The Alchemists

Lauriel was stunned. He knew that he shouldn't be fooled by the soft face and petite body of his prisoner, because she was actually a sadistic killer.

As she did to Neo yesterday, she could kill at will just to prove her opinion. But Lauriel did not expect Rosalien to be this stubborn and determined.

Now the use of veritaserum was useless, he thought, because Rosalien could no longer speak. Even though they insisted on surgically connecting her tongue and provide her with the special herbs from Lauriel, she would not recover completely and it would take too long.

That girl was useless now. He must think about what they should do with her.

He rose and turned to Marion, "Where is the other prisoner?"

"It's in the next room." Marion walked out and Lauriel followed her.

Rosalien only stared at the departure of the two in shock. She succeeded in stopping them. Now she must think of a way to escape from here.

***

Endo arrived after lunchtime and Lauriel immediately gave instructions on what to do. After what happened to Rosalien, this time Lauriel didn't want to be fooled. He didn't need to use veritaserum to get information from Takeshi if he could use the right method.

"Due to that little incident, we have to change our strategy," Lauriel said in a serious voice, "What is clear is that we know that Alaric Rhionen is heading to Singapore and our only clue now is these two men of his. Rosalien has heard a lot from me and she is now useless for us. But Takeshi ... hmmm, we can use him to bring us to Alaric."

Endo listened carefully to his orders. He and Marion looked at each other with serious eyes. They know based on experience that even when the first plan failed, Lauriel could easily come up with a backup plan.

"All right, then I'll leave everything to you," Marion said as she left.

"Wait a minute," Lauriel called Marion suddenly. The girl stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"What is wrong?" she asked.

"I brought this to help you disguise." Lauriel took a packet from his jacket pocket and handed it to Marion. "Aleksis always wears it."

Marion opened the package and found a leather string necklace with a silver pendant. She did not notice Aleksis ever wearing this necklace in the various photos and videos she studied.

Ahh, maybe this necklace was a piece of jewelry she just received.

Was this ...? For a moment her brow furrowed.

Marion could guess that the necklace had something to do with Alaric. She turned to Endo and handed it to the man. "Maybe you'd better hold it first."

Endo immediately understood Marion's intentions and nodded while keeping the necklace carefully. After Marion left and Lauriel hid himself, Endo entered the room where Takeshi was held to take care of him.

Takeshi's hands were bound with chains to the ceiling, while his legs were chained to the floor. His attitude was relaxed as usual, although it was clear that Max's men had taken the time to beat him up for attempted murder on their employer.

Takeshi acted as if the torture he endured meant nothing to him. For members of Rhionen Assassins, their bodies may be destroyed, but their spirit must not be broken. After all, Takeshi was used to suffering and misery since he was as a child, until the day he met Alaric and followed him.

When he saw Endo entering the room, he only smiled slightly and then looked away. He was not willing to give these people his attention.

He had never been caught before, but that didn't mean he wasn't prepared for this risk. All men lived on borrowed time anyway. He didn't mind dying anytime.

That was not an exaggeration.

Endo walked over to Takeshi and grabbed his chin to force the young man to look at him. Takeshi did not show any expression.

"I don't like wasting time," Endo said, "Your girlfriend made a very stupid mistake by attacking my brother, and now you have to pay for it."

Takeshi didn't react at all. He even closed his eyes and acted as though Endo was not in the room. Endo secretly admired the stubbornness of these two assassins, both Rosalien and now Takeshi.

It seemed like it would be very difficult to destroy their morale. However, Endo was an immortal adventurer who had roamed the earth for hundreds of years who was trained by Lauriel. He knew what to do.

"After we tortured your girlfriend, we obtained very interesting information that is far more valuable than the lives of all of you at Rhionen Assassins," Endo continued his talk and he was content to see Takeshi's forehead twitch subconsciously.

The young man must have been very surprised because Endo mentioned Rhionen Assassin, the assassin organization known to only a handful of people. Endo smiled at Takeshi's reaction and then continued.

"We have someone your boss, Alaric Rhionen, wants."

Takeshi opened his eyes when he heard Endo mention the name of his foster father.

Who ... who were these people? It seemed like they know so much about the organization! He thought irritably. Were they also holding Aleksis captive??

"We are business people, and we know that Mr. Rhionen has a lot of money. I can forget about what your girlfriend did to hurt my brother and assume she has received her punishment. In fact, I don't mind releasing you so you can tell Mr. Rhionen that we have something he wants."

"Mr. Rhionen doesn't want anything in life. He has everything," snorted Takeshi. "Your deeds are in vain."

Endo smiled faintly. He then took out Aleksis' necklace he had received from Lauriel and played with it in front of Takeshi's face. He was pleased to see the prisoner's surprised expression.

It was true. This necklace had something to do with Alaric Rhionen. Takeshi must have seen this necklace before.

"Now do you believe me?" Endo asked sarcastically. He patted Takeshi's cheek in contempt. "We ran a thorough investigation and found that you massacred the Black River mafia group two months ago. Initially, for the sake of my friends in the Black River, I intended to take revenge on you, but from your girlfriend we obtained a lot more useful information. Rhionen Assassin is apparently standing behind the Rhionen Industries Group which has a stellar reputation of being the savior of humankind in the world. Fortunately, we know who you really are ... hahahaha, we immediately realized that we can change the bad luck of the Black River massacre into a blessing ..."

Takeshi became increasingly curious about who this man in front of him was and why he knew so much about the assassin organization. He could not believe that they were able to force Rosalien to open her mouth. But if not from the girl, how could these people know all this information?

"What do you want?" Takeshi finally asked.

He gave in. He knew how important Aleksis was to Alaric and he could not let these people hurt the girl.

Endo smiled broadly when he heard Takeshi's surrender. He did not immediately answer his question.

"I will be back." He then left, leaving the confused Takeshi staring at his back.

Outside, Lauriel waited for Endo and discussed the results of his evaluation of Takeshi. They agreed that all their initial assumptions were correct and they would be able to trap Alaric by using Aleksis' name.