Supremely Talented Tyrant
Chapter 900 - 899: It's Just Psychological Warfare

"Ah!"

A scream resonated in a small room less than twenty square meters in size. At this moment, Zhou Xia's face was pale, devoid of any color, drenched in sweat with his hair soaked and hanging down. His shirt was also soaked, droplets of sweat trickling down the hem, falling to the ground. If he continued like this, severe dehydration was likely.

"Heh, can't take it after just three needles?!"

Ignoring the sweat on Zhou Xia's face, Hao Jian reached out and patted his cheek, a sly smile slowly curving on his lips as he said coldly, "Weren't you quite tough just now?!"

"You... you demon!"

The pain surging through his body constantly assaulted Zhou Xia's mind. He gasped for breath, his eyes fixed on Hao Jian, as a plea crept into his voice, "As long as you don't touch my family, I... I will... I will talk!"

"Haha! Do you have the right to bargain with me now?!"

Hao Jian chuckled lightly at Zhou Xia's words, though the depths of his eyes revealed a hint of mockery. He slowly reached into the box and took out the fourth Golden Needle, eyeing Zhou Xia with a slight smile, "I actually think that when I prick you with this needle, your expression will be even more entertaining, right?"

"I'll talk... I'll talk..."

As Hao Jian produced another Golden Needle, Zhou Xia's face suddenly changed, his body trembled as he looked in horror at the needle pinched between Hao Jian's fingers. His lips quivered as he spoke in a shaky voice.

"Go ahead..."

With a wave of his hand, the needle automatically jumped back into the box. Another wave quickly passed in front of Zhou Xia, making the three needles stuck in his body vanish simultaneously. His hand trembled slightly, letting the three needles slide back into the box, followed by a snap as the box was closed and placed aside.

"You must... promise me! After I tell you, you can't... can't trouble my family..." Without the needles, the pain melted away like snow and ice. After taking a few breaths, Zhou Xia, still filled with lingering fear, looked at Hao Jian and trembled out his words.

"That depends on whether the information you provide is valuable enough to be worth your and your family's lives." Fiddling with his fingers, Hao Jian smiled lightly, though to Zhou Xia, that warm smile resembled a devil's grin, making him dare not conceal anything.

Over the next half hour, Zhou Xia finally spilled everything he knew without holding anything back. As he spoke, Hao Jian's expression shifted from a smile to a blank stare, his eyes flickering with thoughts unknown.

From the side, Spice Ginger watched Zhou Xia as if he wanted to divulge even the fact that he wet the bed as a child, feeling an increasing admiration for Hao Jian. After all, Zhou Xia was a fierce character with incredible willpower that even amazed him. Yet, Hao Jian subdued him with just three needles, leaving Spice Ginger somewhat resigned.

Truly, Young Master Hao is impressive, Spice Ginger thought, shaking his head privately. He listened to Zhou Xia's words, and when Zhou Xia finished, Spice Ginger pulled out a small notebook, took out a pen, and began to record Zhou Xia's key information.

Once Zhou Xia's last word fell, Hao Jian expressionlessly turned and headed for the door. As Spice Ginger saw him leave, he quickly followed, closing the door behind him, ignoring Zhou Xia inside for the time being.

"Young Master Hao, is it true what you said about troubling his family?" Once the door was closed, Spice Ginger couldn't help asking, sliding his hand across his neck, "If you need, I can send someone to check it out right now; we should get news back quickly."

"Haha, do you think I, Hao Jian, would use someone else's family as a threat?" Upon hearing Spice Ginger's words, Hao Jian couldn't help but laugh, turning to look at him with a broad smile, "I was just using psychological warfare with him just now."

Upon hearing this, Spice Ginger's eyes narrowed slightly, a glimmer flashing in them as he seemed to have an inkling, hesitantly asking, "What do you mean by that?"

With Hao Jian's words, a suspicion formed in Spice Ginger's mind, but he wasn't sure it was accurate and wanted to confirm it with Hao Jian.

