You went on a blind date and presented an A-level wanted criminal as a meeting gift?

The main stage was brightly lit.

Hundreds of professional-grade stage spotlights lit up simultaneously, and beams of pale light converged from all directions to the center of the stage, illuminating every detail and creating a stark contrast of light and shadow with the pitch-black audience seats outside.

Monet transformed this place into a huge exhibition space.

On both sides of the stage, there are a dozen life-size plaster molds neatly arranged, each mold depicting the pose of a classic sculpture—David, The Thinker, Laocoön, etc.

Their empty eye sockets face the center of the stage, like silent audience members.

And in the very center of the stage.

Monet stood there.

He was wearing a well-tailored black tailcoat over a snow-white shirt, with a hand-tied silk bow at the collar.

Her hair was combed meticulously, and she even wore a pair of gold-rimmed monocles.

If it weren't for his eyes.

Those eyes, with pupils so dilated they almost swallowed the irises, were filled with a morbid fanaticism.

He looked like a gentleman about to take the stage to conduct a symphony.

Behind him stood a huge steel cross.

A person is tied to a cross.

Li Mingyu.

This unlucky fellow, who always makes mistakes and always drags things down, is now bound tightly to the cross with thick hemp rope.

His mouth was stuffed with a rag, his face was covered in bruises, and after the blood from his nose dried, it left two deep red marks on his philtrum.

A transparent glass container was suspended three meters directly above his head.

The container was filled with a pale yellow liquid.

The surface of the liquid was constantly bubbling with tiny bubbles, emitting a pungent odor.

Concentrated sulfuric acid.

At least twenty liters.

Li Mingyu's eyes darted around frantically, his face contorted with fear into a crumpled ball of paper.

The moment he saw Lin Chen walk onto the stage from the darkness, tears welled up in his eyes instantly.

"Waaaaah! Waaaaah!"

He tried desperately to shout, but the rag in his mouth only allowed him to utter muffled sobs.

Lin Chen walked step by step to the edge of the stage lights.

His gaze swept over Li Mingyu first, then fell on Monet.

"What a pleasant surprise."

Lin Chen's tone was indifferent.

He really didn't expect Li Mingyu to come along.

This idiot must have overheard something at the police station and then decided to steal the credit, so he secretly followed me here.

As soon as he entered the gate, Monet grabbed him like a chick.

waste.

Monet heard Lin Chen's voice, tilted his head slightly, and a cold light reflected from his monocle.

He showed no anger, nor even surprise.

He simply bowed gracefully, his movements as precise as an illustration in a textbook.

"Mr. Lin Chen."

Monet straightened up, his voice still composed, with the rhythm of a speaker.

"Congratulations on passing the first level."

"My acoustic corridor has never failed before; you are the first person to walk through it."

"I admit that your talent in architecture and acoustics has exceeded my expectations."

He turned to the side, revealing Li Mingyu, who was tied to a cross behind him, and made an inviting gesture.

The gesture resembled that of an art museum guide introducing a new exhibit to a guest.

"So, I've added an extra question for you."

"This is my new work—'The Redemption of the Greedy'."

Monet took a small silver remote control from the inside pocket of his tuxedo and twirled it between his fingers.

"This uninvited 'audience member' barged into my theater with nothing but thoughts of credit and promotion on his mind."

"I saw naked greed in his eyes."

"Greed is ugly, Lin Chen."

"And my job is to transform ugliness into art."

He pointed to the glass container above his head with the remote control.

"Twenty liters of concentrated sulfuric acid, 98% concentration."

"Once I press the button, the solenoid valve at the bottom of the container will fully open within 0.3 seconds, and the sulfuric acid will pour down at free fall speed."

"Upon contact with the skin, the proteins are instantly carbonized, and the body's fats are rapidly broken down by the dehydrating effect of sulfuric acid. The entire process... lasts approximately three minutes."

"In three minutes, only a skeleton will remain on the cross."

"That would be a perfect, redemptive skeletal specimen."

When Monet said these words, he was as calm as if he were describing how to cook a dish.

Li Mingyu understood.

He was trembling all over, and his crotch was soaked.

"Waaaaaah!!!!"

He struggled desperately, but the thick hemp rope bound him tightly, making it impossible for him to move.

Monet didn't look at him; her gaze remained fixed on Lin Chen.

"Of course, you can choose to save him."

"But if you step within five meters of the center of the stage, my feet will..."

He tapped the stage floor lightly with the heel of his leather shoe.

"It's the master detonator for the entire theater. I only need to stomp my foot, and all the pre-buried explosives will detonate simultaneously, turning a radius of 200 meters into flat ground."

"If you save him, the three of us will die together."

"If you don't save him, you can leave alive."

Monet spread his hands, a silver remote control dangling from the fingertips of his right hand.

"The choice is yours, Mr. Lin Chen."

"To stand by and watch someone you hate die, and then walk out alive—a smart person like you shouldn't have a hard time making that choice, right?"

The stage was silent for a few seconds.

Lin Chen looked at Li Mingyu's miserable state, with tears streaming down his face and looking like he was living a life worse than death.

To be honest, for half a second, a thought did flash through his mind.

That idiot, he should just die.

But it only lasted half a second.

He sighed.

The sound was very soft, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet theater.

"Li Mingyu, you are the most utterly worthless piece of trash I have ever met."

These words were so clear that Li Mingyu heard them perfectly.

But now he had no temper at all, and instead nodded frantically, his face covered in tears and snot, and his sobs turned into pleas.

Lin Chen withdrew his gaze from Li Mingyu and returned it to Monet's face.

His expression changed.

All the helplessness and disgust I felt just now vanished.

Instead, there is a pure, emotionless coldness.

"Monet."

"Your plan is good, but you made a mistake."

Monet raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Chen slowly reached his right hand into his coat pocket, his fingertips touching the several cold, sealed jars.

"You think I wasn't prepared."