Xiong Wei chuckled coldly before he used the tip of his toe to stab one of Su Lun’s bloody wounds, and shattered bones flew everywhere.
Su Lun rolled on the floor in pain and screamed nonstop.
“Do you think he’s going to tell us honestly?” Xiong Wei asked.
“I’ll… say it…” Su Lun said with the last bit of his strength “As long as you spare me, I’ll tell you everything! I’ll even bring you to capture everyone!”
“Vice Gang Leader Su, Commander Su, God of Wealth Su, I really don’t know whether to say you’re smart or really stupid.” Meng Chao crouched down and tapped Su Lun’s swollen and hot cheek, then sighed. “You’re already in this state. Do you think that you have any room to bargain with us and even talk about conditions?
“You don’t have any choice. You must tell us everything honestly; this is your only option. You must work together with us and capture the Vortex as well as its puppets. Then, you will jump on the chopping board on your own like some rotting piece of flesh and hope that we’ll be merciful when we cut you up.
“This is the only thing you can do, do you understand?”
Su Lun’s eyes roved about.
He looked at Meng Chao, then at the expressionless Lu Siya, and finally, at the fuming Xiong Wei.
Finally, he nodded at Meng Chao.
“There is a warehouse with materials in an incomplete building beside Mutual Gold Coliseum. A group of former Reaper Squad members are lurking there,” he said quickly. “They committed unpardonable crimes over the past decade, so as death row convicts, they were sent to the Reaper Squad to carry out the most dangerous tasks in the wild.
“In the end, due to various reasons, they ended up in the hands of the monster civilization and were modified and brainwashed by abnormal beasts. They’re killing machines who became new people and regained their freedom. They’re also the Vortex’s trump card.
“As I said, they’re waiting for my signal and for flames and smoke to completely surround Mutual Gold Coliseum. The VIP room above the audience seat is filled with poisonous gas and high-density anesthetic gas. The middle and higher management members of the gangs will lose most of their fighting strength, then the former Reaper Squad members will charge in and carry out Operation Beheading to get rid of the pillars of the gangs.”
Meng Chao nodded and, after a moment of contemplative silence, said, “Tell me the names of the former Reaper Squad members, their characteristics, and weaknesses. Also, have they taken Deification Capsules?”
“No. The Deification Capsules are stimulants specifically made for normal people and low-grade monsters. The lower their fighting strength, the greater the increase of strength. The former Reaper Squad members consist mostly of two- and three-star superhumans. Quite a few of them have reached Heaven Realm. The Deification Capsules are no longer effective on them.”
Su Lun paused for a moment. “But there are a few batches of robbers who have a lot of Deification Capsules on them. They’re hiding all around the lair. They’re also the ones who committed hundreds of robberies outside over the past few days.
“They took in large quantities of Deification Capsules for a few days, so even if they didn’t die by some stroke of luck, their vitality has already been pretty much drained. Their bodies are full of injuries, and they’re already useless.
“In our plan, they’re mainly going to be used as trash to attract attention.
“There are gang fighters experienced in battle in the coliseum, and they might interfere with the Operation Beheading.
“In our script, we’ll instigate the robbers to launch suicidal attacks at the important areas. Since their heads have already been corroded by the Deification Capsules and they’re already a little mad, they won’t refuse. We might also send them to warehouses full of inflammable and explosive materials to light them on fire. The greater the ruckus they cause, the better.
“Because of it, I will have a reason to send the last remaining elites in the coliseum out, now that I have the highest commanding power. This would form a window of opportunity since there will be an extreme lack of fighting power for at least half an hour in the coliseum.
“Half an hour is enough for the human killing machines to complete Operation Beheading.”
“Tell me the specifics of where those people are hiding, their targets, and your code to meet up,” Meng Chao said. “Also, you mentioned that you have subordinates around Leprosy Village?”
“That’s right. I bribed some people. They’re not just from Golden Tooth, but from all the gangs, and I sent them to be stationed outside Leprosy Village.”
Su Lun had already understood the situation and knew that there was no meaning to hiding anything, so he spilled the beans willingly. “Their task is to fan the flames in the conflict between the villagers and gang members, such as using gunfire to increase the intensity of the problem. They’re to do their best to make the conflict so bad that it’ll turn into a full-on fight. Because of that, the enraged villagers would charge out and destroy the order in the lair.”
“There were actually people who willingly fell into decadence and became the monsters’ puppets in the gangs?” Meng Chao could not believe it.
“These people don’t know that they’re doing things for the monster civilization. Most do not even know that they’re doing it for me,” Su Lun said. “Most probably think they’re only doing this for money and resources.”
