Shen Heng's pace gradually slowed down.
He raised the flashlight and shone it ahead.
Hearing the rapidly approaching commotion, he calmly said, "They're here, Tier 2."
"Hmm," Wei Leyang responded from the side, "So, who's going to go next, you, me, or Dahuang?"
Upon hearing this question, Dahuang's body tensed instinctively.
Its steps remained unchanged, only its ears subtly tilted to the side.
Shen Heng glanced at Dahuang, then turned to Wei Leyang, "Just go and tie him up. Dahuang's got a lot of fighting experience, one more fight won't hurt."
"Okay, sure." Wei Leyang nodded in agreement.
Dahuang relaxed, and its steps became much more cheerful.
"Hehe, I'm so lucky today!"
A moment later, a huge shadow appeared in the darkness ahead.
The shadows were still in areas beyond the reach of the flashlight beam, with only two red beams standing out clearly in the darkness.
Seemingly possessing night vision, its scarlet eyes became even more intense after spotting the group.
"Squeak--"
A piercing roar erupted.
Along with it came a malicious sentiment.
"Humans, damn it! Damn it--!"
Shen Heng raised his eyes in slight surprise, his gaze falling on the Sharp-Horned Rat that was rushing straight toward them.
Why do you seem to hate humans?
Although normal Calamity Beast may also be hostile towards humans, their hostility is often purer and more direct, primarily driven by a desire for their own safety and a desire to harm other creatures.
But the malice of the Sharp-Horned Rat before them seemed to be mixed with something else.
After making a brief note of this, Shen Heng continued walking forward.
The two sides were rapidly closing the distance between them.
Until they were within a hundred meters of each other.
It seemed as if they had suddenly seen through their opponent, or perhaps realized something.
The Sharp-Horned Rat suddenly slowed down, its four paws slamming on the ground.
"Oh no, these two humans..."
It frantically turned around, trying to escape back the way it came.
Seeing this, Wei Leyang pushed off the ground and rushed over quickly.
Shen Heng pondered for a second whether to follow directly or interrogate first, then gently raised his hand and beckoned.
The Origin Power is invoked silently.
"Click, click, click..."
Four feet on the ground.
The Sharp-Horned Rat ran forward frantically.
All it wants now is to get back quickly and tell its mistress that humans really are...
The sound of claws hitting the ground kept reaching its ears, and for some reason, it suddenly felt that something was different.
A surge of intense anger and hatred welled up within me for some unknown reason.
Its reason gradually vanished, and it let out a sudden roar, turned around, and pounced on the person chasing after it.
It was greeted by a strange man leaping into the air, his five fingers wrapped in bandages curled up, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk.
"Bang--"
Shen Heng's steps gradually came to a stop.
In front of him, the Sharp-Horned Rat had already fainted.
The entire rat was bound tightly, with not a single limb exposed.
"This is what happens when you go against humanity!"
Shen Heng glanced at Dahuang, who was sitting quietly to the side, and then his gaze fell back on the Sharp-Horned Rat.
Wei Leyang tied a knot in the silk thread in his hand, then turned to look at Shen Heng.
"Take it back directly?"
Shen Heng looked at the Sharp-Horned Rat, recalling the mistress the rat had mentioned when it fled, and after a moment of silence, said:
"The team leader and the others are here; they're located right where we got off the bus."
Wei Leyang was taken aback upon hearing this, then asked, "Is it related to the last incident?"
"It's not certain yet, but it won't be simple." Shen Heng looked at the Sharp-Horned Rat with a deep gaze.
Upon hearing this, Wei Leyang also suppressed his smile and nodded, saying:
"Okay, I understand!"
After briefly reporting the situation to the captain over the phone, the two headed towards the location in the underground passage.
As for the Sharp-Horned Rat, it was being dragged along by the string carried by Dahuang.
When they returned to the location of the hunting party, the battle was already over.
Several people were resting against the wall, while the Tier 2 Sharp-Horned Rat lay quietly beside them.
Shen Heng glanced at the Tier 2 Sharp-Horned Rat.
This was originally their target, but not to steal it; they wanted to requisition it and then get corresponding compensation from the Martial Arts Association.
However, Shen Heng changed his target after discovering another one had appeared halfway through.
Seeing that Shen Heng and the others returned in just a few minutes, dragging Sharp-Horned Rat that was even larger than the one their team had hunted, the members of the Thorn Squad were speechless for a moment.
Only after the three figures disappeared from sight again did one of them look at Mei Duo.
"Captain, the Sharp-Horned Rat they were dragging just now seemed to be alive, right?"
"Yes, it's alive." Mei Duo nodded slightly, her memory still lingering on the Origin Power fluctuations she had just observed.
"Then why didn't they kill them? Why did they drag them along?"
Upon hearing this, the others also looked at Mei Duo.
Mei Duo didn't reply. She stared silently in the direction the three had disappeared. After a long while, she suddenly stood up.
"Stop resting, get up. First, take the Calamity Beast to the Martial Arts Association for processing, and then..."
While Mei Duo was making arrangements, Shen Heng and his two companions arrived at the location where they had descended into the underground passage, accompanied by the screaming rats.
Team leader Wang Hai and the others had already arrived and were waiting there.
Wang Hai glanced at the Sharp-Horned Rat that had been dragged over, then turned his gaze to Shen Heng.
Do you know how to conduct an interrogation?
Shen Heng paused, realizing that the captain was referring to interrogation techniques, not just simple interrogation.
"I don't know." He shook his head honestly.
" Wei Leyang, please give a brief explanation. You haven't forgotten the item, have you?" Wang Hai asked Wei Leyang.
"Yes, of course," Wei Leyang said with a smile.
He straightened himself up and then spoke:
"A normal interrogation is based on information asymmetry and psychological pressure."
"A method of breaking through the other party's psychological defenses through various means, thereby making them abandon or change their minds, and ultimately confess."
"But the target of the interrogation is Calamity Beast, Shen Heng's ability allows him to hear the thoughts of other creatures, so the approach is completely different."
"All we need to do is put pressure on the Calamity Beast, make the Sharp-Horned Rat give up its resistance, and then focus our attention on Shen Heng and start thinking."
"Regarding applying pressure... the underground passage is quite good. We'll leave and then wake up the Sharp-Horned Rat. At first..."
"Then they use methods such as direct questioning, indirect questioning, deliberately giving the wrong information, or feigning ignorance..."
Wei Leyang spoke faster, clearly getting into the flow, his fingers moving in time with his words.
After a while, he paused for a moment and said:
"In short, this should be sufficient for interrogating the Sharp-Horned Rat."
After speaking, he turned to look at the young man beside him who was listening quietly with his eyes down.
"Do you understand?"