Chapter 856: Those With Secrets Should...

Chapter 856 -709: Those With Secrets Should…

“I… I’ll go bring the other one back right now!”

Iron Claw practically roared, not daring to meet the captain’s gaze. He spun around hurriedly, his mechanical augmentations protruding again, fearing even a second of delay would result in death from the captain’s glare.

Watching Iron Claw flee, Shadow Scorpion found it regrettable that the captain didn’t explode with anger and harshly reprimand the fool.

His eyes flicked, stepping closer to the captain to fan the flames:

“Captain, Iron Claw is getting dumber and dumber. He can’t even handle this trivial matter.

Asked to bring two people back for interrogation, he ended up killing one and rendering the other useless… He single-handedly lowered our team’s average IQ.

Captain, isn’t it time to consider…”

Shadow Scorpion’s words were abruptly cut off.

The captain slightly tilted his head, casting a sidelong glance at Shadow Scorpion.

Just this glance choked all the prepared “words” in Shadow Scorpion’s throat, preventing him from speaking another word.

He quickly lowered his head, concealing all his cleverness, standing straight and honest, even his scorpion tail behind him sensibly reduced its swinging amplitude.

The captain paid him no further attention, his gaze once again fixed on the man curled up in pain on the ground.

Shadow Scorpion let out a sigh of relief, not daring to delay, immediately crouched down, roughly pried open the man’s bloodied mouth to check inside, and then reported in a flat tone:

“A section of the tongue is broken. Judging by the tear, it was bitten by himself. Tsk, ruthless. But no worries, it can be reattached, though it will take some time.”

As he spoke, he skillfully dislocated the man’s jaw joints to prevent further self-harming bites and to expose the oral cavity more.

Then, he stuffed the severed tongue back into the man’s mouth, roughly aligning it.

He then retrieved a silver-white stapler-like portable suture device from a hidden compartment in his tactical belt.

No anesthesia, no comfort.

Shadow Scorpion directly pinned the man’s head, aiming the “staple mouth” of the suture device at the two severed tongue pieces that needed connecting.

“Ka-chunk! Ka-chunk! Ka-chunk!”

A series of dull and crisp sounds, akin to staples piercing through paper, rang out.

But this was no paper; it was a bloodied tongue filled with nerve endings.

Pain far exceeding self-inflicted tongue bites swept through the man’s body like high-voltage currents.

His pupils, initially scattered due to blood loss, suddenly contracted to the size of needlepoints, his eyes horrifically bulged with blood-red threads, seemingly about to pop out of their sockets.

His limbs convulsed uncontrollably, his throat emitted desperate “huh-huh” cries, but with his jaw dislocated, even a complete howl was impossible. Only large amounts of saliva and blood froth uncontrollably poured from his mouth corner.

Shadow Scorpion, however, appeared as if he had just completed a routine task, unfazed as he stored away the blood-stained suture device.

Then he took out a palm-sized metallic spray can, evenly spraying the wound on the recently “stitched” tongue.

The spray emitted a semi-transparent gel-like liquid, quickly forming a thin film on contact with the wound, not only stopping the bleeding but also efficiently promoting nerve and tissue healing.

Yet, the accompanying scorching pain was no less than another form of torture.

After completing all this, Shadow Scorpion clapped his hands, standing up to say to the captain:

“Captain, done. The tongue will regrow and recover basic functions; it’ll take about 2 to 3 hours.”

Throughout, the captain did not express any opinion on Shadow Scorpion’s “treatment” methods. His attention seemed focused more on the man’s face.

As Shadow Scorpion stood up to leave, the captain suddenly crouched down, extending gloved fingertips to gently touch the man’s cheek drenched in blood and sweat.

His fingertips slowly moved along the man’s jawline, temples, and the sides of the nose, as if caressing a piece of art or searching for a hidden switch.

The man on the ground seemed to sense something, struggling more fiercely.

Suddenly, the captain’s fingertip paused at a spot behind the man’s ear, then clutched tightly and tore upwards.

“Riiip—”

A human skin mask, like a second layer of skin, was pulled off the man’s face completely.

Beneath the mask was a pale, unfamiliar face, drastically different due to pain and blood loss.

“???”

Shadow Scorpion, Hawkeye, Fortress, the three White Masks’ gazes froze instantly, their pupils shrinking vigorously behind their masks.

Especially Shadow Scorpion, who had just manipulated the man’s mouth and jaw, so close yet completely unaware of the intricate camouflage on the man’s face.

This illustrated the remarkable craftsmanship of the human skin mask, able to deceive him even from up close.

But while it fooled him, it couldn’t escape the captain’s discerning eyes.

The captain held the human skin mask, fingertips feeling its fresh elasticity and texture.

His voice remained hoarse but seemed to carry a newfound interest:

“Looks like… the target wasn’t just not tricked out, but has tricked us as well.”

The man on the ground grew agitated, angrily emitting “mmm-mmm” sounds, eyes fixed on the captain. If looks could kill, the captain would be riddled with wounds.

The captain’s gaze shifted, speaking with intrigue:

“Interesting, someone who fears neither death nor decisive suicide, yet is terrified of revealing his disguise, fearful of divulging the secrets behind it…