Chapter 25 – Paper Man 24
Su Tang had been kidnapped.
He’d simply felt hungry and wanted to buy something to eat. But as soon as he stepped outside, he was shoved into a van.
With his hands tied and eyes blindfolded, Su Tang initially panicked. Fortunately, the soft and comforting System kept him company, easing his fear. He then recalled the plot—there was indeed a kidnapping scene.
However, the victim wasn’t him. In the original story, Su Tang’s paper person character didn’t even exist. The one kidnapped was the female lead, Chen Yingying. She’d been dragged into this mess—the Luo Group’s massive influence had made plenty of enemies. The kidnappers originally targeted the Luo family, but their guards kept them completely protected. So the kidnappers took the male lead’s beloved female lead hostage, threatening to kill her if he didn’t come out.
Reading this, Su Tang couldn’t help but marvel at how truly fucking unlucky the female lead was. Being forced into a relationship with some narcissistic idiot after a drunken incident was bad enough, but now she had to suffer this random disaster because of him? It was just tragic. Then, the heroine gets rescued by the hero, falls in love with him, and everything turns out perfectly? Su Tang admired the author’s twisted logic—wasn’t this just forcing a happy ending? The damn bridge effect at work.
Returning to the present, Su Tang pondered: Why did events meant for the female lead end up happening to me?
This question found its answer when the van had driven some distance and the kidnappers seized another person.
The newcomer’s voice bristled with anger, “Do you want to lose your money? How dare you treat me like this?!”
A chaotic scene followed—kicks, punches, curses, and screams of pain. The kidnappers were clearly disciplining their captive.
The kidnapper’s gruff voice sneered, “Young Master Luo, we owe you thanks for ordering us to kidnap Luo Yuan’s little boyfriend. How else could we have our revenge? We’ve waited years for this day.”
Su Tang was utterly shocked. The male lead ordered his kidnapping? Why? Is he insane?
As if reading his mind, the kidnapper kindly explained, “The culprit who ordered your kidnapping is right beside you. He wanted to force Luo Yuan to surrender his power through you. Now that we’ve captured him too, shall we let you beat him up?”
Without waiting for Su Tang’s response, the kidnapper grabbed his fist and slammed it into Luo Chen’s body. Luo Chen, accustomed to a life of luxury, couldn’t endure this pain. Bruises already covered his body from earlier beatings, and even slight movements made him gasp. When Su Tang’s fist connected, he began screaming again.
The kidnapper kicked him hard, sneering, “Pathetic trash. Just like your Luo scum father. Can’t handle a little pain? Think about how much it hurt to make my dad jump from that building. He crashed right in front of me, brains splattered everywhere. Wanna try that feeling?”
The kidnapper’s voice dripped with malice. Even without seeing him, you could tell he wasn’t some ordinary thug—probably had blood on his hands. Those last words carried a sinister edge, as if he might actually throw someone off a building. The protagonist who’d been wailing in pain moments before suddenly turned into a quivering pheasant, too scared to make a sound.
At that moment, the kidnapper removed the blindfold from Su Tang’s eyes. The light revealed Luo Chen, his face so bruised and swollen his mother might not recognize him if she saw him now.
Su Tang also got a good look at the kidnappers’ faces—buzzed heads, scarred faces, tattooed bodies, and bear-like muscles. Compared to them, Su Tang felt like a small, weak chick that could be crushed in an instant.
Su Tang, who’d always been a law-abiding citizen, had never faced such danger before. He shrank into the corner, as quiet as a chicken, trying to make himself invisible, and just hoped rescue would come soon.
If the kidnappers aren’t even bothering to hide their faces, does that mean I have no chance of survival?
Su Tang couldn’t help but shoot Luo Chen a venomous glare. If it weren’t for him, would I be in this mess? He’s worse than a rapist—someone who’s committed so many crimes deserves the death penalty! How could such a person be the male lead? Is the author insane?
