Act 14, Hells Bells

[Part 1: That Damn Dog]

"He still won't speak?"

It's the same Yangjiang Ferry, and the same Police Department—

--The militia leader counted so much money his fingers were burning, yet he kept a low profile in his office.

In the interrogation room, two young men grabbed a veteran from the battle group and gave him a severe beating. This was the third interrogation session of the day. The blood on the floor had turned into a thick, sticky layer of mud, like sealing wax.

This old man is named Leo. He served in the Mister Fantastic's Battle Group for thirty-four years. After retiring from the military, he became a construction supervisor for the Department of Transportation. He originally had both a son and a daughter, but his son died at the hands of the White Shark Association after joining the army.

This time, the old man was prepared to go down in flames for the anonymous man, having sent his wife and daughter's family away beforehand. He was the one who provided the ball crusher that killed Lisa Krauser.

He wasn't some super soldier with an iron will; he felt pain, and his aging body caused him weakness and fear.

He suffered several cardiac arrests during the waterboarding, and the agonizing pain and suffocation in his cardiopulmonary system tormented him, leading the white-haired soldier to consider surrendering.

He couldn't sleep, and three people took turns slapping him. When he was extremely mentally exhausted, he even considered giving in and wanted Dongfang Hao to experience this hellish feeling.

He had been castrated, and then cured using products made by White Lady.

But he still didn't say anything.

--Grandfather Leo thought.

Dongfang Hao also lost his son. He must hate White Shark Association the core, just like me. If this hatred can overcome the pain, then I should continue to hate my enemy and not my comrade-in-arms.

I must survive. If I survive, I will have a chance to take revenge. These militiamen haven't even taken my life yet; they should be waiting for me to speak up.

"Old man!" The young man in charge of interrogating Leo patted the old soldier's face. "Wake up, remember anything?"

Leo's hands were hanging from the fan. He was delirious and his face was covered in blood. When the young man reached out his hand, he immediately tried to bite off one or two fingers, but he couldn't do that—he had lost all his strength.

"I," Leo gasped, steam rising from his body, "I don't know what you're asking? What did you remember? What?"

The interrogator looked at the executioner.

"--Can you still fight him?"

The executioner was younger; he shook his hands, supported himself on his knees, and squatted down. After a while, he went to the sink to clean the blood from his fingers; he was too exhausted to continue.

"Fine!" The interrogator took off his gloves, ready to do it himself. "You're something else, Leo Lakeberg!"

Grandfather Leo slightly raised his head, his eyelids drooping. He felt very tired and could fall asleep at any moment.

He kept smiling at the hot-blooded young militiaman.

"Hehehehehehehehehehehehehe!"

The interrogator pulled out his torture instruments from his pocket, taking out pliers. "Still laughing?! Or should I give you another set of tooth extractions?"

Leo: "Come on."

The interrogator was somewhat intimidated, as if facing a tiger in a cage. Although Leo Lakeberg had lost all ability to resist, his murderous gaze was still so bright.

Generally speaking, prisoners who have suffered greatly will begin to beg for mercy. If their desperate pleas for mercy do not bring them relief, they will begin to contemplate suicide. Until their will to live reaches rock bottom, their eyes lose all light, and they only hope to be freed from their suffering as soon as possible.

"You fucking bastard."

The interrogator used shouting and cursing to bolster his courage, but inwardly he was groaning.

"Why won't you say anything?! Why?!"

The officer was counting money in his office, while the action team leader was sleeping soundly in the air-conditioned monitoring room.

"Just speak up! You'll regain your freedom immediately! You can even atone for your crimes! Just say it—"

"--It was the Nameless One who ordered you to do this! It was the Nameless One's mistress! It was Dongfang Hao who sent you the message! He told you to drive that damn ball crusher to the riverside scenic area! And cooperate with them to murder Lisa Krauser!"

"Is this so difficult? Is this really so difficult? Just open your mouth! Lower your head! You old fool!"

Leo raised his eyelids and spat at the interrogator. "Don't you already know? Why do I have to say anything?"

