In the luxurious villa.

A man sat before an easel, a paintbrush in hand, applying strokes to the canvas at an unhurried pace.

He was extremely handsome. His features were deep and sharply defined, yet there was something dark and ruthless about him that made people instinctively avoid meeting his eyes.

There was not a trace of warmth in his gaze. Beneath that refined and elegant exterior, it felt as though a quiet night of violence lay hidden.

Soon, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

A man dressed in black walked in quickly with his head lowered. He stepped close to the handsome man and spoke in a low voice.

“Young Master He, the person has been brought in. He’s locked in the basement now.”

“Do you… want to go take a look?”

The man’s hand did not pause. He did not even lift his eyelids. His voice was casual, yet laced with a sinister danger.

“No.”

“Starve him for three days.”

“Don’t let him be too comfortable.”

The meaning was obvious.

Not only cut off food and water.

There would be torment as well.

The man in black’s expression shifted slightly. He opened his mouth as if to say something, hesitating.

But when he met the indifferent gaze of the man before him, he swallowed all his words.

In the end, he only lowered his head.

“Yes, Young Master He.”

After speaking, he withdrew quietly, not daring to disturb the unpredictable man any further.

The handsome man remained focused on his canvas, as though the one who had just issued the order was not him at all.

His mood could even be described as pleasant.

The colors under his brush grew increasingly vivid and intense.

The man’s name was He Tianhao.

And he was He Tianhao who had been reborn.

In his previous life, he did not know what kind of madness had possessed him.

The first time he met Wen Ruyu, he had seemed bewitched.

He had fallen in love at first sight.

From that moment on, he walked the path of a devoted lapdog.

Even now, several days after his rebirth, recalling it still made him feel nauseated.

If Wen Ruyu casually mentioned liking a certain brand of sneakers, he would immediately purchase the entire company and present every design to him.

If Wen Ruyu envied someone else’s sports car, he would offer up every car in his own garage without hesitation.

Even when Wen Ruyu liked Fu Qingfeng, he endured the jealousy burning inside him and secretly arranged everything for Fu Qingfeng, just to earn a light, careless word of thanks from Wen Ruyu.

He had put down all his pride.

He had restrained all his ruthlessness.

Like a dog, wagging his tail at Wen Ruyu.

And what had he received in return?

A fire.

Wen Ruyu had deceived him and the other men devoted to him, gathered them together—

And burned them all to ashes.

He Tianhao truly could not understand it.

It felt unreal.

Was he the type to become someone’s lapdog?

He had always been someone who would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.

If he liked someone, he would use every possible method to obtain them.

He did not care whether forced fruit was sweet or not.

If he wanted something, he would force it.

At any cost.

If he could not have it, he would rather destroy it.

And yet in his previous life, he had become a lapdog.

Not even the only one.

In the end, he had been burned alive.

What a disgrace.

He Tianhao felt as though he had been under a curse in that lifetime.

He did not even want to admit that the fool who had debased himself to the bone had been him.

But whether he wished to admit it or not did not change the fact.

He had died because of Wen Ruyu.

A miserable death.

A ridiculous death.

This blood debt would be repaid.

He would make Wen Ruyu personally experience what it meant to live worse than death.

What despair truly felt like.

His brush paused slightly.

He added the final stroke to the canvas.

The painting depicted a raging inferno.

Within the flames was a faint black silhouette, as though struggling in agony.

He Tianhao looked at the painting and the corner of his lips lifted faintly.

The smile was vicious.

—

When Wen Ruyu regained consciousness, he found himself sitting stiffly in a chair.

His long lashes trembled gently as he opened his eyes.

Darkness.

Thick and absolute.

Not a single ray of light.

He could not even distinguish his surroundings.

There was a numb discomfort at his wrists. He instinctively moved them.

They were tied.

Who?

Who had tied him up?

Countless possibilities flashed through his mind, but none provided an answer.

This dungeon was filled with strangeness.

Chu Junheng suddenly turning hostile and demanding his gifts back.

Being kidnapped for no reason.

None of this had happened to the original host.

Was it because of him?

Or had he broken character and aroused suspicion?

Just as Wen Ruyu was about to call the system in his mind, footsteps sounded outside.

They were approaching.

“Click—”

The sound of an iron door being pushed open echoed.

The next second, a blinding light switched on, illuminating the entire basement.

Even though Wen Ruyu had braced himself, his eyes immediately filled with tears from the sudden brightness.

He instinctively closed them and turned his head away from the overhead light.

His face looked pale.

As he tilted his head, a fragile curve appeared along his fair neck.

His beautiful lips pressed together unconsciously.

It was only an instinctive reaction.

Yet it was so beautiful it made one’s heart tighten.

Clean like a piece of glass that would shatter at a touch.

Fragile enough that one did not dare breathe too loudly.

The men in black at the doorway froze.

Their eyes widened as they stared blankly at the figure tied to the chair.

Wen Ruyu was the one who broke the silence.

His delicate face was filled with unease.

He pressed his lips together, his voice tight.

“Who are you?”

“Why did you kidnap me?”

The men snapped back to themselves.

