"[Step One: Restrain the prisoner Hoolay's movements and inject a sufficient dose of anesthetic to render its body immobile while keeping its brain fully conscious, then play the documentary The Sky-Shatter General in the Borisin Tribe in front of it.]"
"[Step Two: Continue playing A Bite of Borisin.]"
"[Step Three: Inject the prisoner Hoolay with laughing gas, forcing it to laugh while watching.]"
"[Step Four: Record the entire process on video and send it to the Borisin Protection Base.]"
"[Step Five: Have the News Division vigorously promote this incident.]"
"[Step Six: Create a social media account for the prisoner Hoolay and stuff the phone into... uh, this part we won't read aloud; it'd never pass review if we did.]"
Listening to these utterly inhuman lines, Jing Yuan couldn't help but press a hand to his forehead: "By the way, doesn't doing all this violate the Galactic Law?"
Qingque: "Oh, it says right here that Borisin are not covered under the protections of the Galactic Law."
"So it ends up getting cyberbullied to death by its own kind? Truly tragic..." Jing Yuan sighed, then suddenly realized something and quickly asked: "Hold on, what did you say the title of this paper was again?"
Qingque answered matter-of-factly: "One Hundred Methods to Kill Hoolay, of course."
"Then what we just heard was...?"
Qingque waved her hand dismissively: "Just the first one—small potatoes."
"That's only the first one?!"
Qingque: "Of course. Did you think we'd kill Hoolay with just this one trick? That'd be way too childish. This is a ferocious beast that can't be killed by physical means no matter what—a ferocious beast! Get it?"
Jing Yuan's mouth twitched slightly: "Alright then, continue."
Qingque cleared her throat and went on: "Next is the second method. Step One: Use Special Drug A to transform the prisoner Hoolay's body into the form of a normal female Borisin, then restrain its movements."
"Step Two: Find a Borisin death row inmate in the prison, perform a sex change procedure on it, and lock the two in the same cell to observe the reaction."
"Step Three: Summon painters and self-media platforms..."
The three silently imagined the scene, and suddenly they could understand why the once ferociously terrifying Hoolay now looked on the verge of death.
The first two methods were already cruel enough—what about the remaining ninety-eight?
By the time they were all implemented, even Hoolay itself probably wouldn't want to live anymore, right?
But after hearing about the tortures Hoolay had endured, Feixiao hesitated for a moment before speaking up: "General Qingque, I believe after all this, Hoolay must be as good as dead mentally... but I still want to check it with my own eyes and confirm its condition."
"This beast is, after all, the archenemy of us foxians. As long as its status remains unclear, some people won't be able to rest easy."
"Of course, that's no issue." Qingque nodded indifferently: "We have three Generals here anyway. No matter how capable Hoolay is, it absolutely can't cause any trouble right under our noses."
After inputting the relevant keycode, the only cell on this lowest level—a massive bronze door—slowly creaked open. Inside was pitch black, as if no living thing existed.
But soon, a breath unique to a ferocious beast emanated from behind the door:
"Ha..."
That sound was eerie and chilling, as if it came from the depths of the underworld. The ground seemed to tremble next, and a gigantic Borisin clad in heavy armor with razor-sharp claws and fangs slowly emerged, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression.
This was the Borisin warlord, Hoolay.
"General Qingque, didn't you just say you'd used all one hundred mental torment methods? How come Hoolay doesn't look affected at all?" Huaiyan stared straight at the beast before them, veins subtly bulging on his massive muscles.
If anything seemed off, he would suppress it immediately.
Qingque, on the other hand, appeared far more composed. She waved her hand casually, smiling: "Don't worry, Lord Huaiyan. If Hoolay still had any aggression left, I'd resign on the spot."
Hoolay slowly approached the group. Whether it was their imagination or not, they all felt that Hoolay's gait was a bit awkward, and its eyes didn't look quite right—
"—"Hachimi mì fēng běn wèi cǎi huā sǐ~ Ai Liáng Shān bó wèi Zhù Yīng tái~"
(it's a mix of hachimi song and the Chinese military dance, midu mountain song) [=6asDdEFlccA]
As Hoolay kept hissing, it started babbling nonsense from its mouth, singing while sitting on its haunches like a puppy, tongue lolling out and tail wagging—a perfect picture of a loyal hound!
Qingque patted Hoolay's head and said: "Please look, Generals. The current Hoolay has been conditioned to be no different from a pet dog. Even if you let it out, it has no attack capability whatsoever. You could even take it outside for a walk as a pet."
"This is... rather unexpected."
Feixiao and Huaiyan exchanged a surprised glance. The former pondered for a moment before asking: "But... what if it's faking it?"
Huaiyan nodded: "Exactly. Borisin are cunning by nature, and their warlord Hoolay even more so. It's entirely possible it's playing dumb to lower our guard and wait for a chance to escape."
"Rest assured, gentlemen—that was just a little joke. Hoolay is an Alliance heavy criminal. Even if the conditioning has succeeded, as a General, I couldn't possibly take it out in public. As long as it's locked in its cage, whether it pretends or not makes no difference."
The two nodded slightly: "In that case, then..."
Boom!
At that moment, the entire Shackling Prison seemed to shake. Everyone instinctively looked up, faces alert: What just happened?
Why did it have to happen right after Hoolay was let out?
Fortunately, even with this sudden disturbance, Hoolay just sat obediently in place, wagging its tail, showing no sign of stirring up trouble.
A while earlier.
Bailu arrived at the Shackling Prison to start her shift as required. Her job was simple and boring, boiling down to just one word: stand.
As long as she stood for eight hours straight, she could clock out.
Before starting, Bailu thought it over seriously and took Mok Tok out of her pocket—the one who had nearly suffocated. She grinned: "Little Borisin, you go take a stroll around nearby for now. When I get off work, I'll take you to eat something yummy. You absolutely mustn't run off, okay?"
Mok Tok nodded obediently, looking utterly harmless.
"Good boy!" Bailu laughed and slowly released her grip on Mok Tok...
Whoosh—!
The instant she let go, Mok Tok shot out like an arrow from a bowstring, vanishing from Bailu's sight before she could even react.
Bailu: "...Huh?"
Had she... just been tricked by a Borisin? Why?
...
"What a bunch of lunatics!"
After sprinting madly for several minutes, Mok Tok finally stopped in a corner, panting heavily while cursing: "Treating me like a pet? Stupid Xianzhou people!"
"But luckily, despite some hiccups along the way, I've at least made it to the Shackling Prison. If I search in secret, I should be able to find Lord Hoolay's..."
As Mok Tok pondered his next plan, a cluster of azure-green flames suddenly ignited behind him, accompanied by a ghostly voice: "Young one, do you want to become stronger?"
"Who's there?!"
Mok Tok startled, his whole body arching up. He stared at this flame that had suddenly spoken, a thought flashing in his mind as he said in surprise: "You... are you Heliobus?"