Chapter 73: Utter Collapse

Tao Zhiming let out a sigh. "It seems that, although you must know my name, you need to understand my resolve. Let me introduce myself again: my name is Tao Dalang, and I am the man whom Hiroshi Omiyama, president of Yuuwa Trading Company, has promised an internal appointment as special assistant to the president."

Obata Yusuke’s eyes flickered, but he quickly retorted, "I don’t know you. I was just driving a cab over there! Are you the one who had the guys from Shindo Group kidnap me and bring me here? What exactly do you want? Are you trying to provoke our Kitashiro-kai? Are you prepared for the consequences?"

Tao Zhiming caught the change in his eyes.

He sighed again. As expected.

He reacted at the mention of Hiroshi Omiyama’s name.

He stood up, tilted his head, loosened his tie, and with a smile, asked Irie Yuta, "You took my dagger when I came in. Could you give it back to me?"

Irie Yuta looked at him intently, his face stern. "Are you serious?"

Tao Zhiming tilted his head. "Would I have come this far if I wasn’t?"

"...You really are strange," Irie Yuta remarked. "You’re obviously a guy with a bright future ahead of you—why aren’t you avoiding us? Why walk in here so openly?"

Nara Yuma watched him with interest as well.

Tao Zhiming flexed his hands, unconcerned. "I have no family. I bear all consequences alone. In this Tokyo, I don’t want to be bound by anyone. Look at me—do you think I’ll have no enemies in the future? Should I really live my whole life meekly, just because I’m afraid? What a joke. Hand me the knife!"

Irie Yuta looked at him and laughed. "If you were a bit stronger, you’d probably be more of a yakuza than me. Let me do it."

With a flick of his wrist, a dagger appeared in his hand.

Obata Yusuke’s face turned to panic. "What are you going to do?!"

Tao Zhiming glanced at Irie Yuta, looking almost disappointed. "Are you afraid I’ll mess it up? How about you teach me? What’s the most effective way to deal with someone like this? I can learn."

"...What sort of demon is hiding inside you?" Irie Yuta said, speechless. "Can’t you just be a decent man?"

Tao Zhiming paused, looking at him deeply. "Then... let’s start by pulling out all his fingernails. That should work, right?"

Obata Yusuke was horrified. "Hey! I’ll say it again: I’m with Kitashiro-kai!"

"Oh, I know." Tao Zhiming folded his arms and stepped back two paces to clear the space, speaking coldly, "To you, this was just another job. But to me, you’ve inadvertently become my enemy. I know how to deal with my enemies, don’t worry. But what about you? Are you really not going to talk? Look, I was the one who spotted the problem and brought you here—it’s not like you leaked any secrets. So, are you ready to die for this?"

Obata Yusuke struggled. "What job? I’m not your enemy..."

Tao Zhiming sighed. "Looks like you really do want to die."

With that, he nodded to Irie Yuta and said calmly, "Go ahead... Honestly, how much did Kitashiro-kai make on this job? Is it really worth holding out like this?"

Watching Irie Yuta crouch before him with a calm expression, Obata Yusuke shrank his hands back in terror. "Hey! Hey! Yuta-nii, if it’s about money, how much did this guy give you? Are you really going to do this? Kitashiro-kai won’t let this go! ...How much did he pay? I’ll double it!"

Irie Yuta traced the dagger along his pale cheek, smiling. "Do I seem like that kind of person, Irie Yuta?"

The blade pressed against his deathly white skin, but not a drop of blood appeared.

Leaning close to Obata Yusuke’s ear, he whispered, "But all of you in Kitashiro-kai are the sort who’d betray your principles for money. So? The job just failed. Just say what needs to be said. Do you really want to die over this?"

Obata Yusuke stared in horror at the blade so close to his face.

That fearsome man’s voice whispered like a demon in his ear: "Look at Mr. Tao here—he’s someone who even surprised me, the so-called Fox of Shindo, and even Suzuki Daiki, the right-hand man known as one of the Twin Blades of the Shindo Group in Minato. This man is eager to start pulling out your fingernails himself. Do you doubt his resolve? Just talk. Isn’t staying alive better?"

Obata Yusuke was on the verge of losing his mind.

Were they really going to kill him just like that?

He shot a glance at Tao Zhiming, who stood with arms folded and eyes cold, looking for all the world like a suit-clad thug about to snap at any moment—

Wasn’t this guy just a student?

How could a student dare show up in the Shindo Group’s office?

At that moment, Tao Zhiming spoke impatiently, "Yuta, why are you so long-winded? You’ve been drawing on him for ages and there’s still no blood. This is a man betting his future on the yakuza! Without real agony, he won’t talk easily. Let me try!"

He really did roll up his sleeves and reached out to take the knife from Irie Yuta.

The look on his face was so determined, as if he truly believed only the most excruciating pain would make him talk.

A man betting his future on the yakuza... but that wasn’t really true!

The only reason he’d joined was because the yakuza looked cool—an orphan who’d never been to school, the only way to survive and live with dignity was to join the underworld.

Obata Yusuke was about to lose his mind. Why did this guy think so highly of him?

Tao Zhiming’s eager readiness to torture him finally made Obata Yusuke break.

He just couldn’t understand.

Why did this so-called student look even more crazed and bloodthirsty than a yakuza like himself?

Why did he not only drink with the Fox of Shindo, but dare come to the Shindo Group’s stronghold?

Why did he claim to be the man promised a special assistant’s position by President Omiyama, yet Omiyama had ordered the underboss to have him kidnapped?

When Tao Zhiming truly reached for the knife, and Irie Yuta, with a displeased look, slashed his own face once with it, Obata Yusuke finally realized he couldn’t bluff his way through.

So, abandoning all pretense, he cried out, "I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"

Tao Zhiming sighed with utter disappointment, even cursing, "Damn it! Can’t you at least hold out a little longer? Keep resisting! Boring!"

Nara Yuma stared at him, slightly stunned by his obvious irritation.

What’s wrong with this guy?

Tao Zhiming sullenly dragged a chair over, sat down opposite Obata Yusuke, and said impatiently, "Speak! Now that you’ve caved, spill everything you know in one go. If you stammer or hold back, I’m angry enough right now I might just stab you dead!"

Irie Yuta shook his head, bewildered by the source of Tao’s wrath.

It was the same that night—after the Kitashiro-kai guys begged for mercy and left, Tao drank gloomily.

And just now, saying things like "keep resisting"—wasn’t the goal to get the secret out?

He shook his head and walked to the corner, pressing the record button on the tape recorder.

This Tao Dalang fellow is definitely a bit unhinged.

Whether holding a gun, walking in here, or itching to pull out someone’s fingernails, there was something off about him.

Under Tao Zhiming’s unpredictable moods, Obata Yusuke completely broke down and hurriedly spilled everything he knew.