Chapter 385: Poison Outbreak
After Zhuge Qingtian entered the dungeon, he located the students with explosive collars strapped to their necks, their faces filled with despair.
A cruel smile crept onto his lips as he gestured to a guard nearby for a whip.
“It’s time to give our guests a proper welcome!”
Under the hopeless gazes of Wu Chengyu and the others, the guards dragged them out.
Zhuge Qingtian personally carried out the tortures.
Inflicting punishment was a skillful task. A single misstep could strike a vital area, resulting in death.
Zhuge Qingtian, however, was an expert in the art of torture. He knew exactly how to inflict excruciating pain without causing fatal harm.
This time, the primary objective was to provoke Zhang Yi, break his spirit, and make future negotiations easier. Thus, the torment took on a theatrical flair, requiring a variety of methods.
Below the dungeon, agonized screams echoed continuously—not just physical torment but mental anguish as well.
Zhuge Qingtian gleefully held a recording device, capturing the most "exciting" moments on film.
However, as he filmed, he noticed something was amiss.
One of the students suddenly collapsed to the ground, their body convulsing violently as white foam poured from their mouth.
“Hm? What’s going on?”
These students were critical pieces in their plans; they couldn’t just die .
Zhuge Qingtian prided himself on his precise methods; there was no way his tortures could have resulted in death.
He stopped what he was doing and went over to examine the student.
After the student expelled the foam, they suddenly retched violently, spewing out a massive amount of vomit. A putrid stench filled the air around them.
Zhuge Qingtian was too close and took the brunt of the stench. His head spun from the smell, forcing him to retreat a few steps.
The student lay twitching on the ground, their condition worsening. A large wet patch formed around them as bodily fluids seeped out.
Zhuge Qingtian instantly understood. This was a classic case of poisoning, and the toxin had already taken effect.
Given the current state of medical resources, saving them was impossible.
As the student continued convulsing, another bound student started retching from nearby.
She struggled to hold back, her face contorted in pain, unwilling to give in. But after inhaling the nauseating stench, she couldn’t stop herself from vomiting a thick pile of sludge.
“How could they be poisoned?”
Zhuge Qingtian was baffled.
This wasn’t food poisoning; food poisoning wouldn’t cause such violent symptoms. Clearly, someone had drugged them.
As he pondered, several more students displayed similar symptoms.
A cold sweat formed on Zhuge Qingtian’s forehead.
If all these people died in his custody, there would be no explaining this to Xiao Honglian.
He hurriedly grabbed a communicator and reported the situation to Xiao Honglian.
Xiao Honglian’s brows knitted slightly. These students were still useful to her and couldn’t just die like that.
“They seem beyond saving. The poison is severe, and two have already died.”
“Flush their stomachs! Save as many as you can!” Xiao Honglian commanded.
Zhuge Qingtian had no choice but to order the preparation of stomach-flushing materials.
“Fetch some buckets of sewage water from the latrines!”
Soon, several large buckets of foul-smelling sewage water were brought to the dungeon.
The students who had yet to show symptoms turned pale as sheets.
“I’m not poisoned! I won’t drink that stuff!”
They’d rather die than drink the filth.
But this wasn’t up to them.
The guards restrained them tightly against the walls, forcing funnels into their mouths. Buckets of sewage were poured in without mercy.
Wu Chengyu and the others rolled their eyes back in despair, their expressions showing they’d lost all will to live. At that moment, their spirits were utterly broken.
After several buckets of sewage were forced down, the surviving students looked no better than the dead.
Zhuge Qingtian dared not continue the tortures, fearing he might accidentally kill them all.
He summoned a base doctor to examine the students.
When the doctor arrived, he pinched his nose and exclaimed, “What the h***!”
Despite his years of experience, he had never encountered such a scene.
Proper stomach-flushing procedures used specialized solutions—who in their right mind would use sewage that had been fermenting for who knows how long?
“Ahem, limited resources and time constraints forced our hand,” Zhuge Qingtian coughed awkwardly. “Dr. Li, bear with it and take a look.”
Dr. Li glanced at Zhuge Qingtian, who stood at a safe distance, his expression full of disbelief.
“Bear with it? You’re the one standing so far away!”
However, as Zhuge Qingtian was the base’s second-in-command, Dr. Li had to comply.
He donned several layers of masks before examining the students.
When he opened Wu Chengyu’s eyelid, he shook his head helplessly.
“The poison runs too deep. Flushing won’t help.”
Out of professional duty, he inspected each student.
He then turned to Zhuge Qingtian and concluded, “The toxins have accumulated in their bodies for a long time. Someone deliberately administered chronic poison.”
“With proper medical conditions, their lives might have been saved. But now, there’s nothing I can do.”
Zhuge Qingtian’s heart sank.
They had painstakingly captured these people, only to discover they were all doomed.
What was the point of their efforts?
Meanwhile, a nagging question grew in his mind.
Why had Gao Yuan’s satellite phone been found in their quarters?
Clearly, they lacked the strength to kill Gao Yuan’s team.
Could it be that someone else had wanted these students dead but couldn’t act directly, using them as pawns instead?
Zhuge Qingtian’s pupils contracted sharply.
“D*** it, we’ve been set up!”
“We’ve become someone else’s blade.”
He rushed to Xiao Honglian to relay his suspicions.
“These people were poisoned over time and deliberately placed in Xu Family Town. Gao Yuan’s satellite phone was used as bait to lure us there.”
“While I don’t know their endgame, it’s clear this was all part of someone’s plan.”
Xiao Honglian’s gaze turned sharp.
“But why? Using a group of poisoned rejects to trap us? That doesn’t harm us much.”
“Unless Zhang Yi’s own people wanted these students dead but couldn’t do it themselves?”
Adjusting his glasses, Zhuge Qingtian replied, “In any case, these people won’t survive past tomorrow. We thought we could use them to threaten Zhang Yi and extract some value. That idea is now unrealistic.”
What neither Xiao Honglian nor Zhuge Qingtian realized was that the plan was never aimed at them. They were merely tools in someone else’s scheme.
Still, adhering to a “waste not” principle, Xiao Honglian decided, “While they’re still alive, record a video and send it to Zhang Yi!”
“If he didn’t poison them, we’ll use this chance to squeeze some benefits out of him.”