As Elder Peng and Shen Tianhe entered, Xu Que said nothing. With a swift motion, he pulled and yanked at Fang Xiu with both arms.
"Ah!"
Fang Xiu immediately cried out in agony.
Elder Peng and Shen Tianhe exchanged uneasy glances, clearly aware that this was a deliberate message: no one could protect him now.
In truth, Xu Que's intention wasn't to break Fang Xiu completely—his aim was simply to neutralize him temporarily, so he could be safely taken back for interrogation. After all, the secrets inside this man's head were far too valuable to let slip.
Just as Xu Que was preparing to break Fang Xiu's legs, Shen Tianhe intervened. "That's enough for now. We still have questions for him."
"Ask him now? Don't we need to take him back for proper interrogation?" Xu Que turned to ask.
"Have you learned anything from detaining him so far?" Shen Tianhe shot back.
"No," Xu Que answered candidly. "This guy's tight-lipped, so I planned to work him over slowly."
"He's a soldier," Shen Tianhe said, stepping closer to Xu Que. "While he may not have undergone special forces training, his basic discipline is solid. Even if you break his limbs, he might not crack."
Xu Que gave a disdainful glance at Fang Xiu before signaling for Shen Tianhe to come closer.
Shen Tianhe helped Fang Xiu to a nearby desk. "Is this really worth it?"
"Absolutely," Fang Xiu replied with a bitter smile.
"What did they promise you?" Shen Tianhe asked.
"I'm a descendant of the Hebrews," Fang Xiu replied.
Shen Tianhe fell silent, for that answer alone was enough to explain everything.
Xu Que watched Shen Tianhe's lack of follow-up questions, feeling somewhat perplexed. Was that it?
But before he could voice his thoughts, Elder Peng approached.
"You're a soldier of Z country; you should understand what our loyalty is truly to," Elder Peng said.
Fang Xiu offered a faint smile. "I know, but they raised me. If you were in my shoes, what would you have chosen?"
"To remain loyal to the nation, loyal to the people!" Elder Peng said solemnly.
Fang Xiu shook his head with a rueful smile. "Unfortunately, I can't do that. Because the moment they chose me, my fate was sealed. They raised me, and they forced me onto this path."
"You don't need to ask me anything more. I won't say a word."
Elder Peng glanced at Xu Que and said, "Do you understand now?"
Xu Que nodded. He did understand, but the truth was that this wasn't valuable information. After all, Fang Xiu was a big fish. If he were the one to interrogate him, it wouldn't take long before Fang Xiu spilled everything.
"Could I have half an hour to interrogate him?" Xu Que asked.
"This is a military base. Take him back for questioning," Shen Tianhe responded.
Xu Que didn't object, nodding in agreement. He grabbed Fang Xiu and led him out of the room.
As they exited the office, two soldiers quickly cleared the area of any lingering troops.
Though many of the soldiers were unsure why the commander was being taken away, they could tell from Fang Xiu's condition that something serious had occurred. Otherwise, two high-ranking generals wouldn't have personally intervened.
"Have Tian Shengli come here," Elder Peng ordered one of the soldiers.
"Yes, sir!"
After the soldier saluted, he hurried off to the deployment area.
With Elder Peng's order given to a young officer, the news that the command of the second base was changing spread rapidly.
Ten minutes later, a helicopter slowly ascended into the sky.
"Have you made up your mind?" Shen Tianhe asked.
"There's no other choice. The news hasn't spread yet, so we should be able to contain it," Elder Peng said.
Shen Tianhe didn't respond, fully aware that Elder Peng was merely sparing him from the truth.
...
In the Operations Command Center, when Ye Gou learned of Fang Xiu's situation, he said nothing. He simply wrote a directive for Xu Que.
After seeing the contents of the document, Xu Que immediately understood—Fang Xiu was actually Shen Tianhe's subordinate.
However, this revelation didn't affect Xu Que's determination to interrogate Fang Xiu.
