Chapter 173: Chapter 173: Zhao Huifeng’s Plan

Amy’s gentle voice was laced with a bewitching quality, trying to lure Nina Walsh into a trap adorned with flowers and candy.

But Nina Walsh didn’t respond.

Her subconscious screamed at her that the flowers and candy were just a facade. One step forward, and she would fall into a bottomless abyss.

Looking at Amy’s sincere expression, Nina felt a little dazed. She couldn’t help but wonder, ’Why are these people so patient with me?’

The girl who’d held out with her until the end had been taken to the hospital a few days ago to have her corneas removed. She never came back.

As the girl was dragged away, she was still shouting that she was willing to entertain clients, but Blondie hadn’t given her the chance.

So, why had they given her so many chances?

’They’ve not only kept me around for so many extra days,’ Nina thought, ’but they’ve also sent Amy to persuade me again and again. It’s like they’re treating me differently from the others.’

Nina racked her brain but couldn’t figure out why.

’Is it because my father works for the government, so they have reservations?’

’Or is it because I’m attractive, and they want me to sell myself willingly instead of being "parted out for retail"?’

Seeing Nina Walsh staring at the floor, lost in thought, Amy asked anxiously, "Miss? Miss, are you listening to me?"

Amy’s words snapped Nina Walsh back to reality.

Looking at Amy’s expectant face, Nina just lowered her eyes and remained silent.

After a long pause, Nina spoke softly, her voice hoarse. "I... I need to think about it... Give me two more days."

’All I can do is stall for as long as possible,’ Nina thought. ’I’ve been gone for so long, Dad must have already called the police. If I can just hold out until he and the police find me, I’ll be saved!’

When Amy heard this, a flash of disgust crossed her almond-shaped eyes. ’This woman is so ungrateful! I can’t believe I wasted my breath on her!’

She hated women like Nina Walsh the most. She truly didn’t understand what Nina was being so high-and-mighty about.

’What kind of world are we living in? She’s been dragged here, and she still thinks she’s some pampered little princess from before the apocalypse?’

’Besides, is it so bad here?’

’There’s food and drink, even vegetables and fruit. These days, you can’t find this stuff easily outside!’

’And so what if it’s just entertaining a few men? Isn’t that what women are for?! What’s the difference between being with one man or several?’

Amy scoffed internally. ’My mother was only ever with one man—my father—and in the end, didn’t he sell her with his own two hands? He sent both of us to this place!’

Seeing that Nina Walsh was impervious to both threats and pleas, Amy suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She maintained her gentle tone and said, "Well, you think it over then, miss. I’ll come see you again next time."

With that, she turned and left.

Seeing Amy come out, Blondie, who had been waiting outside the door, frowned. "Well? Did that bitch inside agree?"

Facing Blondie’s stare, Amy nervously clutched the hem of her short skirt and replied softly, "Yates... I... I tried my best to convince her, but she said she still needs to think about it..."

Blondie flew into a rage. He kicked Amy hard, cursing, "You useless piece of shit!"

Amy’s frail body was knocked to the ground. A dull ache spread through her abdomen, but she bit her lip, not daring to cry out in pain.

Seeing her like that, Blondie wanted to land a few more kicks, but then he remembered she had to entertain clients later, so he held back.

Blondie clicked his tongue and waved his hand dismissively. "That mouth of yours is only good for sweet-talking men. The moment you’re needed for something real, you’re useless. Can’t even persuade one bitch, and now I’m gonna get chewed out because of you. All right, all right, get the hell back to your room!"

Amy scrambled to her feet and stumbled back to the second floor.

After Amy left, Blondie shot a dark look at the closed door and cursed his bad luck under his breath.

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, pulled out his phone, and thought long and hard. After carefully rehearsing what he was going to say, he nervously called his boss.

***

On the other end of the line, Flynn Adler had just taken a sip of wine from a glass offered by a beautiful girl next to him. When he saw the call was from a subordinate, he answered with a hint of annoyance.

Hearing his subordinate’s meek and apologetic voice, his brow furrowed deeper. ’Useless,’ he cursed internally.

