"This is so weird! How have we been walking for so long without reaching that hacker headquarters? The farther we go, the more distant the sounds get, but there are no other paths around here…"
March 7th scratched the back of her head. Could it be that this reservoir had multiple tunnels, and the one they were on didn't connect to the hackers' base? That didn't seem right either. Then where did this hacker Wende was carrying pop out from? Do hackers randomly spawn in this underground reservoir?
"It is strange, but according to the map, we're on the right path. And from what we've seen so far, that masked merchant has some semblance of a conscience; at least the things he noted on the map have been true."
Putting the map back in his pocket, Wende also felt a little uncertain. After all, the man was a Masked Fool. Judging by their character, it wouldn't be surprising if the map was half-truth, half-lie.
Thinking of this, Wende took out another map. This was the one Veyl had given him. Although its contents weren't as detailed as the masked merchant's, it could still be used as a reference.
Veyl's map had very few clues about the underground reservoir; she had only marked its specific exit. However, it was worth noting that next to the reservoir's location on the map, there was a line of very elegant handwriting that read, "Be careful of the hackers in the underground reservoir."
If she was referring to the kind of hacker who charged in recklessly only to be electrocuted into oblivion by him, then Wende had nothing to worry about. But as the leader of "Phantom Light," anything she would specially make a note of would be no simple matter.
However, turning back now was clearly unrealistic. The Cinder Gang had probably already sealed the path…
Did that mean they had no choice but to keep moving forward?
This feeling of being led by the nose was a bit uncomfortable, but Wende was still curious about the Masked Fool's true purpose.
Was it merely to get on good terms with the Express crew? For them, wouldn't blowing up the Express again be more in line with their concept of [Elation]?
Putting Veyl's map away as well, Wende decided to stop thinking about these useless things. The priority was to get out of here first.
"Let's go. Don't worry about that hacker base; it's not our objective," Wende said, turning to March.
"Oh, right. Then what do we do with this guy?" March asked, pointing to the hacker on Wende's shoulder.
"We'll put him down when we reach a relatively safe place. The Legendary Tower is definitely not an option."
The dangers at the Legendary Tower were far greater than here. He also wondered how the defensive lines in front of the new and old districts were holding up, and if they could last until the crew dealt with the Stellaron at the tower.
"Oh! Why don't we wake him up and ask him how he got in! What if he knows the way forward?"
Little March clapped her hands together, her train of thought unusually clear as she presented her idea to Wende.
"Er… right. Why didn't I think of that?"
Wende slapped his forehead. He had actually forgotten something so simple…
He decisively put the hacker down from his shoulder and silently condensed a pure white lightning needle. Wende's gaze was extremely dangerous as he looked at the peacefully unconscious hacker.
Sorry about this. It's going to hurt a bit, but just bear with it!
Pshhh…
Wende directly inserted the needle into his philtrum, at a point one-third down from the top and two-thirds up from the bottom. However, considering that hackers on Punklorde all had an external chip in their brains, Wende was considerate enough not to angle the needle upwards, instead choosing a suitable angle for insertion.
"Hiss…"
March and Dan Heng, seeing Wende's action, couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. They then looked at Stelle with a complicated expression.
After all… Stelle had been woken up by this very needle back then. It's just that…
Let's just say, March still suspected that Stelle's amnesia might have been caused by Wende zapping her with that lightning needle…
"Hm? Why are you all looking at me?"
Feeling their strange gazes, Stelle subconsciously touched her nose. Why did that spot suddenly feel a faint, stabbing pain? Was it just her imagination?
Then, under the horrified gazes of the others, Wende inserted the three-inch-long lightning needle into the hacker's philtrum…
Thump… Thump… Thump!
"Hngh! Mmph! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
A blood-curdling scream that sounded like it could pierce the heavens echoed throughout the entire tunnel. The hacker, who had been knocked out by Wende's electricity, shot his bloodshot eyes open. His pupils trembled uncontrollably, his fingers contorted, and his entire body began to twitch on the ground. The heart-wrenching screams were continuous, so miserable that they made one's skin crawl just from hearing them.
This wasn't from the lightning needle's current. This was being jolted awake from a "peaceful" coma, having one of the most sensitive acupoints instantly pierced by a three-inch "pure Yang" lightning needle. The pain was comparable to having a barbed toothpick jammed under an ingrown toenail, then having that same toe smashed into a solid wood door at a hundred miles per hour!
"AAAAAHHH! AAAAAHHHH!!!"
"Er… are you sure this is waking him up and not torturing him?" Himeko unconsciously rubbed the goosebumps that had popped up all over her arms from the shock, a hint of horror in her eyes as she looked at Wende.
"Hmm… it should be? After all, this is my first time using a Yang needle to awaken an unconscious person. Logically, it should be very effective."
Wende stroked his chin, momentarily falling into doubt himself.
Only Jingliu's mouth twitched. Using a scorching hot pure Yang needle to stimulate one of the most painful parts of the body, and this person even had a chip in their brain… with a three-inch needle no less…
Jingliu suddenly felt that the interrogation methods in the Prison of Shackling Song were pathetically weak in comparison…
"Sigh, so fragile. Stelle didn't have this big of a reaction back then," Wende shrugged helplessly.
"HUH?!"
Stelle's eyes instantly cleared up. No wonder Dan Heng and March were looking at her so strangely earlier… Waking up… could it be that when she awoke on the space station, the culprit behind her head feeling like it was about to explode… was Wende?!
"Actually… it's not that she didn't have a big reaction. It's just that you completely forgot, right?" March muttered, recalling Stelle's reaction at the time.
"Alright, alright, let me treat him a little…"
Wiping the non-existent sweat from his brow, Wende forced a benevolent expression and slowly spoke to the hacker on the ground.
"Don't worry, just bear with it and it'll be over soon."
As he spoke, he took out another jet-black lightning needle.
As long as Yin and Yang blended together, balancing the power of the Yang needle he had just injected, there shouldn't be a big problem.
Hacker's POV
A tall man holding a black needle was approaching him with a bizarre smile, aiming to stab him…
"You… You, don't you come near me-ya!!!!!"