Liu Chong spoke.
He said a great deal, his voice hoarse and hurried, as though he wanted to pour out everything he had kept buried in his heart all these years. He revealed the locations of several Netherworld Hall branches in the Chaotic Star Sea, some of the Netherworld Venerable's habits and weaknesses, the intelligence he had passed to the Netherworld Hall over the years, and the methods and codes he used to contact them.
Chen Ming listened intently, asking one question after another without letting a single detail slip by.
But as he listened, his brows gradually knitted together.
Something was wrong.
The information sounded valuable, but upon closer examination, it was all inconsequential. The locations of the Netherworld Hall's branches? Chen Ming had already learned those from Su Mubai, in even greater detail than Liu Chong provided. The Netherworld Venerable's habits and weaknesses? Everything Liu Chong mentioned was either common knowledge or speculation that could not be verified. As for the intelligence and contact methods, those were outdated news.
Liu Chong had talked for ages, seemingly cooperative, yet he had not provided a single valuable piece of new information.
He was stalling.
Chen Ming stopped asking questions, and silence fell over the stone chamber. Liu Chong seemed to realize something too. His voice gradually dwindled until he stopped speaking altogether. He raised his head and looked at Chen Ming's expressionless face, an ominous foreboding rising in his heart.
"Liu Chong," Chen Ming said, his voice so calm that it held not the slightest ripple, "did you think you could fool me with this nonsense?"
Liu Chong's face paled. He opened his mouth to defend himself, but Chen Ming gave him no chance.
"I gave you a chance." Chen Ming stood and looked down at him. "Unfortunately, you squandered