Chapter 1026: Someone is pinning everything on you…

Making someone talk was part of the military training Hugo had undergone. However, getting someone to talk willingly would take a lot of effort... and blood. But Hugo was a changed man — at least when out of the combat zone, he should be a lot more considerate... and he preferred to stay in the "nothing box" in his brain.

"As if asking—"

Pow!

Before the man could start with his ridicule, a fist came flying right into his face. Hugo retracted his hand and smiled as the man’s nose began to bleed.

"Ugh — ack—" For a second, the man could only whimper and gasp at the throbbing pain in his nose. ’He broke it!’

"Let’s do it again," Hugo repeated with a smile. "Now, what do you want from my mate over there?"

The man, unable to even hold his broken nose, widened his eyes at Hugo. The latter was just smiling kindly at him, but those types of faces were the most vicious of all!

"You know, there are many ways to make you talk, but I’m choosing diplomacy," Hugo explained, trying to convince the man to give up whatever he needed so they wouldn’t have to do it the old-fashioned way. "So, getting more broken bones is actually up to you. Even if you scream, no one will care. This is a hospital! People die here every minute... or ten minutes. Wow! I hope it’s at least once a day."

"What the... what the hell are you mumbling about?"

Hugo frowned. "Come on, dude. Just tell me what you want. I’ll let you go if you do! I promise!"

The man clenched his teeth, the throbbing in his nose subsiding a little. His eyes shone with bitterness as he looked at Hugo, who seemed like a maniac to him.

"Why do you want to kill him?" Hugo asked, now being more direct.

"Kill?" The man scoffed. "Why would I kill him?"

"Huh?" Deep lines appeared between Hugo’s brows. "What do you mean by that? Didn’t you come here to silence him forever?"

"I wasn’t trying to kill him! I was trying to take him with me!"

"Oh... so you’re trying to abduct him?" Hugo tilted his head. "Well, that doesn’t make sense. Why bother abducting someone when you can just kill him here? I mean, he’s going to be rushed to the hospital, anyway."

"Are you stupid?!" the man roared, making Hugo flinch slightly. "I said I’m not trying to kill him! He’s my boss! I’m taking him with me to keep him safe from someone like you! You’re the one who abducted him!"

Question marks instantly appeared over Hugo’s head, confused by the man’s words. He tilted his head, blinking. After a moment, his face scrunched up.

"Huh??" Hugo scoffed. "That is insulting!"

As Hugo said, making people talk wasn’t easy, especially since some were trained not to. He might’ve never said it to anyone — even his father — but Hugo had seen a lot on the battlefield. He’d met many people, alive and dead. And if there was one thing he had learned after years of service, it was that different people required different approaches.

After the back-and-forth banter, Hugo raised his hand.

"Okay, man! Chill!" He sighed. "I’m sorry for punching you in the face, okay? I thought you were trying to kill my dude! I’ve gone to great lengths looking after him, so I got a little pissed off when I saw you in here!"

The other man hissed at Hugo, his eyes glinting. "If you’re planning to kill me, then do it. But I’ll tell you, even if I’m dead, our people will keep coming after you."

"God!" Hugo ruffled his hair in irritation. "I told you! I wasn’t trying to kill him, alright?! I’m keeping him alive!"

"Why would you keep him alive?!"

"Because if I don’t, then how would I know who did it to him and me?!"

The man furrowed his brows, observing Hugo’s frustrations. Hugo then snapped his fingers at the man, huffing.

"Look. If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t be sitting here! For fuck’s sake, I wouldn’t be dealing with you!" Hugo scoffed at the man, growing even more frustrated at the fact that he was the villain in this guy’s mind. "But I didn’t. And if I wanted your boss dead, he would’ve died that night."

Hesitation started to shine in the other man’s eyes. He blurted out, "I should be the one asking who you are! Why are you keeping him here? Why do you want him alive?"

"Are we on a loop here?" Hugo clicked his tongue, snapping his eyes at the bed. Even though the curtain was closed and he could barely see the patient’s feet, he still stared at it for a moment. "That night... like I said, I was there."

Slowly, he set his eyes back on the man tied up across from him. "When I was there, he shooed me away and didn’t give me the information I wanted. He made sure I would leave that night, even though he knew I could help him while he was being held at point blank on the other side of the partition."

"Do you get what I’m saying?" he continued, pointing at the bed, his arm across his chest. "I don’t like that guy, and I don’t want to owe him. However, he was shot and clearly, he’s taking his goddamn time sleeping."

He paused and leaned forward. "So, before you accuse me of wanting him dead, you better do your research first. I don’t mind fighting, but fighting the people on the same side as I am is something that bothers me."

Silence fell between the two men as the other man assessed the seriousness in Hugo’s eyes. Unlike earlier, his tensed shoulders relaxed a little. He didn’t want to believe Hugo, but he also started to make sense. The more Hugo spoke, the more his point sounded logical and solid.

"Someone is pinning everything on you..." the man muttered as his eyes widened when realization dawned on him. Hugo, on the other hand, furrowed his brows in confusion. "... they said it was you. The one who led the attack that night and the one who arrested the boss."

The confusion on Hugo’s face slowly turned to sternness, his eyes glinting dangerously as he heard what the man had said.

It seemed like someone was taking advantage of the situation.