CHAPTER 42: CH 42: KIDNAPPING- PART 4

Once Fenrir had successfully dropped off the five hamsters and handed them over to Nedrax with firm instructions—"Don’t eat them, even if they annoy you"—he reopened a portal inside his dungeon and stepped through.

The swirling light flickered for a moment before spitting him back out into the same musty storage room from earlier.

As always, the dungeon’s core rule remained absolute: You exit where you enter.

Fenrir landed on his feet, eyes sweeping the area.

He rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath of the dusty, stale air that filled the warehouse.

The silence was thick, broken only by the occasional creak of old metal containers shifting slightly as the building settled.

With the hamsters dealt with, Fenrir figured he might as well see if there was anything worth taking as compensation for the inconvenience—and, more importantly, the audacity—of these people kidnapping him.

He scanned the room again, searching crates and containers for magical artifacts, ingredients, tools—anything of value.

He opened a few boxes here and there, but nothing useful jumped out at him. Most were either empty or filled with cheap-looking goods. No money. No potions. No weaponry.

"Figures. They’re too stupid to even store valuable loot properly."

He muttered.

He was just about to give up and head back when a groggy voice broke the silence behind him.

"What... the hell are you doing...?"

Fenrir turned his head and saw one of the kidnappers blinking slowly, trying to sit up.

The man rubbed his eyes blearily, only to freeze as he caught sight of Fenrir standing casually beside one of the open crates.

’Too slow. Should’ve moved faster.’

Fenrir thought grimly.

More groans followed as the rest of the group began to stir, their bodies reacting sluggishly to the residual effects of the sleep potion.

Fenrir didn’t panic—he simply sighed and reached into his inventory.

"Can’t have nice things."

He muttered.

He pulled out his last sleep potion—a small blue vial barely the size of his thumb—and yanked off the cork with his teeth.

In one smooth motion, he threw it to the ground and snapped his mouth shut, holding his breath.

The glass shattered, releasing a thick mist that began to spread rapidly.

The kidnappers scrambled to do the same, realizing what was happening, but Fenrir was already a step ahead.

His gaze darted to a half-empty crate filled with light wooden scraps and broken magical toys, probably taken from children during raids.

Without hesitation, he grabbed a few and hurled them at the men.

"HEY!"

One of them shouted as a piece smacked him in the face.

That was their mistake.

The moment they opened their mouths to protest, they sucked in the vapor.

Their angry shouts turned to slurred grumbles. One dropped to his knees. Another swayed and hit the ground face-first.

Within seconds, all of them were out cold again.

Fenrir sighed and walked through the fog with ease, still holding his breath.

Once the air cleared enough, he finally exhaled, coughing slightly as the edge of the mist brushed past his lips. His system pinged him with a message:

[Sleep Potion - Duration Reduced: 30 minutes remaining

Warning: Multiple exposure subjects building minor resistance.]

"Tch. Figured. Next time I’ll need something stronger."

Fenrir muttered.

He knelt beside one of the unconscious kidnappers and pulled out his phone.

His fingers moved quickly across the screen before bringing it to his ear. It rang once, then connected.

"Emergency Services, what’s your emergency?"

"I’ve been kidnapped. I don’t know the exact address, but I’m inside a warehouse. There are multiple unconscious suspects around me. Track this phone. You’ll find me."

Fenrir said calmly.

There was a long pause.

"...Sir, are you injured?"

"No. But I might be if you take too long. So hurry."

Fenrir replied flatly.

He ended the call before the operator could ask any more questions.

Standing up again, he walked over to one of the boxes and leaned against it, arms crossed.

He didn’t want to go through the trouble of escaping now that help was on the way—and besides, letting law enforcement clean this mess up would keep things tidy and out of the media.

Or so he hoped.

His gaze flicked to the still forms of his kidnappers.

"Idiots. All this effort just to snatch a ’rich kid’. If only they knew what I really am..."

He muttered under his breath.

Still, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

His information in public databases still marked him as an average student from a moderately influential family.

That anonymity was his shield, but today proved that the shield could be pierced.

As distant sirens began to wail in the air, growing louder with every passing second, Fenrir stretched his arms behind his back and smirked slightly.

Time to play the innocent victim.

Again.

______

Police Chief Hassan slowly lowered the receiver, a puzzled frown knitting his brow.

He leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the wall for a moment before rubbing his temple with a sigh.

His subordinate, a younger officer named Rafi, looked up from his desk.

"Chief? You look like you just got told you won the lottery but have to fight a dragon to claim it."

Hassan huffed a small laugh and shook his head.

"Someone just called to report a kidnapping."

Rafi straightened up, suddenly alert.

"Do we have a location? A description? Any details?"

"Yeah, that’s the strange part. The caller said he was the victim. Claimed he’d been kidnapped, but he sounded... calm. Relaxed, even. Like he was reading the weather report, not talking about his own abduction."

Hassan swiveled his chair slightly.

Rafi raised an eyebrow.

"You think it’s a prank?"

"I’m inclined to say yes. But something about it... didn’t feel like a joke. He didn’t laugh or hesitate. He was precise. Just told me to trace the call and get there fast."

Hassan admitted.

"Could be a nutjob. Or someone playing a game. You know how famous those prank videos are these days on social media."

Rafi offered, though his tone was cautious.

"Could be. But my gut tells me it’s worth checking out. Worst case, it’s nothing. Best case, we catch a real break."

Hassan said, standing up and grabbing his coat.

Rafi was already moving.

"I’ll get the team ready."

As Police Chief Hassan shrugged into his coat, he glanced back at Rafi.

"Run a trace on the call. Get the coordinates and send them to the squad car en route. I want a full response team—standard protocol."

Rafi nodded and got to work immediately, fingers flying across his keyboard.

"You got it, Chief. Tracing now... Looks like an abandoned warehouse district on the south end. Building C4."

"Of course it’s an abandoned warehouse. Why is it always a warehouse?"

Hassan muttered, rolling his eyes.

Rafi chuckled, then turned serious again.

"Sending the details now. Do you want to head out with the team?"

Hassan paused by the door, thoughtful.

"Yeah. I want to see what kind of ’kidnapped’ kid sounds that casual on the phone. Either he’s bluffing, or he’s got nerves of steel."

Grabbing his keys, he headed for the lot, his mind already running through possible scenarios.

If this was real, it wasn’t your average abduction case.

The composure in the caller’s voice gnawed at him. Most victims sounded terrified. Desperate.

But this one had sounded almost... annoyed.

Whatever was waiting for them at Building C4, Hassan was determined to get to the bottom of it.