Zhao Yicheng was in a terrible mood right now, and not just a little bad.
Anyone who woke up to find their most precious treasure with long legs had run off wouldn’t be feeling any better.
Sitting in the Control Room, all the island’s surveillance cameras rebooted, while several powerful generators roared incessantly next door.
Frame after frame of footage streamed in, playing continuously from early dawn until morning, each image sharp and clear.
Zhao Yicheng tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his expression dark and terrifying.
“Any leads?” His gaze swept across the various incoming footage before settling coldly on the five people in front of him, their heads bowed low.
One by one, they were as silent as the grave, choked with fear, not daring to utter a word.
Zhao Yicheng took several deep breaths, telling himself to stay calm.
Anger solved nothing—it would only make things worse.
He knew he suffered from a severe mental illness.
He also knew that a big part of why Xu Yinsheng ran away was his fault.
He shook a few red pills from a bottle in his pocket, popped them into his mouth, chewing and swallowing.
The bitterness and sour sting spread across his tongue, making him frown.
Once his emotions settled somewhat, Zhao Yicheng was about to say something.
But a sudden, noisy phone ringing interrupted him.
He frowned in annoyance, while everyone else hurried to check their pockets—but it wasn’t theirs.
Zhao Yicheng lowered his head to check his own pocket.
It was his phone.
An unfamiliar number.
Who would be calling him at a time like this?
Father? A friend? Or—
A sudden lightning bolt of realization flashed through his mind.
Zhao Yicheng snapped out his phone, the pale glow reflecting in his restrained yet wild eyes.
His trembling finger pressed the answer button, but no sound came from the other end.
Only deathly silence, broken by the crashing waves hitting the reefs outside, a relentless roar as if ready to surge forth and swallow him whole.
Zhao Yicheng took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, forcing his voice to soften.
“Xiao Yin, is that you?”
In this moment, he seemed to forget their roles—not captor and captive, not enemies—speaking with the gentlest tone in the world, like a lover whispering.
“Come back, okay?”
“I miss you.”
“This time, I won’t punish you, I promise.”
“Stop playing around.”
His voice was barely audible, but he knew she could hear him.
Still, nothing.
All he heard was the continuous sound of flowing water in his ear and the pounding of his own heart.
At his words, the breathing on the other end grew heavier, as if struggling to hold back tears—but in the end, it broke free.
“Zhao Yicheng, you motherf***er!!”
An angry female voice exploded from the phone, filled with raging fury.
Xu Yinsheng held the phone, unleashing a torrent of curses, venting all her frustration, grievance, anger, and hatred.
“Is this fun for you? Damn it, you bastard, you piece of trash! Who do you think you are? Your ‘plaything,’ huh?! Ha ha ha, building such a huge island and still playing Zhumen’s World with me! You’ve got way too much free time!! I f***ing curse your whole family, every ancestor in eighteen generations! I curse you to never have sons! You… (five hundred words omitted here).”
Xu Yinsheng cursed every swear word she’d ever learned in her life—and even invented new ones.
She thought she had escaped.
But she hadn’t.
She thought she was free.
But she’d always been right under Zhao Yicheng’s watchful eyes!
Thinking about how she’d been toyed with like a clown these past days, Xu Yinsheng’s hatred burned like fire.
She wanted nothing more than to tear Zhao Yicheng apart limb by limb!
Since birth, Xu Yinsheng had never hated anyone this much—so much that she wished he were dead.
Zhao Yicheng was a late-stage mental patient with severe insanity.
He said he loved her but pushed her into hell at the same time!
Did he ever truly love her?
Did he ever respect her?
Did he even see her as a human being?
The truth, extracted from the extras, was that this so-called “Weikilisi Island,” this place their “master” used to give the little cat some fresh air, this island that held her last hope—was all a lie!
Everything was fake!
It was all a sham!
Xu Yinsheng felt like she was losing her mind!
She was about to break!
She was about to fall apart!
Zhao Yicheng deserved to die!!
After a while, the cursing on the other end started to die down.
Probably exhausted.
Zhao Yicheng listened carefully, a perfect, unfazed smile playing on his face.
“Sorry, Xiao Yin.”
When the cursing stopped, Zhao Yicheng apologized softly.
“Come back. I promise I won’t treat you like that again.”
“I’ve started treatment. I won’t go crazy anymore. Come back, we have a bright future ahead.”
Still no reply—only heavy breathing.
“Xiao Yin, don’t you believe me yet?”
His tone carried a hint of sigh.
“I admit I went too far sometimes, but I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted you to get better.”
Still no response.
“Xiao Yin, give me one chance.”
Zhao Yicheng almost begged, his words full of heartbreak and guilt.
“All right.”
A female voice finally answered, long overdue.
“But you have to fulfill one wish.”
“What wish? I promise I’ll do it!!”
Zhao Yicheng clung to this last straw like a drowning man, refusing to let go, no hesitation at all.
“I want you to die.”
The female voice was cold and indifferent, dripping with undisguised disgust and contempt.
Like sharp arrows piercing straight into his heart, making him suffer unbearable pain.
“Zhao Yicheng, I hate you, I hate you!
All my misfortunes came from you. Why don’t you just die!”
“I regret it! I regret ever playing games with you!!”
The voice repeated over and over, filled with fury and cruelty.
“You’re an incurable bastard!!”
“So, you’re not coming back?”
Zhao Yicheng hung his head, eyes filled with desolation, muttering to himself.
Hearing this, the female voice seemed to hear the biggest joke in the world, and her tone suddenly soared.
“Go to hell!”
The call ended abruptly.
Zhao Yicheng calmly put down his phone, reaching for his chest.
His heart felt hollowed out, the pain making even breathing difficult.
He’d never felt pain like this before.
Why?
Zhao Yicheng looked blankly at his hands.
He’d apologized.
He’d admitted his mistakes.
He’d promised never to treat her like that again.
Why was she still running?
A sharp pain twisted through his chest, like someone slashing him with a razor.
The pain was so intense yet so clear that he wanted to scream out loud.
But the people present made Zhao Yicheng realize he couldn’t lose control now.
He fought to suppress himself, forcing his mind to focus elsewhere.
The Control Room was deathly silent.
Everyone could see that Zhao Yicheng was in a bad state, but no one dared disturb him.
When a madman flies into a rage, blood can spill five steps away—it was no joke.
After a long while, Zhao Yicheng raised his head again, looking at one of the staff coldly.
“Any progress?”
“We found it—a phone booth next to the Pig’s Trotter Rice Fast Food Restaurant,” a staff member reported respectfully, holding a tablet.
“Hm.”
Zhao Yicheng stood up, looking at everyone.
There was still a smile on his face, but behind it lurked a chilling coldness that sent shivers down the spine.
“Let’s go.”