Chapter 224: Chapter 224- Negotiations
Walking down the stairs, they soon found themselves in the underground area of the building. This area was supposedly a parking lot before but was turned into a secret area for Hyun-Ki since they wanted him to remain as far away from any human contact as possible.
"We have left him in that room," Hyun-Jae explained as she pointed at a door with two guards standing next to it.
"Good evening." The two greeted Talon and Hyun-Jae the moment they saw them.
Talon gave them a small nod before he looked at the door. "How is he doing?" He asked.
"He has been really quiet, leader. Except for a few groans every now and then, he can't talk. We gave him food yesterday and we don't know if he ate it or not." One of the guards said with a frown.
"Hmm, ok…" Talon squinted his eyes thoughtfully before he looked at Hyun-Jae. "Let's get in there."
The girl nodded her head, pulled the keys out of her pocket, and then unlocked the door. The moment she pushed it, a very dark room was revealed to them. The room was almost invisible to the normal eye. But, for Talon, Hyun-Jae, and almost everyone else, it was as clear as day.
Standing there, Talon saw a silhouette lying on the ground in the far corner of the room. He examined him with his eyes before he started slowly walking inside with careful steps.
"Close the door behind you," Talon said as he coldly looked at his target. "I know you're awake, turn around." He spoke in a freezing cold voice.
His voice was so cold that it even made Hyun-Jae react subtly. Even when he was extremely angry before, it never made her feel such a sense of danger even when it came from someone dear to her heart.
Talon was a little different than before.
"Ugh… Oh, I have some visitors? How lucky I am." It didn't take long for Hyun-Ki to react to that order as he slowly turned his limbless body around and spoke in a husky, almost inhumane voice.
Calling his face hideous was an understatement. He looked like a monster rather than a human. His hair was dirty, his face was pale and his eyes were red. He looked like he was on the verge of dying.
"You look repulsive," Talon replied as he sat down with Hyun-Jae next to him.
"I wonder who did that to me? They have quite the rough hand." Hyun-Ki laughed drily.
"... You know why I came here." Talon cut him off as he went straight to the point. "It's time for that call."
Hyun-Ki stared at him silently for a moment before he exploded into laughter. "Hahahahahaha! You're a funny one, Talon! How am I supposed to make a call when I have no arms?"
But, his jokes didn't seem to work with Talon as he suddenly snapped his finger and a blade flew out of nowhere and targeted Hyun-Ki. The latter flinched as he tried to move, only to realize that his body was unable to move. The blade reached him in a split second before it plunged into the ground, right next to his head.
"...!!" Exhaling a shocked breath, his eyes stared at the sharp blade near him.
"I'm not joking with you. I'm in no mood for jokes. You are going to make the call and you better make it correctly or I will make sure you would wish for hell." Talon's eyes flashed with a terrifying glint.
Hyun-Jae swallowed a mouthful of saliva as the tension grew in the room. She knew that Talon was in a horrible mood, perhaps the worst he had ever been. So, whatever he was saying at that moment sounded way more threatening than anything else.
He meant every word he said and even Hyun-Ki recognized that in a moment.
"Hahaha, did I anger our great leader? My deepest apologies then." Hyun-Ki smiled as he apologized.
"..."
"But, don't you think it would be better if you tried to convince me to actually do it rather than threaten me? You know that I'm not stupid, right? I can easily convey a message to the other party on the phone without you realizing it and in a week, armies from all countries will be knocking on your door." He laughed.
"What do you want?"
"Hmm, let's start with not killing me."
"I accept," Talon replied coldly. "What else?"
"I get rele-"
"Refused." Talon cut him off instantly as he unleashed his aura.
"Ok! Ok! Geez, you do realize how important it is for me to make this call, right? It's a matter of life and de-"
"If it came down to it, I don't care if I have to fight them. Your call is simply a convenience that I'm willing to take for a good price. If things don't work out, then we are going the brute way and you know I'm very good at that." Talon crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"You would win, but at what cost? Are you sure you can fight thousands of soldiers on your own?"
