Chapter166 Miranda Loses Consciousness
Brake failure, a taxi that just happened to pass by, a broken window. A series of events occurred.
Miranda felt a chill rise from her feet.
She remained calm on the surface, discreetly reaching into her bag to find her phone.
She had to call for help immediately.
Just as she was about to unlock the screen, suddenly, an intense dizziness hit her.
The scenery before her eyes began to double, her limbs felt heavy as lead, and even moving a finger became incredibly difficult.
Miranda opened her mouth to shout, but her throat could only produce a weak gasp.
The phone fell onto the floor mat with a "thud."
Her consciousness rapidly faded. The last image she saw was Zron's eyes in the rearview mirror, smiling maliciously.
Seconds later, Miranda's head lolled to the side as she completely passed out in the back seat.
In the driver's seat, Zron ripped off his mask, laughing wildly with satisfaction.
"That wasn't easy at all."
Time passed, who knows how long.
The unconscious Miranda gradually woke.
She tried to move but found her hands tied behind her back, rough rope cutting into her flesh, unable to move.
She was tied to a rusty iron chair.
Miranda shook her head hard, forcing herself to emerge from the lingering haze of unconsciousness.
She looked around.
This was an abandoned clinic. Peeling walls, the floor covered with dust and garbage, the air filled with a moldy smell and a faint scent of blood.
The windows were sealed with wooden boards, only a few rays of light seeping through the cracks, dust motes dancing in the light beams.
Miranda took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her inner panic.
She tried moving her hands tied behind her back.
The rope was tight, a dead knot.
Suddenly, her fingers touched the metal texture of her wristwatch.
This watch was custom-made, with an extremely thin scalpel blade hidden in the metal clasp layer of the band.
Miranda discreetly adjusted the angle of her wrist, her fingertips clumsily working at the watch's hidden clasp.
"Click."
An extremely faint sound.
The blade popped out, right in her palm.
She gripped the blade backward, relying on touch alone, slowly cutting at the rope on her wrists.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.
"Creak..."
The rusty iron door was pushed open from outside, making a teeth-gritting scraping sound.
Zron walked in humming a tune. Seeing the awakened Miranda, he grinned, the smile particularly sinister in the dim light.
"Awake? You have a good constitution, waking up so fast."
Miranda stopped her movements, pretending not to recognize him, her tone carrying some fear. "Who are you? Why did you kidnap me?"
She had to buy time.
"Who I am doesn't matter." Zron's greedy eyes brazenly looked Miranda up and down. "What matters is you're in my hands now, and you're worth quite a bit of money."
"You want money?"
Hearing Zron's words, Miranda felt slightly relieved.
As long as he wasn't trying to kill her immediately, that was good. Only then could she find a way to escape.
"No matter how much the person who hired you is paying, I can give you double."
Hearing this, Zron's eyes lit up.
He'd just called Ariana saying he'd captured the person.
That damned girl only transferred two hundred thousand.
Two hundred thousand? He'd gamble more than that in one round at the casino.
"Double?" Zron's eyes rolled. "Do you know how much that person is giving me?"
"How much?" Miranda stared into his eyes. "One million? Or five million?"
Zron was taken aback.
One million? If that stingy Ariana could give one million, he wouldn't have needed to kidnap anyone.
But he couldn't show weakness.
"Hmph, about that." Zron hummed nervously, then said viciously, "How much can you give me?"
Miranda took in his reaction.
"Ten million."
Miranda threw out an astronomical figure, her voice steady. "As long as you let me go now, I'll transfer ten million to you immediately."
"T-ten million?"
Zron's eyes widened, his breathing instantly becoming heavy.
Ten million! With that money, what loan sharks would he need to fear?
"You're not lying to me?" Zron's voice trembled, clearly tempted.
"I'm not lying. The condition is you have to let me go."
Miranda coaxed him. "You kidnapped me for money, right? Rather than taking that pittance and living in fear, why not take the money and release me?"
Zron swallowed, greed conquering reason in his eyes.
"Transfer it. Transfer it to me right now."
He suddenly rushed over, pulling Miranda's phone from his pocket and shoving it in her face. "Quick, tell me the password."
Miranda looked at the phone so close, speeding up her cutting of the rope behind her back.
"The password is..."
Zron impatiently entered the password and opened the banking app.
Miranda watched him, completely calm. "The password alone won't work. Large transfers require facial recognition. You need to hold the phone up to my face to scan."
Zron froze, looking down at the phone screen. Sure enough, a facial recognition box popped up.
"Damn, what a hassle!"
Zron cursed, but the ten million had already scrambled his brain, and he didn't think twice.
He held up the phone, moving close to Miranda's face. "Don't try anything. Scan properly!"
Just as Zron leaned in.
Miranda's wrists behind her back suddenly loosened.
The rope broke!
At the same moment.
Convention and Exhibition Center, competition venue.
The huge countdown display showed the time: 09:20.
In the lounge area, Lisa's team was extremely tense.
She paced back and forth non-stop, nearly crushing the phone in her hand.
"Well? Did you reach Miranda?" She suddenly turned to look at the others.
The three of them looked pale, all shaking their heads.
"Phone's off, no response to messages."
One person's voice carried a sob. "Miranda would never lose contact at a time like this. Something must have happened!"
Lisa's heart sank.
Only forty minutes until the competition started.
Miranda's car broke down halfway. Even if she couldn't get a taxi, she couldn't have lost contact this long.
Unless...
She'd encountered something uncontrollable.
Lisa took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. She couldn't panic now.
"Call the police!"
Lisa made the decision immediately, her eyes becoming extremely determined, speaking to the three. "Call the police right now. Send Miranda's last known location to the authorities. Tell them Miranda may be missing."
After a pause, she continued, "I'll coordinate with the organizers about the competition order, try to delay our appearance time."
"Yes!" After hearing Lisa's instructions, everyone responded in unison.
This competition was crucial. They absolutely couldn't let everything be ruined today.
Inside the abandoned clinic.
Zron held the phone, completely focused on conducting facial recognition on Miranda's face.
"Beep..."
The successful recognition sound played.