A Desperate Counterattack

Tony Rodriguez pressed Zhao Zhiyong's head firmly against the vomit, crushing and rubbing it with all his might, as if trying to grind the filth, along with Zhao Zhiyong's last shred of dignity and consciousness, into the cold metal tabletop.

He kept emitting beast-like growls and vicious curses, his spittle mingling with his heavy breathing due to extreme excitement and rage, splattering on the back of Zhao Zhiyong's neck and the sides of his ears.

"Eat! Eat it all! You filthy yellow pig! You dare to play me?! You dare to insult me?! I'll show you what regret is!!" Tony had completely lost his mind, leaving only the most primal and violent desire to vent. His fingers, gripping Zhao Zhiyong's hair, turned white from the force, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

Zhao Zhiyong's face was completely submerged in the thick, foul-smelling filth. His mouth and nose were blocked, and the feeling of suffocation was like a cold iron clamp gripping his throat. His body trembled and convulsed violently from lack of oxygen and excruciating pain. His hands, cuffed in front of him, scratched futilely and instinctively at the table, his fingernails scraping against the metal, making a teeth-grinding "squeak." A dull, hoarse "hoarse" sound came from his throat, like a broken bellows, the last struggle of life on the verge of suffocation.

Karl Miller stood by, arms crossed, his face ashen. He watched the scene with a complex expression. Reason told him he should stop Tony immediately; this vigilante justice and humiliation far exceeded the bounds of "interrogation," and the consequences would be unimaginable if anything went wrong. But deep down, a cold, hunter-like cruelty, coupled with lingering anger at Zhao Zhiyong's provocation, made him choose silence. He even slightly shifted his body to prevent the two guards at the door from seeing too many details of Tony's loss of control. The surveillance cameras were off; theoretically, everything that happened here could be covered up.

A dozen seconds passed amidst Tony's violence and Zhao Zhiyong's death throes. For someone on the verge of suffocation, those dozen seconds felt like centuries.

Just as Karl thought Zhao Zhiyong might really suffocate, and hesitated whether to ask Tony to let go—

Tony seemed to have vented enough, or perhaps he realized that pressing down any further might actually kill someone. He loosened his grip slightly, but still held Zhao Zhiyong's hair firmly, jerking his head up from the vomit!

"Cough! Ugh--cough cough cough!!!"

Zhao Zhiyong's head was forced back, and a sudden rush of fresh air into his burning throat and lungs triggered a violent coughing fit that felt like it was churning out his insides, accompanied by dry heaving! His face was covered in a mixture of yellowish-white filth, snot, tears, and saliva, dripping down his chin and neck onto his clothes and the table, leaving a mess. His eyes were bloodshot, almost bulging out of their sockets, and his face was purplish-red from suffocation, contorted by extreme nausea and pain. He gasped for breath, each breath accompanied by a rasping, uncontrollable gagging reflex, his body trembling like a leaf in the wind.

Looking at his wretched state, Tony felt a release for his pent-up rage, and a cruel, gleeful grin spread across his face. He grabbed Zhao Zhiyong by the hair, forcing the man's bloodshot, disoriented, and pained eyes to look at him.

"How was it? Bastard? Tasted good?" Tony's voice trembled slightly with excitement, carrying a sadistic satisfaction. "Want to try Xiaohua else? Hmm?"

Zhao Zhiyong seemed to have lost all strength to resist, and even the ability to focus. His eyes were unfocused, his pupils were somewhat dilated, and he just stared blankly and painfully in Tony's direction. His lips trembled, opening and closing as if he wanted to say something, but he only managed to utter some weak, indistinct, almost groaning breaths.

"Uh... uh..."

His voice was too soft, and was masked by his own violent breathing and coughing.

Tony didn't hear him clearly and frowned. He leaned closer, trying to hear what the beaten prisoner was muttering. Was he begging for mercy? Was he cursing? Or... was he finally going to confess?

"What did you say?" Tony asked impatiently, tightening his grip on Zhao Zhiyong's hair to force Zhao Zhiyong's face closer. "Speak louder! Didn't you eat?!" He had completely forgotten what Zhao Zhiyong had just been forced to "eat."

Zhao Zhiyong's lips continued to move weakly and laboriously, and even fainter, intermittent airflow came from his throat. The sound was so faint as to be almost nonexistent; only the extremely slight opening and closing of his lips indicated that he was still trying to "speak."

Tony completely lost his patience. He shoved his ear close to Zhao Zhiyong's mouth, almost touching it, and roared, "What the hell are you talking about?! Explain yourself! Or else..."

He didn't finish his threatening words.

Just as Tony's ear was about to touch Zhao Zhiyong's lips—

Zhao Zhiyong's eyes, which had been unfocused, pained, and seemingly on the verge of losing focus, suddenly burst forth with a terrifying, icy light! There was no fear, no pain in that light, only a long-accumulated, almost insane determination and a heart-stopping calm!

