’re so unwilling, it seems I need to give you a little punishment…” Shihan pressed the button on the stun gun, as if to tase him.

Seeing negotiations break down, Chen Lin stopped pretending.

His hands were tied, but he was still a high school boy, physically stronger than Shihan.

He suddenly kicked out, aiming to knock the stun gun away from her. If he could kick it out of her hand, the danger would be halved.

But Shihan seemed to expect it. She pulled her hand back, dodging his kick.

And as Chen Lin retracted his leg, she struck with the stun gun.

“I knew it. You were lying to me…” Shihan said in a disappointed voice, her feelings hurt.

But there was no one listening. Chen Lin’s mind went blank from the shock. He couldn’t hear a word she said.

Shihan seemed intent on punishing him severely. She kept tasing him until his hair started to smell faintly burnt. Only then did she stop.

Looking at Chen Lin, foam at the corners of his mouth, Shihan’s gaze was complex. Her thoughts were a mess.

She was so focused on him that she didn’t notice the door behind her slowly creak open.

When she heard a soft footstep and turned her head to see what it was, a sharp blade pierced through her from behind, emerging from her front, right through her heart.

Blood coughed from her mouth. Shihan fell forward, a terrible wound bleeding profusely as she collapsed into a pool of blood.

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