"Good. You've got guts!"
Ye Chen glanced at Crow and Obi, then looked at Luo. Luo understood at once and hurriedly pulled Bruce's heart from his pocket.
"Don't! I didn't say a thing!" Bruce felt utterly wronged. Crow had hurled the insults, and Obi had made the threats. Bruce had kept his mouth shut the whole time. He had never imagined he would be the one to suffer.
"Whose heart is that?" Obi asked in shock.
The heart thumped steadily. It was clearly still alive—and very fresh.
"It's mine," Bruce said miserably. "Do you even need to ask?"
Ye Chen took out a cigarette and lit it, then took the heart from Trafalgar Law. Without warning, he drove the glowing tip into it.
"Ahhh!" Bruce howled in agony. His features twisted into a ghastly mask, frightening Crow, Obi, and the others out of their wits.
Obi hurriedly waved the guards back and forced a smile. "Let's talk this through. How about a trade? We'll return your companions right now. In exchange, you release Bruce and give him back his heart."
Ye Chen nodded. "Now that sounds like something a reasonable person would say."
Ye Chen was not easily intimidated. Anyone who tried to threaten him would regret it.
A little courtesy, on the other hand, might get them somewhere.
Obi clapped his hands. Before long, Kuro and Perona were brought out. One look at their faces told Ye Chen they had fallen under Bruce's power. Like the guards, they stared blankly ahead, moving like the living dead.
The two sides exchanged hostages, and Ye Chen returned Bruce's heart. Once Kuro and Perona were back to normal, neither remembered anything that had happened. It was as though that stretch of memory had been erased.
"What's going on? Where are we?" Kuro