Lin Chang glanced at Lin Qingwan and replied coldly, "Doesn't he have two animated films waiting for approval? Use our connections to make sure his films don’t get approved!"
Only after approval can the animated films be released.
Producing animated films requires significant investment. If they fail to pass the review, all the investment would go down the drain, resulting in heavy losses.
"Dad," Lin Qingwan frowned, "If Xiao Xuan finds out this was your doing, he’ll probably hate us even more."
"And if we don’t do it, will he stop hating us?" Lin Chang retorted coldly.
"Dad..." Lin Qingwan tried to persuade him further, but Lin Chang raised his hand to cut her off.
"Wan'er, I know how you feel. You still have feelings for Xiao Xuan, and you want him to return to the Lin family. Don’t you think I want the same?"
Lin Chang sighed, "But Wan'er, you’ve seen how Xiao Xuan treats us. He simply doesn’t want to come back."
Lin Qingwan fell silent.
It was true. Xiao Xuan had the chance to return, but he refused to come back to this family.
"So, Wan'er, I want to force him to come back on his own," Lin Chang said seriously. "Once he returns and gets engaged to Shen Qianqian, the Shen Corporation will be his. Wouldn’t that be a better future than what he has now?"
Lin Qingwan’s furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
Her father wasn’t wrong. Returning to the Lin family was indeed the best choice for Xiao Xuan.
The company Xiao Xuan founded was at risk of bankruptcy, and no matter how talented he was, it would be difficult for him to surpass the Shen Corporation.
It would be better for him to marry Shen Qianqian and take control of the Shen Corporation in the future.
"Alright," Lin Qingwan nodded. "Dad, I’ll follow your instructions and make the necessary arrangements."
Lin Chang added, "Wan'er, go call Li'er to my study. I have something to discuss with him."
"Li'er went out to relax and hasn’t returned yet," Lin Qingwan replied.
"Still not back?" Lin Chang’s brows tightened as he glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was already 11:30 PM, an hour and a half after the business banquet. Why hadn’t he returned yet?
A sense of unease rose in Lin Chang’s heart.
"Wan'er, call him and tell him to come back immediately," Lin Chang ordered.
"Alright."
Lin Qingwan nodded, took out her phone, and dialed Lin Li’s number.
[Sorry, the number you have dialed has enabled the SMS reminder service. Please try again later.]
A cold, mechanical female voice came from the phone.
Lin Qingwan’s brows furrowed tightly.
"Dad, Li'er’s phone is off. He’s not answering."
"Off?" Lin Chang frowned.
Why would Li'er’s phone be off?
In all these years, Li'er had never turned off his phone.
"Dad, don’t worry. Li'er is a grown man. He’ll be fine. Maybe his phone died, or he’s out with friends," Lin Qingwan reassured him.
"True," Lin Chang nodded.
He returned to strategizing against Tianmu Group, no longer dwelling on Lin Li’s absence.
Meanwhile.
Lin Li was blindfolded and taken by men in black suits into a dimly lit basement.
The place was filled with people.
The surrounding screams and pleas for mercy sent chills down his spine.
"Get in," Lin Li was thrown into a room.
His blindfold was removed.
This... this place...
Lin Li looked around, feeling an eerie sense of familiarity, as if he had been here before...
Suddenly.
A vivid image flashed in his mind—he was being sliced into pieces, his corpse fed to a tiger...
The mental image only heightened his panic.
"Thud—"
Lin Li’s knees hit the ground hard as he trembled and begged, "What do you want? Money? Or something else? Whatever it is, I can give it to you. Just let me go, please."
"Mr. Lin, keep your dirty money to yourself. We don’t need it," Wang Hao sneered.
He lit a cigarette.
"Tie him up," he ordered.
"Yes, sir."
Several subordinates immediately bound Lin Li’s hands and feet to a wooden frame, leaving him spread-eagled.
"Brother Wang, should we bring the 'Root-Severing Water' for him to drink?" one subordinate asked eagerly, rubbing his hands.
He was curious to see the effects of the infamous liquid.
"Not yet. Let’s torment him a bit first," Wang Hao chuckled coldly. "The boss ordered us to make him wish he were dead."
He had almost forgotten.
It wasn’t time to hang him up yet, so they had to untie him again. What a hassle.
"Untie him. And prepare the finger press," Wang Hao commanded.
Finger press?
Lin Li’s eyes widened in terror.
Jiang Shuqin loved watching dramas, and he had once seen a finger press in a historical show.
Ten fingers squeezed between wooden planks—it looked horrifying.
"No!" Lin Li pleaded, his voice shaking. "You can’t do this to me! Let me go now, and I’ll pretend this never happened. I won’t report you to the authorities!"
"Report us? Mr. Lin, who do you think you are? Do you really think you can touch us?" Wang Hao sat in a chair, mocking him.
This man was someone the boss wanted to deal with, and Wang Hao was determined to make him suffer the consequences of crossing the boss.
Soon.
A finger press was brought in. Lin Li’s hands were forced into the device, his fingers placed between the planks.
At Wang Hao’s signal.
Two subordinates pulled the ropes tight, squeezing the planks together.
A searing pain shot through Lin Li’s fingers.
"Ahhh—" Lin Li let out a blood-curdling scream, veins bulging on his forehead and neck.
The two subordinates continued pulling the ropes from both sides.
Lin Li was on the verge of passing out from the pain.
Wang Hao gave another signal.
The subordinates loosened the finger press.
Lin Li’s fingers trembled uncontrollably, bruised and swollen, blood pooling beneath the skin.
Before he could catch his breath.
"Next, use needles on his fingers," Wang Hao ordered.
"Yes, sir."
Lin Li’s fingers were grabbed again, and needles the size of toothpicks were driven into his fingertips.
"Ahhh—" Another scream echoed through the room.
By the time the third needle pierced his finger, Lin Li could no longer endure the pain and passed out.
"Mix chili, salt, and ice water. Dump it on him to wake him up," Wang Hao said casually, crossing his legs.
"Splash—"
A basin of icy water mixed with salt and chili was poured over Lin Li’s head.
The wounds on his body burned like fire.
At this moment, his face was deathly pale.
The pain was unbearable.
He wished he could chop off his own fingers.
Lin Li lay on the ground, gasping.
Wang Hao walked over, crouched down, and said, "Hurts, doesn’t it?"
"Mr. Lin, this is just the appetizer. Over the next few days, you’ll get to enjoy the main course," Wang Hao said with a grin.
For now, it was only physical torture.
The final act—the Root-Severing Water—would bring mental torment.
As the name suggested.
It would cause that part of him to rot and fall off, turning him into a eunuch.
What man could endure becoming a eunuch?
Moreover, it would render him completely sterile.
Not even IVF would be an option.
"Who are you people? Did Lin Xuan send you?" Lin Li gritted his teeth.
"Mr. Lin, you still have the energy to worry about that?" Wang Hao smiled faintly. "You should be more concerned about yourself."
"Strip him naked!" he ordered.
Several subordinates brought in a brazier filled with glowing hot charcoal.