Chapter 242

Chapter 242: The Balance Beam at Both Ends 23

“Attention, the communication lines are encrypted, but if the conversation with the other party goes on too long, it could potentially be traced back to us,” Adam’s voice echoed in Kui Xin’s hidden earpiece. “While I’m confident in my data processing abilities, it’s better to be cautious.”

Kui Xin didn’t respond to Adam but turned to Polina. “Ms. Polina, since you guessed who I am, why not take a guess at my purpose for coming here?”

“For money,” Polina replied, her words sharp and decisive like a hammer hitting a nail. She was used to giving orders, and there was a clear air of authority in her tone.

“You guessed correctly, Ms. Polina,” Kui Xin said with a leisurely tone. “Since you’ve figured it out, let’s not waste each other’s time. Let’s make a deal.”

Polina replied, “Before we make a deal, please answer one question.”

“Go ahead,” Kui Xin said politely.

“Why is The Shadowless targeting the Popov Clan?” Polina asked. “You must have a purpose in selecting your target, not just picking randomly. I’m curious, has a member of our family offended you?”

“That’s a good question.”

Polina heard a muffled laugh from the other end of the line. The voice said, “I can only say you weren’t that lucky; you just happened to run into the wrong end of our gun.”

That was no answer at all.

Polina shifted her gaze slightly and raised her eyelids. The office door opened silently, and a technician from the TQC walked in, gently placing a metal box on the ground and pulling out a wire to connect it to Polina’s communication line.

The technician gestured to Polina, indicating for her to buy some time.

Polina calmly spoke into the microphone, “Is this it? Your answer feels too dismissive.”

“That’s my answer,” the other party replied. “Does Ms. Polina have any more questions?”

“Are you the leader of The Shadowless, ‘Black Snake’?” Polina asked.

“Not really,” the voice hesitated for a moment. “I actually haven’t introduced myself. My codename is Maotoufu, and I’m in charge of external affairs for the organization.”

“Alright, Maotoufu,” Polina glanced at the technician, who was frowning as he realized the caller had switched to another encrypted line, and he needed to track the signal source again.

So she asked, “Tell me, is my son still alive?”

The Shadowless member named “Maotoufu” fell silent for a few seconds before abruptly hanging up the call.

“Communication has been disconnected,” an automated prompt sounded from the receiver.

Polina frowned; the sudden disconnection was unexpected.

“Have you tracked them?” she asked.

The technician replied, “No… The Shadowless has a solid technical level. I traced the communication signal outside White Whale City, went in circles, but couldn’t find the source, probably due to lack of time.”

Polina was confident. “They will call again.”

Sure enough, within a minute, another unfamiliar communication came in.

After answering, Polina heard the familiar voice of Maotoufu again, who said, “You caring about your son really surprises me.”

“After all, he is my son,” Polina replied coldly.

“Let’s cut the pretenses, Polina. I know you don’t care for your family.” Maotoufu stated, “We might as well get straight to the point.”

Polina caught a glimpse of the technician out of the corner of her eye, who frowned as he realized once more that the caller had switched to another encrypted line, meaning he had to track the signal source anew.

“We are an organization that honors its commitments. You pay, and we will stop exposing your dirty laundry, simple as that.”

Polina bought time, saying, “I thought your goal wasn’t money. It seems you’ve never behaved like an organization simply seeking money.”

“Money is a good thing that everyone wants; it can buy most things in the world,” Maotoufu replied. “No more small talk, Ms. Polina. I know you’re trying to buy time to locate my position. You just need to give a response—agree or disagree.”

Polina felt a rare surge of anger. Most things in the world didn’t bother her, but family reputation and face were something she couldn’t ignore. After two kidnapping cases, the Popov Clan had become a laughingstock among the elite!

“You want two hundred billion?” Polina took a deep breath, trying to maintain her calm.

Maotoufu: “Yes.”

Polina asked, “If I pay two hundred billion, you will stop targeting the Popov Clan?”

Maotoufu: “Yes.”

“And if I refuse?” Polina inquired.

“Then The Shadowless wouldn’t mind making you the laughingstock of the entire elite circle again. Trust me, we have the means to do so,” Maotoufu laughed. “You wouldn’t want a third kidnapping case, Polina. Two hundred billion for peace is a good deal.”

“Afterwards, will all media attacks and death threats cease?” Polina asked.

Maotoufu: “Of course. We keep our promises.”

“The Popov Clan is willing to spend two hundred billion for an ethereal promise that could be broken at any time.” Polina almost let out a cold laugh.

“If you don’t want to, then we will continue to drain your time,” said Maotoufu, before rattling off a series of numbers. “You can take your time to think it over. Polina, please remember our account number. Once you’ve decided, transfer the money, and this matter will be settled.”

“Beep—”

The call ended abruptly, timed perfectly from the other side.

Polina’s expression darkened as she looked at the technician, and when he shook his head, her face grew even grimmer.

