"Well? It is already the evening of the second day, and you still think your companions are coming to save you? Don't be ridiculous. They don't even know where you are, and do they dare openly attack us in front of countless soldiers? Stop being naive. In this world, everything is prioritized by self-interest. Just say it. If you tell us exactly how many members are in the Zhongzhou Team, each member's skills and strengths, their enhanced attributes, as well as each member's appearance and name, we will surely let you go and even give you a Rune Stone, which will prevent you from being erased even if you end up with negative points. How about that?" Luo Gan Dao silently closed his eyes, and suddenly a young man's voice echoed in his mind.

Luo Gan Dao wasn't an idiot. The fact that he managed to survive from being a petty thug and even drive for shady operations in a near-underworld environment meant he possessed his own profound understanding of certain matters. In fact, the voice had already revealed the core truth: everything in this world is governed by self-interest. So, what was his life worth? If he didn't still possess some utility value, this team would have killed him long ago for reward points and side missions. Though he was new to the Reincarnation Squad, he certainly wasn't naive in the real world.

"There’s no need to say anything more. Being captured by you is enough. Kill me if you must. I will never reveal any information about the Zhongzhou Team!" Luo Gan Dao stated coldly.

(...At this moment, I must not show the slightest hint of weakness or hesitation. Any sign of that will give them the illusion that I am easy to handle, which will only prompt them to begin torturing me. Based on their current behavior, only I have been captured so far, which means the possibility of Zheng Zha coming to save me is still very high. Moreover, the fact that they cannot easily kill me will put them in a state of hesitation...) "Do you think we would hesitate to kill you easily? Yes, under normal circumstances, that would be true. However, you underestimate the diversity of skills possessed by a Reincarnation Squad far too much... Do you remember the girl who attacked you? The skill she learned is witchcraft, a skill inheritance from ancient African tribes. Having Black African blood from the Southern Continent made her learning process twice as effective. Besides controlling spirit bees to create poison, she can also control the spirits of trees and... the spirits of ghosts. Of course, her ghost spirit technique is still immature, and using it inevitably comes with flaws. Therefore, the information extracted from your soul might not be complete, which conflicts with my plan. So, it's not that I dare not kill you; it's just that I don't want to risk killing you unless absolutely necessary... Fine. I will give you one more day. If you still haven't spoken before the Generals arrive, then I will have no choice but to kill you. Think it over carefully."

Luo Gan Dao's heart sank upon hearing this. Worse than death—having his very soul tampered with? It sent a chill down his spine that made his hair stand on end. As the voice vanished, the surroundings once again plunged into a state of silent, lightless darkness. In fact, ever since he was stung unconscious by the bees, he hadn't heard any sound or seen any light; aside from the sensation of pain, all his other senses had essentially shut down. Any communication from the other party was purely mental and conscious. In other words, up to this point, he hadn't even met the person he was speaking with.

(One or two more days... Just one or two more days. Should I really gamble this? Speak or not speak...) Regardless of Luo Gan Dao's internal turmoil, in the officers' room not far from him, the blond youth Neos was ceaselessly tearing into chocolate. He consumed an entire large box of chocolates before sucking on his fingers and frowning. Several people around him watched him intently until he started sucking his fingers, when a Caucasian man finally spoke in a gruff voice, "Neos, just say what you have to say. Don't keep it bottled up and make us anxious. What exactly did that man say? Just kill him and let Aya extract his memories!" Neos spoke without looking up, "Hofier, if we miss one or two members of the Zhongzhou Team and end up having several of us ambushed and killed, are you willing to take responsibility for that outcome? Or are you perhaps one of those who would die?" The Caucasian man, Hofier, forced an awkward chuckle. "No, no, I'm just concerned about the situation with the Zhongzhou Team. You're smarter than me. What should we do?" Neos sneered and tapped his forehead with his finger. "Things are progressing unusually smoothly. And the person we captured isn't exactly a born tough guy; he's just pretending right now. A truly tough person would actually talk a lot to buy time... Now we just need to wait for time to pass, and he will definitely reveal the location of everyone. Plus, the place where we’ve locked him up is impossible for outsiders to find unless they use mental searching, but Xue Ling'er has already shielded this area. Unless the opponent's mental control activates, or all his team members show up, in which case we won't have to work so hard to find them. In short, we hold the absolute advantage. However..." "However? What is it?" the Caucasian man Hofier asked eagerly, while the others beside him also showed expressions of concern.

Neos let out a breath. "I don't know why, but I feel like something isn't quite right. Everything has been too smooth—as if... as if the other side had prepared this entire setup as a trap for us to fall into. This feeling really bothers me!" The sturdy middle-aged man Richard spoke curiously, "Are you suggesting that this person allowed himself to be captured deliberately? So that he can feed us false information to lure our members out, allowing the Zhongzhou Team to ambush us? Is that what you mean?" Neos shook his head. "No, I've already thought of several ways to resolve that scenario. And the person we captured absolutely did not deliberately allow himself to be caught; he was truly captured while unaware, and judging by his strength, he is just an ordinary person. I'm not worried about him. It's only when connecting several events that I feel something is amiss."

A mixed-race girl beside them also spoke up, "Several events? Which ones? Tell us about them, Neos."

Neos nodded to the mixed-race girl. He took out a large box of chocolate from his pocket and fiercely broke off a large piece to chew in his mouth. "The first event: Why did that very strong member of the Zhongzhou Team suddenly use his strongest power in a show of force? I know Richard gave him a high evaluation, but you must admit that his power couldn't possibly have been as exaggerated as it appeared in the video. That should be a skill similar to your self-created skill, 'Berserker.' That's the first point: what compelled him to go all out and establish dominance?"

"The second event: Why did he go to Rose? I've only deduced two possibilities. First, Rose betrayed us, exchanging our lives for the Zhongzhou Team's forgiveness. But that is almost impossible. Even with the existence of Rune Stones, can Rose and the others guarantee that the Zhongzhou Team won't kill them? Even if their skills are special enough to trade one life for another, it's not enough confidence to betray the enemy. Moreover, they have no reason to do so... The second possibility is that they have detected my plan. The core of this plan rests on Rose's official authority. Do they want to kill Rose first? Threaten Rose? Or win Rose over? This brings the topic back around—Rose and the others didn't need to do that, and as far as we can tell, Rose and the other one are still alive and well. They haven't sent us any warnings or requests for help... No matter how I deduce or analyze this, it simply doesn't add up. That's the second point!"

"The third point is that the process by which we captured this Zhongzhou Team member was far too smooth—so smooth that it makes me deeply suspicious. Has my plan truly been exposed to the members of the Zhongzhou Team? Perhaps they don't know the entirety of my plan and layout, but they might have guessed one or two things. That is highly possible..." Neos muttered continuously. Listening to his analysis of the three events, the others could only exchange silent glances. After a long pause, the mixed-race girl, Aya, finally spoke, "So what do we do next? Stop the plan? Or rely on our current advantageous situation and negotiate or make contact with the Zhongzhou Team?" Neos savagely bit off a large chunk of chocolate and stated fiercely, "Now, we have no choice but to continue. If my layout and plan were truly discovered by the other side, then the moment we provoked that person the first time, it already signified our defeat. So the only thing to do now is to keep moving forward... I admit there are people whose intellect surpasses mine in this world, but it is absolutely not anyone in the Zhongzhou Team! And absolutely not the person I am currently confronting!" "According to the plan, before the high command of the military arrives, we must make him disclose the situation of the Zhongzhou Team. The truthfulness of his words will be judged by Xue Ling'er's mental power assessment, and then... everything proceeds according to the plan!"

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