Chapter 762: Weapon

Chapter 762: Weapon

In the unfinished basement, Li Huowang painstakingly examined the fingers of the captives, hoping to identify the man who had kidnapped him. Yet after a thorough search, he was utterly astonished to find that none of them were missing any fingers—every single one had all their digits intact.

“This is impossible. It shouldn’t be like this,” he muttered, his brow furrowed in confusion. Just then, Zhao Lei’s earlier words echoed in his mind once more.

Li Huowang shook his head and glanced at the row of bound prisoners on the floor, noting how unafraid most of them looked. A flicker of doubt crossed his eyes.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He quickly crouched down again and began checking each prisoner's fingers—not by sight, but by touch. This time, he pressed each digit carefully.

It wasn’t long before he found something unusual. When his fingers brushed against two digits that didn’t feel like normal skin, he looked up at the man and gently yanked them off. The prosthetic fingers fell into his palm.

“So it was you all along,” Li Huowang said, eyeing the stranger before him.

Seeing his artificial limbs taken away, the man opened his mouth, clearly furious, muttering something in protest—but clearly, Li Huowang couldn’t understand a word of it.

Li Huowang turned toward Qing Wanglai. “What’s he saying? Translate for me.”

Qing Wanglai, who had been talking with Zhao Lei, walked over and listened for a few seconds before speaking. “He’s cursing you. Do you really need me to translate?”

“Never mind,” Li Huowang replied, giving the man a sharp kick in the stomach before turning to Qing Wanglai. “You’ve got so many people tied up here. Are you sure it’s safe? And what about all those who died earlier?”

“It’s fine. I told you before—I have quite a few connections. Besides, these people aren’t exactly aboveboard in their identities.”

“Don’t worry about it. Leave everything to me. Just don’t go charging in like that next time.”

“That truck—it’s steel, and you’re flesh. You actually dared to climb on it? One slip and you might not even get your remains back.”

“I know. You don’t need to remind me.” Li Huowang’s expression grew impatient as he heard the other’s words.

“Since we’ve got them all here, just keeping them locked up isn’t going to cut it. We’re a small group. What if they refuse to cooperate? What are you planning to do?”

“Then we use them as leverage in negotiations with the outside world. Try to find out what their goals are, especially regarding the projection side—how much do they actually know?”

Li Huowang frowned deeply, lost in thought. Facing such mysterious figures, he couldn’t come up with a clear plan right away.

“You can call someone now. After all this time, maybe you can remove that thing on your foot,” Qing Wanglai asked with concern.

“I already asked. They say at least two years. No approaching any schools during that time.”

“Two years? That’s way too long. That’s not compliant. Let me see if I can find a lawyer friend to help.”

Li Huowang looked at Qing Wanglai in surprise. “You’ve got quite the network, huh. How do you know everyone?”

“Heh, are you flattering me?” Qing Wanglai asked with a smirk.

“You keep questioning them. I’ll go check on Qian Fu. Sister Wu, give me the RV keys.”

Taking the keychain with the multi-tool knife attached, Li Huowang emerged from the basement and walked toward the RV parked nearby.

Glancing at Qing Wanglai’s luxury car, he gave it a quick pat and unlocked the door with his key.

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Qian Fu bound tightly, his neck stretched out as far as possible, trying desperately to grab a dagger from the table beside him.

Li Huowang reached out, picked up the dagger, and tossed it into a pile of weapons on the table—collected from previous enemy strongholds.

Seeing his escape plan fail, Qian Fu became enraged. “What do you want from me?! Please! Let me go!”

Li Huowang walked over to the weapon pile and began sorting through them. “Qian Fu, calm down. It’s for your own good. Clearly, they’re after us. If you run off alone, they’ll catch you for sure.”

“Even though we took out their whole nest, we still don’t know if they’ll send more.”

Qian Fu stared at Li Huowang with wild eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “Is that what Qing Wanglai told you? He lied! He’s a big fraud!”

Seeing Li Huowang pick up a crossbow and aim with one eye closed, Qian Fu paled.

“Don’t believe him! He pretends to be nice, but it’s all an act! I used to work with him in the same hospital! He always lied to doctors, claiming he was cured, only to relapse and get locked up again!”

“You shouldn’t trust him! Don’t ever trust him!”

Li Huowang set the crossbow down and looked at Qian Fu. “I don’t trust him, but am I supposed to trust you? Sit still.”

“We don’t want to tie you up either. Once this mess is over, wherever you want to go, you can go. Even if you end up scavenging garbage on the streets, I won’t care.”

With that, Li Huowang ignored Qian Fu and focused on selecting his loot.

Though Qing Wanglai couldn’t get hold of guns himself, others had sent some over. Li Huowang held the heavy weapon carefully, examining it.

Holding it made him feel more secure. But despite having the weapon, he still didn’t know how to operate it.

Although he’d previously complained about Qing Wanglai’s medicine, he knew well that it was his “rule of law” that had played a crucial role in capturing them all.

Otherwise, with just a handful of people, taking them alive without getting hurt would’ve been nearly impossible.

After fiddling with it for a while, Li Huowang realized he didn’t even know how to eject the magazine or turn on the safety. He put it down.

He’d wait until Qing Wanglai had time to teach him.

Li Huowang picked up a military knife, a curved blade with a wide tip and narrow handle—commonly known as a dogleg knife. But he quickly set it aside.

This kind of blade was better suited for hacking than killing. Unless you hit a major artery, enemies could easily escape when adrenaline surged.

After a bit of searching, he finally selected a spear-shaped military knife.

The entire blade was black, thirty centimeters long, with a square-shaped hilt. The edge was razor-sharp, and the handle was wrapped in twine for grip—even if soaked in blood, it wouldn’t slip.

He raised it and thrust it straight at the dining table. The blade pierced through easily, making a hole.

Pulling it out, he looked at the deep gash and nodded in satisfaction. He picked another one and tucked it behind his back.

This was better—simple, portable, and discreet. Plus, no learning required.

(End of Chapter)