At the same time, his seemingly weak and powerless hands, handcuffed in front of him, suddenly bent the fingers of one hand in an extremely bizarre angle that violated the limits of human joint movement!

"Snap!"

A crisp, chilling sound of bone cracking rang out clearly in the silent interrogation room!

It was Zhao Zhiyong's right thumb! In a near-self-destructive manner, he used all his strength to forcibly break the first joint of his thumb at an impossible angle, completely opposite to its normal direction of movement! The bone fractured, the flesh tore, and blood instantly gushed from the twisted and deformed knuckle!

The sudden, self-destructive pain made Zhao Zhiyong's body tremble violently, and the veins on his forehead bulged, but he did not utter any cry of pain. Only the cold light in his eyes became even more dazzling!

With the thumb broken, a fatal gap instantly appeared in the handcuffs! Despite the excruciating pain, the handcuffed wrist gained extremely limited, but crucially vital, freedom of movement!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye! From the sound of bone cracking to the slight loosening of Zhao Zhiyong's grip, less than half a second had passed!

Tony was startled by the crisp sound of bones cracking and instinctively tried to sit up to see what had happened.

But it was too late.

In that instant when he was stunned and his body lost its optimal balance due to getting too close, Zhao Zhiyong moved!

His long-accumulated vitality, pushed to its limit by excruciating pain and humiliation, erupted like a volcano that had been suppressed to its limit!

He abruptly raised his head, no longer the weak, helpless figure he had been moments before. His face, smeared with filth, now held a pair of cold eyes fixed on Tony's intact left ear, which was inches away from his own! Then, he opened his mouth, revealing teeth stained with blood and grime, like a wounded beast cornered in a desperate situation. With the last of his strength, and a ruthless, almost desperate, intent on mutual destruction, he bit down hard on Tony's left earlobe!

"Ah--!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream, so piercing it was inhuman, erupted from Tony's mouth! Intense pain! Unimaginable pain! He felt as if his ears were being clamped by red-hot iron pincers and then ripped apart by the fangs of a wild beast! Warm liquid, with a strong, rusty smell, gushed out, smearing half his face and neck!

Zhao Zhiyong bit down with extreme ferocity, using all his strength, his teeth digging deep into the flesh, even touching the ear cartilage! He held on tightly, his head shaking and tearing wildly, as if trying to rip the entire ear off Tony's head!

"Ah!! Let go! You bastard! Let go!!" Tony was in excruciating pain, letting out a pig-like scream. His other hand instinctively released the grip on Zhao Zhiyong's hair and began frantically pounding on Zhao Zhiyong's head, face, and shoulders! But Zhao Zhiyong was like a leech, no matter how Tony hit him, he just bit down hard and tore at him frantically, emitting a beast-like, muffled "woof" sound from his throat.

"Tony!" Karl Miller was also stunned by this sudden turn of events. He had never expected that Zhao Zhiyong could unleash such a terrifying counterattack in that state! He saw Tony's ear deformed in Zhao Zhiyong's mouth, blood gushing out, and immediately realized that something was wrong. He rushed forward to help.

"Hold him down! Pull him apart!" Karl yelled as he tried to pry Zhao Zhiyong's jaw open, but Zhao Zhiyong held on tightly, and Tony struggled wildly in pain, making it difficult to separate them.

The two guards at the entrance also realized what was happening and rushed forward.

The scene instantly descended into chaos. Tony's screams, Karl and the guards' shouts, the muffled thuds of fists and feet striking flesh, and Zhao Zhiyong's suppressed, hate-filled roars mingled together.

Finally, with the combined efforts of Karl and a guard, they forcibly pried open Zhao Zhiyong's mouth and separated him from Tony.

"Pfft..."

A sickeningly soft sound, like flesh tearing apart.

Tony staggered backward, falling hard to the ground. He clutched his left ear with both hands, letting out an even more agonizing scream. Blood gushed from between his fingers, instantly staining his palms, arms, and chest. He released his grip, staring in horror at his blood-soaked hands, then touched his left ear—where only a small patch of skin and flesh remained connecting it; most of his ear had been bitten off by Zhao Zhiyong and lay on the ground, covered in dust and blood!

"My ear! My ear!! Ah--!!!" Tony stared at the part of himself lying on the ground, his mind nearly collapsing, letting out a desperate wail.

Zhao Zhiyong was pinned to the table by Karl and the guards, his mouth still stained with flesh and blood torn from Tony's ear, his face smeared with his own and Tony's blood, looking like a demon. He was breathing heavily, his eyes somewhat unfocused from the outburst and excruciating pain, but the cold calm and madness deep within remained undiminished. His broken right thumb was twisted at an eerie angle, bleeding profusely, but he seemed oblivious to the pain.