Noticing Su Tang’s blatant resentment toward Luo Chen, the kidnappers softened their attitude toward him slightly. After all, Su Tang had no prior conflict with them; he was merely a tool to lure Luo Yuan here. They would keep a close watch on him but wouldn’t abuse him. When he was hungry, they even provided food and drink, while Luo Chen was thrown into a corner covered in bruises.
They were in an abandoned warehouse in the remote outskirts, a place so desolate that even screaming at the top of your lungs wouldn’t draw a response.
Su Tang wolfed down the kidnappers’ meal box with gusto, eating as if he wasn’t being held hostage at all. He seemed completely carefree, almost oblivious to his situation. But when the kidnappers glared at him, he pressed his legs together tightly, lowered his head, and trembled slightly, perfectly embodying the image of a cowardly fool.
He held out his empty lunch box and asked timidly, “Excuse me… is there more?”
The kidnapper felt inexplicably annoyed and blurted out, “Are you a pig? Huh! How can you eat so much? This is your second portion! Did I kidnap you just to feed you?”
Su Tang immediately buried his head in his chest, looking utterly terrified.
The ringleader, however, showed no anger. He casually tossed two packets of biscuits into Su Tang’s arms and said nonchalantly, “Eat if you’re hungry. Might be your last meal anyway.”
His tone was calm and even, but the words carried far more menace than the other kidnapper’s outburst.
Su Tang clutched the biscuits, trembling dramatically for several moments. He pretended to be torn between eating and not eating, as if terrified. In truth, Su Tang wasn’t really scared. He’d already died once, and the System’s presence gave him courage. Besides, even if these kidnappers did kill him, at least he’d die full rather than starving.
So, Su Tang played his part perfectly—trembling while devouring the biscuits with practiced speed, finishing both packets in no time.
The irritable kidnapper’s eyes widened in surprise. “You must have been reincarnated as a starving ghost.”
Su Tang finished eating, licked his lips, and still looked unsatisfied. The kidnapper grew even more suspicious that Su Tang might have been sent by the Luo family specifically to drain them of resources through gluttony.
Su Tang sat there with a pathetic expression, his voice trembling as he asked, “…I haven’t done anything to you guys. Can you let me go? I swear I won’t tell anyone.”
The kidnapper sneered. “You haven’t done anything to us, but you’re useful. What do you think will happen if I tell Luo Yuan we’ve got you?”
If it were anyone else being kidnapped, they would have been shaking in fear by now, too scared to speak. The kidnapper wouldn’t have bothered responding. But Su Tang was an orphan who had toughened himself up to earn money. He was good at reading people’s expressions and building relationships. Plus, his natural downcast eyes gave him an innocent and friendly look.
At first, the kidnapper really didn’t want to talk to him. But seeing how young he was and how clueless he looked, they didn’t feel like they needed to be careful. So they told him why they’d kidnapped him.
Su Tang managed to pry out some useful information. He learned that the ringleader of the kidnappers was the scar-faced man, and their abduction was aimed at avenging the leader’s father. They’d already contacted Luo Father, ordering him to bring money for the ransom. Of course, their true target wasn’t the money at all, but the Luo family’s lives.
The kidnappers even chuckled, remarking they hadn’t expected to be so important in Luo Yuan’s eyes. No sooner had they spoken than Luo Yuan agreed to come.
The kidnappers were already preparing how to eliminate the Luo family and settle their blood feud.
In the original plot, Luo Yuan hadn’t been involved in this kidnapping incident at all. The one taken hostage was the female lead, leaving only the male lead to rage impotently, shouting “I won’t let you die!” while Luo Father tried to restrain him. At the time, Luo Yuan hadn’t particularly liked the female lead, and he despised Luo Father and that illegitimate son. Why would he care about such matters?
