"I don't mind, I don't mind. It's not violent at all. I-I-I think that you were already very gentle under the circumstances at that time. Really!"
Li Yao heard Daniel Zhang cry in a sharp and shrill voice. "Don't kill me. Please don't kill me. I don't know anything, and I don't want to know anything. I was forced to do it. Really. I'm very honest and obedient. Please don't kill me!"
"Relax, Mr. Zhang."
The hunter let out a low laugh. "If we wanted to kill you, we could've done it in the neighborhood. You don't look like an 'Awakened'. A fireball could've burned you up, just like countless mysterious cases of spontaneous combustion. We didn't have to go through the trouble of inviting you here, did we?"
"Seems like it. Huff. That's true."
Daniel Zhang breathed heavily and swallowed hard. He said in a trembling voice, "You don't have to be so polite to call me 'Mr. Zhang'. I'm just an ordinary down-and-out web novelist. I'm not qualified to be a teacher. You can just call me 'Xiaoniu' or 'Ah Niu'!"
"That's inappropriate."
The hunter said casually, "Although we haven't figured out what kind of weird secrets are hidden in your body, you are at the center of the vortex inexplicably. We have to give you the necessary respect. How about I call you 'Mr. Niu' like that college student? Mr. Niu, your heartbeat and blood flow are too fast, and the secretion of adrenaline is abnormal. You are in a state of extreme panic. You seem to be very scared of us."
"No, no. I know that you are all from the Ark Foundation. You are all very righteous and kind people. You will never kill the innocent!"
Daniel Zhang stammered. "You … you are not here to kill me. So, you are here to protect me? I-I understand now. The killings against the creators of the fantasy world were all done by the 'Apocalypse Organization'. You are not the same as them, right? "
"Oh?"
Li Yao seemed to see the hunter raise his eyebrows slightly with a half-smile on his face. "Mr. Niu, you even know about the 'Apocalypse Organization'?"
"Yes, I've seen the news report."
Daniel Zhang quickly said, "They were the ones behind the T3 Game Expo shooting, and the deaths of Blood and Sand's author, Gilson, and Bio Hunter's author, Takaya Yoshihiro, are all related to them! They are the cold-blooded, inhumane, and unscrupulous superhumans, while the Ark Foundation is the good guys who are going against them, protecting the creators of fantasy worlds like me. That must be it, right? "
"Your erudition is truly astonishing."
"Where did you learn so much about the 'Ark Foundation' and the 'Apocalypse Syndicate'? Did the college student tell you all of that?" The hunter asked nonchalantly.
"Let's say 90%. He told me 10%."
Daniel Zhang said, "The other 90% were deduced by myself with my extraordinary wisdom and meticulous logical thinking."
"What an outstanding logical deduction ability, so —"
The hunter smiled. "You're not afraid anymore, are you?"
"Of course, of course I'm not afraid anymore!"
Daniel Zhang heaved a long sigh of relief and beamed with joy. "Since you're really the good guys from the Ark Foundation, it's easy. I-I've admired the Ark Foundation for a long time. Really, I'm speaking from the bottom of my heart. I believe that you'll never hurt me. In fact, there's a voice echoing in my head over and over for the past two days, telling me to 'Eliminate the Apocalypse Tyranny, and the world belongs to the Ark.' To be honest, when I see you, it's like seeing a relative. You look very much like my second uncle, really. Of course, the color of your hair is different, and I won't lie about that. But in other places, your eyes, no, your nose, and your mouth are exactly the same. When I was young, I often went to my second uncle's mountain to pick bayberries to eat. He treated me very well, even better than my own father. I'm not lying to you.
Boom! Crack!
Between heaven and earth, thunder rumbled, as if there were really ten thousand lightning dragons roaring toward the Wealth Building. Under the guidance of the lightning rod, they lingered around the building and were channeled into the ground.
Even Li Yao's earphones were squeaking, almost deafening him.
Li Yao took off his earphones, spat, and dug out his bleeding ears.
When he put on his earphones again, he heard the hunter's low and cold laughter again.
"I admire your logical deduction ability, and I'm honored by your kindness. However, there's a small misunderstanding here. I'm afraid you've made a mistake."
The hunter said unhurriedly, "We're not from the Ark Foundation. On the contrary, we're from the Apocalypse."
"… Huh?"
