CHAPTER 483: CHAPTER 289 CAMP_1

This was a small room, cluttered with miscellaneous items. Inside, a Southeast Asian woman was arranging bath towels. Judging solely by her actions, it was hard to believe she had just killed her colleague.

Dean glanced along the corridor, checking if anyone was paying attention. Seeing no one, he no longer hesitated and walked briskly into the small room.

The woman seemed to hear the commotion and started to turn her head to see what was happening.

Before she could, a large hand shot out, accurately clamping over the lower half of her face. It stifled her cries while pressing her slender body firmly against the wall.

Seizing the opportunity, Dean pressed in, kicked the door shut, and pinned the woman against the wall, his voice cold, "I ask, you answer. Hesitate for even half a second..."

With his left hand, he grabbed the woman’s struggling fingers and squeezed hard!

Bone-crushing pain flooded her mind!

UGH!

The woman tried to scream, but Dean’s large palm smothered all sound. Her eyes bulged, and agony fueled a surge of strength far beyond her norm as she thrashed wildly.

But it was obviously in vain.

Against Dean’s brute strength, even a frenzied wild boar would have no chance of escape once restrained, let alone this frail woman.

This burst of energy came quickly and left just as fast.

More than ten seconds later, the restrained Southeast Asian woman was exhausted. Her body gradually went limp; only her breathing remained ragged from the intense pain, and she trembled uncontrollably.

There was not a shred of pity in Dean’s eyes.

He relaxed his grip on the woman’s mouth slightly and said in a low voice, "Tell me, how do you target tourists!"

As soon as he spoke, the woman’s wide eyes narrowed sharply. As the hand over her mouth loosened, she instinctively tried to scream for help.

Although Dean couldn’t see the woman’s facial expression, he seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. The hand that had just loosened pressed down hard once more, while his right hand grabbed her ring finger and squeezed again.

The fingers are connected to the heart!

This time, the woman’s reaction was even more violent.

Dean even detected a faint smell of urine.

With no outlet for her agony, the Southeast Asian woman beneath him had been driven to urinate by the sheer pain!

A brutal person does not necessarily possess a strong will.

Feeling the timing was right, Dean once again loosened the hand over the woman’s mouth and stated indifferently, "Since I’ve found you, it means I’ve already confirmed your identity. I’m not a cop, just the desperate brother of a missing person. Cooperate, and you still have a chance to escape. Otherwise, you’ll end up in a far more tragic state than those missing persons.

"You have three seconds. Only three seconds to consider!"

As he spoke, his right hand moved to the woman’s right index finger.

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"

Under the combined pressure of excruciating pain and the ticking clock, the Southeast Asian woman finally lost her composure and caved. "It’s a tracker. After selecting our targets, we secretly place a tracker in their backpacks. Once we notify our people, they follow the tracker to locate them. Then, they use methods like feigning to offer help or seeking it to find an opportunity to attack them!

"I have his phone number! Let me go, and I’ll give it to you!"

Unable to see the woman’s facial expressions, Dean had been listening intently to the rhythm of her speech ever since she started talking.

Normal people, even when telling the truth, go through a thought process. But under severe pain, this woman spoke such a long passage so smoothly. So, it was a lie—a premeditated falsehood, or rather, a script!

Regardless of whether her story was true or false, Dean tightened his grip on the woman’s index finger, crushing it.

WHIMPER!!!

The woman began to thrash in pain once more.

However, this time the commotion was much less; she had little strength left.

After crushing the woman’s finger, Dean waited for her to somewhat recover before stepping back. He allowed the woman, now too weak even to whimper, to slump to the ground. He then took out a lighter and held it to her other, uninjured palm.

"Did you know?" he asked.

"There’s a limit to how much pain a person can endure in a short time. Exceed that limit, and they go into shock. They only regain consciousness if the body adapts to the pain or experiences an even more intense stimulus.

"Such as fire.

"We still have plenty of time. Want to try?"

The woman lay on the ground, looking at Dean with utter terror.

The man before her involuntarily reminded her of some of her former comrades. More unsettlingly, his blue eyes seemed to effortlessly discern the truth of her words.

Clutching at straws, she pleaded fearfully, "I’ve already answered your question, you..."

SIZZLE.

The flame licked the woman’s palm.

The woman’s face twisted in pain, her eyes rolling back. Her psychological defenses completely crumbled. "I’ll talk!" she begged. "Stop burning me! I’ll tell you..."

Dean removed the lighter. "I don’t have much time to waste on you. Last chance!"

The woman gasped for air for a long moment before finally speaking, her voice devoid of life, "We send the information of hotel guests to the information department. If a guest plans to go to the mountains, we notify them immediately..."

...

The Southeast Asian woman’s name was Amanda.

As it turned out, Amanda and Murphy were members of an organization called ’Black Stone,’ belonging to its lowest tier.

They were only responsible for collecting information on tourists.

Between the two, Amanda was the senior, holding a slightly higher status.

Originally, if Cheston En had merely sought out Murphy to gather information, Amanda wouldn’t have resorted to killing her. After all, it was quite normal for a guest to see a room being cleared out and casually ask about it.