Chapter 73: Biting Accusations and Exposure

“Enough.”

The Blood General raised a hand slightly, silencing the loud clamor of his underlings, and continued in a slow, unhurried tone:

“To kill Yin Hu without a sound, the culprit is most likely an Awakener within the Territory. That means the murderer is among the people present right now!”

“This is a silent provocation against me. For this, I am very angry.”

“So I have decided to personally conduct the investigation to find the murderer!”

“However, before the official investigation begins, I have decided to give the murderer a chance. If he steps forward now and explains his reasons clearly, I will give him an opportunity to atone. This is his last chance!”

Hearing the Blood General’s ultimatum, the faces of the six Awakeners besides Tie Shan changed drastically. What the Blood General said undoubtedly meant the murderer was one of them!

Who could it be?

Their hearts pounded violently, their gazes darting back and forth at each other, as if trying to judge who had made the move.

The underlings in the crowd looked at each other in dismay. Apart from their faint breathing, the open ground was dead silent.

No one stepped forward.

Behind the crowd, Chen Chong sneered inwardly. He had handled everything concerning Yin Hu cleanly and thoroughly. Even Sherlock Holmes himself might not be able to trace it back to him. And from the current situation, the Blood General was clearly focusing his attention on these senior Awakeners. Faced with such a clumsy threat, he naturally would not admit to it voluntarily.

“No one is willing to admit it? Very well. Now then, one by one…”

Moments later, looking at the dense mass of heads, the Blood General nodded indifferently, as if he had expected this. His cold gaze shifted to the seven Awakeners standing in a row at the front of the crowd, and he revealed a bloodthirsty smile:

“First, Tie Shan. Where were you on the night Yin Hu disappeared? Who can testify for you?”

It was obvious that the Blood General placed most of his suspicion on these squad-leader level figures. Facing the Blood General’s inquiry, Tie Shan raised his head without fear and shouted loudly:

“Reporting to General, that night I was in the vehicle depot overseeing vehicle maintenance and repairs. I didn’t return to my residence to rest until around two in the morning. The vehicle depot and the brothers on night duty can all testify!”

The Blood General nodded, then shifted his gaze to Gu Jun. Before he could ask, Gu Jun immediately spoke up:

“General, from morning to night I was on duty in the storage area. Except for meal times, I never left for a moment. The brothers on night watch can also testify.”

The Blood General shifted his gaze again. Li Bao quickly bowed and answered:

“Reporting to General, several brothers from our Hunting Squad were gathered together playing cards. We played until around one o’clock before going back to rest separately. All members of our Hunting Squad can testify for each other. General, please feel free to question them!”

Next, Zhang Long, Sun Yimao, Wang Qianlie, Qian Xu, and the other Awakeners also dared not delay and hurriedly recounted all their movements that night in detail.

“So, what you’re saying is, Yin Hu simply evaporated from his own room?”

After hearing the self-testimonies of the seven Awakeners present, the Blood General paced slowly, his voice chilling:

“All your testimonies only prove your movements for the first half of the night. What about the second half!?”

The Awakeners present couldn’t help but look at each other. Squad-leader level figures like them all had their own standalone houses and lived alone. Who else could provide them with an alibi?

Before they could even open their mouths to argue, the Blood General’s gaze swept over the four individuals Li Bao, Sun Yimao, Qian Xu, and Wang Qianlie, then he chuckled darkly:

“Li Bao, Sun Yimao, Wang Qianlie, Qian Xu, all four of you have had conflicts with Yin Hu, haven’t you? Especially you, Li Bao. Back then, when Yin Hu secretly introduced your wife and she became my plaything, you must have been very resentful, very unwilling…”

The Blood General spoke casually, but his tone revealed an indescribable eeriness and terror:

“To kill Yin Hu silently right under my nose, it probably wasn’t the work of one person. Did you collude with others in private, setting up a scheme in the dark to kill Yin Hu?”

The expressions of everyone present changed drastically.

Li Bao had once had a somewhat attractive wife named Li Yun, whom he had captured when encountering another Scavenger team. However, this Li Yun was no pushover. Although Li Bao hid her well, because the Hunting Squad often had to go out into the Wilderness, Li Yun secretly had an affair with Yin Hu in the Territory. Then, using some unknown method, she used Yin Hu as a stepping stone to enter the Blood General’s estate and serve by his side. This made Li Bao a laughingstock in the hearts of many, a man cuckolded.

This was the biggest grudge between Li Bao and Yin Hu, and also the shame in Li Bao’s heart, now cruelly exposed by the Blood General.