But now, the entire plot had changed. Because Su Tang had come here, Luo Yuan now faced a group of kidnappers solely focused on vengeance and murder. It was incredibly dangerous.
Su Tang immediately tensed up. He had the system, so dying in this world wasn’t true death—he’d simply move on to the next world. But Luo Yuan… He couldn’t let Luo Yuan die.
Su Tang couldn’t wait for rescue. If this were a typical ransom kidnapping, he should have sat tight and waited for the police. But this wasn’t ordinary—these people had no intention of leaving any survivors.
So Su Tang maintained his facade of a frightened hostage, feigning eagerness to be ransomed, while secretly plotting his escape.
At this critical moment, his half-vampire heritage became his greatest advantage. The system was impressive, but it remained fundamentally supportive. When it came to mission-related matters, he had to rely on himself.
Su Tang thought about his intermittent superhuman strength, feeling genuinely unconfident.
The system said, “Host, based on my calculations, you’re currently a newborn vampire. Without proper guidance, your abilities have a 50% chance of working under normal circumstances. However, in life-threatening situations, they will activate 100% of the time.”
Su Tang: “What counts as a life-threatening situation? My mind knows, but my body might not! How does it determine that? Does it only activate when I’m actually in mortal danger? I feel like I’m in extreme danger right now!”
The system pondered for a moment. “How about I replace the kidnappers’ faces in your mind with terrifying ghosts? Given your extreme fear of ghosts, both your mind and body should recognize the situation as extremely dangerous.”
Su Tang: “…In that case, I’m truly grateful to you :)”
System: “No need to thank me. I’ll switch them out right away.”
Su Tang, trembling: “No! Tongtong, if you love me, don’t do it! I’m really scared!”
The system hesitated. “But if you’re this afraid, how will you complete tasks in the supernatural or zombie worlds? You should use this chance to practice your courage.”
Su Tang: “There are supernatural worlds too?! Are the villains ghosts?”
System: “Yes.”
Su Tang felt utterly hopeless, as if he wanted to dig a hole and bury himself right then and there. He cried out, “Tongtong, send me back for cremation. I don’t want to do any more tasks!”
The system hurried to comfort him, “Host, don’t be afraid. Not all ghosts look terrifying. The villains are all very handsome. Even if they become ghosts, they’ll just have paler skin. How about this? I’ll replace those kidnappers’ faces with more comical ghost versions.”
The system acted immediately, its efficiency impressive.
So Su Tang turned to look at the kidnapper left guarding the warehouse. Two pitch-black eyes, flesh hanging loose, a long tongue drooping from the mouth… eerie and terrifying. Where was the comedy?
Su Tang’s heart nearly stopped from the shock, his survival instincts kicking into high gear. His mind went blank, leaving no time for thought as his fist shot out with a whoosh, whipping through the air. The poor kidnapper was utterly bewildered—one moment he was standing, the next he was embedded in the wall with a thud, so firmly lodged he couldn’t be pried out!
Having sent his attacker flying, Su Tang stood bewildered. “How did one punch knock him out?” he muttered, panic rising. “He’s coughing blood! Shit! Tongtong! Tongtong! I didn’t mean to kill him! He looked so terrifying, I reacted without thinking…”
The system scanned the situation. “He’s not dead. No need to worry.”
Just internal organ damage and three broken ribs. Compared to their intent to take the host’s life, this was actually quite merciful.
Relief flooded through Su Tang. “I was going to plan something, but now we need to escape immediately. Those other kidnappers might return at any moment. Tongtong, can you give me Luo Yuan’s location?”
The system emitted a cute, childish voice, “Okay~”
Su Tang dashed to the door and effortlessly picked the lock, as if snapping a crisp biscuit. He burst through the door and fled, running like his life depended on it.
Author’s Note:
System (in a fierce yet playful tone): “Dare you harm my host? You’re asking for death! Hmph!”
The kidnapper, now both bankrupt and bruised: Waaah… QAQ
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