Chapter 47: Fatal Mercy

Yongcheng No. 1 High School.

Inside the boys' dormitory building.

The bruised and battered Blade, his arms bound behind his back, hung upside down from the ceiling.

Most of his teeth were gone, and he pleaded in a slurred, desperate voice:

"J-J-Jin, Sir, everything I said is true!"

"I notified you the very first second, I didn't collude with Lu Li at all..."

"Besides, besides, didn't I have my subordinates tell you long ago that the brat could summon a Blade-arm Mantis?"

"Please believe me, I really didn't lie to you..."

Zhao Jin sat in a chair, casually toying with a pair of pliers in his hand.

With a firm squeeze of his palm, a tooth clamped between the jaws, pulled out not long ago, emitted a sharp, grinding sound.

"Judging by what you're saying, are you claiming I've wronged you?"

Blade's entire body went rigid, and his head shook like a rattling drum.

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant at all..."

Zhao Jin exerted sudden force with his palm, and the tooth shattered on the spot!

"Who was the one who patted their chest back then, swearing up and down that they could definitely keep Lu Li under control?"

"Saying that even if he were the Monkey King turning Heaven upside down, your men would firmly pin him under the Five Elements Mountain?!"

Blade pulled a long face, looking immensely wronged:

"If that punk Huang Bin had been somewhat reliable, Lu Li wouldn't have been able to make a splash!"

"I originally intended to use his [Balance] talent to temporarily lock Lu Li's stats and subdue him."

"Who would have thought that the brat would chop off Huang Bin's right hand the moment they clashed! He didn't even get a chance to activate his talent..."

"By the time I rushed over, Huang Bin was already dead..."

Zhao Jin stood up, slowly cleaning the tooth fragments from the pliers, his tone devoid of the slightest trace of warmth:

"So, you simply decided to play along, conspiring with Lu Li to turn around and deal with me instead, right?"

With that, Zhao Jin squatted down, slowly moving the pliers toward Blade's face.

"No! No, I didn't!!" Blade struggled frantically, thrashing like a pig about to be slaughtered.

Just as the pliers were about to clamp onto the remaining teeth in his mouth, a flash of inspiration crossed Blade's mind, and he cried out in haste:

"Wait! I know how to find Lu Li!"

Zhao Jin paused his movements, tilting his head as he urged: "Speak!"

"Xu Xiao! Lu Li is very close to that chick named Xu Xiao. As long as we can find Xu Xiao, we can definitely get Lu Li's whereabouts out of her!"

Zhao Jin's gaze narrowed, pressing further:

"Where is Xu Xiao?"

"I-I don't know. She should normally be in the girls' dormitory across the—Ah!!"

Before Blade could finish his sentence, another tooth was permanently evicted from his mouth.

Throwing the tooth and the pliers to the floor, Zhao Jin straightened up:

"Kill him."

Blade twisted his body frantically, screaming hysterically:

"W-W-Wait! Among my men, there are students and teachers from No. 1 High School! Ask them, they definitely know where Xu Xiao is!"

Zhao Jin raised an eyebrow, appearing to agree with Blade's suggestion:

"You make a very good point, which means you're useless now. Rest in peace."

A flash of a blade later, a head and a voice hit the ground simultaneously.

"Bring those pigs in!"

With a gloomy expression, Zhao Jin returned to his seat.

Before long, a group of teachers and students, led by Square-faced Yang, were escorted into the room.

"Does any of you know Xu Xiao's whereabouts? Speak up, and you might live."

No one uttered a sound.

Zhao Jin sighed and said softly:

"Kill two."

Two students died on the spot.

Teacher Square-faced Yang wore an expression of unbearable pity and spoke up:

"We truly don't know where Xu Xiao is, we aren't hiding it on purpose!"

Zhao Jin turned a deaf ear, not even glancing at Teacher Yang.

"Is anyone willing to talk now?"

Still, silence.

"Kill four more."

Four more lives vanished.

The crowd began to stir, and a few female students even wet themselves.

He Shufen squeezed out from the crowd, wearing a flattering smile:

"Sir, I might know where Xu Xiao is!"

"Xu Xiao went to the supermarket to gather supplies a couple of days ago, so there must be a temporary stronghold of hers there."

"As long as you send people to guard the supermarket entrance, you're guaranteed to catch that little bitch within three days!"

Impatience surfaced in the depths of Zhao Jin's eyes:

"Three days? Too long. Does anyone know a more precise location?"

"I know, I know!"

Wang Xuyan raised her hand, jumping and bounding as she squeezed out of the crowd.

"Xu Xiao just contacted me a moment ago! Asking how the situation is on my end!"

Hearing this, Zhao Jin sprang up from his chair, covering the distance to Wang Xuyan in three swift strides:

"You have Xu Xiao on your contacts?!"

Wang Xuyan nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with sycophancy:

"I lied to her just now, saying I'd already escaped and begging her to take me in. Guess what?"

"That stupid bitch shared her coordinates with me directly!"

...

Near the shopping supermarket.

In a certain residential building.

An irritable Ma Han lay on the sofa, shoving another piece of bubblegum into his mouth.

This was the eighth piece of gum he had chewed consecutively, and the wad of gum in his mouth had formed a massive lump, making even chewing somewhat difficult.

Yet Ma Han continued to chew repeatedly and forcefully, as if the action could vent the stifled frustration in his heart.

Wang Chao fetched the trash can and handed it to Ma Han:

"If you keep chewing like that, you'll turn the gum into a condom. Spit it out already."

"Fuck off!"

Ma Han snapped irritably, and in a moment of carelessness, spat out the gum from his mouth.

He sighed with frustration and shoved a fresh piece into his mouth.

"Oh, stop being so angry. That's just the monitor's personality..."

Wang Chao threw the discarded gum into the trash can and tried to persuade him:

"Besides, we have enough food on our end, an extra Wang Xuyan won't hurt."

Hearing this, Ma Han bolted upright from the sofa:

"You fat idiot, what do you know?! Am I worried about the food? I'm worried that Wang Xuyan is going to sell us out!"

Wang Chao scratched his head, looking puzzled:

"But Wang Xuyan said she's already escaped..."

Ma Han rolled his eyes and collapsed back onto the sofa:

"You believe whatever people tell you? Can't you have a bit of vigilance?!"

Wang Chao chuckled good-naturedly:

"Oh, come on, we're all classmates, what's there to be vigilant about..."

Before his voice even faded, gunfire echoed from downstairs!

Wang Chao and Ma Han exchanged a glance and dashed toward the stairs.

By the time the two reached the stairwell, a sizable crowd had already gathered outside.

A few were original residents of the building, while the rest were students who had escaped the dormitories with Xu Xiao.

The main entrance was packed with heavily armed men in black, sealing off the entire residential compound tightly.

A figure lay fallen near the main entrance, appearing severely injured.

"Monitor!"

Recognizing the person on the ground, Wang Chao yelled out and bolted toward the entrance.

After overcoming his initial shock, Ma Han hurried after him.

As the two drew closer, they realized a familiar face was hidden among the armed men in black not far away.

...