Chapter 189 Psychological Warfare

Chapter 189 Psychological Warfare

"I choose my child. You can have the hard drive."

Catherine answered without any hesitation. She held up the black encrypted hard drive in her hand. "This is what you want, right? This, and for the Harrison Group to exit this market?"

She had prepared herself mentally before coming. Now that she stood before them, there wasn’t a trace of fear in her heart.

A flash of surprise crossed the masked man's eyes. He hadn't expected Catherine to be so straightforward. He nodded directly.

“I can give you all this core technology, and I can promise never to use it again or produce any related drugs.”

Catherine looked at the masked man, speaking each word clearly and firmly. "I have only one condition. Now. Immediately. Let my child go."

This condition was even better than they'd expected. Originally， they'd only planned to make her hand over the stuff, but now she was willing to exit the market on her own.

The masked man exchanged glances with the people behind him. He nodded and gestured to his subordinate beside him. "Go untie the child."

One subordinate immediately stepped forward and began untying the ropes binding Ethan.

Catherine quietly let out a breath of relief. Before she could speak, there was a bang as a man stumbled and rolled in through the door.

"Boss! Something's wrong! There's an ambush outside! People everywhere!"

Before he finished speaking, the masked man's expression changed drastically!

The subordinate who had been untying the ropes froze. The masked man's reaction was lightning-fast—he rushed over and yanked Ethan up from the chair!

A dagger pressed against Ethan’s delicate neck, his eyes filled with fury as he stared at Catherine.

"Catherine!"

The voice came through the altered tone of the voice changer, but the anger was unmistakable.

"You fucking dare to trick me?!"

Catherine's mind went blank. She hadn't expected such a twist at the final moment. She could only force herself to calm down.

"I didn't! I don't know anything. The hard drive is yours, give me the child, and we're even!"

"Calm down! Catherine, calm down! Listen to me!"

In her earpiece, Alexander's voice was especially calm. "Breathe! Tell me what you see! How many of them are there?"

He hadn't expected this sudden accident either, but it was okay—he was here.

Catherine instinctively opened her mouth to respond. The masked man happened to notice her slight movement.

"Who are you talking to?"

He ripped off his voice changer, and the dagger drew a shallow， bloody line on Ethan's skin.

Ethan woke from his drowsy state with the pain. Seeing the scene before him, tears flooded his eyes, but he couldn't cry out because his mouth was sealed with tape.

Seeing this, Catherine's eyes turned completely red. She immediately shouted.

"Don't touch him!"

She'd figured it out now—if they dared to make a move, she'd just take them all down together. Nobody would survive.

"Then make whoever you arranged leave!"

The masked man had completely lost it. He patted Ethan's face with the dagger and roared at Catherine. "I don't care who's outside! Within five minutes, if I don't see them all withdraw, I'll make you watch your child bleed dry!"

Inside the Russell Mansion, Alexander, Liam, and Nora watched this scene clearly through the miniature camera on Catherine.

Nora covered her mouth, trembling all over. "They really are animals. They can do anything—even hurt a child."

Thinking about this, her whole body shook, and words stuck in her throat.

Liam's face was ashen. Alexander stared at the screen, his expression not showing much emotion, his tone the same.

"Catherine, don't listen to him. This is psychological warfare. He's pressuring you. The action team is in position. As long as..."

"No!"

Catherine interrupted him. Her body was shaking. If something went wrong, everything would be over. She thought for a moment and immediately shouted.

"Alexander! Pull back! I'm ordering you—make them all withdraw!"

"Now! Immediately! Right now!"

The atmosphere in the mansion instantly dropped to freezing. Everyone's eyes fell on Alexander, unsure whether to speak.

"Mr. Russell, this..."

Alexander didn't look at him, just kept his eyes serious. After thinking carefully, he finally spoke.

"Have everyone around there pull back completely. Move fast. Don't leave a single person."

Hearing this, his subordinate immediately breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ordered the withdrawal.

Inside the abandoned factory, the masked man heard the sound of vehicles leaving in the distance, and his expression showed a hint of relief.

He patted Ethan's cheek with the back of the dagger blade, looking somewhat smug.

"See that, Catherine? In Alexander's eyes, you and your child are worth more than all his men. Throw the hard drive over."

He wanted to grab the stuff and leave quickly. Staying here wasn't safe—who knew what else might happen.

Catherine looked at the thing in her hand, feeling conflicted about whether to hand it over. Just as she was about to comply, she suddenly heard a snap, and all the lights in the factory went out at once.

"What's going on?!"

The masked man's first reaction was panic. He instinctively tightened his arm, holding Ethan close, while his other hand gripped the dagger tightly, scanning the surroundings warily.

"Turn on the lights! Go turn on the backup power!" he roared at his subordinates.

In the darkness, chaotic footsteps echoed, the sounds particularly noisy. No one could tell what was happening.

"Boss, it's no use! The circuits seem to be cut!"

"Fuck!"

Just then, a scream rang out.

"Ah!"

It was too dark all around. Strange sounds kept coming from somewhere. The masked man was getting scared.

"Who?! Come out!"

"How did they get in?" Nora watched in amazement, her voice trembling.

Liam pointed to a red dot on the map. "Here, it leads directly to the factory's boiler room. Alexander's people must know this place well, so they went straight there."

Inside the factory, the masked man looked especially panicked. He could feel many people around him, so he kept backing up while holding the child.

"Catherine! Make them stop! Or I'll kill him!"

"Too late."

The masked man's hair stood on end. He could somehow sense the voice was right near him. He turned, and the next second his wrist was grabbed. He felt like his hand was about to break.

The intense pain made him cry out. The dagger fell to the ground. At that moment, someone swiftly pulled Ethan out of his arms.
The lights flickered——and came back on.
The masked man stared in shock.
“How did you get in here?”