None of them answered.

They forcibly looked away.

So beautiful…

And despite looking like this, Young Master He still ordered them to be ruthless.

They did not dare look at him for long.

They remembered Young Master He’s orders.

For a moment, no one spoke.

And no one moved.

The He family had risen through the underworld.

Even if they had cleaned up their image in recent years, things were still not entirely clean behind the scenes.

Countless people had been brought here over the years.

They were always decisive.

Always ruthless.

Never wasting words.

But now, facing this clean, beautiful boy who looked as though he would shatter at a touch—

They found themselves unable to act.

He was too beautiful.

Even looking away was difficult.

Let alone hurting him.

The man standing at the front was named Zhao Hu.

He was their leader.

He frowned and glanced at the man beside him.

“You go.”

“Me?” The man shook his head repeatedly. “I can’t.”

“You know me, Brother Zhao. I’ve never liked violence.”

Zhao Hu: “???”

Listen to what you’re saying.

In their line of work, claiming not to like violence?

Zhao Hu looked speechless.

He turned to another man.

Before he could speak, the man hurriedly said,

“You know me, Brother Zhao. I injured myself recently. I can barely walk steadily, let alone hit someone.”

As he spoke, he clutched his chest weakly.

Zhao Hu said expressionlessly, “Wasn’t it your back that was injured?”

The man paused, then smoothly moved his hand lower to his waist.

Zhao Hu: “...”

The last man, seeing Zhao Hu look his way, blurted reflexively,

“You know me, Brother Zhao—”

Zhao Hu stared at him as if to say, I’d like to hear how you make this up.

The previous excuses had already been used.

The man felt his scalp go numb.

After stammering for a long time, he finally forced out,

“My mother had my fortune told. It said hitting people would damage my luck and ruin my future.”

Before they could settle on a decision, Wen Ruyu spoke.

His cool voice carried a hint of dryness.

“I’m a little thirsty. Could I have some water first?”

When players entered a dungeon, their own physical data was imported.

Wen Ruyu had not drunk water in the previous dungeon.

Now that he had regained consciousness, the thirst was uncomfortable.

The men stopped arguing and looked at each other.

Young Master He had specifically ordered no food or water.

They looked at the pitiful boy.

Their gazes fell on his slightly dry lips.

For a moment, none of them could say no.

Zhao Hu was silent for a few seconds.

“Give him water.”

“But Young Master He said—”

“We won’t tell him.” Another man cut in. “If he asks, we’ll just say we didn’t.”

“That works.”

At the words “Young Master He,” Wen Ruyu’s lashes trembled faintly.

Among the original host’s fish, there was indeed someone surnamed He.

He looked at them and tested quietly,

“Is Young Master He… He Tianhao?”

Their expressions changed.

They realized they had exposed him.

Silence fell again.

No one answered.

Wen Ruyu understood from their reaction that he was right.

He frowned slightly.

“Why did he kidnap me?”

No response.

A man took out an unopened bottle of mineral water.

Since Wen Ruyu’s hands were tied, he thoughtfully unscrewed it and tilted it toward Wen Ruyu’s lips, intending to feed him personally.

Wen Ruyu did not open his mouth.

He turned his head away slightly.

“I’ll drink it myself.”

Zhao Hu frowned.

“Untie him.”

No one objected.

He looked too weak to escape.

The rope was removed.

Wen Ruyu rubbed his numb wrists lightly, took the water, and drank in small sips.

He looked quiet and obedient.

Even kidnapped, he did not shout or make trouble.

He was used to it.

But that obedience made him all the more pitiful.

His figure was slender and thin.

His delicate face pale against the black concrete walls.

Zhao Hu looked for a while, then instructed,

“Bring him some food.”

Once a principle was broken, it became easy to break it again.

This time, no one objected.

They brought him what they themselves were eating.

Ordinary boxed meals.

Heavy in oil and salt.

Not particularly tasty.

Wen Ruyu had grown up well pampered.

The moment he took the first bite, his brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

It did not taste good.

He forced himself to eat a few bites so he would not go hungry, then stopped.

The men frowned, but assumed someone raised so delicately simply was not used to their food.

No one spoke.

The atmosphere turned strange.

Though none dared stare openly, nearly everyone stole glances at him.

Zhao Hu’s expression darkened.

“All of you, out.”

They hesitated but left.

Zhao Hu did not stay either.

This was Young Master He’s person.

They had no right to interfere.

Staying too long would cause trouble.

But when Zhao Hu reached for the light switch, he paused.

The basement never saw sunlight.

Darkness was their usual method of breaking someone.

But that boy looked too fragile.

He might not withstand it.

In the end, Zhao Hu left the lights on before closing the door.

—

Back in the villa, He Tianhao finished his meal gracefully and wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

He looked like a refined noble heir.

The danger around him was concealed beneath gentleness.

He suddenly remembered something.

“Where’s Zhao Hu?”

The housekeeper thought for a moment.

“He seems to have been at the mountainside villa recently.”

He Tianhao understood immediately.

So they were carrying out his orders.

Three days had passed.

It was time to see how miserable that person looked.

Chapter 49

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