’These idiots have been at it for days and can’t even persuade one little girl like Nina Walsh! Absolutely incompetent!’

A while ago, his fiancée, Clara Hayes, had uncharacteristically sought him out.

Her attitude had been unprecedentedly gentle. She had dropped her usual high-and-mighty demeanor and, with some trepidation, confided a secret in him.

After listening to her, Flynn Adler learned that Hugh Hayes’s disappearance was actually connected to Clara!

It was Clara who had sent Hugh to teach Melody Summers a lesson, which led to his disappearance!

Even for someone like Flynn Adler, who had seen it all, this was momentarily stunning.

He had originally thought his fiancée was a hot-tempered idiot with neither brains nor emotional intelligence—a completely useless waste of space.

But now he was starting to think Clara might have a brain after all, albeit a small one.

’Call her smart? She managed to stir up this much trouble and still left behind two loose ends like Nina Walsh and Melody Summers.’

’Call her stupid? After causing such a huge mess, she knew to hide it from Hector Hayes and had the sense to ask for my help.’

After the initial shock, Flynn Adler decided that what Clara had done wasn’t so bad after all.

If Hugh Hayes hadn’t mysteriously disappeared, Hector Hayes wouldn’t have passed so many business opportunities to him, his son-in-law.

Flynn Adler knew very well that he and Clara were in a partnership of mutual interest. He needed her to maintain his connection to the great tree that was the Hayes Family. If Hector Hayes took his anger over Hugh’s disappearance out on Clara, it wouldn’t benefit Flynn in the slightest.

Therefore, no matter how much he loathed Clara, he had to help her clean up this mess.

Clara had said she contacted Melody Summers through Nina Walsh. That meant the two loose ends, Melody Summers and Nina Walsh, had to be eliminated.

At the time, Clara had told Flynn Adler that they just needed to lure Melody Summers and Nina Walsh out, film a video, and use it as blackmail.

Flynn Adler found the idea laughable.

’"Film a video for blackmail"? How childish. That’s the kind of tactic elementary school bullies use. A real player like Flynn Adler wouldn’t stoop to such amateur games.’

Flynn Adler had his people run a background check. This Nina Walsh now went by the name Nina Summers. Her father, Caleb Summers, was just a regular civil servant.

Caleb Summers had been languishing in the system for years, going nowhere. His wife died before the new year, and he quickly remarried a woman who also came from an ordinary working-class family.

Ever since his new wife moved in, Caleb Summers had barely paid any attention to his daughter, Nina. She had been missing for this long, and he hadn’t even filed a police report.

Melody Summers’s family was even more ordinary. Her adoptive mother’s family was from the countryside. They got lucky, opening a supermarket just before the cataclysm. After the disaster, they managed to get a position as supply administrators, which gave them a foothold in the system.

But that was the extent of it.

Flynn Adler hadn’t touched Melody Summers before because he wanted to do Zane Simmons a favor. But now that the Simmons Family had withdrawn their investment from the Adler Group, Flynn no longer had any reservations.

With such unremarkable backgrounds, Flynn Adler had countless ways to bring both of them under his complete control.

The world outside was in chaos. It was perfectly normal for two ordinary young women to disappear, and the police were too overwhelmed to handle it.

’Instead of some pathetic "blackmail video,"’ Flynn thought, ’it’s better to just keep them at The Crestview Hotel as prostitutes. Let them obediently sell their bodies to clients, and once they’re used up, drag them to a hospital to be dismantled and sold for parts.’

That way, at least they would have served a purpose.

So, he sent his men to stake out Nina Walsh’s home and had them kidnap her the moment she stepped outside.

But Melody Summers had been a homebody lately, giving him no opportunity to make a move.

His original plan was to make Nina Walsh submit first, then have her lure Melody Summers out.

But he hadn’t expected the people guarding Nina Walsh to be so useless. Nina still refused to yield.

Flynn Adler pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. After a moment’s thought, he said, "Just figure something out. No matter what, make her call her cousin out. We’ll take it from there."