Chapter 419: Do You Care About Anyone?

Wu Baokang heard someone enter the room and initially ignored them, but when the light turned on and his peripheral vision caught Zhang Su, he immediately sat up, babbling incoherently with intense emotion—no one could understand a word he said.

"Told you not to be dishonest, now your mouth is tied, and instead of repenting, you're trying to ambush me? With this attitude, you think you can negotiate with me? I'll negotiate with you?"

Zhang Su leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his eyes mocking as he glanced at Wu Baokang sitting on the bed. Others couldn't tell, but he knew Wu Baokang was gripping a metal rod a few centimeters long with a special finger technique—its shape made it obvious it had been torn from a belt buckle.

Just as Li Zongkai had said, this guy was excellent at improvising weapons from whatever was at hand. That thin metal rod, barely four or five centimeters long, could easily blind someone in the hands of a skilled fighter—and with greater precision, slit a throat without difficulty.

Wu Baokang frowned at Zhang Su's words, shaking his head while still mumbling strange sounds.

"Last chance. If you dare cause trouble again, I'll kill you right now. Oh no—I'll cripple you, so you can't even die."

If it weren't for needing to question him, Zhang Su would've already lost patience.

This time, Wu Baokang didn't try to deceive anymore—he must've sensed the genuine kill intent in Zhang Su's eyes. The metal rod slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor.

At such close range, Zhang Su could clearly perceive the subtlest muscle shifts in Wu Baokang's body, yet he still didn't grow careless enough to approach while the man held a weapon. Only after Wu Baokang dropped the rod did he step forward, a military knife appearing in his hand.

"Wu wu wu, a a, a a!"

Seeing Zhang Su approach with the knife, Wu Baokang screamed and thrashed in agitation.

"Don't move an inch!"

Zhang Su snapped impatiently, then lifted his arm sharply—the cold blade skimmed across Wu Baokang's cheek, severing the hemp rope binding his mouth. A white scratch appeared on his skin, quickly reddening before oozing beads of blood.

"Your swordsmanship is pure garbage!"

Wu Baokang winced from the pain on his cheek, his lip twitching as he painfully raised his arm to wipe the blood with his sleeve.

"Hah! You deserve every bit of this pain!"

To Wu Baokang, this was just Zhang Su's excuse for his poor blade control—but he didn't know the bloodstain was deliberate. With Zhang Su's current mastery, he could have cut with absolute precision. "Enough nonsense. I'm asking you: what's Liao Youzhi really up to? Don't even think about lying to me—I already have plenty of information. If one word you say contradicts what others told me, I'll slit your throat right now."

Zhang Su lifted his dog-leg military knife slightly, signaling for him to speak.

Wu Baokang sat cross-legged on the bed, his face rugged and skin dark. At Zhang Su's words, his expression darkened further as he growled: "As Liao's personal guard, I know more—and more accurately—than anyone else. My information differs from theirs? Of course. Because theirs is all lies."

That wasn't untrue, but Zhang Su had no patience for his arrogance. He frowned irritably: "Enough with the grandstanding. Even if you're his personal guard, can you be closer than the women beside Liao Youzhi? They sleep in the same bed with his whole family—they know more than you do."

At this, Wu Baokang's eyes widened in disbelief: "You've planted someone among Liao's women?"

Zhang Su gave him a faint, unreadable smile—as if to say: You really think you're that important?

"Impossible. You're lying. If it were true, you wouldn't need to interrogate me—you'd just ask his wife."

Wu Baokang instantly dismissed the thought.

"Say what you need to say. Say one more word of nonsense, and you know what happens."

As he spoke, Zhang Su's military knife moved without a whisper of wind, pressing swiftly against Wu Baokang's cheek—strange, sharp, and lethal.

Wu Baokang took a deep breath. He'd never felt so humiliated. He clenched his teeth: "Liao's main goal isn't to attack Tianma Island. He's learned things about you through his own channels and wants to absorb you, expand his power. His real aim is to use the attack on Tianma Island as a cover to eliminate the other three factions!"

"Hmm?" If Wu Baokang had only said the first part, Zhang Su would've slashed him on the spot. But the latter part caught his interest—it was information he'd never heard from anyone else.

"Surprised?" Wu Baokang smirked, hearing Zhang Su's tone of shock. "Liao Youzhi's ambitions are vast—he intends to seize the entire Qincheng. All other obstacles must be cleared."

"Oh? So Liao Youzhi already tried negotiating mergers with the other three, and failed?" Zhang Su asked.

Wu Baokang nodded. "They're all ungrateful fools. If you, the Lord of the Underworld, are wise, you can save every man on Tianma Island and earn yourself a position under Liao. If you resist, Liao won't spare you either. I'm not threatening you—I'm just telling you what I know."

"Stop trying to sell me fairy tales. And by the way—I'm Zhang."

Zhang Su couldn't take it anymore. The conversation was going fine until this "Lord of the Underworld" nonsense popped up—it was too jarring. He continued: "The Survivors' Alliance is strong. Individually, the other three can't match you. But to swallow all three at once—and take us out too—you must have some secret weapon. Come on, tell me something I don't know."

This was the intelligence Zhang Su most wanted. Knowing their secrets would make everything else easier. But the moment Wu Baokang opened his mouth, Zhang Su's temper flared.

"Our secret weapon is our ironclad fighting spirit, ahh… you bastard!"

Before he finished speaking, a swift slash rang out—his pants were cut through in layers, a deep gash laid open on his calf, avoiding major vessels. Blood seeped out, but he wouldn't die.

"Aaah…" Wu Baokang's lips trembled—not from pain, but rage.

Zhang Su glanced at him coldly: "That's it? Ironclad fighting spirit? Spit it out—what kind of mutated zombie is your leader hiding?"

The casual tone sent a jolt through Wu Baokang. The Survivors' Alliance having mutated zombies wasn't secret—but using them as weapons? That was the core of the core secret. Fewer than five people in the entire Alliance knew. Even the women who slept beside Liao Youzhi shouldn't have known.

"No such thing. No mutated zombies. I don't know anything. Who told you that? Go ask them!"

Wu Baokang shook his head, his face twisted in disbelief—as if Zhang Su were insane.

Zhang Su's mind shifted. His tone softened: "Old Wu, are you alone? Is there anyone important to you in the Alliance?"

"Huh? You're going to threaten me with people close to me? Hah! You're mistaken. My whole family is dead. I'm alone now."

Wu Baokang looked at Zhang Su with contempt, certain he had no leverage.

Wu Baokang hid it well—but Zhang Su caught the tiny flaw. He wasn't certain yet. He needed verification.

"Since Liao Youzhi is targeting Tianma Island, there will be a battle between us."

Zhang Su turned his back, pacing slowly in the room, his voice low and heavy.

"The Survivors' Alliance has secret weapons. We're not weaklings either. When the time comes, both sides will fight to the death. Liao Youzhi may have the advantage—but now that I know so much, I'm not entirely at a disadvantage. If I lose, nothing more needs to be said. But if I win decisively, I won't harm the innocent survivors in your Alliance. But if…"

Here, Zhang Su stopped, his expression half-smiling as he stared at Wu Baokang, then added coldly: "If I barely defeat Liao Youzhi after losing many brothers and sisters, everyone in the Survivors' Alliance will pay for them. If you want the person you care about to live, tell me what I want to know—I'll spare his life."

(End of Chapter)