Probing for Intelligence

Two Deathmatch Participants wearing plaid shirts trembled as they squatted on the ground, blood still seeping from their wrists that had been severed at the joint.

Under the dual pressure of pain and stress, their foreheads were covered in a fine layer of sweat. Perhaps due to excessive blood loss, their faces were unnaturally pale.

Lu Bai held the Eight-Sided Han Sword, lightly tapping it against the ground intermittently, not in any hurry to question them.

"Big brother, what exactly do you want?" The Deathmatch Participant in the black plaid shirt's voice was choked with tears.

In his opinion, since the other party didn't kill them directly, he must have something to ask. Considering their identities, it was most likely about the Survey Corps.

In any case, the other party was clearly open to negotiation, so he deliberately acted weak and easy to bully, trying to find an opportunity to escape his current predicament.

Lu Bai ignored him, tilting his head in a nonchalant manner, seemingly not worried that these two would use this chance to escape.

Time ticked by, second by second. He could wait, but these two Deathmatch Participants couldn't. If they didn't stop the bleeding soon, there would be no point in trying to save them.

Circumstances were against him. The one in the black plaid shirt forced himself to calm down and shouted with a mournful face, "Big brother, what are you doing? Just give it to me straight!"

"Huh?"

This exclamation jolted Lu Bai awake. He slowly turned his head back and explained in a calm tone, "Almost all mammals tilt their heads slightly when they can't understand something. I believe a 45° angle is more helpful for thinking."

Who asked you that?!

The black plaid shirt's mind was about to explode. He felt like he hadn't checked the almanac before leaving home, which was why he was unlucky enough to encounter a lunatic.

Of course, regardless of what he thought, he still forced a fawning expression on his face, "You have something to ask us, right?"

However, the response was an incredibly swift sword strike, followed by a severed head. Lu Bai gained a few more Points.

Without any warning, the Deathmatch Participant in the black plaid shirt didn't even have time to make any move to resist before he died.

"I did intend to ask something, but suddenly I don't want to ask you anymore."

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

Upon hearing his name, Osas looked up, his lips moved, but no sound came out.

It was worth noting that Osas was neither as stubborn as the first two nor as clever as the one in the black plaid shirt.

Like the vast majority of people, he possessed neither the resolve to die nor the shamelessness to surrender.

Lu Bai had specifically kept Osas until now precisely because he saw this.

He squatted in front of Osas and said softly, "The Survey Corps only left the four of you to clean up. Where did the others go?"

Osas shifted his gaze to the side, not answering.

"You don't know either?"

Osas remained silent.

Lu Bai carefully observed the subtle changes in his expression and nodded knowingly, "Oh, it looks like you do know."

Caught off guard by this conclusion, Osas was bewildered and a little shocked.

"Where did they go? The barracks? The warehouse? The Research Center? Tsk, it seems like the Research Center." Lu Bai rubbed his chin.

Osas couldn't understand how he deduced that at all, so he buried his head again.

"Actually, I was guessing, but judging by your reaction, I must have guessed correctly."

The smile on Lu Bai's face grew brighter. "But this is really troublesome. Your people from the Survey Corps, do you think they'll believe I guessed this, or will they think you betrayed them?"

"Damn it! If you have the guts, kill me."

Osas finally lost his composure, adopting a completely defeated attitude.

"Look at you, getting worked up again."

Lu Bai said with a smile.

He casually pulled off the dead man's black plaid shirt, tore it into strips, and used them as makeshift bandages to dress Osas's wound.

During this process, Osas's expression was complicated, and he occasionally gasped in pain.

Lu Bai didn't care about Osas's inner turmoil. As long as the latter didn't resist fiercely, it was essentially tacit consent.

After a simple bandaging, he stood up and said in a gentle tone, "Tell me."

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

After about half a minute of quiet, Osas finally asked unnaturally, "What do you want to know?"

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

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

Lu Bai grunted, signaling Osas to continue.

Perhaps realizing that he had already made a de facto act of betrayal, Osas stopped being hesitant.

He blurted out, "The general plan is to lure a large number of Deathmatch Participants into the Research Center and then eliminate them all at once. I'm not sure about the specific method, but I guess it'll most likely be explosives."

"How do you guarantee that enough Deathmatch Participants will be drawn into the Research Center? You can't expect all these Deathmatch Participants to be reckless brutes, can you?"

"I'm not a core member of the Survey Corps, so this kind of crucial information isn't shared with too many people. But I heard Brother Hui had already secured the 'node' before midnight."

Osas spoke more and more fluently, and it felt like if he continued, he would proactively help Lu Bai analyze intelligence himself.

"You've grasped the 'nodes'?"

Lu Bai repeated Osas's words thoughtfully and asked, "Do you know Agu? He's an experimental personnel from the Research Center."

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

"Alright then."

Lu Bai hadn't expected to get everything cleared up just by randomly catching a member of the Survey Corps.

If he had to say, his main purpose for coming here was actually to help Zhou Zongming, and gathering intelligence was just secondary.

He helped Osas up and smiled gently. "Come with me. You probably can't return to the Survey Corps now."

The sky had completely brightened, and the mist in the mountains gradually dissipated.

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

Birdsong came from the mountain forests on both sides, seemingly communicating with the roars of zombies from the settlement.

The unique fresh morning air, mixed with a faint scent of blood, indicated that thousands of people had died that night.

The Research Center was completely silent, but if the Deathmatch Participants' locations were revealed at this moment, a circle of red dots surrounding the research building would be clearly visible.

Seeing Lu Bai return safely, Xiao Xueyin showed a smile. He was about to say something, but he immediately noticed Osas following closely behind Lu Bai and asked instead, "Is this person from the Survey Corps?"

Upon seeing this, Liu Yue's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands excitedly.

"Amazing! I didn't expect you to actually capture one alive."