Striking in a flash, Su Jin broke the man's four limbs and shoved a lightbulb into his mouth.
Fetching some rope, he tied him up securely and tossed him into the middle of the living room.
Elder Sun and Elder Wei, who had been observing the whole thing, exchanged a glance filled with complicated emotions—a mix of delight and deep concern.
The delight was that their previously devised plan had proven effective, and they had managed to capture a live covert mutant, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of the threat.
The concern was that these creatures showed absolutely no outward abnormality whatsoever. If any slip-ups occurred during the mass screening, it would lead to catastrophic trouble.
Looking down at the man lying on the floor, Su Jin said, "Lao Fu, take the others and continue the screening. If you find any covert mutants, eliminate them on the spot. If there is anyone else in the room with them, shoot them immediately as well! Anyone sharing quarters with a covert mutant is to be treated as infected."
"Cheng Du, you stay behind. Help me protect Elder Sun and Elder Wei while we interrogate this infected one ourselves."
After a brief handover of duties, Su Jin dragged four chairs over and arranged them in an arc in front of the man.
Tears welled in the man's eyes, and muffled whimpers spilled from his mouth as he begged for mercy.
A dull crunch broke the air.
Su Jin lifted his foot and brought his heel down hard, shattering the lightbulb inside the man's mouth right through his cheek.
"Gah! Ahhh!"
Tiny shards of glass stabbed deep into his mouth. Agonized screams tore from his throat as he thrashed across the floor, spitting mouthfuls of blood.
"I ask, you answer. Say one wrong word, and I kill you," Su Jin said expressionlessly, concise and cold.
The two old men and Cheng Du shuddered violently.
"Why... gah, what did I do wrong..." the man wailed, spewing glass fragments with every ragged breath.
A gunshot cracked. A bullet blew through the man's ankle, sending his right foot flying off with jagged bone fragments and painting a thick streak of blood across the floor.
Fortunately, the break was below the knot binding his ankles, and the rope was tied so tight that the subsequent bleeding from the stump remained minimal.
"I haven't started asking yet. Don't interrupt," Su Jin said, looking down coldly.
Cheng Du and the two old men swallowed hard in unison.
Su Jin held up a finger. "First question: why eat humans? Oh, maybe you haven't eaten one yet. Let me rephrase: why do you want to kill people?"
"I didn't eat any humans! I never thought about killing anyone either!" the man wept bitterly, tears and snot streaming down his face.
"Heh, playing tough, are we?" Su Jin turned toward Cheng Du and pointed at the man. "Go strip his pants off and geld him into eight pieces!"
Cheng Du froze in panic for a second.
Seeing the grim, sinister look on Su Jin's face that proved he wasn't joking, Cheng Du gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and yanked off the man's pants.
At the same moment, Su Jin tossed a dagger clattering to the floor.
Trembling, Cheng Du picked up the knife, stared at the small dangling bit of flesh in front of him, and poked at it hesitantly a couple of times.
Turning back to Su Jin with a strained smile, he said with a quavering voice, "Director... with this length, cutting it into eight pieces might be a bit difficult. Two cuts for three pieces at most. How about we just let it go...?"
"Then slice it lengthwise first, then crosswise! If you can't figure it out, just mince it into paste for me!"
"What the hell do you want from me?!" the man screamed, thrashing wildly in fury.
Sun Ya kept his eyes fixed on the man's pupils and whispered to Wei De, "His pupils are constricting abnormally. He's showing an obvious fear response—it doesn't look faked. But that he's only showing such a strong reaction now suggests his capacity for fear is quite dull..."
A faint, meaningful smile curved Su Jin's lips. "That's wonderful to hear... I was worried they wouldn't feel fear at all, just like zombies."
"Now you finally know fear?" Su Jin stood up and looked down on the man. "Would a normal person eat a live mouse? We know everything. There's no point in keeping up the act. Answer my questions honestly, and I might just grant you a quick death."
"Tell me: why do you want to kill people, and why do you want to devour living things?"
At those words, the man's writhing body abruptly froze. His eyes glared ferociously at Su Jin. "When you're hungry and want to eat, do you need a reason?"
"Do you still consider yourself human?" Wei De spoke up.
"Human?" The man rolled his eyes, his expression twisting into a hideous sneer. "Would I ever be such a low-level creature?"
"Then when did you start thinking that way? Why did such thoughts develop?" Wei De pressed.
"How the hell should I know! Now that I've fallen into your hands, do your worst—kill or butcher me as you please...!!!" As the man snarled the words, he bit down hard, attempting to sever his own tongue.
The tongue was only bitten halfway through, drooping inside his bloody mouth, when Su Jin had already raised his gun and fired.
A direct hit to the groin—splattering Cheng Du's face with fluid.
"Ptui! Bah! Give a heads-up before you shoot! It splattered all over my face!" Cheng Du wiped the whitish-yellow mess from his face, terrified and furious.
"My apologies." Su Jin raised a hand in apology, then turned to the two elders. "Looks like he won't be talking anymore. Do you two feel there's any further research value in him?"
Sun Ya and Wei De murmured quietly together for a moment, then shook their heads in unison, their faces dark.
"He has a fierce temperament, a strong urge to survive, a dull sense of fear, and a powerful desire to kill, yet his twisted mentality defies scientific explanation. They're essentially living zombies retaining human intellectual habits. I don't think there's anything left to ask... Ugh, I'll take my leave first." Wei De covered his mouth and stood up.
Sun Ya rose immediately after, patting Su Jin on the shoulder on his way up. "Xiao Li, I know you loathe these monsters to the bone, but your mental health is important too."
Su Jin turned and gave Sun Ya a reassuring look. "Cheng Du, escort the two elders out. I'm going to conduct a little more research."
The three filed out one after another, stopping just outside the closed security door and straining their ears to listen.
"Stupid dog, you think biting your tongue lets you kill yourself? No rush. Now it's just the two of us; I'll personally instruct you on how to die."
"Urgh!!!! Ahhh!!"
Hearing the horrifying shrieks from inside, a chill ran down all three of their spines, making their scalps tingle.
Exchanging uneasy glances, Wei De said with difficulty, "I never expected Xiao Li to be this ruthless. He won't get carried away by the killing and do us in one day, will he?"
"No way. There are plenty of zombies on the streets for him to kill... Hiss, but we really do need to keep an eye on his mental health."
"Still, say what you will, the director really gives a full sense of security like this!" Cheng Du rubbed his chin and sighed with admiration.
The two old men looked at each other. Sun Ya spat on the ground and shot Cheng Du a look of disgust.
"Pah! You're not right in the head either! Stealing Xiao Li's socks first thing this morning—are you that desperate for socks?!"
"Hey, you saw that? I was bringing him socks! Don't get the wrong idea!"
Back at home base, all eight gathered again. Zhang Wan gave her report, holding a small notebook.
"...Today, a total of one hundred seventy-six people were screened. Aside from the covert mutant discovered by the Director, we found two other cases, both of which have already been eliminated. The remaining one hundred seventy-three people are currently all settled in the community activity center. The rest who haven't been screened will be finished tomorrow. As for what comes next..."
Su Jin took over. "As for what comes next, the most important task is to organize the people into groups and establish mutual surveillance. After that, we'll organize a vehicle convoy as quickly as possible. And Qingdai... the most important mission is about to be handed to you. You will be responsible for rallying and inspiring everyone."
Chapter 60