Chapter 14: You Lot of Liars
Eight hours later, in a nearly fully sealed underground chamber.
This underground room was about fifty square meters in size, with various torture instruments hanging on the walls. The exhaust fan on the ceiling rotated slowly, yet the smell of blood in the basement remained thick.
Two bloodied and mangled figures were suspended, one of whom had completely lost all signs of life, becoming a corpse.
"I am, Spike, a bishop of the Divine Court... twenty-six years old, male..."
Spike, his entire body a bloody mess, was hung up. Because both his arms had been severed, two iron hooks were stabbed into the stumps.
For the people of the Lost Eye organization, words like sympathy and mercy held no meaning for them. Completing the mission, being loyal to the Lost Eye, and being loyal to the Geya Alliance were more important than life itself.
Spike was a fanatical believer, but after enduring interrogation by a spy within the Lost Eye named the Butcher, he broke. He confessed everything, including peeping at a female neighbor bathing when he was young and using his authority to have improper relations with underage female believers. One must know that in the Sun Kingdom, a country with such moral purity, the latter was a capital offense, punishable by the thorn whip.
The door to the basement was pushed open, and Su Xiao and Shalin walked into the room.
"It's ready now. Just ask him whatever you want to know."
A man wearing a black hood and a rubber butcher's apron was wiping down the torture instruments. He was the Butcher. He never revealed his face; only Lai Zong knew what he looked like.
Su Xiao sized up the Sun Kingdom bishop, Spike. The man's entire body was a bloody mess, clearly having been skinned alive. That he hadn't died from excessive blood loss showed the Butcher's skill.
Su Xiao frowned. He rarely interrogated enemies by destroying their physical bodies. Not only was the intelligence obtained this way inaccurate, but the impact on one's own mind was a factor that couldn't be ignored. Su Xiao often killed enemies, but he never tortured them, because he didn't believe killing was something to be enjoyed. It was merely a means to an end, simple and crude.
Su Xiao was very interested in fighting enemies. Combat was a back-and-forth, a contest of battle IQ while figuring out how to kill the other party. That feeling of walking the line between life and death could addict many people. Physical torture, on the other hand, was one-sided abuse, boring.
Shalin saw Su Xiao frown, which surprised her quite a bit: "I didn't expect someone from the Killing Force to be so compassionate?"
Hearing Shalin's words, Su Xiao said nothing. The Butcher, who was tidying up the torture instruments, let out a cold laugh, tinged with disdain.
"Where is that thing? If I'm not mistaken, it should be something like a formation diagram."
Su Xiao had seen spatial coordinates several times. A secondary spatial coordinate was likely just a cruder version.
"..."
Spike looked at Su Xiao with a somewhat dazed expression.
"Answer his question."
The Butcher spoke. Hearing the Butcher's voice, Spike's body trembled.
"I, I..."
Spike's lips quivered. A hint of vitality returned to his lifeless eyes. Seeing this look, the Butcher picked up a torture instrument.
"I will, only, tell him alone."
Spike looked at Su Xiao. He had previously confessed a lot of personal information, but regarding the secrets of the Sun Kingdom, he had only revealed a small part, using that to reduce the pain he endured.
"Sorry, it seems it's not quite there yet."
The Butcher made a move to step forward. Su Xiao turned his head to look at him.
"Mr. White Night, please step out first..."
The Butcher stopped mid-sentence. He could be certain that if he continued, he would likely die.
"Step out first."
Shalin 'understood' what was happening. After enduring the cruel torture, Bishop Spike now only sought a quick release. For Spike, the Butcher, the man who had brought him endless pain, was not worthy of obtaining information from him. Su Xiao, on the other hand, had defeated him fair and square.
In Spike's eyes, although both were enemies, if he had to tell the information to one of them, Spike would choose Su Xiao, who had defeated him head-on, rather than the Butcher, who held the torture instruments and had average combat ability.
Shalin led the slightly displeased Butcher out of the basement.
"It seems, I, made a, wrong choice."
Spike smiled, blood dripping from his chin.
"Where is it."
Azure Steel Shadow energy gathered in Su Xiao's hand. As it transformed into an energy shield, he shaped the shield into a short knife.
"Aren't you afraid I'll lie to you?"
Spike was still smiling.
"If you keep wasting time, that hooded man will come back to discuss life with you. Tell me the answer within three seconds."
The energy blade short knife flipped in Su Xiao's hand, as if it might slit Spike's throat at any moment.
"Golden Bo Street, the Fox Fortune-Telling House."
Spike's body began to go limp. A faint stinging sensation came from his severed arms. He was surprised to find that the unbearable, excruciating pain throughout his body had disappeared.
Su Xiao dropped the syringe in his hand and turned to walk out of the basement.
"Wait... wait, you haven't killed me yet. Where are you going? Stop!"
Spike struggled desperately. Su Xiao paused, slightly turning his head.
"Did I say I was going to kill you?"
"You said so earlier."
Spike's breathing was rapid.
"You're right. So that was earlier. See you around."
"You..."
Spike was somewhat despairing.
With a bang, the basement door slammed shut. The next moment, the Butcher pushed the door open. Through the gap in the iron door, Spike saw Su Xiao and the Butcher nod to each other. Where was the disdain? Where was the killing intent?
At that moment, Spike realized that the Butcher's cold laugh, his disdain for Su Xiao, and all of it were fake. These people had only exchanged glances, completing a silent communication and quickly formulating a plan.
Shalin, as a beautiful woman, had shown slight disdain for Su Xiao, implying that a member of the Killing Force was actually soft-hearted. The Butcher played along, amplifying the disdain for Su Xiao.
This scene had all fallen into Bishop Spike's eyes. As a victim of the Butcher's hands, with his spirit nearly broken, he instinctively leaned towards Su Xiao, the 'disdained' party, since both were 'vulnerable groups.'
It was precisely because of this that Spike had said: 'I will only tell him alone.'
"The Killing Force lives up to its reputation."
The Butcher let out a sinister laugh.
"Bishop, rest assured, we won't let you die. You'll receive the best treatment. Compared to continuing to torture you, you have greater value."
This time, Spike didn't speak again. He wouldn't trust anyone anymore.
Outside the basement, Su Xiao was holding a map.
"If a fight breaks out on Golden Bo Street, what would be the result?"
Su Xiao had already found the location of Golden Bo Street. This block was on the east side of Hot City and belonged to the commercial district.
"We absolutely cannot engage the enemy there. That's a commercial district. Bullets would penetrate multiple walls, causing dozens, even hundreds of civilian casualties."
Although Shalin was ruthless and merciless to her enemies, she had a strong sense of responsibility towards the civilians of Hot City. Even though she was a spy, she had become one to defend the Geya Alliance.
"Then we won't use firearms."
"Huh?"
Shalin looked at Su Xiao in surprise. Fighting the people of the Sun Kingdom without using firearms was almost the same as seeking death.