Upon returning, Xu Xing's first action was to interrogate the old man.
They used a bowl of contaminated cold water to wake up the old man who had fainted from shock.
"Hey, wake up." Xu Xing used the glass bowl he found to pat the old man's face.
"Ah, you... what do you want!" The old man was initially very flustered after being woken up, but then he calmed down.
Based on his years of experience in the underworld, he knew that since this person had chosen to tie himself up, he must have some desire for himself.
These are all bargaining chips that can be exchanged as long as there is benefit involved.
"What are you trying to do? You were so cocky at the beginning, how come you fainted from fright just now?" Xu Xing mocked. He hated people like this the most, who clearly had no ability but always loved to pretend.
"I...I had an accident!" The old man's face was flushed, whether from anger or from the tightness of the rope binding him.
"Young man, everything is negotiable, everything is open to discussion. As the leader of the largest gang in Jinghai, my father is a man of good reputation." The old man spoke with a hint of pride at the end.
Xu Xing smiled, pulled out a chair and sat down. "Alright, let's talk about your gang and your son."
Xu Xing had some understanding of this gang based on fragments of information and his memories.
Even in peacetime, the Qingjing Gang had several hundred members who were responsible for managing and maintaining entertainment venues in various places.
Even now, after the apocalypse, the fact that they can still recruit hundreds of people shows they have some strength.
Moreover, judging from this battle, the Qinghai Gang is not to be underestimated in terms of quality. Of the twenty or thirty people who came, three were superhumans, and all of them were at level two.
Searching through Xu Xing's memories, he had never heard of the Qingjing Gang's influence during the apocalyptic era.
So it's either annexation or annihilation, but eliminating such a large-scale force is no easy task.
The old man, who had been excited, thinking he had found a chance to survive, never expected this person to ask such a question.
The old man immediately shut his mouth, pretending he knew nothing, and even turned his head to the side, adopting an attitude of "do whatever you want with me."
This amused Xu Xing. He had been living in the apocalypse for so many years, what tough guys hadn't he seen?
The reason they refuse to reveal the secret is simply because it hasn't reached their bottom line yet.
If Bai Ling could advance to a higher level at this point, things would be much simpler.
Those with mental abilities at level seven or above can already invade the brains of ordinary people and extract a portion of their memories.
But right now, it's definitely not going to work. We still need to make the old man suffer some physical pain before we can get him to open his mouth.
"Zhao Jie, come here." Xu Xing waved to Zhao Jie, who was standing and watching the commotion, and called him over.
"This old man won't speak, just make him open his mouth, don't let him get too badly hurt." Xu Xing deliberately spoke loudly so that the old man, who had turned his head away, could hear him.
Seeing that he still didn't react, Xu Xing moved aside for Zhao Jie, letting him do as he pleased.
Although Zhao Jie started as an ordinary truck driver, after so many trials, he remained very polite to his own people, but became heartless to outsiders.
He's quite intelligent, so he naturally understood what the boss meant.
He slowly approached the old man, and a flame, about the size of a fist, shot out from his hand.
Zhao Jie looked at the old man and waved the blazing fireball in front of him.
Feeling the scorching air, the old man squinted and his hands and feet began to tremble slightly.
"If you won't listen to reason, you'll have to suffer the consequences. Let's see how long you can endure this."
Zhao Jie held the fireball and placed it directly on the old man's chest to heat it. The distance was neither too far nor too close, not so far that it would catch fire, but rather like grilling.
It's important to understand that the pain a person feels from being burned is far greater than anything else, and the aftereffects are also the most severe. Needless to say, the fear is immense; being roasted is tantamount to a slow death.
"Ahhh!" The old man couldn't help but scream in agony. The other onlookers showed no sympathy whatsoever.
Because they understand in their hearts that in such a situation it's either you die or I die, and those with compassion, apart from Susie, have long since become zombies somewhere.
Xu Xing, annoyed by the noise, found a rag and stuffed it into the old man's mouth again. "I won't force you. Think it over and tell me. If you don't think it over, you'll soon smell the aroma of meat."
"When you figure it out, just nod at us."
Xu Xing also moved a bit further away. This awful weather, coupled with Zhao Jie's scorching heat, made him feel quite hot as well.
Unexpectedly, less than two seconds after Xu Xing stepped out and stood there, the old man nodded frantically with tears streaming down his face.
Zhao Jie withdrew his hand with satisfaction and nodded to Xu Xing.
Xu Xing walked over with a smile, "This is really a bit unexpected. So, tell me about your gang."
He then tore off the tattered cloth.
"I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything." The old man finally couldn't bear the pain any longer.
"Our Qingjing Gang has been established for more than ten years, with hundreds of people under our command, managing entertainment venues of all sizes."
"Get to the point, you son of a bitch!" Xu Xing cursed.
The old man shuddered in fright and said in a panic, "After the disaster, my son awakened his superpowers. Because he lived in the entertainment district over there, he managed to rescue many survivors from there."
Gradually, they all joined us, and my son also discovered the secret of the crystal core, and his abilities slowly improved.
Thanks to his ability to clear the surrounding area, he even recruited several other superhumans, three of whom were among those who came with him.
"How much is left now?" Xu Xing asked.
"There are still... about a hundred people left, including six or seven superhumans like the ones before. My son is the most powerful among them." The old man seemed to want to use this conversation to reveal his true strength and gain more leverage.
Now it was Xu Xing's turn to be conflicted. He had originally captured the old man with the intention of taking advantage of the situation to destroy his hideout and find plenty of supplies and crystal cores.
He didn't feel any psychological burden, after all, they were the ones who provoked him first.
But now we know that there are too many people on the other side, which is difficult to deal with. Even if we manage to defeat them all and win, we will suffer heavy losses.
The sharp decline in population has resulted in some losses outweighing the gains.
Xu Xing asked again, "Then why did you come here? Aren't there plenty of resources over there?"
"Sigh, it's all because of the Qiangsheng Group. There's been some friction between us and them. They have too many people on their side, so we want to choose another base."
Upon hearing this news, Xu Xing's eyes lit up, and he instantly came up with his next plan.
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