Chapter 8

“Chapter 8: Hypnosis Experiment”

Upon hearing the other party’s words, Lynn fell silent.

After a moment, he lowered his head and spoke, “Sounds like a good idea? So, what do you need me to do?”

The masked woman seemed to have thought this through already and didn’t hesitate: “I need you to return to the Imperial Capital, inherit your father’s title, and then have the entire family swear allegiance to me.”

“The Bartleyon family is an established noble clan, unlike those nouveau riche without roots. You hold significant influence in the Military Department.”

“Though your power may be waning, you’re still a force to be reckoned with.”

“Moreover,” the masked woman paused, looking at Lynn with an enigmatic gaze, “your family seems quite wealthy.”

“I need you to provide me with endless financial support.”

“From what I see, your father is gravely ill, on the brink of death, and your brother died on the battlefield. Besides your sister, you’re the last one standing in the Bartleyon family—excluding the child your sister-in-law is expecting.”

“So, inheriting this title is almost a natural progression.”

Lynn shook his head: “Ma’am, you should be aware that I’m practically public enemy number one in the Imperial Capital. They wouldn’t let me inherit the title smoothly.”

“This is my concern. You just need to answer me: agree or disagree.”

Upon hearing this, Lynn shrugged: “I seem to have no reason to refuse?”

If this was indeed why they had captured him, Lynn could consider accepting the proposal.

Even if it meant feigning cooperation while secretly seeking an opportunity to escape, that wasn’t out of the question.

After all, their demands were so outrageous they almost wanted to swallow the entire Bartleyon family whole.

Perhaps not just her, but the other nobles in the Imperial Capital were all eager to grab a piece of the pie.

And all of this chaos was thanks to his fiancée.

Lynn couldn’t help but chuckle coldly to himself.

As if sensing his inner thoughts, the masked woman continued, “Hold on, I still haven’t finished my conditions.”

“There’s no guarantee in our transaction, and you should be well aware of that.” The masked woman rested her chin on her hand, revealing a glimpse of her snowy-white wrist, adding a touch of charm to her otherwise icy demeanor. “So before that, you need to cooperate with us for an experiment.”

“What kind of experiment?”

Lynn frowned slightly.

As expected, she wasn’t a fool. She wouldn’t place this level of cooperation solely on words.

“An experiment related to mental control,” the masked woman pointed to her forehead, “in other words, a hypnosis experiment.” She stated bluntly.

“You want me to become your puppet?” Lynn smirked, “What a sweet deal! Snatch the Bartleyon family’s century-old accumulation without spending a dime.”

“So, what’s your answer?”

“I refuse.”

Lynn obviously couldn’t agree.

After all, if he underwent that experiment, it would be like handing over the reins of life and death to her.

Once he became a thorough slave, he would never be able to resist again.

“Could you tell me why?” The masked woman didn’t seem surprised, “It seems your Bartleyon family has no other chances of revival aside from this path.”

Lynn smiled: “I don’t want to become a prisoner without autonomy. I’d rather die.”

“What if I guarantee that I won’t use hypnosis to control your will as long as you don’t actively betray me?”

“That’s impossible.”

This time, the masked woman was genuinely curious.

In her view, the terms she was offering were irresistible temptations for a fallen noble craving revenge.

She had seen those driven by vengeful hearts.

To achieve their goals, they’d plunge into hell without a second thought.

But the young man before her seemed to have no such thoughts at all.

“Why?” She asked directly, then seemed to realize something, “Perhaps you don’t even know my identity, then I…”

“That has nothing to do with this,” Lynn interrupted her. “Let’s say, ma’am, would you board a ship that’s doomed to sink?”

“What do you mean?”

The masked woman frowned slightly. “What I mean is… no matter what your identity is, or what you aim to achieve, with this group of incompetents under your command, it’s impossible to accomplish anything.”

Lynn leaned back in his chair, speaking calmly.

Seemingly sensing his contempt, the masked woman’s voice grew chillier: “You seem to have some misunderstanding about me, thinking I’m easy to negotiate with?”

“Lynn Bartleyon, you have only two paths before you.”

“First, accept my proposal and become my subordinate after the experiment.”

“Second, after retrieving your memories, I’ll have someone impersonate you and become the new head of the Bartleyon family.”

As for the result of the second option, it goes without saying.

She wasn’t running a charity.

Once he lost his usefulness, his only fate would be death.

“Or… there’s a third option.”

Lynn suddenly stretched out languidly.

Then, he slowly pressed a revolver filled with bullets onto the table.

“I’ll hold you hostage and escape from here.”

The situation changed suddenly.

The masked woman’s gaze sharpened.

At this moment, his shackles hadn’t been unlocked, yet Lynn’s right hand somehow broke free.

On closer inspection, his thumb’s base was noticeably swollen.

This was the thumb dislocation technique Lynn had learned from books in his past life, and he never expected to succeed on his first try.

He looked at the silent masked woman, smiling happily: “So, what do you think? Am I right?”

“Your underlings are nothing but a group of useless rabble.”

While fiddling with the revolver, Lynn continued,

The gun that originally belonged to Warner had long been confiscated.

The revolver he currently held was one he had just relieved from someone when Rhine whispered to him earlier.

Just a simple technique made it easy to accomplish.

He had said it before.

Dealing with someone like Rhine only required making him feel in control; his arrogance would completely consume him until he revealed a flaw.

And Lynn had seized that flaw.

So at this moment, the tide had completely turned.

“You deliberately disguised yourself from the start just to make Rhine slack off and create a situation for us to be alone together?”

The masked woman assessed Lynn from head to toe, seemingly trying to see him anew.

“Precisely.” While speaking, Lynn opened his mouth and displayed the bloodied wound he had bitten into, “He probably thought I was spitting blood and thought I had lost all ability to resist. How foolish.”

“Ma’am, once this is over, you might want to consider replacing your unreliable subordinates sooner rather than later.”

“Do you really think you can escape this dungeon?” The masked woman had remained calm throughout, “Even if by some miracle you made it outside, this is our territory.”

“Stop with the bluster. I’m not fooled by your words.” Lynn interrupted her again, “Lady, those words won’t deceive me.”

“Oh?”

The masked woman looked at him with great interest.

“Did you think that by blindfolding me and binding my hands on the way here, I’d be completely helpless?” Lynn stood up and walked towards her, “I was taken away around 9:40 PM, and when I woke up, the clock tower in the center of Orlen City was just chiming ten times.”

“A few minutes wasn’t enough time to leave the city, and thanks to the bell, I was able to deduce my relative position.”

“As for the next route, I can estimate based on my sense of time and general direction. By the way, a person’s pulse, breathing, and even heartbeat can all be used as time-measuring tools.”

“With these conditions, combined with my memory of Orlen City’s layout, I can easily determine where I am right now.”

“109 King’s Avenue basement, am I right?”