Pokémon: Master System.

Andrew was now completely plunged into despair. In the cramped basement, there was nothing but a toilet and a bed.

His hands and feet were firmly chained, limiting his range of movement to a very small extent, like a domesticated pet.

He didn't want to die; he wanted to live.

…………

"Crench."

Just as Andrew was lost in thought and on the verge of collapse.

With a soft click, the heavy iron door was opened from the outside.

Xia Yu and the other two, wearing masks, slowly walked into the basement.

Seeing Xia Yu appear, a glimmer of hope ignited in Andrew's despairing eyes. He looked at Xia Yu with a fawning expression and said, "Please, let me go... You promised me that you would let me go if I gave you everything. I have already given you everything."

Andrew pleaded incessantly, looking utterly pathetic. It was a stark contrast to his domineering persona in the casino.

“I promised to release you, and I will.” Xia Yu’s mocking voice rang out, his gaze falling on the disheveled Andrew. He paused for a moment before continuing, “But what you have on you can’t buy your life. You’ll have to pay another ransom.”

"I'll pay, I'll pay. Just name your price, I'll pay." Hearing that money could solve the problem, Andrew quickly said, "As long as you let me go, I'll agree to any conditions."

“Very good, I like your cooperative attitude.” Xia Yu said with a smile to Andrew.

"Come on, call your father. Your father is the champion of the British Empire, and I'm curious how much ransom he'll offer to get you released. If your father offers enough money, releasing you won't be a problem."

“My father will definitely pay. As long as you release me, money is no problem. My dad’s phone number is…” Andrew quickly said.

…………

Sylvia dialed the number Andrew had given her, but encrypted it.

"beep."

The phone rang only twice before it was quickly answered.

"Hello." A woman's voice came from the other end of the phone.

“I’m looking for Champion Maye,” Xia Yu said. His voice had also been computer-processed, becoming a synthesized electronic voice.

"What do you need him for?" Hearing the strange voice, the woman frowned slightly, but still asked in a professional manner.

"Please tell Champion Meyer that his son Andrew is in my hands." After saying this, Xia Yu immediately handed the phone to Andrew, gesturing for him to speak.

"McKenna, help me! Get my dad on the phone!"

As Andrew's voice rang out, McKenna on the other end of the phone froze. Just as she was about to speak, she heard a voice from the other end of the line.

"I will call back via video in an hour. Please tell Champion Mayer that if he doesn't want anything to happen to Mr. Andrew, he should answer the video call promptly in an hour. Otherwise... Mr. Andrew may be left with a disability."

"No... McKenna, you must tell my dad, I..."

Andrew wanted to say a few more words, but the call was forcibly disconnected.

“You can rest for a while. I’ll come back in half an hour,” Xia Yu said to Andrew.

The three of them then walked out of the basement together, leaving Andrew, who was becoming increasingly desperate, behind.

…………

“I think we should order a set of uniform masks. Otherwise, wearing flashy masks will ruin our image.” After leaving the basement, Xia Yu took off his mask, stroked his chin, and said to the two people beside him.

"Then what kind of mask do you want? A crying mask like the one in the coffin?" Xiao Wanyu said irritably.

"How's the entire flame mask?"

"Look at you, after all, you're the boss."

"I think it's okay."

…………

An hour is neither a long nor a short time.

For Xia Yu, it felt like a short rest that passed quickly, but for Andrew, it felt like an eternity.

"Squeak."

When the iron door to the basement was opened again, Andrew felt as if a ray of hope had appeared. He quickly got up to greet it, a fawning smile on his face.

As long as he could survive, dignity was irrelevant to him.

Wearing masks, Xia Yu and the other two entered the small space and disappeared. Sylvia walked to the table, put down the computer, and set up the webcam.

Xia Yu checked the time; it had been almost an hour. He nodded to Sylvia beside him.

Sylvia nodded and made a video call.

"beep!"

The video call was answered very quickly as soon as it rang.

On the other end of the screen appeared a tall, middle-aged man with a full beard, gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, and a muscular physique that made his shirt bulge.

This man is none other than the Mayer Champion, one of the four great champions of the British Empire.

"Hello, Champion Maye," Xia Yu said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Where is Andrew?" Mayer asked imposingly, her brows furrowed, giving off an aura of authority without anger.

Even though Xia Yu held Andrew's life in his hands, Maye still took the initiative to speak, trying to seize control of the conversation.

“It seems that Champion Maye is quite worried about Andrew’s safety. In that case…” Xia Yu said, rotating the camera to point at Andrew: “Andrew, say hello to your father.”

"Father, save me! You must save me!" Andrew shouted to Maye on the screen.

“Andrew.” Maye carefully examined Andrew and, finding that he was unharmed, breathed a sigh of relief. “Calm down, I will bring you back.”

