A Bad-Hearted Doctor is Unbearably Beautiful - Chapter 46

The audio cut out abruptly, but the mechanical cutter in the video did not stop.

The number “3”… there were still two strokes left to finish the engraving.

The atmospheric pressure in the room was suffocatingly low. Everyone felt as if a blade were being held against their own necks, with gossamer-thin metal wires sawing back and forth across their frayed nerves.

“His target is me…” Shen Zhao spoke slowly. Every head in the room turned toward him.

Silence followed. It was true; the kidnapper’s intent was far too obvious. Those intimate, ambiguous whispers sounded like a desperate craving.

Shen Zhao stared fixedly at the screen, the veins on his temples throbbing. “Enough… what do you want in exchange for stopping?”

The harsh crackle of static returned.

The kidnapper let out a delighted laugh. “Hahahaha… is that you speaking, Doctor Shen? By the way, your new name is quite lovely. Shen Zhao… Shen Zhao…”

“It’s me. I am asking you—what do you want?” Shen Zhao’s face was terrifyingly pale.

“Losing your patience already? This is a far cry from what happened back then.”

“Back then… who the hell are you?!”

“I will answer that question one day, but not today. You asked what I want? Up until now, I simply wanted to put on a show for you and your friends. But since you asked, perhaps…”

The kidnapper chuckled, the sound twisting with malice. “There are too many people around you. I’m so jealous… Why don’t you come here to save this child? For your sake, I might give him a little time to rest.”

The kidnapper’s voice shook with suppressed laughter. “I’ll send someone to pick you up. How about it?”

An uproar broke out in the conference room.

“In your dreams!” Lu Xiao slammed his desk and stood up, roaring in anger. “Are you kidding me?!”

The kidnapper sneered. “Don’t be so hasty. I’m asking Doctor Shen. He is a guest I’ve personally invited—who the hell are you?”

Every eye was now focused on Shen Zhao. His expression was a storm of complexity as he braced his clenched fists against the table.

Lu Xiao grabbed Shen Zhao by the shoulders. “It’s a trap! You can’t!”

The kidnapper’s voice drifted through the speakers, airy and light. “The next performance is coming up soon. I’ve decided to move the schedule forward~ You have ten minutes to decide. I’m waiting for you, Shen Zhao.”

The kidnapper clapped his hands once more. “Alright, the clock is ticking.”

The conference room fell into a deathly silence. Lu Xiao gripped Shen Zhao’s shoulders, his eyes refusing to leave the doctor’s face for even a second.

Shen Zhao closed his eyes, but the image of the boy on the screen flashed in his mind—the way he lay there, and the clear “13” formed by the bloody gashes on his neck.

A moment later, he opened his eyes. “Let me go.”

Shen Zhao’s voice was incredibly soft, yet it struck everyone like a sledgehammer.

“Shen Zhao, stay calm.” Lu Xiao’s gaze looked as if it could devour a man whole, and his voice was so cold that the rest of the team didn’t dare make a sound.

Shen Zhao pushed Lu Xiao’s hands away and looked back at the screen. “He is torturing me. He wants to break me, using that child to chip away at my patience inch by inch…”

“So what if it’s a trap? I want to save that child. I cannot bear to see that scene… repeated.”

Shen Zhao appeared remarkably calm now. Despite the cold sweat on his brow and a body so weak it was nearly spent, his tone was utterly stubborn.

“Stupid!” Lu Xiao cursed.

“Old Zhou, immediately track the equipment shown in the video! Which manufacturers sell them? To whom? I want full buyer information—now!”

“Lin Xue! Expand the search area for the kidnapped child! Immediately!”

Driven by Lu Xiao’s frantic energy, everyone instantly dove back into the investigation.

Shen Zhao shook his head. “I will go see him. That is the only way the child can be removed from danger quickly.”

“The child? What about you?! Do you even know what you’re saying? Do you think he’ll let you go once he sees you? Won’t you be the next one lying on that bed?”

Shen Zhao did not answer.

Wang Deng and Wu Di exchanged looks. Zhang Zhen scanned the room before turning his gaze to Shen Zhao. “What exactly is the connection between you and the kidnapper…?”

Lu Xiao snapped, “Shut up!”

Lu Xiao stepped back in front of Shen Zhao. “I don’t agree to you going. I cannot let you walk into such danger—neither as a police officer nor as a man… I will not watch you fall into his hands.”

Shen Zhao was silent for a few seconds. “I also want to know why this person is so obsessed with finding me. If it really is the people who persecuted me at the orphanage, I hope you can help me catch them with your own hands… Will you?”

Lu Xiao’s voice was hoarse, a fire smoldering in his eyes. “I can’t let you go to your death.”

The air remained heavy as the standoff continued. Ten minutes had passed.

Static hissed again, and everyone grew restless.

“What’s the matter? Haven’t reached a decision yet?” the ghostly voice asked, his tone dripping with provocation.

Shen Zhao opened his mouth to speak, but Lu Xiao’s hand clamped firmly over it.

The kidnapper sounded almost disappointed, though his pitch remained high. “Fine then~ All of you can just sit tight and watch—very, very closely—the next program I’ve prepared for you. Friendly tip: this scene is going to be a bit… ‘visceral.'”

On the screen, a scalpel held by a mechanical arm suddenly moved with high speed. In an instant, it was hovering over the boy’s chest. The arm plunged downward. The moment it touched the boy’s skin, a loud shout thundered through the conference room!

“I’ll go!”

Shen Zhao had bitten Lu Xiao’s hand hard, gasping for air as he yelled the words.

The mechanical arm jerked to a halt.

Nothing but despair remained on the child’s face. His throat worked convulsively as he gasped for air, looking as though he might suffocate at any moment.

Clap—clap—clap.

The sound of the kidnapper’s applause came through, the rhythm sounding like a victory celebration intended to taunt them all. In the room, everyone stared at Shen Zhao in shock, their fists clenched white.

“I’ll go in his place!” Lu Xiao declared heavily.

The kidnapper sounded as if he’d just heard a hilarious joke. He let out a long, shoulder-shaking laugh. “You? Have you forgotten how much you’re worth? You dare to negotiate with me?”

“Decide quickly. I’ll send the location for Shen Zhao’s pickup. I’m about to… lose my patience.”