"This is different!" The interrogator brandished his pliers, finding Leo utterly unreasonable. "If you refuse to talk, how can we put you in the witness stand? Getting you to talk voluntarily and us investigating ourselves are completely different things! They are two different situations!"

Leo: "It's like taking off your pants to fart."

The young man sitting in the monitoring room, bored out of his mind, was still playing the violin.

--This kid is also a descendant of the warband. His dad was lucky enough to go to the fire department. His Grandfather fought in World War II and went straight to the advisory role in the underworld, not as a combatant.

"Boss, I don't quite understand either."

"This third-generation soldier said lazily."

"Now that President Joshua knows who did it, why do we still have to torture Grandfather Leo? Why not just arrest him directly? In Lieyang Fort, doesn't the president kill whoever he wants? With a single order, what's the point of talking about procedures?"

The team leader in charge of the interrogation walked over to Bing Sandai, sealed the oil paper bag containing money on the table, and stuffed it into his desk to prevent unrelated colleagues from seeing it.

"This is different."

Third-generation soldier. "What's the difference? Aren't they all the same? If we go and arrest someone with evidence, are we going to accuse the nameless mistress of premeditated murder? That charge is ridiculous. In the end, it'll just be a fight—calling my cousin to arrest her is also a fight. Is there any difference?"

The team leader patted the third-generation soldier on the head. "Wake up! How am I supposed to make money if Leo doesn't speak up? What does the White Shark Association's leader want?!"

"--It's respect! It's submission!"

"It was a heartfelt repentance; Leo Lakeberg knelt down, weeping, and admitting his mistakes!"

"What do you think we're doing? Upholding justice? We're in the service industry, kid!"

"Or do you really want to catch criminals to earn a salary? To compete with anonymous criminals for your earnings?"

"Do you have that ability? Huh?"

"The key point is his attitude. Do you understand? Attitude!"

"You and your girlfriend are always arguing and bickering, and then you demand an [attitude] from him."

The third-generation soldier immediately realized, "Oh! But President Joshua isn't my girlfriend."

The team leader didn't know what to say, so he just rolled his eyes.

The third-generation soldier seemed to be deep in thought, then said—

"--Could it be that President Joshua considers Leo his boyfriend?! That's fucking exciting!"

Team leader. "I really should find you a psychiatrist; your Madness Index is way too high!"

The third-generation soldier ignored everything and continued playing the violin in the monitoring room. He was fearless in the face of his team leader's reprimands, because he had a father who worked in the fire department to protect him; what difference did it make where he worked?

"Team leader, my Grandfather was wise and brave, my father saved people from dire straits, but as for me, besides playing the violin, all I can do is raise dogs. Even if you put me in the militia, I wouldn't be able to do the job well!"

"You're still bringing up the dog?!" The team leader bristled with fear upon hearing the word "dog."

He leaned on the armrests of his office chair, approached the third-generation soldier, and spoke earnestly.

"Do you know? More than a hundred lives have been lost in Wulong Fortress! All because of a dead dog! Just because of a damned dog!"

"The gunsmith's wife is roaming our territory! If you dare bring up her painful memories again, don't drag me down with you to the afterlife!"

The third-generation soldier kept nodding, clearly frightened.

In the interrogation room, Leo was still being tortured, while the team leader was comfortably making coffee and the militia captain was harassing his female assistant in his third-floor office.

Ripples appeared in the coffee glass, as if something had happened.

[Part ②: The Joyful Saw-Off Man]

Besides Lisa Krausa, there are four militia groups in Lieyang Fort.

This place is a key point for entering and exiting the gold mines, and is surrounded by important waterway towns. Although it does not have the population size of Mimir Hot Spring Market, it is simply impossible for Guangling Zhixi alone to manage it.

The militia group that held Leo Lakeberg captive was called the Black Key — the Black Key on a piano.

These militia members mingle between the legitimate and criminal worlds, maintaining community order while also engaging in intelligence trading. Now they work for the White Shark Association Gang, and although they don't openly commit crimes like the War Gang, they're not much better off.

