Chapter 730: Jiaojiao 10
Everyone in the room was slumped on the floor, but their minds were still sharp. This was especially true for Yuan Sheng, who was the brains of the operation. He knew at a glance that Chen Jiao must have realized something was wrong long ago.
Yuan Sheng forced a smile. "Miss Chen, could there be some misunderstanding here?"
"What misunderstanding? You coveted my screenplay, but just stealing it wasn’t enough for you. You also wanted to take indecent photos of me." Furious, Chen Jiao stomped on Zhanng Ping’s wrist and ground her heel into it.
Zhanng Ping let out a squeal like a stuck pig. Chen Jiao, bored, lifted her foot. "I heard every single word you just said. What’s there to argue about?"
Ye Rong was more composed. "We have offended you, Miss Chen. What is it that you want? As long as you name it, we will do everything in our power to satisfy you."
Chen Jiao snapped, "Who wants your things? They’d just dirty my hands."
’Let’s see, what should I ask for? Ah, right. It’s almost eleven. Perfect. Just in time to test the effects of this medicine.’ As Chen Jiao’s eyes darted around, the others saw her pull two small porcelain vials from her bra.
"This one... this seems to be an Intestine-breaking Pill, and this is a Heart-devouring Pill? Oh dear, I forgot to label them." Chen Jiao frowned with regret, then broke into a smile the next second. "Oh well. We’ll know once we test them."
With that, Chen Jiao grabbed a fistful of Ye Rong’s hair, casually tipped out a pill the size of a chocolate bean, and held it right in front of his face.
Ye Rong tried to clamp his jaw shut, but with a squeeze to his mandible from Chen Jiao, his mouth fell open involuntarily. The pill melted almost instantly, and it even seemed a little sweet.
Chen Jiao repeated the process, and soon, all twenty people in the room had received one of her pills.
Looking at the two pills remaining in the vial, Chen Jiao sighed regretfully. "I’ll have to make more when I get back today, just in case I don’t have enough next time."
Yuan Sheng suppressed the growing terror in his heart. "What did you give us?"
"Something good. You’ll find out in a bit." Chen Jiao wasn’t about to tell him. In truth, she had only heard about the symptoms from Tan You; she had no idea what it would actually look like when the effects kicked in.
If Ye Rong and Yuan Sheng, who had weathered their fair share of storms, could remain relatively composed, the same couldn’t be said for the henchmen they brought along. Lacking such mental fortitude, some had already started begging for mercy.
"Miss Chen, we have no grudge against you. Please, let us go."
"I have an old mother and kids to support..."
"Miss Chen, we were just following orders..."
Chen Jiao did feel a pang of sympathy at first, as they looked genuinely pitiful. But Tan You reminded her, "Anyone able to enter this house is basically a trusted confidant. From what I can see, every single one of them has committed numerous evil deeds."
Chen Jiao’s heart hardened instantly. "Begging me is useless. Who told you to be so wicked in the first place? Besides, it’s time."
Just as the wall clock in the room struck eleven, the people lying on the floor all suddenly curled up. Some clutched their stomachs, others clutched their chests, each one of them contorting like a large shrimp.
The room echoed with all manner of wretched screams. Chen Jiao simply sat on the room’s only sofa, watching their disgraceful display. Though a flicker of pity was in her eyes, it was quickly replaced by a cold hardness.
These men were no tough guys. They had no problem dishing out pain when they were the ones bullying others. But when it was their turn to suffer, they couldn’t even last half an hour before they were all begging for mercy.
"Miss Chen, just give us a quick death!"
"We’re begging you!"
"Miss Chen..."
Chen Jiao turned a deaf ear to their pleas. Eventually, she simply took out her notebook and began writing furiously on the sofa. It almost seemed as if their miserable state was inspiring her creativity—or so Ye Rong and the others thought.
In reality, Chen Jiao was just using this opportunity to copy her screenplay. She needed to wait for this wave of the poison’s effects to pass to see their reactions.
Unfortunately, none of them were very tough. Even Yuan Sheng, who had the highest pain tolerance, only lasted an hour before his head lolled to the side and he passed out.
"How boring," Chen Jiao said, letting out a disinterested yawn. "Teacher, let’s go back."
Tan You had the same idea. "Let’s go. They’ll come looking for you, but not before they’re certain they have no other cure."
Chen Jiao suddenly let out a soft laugh. "Seeing them like this today... I suddenly feel so satisfied! All the frustration I’ve been holding in for so long has just vanished. It really is more fun to make trouble for others."
Seeing her like this, Tan You narrowed her eyes slightly. She hadn’t expected such a side to be hidden beneath Chen Jiao’s innocent and naive exterior. But on second thought, it was understandable. When a person is repressed for too long, they’re bound to need an outlet.
Isn’t there a saying? ’Why let it eat you up inside when you can just mess up other people instead?’ Especially when it comes to bastards like Ye Rong. Can you even call them human?
Chen Jiao asked, "Teacher, do you think we’ve crossed a line by doing this?"
"What do you mean, ’crossed a line’?" Tan You was unconcerned. "They can go to the hospital, but a checkup won’t find any injuries. It’s only crossing a line if you cause actual harm. But do they have any proof?"
"I’ve already blurred all the surveillance footage," Tan You added. "Besides, for people like Ye Rong, sending them to prison would be like sending them home."
"I see," Chen Jiao said with a nod. "So, does this mean I can be a *little* more reckless when I run into people like Ye Rong in the future?"
Tan You reminded her, "You can’t go too far. You can’t actually play them to death."
"Don’t you worry, I definitely won’t go too far." Chen Jiao clutched her large bag. "It’s not often I get to come to a big house like this. Oh, right, Teacher, you said there was something good here."
Tan You replied, "There is indeed. Over there is a locked cabinet. Inside are all the master tapes from their years of blackmailing people. Do you want to take them and destroy them?"
Chen Jiao dropped her backpack with a THUD. "Then let’s destroy them. I just wonder how many they’ve burned."
Tan You said, "Every time Ye Rong and his crew wanted to threaten one of those girls, they would come here to burn a copy to send to the starlet. Aside from the backups the girls themselves have, the rest are all here."
Chen Jiao smiled. "Alright, then I’ll do a good deed today."
Following Tan You’s directions, Chen Jiao easily opened the safe. Inside, a box was filled to the brim with all kinds of discs. They were labeled with serial numbers and names; a quick glance revealed they were mostly people from the entertainment industry.
Chen Jiao couldn’t help but click her tongue. "A few of these people used to work with Zhanng Ping."
"Zhanng Ping is a pimp. He specializes in scouting targets for people like Ye Rong." Tan You looked away. "Destroy them. This kind of vile stuff shouldn’t exist in the world."