The phone rang for half a minute.
This call was initiated by Zhushi Jiu, who had already prepared himself for the worst-case scenario. Before making the call, he had already anticipated being traced. He needed to confirm whether the person who had found Bro CD first this week was from an organization or his old rival, the Black Troop Organization.
Zhushi Jiu didn’t want to waste any time waiting, so he dialed Bro CD’s number without hesitation. The phone’s ringing tone was particularly prominent in the desolate forest at night.
After waiting for about ten seconds, just when he thought the call would go unanswered, the phone was picked up.
“… Hello?”
Bro CD’s slightly trembling voice came from the other end of the line. Even though they were separated by the phone call, Zhushi Jiu could still imagine Bro CD’s frightened expression. There was no doubt that Bro CD was in a crisis, and he had been forced to answer the phone.
Zhushi Jiu was taken aback, almost immediately realizing something was amiss.
——Bro CD hadn’t been knocked out by a sedative! This discovery left Zhushi Jiu, who was originally prepared to confront the Black Troop Organization, secretly astonished.
In the fourth week, the Black Troop Organization had invaded the university campus and used sedatives on him and Li Hua. There was no doubt about that. However, there was no evidence to suggest that Bro CD had been sedated before them, so Zhushi Jiu hadn’t made any further assumptions about Bro CD’s situation at the time.
However, in the subsequent weeks, Zhushi Jiu’s plan to use Bro CD as bait had provided an answer to this question. He had let Bro CD stir up trouble online, and then the Black Troop Organization had found him through their online activity. The result was obvious: every time, the Black Troop Organization would release sedatives as soon as they made contact with Bro CD.
It was always like that, without exception.
In other words, no matter how he rewound, the Black Troop Organization would definitely use sedatives when contacting Bro CD!
But what about the current situation?
Bro CD hadn’t been knocked out, which led to a clear conclusion.
The person who had found Bro CD wasn’t from the Black Troop Organization.
Zhushi Jiu’s heart rate accelerated, and his breathing became slightly rapid.
It was like finding a village after a long journey, thinking he had already sunk into the darkness of the night, but Bro CD had made a breakthrough on the other side.
“… Hello? Boss?” Bro CD, seeing that Zhushi Jiu hadn’t responded, called out to him again.
Zhushi Jiu forced himself to calm down, trying not to get too excited.
He directly said, “Let the person beside you answer the phone.”
He made an effort to keep his tone calm and collected, mimicking the middle-aged man from the Black Troop Organization who always maintained a cold, aloof expression. He forced himself not to get too optimistic.
However, Bro CD was in danger, and that was certain. It was just unknown whether the person on the other side was a friend or foe.
“… Who’s beside me? Boss, you’re not making any sense! I don’t have anyone beside me.”
Zhushi Jiu coldly pressed on, “Don’t make me repeat myself — let the person beside you answer the phone.”
Bro CD’s trembling voice became even more anxious, “Boss, I’m telling you, I really don’t have anyone beside me!” The fear in his tone was unmistakable, and anyone could hear that Bro CD was panicking.
Zhushi Jiu thought he had figured it out in the first moment. The other side was trying to probe him.
This kind of probing was a normal thought process, facing a stranger who was not only an unknown ally but also a common enemy. If it were him, his first reaction would also be to probe, let alone the other side not knowing whether he was a friend or foe.
After all, he had only posted two pictures online without any explanations, and his stance might seem too ambiguous to the other side.
His emotions were extremely excited at this moment, having finally found a clue after dying so many times. He was like a lonely boat sailing through the vast night, originally thinking he had to face the storm alone, but had unexpectedly encountered another ship.
He urgently needed to communicate with the other side!
So, facing Bro CD’s doubts, he pretended to know everything and deduced the reasoning from the established facts.
Why did he think there was someone beside Bro CD?
Zhushi Jiu avoided mentioning the Black Troop Organization’s sedatives and answered, “I told you to call me every half hour, because I anticipated that someone would find you, so if you didn’t contact me on time, it would prove that something had gone wrong on your side.”
“… ” Bro CD didn’t speak, but Zhushi Jiu could imagine the “I’m gonna die” expression on his face.
Bro CD should have never told the person beside him about the agreement to call each other every half hour, so Bro CD didn’t mention it when he answered the phone. He just wanted to subtly hint to Zhushi Jiu that something was amiss on his side.
But Zhushi Jiu had suddenly poked holes in this, and Bro CD’s emotions should be in disarray.
Bro CD’s desperate and resentful voice came from the phone, “This only proves that I didn’t call you because of personal matters, which seems to have nothing to do with whether there’s someone beside me or not?”
Zhushi Jiu replied, “Do you remember our conversation when I made the appointment with you?”
“What? I’ve almost forgotten.”
“I told you that you could set an alarm clock, and I didn’t mind how you reminded yourself, as long as you didn’t exceed the five-minute limit.”
Zhushi Jiu clearly reiterated his previous words, explaining, “In that sentence, I used very obvious language inducement, seeming to give you freedom of choice but actually limiting your options to the simplest one — setting an alarm clock. Now, you tell me, what method did you use to remind yourself to call me on time?”
Zhushi Jiu was not only pressing Bro CD but also forcing the person beside him to decide how to respond.
Zhushi Jiu had learned this technique from the middle-aged man of the Black Troop Organization. In the fifth week, he had also been trapped by similar language inducement. He still remembered when he asked the middle-aged man, “What kind of organization are you?” and the man asked him back, “What do you want to know about the organization’s source, purpose, creed, and development direction?”
Identity Certificate – 56374
At that time, he didn’t know it was language inducement. But after the middle-aged man sent the Black Troop to take control of the situation, he detailed every language trap, including this technique.
It seemed to give the opponent freedom of choice but actually limited their options.
Now, Zhushi Jiu was using the fifth week’s technique, making it explicit and making himself seem like a more formidable opponent.
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