Chapter 130 Trial By Fire Part One

Blank-Faced Joe looked at the pair of man and woman that were kneeling in front of him. His eyes glowed with a chill light in the dimly lighted room as he watched the two kneeling generals in front of him. General of Luxury bit her lips as her mind tried to think of multiple ways to get out of this situation. She slightly turned her sight to the right, but couldn't help but be disappointed as she saw that the man in front of her had lost all will to survive the ordeal.

If it was known that the mighty General of Weaponry had been reduced to such a poor state, many would have shaken their heads from disappointment. The strong and mighty dealer of weaponry known for being brazen and fearless was shivering incessantly in front of Blank-Faced Joe's sight. He didn't even dare to raise his face and kept looking at the dirty ground from the basement. Every few seconds, he would mumble incoherently, "I don't know… I don't know… I don't know…". Seemingly having lost his mind after the round of physical torture, his hands that were supporting his damaged body clearly showed that he had tried to resist.

Fingers were snapped in strange angles, clearly broken from their swelling, and not a single nail could be found on them. But that wasn't all; if they had only gone through physical torture, then the two generals wouldn't have been reduced to such a state. Sadly, for the pair, their opponent was Blank-Faced Joe, a man that wasn't stopped by moral boundaries and was well known for aiming at people's weaknesses. In his case, the general of weaponry had lost his will as soon as he learned what happened to his family. His incessant incoherent mumbling had started right when he saw the contents of a small package Blank-Faced Joe had shown him.

The poor General of Luxury didn't see the package's content, but the horrid smell that escaped from it sent her mind reeling from disgust. She didn't need to be smart to guess what was in it, and she thanked the heavens that she had no close one. During the course of her life, she did her utmost in avoiding the development of a family. She had always considered them as weak spots that were hard to defend. She knew that due to her underground life, she didn't have that luxury and never had the opportunity to open her heart to any individual. Her manipulations filled with charms had pushed her through the top, and now she couldn't help but curse herself for that. The man in front of her was no human being, and his demonic eyes left her to doubt the fact that she could survive tonight.

Blank-Faced Joe calmly looked at them before sighing in a voice filled with fatigue. "I think that the three of us are tired of this theatrical play. How about we stop this, you guys know what I want.", sounds of his feet walking around the empty basement made the two general's heart want to leave their chest. "Give me the keys, and we will all act like tonight never happened. Look, John, what was in the package didn't originate from your little daughter but was just reaped from a nearby homeless druggy.", his leg stopped, and his speech stopped for a second. Then the warmth in his tone disappeared. What replaced it sounded like the ninth circle of hell. "But that doesn't mean that I can't get the same thing from every single member of your family!" his chilling voice made goosebumps appeared all over their bodies. An overwhelming pressure seemed to appear out of nowhere, pressuring the two generals into the ground, their knee creaked as they felt a tremendous weight appear on top of their back.

"Quite heavy, right?", Joe smirked while seeing their face approach the filthy floor even more. "Those are just the weight of your sins…", he added before turning around and leaving the basement. He knew that cooking them would take much more time than for an average individual, and sadly with time; he seemed to like the process. Breaking down the will of his opponent had turned into a hobby, and although he could do without it, he came to enjoy playing with his opponent's mind. He felt as if he was in front of a giant puzzle, and the more his opponent resisted, the further his mind enjoyed the process.

"Their lips will uncover their small little secrets soon enough…", he thought as he finished climbing the stair of the basement. He arrived in a large living room, and after passing near a sofa he opened a door and left the house. In front of the small mansion was a guard; a sign of Joe was enough for his subordinate to rush inside the house. He wasn't afraid that they would escape. Joe had a small number of underlings compared to the other general, but his men were over-equipped and never questioned his orders. All of them trusted him beyond ordinary faith, and some even said that he had mind washed them. Calling them slave soldiers couldn't be more appropriate, each of them was well equipped and had been trained in for years.

What was exceptional about his follower was that the majority of them had followed him through his climb of the ranks and through the creation of Filthy Jade Palace. Contrary to the other general's belief, his crew was filled with individuals that profoundly respect Blank-Faced Joe as a leader. They didn't fear his emotionless state but respected it as they knew he was the kind of individual who wouldn't be swayed by humanity's filthiest habits.

Blank-Faced Joe calmly walked through the narrow street of the Core, he had been living in this shithole of a city all of his life, and he knew every crook and cranny of it. He couldn't help but feel safe when he walked in its maze-like streets. Although living in it meant that you could be back stabbed for a penny in any random street, he ended up enjoying it when he got used to it.