"You intercepted everything?" Zhao Wudi's face contorted, cold sweat beading on his brow.
Lin Ran chuckled, reciting leisurely, "Let me see! First, an email to the military region's Grizzly Special Forces, saying they were going to provide support..."
"So, the entire Grizzly Special Forces should be under your control then?"
"Then, a message to Xu Zheng of the Xu family in Jiangdong, saying the two of us aren't actually dead..."
"Impressive, this must be the real reason you wanted to use the beast tide to kill us."
"Xu Zheng found you first! Excellent!"
"Hmm... And a short report to an organization called Ye Yun, saying the 007 secret base has been exposed..."
"This, should be the secret organization you truly serve, right?"
"Oh ho! You even have contact with foreign races like Thunder Elements, and want to request the help of that Razor of Destruction?!"
"Well done, kid... Your range of operations is truly astonishing..."
With each word from Lin Ran, Zhao Wudi's complexion grew paler. By the end, his face was etched with utter despair. Even setting aside other matters, colluding with foreign races for profit alone was enough to warrant his execution multiple times over. Moreover, he was a captain of the military region's special forces. If the matter escalated, even many of his superiors would be implicated.
Zhao Wudi glanced at the nine brothers beside him and sighed, "Since you know everything, what are you waiting for?"
"Take our heads and claim rewards from the military region..."
Lin Ran calmly circled them, stretching lazily. "If I wanted to kill you, your heads would have been severed long ago!"
"Since I haven't acted, don't you understand my intention?"
Zhao Wudi, being sharp, immediately grasped Lin Ran's meaning. "You want to know the secrets we possess?"
Lin Ran nodded. "This is the only way for you to survive right now!"
Xiao Qi, who had been silent beside them, suddenly spoke, "We are at a complete disadvantage. Even if we tell you, we might not survive. You can kill us to silence us at any time, and we have no way to resist!"
Lin Ran sneered, "You know you can't resist... So where do you get the capital to negotiate?"
"I am giving you an order, not discussing with you!"
"If you don't accept, then die!"
"With my illusions and Qing Yan's dark magic, even if you die, I am confident I can turn you into spirit puppets, and still know everything..."
"It's a bit troublesome, but at least it's safe, isn't it?"
"As for you, you will lose your only chance to live."
"Furthermore, your souls will be bound to me for eternity..."
"What do you say?"
At these words, all ten of them fell silent. Indeed, in the face of the overwhelmingly powerful Lin Ran with his endless tricks, they had no room to resist. Their only value lay in saving Lin Ran the trouble of creating spirit puppets, a meager contribution indeed.
Zhao Wudi's eyes flashed, and he gritted his teeth. "Fine! I'll tell you everything!"
"After I'm done, you can take my life and claim the reward from the military region..."
"I only ask that you spare my brothers..."
The other nine were shocked and cried out in unison, "Big brother!"
Lin Ran waved his hand impatiently. "If I said I'd spare your lives, I will. Don't play brotherhood with me here, I don't fall for that! If you get sentimental again, don't blame me for going back on my word and burying you all!"
"Moreover, my illusions have enveloped all of you, so don't think about lying..."
"Otherwise, you will only meet me again in the form of spirit puppets."
The ten men's faces froze, and they sheepishly shut their mouths. Damn! Neither soft nor hard approaches worked... It seemed his sentimental plea had failed. In front of this man, they could only abandon all their petty cleverness... Zhao Wudi felt a prickle of unease. The difficulty of dealing with Lin Ran was extremely rare in his many years of hard-won experience. This was not just about his strength, but also his methods, character, intelligence, and agility... He was nothing like a freshman who had just entered university; instead, he was like a formidable old fox.
Just as Lin Ran had said, anyone who chose him as an enemy would undoubtedly have a lifelong nightmare. Zhao Wudi unconsciously began to sweat for Xu Zheng.
With his psychological defenses shattered, Zhao Wudi held nothing back and told Lin Ran everything he knew. It turned out that the organization Zhao Wudi belonged to, named "Ye Yun," was a notorious ultimate mercenary legion. Their sole principle was to recognize only money, not people. As long as you had enough money, there was almost no task they wouldn't accept. Destroying organizations, assassinating leaders, annihilating noble families, slaughtering their own kind... Even colluding with foreign races, instigating beast tides, selling intelligence... As long as it made money, these audacious individuals would do it. Although not as infamous as the fallen who betrayed their own kind, they were essentially universally condemned.
This time, Zhao Wudi had accepted a mission from Xu Zheng to conspire to kill Lin Ran. That's why he had persuaded Du Jun to feign offering a simple, easy, and lucrative job to please Lin Ran and Luo Qingyan. Du Jun, eager to get close to Lin Ran and Luo Qingyan early on to ride their coattails in the future, joyfully agreed to Zhao Wudi's suggestion. Zhao Wudi also happened to have another mission to assist the Thunder Elements in opening a large teleportation gate. Thus, he combined these two matters, bringing Lin Ran and Luo Qingyan to the Fulong Mountain Range, intending to use foreign races and the beast tide to eliminate them. The machine he used to trigger the beast tide was personally handed to him by the Razor of Destruction. And the three researchers brought along under a fabricated pretext were nothing but cannon fodder, becoming unnoticed sacrifices.
However, he never expected that Lin Ran and Luo Qingyan's combat power was terrifyingly strong. Not only could they break through the surging beast tide, but they could even withstand a few rounds against the Razor of Destruction. Zhao Wudi was unaware of the seven-colored energy sphere being stolen. After all, the Razor of Destruction would never publicize such an embarrassing event. But he had seen the lightning unleashed by the Razor of Destruction from afar. Combined with the news of the biological chip damage from the military region, he had been convinced of their deaths.