Chapter 35: The Backlash of Malice, Bang Geng Scared Out of His Wits

"What's wrong? Too scared to go through with it?"

Chen Mo looked at Bang Geng, who was trembling like a leaf in the wind, his face drained of all color, and released his grip. The awl clattered to the ground.

Bang Geng seemed to have all the strength drained from his body; he collapsed to the ground, a wet patch rapidly spreading across his crotch as the stench of urine filled the air. Once again, he had been scared into wetting himself.

"Trash."

Chen Mo stood up and looked down at him, his face filled with unconcealed contempt. "You don't even have the guts to kill someone, yet you try your hand at an ambush? With your pathetic level of skill, you're not even fit to lace the shoes of that vampire mother of yours."

Humiliation—raw, naked humiliation. This remark stung worse than a physical beating. Bang Geng's face instantly flushed a liver-like purple. He wanted to retort, but not a single word could escape his throat. In front of Chen Mo, all his posturing and malice felt like a joke.

"Do you think I don't dare to touch you?" Chen Mo's voice suddenly turned cold. He reached into his coat and took out the cloth pouch containing his silver needles once more.

Seeing those silver needles glinting with a cold light under the moonlight, Bang Geng’s pupils contracted sharply, and he scrambled backward uncontrollably. The week of hellish torture brought on by the "venting needle" last time was a nightmare he could never forget.

"You... don't come any closer!"

"Knowing fear now? It's too late."

Chen Mo pulled out a long, slender silver needle and twirled it gently between his fingertips. "You wanted me dead, didn't you? I'm a fair man. Whatever thoughts you had toward me, I'll let you experience them yourself, firsthand."

"This needle is called the 'Malicious Rebound Needle'." Chen Mo walked slowly toward him, his voice calm yet cruel. "Once inserted, you won't die, nor will you be crippled. However, everything you just thought about doing to me, you will experience for yourself, in vivid detail."

"You wanted to use a wooden stick to make me crash my bike? Then you will feel yourself flying off a speeding bicycle, your bones shattering."

"You wanted to use an awl to pierce my heart? Then you will experience the agonizing pain of a blade tearing through skin and muscle, driving straight into your heart."

"That sensation will loop in your mind, over and over again. Every time, it will feel incredibly real. You will clearly feel yourself dying, only to wake up in excruciating pain, and then die all over again. How about it? Are you satisfied with this punishment?"

Listening to Chen Mo’s description, Bang Geng was scared out of his wits. What kind of dark magic was this? It was far more terrifying than death!

"No! Please, no! I was wrong! I was truly wrong! I’ll never dare to do it again!" He knelt on the ground, kowtowing frantically to Chen Mo, his face a mess of snot and tears. "I beg you, let me go! I’ll be your servant, I’ll do anything! I’ll never have evil thoughts again!"

"Too late."

Chen Mo gave him no chance. He stepped forward and tapped a point on the back of Bang Geng’s neck. Bang Geng felt his neck go numb, and his entire body froze, unable to move. He could only watch helplessly as Chen Mo aimed the glinting silver needle at the crown of his head.

"The Baihui acupoint, the gateway to the spirit. Let’s clear out that filthy head of yours."

With a flick of his wrist, Chen Mo drove the needle precisely into the Baihui point atop Bang Geng's head.

"Aaaah!"

Bang Geng let out a shrill, inhuman scream. He felt an icy, piercing current shoot down from the needle and drill straight into his brain. In the next second, the scene before his eyes shifted.

He saw himself riding a speeding bicycle. Suddenly, a thick wooden stick thrust out from the side.

"Bang!"

He and the bike went flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Crack!"

He clearly heard the sound of his own bones snapping, and agony washed over his entire body. Before he could even scream, he saw a blurred figure holding an awl, stabbing viciously toward his heart.

"Squelch!"

The cold tip of the awl pierced his chest. He could clearly feel his heart being punctured, warm blood gushing from the wound, his life force fading rapidly. Suffocation, coldness, endless darkness...

Just as he thought he had finally died, the scene before his eyes shifted violently again. He was back on that small path, riding the speeding bicycle. Then, the stick appeared, the crash, the heart being pierced... The cycle of death had begun.

Once, twice, ten times, a hundred times... Each death was incredibly real and excruciatingly painful. Bang Geng’s psyche was repeatedly torn apart and crushed in this endless experience of dying.

In reality, he was simply lying on the ground, convulsing violently, emitting incoherent roars, his eyes rolled back, and foam bubbling from his mouth, looking exactly like an epileptic having a seizure.

Chen Mo watched him coldly, without a shred of pity. To deal with a villain who was rotten to the core, any mercy would be a cruelty to oneself. Only by instilling the deepest terror could he carve an indelible mark into that twisted heart.

After a full ten minutes, Chen Mo finally withdrew the silver needle. Bang Geng’s convulsions gradually ceased. He lay on the ground, his eyes vacant, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, a limp heap of flesh, having completely lost consciousness. His mind had been utterly destroyed.

Chen Mo did not leave immediately. Instead, he dragged Bang Geng to the main road. Then, he got on his bicycle and pedaled toward the steel rolling mill. Not long after, he returned to the scene with two security guards.

"That's him," Chen Mo said, pointing to the unconscious Bang Geng. "I was heading home from work when this kid suddenly jumped out of the bushes, trying to hijack my bike. I subdued him, and he must have been so terrified that he ended up like this."

The security guards were shocked when they saw the state he was in.

"Wait... isn't this the little brat from the Jia family?" one of the guards recognized him. "This kid’s hands have always been sticky; it’s not the first time he’s been caught stealing near the factory."

"Let's take him to the infirmary first," the other suggested.

"No need," Chen Mo waved a hand. "I’m a doctor, and I’ve already checked. He’s not seriously hurt; he’s just suffering from severe shock. A good night's sleep should do the trick."

He paused, then added, "However, this kid is far too bold, daring to commit highway robbery in broad daylight. I think we should notify his family and call the police so the authorities can handle it. Otherwise, who knows what kind of disaster he’ll cause in the future?"

"Dr. Chen is absolutely right!" the guards nodded repeatedly. Chen Mo was the factory director's favorite now; who would dare to disobey him?

Thus, one guard stayed behind to watch over Bang Geng, while the other hopped on a bicycle and sped off toward the courtyard houses. A much greater storm was about to erupt once again within that already crumbling Jia household.