Chapter 61: The Devil's Noose

A commander, flanked by two blindfolded teammates, arrived before a narrow passage that could only be negotiated by unfastening a quick-release clasp.

"Stay put. Once I cross, I'll pull you through." The commander's voice sounded remarkably calm.

He skillfully unfastened his own clasp.

The iron chain parted.

He glanced back at the two "burdens," completely oblivious, standing in the darkness waiting for his command.

A flash of hesitation crossed his eyes. But it was instantly replaced by the fear of punishment and the desperate craving to survive alone!

He uttered not another word.

Turning sharply, he bolted away like a startled rabbit!

He wanted to run!

He wanted to abandon these two pieces of trash and save his own skin!

The two blindfolded soldiers still stood stupidly in their original spots.

"Captain?"

"Captain, did you make it across?"

The voice that answered them was Wang Ba's chilling tone.

"Your captain has fled."

"Squad Gui-Zero-Nine, betrayal confirmed. The entire squad is sentenced to permanent solitary confinement."

Before the fleeing soldier could run thirty paces, two personal guards dropped from the sky and pinned him fiercely to the ground!

"No! I didn't! I was just going ahead to scout the path!" he shrieked in frantic sophistry.

Xiao Zhan did not even spare him a glance.

He merely raised his chin slightly toward the direction of the commander's platform.

A squad of soldiers approached, carrying three huge, narrow wooden crates.

The crates looked like three upright coffins.

Only a few small ventilation holes were left at the top.

"What is that?"

"Damn it... Those are standing cages!"

A knowledgeable soldier let out a terrified scream!

It was one of the most brutal instruments of torture! The victim was locked inside, unable to sit or lie down, forced to remain standing straight until they exhausted their vitality and died!

The traitor was utterly terrified out of his wits!

A foul, warm stream leaked from his crotch.

"No... No! My lord! I was wrong! I'll never dare do it again! I beg you! Don't lock me in there!" He wept copiously, wailing like a stray dog.

No one paid him any heed.

The two personal guards dragged him toward the wooden crate like a dead dog.

The crate door swung open.

He was shoved inside brutally!

"Bang!"

The door was locked tight!

From within came the frantic sound of fingernails scratching against the wood, accompanied by desperate, distorted cries!

The other two abandoned soldiers also had their blindfolds removed.

When they laid eyes on those "living coffins," there was not a trace of anger at the betrayal on their faces.

Only endless, bone-chilling terror!

Without offering the slightest resistance, they were shoved into the remaining two wooden crates.

The three coffins stood upright in the center of the military drill ground.

The sounds from inside gradually grew weaker until they vanished entirely.

The entire drill ground fell into a dead silence!

Everyone stared at the three coffins, and a chilling current shot straight from the soles of their feet to the crowns of their heads!

This... was permanent solitary confinement!

This was the price of betrayal!

On the commander's platform, Zhang Wei's lips trembled, unable to utter a single word.

Qin Cang's face had also turned as pale as paper.

"A madman... He is an absolute, thorough madman..." he muttered to himself.

He finally understood that the quick-release clasp was never any kind of hope!

It was the most malicious piece of bait Xiao Zhan had tossed down!

He was not testing trust.

He was using the most visceral fear to tell everyone:

Here, betrayal would bring a death far more agonizing than merely making a mistake!

Wu Neng, Li Si, and Zhang Goudan.

The three of them still maintained their disheveled appearances, dripping with green paint.

Li Si stared blankly at the three coffins.

He recalled his own thought just moments before—the urge to abandon his teammates!

A wave of lingering fear washed over him, completely engulfing him!

If he had done the same thing just now...

The one locked inside that wooden crate right now would be him!

His body began to tremble violently and uncontrollably.

Wu Neng slowly turned his head.

He did not look at Li Si, nor did he look at Zhang Goudan.

He merely stared at the cold iron chain binding the three of them together.

"Are you bastards," he began, his voice hoarse yet carrying an unquestionable decisiveness, "all complete idiots?"

Both Li Si and Zhang Goudan gave violent jolts.

"Did you really think the lord wanted to see how we crossed?"

The corner of Wu Neng's mouth curled into a mocking sneer.

"Wrong!"

"What he wanted to see was our stupid behavior from just now! The ugly spectacle of the traitor abandoning his comrades!"

"What he wanted to see was how we would suspect each other, drag each other down, and finally plunge together into the pit he dug for us!"

Wu Neng kicked the metallic mechanism with his boot. "This quick-release clasp isn't here to save lives!"

"It's here to kill!"

"It doesn't kill our bodies; it kills our minds! It kills the last shred of clever, petty calculation left in our hearts!"

Li Si's expression shifted repeatedly.

In Zhang Goudan's vacant eyes, a look of contemplation surfaced for the very first time.

"Now, listen to me."

Wu Neng yanked hard on the iron chain, pulling the other two men roughly toward him.

Their three heads nearly collided.

"From this moment on, there are no commanders and no blindfolded men!"

"The three of us are one single person!"

"One person with three pairs of eyes, three pairs of hands, and three pairs of legs!"

"Throw all your damn brains away!"

"Feel it with your bodies!"

Wu Neng's eyes locked onto Li Si, then swept a glance over Zhang Goudan.

"When I move forward, you move forward! When I move left, you move left!"

"The iron chain is our nervous system! If it grows taut, it means someone made a mistake! If it goes slack, it means we're walking right!"

"Shut your eyes!" Wu Neng growled.

Li Si and Zhang Goudan instinctively closed their eyes.

"Now, place your lives in my hands," Wu Neng's voice whispered like a demon's, drilling into their ears.

"And I place my life in yours."

"If the three of us die, we die together inside those three coffins!"

"If we live, we walk out of this hellhole together!"

Li Si's heart clenched violently.

The overpowering stench emanating from Zhang Goudan—a nauseating reek that had nearly driven him mad—was at that moment suppressed by a far stronger craving to survive!

He opened his eyes and looked at Wu Neng's frantic face, stained entirely with green paint.

He clenched his jaw until his teeth nearly shattered.

"...Let's fucking do it!"

Wu Neng turned back to look at Zhang Goudan.

That fat, cowardly man, practically written off by everyone, slowly raised his head at that moment.

He looked at Wu Neng, then at Li Si.

Then, mustering every ounce of strength in his body, he nodded heavily.

"Good!"

A satisfied, ferocious smile finally appeared on Wu Neng's face.

"Instructor Wang!" He jerked his head up and roared toward the commander's platform!

"Our squad requests another attempt!"

Across the entire drill ground, every gaze converged on these three green, monster-like figures.

Wang Ba looked toward Xiao Zhan.

Xiao Zhan picked up his teacup and took a gentle sip.

"Granted."