Intelligence Gathering

Two deathmatchers in checkered shirts crouched trembling on the ground, blood still seeping from their severed wrists.

The combined effects of pain and stress had covered their foreheads in a fine sheen of sweat. Perhaps from losing too much blood, their faces were both unusually pale.

Lu Bai held the Eight-Sided Han Sword, lightly tapping it against the ground now and then. He wasn't in a hurry to question them.

"Big bro, what do you want from us?" The deathmatcher in the black checkered shirt spoke in a tearful voice.

As he saw it, if the other man hadn't killed them outright, he must have something to ask. Given who they were, it was probably something about the Survey Corps.

In short, the other man could surely be reasoned with. So he deliberately acted weak and harmless, hoping to find a chance to escape his predicament.

But Lu Bai ignored him. He just tilted his head, looking nonchalant, as though he wasn't worried that the two might use the opportunity to run.

Time passed second by second. Lu Bai could wait, but the two deathmatchers couldn't. If they didn't stop the bleeding soon, there might be no point trying to save them.

With the odds stacked against him, the man in the black checkered shirt forced himself to calm down and called out miserably, "Big bro, what are you doing? Just give me a straight answer!"

"Huh?"

That shout seemed to snap Lu Bai out of a dream. He slowly straightened his head and explained in an even tone, "Almost all mammals tilt their heads briefly when they can't understand something. I think a 45-degree angle helps with thinking."

Who asked you that?!

The man in the black checkered shirt was practically on the verge of losing it. He felt as though he'd left home without checking his horoscope and gotten unlucky enough to run into a lunatic.

Of course,

No matter what he thought, he still forced a fawning expression onto his face. "You have something to ask us, right?"

But the answer was a lightning-fast sword strike. The man's head hit the ground, and Lu Bai gained a few more points.

There had been no warning. The deathmatcher in the black checkered shirt hadn't even had time to fight back before he died.

"I did have something to ask, but I suddenly don't feel like asking you anymore."

Lu Bai flicked the blood from the Eight-Sided Han Sword and glanced at the last deathmatcher. "I heard them call you Osas, right?"

Hearing his name, Osas looked up. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

It was worth noting that Osas wasn't as stubborn as the first two, nor as quick-witted as the man in the black checkered shirt.

Like most people, he lacked both the resolve to face death and the shamelessness to surrender.

Lu Bai had seen that, which was why he had deliberately left Osas until last.

He crouched in front of Osas and asked softly, "The Survey Corps left only four of you behind to clean up. What happened to everyone else?"

Osas looked away and didn't answer.

"You don't know either?"

Osas remained silent.

Lu Bai carefully watched the changes in his expression, then nodded knowingly. "Oh, looks like you do know."

Osas was caught off guard by that conclusion, his confusion tinged with shock.

"Where'd they go? The barracks? The Warehouse? The Research Center? Tsk, looks like it's the Research Center." Lu Bai rubbed his chin.

Osas had no idea how Lu Bai had figured that out, so he simply lowered his head again.

"Actually, I was guessing. But judging by your reaction, I must've guessed right."

Lu Bai's smile grew brighter. "But it's a real headache. Will the Survey Corps think I guessed it, or will they think you betrayed them?"

"Damn it! If you've got the guts, then kill me."

Osas finally snapped and gave up resisting.

"Look at you, getting worked up again."

Lu Bai smiled.

He casually pulled the dead man's black checkered shirt off and tore it into strips to use as makeshift bandages, wrapping Osas's wounds.

Osas's expression was complicated as Lu Bai worked. Every so often, the pain made him suck in a sharp breath.

Lu Bai didn't care what Osas was thinking. As long as he didn't put up a fierce resistance, that was as good as consent.

After finishing the simple bandages, Lu Bai stood up and said gently, "Go on, tell me."

Osas stayed silent, and Lu Bai didn't rush him.

The silence lasted about half a minute before Osas asked, looking rather uncomfortable, "What do you want to know?"

"Everything, including what the Survey Corps plans to do."

"They plan to lure as many other deathmatchers as possible into the Research Center."

Lu Bai hummed, signaling Osas to continue.

Perhaps realizing that he had already effectively betrayed them, Osas stopped holding back.

He added, pouring it all out like beans from a bamboo tube: "The general plan is to draw a large number of deathmatchers into the Research Center, then kill them all in one go. I don't know exactly how they'll do it. My guess is they'll probably use explosives."

"How do they plan to make sure enough deathmatchers enter the Research Center? They can't just assume all those deathmatchers are reckless, can they?"

"I'm not a core member of the Survey Corps, so they wouldn't tell many people something that important. But I heard Brother Hui had already taken control of the 'Node' sometime during the first half of the night."

The more Osas spoke, the more smoothly the words came. At this rate, he felt he might start analyzing the intelligence for Lu Bai himself.

"He's taken control of the 'Node,' huh?"

Lu Bai repeated Osas's words thoughtfully, then asked, "Do you know Agu? He's a researcher at the Research Center."

Osas shook his head. "There's no one named Agu in the Survey Corps."

"Fine."

Lu Bai hadn't expected to figure everything out just by grabbing some random member of the Survey Corps.

If he had to say, his main reason for coming here had actually been to get Zhou Zongming out of trouble. Gathering intelligence was just a side benefit.

He helped Osas to his feet and smiled gently. "Come with me. I doubt you can go back to the Survey Corps now."

The sky had grown completely bright, and the mountain mist was gradually clearing.

The busy night had finally passed, but the situation was far from over.

Birdsong came from the woods on either side of the mountain, seemingly answering the roars of zombies in the settlement from afar.

The fresh air of early morning carried a faint smell of blood, a reminder that thousands of people had died that night.

The area around the Research Center was utterly quiet. But if the deathmatchers' location data had been released at that moment, a ring of red dots encircling the Research Building would have been clearly visible.

Seeing Lu Bai return safely, Xiao Xueyin smiled. He was about to say something, but then noticed Osas following close behind Lu Bai and instead asked, "Is this one from the Survey Corps?"

At that, Liu Yue's eyes lit up. She clapped excitedly.

"Impressive! I didn't think you'd actually catch one alive."