CHAPTER 163: CHAPTER 163 GAME OF WITS MASS RELEASE (9/10)

By this time, Xia Liang had already turned off the Contradictory Card. He had to. The card couldn’t be used continuously on someone as cunning as Pan Tianyou, or he would soon notice something was amiss. That was why Xia Liang had deactivated it the moment Pan Tianyou answered.

Pan Tianyou watched Xia Liang warily, suppressing the panic in his heart. "Did you pull some trick on me?"

It was a good thing Xia Liang had turned it off. If the Contradictory Card had remained active, Pan Tianyou would have been internally shocked and desperate to speak, but the System would have forced him to remain silent. In that state, he might very well have detected that something was wrong.

Ignoring the panicked Pan Tianyou, Xia Liang pressed his advantage. "Where is the girl you kidnapped being held?"

Upon hearing this, all the Protectors outside pricked up their ears.

Having just inexplicably spoken the truth, Pan Tianyou felt a surge of fear. Hearing Xia Liang’s question, he decided to simply keep his mouth shut.

However, Xia Liang naturally wouldn’t let him have his way. He silently activated the Contradictory Card again.

Pan Tianyou, who had just resolved to say nothing, found himself speaking once more. "In the basement of a house in the southern part of Qingyun City’s old district."

"Are there any landmarks there?" Xia Liang continued to press.

I spoke again!

Pan Tianyou’s pupils constricted as he tried to force his mouth shut. Unfortunately, his mouth wouldn’t obey, spilling his thoughts once more. "It’s opposite the IKEA Hotel!"

Hearing Pan Tianyou reveal the specific location, everyone outside, except for Yun Bing, stared with wide eyes.

"Holy shit? He really said it?"

"For real?"

"Am I dreaming?"

"This is fucking surreal!"

Even Yang Tianyi was rendered speechless, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Yun Bing, however, didn’t let them stand there stunned. She quickly urged, "Captain Yang, now that we have the location, we have to hurry and save her!"

Yang Tianyi snapped back to reality. No matter what was going on, Pan Tianyou had given them an address. Even if there was only a one percent chance it was real, they had to check it out. He immediately waved his hand. "Follow me."

The group of Protectors followed Yang Tianyi out.

「Inside the interrogation room」

Xia Liang turned off the Contradictory Card and raised an eyebrow at the man who had been so arrogant moments before. "How about that? My hypnotism isn’t too shabby, right?"

"You!" Pan Tianyou’s eyes reddened as he glared at Xia Liang, agitated. "What exactly did you do to me?"

"I just made you tell the truth," Xia Liang said flatly.

Pan Tianyou gazed deeply at Xia Liang, as if trying to see right through him. "This isn’t hypnotism. How did you do it?"

"Huh?" Xia Liang was taken aback, staring at him in disbelief. So those ridiculously stupid movie clichés actually happen in real life.

"Are you brain-dead? Do you think this is a movie? Why would I ever tell you?"

Outside the window, Yun Bing burst out laughing. She also found it incredible that anyone could be foolish enough to ask such a question.

Clearly, Pan Tianyou also realized how foolish his words had been.

"Alright, let’s continue."

Now that he had applied enough pressure and obtained the kidnapped girl’s location, Xia Liang picked up the file beside him and began questioning.

"When did you first kill someone...?"

"How many?"

Xia Liang only asked the first few questions. Sensing that Pan Tianyou had given up all resistance, he deactivated the Contradictory Card for good.

Afterward, it was as if Pan Tianyou knew there was no point in fighting back. As if a dam had broken, he finally found an outlet. Without any further prompting from Xia Liang, he confessed everything, detailing one shocking crime after another.

"What I love most is the sound of them begging for mercy right before they die. It’s so beautiful!"

Seeing the perverted look on the man’s face, Xia Liang’s expression darkened. "Are you an animal? Don’t you feel any guilt for what you’ve done?"

"Hahahaha!" The current Pan Tianyou bore no trace of his prior refinement; his face twisted into a hideous grimace. "You already know I’m an animal! How could I feel guilt! I only feel regret!"

As he spoke, Pan Tianyou turned his head to look through the window at Yun Bing. "I regret not adding such a perfect specimen to my collection before I was caught..."

SLAP!

Before Pan Tianyou could finish, Xia Liang’s hand cracked across his face.

THUD!

Pan Tianyou and the chair he was tied to crashed to the floor. He coughed, spitting a mouthful of bloody saliva that contained several teeth.

"Xia Liang!"

Although Yun Bing was also furious and wanted to execute Pan Tianyou on the spot, she was a Protector and had rules to follow. She quickly burst through the door to the interrogation room and blocked Xia Liang’s path. "Xia Liang! Don’t! It’s not worth it. He committed such a heinous crime; he’s guaranteed the death penalty. You don’t need to throw your own life away for his sake."

"I know." Xia Liang nodded, looking down at Pan Tianyou on the ground. "But seeing his arrogant face, I couldn’t stand not hitting him."

Hearing this, Yun Bing breathed a sigh of relief. She was well aware of Xia Liang’s combat strength. If he truly wanted to kill Pan Tianyou, she would be completely unable to stop him.

"Hahaha! Coward! Go on, kill me if you have the guts! You don’t dare, do you? Hahaha! You’ve got a thing for this woman, don’t you? The moment I get out, I’ll definitely make her one of my ’collections’!"

Xia Liang knew what ’collections’ meant. It was Pan Tianyou’s twisted hobby. After torturing his victims, he would keep an item from each woman as his trophy.

The moment Pan Tianyou finished speaking, Yun Bing grabbed onto Xia Liang, her face tense with worry. "Xia Liang!"

She was afraid he would snap from the provocation.

However, it was clear she was overthinking things. Xia Liang was exceptionally calm as he patted her hand. "Don’t worry. I won’t get angry over a dead man walking. I just have one more thing to say to him."

Seeing his composure, Yun Bing shook her head, not wanting to risk even the slightest chance of Xia Liang making a mistake.

Helpless, Xia Liang could only sigh and look down at the man on the floor. "I’m not that stupid. Just wait for death to come for you."

With that, he walked out of the interrogation room.

Yun Bing watched him go, believing he had truly done nothing more than issue a final warning. What both she and Pan Tianyou didn’t know was that Xia Liang’s words had a double meaning. They assumed he was referring to execution by firing squad.

But with that one slap, Xia Liang had already infused a stream of explosive-like Spiritual Energy into Pan Tianyou’s body. As soon as night fell, that energy would spread, causing his body to ache with a pain like thousands of ants gnawing at him from the inside.

This was the last thing Xia Liang could do for the victims. He was giving the man a taste of his own medicine, letting this scum experience the agony of true torment.

「In the lobby」

Yun Bing turned to Xia Liang and thanked him.