Chapter 40: The Torture of Burning Iron

"Are you sure about this? If we can't destroy the entire Fengzhou City, we'll probably be the ones destroyed instead."

"We've come this far—do you have any way to turn back now? They're probably already on the way here."

A man, his entire body shrouded in darkness, let out a hoarse laugh, as if mocking Feng Tun's naivety.

"Besides, only you have been exposed. In the worst case, you're the only one who'll have trouble."

Feng Tun's face darkened at these words, a glint of malice flashing in his eyes.

"Don't worry, if I go down, you'll be coming with me."

"Hey, hey, I was just joking. No need for that."

The man retreated further into the shadows, as if even the faintest light made him extremely uncomfortable.

"Even just as bait, you've got an A-class ability user like me here. I can only imagine how spectacular the assault on the base will be."

As if some delightful scene crossed his mind, a smile crept across the man's face, and he began scratching at his arm incessantly. Even when blood trickled to the floor, he didn't stop.

Feng Tun shuddered, unable to keep looking at him. If on normal days he could at least converse with this man, once he fell into this state he was hardly human. If not for the leverage they had over him, Feng Tun would never have thought of working with these people. Every day spent in his own little world, enjoying good food and life, was infinitely better than living in constant fear as he did now.

"It certainly will be spectacular."

A stranger's voice came from outside the office door, accompanied by a light knock.

"The guests have arrived. Shouldn't the host welcome them?"

A flash of surprise passed through Feng Tun's eyes. By his estimation, the combat unit shouldn't have arrived for another hour. That was already pushing the government's abilities to their limit—relying on his own power to stir up trouble everywhere, then waiting for them to follow the trail straight into the trap. Others would launch a strong assault on the investigation team's headquarters when the combat unit fell, hoping to seize the goods.

To them, Fengzhou's meager armed forces were nothing to fear. The real trouble would come from the items the city had accumulated over more than a decade.

But Mu Yu's appearance had completely upended their plans.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter. Let's make our move now."

Feng Tun gestured at the man, moving toward the office door.

"If you won't open up, then I'll just have to be an unwelcome guest."

Mu Yu kicked open the reinforced wooden office door. What greeted him was a pillar of copper, glowing a deep red. Even without getting close, the blazing heat cracked the walls.

"Hiss—"

Mu Yu felt that even with his physique, he couldn't withstand the temperature and stepped back. The concrete walls melted like butter. Feng Tun hadn't expected Mu Yu to react so quickly, but still swept the pillar down.

But an attack of such terrifying power came at a price—sweat beaded on Feng Tun's face, and his figure seemed to shrink.

"Do it!"

But the man who'd been hiding in the shadows stepped back, his eerie smile replaced by a ghastly pallor.

The room fell into a sudden, chilling silence.

Mu Yu braced himself for the coming attack, while Feng Tun, spent, could barely keep the copper pillar hot.

"You're counting on an ordinary person to take me down?"

Mu Yu was baffled. Judging by that earlier blow, he'd thought Feng Tun was a formidable opponent. But this was it?

"What are you standing around for? Do it!"

Feng Tun sensed something was wrong, his face blanching, but still charged at Mu Yu with the pillar.

But in a contest of strength, his physique—only slightly better than an average person's—was no match for Mu Yu.

Bang!

Mu Yu caught the scalding pillar one-handed. His palm's skin blistered away, but instantly healed, leaving not a mark.

Feng Tun's eyes nearly popped out. He'd barely tried to trigger the high heat again before a fist landed on his greasy, bloated face.

Amid the air, the crisp sound of cracking bones echoed. His right eye went dark, and a bolt of pain shot through his brain.

"Ahhhhhh!"

His pitiful screams drowned out the roar of a gun. The man cowering deep in the room fired a trembling shot.

His aim was good, forcing Mu Yu to retreat a few steps.

"Trash is trash. Useless."

The man holstered his gun, hiding his shaking hands behind his back, his twisted smile returning.

"You're a B-class ability user, aren't you? Leave now, and don't make things worse for yourself."

With excellent acting and a few tricks, he'd fooled many ignorant Controllers and ability users in this way.

But things felt off this time. The man didn't stop but looked at him as if he were an idiot.

Mu Yu punched him in the abdomen, doubling him over on the floor like a shrimp.

"What's with the act?"

In Mu Yu's perception, the difference between ordinary people and these kinds of people was obvious at a glance.

And if you're going to fake it, why put on a psycho act?

Mu Yu shook his head, wiped the blood from his hand on the man's clothes, and took out his communicator.

"Tell the combat unit not to come. It's dealt with. I got intel that someone plans to attack the base—order them to return and defend."

"...Roger."

The operator, now used to Mu Yu's style, replied concisely.

Mu Yu nodded in satisfaction, lingering a second before hanging up.

"Ugh—"

A pained groan came from the side.

Mu Yu turned his head in confusion, and saw Feng Tun struggling to get up.

