Chapter 58

This is a test, but not a true predicament, because along the way, Zhang Tie tried to lock onto the archway at the center of his forehead, the magical gateway that allowed entry and exit from the Black Iron Castle. The archway could still be locked, which meant that as long as Zhang Tie had a few seconds, he could vanish from under the two men and enter the Black Iron Castle for safety. However, doing so would temporarily escape the danger at hand, but the information he had exposed could very likely drag his family, his parents, and his brother into a much larger and more dangerous vortex. The secret of the Black Iron Castle was too astonishing; in this era, once such a secret was exposed, Zhang Tie was certain that everyone around him would not have a good outcome. Not just his family, but even the guys from the Airplane Brotherhood and Tang De might be implicated. In the eyes of those big shots, dozens of lives were nothing in the face of such a secret. They were nothing!

Back at the two men's residence, as soon as the door was closed and Zhang Tie was brought into the secret bedroom, Hake and Snider's true faces were immediately revealed, without any of the previous warmth.

With a "bang," Zhang Tie was almost thrown to the ground by Hake, who had him by the neck. Zhang Tie, whose bones felt like they were about to fall apart, couldn't help but let out a scream.

"Don't make too much noise, or the people outside will hear!" Snider said to Hake, who then retracted his foot that was about to kick out. Snider squatted in front of Zhang Tie and patted his face. "What's your name?"

"My name is Du Shaofeng..."

"What's your brother's name?"

"Du Shaowu!"

"What position does he hold in the Black Flame City Guard?"

"Black Flame City Guard Fourth Regiment, Third Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel... " Zhang Tie groaned, "I really did throw that piece of wood to my nephew as a toy. If you let me go, I can bring it back to you. Why don't you believe me? You didn't want to go in with me, what do you want!"

"Where do you live?" Snider ignored Zhang Tie and continued to ask questions.

"In the B-301 apartment of the residential complex we just saw..."

After asking these questions, Snider pulled out a dirty rag and a rope from somewhere, pinched Zhang Tie's mouth, and stuffed the rag into his mouth, making it impossible for Zhang Tie to speak. He then tied Zhang Tie's hands and patted his hands, stood up, said something to Hake, and turned to leave the room. Inside the room, only Zhang Tie and Hake were left. Zhang Tie struggled on the ground for a while but then gave up. He knew what Snider was doing, but he wasn't afraid. Du Shaowu was his brother's superior, and the information about the Du family was something his brother had mentioned in casual conversations. This information was as accurate as it could be. No matter how much Snider tried to verify, it would only prove that everything he said was true. Unless Snider somehow managed to get a photo of Du Shaofeng, his words wouldn't be exposed for a while.

After another half an hour, Snider returned.

"How did it go?" As soon as the door was closed, Hake eagerly asked.

Snider's face was dark. "I spent a gold coin to verify that what this kid said is true. The Lieutenant Colonel of the Black Flame City Guard Fourth Regiment, Third Battalion, is indeed Du Shaowu. Du Shaowu has a younger brother named Du Shaofeng, who is about the same age as this kid. Du Shaowu lives in the B-301 apartment of the Black Flame City Guard residential complex, and Du Shaowu has a two-year-old son..."

Hearing this, Zhang Tie writhed on the ground again.

"It can't be. I always feel there's something wrong with what this kid said. I feel something is off..." Hake said angrily, "We should have stomped this kid to death from the start!"

"I also feel something is off with this kid, but I can't put my finger on it. There's no choice; we have to get serious!" Snider said, walking up to Zhang Tie, squatting down, and patting his face. "From the very beginning, I knew you might be playing us. I just wanted to see what tricks you had. Do you know where your flaw is? When a person lies or is nervous, their heart rate increases. When the heart rate increases, the blood vessels in their body pulse more forcefully, and their body temperature changes slightly. When I held your neck, I could tell when you were lying or nervous because the arteries in your neck and your body temperature would tell me. You were most nervous when we approached the guards. If everything was as you said, your heart wouldn't have been beating so fast. You're smart, smarter than many people your age I've met. Unfortunately, you met me!"

As Snider spoke, he didn't care that Zhang Tie was struggling on the ground. He grabbed Zhang Tie's hair and dragged him to the bathroom, with Hake following.

