Chapter 89: Interrogating Shi Lei
“Sword-tailed Lizard?”
Seeing the Ferocious Beast guarding beside Shi Lei, Zhou Ming was somewhat surprised.
The last time he was ambushed in the Green Mist Jungle, one of the hunters’ beasts had also been a Sword-tailed Lizard.
“What a coincidence.”
Looking at the creature before him, over four meters long, its body mostly composed of a flexible, razor-sharp tail, Zhou Ming spoke thoughtfully.
That tail was not only agile and sharp, but it could also deal with Inkband’s nimble and slender body.
At the same time, the Sword-tailed Lizard possessed decent poison resistance—it was clear that Hu Peng had made thorough preparations.
“Click.”
The cylinder of the Thunder Type-2 Revolver rotated with a metallic sound.
Zhou Ming intended to personally take care of the Sword-tailed Lizard before him.
With his current physique, only a brief rest was needed before he could wield the Thunder Type-2 Revolver again.
“Hiss…”
As soon as Zhou Ming raised the revolver, the Sword-tailed Lizard before him became restless.
It sensed the aura of death approaching, yet instinct forced it to remain loyally by its master’s side.
“Boom.”
While the Sword-tailed Lizard hesitated, Zhou Ming pulled the trigger, ending its dilemma.
“Ah—”
Shi Lei, who had been unconscious, was jolted awake by the death of his beast, letting out a miserable cry.
Hearing the irritating sound, Zhou Ming stepped forward and struck him unconscious once more.
He had deliberately spared Shi Lei’s life—because he wanted to understand their true purpose in attacking him.
If this was for revenge, they would’ve acted the night before yesterday. Why wait until now? Zhou Ming didn’t wish to leave any hidden dangers behind, so he needed to uncover the reason behind Hu Peng and the others’ assault.
Carrying Shi Lei’s unconscious body, Zhou Ming walked toward the nearby dense forest.
The open space created by the grenade blast was perfect for a sniper ambush.
Though Zhou Ming suspected that no one else was around, he refused to take unnecessary risks.
After all, he had once been ambushed by a sniper and had no intention of experiencing that again.
After Zhou Ming departed, swarms of Ironthread Snakes slithered into the clearing, cleaning up the battlefield.
They had been toiling for two days straight—it was time to reward them. Before them lay four Ferocious Beast corpses, waiting to be devoured.
“Crackle, crackle.”
Inside a mountain cave, Zhou Ming tossed a few dry branches into the campfire before him. The burning wood let out crisp snapping sounds.
Because Shi Lei’s beast had died, his spirit suffered severe backlash. Combined with Zhou Ming’s hand strike to his neck, he remained unconscious.
Seeing this, Zhou Ming wasn’t in a hurry to wake him. In his current state, Shi Lei could die at any moment.
Zhou Ming wanted information—he didn’t want his captive to die too soon.
Originally, he had planned to wait for Shi Lei to wake naturally. Yet the man remained deathly still, lifeless as a corpse, even as night approached. Zhou Ming had no choice but to find a temporary resting place.
Using his Radar Sensory Domain, Zhou Ming located a mutated tiger near Windback Gorge and claimed its cave as his temporary shelter.
As for that unfortunate mutated tiger, its flesh had already been fed to the snake swarm. Only a tiger pelt remained—now serving as Zhou Ming’s seat cushion.
Once the fire burned steadily, Zhou Ming stopped tossing in branches and instead picked up a slab of tiger meat at his right, roasting it over the flames.
He was patient, showing no irritation at being delayed from his journey to the Northern Wasteland. To him, whether he went a day earlier or later didn’t matter. After all, this trip was largely based on luck.
He lacked the power and backing to fight for opportunities head-on—it would only be suicide.
Even if he failed to obtain any treasure, knowing who claimed the relics from the Base ruins would already be worthwhile.
“Sizzle, sizzle…”
As oil began to drip from the roasting tiger meat, letting out sizzling sounds, Zhou Ming uncapped a plastic bottle beside him and evenly sprinkled the seasoning inside over the meat.
The mixture contained salt and several other spices.
Within moments, the fragrance of roasted meat filled the cave.
“Looks like my cooking isn’t bad,” Zhou Ming commented with a faint smile, then turned his head toward Shi Lei.
“I’m right, aren’t I, Shi Lei?”
With his Spiritual Power having reached its limit, Zhou Ming’s senses were incredibly sharp—he immediately noticed when Shi Lei woke up.
After being unconscious for half a day, Shi Lei finally regained consciousness. Whether it was the smell of roasted meat that stirred him or his calmed spirit that allowed recovery, Zhou Ming couldn’t tell.
“Why didn’t you kill me?”
From the ground, Shi Lei’s weak voice came out—he was fully aware of his current predicament.