Being kidnapped wasn't because he was itching for a beating.
Instead, it was for a deeper reason: he wanted to further strengthen his abilities.
Both times he had been on the verge of losing control, he had displayed power far beyond his normal state, and thus, he wished to master that state.
However, both of those instances had found him in a near-out-of-control condition. He desired power, but not the loss of control that came with it, which led him to devise this flawed solution.
He sought ordinary people to abuse him, to deliberately provoke his anger and inflict injuries, yet without completely losing himself.
He believed that what made him stronger wasn't madness, but rather a critical point between rationality and madness.
It was for this very reason that he had weakened himself as much as possible and orchestrated this kidnapping.
Of course, a normal person would never conceive of such an idea.
"Laugh? Laugh your head off!"
Scarface slapped Wen Wen hard, the force and sound resounding. His hand turned red, yet Wen Wen's cheek only flushed slightly.
However, the smile on Wen Wen's face remained unchanged. To Scarface, this was mockery.
"Hit him, hit him hard! Use all the strength you usually use to bully others. I refuse to believe this kid can still smile." Su Dan Xiao Shuo Wang
Behind him, the remaining thugs stepped forward, eager and rubbing their hands. They picked up various torture instruments and showed no restraint in inflicting them upon Wen Wen.
As his physique wasn't particularly strong at the moment, these instruments caused him genuine pain.
The pain was so intense that Wen Wen wished he could crush their skulls with his bare hands!
Yet, Wen Wen endured, even as he suffered piercing agony!
Even though this torture was something Wen Wen had arranged himself, an irrepressible anger welled up within him.
"Kill them, kill them all."
"Cannot kill, I haven't found yet..."
"What would Scarface's blood taste like..."
"Rationality... must be rational! ...What is rationality?"
...
Whips, brands, and all manner of cruel methods were used on Wen Wen, rendering his mind increasingly disoriented.
Initially, he roared in pain, gritting his teeth to persevere.
Later, he began to smile again, and his smiles grew more manic.
This was truly exhilarating!
The varied degrees of pain, coupled with the expressions of these thugs, were quite captivating.
"Smile, you damn fool, you're still smiling! Are you insane?"
Scarface was enraged. The boss's requirement was for Wen Wen to be as miserable as possible; this constant smiling was unacceptable.
The boss had given two requirements: one was not to touch Wen Wen's right hand, and the other was to make him suffer as much as possible, or deductions would be made.
He took out a small knife and pressed it against Wen Wen's corner of the mouth, growling with a hint of madness,
"Smile, smile at me again!"
Influenced by Wen Wen's smiles, the thugs' minds also began to fray. Their methods became increasingly brutal, leaving no intact skin on Wen Wen's body.
"Heh heh, I've decided. Although you're ugly, I'll find a beautiful woman to introduce to you," Wen Wen said earnestly, his eyes wide.
*Slash!*
Scarface used the dagger to cut Wen Wen's cheek, slitting it from his mouth. He then cut open the other side of his mouth.
Now, no matter what, Wen Wen appeared to be smiling.
"Since you like to smile, keep smiling then!"
Scarface angrily threw the dagger to the ground, and the torture escalated.
Amidst the inhuman punishments, Wen Wen's eyes turned red repeatedly, only to return to calm.
This continued for over four hours. Even though they had tortured Wen Wen beyond recognition, the thugs saw none of the despairing expressions they had hoped for.
Instead, they were the ones who were exhausted.
Wen Wen kept smiling, his laughter growing louder and more unnerving.
His laughter was unrestrained, possessing a terrifying quality.
"Boss, isn't he just a lunatic?"
A thug whispered to Scarface, his voice trembling.
Even these hardened men had never encountered someone like Wen Wen before.
They had seen tough individuals, but they were merely defiant in their words.
They had never seen anyone like Wen Wen, who, after being rendered almost useless, could still laugh like this.
This wasn't laughter born of despair; it was the genuine laughter of extreme excitement.
"Thank you. I've found the critical point," Wen Wen uttered, his words slurred due to his injured mouth.
"Indeed, practice is the only way to truly approach truth. Between madness and sanity, there exists such a wondrous state."
Wen Wen's eyes narrowed, his expression hazy, as if he hadn't slept, or perhaps was lost in something.
The thugs exchanged glances, a chill settling in their hearts.
Scarface made a gesture across his neck, and a thug, dagger in hand, moved to stab Wen Wen in the heart.
Now, they preferred to earn less rather than endure Wen Wen's smile any longer; his behavior was already enough to give them nightmares.
With Wen Wen's laughter, his wounds contorted, appearing more terrifying than any horror film.
Furthermore, at some point, a manic atmosphere had permeated the room, immersing the thugs within it.
Only now did they regain their composure, their bodies drenched in cold sweat from fear.
However, with two soft snaps of fingers, the thug who was about to kill Wen Wen froze, dagger still raised.
Scarface moved closer and discovered a red ice needle embedded in the thug's forehead!
The ice needle melted from the thug's body heat, flowing down as blood.
Scarface then looked at Wen Wen with a stunned, disbelieving gaze.
Wen Wen's blood, spilled on the floor, began to float and coalesce into a blood-ice blade, which sliced through the ropes, freeing Wen Wen.
At this moment, Wen Wen had not a single intact patch of skin.
Yet, it was this Wen Wen who made the thugs' legs tremble with fear.
They tried to flee, only to find the door frozen shut with ice, impossible to open.
"Are you... are you even human?" Scarface stammered, trembling.
"Heh heh, so what if I am human? So what if I'm not? You are human, but what you did to me, is that something a human would do?"
Wen Wen tapped twice on his right wrist, and his entire demeanor underwent a drastic transformation.
Red veins bulged around his eyes, turning them completely red.
Through his sliced cheeks, they could see four sharp fangs gradually extending from his mouth!
But they could see no more, as Wen Wen's cheeks healed, and other parts of his body began to recover at a visible speed.
The flesh and blood that had been separated earlier crawled back into Wen Wen's body, allowing him to regenerate at an accelerated pace.
During the recovery process, Wen Wen touched his cheek and said with slight disappointment,
"Ah, it feels more comfortable with both sides leaking air like before..."