In the bathroom, Snider's dagger suddenly appeared in his hand. With a flash, he cut the rope binding Zhang Tie's hands. He then stepped on Zhang Tie's left hand with one foot and roughly flipped his right hand over, placing it on the toilet and positioning the dagger over the artery in Zhang Tie's right wrist.

"You have one last chance. Tell us where the token is?" As he asked, Snider removed the rag from Zhang Tie's mouth.

"It's at my brother's house. I'm telling the truth. I was nervous because I didn't know if you would harm me after you got the token. I felt you two had ill intentions. If you promise not to hurt me, I will definitely bring the piece of wood back to you..." Zhang Tie quickly said. Snider frowned, stuffed the rag back into his mouth, and Zhang Tie felt a chill on his right wrist, followed by intense pain. A stream of bright red blood spurted from his wrist and gushed into the toilet. Zhang Tie tried to struggle, but Hake held him down, making it impossible to move.

For some reason, Zhang Tie suddenly thought of the scene of a butcher slaughtering a pig, which was similar to his current situation. First, the pig was held down, then a knife was plunged into its body to start the bleeding. Watching others slaughter pigs had always seemed interesting, but now, as he himself was the pig being slaughtered, Zhang Tie realized it was not at all fun and understood the pig's feelings...

First came the pain, then the weakness, followed by the cold and fear as more and more blood flowed out...

"We have no more patience, so you have a few minutes to decide whether to tell us the truth. If you tell us the truth, I will stop the bleeding and let you live..." Listening to Snider's cold, enticing words, Zhang Tie suddenly realized that sometimes, not bleeding was a kind of happiness.

Zhang Tie's blood was flowing into the toilet, turning the white toilet into a pool of blood. For some reason, looking at the scene, Zhang Tie thought of his conversation with Tang De about "menstruation" — a monthly occurrence, just bleeding without injury, feeling so powerful... If only he could be that strong... Zhang Tie's lips curled into a self-mocking smile as he felt his body gradually become cold and weak. He really didn't understand what "menstruation" was, but he was very curious...

Time slowly passed, and more and more blood flowed from Zhang Tie's hand.

His head began to spin, and the archway in his mind became increasingly difficult to lock onto. Should he enter the Black Iron Castle? Zhang Tie asked himself. Did he want to temporarily survive and then bring a greater, more terrifying crisis to his parents, brother, future sister-in-law, and the unborn child in her womb, and even to the fatso Bari?

During this time, the rag in Zhang Tie's mouth was removed once, and Snider asked the same question. After getting the same answer, the rag was put back in Zhang Tie's mouth...

Zhang Tie thought of his mother's increasingly plump back... his father's growing white hair... the shoes and underwear his brother saved for him... and finally, Bari's suggestion to get circumcised...

Damn, what a loss. I haven't even been circumcised, and I'm still a virgin. Dying as a virgin is indeed shameful...

Zhang Tie felt himself slowly losing consciousness...

Looking at the young man's face, which was gradually losing color, and his lips, which were turning pale, Snider, who had been silently calculating the amount of blood Zhang Tie had lost, became suspicious. The young man had already lost over 1800 milliliters of blood and was in shock. If the bleeding didn't stop soon, he would die. But he still didn't give in. What was going on? Could this kid be telling the truth? Did he just feel that Hake and Snider had ill intentions?

Hake also looked at Snider. They had worked together for many years, and under Snider's method, many tough men had eventually given in. Few could bear to watch themselves die. This was much harder than a quick death. Could this kid be tougher than those men? It didn't seem so! Or could he be telling the truth?

At this point, Zhang Tie's body was already completely limp, with no ability to move. If Zhang Tie really died, the two men would have to flee tonight and face endless pursuit from the organization.

Seeing Hake's gaze, Snider also felt defeated and cursed. He pinched Zhang Tie's artery with two fingers. "Damn it, let's stop the bleeding for this kid. Maybe... what he said is true..."

Just as Snider pressed Zhang Tie's artery, the bleeding stopped, and Zhang Tie, who was on the verge of complete darkness, felt a bright spot appear in front of him. A line of text suddenly appeared in his mind:

— The Mandala Tree of Ten Thousand Fruits has detected that the fusion body's energy and blood are at the lowest danger level. Do you want to perform the reverse energy flow and restoration of the Nirvana Fruit?

— Yes... No

Zhang Tie used his last bit of strength to click "Yes" in his mind...

...

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