China Has a Thousand Forms of Punishment-One Is Bound to Suit You

Inside a spacious van, two men were being pinned to their seats by five or six burly men, unable to move.

Just moments ago, six or seven muscular men had suddenly burst out of the white van parked by the roadside, covered their mouths, grabbed them by the waist, and carried them into the vehicle.

They already understood that they had been kidnapped, but damn it, they had been the ones planning to kidnap someone else. How had things ended up like this?!

"Hey, brother, there might be some kind of mis... misunderstanding!"

The man's body stiffened the moment he saw Ryan suddenly appear at the van door.

"Thanks for the help this time, John!"

Without looking at the speechless man, Ryan led Annie into the van and thanked John, who was seated in the back.

Although he had paid $3,000 for it, the fact that John had come to help on Christmas Day was already a considerable favor.

"It's nothing. I had nothing better to do anyway, so this was a good chance to stretch my legs. But buddy, how are you planning to deal with these two assholes?"

In the back of the van, John waved a hand magnanimously and looked at the two men tied up tightly with ropes, wearing expressions as though their parents had just died.

"Find somewhere deserted. There are a few things I want to ask these two."

Ryan gave the pair a cold look before answering. He had to find out whether there was anyone else behind them, and he certainly would not let these two off so easily.

"No problem!" John snapped his fingers and shouted to the driver up front, "David, head to the abandoned warehouse on Seventh Road."

"Yes, boss. Your driver will get you there as fast as possible." David, the driver, let out a shrill whistle and floored the gas pedal, instantly picking up speed.

"Don't worry. That place is my territory. No one will come disturb us."

After giving the driver his instructions, John turned to Ryan.

"Is that so? Then I'm looking forward to it."

Ryan's icy gaze fell on the two bound men, and a chilling smile curled across his lips.

The warehouse John mentioned was not far from the World Trade Center. They arrived in just over half an hour.

After everyone got out one by one, Ryan and the others entered the warehouse.

"Hey! Hey! Guys, you definitely got the wrong people! Really, you got the wrong people!"

"We just happened to be behind you earlier. That was only a coincidence. We weren't trying to follow you!"

The two men bound with ropes shouted loudly, putting on the air of seasoned crooks who would not shed a tear until they saw the coffin.

"Shut up, you two pigs!"

Annoyed by their nonstop babbling, the burly men holding them each punched them hard in the stomach, finally quieting them down.

"This place isn't bad. Spacious and secluded—a great place to kill someone and hide the body!"

After entering the warehouse, Ryan looked around and nodded in satisfaction.

"Hey! Don't say things like that so casually!" John looked at Ryan, rather speechless.

"Of course, of course. I was just joking!"

Ryan nodded with a smile, signaling that he had only been joking. Yet he cast one last glance at the two men, sending a chill through their hearts.

"Annie, go play outside for a while. You're still too young for what comes next. It's not something you should watch."

Ryan lowered his head to speak to the little girl following beside him, only to realize that something was off about Annie's expression. Faced with this scene, there was not a trace of fear in her eyes. Instead, they held a hint of... excitement?

Damn!

I must be seeing things, right?!

Ryan began to seriously doubt his own eyes.

"No! I want to stay here!"

Her clear, childish voice echoed through the warehouse, and everyone looked in surprise at the tiny figure dressed in a Santa suit.

Ryan's vision went dark, and he nearly fainted.

God, can someone tell me what I'm supposed to do when the little loli at home suddenly reveals a dark, violent side!

What do I do!!!

"Ahem, Annie, you're still too young..." Ryan tried his best to steer Annie away from such improper thoughts.

"But you said you would treat me like an adult!" Annie frowned and retorted.

"But those are two completely different things. You need to be a lady!" Ryan's voice rose despite himself.

"They are the same thing! And what kind of person I want to become should be decided by me!"

"Fine!"

Seeing Annie's face flushed red with emotion, Ryan rubbed his temples to calm himself down, then asked seriously, "Tell me, why do you want to stay?"

He needed to know what Annie truly thought. Why was she so determined to stay?

The air fell silent, leaving only the sound of everyone breathing.

Annie lowered her head and said sadly, "I don't want to lose you, my only family, too."

"These past few days, you've been training until late every night before coming home. You bought so much military gear, and... I also opened and looked at the things Uncle had hidden when you left the house!"

The girl's voice gradually rose. She looked up at Ryan, then lowered her head again. "I don't know why you're so nervous, so desperate, or what you're facing, but as your family, I want to help you. At the very least, I don't want to become a burden to you."

Two tears slid from Annie's eyes and fell to the ground. Other children her age might not have noticed such things, but she was emotionally mature and especially sensitive during this period. How could she possibly have failed to sense Ryan's unusual behavior and the anxiety he had been hiding?

"Are you serious, Annie?"

Stunned by Annie's words, Ryan asked the question.

"Mhm!"

Annie nodded obediently.

"Then all right, you can—"

"Hey! You bastard, you can't seriously be planning to let a little girl stand there and watch you torture people, can you?"

John suddenly spoke up, looking at Ryan as though he were trash.

The others who had come to help also looked at Ryan with displeasure. They had all once been soldiers. Their natures might not have been particularly good, but they had always believed that children should have nothing to do with bloodshed.

"Annie isn't an ordinary child. Besides, this world is cruel to begin with. There's nothing wrong with seeing some of it sooner."

Having made up his mind, Ryan spoke in a tone that allowed no argument. John looked at the expressionless Ryan, then at Annie behind him, who had stopped crying and broken into a smile. He clenched his fists tightly.

"I really want to beat the hell out of you!"

John glared viciously at Ryan and stalked off to one side in a sulk.

He did not know why he had so readily agreed to something that went against his values. Perhaps it was because of the look in that little girl Annie's eyes?

"I'm fucking insane!"

John punched the wall bitterly.

"Boss, are we really letting that little girl watch?"

David, who had driven earlier, frowned. He felt as though he were committing a crime.

"Leave them alone!" John replied irritably, then turned to Ryan. "You bastard, don't come looking for me if there's nothing going on. And especially don't come looking for me if there is something going on. Taking this job from you today has brought me eight lifetimes of bad luck!"

Ryan smiled when he heard that. "Thanks for this, John. I'll buy you a drink next time."

Ignoring John telling him to get lost, Ryan walked over to the two bound men, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Talk. Why were you following me? I'm in a very bad mood right now. I hope you won't make me try out all the torture methods I've read about in books on you!"