Chapter 209

Chapter 209

"..."

Second Brother Qi instinctively flinched, knowing he was dead serious. Putting on a brave face, he glanced at Jiang Nian before speaking:

"If it weren't for his unique superpower, you wouldn't have even noticed you were trapped in the illusion... Everything was fine before, but recently, Gao Xuyang's mind started slipping. He began instinctively rooting for the zombies, setting them on humans within the illusion..."

"The zombies on the surface were only released recently by him. Otherwise, you wouldn't have encountered them. Since we can't leave the illusion, we had to use the name of Guan Shan Prison and the excuse of child survivors to send out the distress call. That's the truth."

After finishing, he heaved a sigh, only to grimace as pain shot through his wounds.

As a cold and sharp undercover agent, Yang Kai wasn't one for mercy. Sometimes, his ruthless and frenzied demeanor even made veteran criminals blanch—all in the name of completing his mission.

Before being captured, Second Brother Qi had even planned to bring Yang Kai into his inner circle.

"..."

The group fell silent. Chu Yi then asked:

"How many survivors are still in the basement? Why haven't you brought them up?"

"There are 27... no, 30 survivors. All women and children..."

Second Brother Qi’s features contorted in pain:

"After Gao Xuyang went off the rails, he started having zombies go after the supers. Now, the basement is full of superpower zombies, while ordinary survivors hide in the cells... They’re safe for now. To maintain balance, we couldn't risk making moves."

To minimize unnecessary risks, they only kept women and children—more manageable—alongside their own team members. This made it simpler to keep up appearances with outsiders.

"Do you have any family down there?"

Liao Yu placed an ice pack on his head as he asked, worried he might pass out and kill Bro Kai's buzz.

Second Brother Qi did a double take.

Liao Yu scoffed:

"Stop pretending. Someone like you wouldn't be so eager to have us rescue people in the basement unless your own kin were trapped. You wouldn't cooperate this much either."

"My wife and son."

Second Brother Qi admitted honestly:

"If you save them, I’ll do anything... They’re innocent. They had flown in from overseas to visit me on vacation and were staying in Guanshan City. After the apocalypse, they came to join me..."

Chu Yi shot back:

"Those who benefited from you aren’t innocent. Their cushy lives were built on the atrocities you committed. What's innocent about that?"

"..."

Second Brother Qi hung his head:

"Please, just give them a chance to live."

Yang Kai knocked him flat:

"Would you have given others that chance? Forget the people you killed before the apocalypse—didn't the others who came here afterward plead for mercy too?"

"......"

Qi the Second was left speechless, struggling for a long time before forcing out a sentence:

"You're officials..."

Yang Kai kicked him out of the tent's shadow again:

"Do officials fucking deserve to be guilt-tripped?"

"......"

Qi the Second lay on his side on the ground, his mouth working, but in the end, he said nothing.

Yet, to his surprise, Yang Kai kicked him once more. He heard the sound of his ribs cracking, followed by excruciating pain spreading from his chest. The blazing heat intensified the agony, making even the blood he coughed up feel searing.

But it wasn’t over. Yang Kai crouched down, placed a hand on his chest, and used his ability to slowly crush his heart. With an expressionless face, he asked:

"Everything you said sounds logical, and it’s probably true. But I don’t believe you."

"Guh—"

The sensation of his heart being crushed by the ability made Qi the Second’s head buzz, but he still gritted his teeth and denied it:

"Why…?"

If they didn’t believe him, his wife and son might not be saved…

Yang Kai sneered:

"First, my distrust of you doesn’t need a reason! Second, because there wasn’t a single official in your group. So in our eyes, you put on a good act—just not good enough."

The others watched coldly, clearly sharing the same sentiment.

Chu Yi pointed at the soldiers around them:

"The prison was tightly secured. Even in chaos, they wouldn’t collapse. Whether in equipment or discipline, officials were stronger than you. They would’ve been the first to arm themselves in the prison. How is it possible not a single one survived?"

Qi the Second tried to argue:

"I told the truth… The officials died early in the chaos or got infected trying to maintain order… The others got jumped and turned after Gao Xuyang snapped!"

"Sounds legit! But I’ll say it again—I don’t believe you!"

Yang Kai grinned, increasing the pressure of his ability:

"You keep emphasizing that Gao Xuyang snapped, that mind-control abilities easily influence others and themselves—

"But was it really him losing control, or was it just that, to you, he wasn’t under your thumb anymore?"

"Guh—"

With his heart under pressure, Qi the Second wheezed, unable to refute.

Yang Kai continued:

"Even if Gao Xuyang’s memory was messed up, if he still held onto his original intention of helping people after infection, he wouldn’t have let you hurt people. There’s only one reason he’d let you run wild—you were controlling him before.

"Those zombies-looking-human illusions we saw? That was also your doing—you made him create them as bait to trick outsiders. The only difference is that now, he’s shaken off your leash and lost control, and you’re the ones caged instead!" By the end, Yang Kai’s voice shook.

People never change. From the very beginning, he never believed this bastard was "getting close to" Gao Xuyang for real!

"Hack—"

His heart felt like it would explode any second. Second Brother Qi was in so much pain he couldn’t speak, his body spasming as he coughed up blood.

Yang Kai didn’t want him to die so quickly. With a chilling look, he pulled back his power.

"..."

Teetering on the edge of death for a few seconds, Second Brother Qi slowly regained consciousness. In his dazed state, he heard the question again:

"Am I right? This is the truth, isn’t it?"

"Right... Survival is instinct. Winners rule, losers suffer—that’s how it’s always been..."

Second Brother Qi had no choice but to admit it. He never thought his fake surrender would make him look like a fool. Being played like this enraged him, but he was powerless.

If he’d known they’d see through him, he’d have fought to the death—at least that’d be faster!