These scumbags tortured and interrogated "prisoners" for the White Shark Association, investigated and dealt with the White Shark Association's competitors, and shut down certain disobedient individual businesses.

There are three leaders of the Black Key, all of whom are hybrids of the Disaster Beasts.

Tiger Force Immortal firmly holds the position of the top leader, indulging in women and playing around with his secretary in his third-floor office. He also spreads rumors that he is the Ming De, possessing extraordinary fighting power through his beastly bloodline.

As the accountant, Yangli Daxian was favored by the chief. From then on, his ability to use his sheep hooves to calculate and scheme became more and more powerful, allowing him to break through the encirclement of many shady militia groups.

What about the third child?

You might think the third brother is the Deer Power Immortal, but he's not actually one.

Deer Power Immortal was once Tiger Force Immortal's second-in-command. When the three brothers were destitute, he was eaten as food. Now, the one who has replaced Deer Power Immortal is the chief secretary of the Black Key Militia, who is also the woman who is always entangled with Tiger Force Immortal in the office.

At that moment, the sudden push-back sensation jolted Tiger Force Immortal awake—

He stumbled and fell off the chair, crashing headfirst into the floor, making the whole building tremble for a moment.

The secretary who had been sitting in his lap also fell quite hard.

"Ouch! Be gentle! It hurts so much!"

Judging from her accent, the secretary must be a clip spirit, so let's just call her Clip Spirit for now. It's not that I'm bad at naming things, but this kind of woman, who has no character traits and is so bad that she's uninteresting, probably goes to hell after a few hundred words. I don't think we need to waste too much ink on her.

Look at Tiger Force Immortal, covered in dust and dirt, getting up with a face full of sorrow.

--The secretary doesn't have much holy blood in her body, but Tiger Force Immortal, being a hybrid of a calamity beast, is different.

The Clamp Spirit: "Boss! Was it an earthquake?"

Tiger Force Immortal its furry paws to tear open the carpet and finally managed to get up with some effort.

"No, no, no! That's not right! Something's not right!"

The Clamp Spirit: "What are you panicking about! Even if the sky falls, President Joshua will hold it up!"

Tiger Force Immortal, panting heavily, tossed the pencil skirt to his secretary.

--This burly man, possessing the strength of a calamity beast, stared at the thermos.

Ripples were constantly emanating from the water bottle, almost freezing over! This was an extremely terrifying psionic tide!

The clamp spirit finally managed to put on a skirt, looking a little more presentable, and then clung to the leader's side, kindly comforting him.

"Don't worry, President Joshua sent his cousin from the War Gang to protect us. Are you scared? Are you afraid that the Nameless Ones will come knocking on your door?"

Tiger Force Immortal: "Hmm"

The Clip Spirit chuckled, "Oh my dear husband! This time it's different! One of my cousins is also skilled at wielding soul power. President Joshua went to great lengths to get Leo Lakeberg to admit his mistake!"

With a sweet, melodious voice, she rattled off the names of all the garrison personnel of the Black Key Militia Headquarters as if reciting a familiar menu.

"That highly skilled veteran has a human skin mask— Prado."

"A psionicist with explosive soul power and exceptional range, the Eye of Death - Kong Fang."

"The Kane brothers, who have been cooperating with us for many years, are guarding the security post."

"Speaking of rising stars, the White Robe Gang's Double Flower Red Stick has also arrived—a bloodline unit that awakened its Soul Might at the age of twenty-three!"

"Don't be fooled by how tragically the Five Tigers of the War Gang died; look at these powerful figures with Soul Might! They're all here."

The clamp spirits crawled back to the leader's side and whispered among themselves.

"If the nameless ones are going to kill, they'll start with them, not with us lowly minions."

Tiger Force Immortal stuck out his tongue. He couldn't sweat through his skin, so he could only cool down by sticking out his tongue. Hearing his little lover's words, he felt relieved. However, the sudden surge of psychic energy made him uneasy, so he called the front desk to confirm.