As far as Xu Que was concerned, his future father-in-law should thank him. After all, he was the one who uncovered Fang Xiu's true allegiance. Who knows what might have happened in the future, if not for this? Perhaps the fall of the Magic Capital Military District could have been avoided.
Of course, he couldn't speak of this, as the secret of his rebirth was his trump card.
After talking with Shen Mengchu for a while, Xu Que shared the plans he'd arranged with Zhao Xian and the others. He also traded some prepared items with Shen Mengchu.
"Be careful. I suspect they might act tonight," Xu Que advised.
"Don't worry. I'll handle them carefully," Shen Mengchu said with a smile before handing over the left eye of the Star-Cracking Hound King.
After Shen Mengchu left, Xu Que made a gesture to turn off the surveillance.
"This kid still doesn't want us to watch," Zhao Lao said with a grin.
"Turn it off. Let's just wait for the results," Ye Lao replied.
The monitoring equipment in the holding room was promptly shut down.
As the lights beside the surveillance monitors flickered off, Xu Que didn't hurry to enter Fang Xiu's cell. Instead, he walked toward Tang Xue's holding room.
"No, don't come near!" Tang Xue screamed as soon as she saw Xu Que, shrinking into the corner like a cornered animal.
To Tang Xue, Xu Que had become nothing but a lunatic and a devil.
"Don't worry. I'm not here to torture you. I'm taking you to see someone," Xu Que said with a smile.
Tang Xue froze. She felt something was wrong, but before she could react, Xu Que grabbed her by the arm and lifted her up.
"Bang!"
Xu Que kicked open the door to Fang Xiu's holding room.
Fang Xiu didn't look up as the door opened. His head hung low, and he knew exactly who had arrived without needing to guess.
In his mind, Xu Que would just break his limbs, nothing more.
Seeing Fang Xiu's expression, Xu Que smiled faintly and said, "This is Tang Xue, codename Night Butterfly. I'm sure you know her."
At the mention of Night Butterfly, Fang Xiu slowly raised his head.
As soon as he confirmed it was her, he understood why she had gone missing.
"Yes, I see the confusion in your eyes. I'm not surprised," Xu Que said with a smile. "Oh, I forgot to mention—Chai Lang was tortured to death by me. Don't believe me? Ask her."
Fang Xiu didn't speak, closing his eyes slowly.
"Good, I like your defiant attitude," Xu Que said, his grin widening. "But don't get any ideas about dying for now."
As Xu Que finished speaking, he pulled out a jagged blade.
Seeing the blade, Tang Xue instinctively shuddered.
She had already developed a deep fear of that knife, for it was the instrument of her torture.
"Don't worry, I won't torture you today. For now, you're just a spectator," Xu Que said with an eerie smile.
Upon hearing Xu Que's words, Tang Xue hugged her arms around herself, unable to suppress the memories of the basement.
Xu Que ignored her and walked straight to Fang Xiu.
"If you want to die, go ahead. I won't say a word," Fang Xiu said.
Xu Que revealed his sharp teeth in a smile. "Very well. I'll let you taste it first, then I'll pay a visit to your wife. Let her experience what it's like to be tortured."
The moment Xu Que mentioned his wife, Fang Xiu's anger flared. "Don't involve my family, Xu Que! Do you have any humanity left?!"
"Humanity?" Xu Que let out a harsh laugh before his expression twisted into something terrifying. "You treat Z country's people as guinea pigs and plan to bomb my Future Building, and now you want to talk to me about humanity?"
"That was the will of God. It has nothing to do with us."
"Slap!"
Xu Que delivered a sharp slap to Fang Xiu.
"Did God tell me to torture you? Am I wrong to do this?"
Fang Xiu glared at Xu Que. "You're twisting the facts. You're not one of us—"
"Slap!"
Before Fang Xiu could finish, Xu Que slapped him again.
"When Elder Peng was here, I had to restrain myself. But now that he's gone, I'll show you my true side."
At that moment, Fang Xiu realized he had completely underestimated Xu Que, for this man had less humanity than they did.
Just as Fang Xiu tried to speak again, to seek protection from the military, Xu Que's blade was already pressed against his legs.
"Bang!"