"Alright." After a brief exchange, Xia Yu rotated the camera and pointed it back at himself: "You've seen Andrew's condition, it's very good. Now let's get down to business."

“Champion Maye, let’s play a game now.” Xia Yu’s tone was frivolous and playful, like a cynical playboy: “I will write down a ransom on this piece of paper, and then you will make an offer. Champion Maye, please make an offer with your utmost sincerity and try to get as much money as possible to redeem Mr. Andrew, otherwise Mr. Andrew may be left with a lifelong disability.”

"You only have one chance to bid. If your bid is only a quarter of what I'm willing to pay, then I can only send you a hand or a foot."

"For every additional quarter, I will send you an extra hand or foot."

"If you reach or exceed my expected ransom, congratulations, you will get a whole Mr. Andrew, and Mr. Andrew will return safely."

"Finally, you can choose not to pay a single penny of ransom. If you do that, I can only do my best to send Andrew back to you intact. After all, mailing a dead person is illegal."

Xia Yu's tone at this moment sounded exactly like that of a pervert, causing Meyer to frown and his face to grow increasingly grim.

This was the first time Mayer had ever heard of this method of demanding ransom, and it put him under immense pressure.

This forced him to pay as much ransom as possible.

…………

Chapter 391 Negotiation

Meyer's gaze fell on Xia Yu and the other two, who were wearing masks. He frowned, trying to gather as much useful information as possible to deduce their identities.

Unfortunately, there was nothing in the scene except for Xia Yu and his two companions and the white wall.

“Champion Maye, you need to hurry. You only have one minute to think.” Xia Yu leaned back on the edge of the bed, shifting to a more comfortable position, and said, “There are penalties for going over time. Hmm… I haven’t thought about what the penalty is yet.”

"How about this: for every minute the time limit is exceeded, we'll cut off one finger?"

Hearing Xia Yu's teasing words, Meyer's face grew even more gloomy.

He took a deep breath, his face remaining calm, revealing no trace of his true thoughts, and said in a booming voice, "I don't need a price quote. Just write down whatever amount you want, and I'll give you that amount."

"So generous, boss is so generous." Xia Yu was also surprised by Maye's generosity, but after thinking about it, he felt relieved. If he had a son or daughter, he would definitely be like Maye: "No wonder he is champion Maye."

At this point, Xia Yu turned to Andrew, her tone slightly teasing: "Mr. Andrew, it's clear that Champion Maye loves you very much. Congratulations, barring any unforeseen circumstances, you should be able to go home alive."

“Since Champion Meyer is so generous, then my offer is useless.” Xia Yu said, throwing the note aside. “Then I’ll just say what I want.”

Seeing Xia Yu's actions, Maye's expression grew increasingly grim. There was no doubt that Xia Yu had just been playing her for a fool, but even knowing that Xia Yu was playing her for a fool, Maye could only swallow her anger, since Andrew was still in the other party's hands.

"What do you want?" Maye asked coldly.

"Do you have any divine beasts?" Xia Yu asked in a flippant tone. "If you have a divine beast, I can guarantee that Andrew will live to see the end of the British Empire."

Hearing Xia Yu's teasing words, Meyer wanted nothing more than to tear Xia Yu's mouth apart. Veins bulged on his forehead as he struggled to suppress his anger: "No. I don't have a divine beast."

"That's truly a pity," Xia Yu said with regret. "I'll have to think about it carefully."

Xia Yu pondered for a moment, as if he was really thinking, and after a while, he said, "I've made up my mind. Champion Meyer, my first condition is that I want a Pokémon, which must at least be of Champion caliber."

Xia Yu made an outrageous demand, wanting a Pokémon with champion-level potential.

“No way.” Meyer refused without even thinking: “I can’t find a Pokémon with Champion-level potential.”

Champion-caliber Pokémons are extremely rare and highly sought after; it's all about luck. Some people may never encounter one in their entire lives, while others can easily find one.

“Champion Maye, don’t be so quick to refuse.” Xia Yu knew Maye wouldn’t agree, but he wasn’t in a hurry either: “I’m not in a rush. I can wait until you find it, and then we’ll release Andrew. A champion-level Pokémon is really cheap. After all, I’m going to return the Giant Gripen and all of Andrew’s other Pokémon.”

"You can take your time looking. If you can't find it in a day, we'll look for a month; if you can't find it in a month, we'll look for a year. After all, it's just one more person to feed and a few more Pokémon to raise; we can afford it. We'll trade once you find it."

Hearing Xia Yu's words, Meyer fell silent. Before he could speak, Xia Yu's voice rang out again: "Let me state all the conditions at once."

"My second condition is that I need money, a large sum of money. I believe this is the easiest thing for you. The amount I need is not much. I will send you the account details later."

Having reached this level of status and position, the last thing Mayer lacked was money; for someone of his caliber, money was just a number.