The call was answered after a long time.

"--Hello? Is there demolition work going on outside? Why is it shaking so much?!"

"Hell--------o!"

On the other end of the phone, a drawn-out greeting left Tiger Force Immortal completely bewildered.

You can hear all sorts of noises coming from the first floor, the sound of a violin, and the strange thuds of heavy objects falling to the ground.

"A third-generation soldier?! Damn it, isn't that kid in the monitoring room?" Tiger Force Immortal asked angrily. "Why is he playing the violin in the reception area?! I'm firing him!"

The phone appears to have been passed to someone else.

"Hello, sir!"

Tiger Force Immortal immediately asked, "Who's on the first floor! Who are you?"

The person on the phone replied, "I have some business to attend to, sir. Where are you?"

Tiger Force Immortal hung up the phone, feeling utterly bewildered.

"That's really weird."

He was certain he hadn't dialed the wrong number; it was indeed the reception desk of the Black Key militia reception office.

In the lobby on the first floor, David Victor was still playing the violin, trying to boost the morale of his two old friends. He wasn't good at fighting.

The cousins stationed on the first floor, the Blood-giving Monster with soul power, had mostly become decapitated dishes.

--After being properly dismembered, they were then roasted with acetylene using a high-temperature spray gun to prevent the spread of the Madness Butterfly epidemic.

Jack Martin, gripping the phone, complained to Wen Bucai.

"I'm telling you! Don't fucking talk nonsense! What if one or two escape?!"

Wen Bucai raised his hands high. "I know where he is! On the third floor! The third floor!"

Jack Martin: "Why are you answering the phone if you know what's going on? Why all the unnecessary chatter!"

Wen Bucai curled his lip. "I heard them saying that as I was passing by their door."

At this point, Wen Bucai immediately made a strange gesture, then straightened up and twisted his waist, shaking his hips violently in sync with Victor's intense piano music.

"--So I feel it's a bit inconvenient, quite awkward."

Jack immediately lowered his head. "Oh! Oh, that's pretty embarrassing."

Just then, a huge goat-headed monster burst through the door, almost four meters tall.

"Not quite dead?" Jack turned his head and glanced at it, his face turning extremely grim. "It seems to have turned into an Apostle!"

Wen Bucai patted his old buddy on the shoulder, about to go up and beat up the monster. "My bad, my bad, I didn't handle the ingredients properly. You keep investigating, call me if anything happens!"

Victor moved with incredible agility, swaying left and right in the hall like a rootless leaf, constantly displaying his artistic talent as he played the violin.

They saw Mr. Wen Bucai locked in combat with the apostle-transformed Sheep Power Immortal. The monster was being beaten to a pulp by [Drunken Madman], and the sonic booms and shockwaves from his punches echoed through the corridor.

Jack Martin grumbled as he prepared to search the third floor.

"Victor! You're just going to stand by and watch!?"

Victor closed his eyes, completely immersed in the music.

He ducked to avoid the flying ram-headed demon, whose corpse smashed the plaque in the reception hall to pieces, turning the four golden characters "[Upholding Justice]" into dust.

Do you perhaps think I'm completely useless?

Victor retorted sharply, pointing his bow at Jack Martin's nose before starting the next piece.

"You ugly thing! I've been the one boosting your morale the whole time! And you're going to criticize me for this?!"

Jack Martin, clutching his forehead, part of his body already turning into dust in the form of an evil spirit, was heading elsewhere to rescue Leo Lakeberg.

"--Why can this guy still shamelessly, seriously, and righteously slack off after all these years?!"

At the security post, Wen Bucai straddled an opponent who had suddenly come back to life, throwing punches and giving perfunctory responses.

"Yes, yes, yes! That's great!"

[The Drunkard] drifted over and snatched Jack Martin's meat saw.

Before disappearing, Jack cried out in panic, "That's mine! Hey!"

Wen Bucai picked up the saw blade, thinking to himself that this little toy probably wouldn't last long.

"I'm so moved! I feel so empowered!"