Chapter 90: The Truth Revealed
As Zhou Ming’s words fell, the swarm of Ironthread Snakes let out a chorus of hissing and slithered rapidly toward Shi Lei, as if they had been starving for days and finally found a delectable meal.
“Ah—Zhou Ming, you bastard—!”
“Ahhhh—”
Feeling a wave of searing pain throughout his body, Shi Lei was about to curse loudly, but as more of the Ironthread Snakes’ fangs sank into his flesh, he lost the strength to continue and could only scream in agony.
His combat suit was torn off.
The mental backlash left him powerless to resist.
Now, Shi Lei was nothing more than meat laid upon the chopping block, left for the serpents to bite and tear as they pleased.
At Zhou Ming’s command, the snakes refrained from using venom. They simply tore into Shi Lei’s flesh with their twin fangs.
Although the Ironthread Snakes were small in size, and their teeth even smaller, they were still mutated serpents.
Each bite tore away bits of flesh, and with hundreds of snakes—each as thick as a chopstick—biting together, it was as if Shi Lei were being slowly flayed alive.
“Huff…”
Zhou Ming ignored Shi Lei’s wailing beside him.
He simply blew at the steaming tiger meat he had just roasted and began to eat leisurely, clearly satisfied with his dinner preparations.
“Shi Lei, if you can’t hold on, just say so. There’s still plenty of time left. With the Ironthread Snakes’ teeth, it should take them several hours to finish eating all your flesh.”
“Oh, right.” Zhou Ming seemed to recall something.
“I still have a vial of healing potion here. Originally meant to save my own life. Seeing how much you’re suffering, I’ll use it on you later.”
Holding up a glass tube, Zhou Ming waved it twice before Shi Lei’s eyes, then tucked it away again.
Whether or not it truly was a healing potion didn’t matter—it was merely psychological torture.
“You bastard, Zhou Ming! You and your whole family will die miserable deaths!”
“Ahhhh—”
Ignoring the pain, Shi Lei once again cursed through clenched teeth, only to fall back into pitiful screams moments later.
“As you wish. If you can endure it, I don’t care how much you curse.”
Seeing that Shi Lei still wanted to hold out, Zhou Ming stopped talking.
Saying more would only provoke more defiance.
Once the tiger meat was no longer too hot, Zhou Ming ate it slowly and methodically.
Several minutes later, after he finished eating, Shi Lei could no longer make a sound—he just lay there, waiting for the serpents to devour him completely.
“I told you, you wouldn’t die so easily. Looks like you’re going to make me waste a potion on you. Still, using it on a tough man isn’t such a waste.”
Picking up a vial, Zhou Ming stood and walked toward Shi Lei. The Ironthread Snakes immediately scattered, clearing a path for their master.
At this point, Shi Lei’s entire body—save for his head—was covered in blood. His flesh had mingled with the remnants of his clothing, yet he was still alive. Without venom, the snakes’ fangs caused only shallow wounds.
“Come, drink this potion. It should keep you alive until tomorrow morning. By then, I’ll be ready to move on.”
He pried open Shi Lei’s mouth, preparing to pour the potion in.
“You… you’re a devil.”
“No. This is your own choice.”
Hearing Shi Lei’s mosquito-like voice, Zhou Ming replied indifferently.
Just as he was about to pour the potion down Shi Lei’s throat, Shi Lei finally broke.
He realized that hiding the truth any longer was pointless—Zhou Ming truly didn’t care.
“I’ll talk…”
Those words burst out the moment the vial touched his lips.
“Sigh, if only you’d said so earlier. We both could’ve saved ourselves the trouble.”
That remark almost made Shi Lei choke on his own breath.
Trouble? You were eating meat while I was being eaten alive!
Seeing that Zhou Ming still held the vial, Shi Lei dared not delay further and quickly revealed Hu Peng’s true intentions.
Moments later—
Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the cave.
Zhou Ming kept his word and sent Shi Lei off swiftly. Then, dragging the body out of the cave, he left it for the mutated beasts of the wilderness to clean up.
“So, my eyes are that valuable? Don’t tell me they plan to dig them out and transplant them?”
Learning Hu Peng’s motives, Zhou Ming immediately thought of that anime from his past life where eyes were harvested.
Then he realized—since Hu Peng’s group acted without orders, and news of his Serpent Pupils hadn’t spread, his anxiety eased somewhat.