Daniel Zhang was stunned for a while before he said, "Yes, I know you're from the Apocalypse. Didn't I just say that I've always admired the Apocalypse? I've been yearning to join the organization. Even in my sleep, there's a voice that keeps telling me, 'Destroy the tyranny of the Ark, and the world belongs to the Apocalypse.' Including the T3 Games Expo shooting, the deaths of the authors of 'Blood and Sand' and 'Jungle Hunter,' they were all done by the Ark Foundation. Then, they framed the Apocalypse. These bastards are really sinister, cunning, despicable, and shameless. If this can be tolerated, what else can I tolerate?"
"You …"
The hunter was also silent for half a minute. It seemed that he rarely encountered a breed like Daniel Zhang. After thinking for a long time, he said, "You're wrong again. The T3 Games Expo shooting, the deaths of the authors of 'Blood and Sand' and 'Jungle Hunter,' were indeed done by the Apocalypse."
"… Ah, right? Like I said, this, this, in fact, is not a big deal!"
Daniel Zhang said, "Celestial World is a bloody and violent game that's full of fighting and killing. It should've been banned a long time ago. Now, the game's creator himself has died in a shooting. This, this is the cycle of justice, and he only has himself to blame!
"As for 'Blood and Sand,' it's also a work of extremely vile nature. The author seems to be deliberately teasing the readers. Whichever character is more popular and liked, he'll cut off their heads in the next book. Now, the author is dead, and the readers finally don't have to suffer this kind of torture. How refreshing!
"Let's not talk about 'Jungle Hunter.' It hasn't been finished for more than 20 years. It's on hiatus every now and then. The author would rather go out and play mahjong than draw a few more pages. It's really infuriating. Countless readers want to send blades to the author's house. Fortunately, the Apocalypse was one step ahead and got rid of the evil for the people. Otherwise, I would've wanted to kill the author.
"But, hunter, no, Uncle Smith, look at me carefully. I, Xiao Niu, am innocent. I'm different from those people. My works are full of positivity, passion, love for the motherland, and very positive energy. My protagonist doesn't even have a mistress! Moreover, I'm diligent in updating and never make the readers unhappy. Besides, my novels don't have the influence of 'Celestial World' at all. Even if it's a bad influence, it's only one or two kids at most. The community police station dealt with me. You're such a big superpower organization, there's no reason for you to deal with a nobody like me. This, this, this, this doesn't make sense! "
"Calm down, Mr. Niu."
Hunter couldn't quite get used to Daniel Zhang's way of speaking. Of course, Li Yao, who was hiding under the overpass, couldn't stand it either. He raised his voice slightly, and the sound waves contained a sense of tranquility. "I've said before that if I wanted to kill you, I would've done it on the spot. The reason why I invited you here is that I hope to communicate with each other in a gentler and gentler way to reach a deeper level of cooperation. Don't you want that?"
"Yes, of course!"
Daniel Zhang swallowed his saliva. "Gentleness is good, gentleness is good. We're all gentle people. What can't we talk about? Uncle Smith, as long as you don't kill me, I'll tell you everything I know!"
"Don't call me 'Uncle Smith', call me 'Hunter'!"
Hunter suddenly raised his voice. He was actually a little affected by Daniel Zhang. He was stunned for a moment before he recovered his calm and indifferent tone. "First of all, let's talk about that college student. He tortured 'Tattooed Tiger' quite a lot. He's at least a 'Deep Seer'. Oh right, you fainted at the time, so you don't know about this.
"The problem is, before he encountered us, he first took you from the Ark Foundation, so he's not from the Ark Foundation. Then who is he? What force does he belong to?
"No, no, no, don't tell me the superficial information. Of course, I know that he's a fourth-year graduate from Jiangnan University of Technology. His name is Li Yao, and he happens to have the same name as the protagonist in your novel. But this information doesn't explain anything. Tell me some secret, unknown, and the most crucial information. Believe me, your honesty will make both of us very happy."
"I'm honest, I'm honest, I'll tell you!"
Daniel Zhang panted heavily, as if he was recalling the short day he spent with Li Yao. Then, he said in a shrill voice, "I, I remember now. He does have an unknown, deeply hidden secret. He's a very dangerous guy!"
"Oh?"
Hunter said, "What do you mean?"
"His mentality is very twisted. He has a hobby of cross-dressing, which is the legendary 'trap.'"
Daniel Zhang said, "So, you must be careful of those very masculine looking women. They might be him in disguise!"
Hunter: "…"
Li Yao: "…"
Li Yao looked around. Otherwise, if the storm was too heavy and there were no taxis around, he really wanted to take a taxi and leave!
"We, we're not interested in his or your private life."
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