Li Ziyu glanced sideways at Liu Xingxing and noticed the kid was also sneaking peeks at him from the corner of his eye. He cleared his throat with a cough, and Liu Xingxing immediately snapped his gaze back.

’You lucky little rascal. If you hadn’t dug in the wrong place and unearthed me, you’d probably be someone’s bar snack by now. As for the two Catmen... hah. Small, not much meat on their bones. They’re good at acting cute, so maybe they’d be kept as emergency rations.’

Looking down at the Headhunter Clan People who had just spoken, Li Ziyu grinned, flicking a finger. "Pick one out. It’s my treat. We’ll give him a full orthopedic package."

The Headhunter Clan People kneeling in a row instantly panicked. The Skeleton Warriors behind them didn’t care; they simply dragged one out. The chosen Headhunter shrieked like a pig being slaughtered, "No! No! Don’t touch me! He already told you everything he knows!"

A Skeleton Undead forcibly pinned him down and skillfully administered the "orthopedic massage." The Headhunter’s miserable howls filled the air until his bones were removed, and he was thrown to the ground as a pile of mangled flesh, barely clinging to life.

"Next time, when I ask, you answer. The first one to talk gets to live in peace," Li Ziyu leaned back and said to the Headhunter Clan People.

After two rounds of this "orthopedic treatment," the hearts of all the Headhunter Clan People turned to ice. This method was too horrifying. It was something they had never seen, or even imagined. They weren’t afraid of having their limbs chopped off or being disemboweled. But to have all your bones dismantled, removed one by one, while you were kept alive... that was unbearable.

The moment Li Ziyu’s words left his mouth, all the Headhunter Clan People nodded their heads like chickens pecking at grain.

It takes a villain to handle a villain. For a cancer like the Headhunter Race, kindness was useless. Threatening them with the cruelest methods was more effective than anything else. They were far from resolute.

"Next question. Where did you get the information about people like us?" Li Ziyu asked slowly.

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk! The news came from the deep region!" an armless Headhunter with a panicked face blurted out, rushing to answer first.

"Where is the deep region?" Before Li Ziyu could ask, Liu Xingxing had already spoken up, his curiosity as an explorer getting the better of him.

Only after speaking did he realize that Li Ziyu was the one conducting the interrogation. He quickly turned to his boss with an appeasing look. Li Ziyu just rolled his eyes, showing no intention of reprimanding him. In truth, he also wanted to ask about this so-called "deep region."

Ever since arriving in the Otherworld, he had been searching for a way out of the Wasteland. But after so many days, he had made almost no progress. Even with Liu Xingxing’s help, he hadn’t found any path leading elsewhere. No matter which way they went, they were still in the Wasteland.

"It’s the deep part of the Wasteland, the center of the Wasteland," the Headhunter said without hesitation. They had already figured it out: say whatever they knew, at least to get a quick death. They had no intention of hiding anything.

"The center of the Wasteland? What’s there?" Li Ziyu sat up straight, his expression serious and his eyes glinting with curiosity.

Through his explorations over the past few days, he had realized he’d underestimated the Wasteland. Its area was likely far greater than he had imagined. As for the center of the Wasteland, he knew nothing about it at all.

’But it didn’t matter that he didn’t know. Weren’t there people here who did? Getting the information from the mouths of these Headhunter Clan People was just as good.’

"There are cities there, inhabited by very powerful Tribes. The strongest forces in the Wasteland are all there." As the Headhunter spoke these words, his eyes shone with reverence and worship. In his heart, that was an extremely bountiful land, a paradise.

Cities! 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

That single word was enough to make Li Ziyu even more serious. "Keep talking. What Tribes are there? Which is the strongest? What’s their population?"

Liu Xingxing was also listening with great concentration, even taking out a pen and paper to take notes.

"If I tell you, will you let me go?" The attitudes of Li Ziyu and Liu Xingxing gave the Headhunter a glimmer of hope. His eyes darted around as he started to negotiate.

Before, he saw no hope and only wanted a quick death to avoid the agony. But now, he realized the Master of the Undead knew absolutely nothing about the Wasteland. That made his information extremely valuable.

He may have lost both his arms, but if he could live, who would choose to die?

"Heheheh... You want to negotiate with me? You’re not the only one here!" Li Ziyu said to the Headhunter with a cold laugh.

"They don’t know as much as I do!" the armless Headhunter said, glancing back at his kin kneeling in a row with a hint of smugness.

The other Headhunter Clan People just shot him a resentful look but didn’t argue.

’Oh ho, interesting.’

The corners of Li Ziyu’s mouth curved up, and he asked with a look of interest, "So, what’s your status? Why do you know more than the others?"

"I’m a scout! I often question people from merchant caravans, and I question the people we capture during our Plundering!" the armless Headhunter said, relieved. He never imagined his hobbies would one day save his life.

"Fine. If you can truly give me useful information, I promise to let you go," Li Ziyu said, tilting his head up arrogantly.

’He’s just an armless Headhunter. What difference would it make to let him go?’

Liu Xingxing stole a glance at Li Ziyu and complained internally, ’That’s what you said to Yu Gangbo, too. And now, Gangbo is probably one of your minions.’

The armless Headhunter clearly didn’t believe Li Ziyu’s words. He stiffened his neck and said, "We sign a contract!"

"Don’t push your luck. It’s not like I absolutely need your information." At the mention of a contract, Li Ziyu’s smile instantly vanished, replaced by an ice-cold expression.

’See? I knew it. The boss has no intention of letting this guy go,’ Liu Xingxing continued to grumble in his mind.

The surrounding Skeleton Warriors silently took a step forward. The armless Headhunter immediately felt the hair on his body stand on end, and a cold sweat broke out under the immense pressure.

"...Alright, I’ll talk. I hope the Master of the Undead can spare my life." The situation was out of his hands. After a few seconds of consideration, the armless Headhunter finally chose to submit. He told Li Ziyu everything he knew about the center of the Wasteland.

Through the armless Headhunter, Li Ziyu finally understood that his current location was just a corner of the Wasteland, a remote, backwater area. It was the kind of unwanted place that was "unloved by father or mother"—with a harsh climate and scarce resources. Powerful Tribes wouldn’t even deign to look at such a place, let alone bother sending troops to conquer it.

The tribes that survived here were all lower-class Races. The strength of a Race was part of an unspoken hierarchy in the center of the Wasteland.

It made sense when you thought about it. Powerful Races would inevitably want better lands and better resources, so they would move to more suitable places to live. Meanwhile, weaker Races would gradually be driven out of these prime locations, thus giving rise to the concept of "lower-class Races."

Remote corners like this were not uncommon in the Wasteland, and they were all inhabited by lower-class Races. Because there was no law, they were also active grounds for the Wasteland’s "scourge" Races, which was why Li Ziyu had encountered Lizardmen, goblins, and the Headhunter Race.

The Central Region of the Wasteland, with the most abundant resources and best climate, was home to various upper-class Races, such as Giant Demons, Ratmen, and Elemental Creatures. These powerful forces would even build cities—large ones, akin to City-States—and rule over their own territories.

The Headhunter talked until his mouth was dry and his tongue was parched. Li Ziyu had an Undead bring him some water before telling him to continue.