"This contraption may cause you great suffering, but rest assured, I will slowly extract every last drop of oil from your wretched bodies!"
Xu Que's words fell upon them like a blunt blade, one with a jagged edge, instantly sending the thugs into a panic.
Never had they imagined that this madman, after all his tinkering, was preparing to craft instruments of their demise.
"Madman, damn you!"
"You're a son of a—!"
"You filthy bastard!"
…
At this moment, the thugs no longer begged for mercy, for they had come to understand the true nature of the lunatic before them.
The more they cursed, the more twisted Xu Que's smile became.
With a swift motion, he grabbed one of the thugs and hurled him into the machine.
As the titanium alloy door slowly sealed shut, a cruel image shattered the spirits of all who witnessed it.
Blood began to flow from below, pooling in grotesque ways that made the onlookers gag with revulsion.
"Not bad," Xu Que remarked with a sickly grin, "Though not quite as finely crafted as you intended, I must admit, I relish this sensation of pain."
Another thug was unceremoniously thrown into the juicer.
The horrifying sight immediately conjured visions of the stone grinder of the Eighteenth Layer of Hell.
What they didn't know was that the mastermind behind this cruel method, the one who had conceived such torment, was none other than their own boss, Ji Bodá.
And the executioners? That was them.
The number of thugs dwindled, but their curses only grew louder; they didn't want to die in such a way.
As the blood bucket filled to the brim, Xu Que carried it over to the metal cage.
"Not bad," he said, admiring the blood-soaked contents. "This takes your pet to C-level."
The star-cracking hound, now brimming with more strength than before, showed its fangs, but dared not attack Xu Que. Its power still fell short of matching his.
"Here, drink these bastards' blood," Xu Que continued. "Once you've had your fill, I'll let you out to feast on the meat, and then you'll be ready for B-level strength."
Ji Bodá and the others stared in confusion, unable to comprehend Xu Que's bizarre actions.
With the current strength of the hound, it could easily break out of the cage, yet it remained subdued before Xu Que.
Xu Que moved to the remaining three thugs, squatting before them.
"Congratulations, you've become the lucky ones!"
The three thugs were stunned, unable to grasp the meaning behind his words.
One of them seemed to have an epiphany, hurriedly pleading, "Boss, it's our fault. We shouldn't have cursed you. You're letting us go, aren't you?"
The other two remained silent, too terrified to speak, unsure of what the madman intended.
"Hmm…" Xu Que feigned surprise. "You seem quite enlightened. Yes, I was planning on letting you go."
The three thugs' faces brightened with hope—they had never imagined they would get a chance to survive.
But the next moment, Xu Que's voice sounded like it came from the deepest abyss.
"Pick one to survive," Xu Que said, raising a finger. "You can only save one of you. The choice is yours."
At his words, the three thugs exchanged desperate glances, before grappling with one another. They knew what the outcome would be—the only way to survive was to kill the others.
Xu Que stood and approached Ji Bodá once more, his smile returning.
"Well, now that no one's interrupting our game, let's continue."
Ji Bodá whimpered, his body wracked with pain.
"Ah, my apologies, I forgot that your jaw is missing. Let me just fix that for you."
The sound of a sickening crack echoed as Xu Que reseated Ji Bodá's jaw.
"Xu—"
Before Ji Bodá could utter the first syllable, Xu Que silenced him with a gesture.
"Shh… quiet now. Just rest, I have a grand performance planned for you later."
Ji Bodá dared not utter a sound, paralyzed by the overwhelming fear of Xu Que's presence.
"Tiān Qīng," Xu Que asked with a deranged smile, "Doesn't Ji Bodá look rather adorable like this?"
Tiān Qīng could barely manage a nod, too terrified to respond.
"Don't worry," Xu Que added with a smile that sent shivers down Tiān Qīng's spine, "I won't turn you into oil."
Tiān Qīng, looking at that grin, was certain that Xu Que was a devil preparing to feast.
But the next moment, Xu Que's long knife caught Tiān Qīng's attention, and he froze in terror.
Xu Que caressed the D-class long knife lovingly—this serrated blade was the very one he had brought with him when he first ventured into the Rift in Yínchuān.
"What do you intend to do with that?" Tiān Qīng recoiled, pressing his back to the wall. He could already imagine what Xu Que had in mind.
"This knife should have been yours," Xu Que whispered in Tiān Qīng's ear. "But you allowed Ji Bodá to use it to dismember me. Can you imagine the pain?"
"What are you talking about, you lunatic!" Tiān Qīng shouted in hysteria. "I don't even know Ji Bodá!"
Ji Bodá's pupils constricted, realization flashing in his mind—but it seemed too impossible to believe.
A nightmare?
He was nearly driven to madness by Xu Que's twisted cruelty, unable to fathom how anyone could endure such torment.
"Oh, right, I forgot," Xu Que continued, as though remembering something. "I had Ji Bodá tortured to death. How could you possibly know him?"
With that, Xu Que pressed the serrated blade into Tiān Qīng's calf.
"Ah!!!"
The pain was excruciating, and Tiān Qīng writhed in agony.
"Oh, my apologies," Xu Que said with feigned remorse, "I forgot to tie you up first."
Tiān Qīng, in his despair, could have sworn that this madman's cruelty knew no bounds.
But the grim irony? As a D-class, even slamming his head into a wall wouldn't kill him.
Xu Que, dragging a metal restraint bed from the laboratory, seemed to delight in Tiān Qīng's mounting madness. Tiān Qīng's only thought was to end his life, to escape the nightmare before him.
"You're so eager, huh? Well, I can certainly help with that!"
Xu Que's words echoed in Tiān Qīng's ears.
Panic set in as Xu Que pinned him to the ground.
"I told you, I'm going to slowly torment you to death."
At that moment, the metal cage behind them crashed open with a deafening noise.
A creature resembling a monstrous tiger emerged—its massive form sending a chill through the air.
"Very good," Xu Que remarked. "Though it still has a long way to go, at least it's taking on some of the qualities of a Star-Cracking Hound King!"
The hound, though now stronger, kept its distance from Xu Que, its instincts warning it of the extreme danger he posed.
"Before you have your meal, please take those three pastries with you," Xu Que said, pointing to the corpses of the thugs on the ground.
Without needing further encouragement, the hound began feasting on the bodies, its hunger insatiable.
At the sight of the hound—now so much larger yet still fearing Xu Que—Tang Xue's shock was palpable.
Although she was only an E-class, her intellect far surpassed the others'.
Could it be? Could Xu Que truly be an Avenger, standing at the apex of humanity?
No… I mustn't doubt. I have to believe in the Chaisfield family! They are the true power in this world!
As Xu Que turned his attention back to Tiān Qīng, preparing for his next wave of torment, an icy chill suddenly gripped the air behind him.
When Ji Bodá saw Xu Que seemingly on the brink of death, his eyes gleamed with a hungry, bloodthirsty excitement.