Pretending To Be A Boss-Chapter 359 - 43: The Beautiful Sanctuary Stronghold (Major Section)_5

Song Que nodded, gazing at the mask before slowly putting it on.

The moment he donned the mask, it was as if the evil smile etched into his very soul.

A dramatic change overtook Song Que.

...

...

Madam Wu couldn’t sleep.

No person, if bound by ropes and watched by a strange person wearing a terrifying mask, could possibly sleep.

Fear made her want to cry for help, but she was silenced by the evil and magnetic laughter emanating from the stranger’s throat.

"Before this, I’ve injected your husband and child, as well as that outsider, with a sedative. Not enough to kill anyone.

But I don’t like it when women scream and shout in front of me, so—"

The masked stranger made a shushing gesture with their finger.

"Otherwise, you will die, and before you do, you’ll be begging me to kill you."

Madam Wu, trembling, couldn’t utter a word as she stared at the mask.

"Don’t be so nervous, why so serious? Smile for me, quick, smile, or I’ll just cut your mouth wider."

Madam Wu forced an ugly smile.

The masked stranger said with disdain:

"That’s truly ugly. Can’t you smile with the same fake, disgusting grin as in this picture?"

A photo had appeared in the stranger’s hand.

It was the very same photo Song Que had seen in the daytime.

"Look, how happy the family of four looks in it. Seeing you all smile so joyfully makes me want to laugh too."

What followed was the piercing laughter of the masked stranger.

Madam Wu was petrified upon seeing the picture pulled out of its frame.

"Don’t be so scared. Shall I tell you an interesting story?"

"During the day, I met a pregnant woman. She had a big belly and looked terrified, with her husband beside her."

"Pre-natal depression might make one gloomy, but it doesn’t cause terror."

"The husband had guilt written all over his face, but his eyes held a glint of greed."

"So I wondered, what could the people of this fortress be worried about? Can humans even give birth to monsters?"

"Ah... Of course, monsters are impossible. Humans only give birth to waste, geniuses, and mediocrity. But it doesn’t make sense, does it? In such an equal fortress, even if one isn’t gifted, there’s nothing to worry about, right?"

The masked stranger’s eyes held confusion, and so did their expression, but the mask couldn’t convey it.

Thinking this, they suddenly felt they might not need a mask but makeup instead; perhaps a clown face to better express their emotions.

"The photo in the frame has clearly been edited, who would awkwardly put an unsized photo into a frame?"

"It’s probably because there was an extra person in the photo that shouldn’t have been there."

Madam Wu was completely stunned.

The bad memories surged back in her head.

"That’s right, this is the expression I’m looking for."

The masked stranger remarked:

"I’ve never believed in a world where the strong willingly share their resources equally with the weak.

If everyone could live harmoniously in one world, then who would strive for better?

It’s the unfairness and cruelty of the world that drive countless people to climb over others to reach the top.

But this fortress is truly unusual. Gifted ones alongside ordinary people swinging pickaxes. Despite their clearly insincere expressions, they willingly stay among a bunch of mining slaves, wasting time. How professional."

Madam Wu said:

"You... who are you? What are you trying to say?"

"You’re a gifted one too, aren’t you?" the masked stranger suddenly uttered.

Madam Wu’s eyes widened instantly.

"Your child and your husband, they’re all gifted too, right? The whole lower level... no, the entire fortress, there’s not a single non-gifted person, is there?"

Madam Wu shook her head frantically, trying to deny it.

The masked stranger spoke as though blind to her, as if only conversing with themselves, speaking for their own ears.

"The gifted ones have absolutely no role in the mines, so how does this fortress get its mineral resources?"

"The teleportation station was broken, yet no one went to repair it.

Even at night, it wasn’t any livelier than the day.

Women feared having children. Avoiding the same room as their husbands, could it be that they were traumatized by this matter?

The corner of a photo at home was torn off, but no one mentioned any news of a death.

So, everything about this fortress is a lie, isn’t it? You are all gifted, but where have the non-gifted ones gone?

Perhaps through another portal, to somewhere else?"

The terrifying laughter sounded once again. The masked stranger forced Wu to look into his eyes while laughing.

That laughter was like a knock on the door, constantly hammering at the black box deep inside Wu’s heart.

"Speak up, why don’t you? Rather than living with a sense of guilt, it’s better to just blurt it out. Don’t worry, I promised some rigid, boring fool that I wouldn’t kill you. But I am a bad guy, right? It’s understandable for a bad guy to break his word, isn’t it?"

"I hope you cooperate with me nicely so I can be an honest bad guy."

Wu had never thought that mere language, a gaze, and a bizarre laugh could instill such profound fear in her.

The masked stranger looked at Wu’s near-breaking countenance, raised the photo, and said:

"I’ve guessed already, but now is your chance to atone. Tell me, where has the other person in the photo gone?"

Unable to bear the torment any longer, Wu broke into loud sobs.

The masked stranger slapped her hard, blood oozed from the corner of Wu’s mouth, and her crying stopped abruptly.

"Time is precious for everyone, can we start your performance as soon as possible? How about this, for every ten seconds you remain silent, I will cut off one of your fingers?"

The tone, as if inviting the other party to a game, was precisely what suffused Wu with a choking fear.

She finally dared not hide any longer and started, crying as she spoke:

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"The person missing from the photo... is my daughter, Lu Lingyi..."

"So where did she go? Is she dead?"

A new wave of pain surfaced on Wu’s face.

The impatient masked stranger glanced at the time, frightening Wu into hurriedly saying:

"She went to the sacred land... to the sacred land! She’ll never return!"

"Isn’t this the sacred land?"

"No... It’s another sacred land, rich in mines. Lingyi and all those without gifts, they are trapped there, endlessly digging the mines... I haven’t seen her for many years."

"Another sacred land? I need to remind you, humans cannot survive seven days in the mines. Do you think I’m gentle and easy to fool? It’s really upsetting."

The masked stranger was about to forcibly break Wu’s finger.

Wu panicked and said:

"I’m not lying to you! It’s true! Those without gifts can survive indefinitely in the mines!

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

And this fortress... this fortress..."

"Go on!"

"Yes, everyone in this fortress without gifts... will be sent to the sacred land, endlessly mining resources for the fortress!"

Even the usually mocking masked stranger seemed to experience a jolt of surprise.

Non-gifted individuals could survive a full seven days in the mines?

This was unknown even to those in the evolution zone.

The masked stranger’s tone became more vicious:

"So it means, indeed, there isn’t a single non-gifted person in this fortress because all non-gifted individuals, upon reaching a certain age, are sent to that place called the sacred land without even the chance to go to the education district?"

"Yes... Yes."

"How long has it been."

"What?"

"I’m asking, how many years has this system been in place?"

"It should... be thirty years, I guess?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, hear that, naive fool? This really is a blissful fortress where everyone is happy, with no oppression and no exploitation."

Hearing this, the masked stranger suddenly became cheerful, as if boasting to someone else that he had guessed it right; Wu didn’t know to whom he was speaking.

Only the face of the masked stranger, though concealed by the mask and invisible—

but Wu suddenly felt a sense of deja vu in those eyes, mixed with a trace of pity.

After a long while, the masked stranger spoke again, his voice seemingly altered in pitch, the entire demeanor of the masked stranger had changed.

"I ask you, do you still wish to see your daughter again?"