Struggling is futile; the man deemed. It was useless, his binds were tightly secured. And under these people's watchful gazes, he doubt they'll allow him to have even a slight bit of chance to loosen it for his convenience.

But the doctor did removed the thankfully-clean gag off his mouth.

​​

"I interrogated him multiple times already, but he still kept his mouth shut." Song Zhihao informed, grumbling in annoyance at the man's stubbornness.

He even resorted in threatening to cut his fingers if he didn't start talking. But as you can probably tell, no body parts were cut off.

You can't blame him, really. His been out of commission from the Underworld for years. And his morals as a doctor was stopping him from returning back to his former self.

However, no one told him he couldn't just ask someone else to do the dirty work for him. By dirty work, he obviously meant torture and murder.

Hence, he called Ethan here. Since he's back to the dark side, and it was his wife that's being targeted. Song Zhihao thought he would appreciate it.

Consider this as some sort of twisted welcome back gift.

Song Zhihao inconspicuously glanced at the nonchalant woman his good friend treasures more than his own life.

Is it alright for her to be here?

Was she really that accepting of Ethan's nefarious profession that she wouldn't bat an eye for those he might hurt or kill? Say, this man tied in his future office library—he refuse to call it a basement—for example?

"We'll take it from here, then." Ethan said.

We?

Song Zhihao looked at him, bemused.

"That's an interesting gadget you have there on your face," Lillie Bai walked in a calm, yet intimidating manner towards the man until he had to lift his head to meet her cold gaze. "Care to explain where you got it?"

What?

Reverting his attention to their captive, he saw nothing except the schooled expression of neutrality he always wear.

What gadget is she talking about? He was certain he removed every items their captive has.

The man didn't uttered a word, choosing to remain silent.

Seeming as if she had enough with the staring contest, Lillie glanced over her shoulder and exchanged meaningful looks with Ethan.

Understanding what she meant, Ethan fished out his phone from his breast pocket and dialed a number.

"Ai," Ethan put it on video call so she could see everything. "Could you remove this man's mask, please?"

Oh, AILiF! Ethan's engineered daughter. It's been years since Song Zhihao heard the cute, yet cheeky little girl's name.

Opening the back camera, Ethan let Ai scanned the man's face. "Oh, wow! This model's one of the good ones. But I'll try my best to hack into it." Her high-pitched voice echoed.

"Please and thank you, darling." Ethan said.

"Sorry for the trouble, sweetie." Lillie sends her little girl a gentle smile.

"No problem, mommy, daddy! Ai is always happy to help!"

Their captive's eye twitched after he heard a voice that seem to belong to a little girl no older than five.

Unbeknown to him, that action didn't do unnoticed by a pair of sharp, cerulean eyes.

Suddenly, the man heard an alarming beep that only he could hear. It was a warning from his mask, telling him that it's about to turn off.

This is bad, this is bad! How did this happen?

Was it that little girl who did it? Impossible! How could a child like her do such a feat?

This mask he's wearing was created by advanced technology, wherein whoever wears it can change their face. It's composed of millions of nanobots banding together to project the face they were programmed to follow.

It's like a hologram, but much more complex. You wouldn't even notice if a person was wearing one unless there's an interference with the mask's control system; creating a buggy, pixelated face.

How you can remove it, there are two ways; one, by turning it off from the main control system—in their case, by hacking into it—and two, by ripping it off his face—which he was relieved they didn't resorted to, because it would also tear his skin off in the process.

Considering the look of scrutiny they're shooting him, he can confidently say that they had successfully penetrated his mask's security system and turned off its power.

"Well, well," Lillie tilted her head, a conniving smile etched her bare lips. "Your wife was right, your daughter truly has your eyes."

Frozen, the man's calm demeanor cracked 'almost' unnoticeably at her statement.

Impossible! She couldn't . . . she couldn't have known so quickly!

She has to be bluffing, right? She was just making some wild guesses!

A quick scan of his facial structure, Ai immediately send the information about their captive's identity once she found it.

Ethan lowered his cellphone just enough for his wife to read the file's contents along with him.

And surprise, surprise, his wife's eyes are frighteningly amazing. To be able to recognize someone just by the similarities they had with their child.

"Imperial Jade Condominium, room xxxx," Lillie approach their captive once again and lowered her eyes to meet his ferocious glare. "Doesn't that ring a bell?"

"You—!"

"A lovely pair, they are. So gracious as to invite complete strangers inside the security of their own home." Lillie cut him off, and slowly started to break his psyche.

This type of person is difficult to break by means of physical torture. Difficult, but not impossible. Lillie could always bring him to the headquartes' Interrogation Unit, but that would be a hassle.

Fortunately, a window of opportunity was opened by fate. Lillie was just testing the waters at first, she didn't had any complete proofs of her claims.

That single crack of demeanor was enough to tell that her assumptions are spot-on.

Calculative and cunning eyes of deep, rich chocolate brown, were coincidentally similar to the quirky little girl they happen to interact with at the elevator.

Lillie didn't think twice but to see where it would lead them. She had nothing to lose in this game of guessing, but another pinch of her morality.

Threatening the lives of a clueless mother and her daughter just to break a man's spirit wouldn't sit well to any normal person who knows guilt and empathy.

Unfortunately, those humane traits were scarce in Lillie's person.

Pawns were conveniently spread for her on the table, it would be a waste if she didn't make use of it.

"The little girl was especially fond of you." Lillie cranked her neck to glance at Song Zhihao. "Isn't she, Doctor Haohao?"

Song Zhihao instantly recognized the nickname; rather, 'who' install the nickname.