Chapter 456 - 408: The Result of the Interrogation

Chapter 456: Chapter 408: The Result of the Interrogation

When Lu City opened his eyes, he was met with a pair of savage, emerald-green eyes.

He jumped in fright. A closer look revealed an unidentifiable black beast before him, sharp fangs glinting menacingly within its slightly parted jaws.

’What kind of beast is this?!’

At first glance, it resembled a black panther, yet there were many subtle differences.

The beast, seeing him awake, seemed to grow more aggressive. It opened its massive jaws and lunged forward to bite.

Just as Lu City reeled in terror, a voice from a distance stopped the creature in its tracks.

"Coal Ball, stop."

"GRRR..."

Lu City recognized Guan Tong’s voice. Upon hearing it, the beast before him instantly retracted its head and aborted its attack. Still, its body remained coiled, its eyes glinting with a restless urge.

’Is this Guan Tong’s beast?’

’My mission failed... Where am I now?’

A thousand thoughts raced through Lu City’s mind. He tried to move but found his hands and feet bound behind him, making it impossible to struggle free.

"If you bite him to death, how am I supposed to question him?"

Guan Tong walked over and patted Coal Ball on the head.

Lu City looked up at Guan Tong, and the memory of what had transpired hit him like a sudden revelation.

The ten powerful Parasites sent by the Prophet Sect had been slaughtered by Guan Tong in an instant. And Guan Tong—the lecturer a year his junior whom he’d always secretly envied—was none other than the legendary Ascender, Shadow.

This truth was even harder for Lu City to accept than his mission’s failure.

"Since you’re awake, start talking," Guan Tong said.

"...I have nothing to say. Just kill me!"

"If you were a Parasite, I would have killed you on the spot. But you’re still human, which means I can still get some answers out of you."

"I won’t say a thing!"

Guan Tong looked at Lu City’s defiant expression, then mused, "Lu City, I remember you from the few months I was a substitute lecturer. Your grades were top-notch, and the academy and its teachers looked after you well. No one ever wronged you. So how did you turn into such an ungrateful bastard?"

"..."

Lu City’s expression soured. Being called an ungrateful bastard in such a calm tone by Guan Tong left him wanting to argue, but he had no grounds to do so.

Just as Guan Tong said, no one at the academy had wronged him. Dean Zhou Qinfeng had even made an exception to give him a key to a private study room so he could study whenever he wanted.

And his repayment, in light of this incident, was indeed that of an ungrateful bastard. It wasn’t an exaggeration at all.

"You were responsible for luring Shi Jingyi out, and those ten Parasites who teleported in were supposed to kill her. Based on your reaction then, you knew what was going on. Just talk. It’ll be better for both of us if you’re quick about it."

Lu City shot back, "And what if I talk? Are you going to let me go?"

"No," Guan Tong said seriously. "Some betrayals can be forgiven, but others can’t. What you did falls into the unforgivable category. Even if Shi Jingyi were to spare you, I wouldn’t."

Lu City sneered. "No wonder she recommended you for the substitute lecturer position. Your relationship must be something special!"

"That’s right. Which is why, to eliminate any future threats to her, you have to die. But *how* you die... that’s another matter entirely."

"You want to torture me? HAHAHAHA!"

Lu City burst into laughter, his voice dripping with scorn.

"Guan Tong, you underestimate me! Don’t you know I’m a severe spore addict? Do you have any idea how painful the withdrawal is? It’s worse than any torture! I’ve endured that pain, so what makes you think I’d be afraid of anything you could do to me?!"

Guan Tong silently watched Lu City’s wild laughter.

After a few seconds, Lu City’s laughter died down.

He realized Guan Tong was completely unfazed, which confused him.

"You think I’m lying?"

"No, I know you’re telling the truth," Guan Tong said. "Spore withdrawal is excruciating. I had a friend who was an addict, too. She’s dead now."

"..."

"However, you seem to have forgotten something."

An ominous feeling crept into Lu City’s heart. "What is it?"

"The current Apocalypse Rules we’re all living under."

"The current rule...!"

Lu City was stunned, his face a mask of shock.

"Looks like you understand," Guan Tong said. "That’s right. I want to see which is more intense: the pain from Crimson Fear, or the pain of spore withdrawal. And you just so happen to be the perfect test subject."

A week had passed, and the world had learned a fair amount about Crimson Fear. People knew that a normal person could die from convulsions after just a few seconds of looking directly at Crimson Terra, or suffer other forms of permanent damage.

But Ascenders, especially those with high Psychic Power, had a stronger Resistance to the fear.

This was why Guan Tong felt confident letting Lu City face Crimson Terra. As a top student at the academy, Lu City’s base Psychic Power was already high. Combined with the enhancement from the spores, he was certain to have some Resistance to Crimson Fear.

This way, Guan Tong could ensure Lu City would be tormented by the fear without having to worry that the kid was too "brittle" and would just drop dead.

At this, Lu City could finally no longer dismiss Guan Tong’s threat.

He had learned a little about this new rule himself, and had seen the horrific fates of those who looked directly at Crimson Terra. The extremely exaggerated, twisted expressions on their faces proved that those people had literally been scared to death.

Spore withdrawal was agonizing, true, but it wasn’t lethal. Crimson Fear, on the other hand...

Guan Tong raised his left hand, on his wrist the prop watch Chen Na had given him for his 20th birthday.

"It’ll be dark in about an hour. You have until then to make your choice. Once Crimson Terra appears, I’m afraid the choice won’t be yours to make anymore."