“For… money?” Meng Chao mumbled.
“99% of the people in the world do things for money.” Even though Su Lun was in such great pain that he wanted to die, when he heard Meng Chao, he smiled, though it looked more like a grimace. “It’s especially the case in the lair. A middle-grade crystal the size of a fist is enough to buy a person or multiple people’s lives, even if it’s full of impurities and bubbles. As long as I offer a high price, no one will ask who the master behind the crystal is and won’t question the goal behind what I ask.”
“Enough with the nonsense.” Meng Chao reached out and grabbed Su Lun’s jaw. With a bit of strength, cracking came from Su Lun’s jaw.
Half of Su Lun’s teeth had been knocked out by Xiong Wei. The nerves under the broken teeth were exposed to the air, and when Meng Chao pressed down on them, Su Lun started spasming in pain again.
“Now, take us to the place where the robbers, traitors, and former Reaper Squad members are,” Meng Chao ordered coldly.
“I-I can take you there, but I don’t think you’re strong enough to handle them.” Su Lun grunted. “The robbers and traitors are easy targets, but those former Reaper Squad members have died once or even multiple times. They’re ferocious ghosts who crawled out of hell and have direct contact with the Vortex. They aren’t completely under my command.
“They’re wary and have a lot of experience in fighting, surviving, and fleeing from complicated situations. Second-class fighters from the gangs and you might be unable to capture them in one go.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.” Lu Siya moved forward, and an unfathomable smile appeared on her lips. “Did you really think that I was the only one who entered the lair?”
Fifteen minutes later, more than ten people lay in a smelly room on the second basement level of a large building that was as complicated as a hive, as cramped as an ant’s nest, and as dirty as a pig’s pen. It was surrounded by illegal buildings and situated next to a large waste sorting and recycling factory.
Even though the group wore hooded cloaks of the lair citizens, the thick smell of blood spreading out from their pores was something not even the thick cloaks could cover.
The skin that was exposed was an abnormal shade of white, and it looked even more hideous than that of a zombie.
Thick but messy blood vessels encased muscles that twitched nonstop, showing that these people were in a state of excitement and exhaustion. It was a paradoxical look.
Under the hoods were twisted faces due to them draining their lives too much to release their desires.
Their eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and the spark of humanity in them had been replaced by a fierce, animalistic glint.
The people were clearly awake, but they were exhausted. They could not even move their fingers.
All of them held metal tubes that contained Deification Capsules next to their chests. Sometimes, they licked their lips and cast hungry eyes at the metal tubes.
It was as if the only meaning left in whatever little remained of their lives was to eat the Deification Capsules and charge out to fight fearlessly.
“How long do we have to wait before we can take action again?” One of the robbers could not tolerate it anymore. He reached for the metal tube with a quivering hand. “I want power. I want to enjoy that damn strength. I want to punch through walls, flip over an armored vehicle, and tear apart motorized armor! That feeling is amazing!”
“Wait. The boss has his own arrangements. We can’t interfere with the big plan!”
A man who seemed like the leader of the robbers kicked him, causing the metal tube in his hands to roll away.
The robber leader gulped and gasped as he said, “It’ll be soon. The fire outside is already very large. Once the gangs’ forces spread out even more, we’ll rush out and light up the junkyard beside us.
“This junkyard is full of inflammable and explosive items as well as thick miasma. If we blast it into the air, everything within a circular area of a few kilometers will be in chaos. At that time, we’ll welcome our world!”
“At that time, we’ll empty the warehouses of the gangs!” Another robber who looked as thin as a skeleton started cackling. “Then, we’ll use the resources from the gangs to create more Deification Capsules and continue killing, stealing, and having fun!”
When they remembered the endless joy that made them feel as if they were on cloud nine, all the robbers laughed savagely.
“I think it’s past the allocated time. Why isn’t the signal here yet?” one robber asked in slight worry. “Did something happen?”
“Shut up. Nothing will go wrong with the boss.” The robber leader kicked the person and spoke confidently, though he was also lying to himself. “Without the boss’ planning, we’d still be nameless nobodies in the slums, and everyone could step all over us!
“But under the boss’ instructions, we stole from a lot of big companies and industries, and even the secret police couldn’t do anything to us!
“Compared to the mega corporations and secret police, the gangs are nothing. The boss has definitely arranged everything a long time ago!”
The robbers started cackling again.
Since they were immersed in the feeling of the upcoming robbery and murder, the overly excited robbers did not notice a colorless and scentless, high-density anesthetic gas seeping into their room through the cracks in the window and the door and the ventilation pipes.
