Amau Sueko's expression instantly darkened as she looked at the photographs scattered across the floor.
She recognized the people in them... without exception, they were all cybersecurity personnel from the Destiny Organization.
"It seems you recognize these people, Miss Amau Sueko. That makes the rest of our conversation much easier."
Jonas smiled and began speaking without waiting for her response:
"Including firewall maintenance and repairs, they cost the Alt Branch close to three million credit points..."
"As cruel as it sounds, that's more than all of them combined could ever earn in their entire lives."
"How do you think they could make up for those losses, Miss Amau?"
Amau Sueko couldn't help growing anxious at his words. She took a deep breath and said:
"What do you want? We'll do everything we can to make up for the losses. Don't..."
Jonas scoffed, his gaze utterly cold as he looked at Amau Sueko:
"Are you trying to negotiate with me, Miss Amau?"
He stood up. The girl bound in chains before him looked utterly bedraggled.
"Do you think you're in any position to negotiate?"
Amau Sueko swallowed everything she had been about to say. She stared at the man before her, unable to force out a single word for a long while.
She knew very well that she currently had no leverage to negotiate with him... but that didn't mean there was no hope of bargaining at all.
The girl took a deep breath and said:
"But the fact that you came here specifically to tell me this means I have something you're interested in, doesn't it?"
Jonas froze for a moment at her words, then couldn't help laughing aloud. Still smiling, he said:
"Yes, Miss Amau Sueko, you're very clever..."
He paused, then continued:
"But you seem to have put that cleverness to the wrong use."
A bad feeling rose in Amau Sueko's heart at those words. Then she heard Jonas continue:
"You have nothing that interests me. Your only reason for being here is to amuse me."
He paced slowly, then suddenly stopped and turned his head to speak:
"Do you remember what I said at the beginning?"
"Someone has to pay the debt owed to the Alt District."
"I'll repay every last bit of it, a hundredfold."
His boots stepped onto the photographs. He bent down and stared into Amau Sueko's eyes:
"Then I'll bring their bodies before you."
-To make sure you know that all these people died because of you.
Amau Sueko trembled, Jonas's figure reflected in her eyes as she squeezed a few words through clenched teeth:
"You monster..."
Jonas smiled at her words and said:
"Thank you for the compliment."
He straightened up and spoke as though something had just occurred to him:
"Also, Miss Amau, you needn't trouble yourself over how to save these people. They were already executed by firing squad before I came here."
"But the next ones won't be so lucky."
He spoke with perfect calm, as though describing something entirely ordinary:
"I'll break their bones one by one, cut the tendons in their hands, pry off their fingernails, and kill their loved ones right in front of them..."
"And please remember, every one of their tragic ends will be the result of your foolish decision, Miss Amau."
"You...!"
His words made the girl tremble uncontrollably. She clenched her teeth, digging her fingers deep into her palms as blood ran down her knuckles.
Her eyes remained fixed on Jonas. She could no longer contain her hatred and fury:
"I'll kill you. I swear I'll kill you, Jonas!"
As though he hadn't heard a word she said, the door to the confinement cell slowly swung shut.
Jonas's calm voice reached her ears in the final moment before the door closed.
It was a farewell, and a death knell.
"Until next time, Miss Amau."
Walking down the corridor of the Wetting building, Jonas felt considerably better.
Naturally, he hadn't done all this simply to take "revenge" on Amau Sueko... that was only part of the reason. The other was to mire her in hatred, leaving her unable to think about his true intentions.
She was intelligent, and even when an intelligent person wandered into a dead end, once she realized it, she would find a way out.
Physical and psychological torment still couldn't guarantee that Amau Sueko would fail to notice Jonas's true intentions.
Under these circumstances, all Jonas could do was add fuel to the fire again once she had calmed down.
Hatred was the best way to divert someone's attention.
All he needed to do was make Amau Sueko hate him utterly once she had regained her composure.
"The more you think, the easier it is to fall into a trap."
Jonas shook his head and muttered to himself with a hint of resignation:
"In a sense, knowing nothing is the greatest gift of all."
If Miss Amau Sueko hadn't been so intelligent, she wouldn't have had to endure so much torment.
After all, it was best to be a little more cautious when dealing with clever people...
PS:
[Confidential company file]:
Iris already knew a great deal about hacking, but her environment was so isolated that she had no clear understanding of her own abilities.
She had never shown her hacking skills to anyone else-or rather, she had never had the chance... even her adoptive father didn't know how proficient she was in this field. That was also why Wetting's personnel system had never recorded any relevant data on Iris.
Before you continue