And now, hearing the Blood General’s words, Li Bao never expected he would be the first target. His scalp tingled, and all the hairs on his body stood on end. He cried out in terror:

“General, Yin Hu’s death absolutely has nothing to do with me! It was Li Yun’s fortune to be able to serve the General, and that was also her voluntary choice. How could I possibly resent the General? After I returned to my room to rest last night, I never went out again. Although no one can prove it, every word I say is true. If there’s any falsehood, may I die a terrible death immediately!”

“Oh?”

His crimson eyes stared mercilessly at the swearing Li Bao, and he chuckled darkly:

“So, you firmly refuse to admit it?”

In the Blood General’s view, the person most likely to have killed Yin Hu was undoubtedly Li Bao. Because Yin Hu’s death would both vent the fury in Li Bao’s heart and strike a blow to his own authority, killing two birds with one stone. And he didn’t care at all whether Li Bao admitted it or not. He was inherently an opinionated and self-willed man. Whatever he believed to be true required no evidence!

Clearly sensing the Blood General’s overwhelming killing intent, the nearly three hundred people present all felt their eyelids twitch violently. Li Bao was drenched in cold sweat, continuing to defend himself in terror:

“General, believe me, it absolutely wasn’t me! Even if I wanted to, I don’t have that ability. Who would dare risk such a great taboo to collude with me to kill Yin Hu!? And Awakeners who had grudges with Yin Hu aren’t just me. Sun Yimao, Wang Qianlie, Qian Xu, they all had conflicts with Yin Hu, they could have done it too!”

Under the gaze of the crowd, knowing the Blood General’s brutality well and understanding that his life hung by a thread, Li Bao looked terrified. Like a mad dog, he started wildly and recklessly biting out accusations:

“And Chen Chong! General, he is also an Awakener, and he even does night watch work. He could have done it too! All of these people could have!”

Within the dense crowd, a sudden silence fell. Behind the crowd, Old Xu vaguely heard Li Bao’s accusations and shook his head: “Kid, did you offend this guy? He wants to drag you down even as he’s dying!”

Chen Chong narrowed his eyes, his face expressionless.

At that moment, on the platform, the Blood General let out a scoff: “Chen Chong? Li Bao, do you think Chen Chong, an Initial Awakener who hasn’t even established himself in the Territory yet, could kill Yin Hu? Besides, what reason would he have?”

Li Bao was immediately speechless.

“Now that you mention it…”

At this time, at the front of the crowd, Gu Jun suddenly frowned and spoke up:

“The night before Yin Hu disappeared, Yin Hu did run into Chen Chong at my storage building. The two should have spoken briefly for a while, and Chen Chong seemed…”

“General, you heard that too!”

Hearing the first half of Gu Jun’s sentence, Li Bao seemed to have grabbed onto a life-saving straw and immediately shouted:

“Chen Chong might not be unrelated to Yin Hu’s disappearance! He should be interrogated first!”

Tie Shan also stepped forward, chuckling: “General, since Li Bao is unwilling to accept this, then let’s just grant his wish. Summon Chen Chong for questioning as well, so he can be convinced.”

In fact, neither he nor the Blood General had ever considered Chen Chong a suspect. The reason was simple: Chen Chong was just an Initial Awakener who had only arrived at the Territory half a month ago. Not only was his strength low, but there had been no word of any conflict between him and Yin Hu. In his view, Li Bao was now biting at Chen Chong simply because the two had once had a grudge.

“That works too.”

The Blood General raised an eyebrow, clasped his hands behind his back, and his authoritative gaze swept over the crowd. He said flatly:

“Where is Chen Chong? Step forward immediately!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Following the Blood General’s words, the crowd instantly stirred. The nearly three hundred underlings all looked around. At the very back of the crowd, Old Xu looked nervous, worriedly watching Chen Chong beside him.

“I really didn’t expect this…”

Chen Chong’s eyebrows rose, and a silent, fierce grin appeared on his face.

He truly hadn’t expected that he would be called to the front because of Li Bao’s wild accusations. More importantly, it was a complete coincidence that hit the mark.

Yet, he didn’t feel the slightest fear.

As the crowd searched and buzzed with noise, Chen Chong straightened his originally hunched figure, no longer hiding. His strong, iron-tower-like build immediately stood out among a group of malnourished underlings. Then, with ease, as if shooing away chicks, he pushed aside the crowd blocking his path and walked step by step toward the Blood General on the wooden platform.

At the same moment, the Blood General stood on the wooden platform, looking down from his high vantage point. He spotted Chen Chong immediately, walking over with a powerful, iron-tower-like physique. His viper-like eyes were suddenly filled with shock!