Money! Money! Money!

The Shadowless talked about nothing but money, but if they truly lacked funds, why didn’t they take a dime when they kidnapped Abrak? Did they think that money was just small change? But the assets in Abrak’s mansion added up to billions; that was not a small sum.

Polina felt that they weren’t entirely after money; it was just that the Shadowless had proposed a truce at this moment, the condition being payment, which made her waver and unable to judge their true intent.

Most importantly, Polina feared that even if she paid the two hundred billion, it wouldn’t guarantee a truce from the Shadowless. She suspected it was a trap.

Two hundred billion was a small amount; any company under the Popov Clan had a market value of two hundred billion, and Polina’s personal wealth was far beyond that number.

She quickly weighed it in her mind.

Paying the money could bring a promise of peace from the Shadowless. Not paying means that Maotoufu even openly threatened them; they would continue to target the Popov Clan, and soon a family member might be kidnapped again, resulting in a slew of scandals. The Popov Clan’s members couldn’t all hide like turtles in their shells; even if they stayed inside, the Shadowless could find a way to kidnap them. Abrak had stayed perfectly well in his own mansion, yet he was still abducted.

The promise of a truce might be a lie, but Polina could see that the TQC couldn’t tackle the Shadowless just yet.

Technical tracking? The Shadowless also possessed formidable network technology.

Forced arrests? The TQC didn’t even know where their hideouts were.

Polina rubbed her forehead, her irritated face quickly composed again as she spoke gracefully to the technician from the TQC, “Please make this trip for me.”

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any useful information,” the technician said regretfully. “I’ve recorded the audio and will analyze it later. We will keep track of the account provided by the other party. If a member of The Shadowless contacts you again, please notify us promptly.”

Polina maintained a smiling facade as she saw him off.

Once the technician left, Polina contacted her personal secretary.

“Withdraw two hundred billion in funds from the family bank and transfer it to this account…” Polina recited the number.

Her secretary quickly arranged everything as per Polina’s instructions.

Polina loosened her tie, leaning back in her chair, lightly tapping the armrest with her fingers.

She appeared calm on the surface, but inside, her rage was boiling.

She was used to threatening others; even while caught in the vortex of family power, she had never been so thoroughly cornered. This was her first experience of being completely at someone else’s mercy.

Polina had always thought she had no weaknesses; she didn’t possess those fragile emotions and very few people or matters could bind her. She always thought clearly and knew what she wanted. After this incident, she realized for the first time that she indeed had vulnerabilities…

Her vulnerability stemmed from her family.

Because her glory came from the family, her foundation came from the family, and everything she gained was supported by the collective strength of the Popov Clan. Therefore, the family could not fall; she couldn’t allow the family to become an object of ridicule.

She felt shame, an unprecedented shame.

Polina closed her eyes, attempting to calm her throbbing temples.

Then she heard a notification sound and opened her eyes to find it wasn’t her secretary but Maotoufu who had sent a message.

On the main interface of the office, a few sentences appeared: “As you wish, a truce. But sorry, Dmitri is already dead; you must have guessed that. However, Abrak is still alive, and we will return him to the Popov Clan.”

Return? How would they return him?

Polina instinctively began to think about whether there was any space for negotiation, like reaching a live hostage exchange agreement. Perhaps they could collaborate with the TQC to capture members of The Shadowless…

She lowered her gaze in thought for a moment, then contacted the TQC and the Investigation Bureau to seek support from these armed forces.

The exhausting day didn’t pass so easily; half an hour later, her secretary suddenly called with an urgent communication.

“Chairman, look outside!” The secretary’s voice was even a bit incoherent.

Polina instinctively looked up toward the floor-to-ceiling windows of her office.

Her office was on a high floor of a skyscraper, providing a broad view of the outside scene. Directly facing her window, a garish advertisement blimp was slowly approaching the skyscraper.

As Polina focused her gaze, she was shocked to see a long rope hanging from the bottom of the blimp, and tied to that rope was a person—Abrak Popov.

Abrak dangled from the rope, his face pale, suspended high above without daring to move, completely at the mercy of the blimp. He swayed in the wind as it flew, looking both helpless and ridiculous.

To make matters worse, the blimp was continuously dropping advertising flyers, with the electronic sign changing words incessantly.

The sign displayed: “I, Abrak Popov, the traitor of the financial conglomerate.”

As the colorful text changed, another line in cursive appeared.

“I belong to the Resistance Army.”

The secretary trembled as he said, “The blimp is continuously dropping flyers, and the words on the paper are the same as those on the electronic sign…”

Polina’s vision darkened, and she nearly stumbled.

In that moment, she thought of the terrifying consequences.

She knew the name of the Resistance Army; they were the political red line of the Federation. Anyone who got involved would face misfortune and be targeted for strikes. Regardless of whether Abrak was a member of the Resistance Army or not, the Popov Clan would face enormous trouble, trouble far greater than that of family member kidnappings.