"Hold him down! Don't let him move!" Karl roared at the guards, still shaken himself. He looked at Tony's severed ear on the ground, then at Zhao Zhiyong, who was pinned to the table, covered in blood but still with a terrifying gaze. A chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. This Zhao Zhiyong... he wasn't human! He was Madman! A beast!

However, just as Karl breathed a slight sigh of relief and was about to check Tony's injuries and call for backup—

Pressed to the table, seemingly exhausted, Zhao Zhiyong's eyes flashed with a resolute light once more!

While he was being held down, his right hand, which had just broken free of the handcuffs and whose thumb was twisted strangely, stealthily and with its last bit of strength, suddenly reached to the side—there lay the cold handcuffs that Tony had dropped from his pocket onto the edge of the table when he was beating him!

Zhao Zhiyong's fingers precisely gripped one end of the handcuff chain—there, due to the struggle and impact just now, the metal edge had been chipped and raised, forming a sharp protrusion that wasn't very sharp, but was hard enough!

Without hesitation, without delay.

Before Karl and the guards could fully react, Zhao Zhiyong gripped the protruding chain and thrust his arm upwards at an incredible angle and speed, like a viper striking!

The target—the side of Tony Rodriguez's neck—was where he was slumped on the ground, delirious from the pain and blood loss, and was being bent down by Karl as he was being helped up!

"Pfft!"

A sound far more muffled and chilling than before, the sound of a sharp weapon piercing flesh, rang out!

That hard, metallic protrusion, stained with Tony's blood and the blood from Zhao Zhiyong's broken thumb, pierced Tony's left neck near the collarbone like a red-hot nail with Zhao Zhiyong's last desperate thrust! It pierced the skin, tore through the muscle, and may even have damaged deep blood vessels!

"Well--!!"

Tony's body stiffened abruptly, his eyes bulging instantly, and a short, muffled groan escaped his throat. His hands, which had been covering his ears, fell limply to his sides. He looked down in disbelief at the gleaming metal protruding from his neck and the gushing, scalding blood. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but only a mouthful of bloody foam escaped. The terror, pain, and fear of death in his eyes were quickly replaced by a spreading gray-white.

"Tony!!" Karl screamed in terror. He was the closest and had the clearest view! He instinctively tried to cover the bleeding wound on Tony's neck, but the blood gushed out too quickly and too violently, instantly staining his hands and arms red.

It was only then that Karl and the guard holding Zhao Zhiyong down were horrified to discover that the thumb of Zhao Zhiyong's right hand, which he used to stab, was broken in the opposite direction at an impossible angle. The handcuffs had slipped out from that narrow and painful gap caused by the fracture, which was how he grabbed them and used them as weapons!

He broke his thumb to get the chance for that fatal blow!

Ruthless to oneself, even more ruthless to the enemy! This is not resistance, it is a bloody massacre to the death!

A tremendous shock and fear gripped Karl's heart, and he even temporarily forgot about Tony.

After delivering that final blow, Zhao Zhiyong seemed to have exhausted all his life energy. His hand, gripping the blood-stained chain, loosened weakly and fell limply to his side. His body ceased its struggle, and he simply slumped onto the table, his forehead pressed against the cold, filthy metal.

He didn't look at Tony's miserable state, nor at Karl's horrified face.

He slowly raised his head. His face was still covered in blood and filth, but his eyes were unusually clear and calm, even carrying a hint of... indescribable relief?

He looked at Karl, and his lips twitched upwards with extreme slowness and difficulty, as if trying to form a smile, but it only resulted in a distorted arc.

Then, to the horrified dismay of Karl and the guards, Zhao Zhiyong, with the last vestige of his consciousness, steadied his body and jerked his head back—

Then, with the last of his strength, he slammed his head against the hard, cold metal corner of the table in front of him, without hesitation!

"Bang--!!"

A heavy, solid thud—the sound of a skull violently colliding with metal.

Zhao Zhiyong's body shuddered violently, then collapsed completely, sliding down the table to the floor, curling up amidst Tony's gushing blood and the mess on the ground. A horrifying gash opened on his forehead, dark red blood gushing out like a stream, quickly staining his gray hair and the ground beneath him. His eyes were wide open, pupils dilating rapidly, devoid of any life, except for a final, frozen, calm yet eerie smile at the corner of his mouth, as if mocking something.

Interrogation room B was deathly silent.

The only sounds were the dripping of blood from Tony's neck and Karl's heavy, terrified breathing.

One second, two seconds...

"Help!! Someone come quick!! Call an ambulance!! Hurry!!" Karl snapped back to reality, letting out a heart-wrenching scream as he lunged towards the door, frantically pounding on the heavy metal door, his voice completely distorted by extreme fear and panic.

Outside the door, hurried footsteps and exclamations could be heard.

The hellish scene froze completely in the interrogation room where the surveillance cameras had been deliberately turned off.