"The limit for most people to withstand my Nine Heavens Life-Claiming Needle is three needles. Although his willpower is stronger than the average person, he still can't stand the ravaging of a fourth needle. If I were to pierce him with a fourth needle, I can be sure he'd be dead for sure!"

"Since we can't use the fourth needle on ourselves, why are there so many needles?" After hearing Hao Jian's words, Spice Ginger became more confused, being only a gang leader; the methods of Hao Jian sounded somewhat mystical to him.

"Those beyond the fourth needle are not for ordinary people but are meant for those you've never seen, those who are much stronger and far more terrifying than average people..."

With Spice Ginger's prompting, Hao Jian chuckled and shook his head, unwilling to elaborate further.

Since the fourth needle couldn't be used on Zhou Xia, the advantage had to be seized through psychological warfare. After enduring the pain of three needles, the only thing that could breach Zhou Xia's psychological defenses was threatening the ones he cared about the most. Although this approach was somewhat low, he couldn't care less for those clues' sake.

Ultimately, it must be said that his method was very successful, as he learned the details of the incident from Zhou Xia's mouth.

The reason he didn't discover Ye Wenying entering Hua City was that someone was secretly assisting Ye Wenying, erasing traces of his arrival in a short time.

And that person was Ye Wenying's cousin named Zheng Yuanjie, a mid-level businessman in the country with a branch office in Hua City.

Previously, when Hao Jian investigated notable figures in Hua City, he also looked into Zheng Yuanjie but found no connections to the Ye Family or other influential families; thus, he overlooked him.

If it weren't for learning from Zhou Xia that Zheng Yuanjie and Ye Wenying collaborated against him, he would've remained in the dark.

"Young Master Hao, should I go capture that guy now?" Walking along the road, seeing Hao Jian silent for a moment, Spice Ginger couldn't help suggesting.

"Let's not take too much action for the time being. Just proceed as usual. They should be on guard, especially since you captured Zhou Xia. If they find out any information, they will surely devise counteractions, which would mean losing our advantage."

Contemplating for a moment, Hao Jian slowly shook his head and solemnly said, "I've just returned to Hua City and haven't determined yet whether your men have been exposed. Perhaps they're even watching you here..."

"This time, I'll handle it myself. You just position your men at key points; I'm worried Ye Wenying might slip away. You must heighten alertness regarding this aspect."

Upon saying this, Hao Jian clapped Spice Ginger on the shoulder with a gentle smile, "Don't feel guilty for not being able to assist me. Doing these is the best help you can offer right now."

"Yes! Young Master Hao!"

After hearing these words, Spice Ginger nodded vigorously.

"Oh, and give me a car key; I need to drive back." Seeing Spice Ginger nod, Hao Jian walked delightedly but paused after a few steps, turning back to Spice Ginger, hand outstretched and said helplessly.

"Okay!"

Immediately, Spice Ginger pulled a set of BMW car keys from his pocket and tossed them over to Hao Jian.

Catch in hand, Hao Jian grabbed the keys and walked out of the building, pressing a button on the car key as the car's sound echoed from a corner. He stepped toward the sound's direction...

"Vroom!"

Moments later, the roaring of a car engine emanated from the parking area, and a BMW 5 Series 528li sped out from the lot, merging onto the road and swiftly disappearing alongside traffic.

"Heh, can't believe that guy was right under my nose." Glancing at the small notebook, Hao Jian's lips slowly curled into a sly smile, eyes flickering coldly. He slammed the gas pedal as the car sped down the scarcely traveled road.

This notebook, taken from Spice Ginger, contained critical information from Zhou Xia, including the whereabouts of Zheng Yuanjie and details of how many mistresses he kept, all recorded.

Now, Hao Jian didn't borrow the car to drive back home but to head to Zheng Yuanjie's place to scout out, potentially gaining some useful information for planning his actions.

Even without such information, he could directly capture him and use the Nine Lives Claiming Heaven Needle to extract the truth.

The car, swift on the road, soon entered a wealthy villa district in the city. Although not the best in Hua City, it was still costly and scenic enough.

At least, people worth billions could afford it, though it was inferior to the one Hao Jian bought for Xiao Qiang, given the price difference.