Drowsily, Zhu Tianyou gradually regained his consciousness.
His body was restrained, his limbs were firmly restrained, and two steel rods were also tied to his back. He tried to move, but he couldn't. He couldn't even bend his knees nor sit up.
His suit was still on him, and his back felt wet. There was a dripping sound.
Zhu Tianyou opened his heavy eyelids and began to observe his surroundings.
In the pitch black cabin, he could make out that he was in a bathtub and the tap was dripping. Beside it… a grinning face was watching him."Oh, you're awake?"
The annoying flat cap!
Zhu Tianyou stared at Tanaka in horror as if he had just seen a ghost. He wanted to say something, but only a muffled noise came out as his taped mouth couldn't articulate a single word.
"Oh, I almost forgot - you can't speak now."
Tanaka ripped off the tape on his mouth and threw the crumpled tape into the garbage.
"Are you a human or a ghost?"
[Impossible, his heartbeat and pulse disappeared - how could he still be alive?!] Zhu Tianyou frantically thought in his mind."100% human, you and I." He shrugged. His body leaned closer to the bathtub and he stared at the horror in Zhu Tianyou's eyes. With a smile, he said, "Mr. Zhu, will you cooperate with me?"
After his initial fear, Zhu Tianyou had already calmed down.
From the Golden Crescent to the Gulf of Aden, he traveled extensively in Western Asia for many years. He wasn't a simple character himself. At the moment, his mind turned fast, trying to determine the person in front of him was a killer hired by the enemy or a kidnapper looking for riches.
If it was the former, this guy wouldn't talk much nonsense. If it was the latter… some money should suffice.
An Interpol officer? By this person's means, it didn't look like it...
"How much do you want?" Zhu Tianyou slowly said.
"I don't want money; I only need ten tons of salt." Tanaka smiled and shook his head, extending a finger.
"You let me go and I'll give it to you."
When Tanaka heard Zhu Tianyou's words, it seemed like he heard a funny joke and he began to chuckle.
On his face flashed a hint of irritation as Zhu Tianyou fiercely said, "You don't believe me? When I say it, I mean it. I never broke a promise."
"I never trust anyone." Tanaka laughed.
"Then you tell me what to do. Even though you want the salt, I can't make it magically appear!"
"It's easy - tell me your where your 'tea garden' and 'chemical plants' are and I'll get it myself."
Zhu Tianyou looked at Tanaka as if he was watching an insane lunatic.
His salt factory was located on the border between Somalia and Ethiopia. Not only were hundreds of armed personnel stationed there, but the place was protected by local militants. Even the Marines wouldn't dare to enter the tea plantation and drug factory without extensive planning.
However, the confidence in Tanaka's eyes made him feel a little puzzled.
"What? Mr. Zhu isn't willing?" Tanaka grinned as he asked.
Zhu Tianyou didn't speak and hesitated in his mind.
Tanaka smiled and didn't speak. He stretched out his hand and opened the tap above Zhu Tianyou's head.
Splash—
The original dripping of water droplets instantly turned into a water column. The water level in the bathtub began to rise, and Zhu Tianyou's originally calm eyes finally panicked. When the cold sensation touched his ear, his calm face completely collapsed!
"I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Turn off the water!" Zhu Tianyou shouted and desperately tried to raise his chin while using the corner of his eyes to look at the clear surface of the water.
The pouring water column stopped and returned to slowly falling water droplets.
Tanaka smiled and looked at him.
"You can start."
The ticking sound of water was like the sound of a clock, beating a horrifying rhythm.
[Fu*k, if you want to die, I'll help you!]
Zhu Youtian's eyes turned sharp.
"If I tell you, will you let me go?"
Tanaka reached for the tap.
"Don't! Don't I'll tell you! The tea plantation is in the mountainous area south of Kraft in Ethiopia! Go ten kilometers further to the disputed Ethiopian border and go to the area controlled by the Hudur local warlords. If you ask the locals for Mr. Zhu's salt plant, the locals will take you there!"
"I need a specific location." Tanaka picked up a tablet from the table next to him and placed it in front of Zhu Tianyou. He took a stylus and stuffed it in Zhu Tianyou's mouth. "Point to it."
He bit the stylus like candy. Zhu Tianyou desperately tried to raise his head and pointed to two spots on the enlarged map then spat out the pen. He looked at Tanaka and said fiercely, "I already told you the location. Can you let me go now?"
After being a tycoon for so many years, he had never fallen so hard like this.
Zhu Tianyou already made up his mind. If he escaped from this man's hands, he would catch this guy, use the cruelest means to torture him, and make him regret living in this world!
But he still didn't understand why someone with a stopped pulse and heartbeat could suddenly come back alive.
"When did I say I would let you go?" Tanaka said with the same grin.
"You! You lied to me!" Zhu Tianyou's eyes widened and he looked at Tanaka in horror.
"Mr. Zhu can rest assured that your salt factory will prosper in my hands." Having said that, Tanaka stood up and opened the tap to the max.
Splash—
"No! I beg you! Please don't kill me! I-I have 200 million USD in my Swiss Bank account! I'll give everything to you! If I die, you won't get this money!"
The sound reverberated in the empty cabin, but Tanaka didn't show any signs of turning back. It was as if Zhu Tianyou didn't offer 200 million USD but 200 million sheets of toilet paper.
As he cried in despair, the door of the cabin was slammed shut.
Zhu Tianyou desperately lifted his chin, trying to prevent the water from covering his face, but his angled nose made the water rush into his nostrils and almost choked him.
He was unable to shout after the water entered his mouth.
The tip of the water immersed his nose. He couldn't breathe.
He desperately struggled to get out of the bathtub, but the rope was too tight and the steel behind him locked him to the bottom of the tub. No matter how he twisted like a worm, he was unable to lift his head out of the water.
His consciousness began to diminish; he had no strength left to struggle. He powerlessly sank in the water.
Vaguely, he heard the sound of gunshots, explosions, and something being kicked open, but he had no ability to distinguish what it was...
