Chapter 235 They Are Very Obedient
"Mr. Hamilton! Please! Give us the antidote... or... or just end this! We know we were wrong! We really know we were wrong!"
Alexander's gaze slowly moved to his face.
"Can't handle it already?" Alexander sneered.
"But we've only just started."
He raised his hand slightly.
A subordinate immediately stepped forward, holding a dog leash.
"You," Alexander pointed at him with his cigar.
"Weren't you good at taking orders? Weren't you good at following Celeste's instructions, delivering people where they needed to go?"
"Now, I'm giving you a chance. Like Caroline did back then, you're going to learn obedience." Alexander leaned forward slightly.
"Learn well, obey well, satisfy me. Maybe, just maybe, I'll consider making your death a little easier."
The blood drained from the man's face. A moment later, he lowered his head in submission.
"Put it on yourself," Alexander commanded.
The man closed his eyes and quickly fastened the spiked collar around his own neck.
Metal clicked against metal.
The collar was too tight. The moment he secured it, the spikes pressed into his neck, breaking skin.
He didn't dare cry out, only gasping quietly.
"Good," Alexander leaned back in his chair, lifting his chin toward the subordinate holding the Doberman.
The subordinate understood and loosened the dog's leash slightly.
The trained Doberman immediately bared its teeth at this new creature on the ground, its front paws scratching the floor.
"Now, crawl. Follow it. Don't stop."
The subordinate with the whip stepped forward, cracking the leather whip in the air. The sharp snap made the man's whole body shudder.
"Move!" the subordinate shouted, bringing the whip down on the man's back.
"Ah!" The man cried out and began moving forward on all fours.
He was naked. His knees and palms quickly scraped against the rough floor. As he tried to avoid the Doberman, the collar's spikes dug deeper, blood running down his neck.
"Faster!" The whip fell again.
His back opened up. The man screamed, forcing himself to keep moving despite the pain from within and without.
The smell of blood in the basement grew heavier.
The Doberman seemed stimulated by the scene, growing more agitated, barking wildly at the man.
Terrified, the man abandoned what remained of his dignity and began moving faster on all fours.
He panted heavily, saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth.
"Bark," Alexander said coldly.
The man swallowed his humiliation and began barking.
The subordinate walked the dog, deliberately slowing down, guiding the man in circles around the basement.
Whenever he slowed or his posture wasn't right, the whip would fall.
Soon, the man was covered in blood.
Alexander watched quietly, but deep in his eyes, there was no satisfaction.
The emptiness in his heart had grown thorns, torturing his already damaged soul.
"Enough," Alexander finally spoke.
The man looked up hopefully, only to hear him say,
"Not nearly enough."
"She was... a thousand times more terrified than you are now, a thousand times more in pain."
Alexander waved his hand, "Bring them up."
Soon, the heavy iron door on the other side of the basement was pulled open.
A group of haggard men were driven in.
Most were in rags, covered in wounds, their faces blank.
As soon as they entered, they automatically knelt in a row facing Alexander, heads bowed.
"These people... you should recognize them, or at least have heard of them."
He lifted his chin slightly, indicating the kneeling group.
The lowest traffickers in the Grandhaven underground.
After Caroline was sold there, Alexander gave the order. He burned that district down.
The ringleaders were all killed by Alexander. Those indirectly involved were imprisoned by him.
After months of conditioning, they were now more obedient than any trained animal.
"Their business wasn't just trafficking women. Organs, drugs, lives... as long as the price was right, they'd sell anything. Their methods—you've been in this business, you must have heard."
The two tortured men on the ground seemed to regain some awareness at Alexander's words, looking up in terror.
Alexander stood up and slowly walked toward them.
"Back then, Celeste's plan wasn't just kidnapping. Her original plan was to sell Caroline to them, to those places, to let her rot in the worst hell imaginable."
"Although that fire destroyed many hideouts and sent many people to hell... there were always survivors, like roaches, crippled but alive."
"I locked them up. Only gave them enough food each day to keep breathing. Let them taste what despair is, what it means to wish for death."
His gaze returned to the two men's pale faces, a cold smile curling at his lips.
"Today, I'll be generous and let them return to their old trade, to 'service' you properly."
"Oh, right, almost forgot to mention."
"These people, given their line of work, basically all carry diseases. Syphilis and gonorrhea are the mild ones. Several are confirmed HIV-positive. How contagious that is—I'm sure you can figure it out."
"No!"
The two men on the ground let out piercing screams simultaneously.
"Mr. Hamilton! Kill me! Please kill me now! I'm willing to go to hell! I'm willing to suffer any torture! Don't give me to them! Don't!"
"Sir! I was wrong! I really was wrong! I'll do anything! Anything at all! Don't... don't let them touch me! That's worse than death!"
Alexander watched their pleas coldly, slowly stepping back and returning to the high-backed chair.
He raised his hand slightly. The row of kneeling men immediately stood up in unison, turning to look at the two terrified men.
They had been kept like animals for too long, having lost all reason and shame.
Seeing those two men was like predators seeing prey.
Someone let out a guttural sound first, and they rushed forward.
"No! Get away! Don't touch me!"