Making a trade

"Of course you wish I was dead, but let me tell you...I will not die before you do. Lia was the one who saved me in the past. So I'm making a trade with you, one life for one life. Tell me where Lia is and I'll let you go." This time, it wasn't Selina's voice that came out of her mouth - it was Number 2.

"Speak! If you don't..." Number 2 nearly choked on the iron taste in her mouth as blood rushed up her throat. However, she knew her enemies better than herself. She cannot show any signs of weakness - at least not right now.

With great difficulty, she forcibly swallowed the mouthful of blood down her throat, keeping it away from everyone's sight. Unfortunately, even though she swallowed the blood successfully, it still left residues in her mouth. Hence, blood stains were inevitably noticeable on her pale lips when she spoke.

"You're injured. Let's see how long you will last then." One of Master Liam's underlings spoke with a smirk on his face after seeing Number 2's vulnerable condition.

"Hah...Then would you like to see how many holes I can carve into your boss's body in a matter of seconds? Is your mouth faster or my hand? Want to test it out?" Number 2 could hear her wound splitting, feeling it rage irritably as she used more strength to keep Master Liam in place. Every time she breathed, her flesh seemed to have voices of its own, screaming in agony for each second she stretched her limb.

While the underlings were distracted, Number 2 gave Rosanna and the others a quick eye signal to search the building. At first, the group wanted to split up and search for Lia's whereabouts. However, they noticed Number 2's condition and decided to deal with the underlings first.

Although Rosanna and Grandpa Lun lacked fighting skills, Michael and Eric were experts in fighting physically. After giving Rosanna and Grandpa Lun instructions on where to hide, the father and son duo decided it was time to fight back.

With Master Liam under Number 2's hands, none of the underlings dared lift a finger against her. Though these followers were skilled, their fighting techniques could not compare to Michael and Eric's skills.

Within ten minutes, all of the men that Master Liam brought with him were beaten unconscious to the floor.

"Now, are you going to talk or not?" Number 2 asked once more. This time, she sounded more fatigue than before. Seeing her pale complexion, Michael immediately took Master Liam away from her to let her rest.

With a rather chubby figure, Master Liam blocked Number 2's body from everyone's view earlier. Therefore, nobody noticed Number 2's bleeding wound while he was held captive. Now that he was taken away from her, everyone saw Number 2's blood-stained outfit.

As soon as Master Liam was in good hands, Number 2's legs turned numb. Her right leg bent as she tried to stabilize herself on one of the bodies on the ground. The moment she landed on a body, she spat out a mouthful of blood. "Lia..." She whispered as her hand covered her bloody wound.

"Don't worry, we will find her." Michael reassured her as Rosanna rushed over to attend to Number 2's wound.

"Enough is enough. You're already at this point. Speak up and tell us where Lia is! That video showed her being whipped with blood splattered everywhere. Where is she? If you don't tell us, I will slice your balls off into thin pieces and feed them to you." Michael threatened, tightening his grip on Master Liam's wrists.

"Hah! I already have one son. Do you think I care about reproducing anymore? Do you think I will get another wife or did you think that I want more kids? I dare you to slice me open and see if you can ever find where Lia is." Master Liam let out a dry cough in between his words.

"Do you think nobody dares to make a move on you? Because for one, I give no damn for your life. If worse comes to worst, we will bury you with her body. I'm sure she will not blame us for her death." A loud male voice echoed from the entrance. Everyone turned their attention towards the locked door and watched as a large group of people barge in. The leader of the group was the first to step into the abandoned building.

As the group entered, a few of Master Liam's underlings were tossed to the side like rubbish. The way they were brought in with their arms dangling loosely made them look as if they were string puppets.

After being slightly distracted, everyone's attention shifted to the man who suddenly interfered with their interrogation. However, the man had his eyes only on one person - Number 2. As he approached the nearly unconscious figure, Number 2 heard him sigh. Subconsciously, a light curve appeared on her bloodied lips. "You came." She whispered.

He said, "don't you usually have so much to say that you talk nonstop like a chatterbox? Why are you so quiet now? I'm not used to you being so quiet. I even cleaned my ears to listen to your endless words."

"Didn't you always want peace? The chatterbox needs to recharge to continue functioning." As Number 2 inhaled, a painful itch ignited in her throat causing her to choke on air.

"Careful!" Rosanna reached out to grab Number 2, but the man had already made a move and knelt in front of her.

Before anyone realized it, the man already lifted her in his arms. Feeling the familiar chest she always playfully punch against, Number 2 let her guard down and leaned against him. She let out another cough and said, "I'm tired, but it is not time for me to rest yet. Not yet...Number 1"

Number 1 frowned at the horrific sight of her opened wound. He shook his head, quickly carrying her back to his team where a doctor was present to examine her condition. "Her wound split opened." Although his voice sounded normal, only Number 2 knew what was on his mind at this time.

"I'm okay." The coughs from earlier made her voice sound hoarse.

"You're okay? We'll have that talk later when you can get a few run-on sentences out of you. Rest and be good. Let me deal with this." He placed her down gently on a sanitized cloth and had two people cover the area while the doctor examined her.

The doctor brought his first aid tools to her side. Once he concluded her condition, he immediately reported back to Number 1 in a low-volume voice. "She needs new stitches. I can only temporarily stop her from bleeding. She lost a lot of blood. We need to rush her to the hospital where all the necessary tools are."

"I'm not going. Not until Lia is found." Number 2 rejected the idea of leaving before getting Lia's news.

"She's going." Number 1 announced.