Chapter 215: The Bloody Ear

"No connection? Do you think I believe that?" Joseph asked coldly. Seeing Joseph’s demeanor, Longrich realized that he had truly angered the wrong person this time. "I was wrong! I was wrong! Please, sir, please!" Longrich pleaded desperately as he threw himself at Joseph. But before he could get close, Joseph suddenly pulled out a dagger from his coat. "This isn’t something to play with!" he warned as he swiftly stabbed downward. Just then, Longrich grabbed Joseph's wrist, trying to stop him. "Don’t think I don’t understand what you’re trying to do!" Joseph’s expression darkened. "Damn you! You dare resist me?" With that, Joseph forcefully drove the dagger into Longrich’s arm. The next moment, Longrich’s body collapsed to the ground. His failed attempt to resist left him bleeding, and he fell to his knees before Joseph. "I’m sorry, Lord Joseph! It’s all my fault, all my mistake!" Longrich begged. Joseph looked at him with a cold gaze. "I could have plunged the dagger straight into your heart, but I didn’t. Do you know why?" Longrich shook his head, trembling. "Because I can see that you’re in a difficult situation. If you had just told me everything, I wouldn’t have had to harm you. But you refused to listen. You don’t value my mercy, so why should I spare you?" Hearing this, Longrich quickly tried to explain, "I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you everything!" Joseph raised an eyebrow. "If you’re going to talk, then you’d better do it quickly. This is your last chance. Otherwise… you can go confess to your god." Longrich swallowed hard. "I’ll tell you everything!" He looked at Joseph and confessed, "It wasn’t my intention to give you faulty chips. Someone is threatening me. My son has been kidnapped by them!" Joseph gave him a surprised look. "Oh? So you have a son? Strange, I never heard about you having a son." Longrich replied, "Because he’s adopted! I took him in from an orphanage, and I’ve kept it a secret from everyone. Only the two of us know." Joseph nodded. "Oh? And who is this enemy of yours? Why did they take your son?" Longrich hesitated before answering, "I don’t know who they are exactly, but they cut off one of my son’s ears to threaten me! This bloody ear is proof of their threat!" Everyone saw the bloodied ear, and it became clear that Longrich might be telling the truth. Joseph asked, "Are you really willing to cooperate with me?" Longrich nodded eagerly. "Of course! If you can help me bring my son back, I’ll be forever grateful to you!" Joseph laughed. "It seems you’re smarter than I thought." He then called out, "Someone, come here!" A man entered the room and respectfully asked, "Sir, what are your orders?" Joseph pointed at Longrich and instructed, "Take him back to the orphanage and find his missing son. If you bring the child back, I’ll give you two million! If you can’t find him, don’t bother coming back." The man nodded without hesitation. "Understood." He then left the room. After giving the orders, Longrich immediately knelt before Joseph again. "Thank you, Lord Joseph! Thank you so much!" Joseph, however, remained indifferent. "I don’t care about that. I’m just curious—when those people took your son, you must have met them. Didn’t you recognize any of them?" At this, Longrich recalled something. "Every time we met, they wore black clothes and strange masks, like clowns…" That confirmed it—it was the Assassin Organization. Joseph narrowed his eyes. It was indeed them. Longrich, however, began to think to himself. If this man is really as dangerous as he seems, could I use him to get rid of my enemies? With that thought, Longrich put on a sinister smile. "They belong to the Clown Family! I heard them mention their family name was Clown and that I shouldn’t speak out, or my son would be dead!" Hearing this, Joseph froze. "Are you sure?" Longrich quickly affirmed, "I’m very sure!" But Joseph knew Longrich was lying. "Why are you lying to me? If you’re honest, I could save your son!" Realizing his deception had been exposed, Longrich feigned desperation. "I’m sorry! I’ll never lie again! Please help me! I don’t want to see my son die! If he does, I’ll end my life in front of you!" Joseph sneered. "And what if I refuse?" Without hesitation, Longrich slashed himself with a knife. Joseph was startled. "Are you insane?" Longrich replied, "I can’t watch my child die. If I can’t save him, I have to atone with my life!" Joseph frowned, surprised by Longrich’s determination. "You really are something else." "Lord Joseph, I never intended to oppose you. The only reason I gave you those faulty chips was because I had no other choice!" Joseph raised an eyebrow. "I’m giving you this chance, but there won’t be a next time. I have very little patience, and if you don’t start doing the right things, you know what will happen, right?" "Yes, I understand!" "Good. I won’t hold this against you, but if it happens again, your whole family will pay the price." Longrich didn’t dare say anything more and only nodded. "Alright, go get your wounds treated." After dismissing Longrich, Joseph looked around at the others in the room. He stared at his hand, deep in thought. Now that he had a better understanding of the Assassin Organization’s plans, the only way to lure them out was through Longrich. And it seemed that Longrich was already planning to betray them. "It looks like you’re all playing mind games with me," Joseph muttered. "Well, the game begins now." After warning Longrich, Joseph led his team out of the building. To avoid detection by the Assassin Organization, they destroyed all the security cameras and surveillance equipment in the building before they left, hiding nearby, waiting for the Assassin Organization to make their move.