"I can and I will. It's not a matter of debate."
"... Ehem, I do like your confidence. That's probably one of the reasons why you beat me. You have complete trust in yourself no matter what situation you are in. Isn't that quite amazing? But… Why do I sense that you aren't acting normally, Talon?"
Hyun-Ki squinted as he hummed. "You are definitely acting differently. Did something bad happen? You can tell me, I can help you. Are you going through depression? No...
Not that, it feels more like grief to me. Did you lose someone dear to your heart? Or perhaps the news finally arrived?" As he spoke, Hyun-Ki's grin widened.
Seeing that mockery in the man's eyes, Talon felt his anger boil. For some reason, his words affected him instantly and he couldn't compose himself.
"Ok, I'm about to break his bones," Talon said as he stood up, only for Hyun-Jae to grab his arm.
"Hahahahaha! Scary~ Talon is so scary~" The man laughed.
"Calm down, he's just trying to play with your head. We are the ones in advantage here. He is just trying to make it sound like he is the one that can help." She said with a soft tone as she stared deep into his eyes.
Those words from Hyun-Jae snapped Talon out of his anger before he sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry for losing it for a moment."
"Listen, I will make you a deal. It's the last thing we are going to offer. It's irrelevant to us whether you accept or refuse." Hyun-Jae turned to Hyun-Ki as she spoke. "If you do the call and do it right. We will release you in 6 months and if we can, we will restore your arms and legs. What do you think?"
"Hyun-Jae?" Talon looked at his friend confusedly.
At first, he was taken aback by her offer since she was implying they were going to spare him. But, a few moments later, it hit him. Hyun-Jae had a plan and an idea. So, before he could leak it out, he made sure to continue the act of being confused.
"We have no other choice. We need to make some sacrifices if we want to get what we want." She explained.
"But, letting him free is a problem."
"Hahaha! Interesting, such an interesting offer! Are you sure about that, Miss Hyun-Jae? You do realize that my power requires but a word and things will get out of hand really quickly."
"I'm not worried. In 6 months, you will be leaving if you make the call. It's as simple as that. Do you agree?" She pushed him with words as she stared directly into his eyes.
The man went silent for a few seconds, contemplating her offer carefully.
'This sounds too much like a trick to be believable. They are definitely not going to release me. But, then again, I was going to leak information if they let me do the call either way. Hahaha! What a conundrum this is. Should I play along?'
Even though he was stuck in that shithole, Hyun-Ki was rather amused by the current situation. He was certain that if a war was to ensue, he was going to have quite the show to watch.
He was really intrigued for some reason.
'If he wins, then I might have a chance to leave and even if he doesn't, I can use that opportunity to escape.' He thought to himself.
It didn't take long for Hyun-Ki to settle his mind as he looked up at Talon and Hyun-Jae. "You two really convinced me, I must say. I want my freedom more than anything else. If I can get that, then why not? A call won't be that much of a hassle either way." He shrugged.
"I'm surprised you agreed immediately. Are you not afraid that we might not fulfill our promise?" Talon asked.
"Hahaha! I know that you two are honorable people who keep their word even against enemies. So, I'm not worried about that if I must say."
'This guy…' Staring at the weird human in front of him, Talon felt the urge to just sigh. No matter what he did, he couldn't understand how Bang Hyun-Ki's brain worked. It was the weirdest thing imaginable.
He didn't even know if the man was a psychopath or simply a twisted man with ambitions.
'Either way, he won't be a problem for a while. I might as well use this opportunity.' Talon shook his head.
"Good, let me get the phone then and go about it immediately." Talon turned around to leave the room. "Stay here, Hyun-Jae. I will be back in a moment."
"Ok."
With that, Talon left and closed the door behind him. Hyun-Jae moved to the nearest wall and rested her back against it as she waited silently.
"For how long have you known him, hmm?" Hyun-Ki asked.
"I'm not here for small talk. Shut up or I will put that tape against your mouth again." She glared at him for a moment before turning around.
'So annoying…'
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