Chapter 397 Desperate Counterattack

Dai Xueli sneered. “Since you’re being stubborn, don’t blame us for getting rough. First, we’ll let you experience ‘wearing sackcloth and ashes.’ Then, you’ll receive the baptism of the tiger bench and chili water. After you’ve sampled all eighty-one of our torture methods, if you can still prove your innocence, then you’re innocent. I’ll even write you a ten-thousand-word apology letter—oh, right, I’ll burn it for you.”

Chen Qingdi’s anger was boundless.

“You’re treating lives like they’re worthless! Aren’t you afraid of being disciplined?”

Dai Xueli sneered.

“Only the big officials are afraid of being disciplined. Small fries like me have nothing to fear. Even if I paid for your life with mine, it’d be like swatting a fly. The higher-ups wouldn’t feel a thing. But you, kid, you’d be gone for good. Once you’re dead, won’t there have to be a new election for David on your island? Even the current medical landscape will change dramatically. Doesn’t any of that concern you?”

With that, he took several steps back.

“This one is incorrigibly stubborn. Normal methods won’t work. Just leave him breathing. Of course, our department has an acceptable casualty rate of fifty percent, and we haven’t quite hit that number with the people we’ve ‘sent off’ so far. I hope you all can break the record!”

Chen Qingdi suddenly realized these men were holding glowing, red-hot metal rods and charging at him with sinister intent.

He knew if he didn’t act now, he would be crippled by the time he could prove his innocence.

He secretly activated his Bone Shrinking Divine Skill. His body instantly seemed to shrink, allowing him to slip his hands effortlessly out of the handcuffs. He then pulled himself free from the winding chains and kicked off the shackles on his feet.

Then, ignoring the pain, he threw a Flying Dragon Fist.

“Flying Dragon in the Sky!”

The man with the metal rod took the full force of the blow. THUD! Blood poured from all seven of his orifices.

Dai Xueli had just started reaching for the gun in his pocket when Chen Qingdi landed another punch on his arm.

CRACK! CRACK!

His arm was completely shattered, left dangling by only skin and flesh.

Chen Qingdi hated Dai Xueli to his very bones. He grabbed the red-hot metal rod by its cooler end and viciously stabbed it into Dai Xueli’s thigh.

“You inhuman bastard! Time to taste your own medicine!”

“ARGH!”

Dai Xueli screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

He was always the one using such brutal methods to torture others. Only when he was on the receiving end did he realize how utterly agonizing it was.

‘That bastard Chen Qingdi! He’s so vicious! So inhuman!’

Chen Qingdi suddenly spotted a steel brush nearby. He snatched it up and planted a foot on Dai Xueli’s chest.

“Tell me, what’s this for?”

Dai Xueli bit his lip, refusing to speak.

The other henchman, who was still alive, saw his partner’s gruesome death and feared Chen Qingdi would deal with him next. He hurriedly explained, “The torture is called ‘A Beauty’s Makeup.’ It’s used to comb a person’s hair. One pass, and their whole head is bleeding. If you don’t intend to leave them alive, a hard scrape can even tear out their brains.”

Fearing a sneak attack from the henchman, Chen Qingdi immediately threw a punch from several steps away, knocking him unconscious as well.

The cell door was securely locked, and the room was remarkably soundproof. Even if all hell broke loose inside, it would remain peaceful and quiet outside.

Chen Qingdi held the steel brush to Dai Xueli’s head.

“‘A Beauty’s Makeup’… what a lovely name. And I think you, Boss Dai, are quite the famous beauty. How about I do your makeup for you?” He pressed the steel brush against the man’s head.

Dai Xueli’s face was a mask of terror. “No! That’s too barbaric!”

Chen Qingdi sneered. “I’ll ask you again: who else has died from this torture?”

Scared out of his wits, Dai Xueli stammered, “Not… not many.”

“Exactly how many?”

Fearing he wouldn’t get a straight answer, he raked the steel brush viciously across the man’s right shoulder.

“ARGH!”

Dai Xueli screamed like a stuck pig again.

“Chen Qingdi, you bastard! I’ll never forgive you, not even as a ghost!”

Chen Qingdi sneered. “Let me tell you something. When it comes to this kind of torture, I’m your fucking ancestor. But Heaven values life, and if I wasn’t dealing with a monster like you, I wouldn’t want to display my particular talents. Since you’re asking for death, you can have a taste of the tortures you invented yourself!”

He then found some strips of cloth, dipped them in saltwater, and applied them to the gashes he had just carved.

“This ‘wearing sackcloth and ashes’ must be one of your inventions too, right? Today, you get to sample its effects. I wonder if Boss Dai will be satisfied or not.”

The saltwater seared his wounds, sending pain deep into his bones. Dai Xueli was in too much agony to speak.

His fury unchecked, Chen Qingdi picked up several toothpicks made of hardened pig leather, grabbed Dai Xueli’s left hand, and drove them one by one under his fingernails.

“Turns out these things are quite effective. How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine?”

‘Not good at all! If I’d known it was this agonizing, I never would have done it to others!’

But there was no medicine for regret.

He looked at Chen Qingdi in utter despair and saw him find something to pry his mouth open. Then, Chen Qingdi appeared with a pair of tweezers, ready to pull his teeth.

The shock was so great that his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

“Cowardly piece of trash.”

Chen Qingdi sneered in his heart.

‘For a man who holds no regard for the lives of others to fantasize about being treated humanely… what a foolish dream.’

‘But with me here, even the luxury of fainting is a wish you won’t be granted.’

He took out a silver needle and pricked Dai Xueli a few times.

Dai Xueli jolted awake.

He was immediately assaulted by an indescribable, full-body pain. He wanted to pass out, but couldn’t.

Chen Qingdi said coldly, “I actually know a technique called the Tendons and Bones Separating Hand. It’s meant for dealing with vicious, sinister people just like you. I only have one question: Who ordered you to do this?”

Dai Xueli clenched his jaw. He didn’t want to speak, and he didn’t dare.

‘This incident’s implications are too great. I’m just an insignificant pawn.’

‘If I talk, not only will I die a horrible death, but my family will be dragged down with me.’

‘The methods of those people are so foul, they’re beyond anything I’ve ever seen or heard of.’

‘Even a cold-blooded man like myself shudders just thinking about it.’

Therefore, he said in a low, hoarse voice.

“I know that for the sins I’ve committed in this life, even death by a thousand cuts would be letting me off easy. I never expected to die a peaceful death. Just kill me. Get your revenge. Don’t ask any more questions. Leave this place, change your name, and disappear!”

Chen Qingdi sneered. “I’ve heard that people who come to your facility ‘walk in standing up and leave lying down,’ ending up hung on a wall. Who do you think you’re fooling?”

Dai Xueli gave a bitter laugh. “They say a dying man’s words are true. I know my life ends today, so why would I lie? You can’t afford to provoke those people. With the principle of ‘the law doesn’t punish the masses,’ even Long Shou is powerless against them. You’d better start planning your own escape.”