Half his head had been smashed in, his eyeball lost somewhere, and yet he wasn't dead?

"Tsk."

Mu Yu frowned, scanning the office, then his eyes lit up.

When Feng Tun slowly regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was a familiar gigantic wooden desk looming ever larger in his vision.

'Isn't that my desk?'

Then, darkness claimed him again.

With a dull, meaty thud, flesh splattered against the walls. Yet even with his bones surely shattered, Feng Tun still clung to a faint, fragile breath.

"Wait—"

Before the next blow fell, Feng Tun shouted.

With a gust of wind, the battered desk hovered just in front of him.

"What kind of monster are you?"

Mu Yu frowned. Even in the brief pause, Feng Tun's body already showed signs of healing.

"I should be asking what kind of monster you are—no, no, no!"

Another violent crash, and the desk, weighing hundreds of pounds, broke apart, revealing a rough cross-section.

"Speak properly."

"........."

Though inwardly fuming, faced with such a ruthless man who lashed out at the slightest provocation, Feng Tun bowed his head.

"You can't kill me. If I lose control of the item in my possession, this whole building will melt—no one inside will escape alive!"

"Are you threatening me?"

Mu Yu hefted the remaining half of the desk, but before he could swing, Feng Tun frantically waved his hands.

"No, I'm just asking you to follow procedure in reclaiming people like me!"

Though government custody meant endless imprisonment and study, it was still better than being beaten to death here.

"I can only hold on for a couple more rounds. If you keep hitting me, I'll really die. That won't do you any good."

Feng Tun forced a friendly smile—a gesture of warning and goodwill.

After all, his current power was gained by butchering ordinary people to gain control of the torture device.

With every consecutive attack, he could already feel the item starting to lose control. Even if Mu Yu stopped now, a few days was the most he could last.

But he was still unwilling to die just yet. After all he'd done to climb from an ordinary man to this—how could he just let go?

Mu Yu dropped the desk, which happened to land on Feng Tun's leg.

'Damn, that bastard did it on purpose!'

Feng Tun cursed Mu Yu inwardly but maintained his smile, twisted and terrifying on his cracked face.

He knew he wouldn't die—at least not for now.

"So, who is this man? You actually picked an ordinary person as your helper? Are you out of your mind?"

Mu Yu dragged the unconscious man's leg over to Feng Tun.

He had to admit, the man's appearance was convincing: arms covered in scratch marks, stitched wounds at the corners of his mouth—from the outside, he looked every bit a deranged killer.

But—

Mu Yu dabbed some of the blood from the man's arm and sniffed it, his face turning to disgust.

"Don't tell me, after killing so many people, you don't even know what blood smells like."

Feng Tun struggled to prop himself up and leaned closer to the man.

"Paint?"

It really was paint. Perhaps with some chicken blood mixed in, but definitely not human blood.

Feng Tun stared, dumbfounded, at the man he'd always treated as an honored guest, so furious he could have bitten him.

If not for his constant boasting of being the equal of a Wall Keeper, who would have stayed here, waiting to die?

Wait—

Watching Feng Tun's shifting expression, Mu Yu stepped forward and crushed his half-healed lower body.

"What did you just think of? Speak."

Sweating from the pain, Feng Tun dared not challenge Mu Yu further and became especially obedient.

"I think I've been abandoned. He was just here to lower my guard."

"They probably wanted me to overuse the item, then lose control."

Mu Yu checked the time on his phone, a suspicion growing.

"You trusted him that much?"

"I've met Wall Keepers before. He behaved exactly like them. I didn't dare test him."

Now, looking back, Feng Tun saw more and more flaws. But he'd been so cautious, he hadn't even dared to probe.

Just as those who used him hadn't realized that, to save his own skin, Feng Tun didn't dare overuse the item, either.

"What did he act like? Be specific."

Wall Keeper—Mu Yu had thought it was just a rank. Now, it seemed more than that.

"You're not a Wall Keeper?"

Feng Tun seemed even more shocked than Mu Yu.

Using abilities this brazenly, and not a Wall Keeper?

"Talk."

Mu Yu glanced at the time again, pressing his foot down.

"Stop, stop, I'll talk!"

Feng Tun gasped for breath, watching Mu Yu's cold, violent demeanor, and felt there was something seriously off.

With a personality this twisted, and still not a Wall Keeper?

"It's a mutual aid society for freelancers. The leader is a B-minus Controller. We meet from time to time and help each other."

He paused, curious about Mu Yu's frequent phone glances, but dared not ask.

"When I joined, that Controller was already on the verge of collapse from overusing items. My item happened to suppress his side effects, so I stayed with him for a while."

"My ability kept advancing because of this, from D-class all the way to lower B-class. As compensation, he shared some inside information and resources with me."

A trace of regret flashed in Feng Tun's eyes. If he hadn't chased after those resources, perhaps he wouldn't have ended up here.