Chapter Eleven: Interrogation
“Snap——!”
In the dimly lit small room, a strong beam of light struck Lu Yibei’s face. He hung his head listlessly, shackled to a chair, appearing calm on the surface but feeling anxious inside.
There were no windows in the room, metal tables and chairs, and walls bordered by one-way glass.
A faint musty smell lingered in the air, dust floating under the slightly glaring beam of light. Behind the strong light stood a girl whose face was obscured, only a dark outline was visible.
This scene reminded Lu Yibei of the interrogation rooms he often saw in TV shows and movies. He slightly opened his mouth, just about to wail like a ghost and play the victim, when he heard the girl coldly ask.
“Name?”
Lu Yibei was taken aback. It’s her! The one… the one who opened the door and offered warmth!
“I’m asking you!”
“Lu, Lu Yibei.”
“Age?”
“Eighteen, one month short of nineteen.”
“Why don’t you tell me the situation first?”
“Uh…”
Why does this conversation feel so familiar? Lu Yibei raised his shackled hands and weakly asked, “Could you tell me, this isn’t a mental hospital, right?”
“Mental hospital?! Don’t try to be slippery with me! Do you know what situation you are in right now? If you don’t cooperate, the consequences will be very serious, do you understand?!” The girl’s voice rose higher as she pulled out a g*n and slammed it on the table.
Looking at the dark muzzle of the g*n, a chill ran down Lu Yibei’s spine. Not caring what the girl wanted to know anymore, he started speaking rapidly.
“I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! My name is Lu Yibei, a student in the Chinese Language Department of a Polytechnic University, I specialize in Sichuan cuisine! I live at 162 Mudan Street and recently moved to Building 3, Phase 3 of the Jingyi Apartment Complex on Xuefu Road. I have had eye injuries and had a corneal transplant. Don’t be fooled by my carefree demeanor; I am often a bit eccentric, but I definitely don’t have a mental illness! My favorite two-dimensional character is Bai Xiaohua! My least favorite food is…”
“Stop, stop! The Chinese Language Department? I see you must be a comedian, talking so much without taking a breath! Did I ask you for all this? Are you trying to force me to use torture?”
“That’s not what I meant…” Lu Yibei thought for a second, his eyes brightened, and he sat up straight, becoming earnest, “Oh! I get it! I’ll cooperate with you!”
As an old saying goes, wealth should not be revealed!
I was just pretending during the day to shake off that clingy senior, and now I’ve been targeted by thugs and brought here!
What does this mean? It means they’re after money; this is an organized and premeditated kidnapping!
Now there’s no choice but to part with some money to avert disaster, right?
Hmph! A gentleman takes revenge ten years is not too late; just wait until I get out…
No, no, I can’t say that. If they find out, it’ll be deadly!
“My Zhifubao account is 180XXXX5591, and the password is…”
The little maid facepalmed, unable to withstand it any longer, and interrupted Lu Yibei, “Shut up! Stop rambling! Do you think we can’t check this out? If you don’t talk nicely, I’ll sh**t you!”
This person can be counted as one of the most tricky individuals involved in urban legends besides the legends themselves!
Not only did he appear exceptionally calm since coming here, but he also prepared a slew of rhetoric to distract the interrogators!
He’s either mentally very resilient or a veteran! The little maid thought.
Lu Yibei weakly continued, “What do you really want to know? I’ll tell everything, but you at least need to tell me what I should say, right?”
They even found my bank card password? What kind of trickster is this girl?
If they’re not after money, what do they want? A romantic interest? I may look okay, but I’m not so good-looking that I’d make someone want to commit a crime! Lu Yibei pondered.
“Say…” The little maid glanced at the one-way glass behind her and paused, “Tell me about any strange things you’ve encountered recently!”
“Well, speaking of strange things…” Just as Lu Yibei was about to recount his recent bizarre dreams, he suddenly hesitated.
He remembered the eerily realistic dream he just had.
Just as he was thinking of sharing this terrifying scene he witnessed in the dream to let the little maid help him figure out what was going on, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.
The faint dust floating in the air seemed to solidify into an elusive girl’s outline that gestured for him to be silent, gently shaking her head, then raised her hand to make a slitting gesture across her neck, and immediately, the dust-congealed head burst apart.
Was it an illusion? Would talking about it lead to dire consequences?
Okay, maybe I should skip this part for now?
After a short contemplation, Lu Yibei hurriedly began speaking before the little maid grew impatient.
“Uh, there are many things, for example, last month I bought a Bai Xiaohua figure, and they sent me two instead. Also… Ah! Right, I encountered a strange rabbit mascot flyer distributor, and he handed me…”
“Wait a minute!” Finally hearing something of interest, the little maid interrupted, “Are you referring to a flyer distributor like this?”
A slightly yellowed photo was handed to Lu Yibei, stained with dark red spots. The image depicted a “person” in a black cloak with a rabbit head, with a pair of bl**d-red glass-like eyes that, merely by staring, stirred up feelings of unease and agitation.
Lu Yibei glanced at the photo, his heart skipping a beat. The “person” in the photo was not the one who handed him the flyer but rather the murderous “Mr. Rabbit” he saw in his dream!
What is this nonsense!
Wasn’t that just a dream? How did it turn into reality? And with photographic evidence?
What the hell is going on?
Recalling the bloody and terrifying scenes he experienced in the dream, Lu Yibei began to panic.
“No, big sister, I had nothing to do with the m*rder! He just handed me a flyer; I didn’t take it at all! I felt he was weird, and without thinking much, I just ran away! Later at home, a flyer appeared in my coat, and I burned it immediately, even getting rid of the coat…”
“Bang——!”
The little maid slammed the table, interrupting Lu Yibei, and pointed at his nose, “You’re lying! Did I say he was a murderer? How did you know? If you knew he was a murderer, why didn’t you call the police?”
“I…” Lu Yibei was nearly breaking down, leaning back in the chair, feeling defeated.
“Hmph! What? Can’t say anything now?” The little maid sneered, picking up the g*n on the table and spinning it on her finger, simultaneously educating Lu Yibei on various invisible torture techniques.
Looking at Lu Yibei’s seemingly calm face, the little maid thought, “…… How can this person have such a strong mental fortitude? Isn’t he even afraid of this? Then I’ll have to give him something more stimulating!”
As she recounted horrifying, vivid methods of torture in great detail, Lu Yibei felt his heart racing as if a swarm of little people with big hammers were pounding on it.
His expression nearly morphed into one of sheer terror!
He even began to consider disregarding the girl’s warning and revealing the bizarre dream he just experienced to reduce the torment.
A few minutes later.
Lu Yibei sat slumped in his chair, expressionless, like a salted fish that had lost its dreams, weakly saying, “Big sister, just give me a break! You can’t bully people like this! How was I supposed to know that the strange things in my dream would turn out to be real?”
“What? If you had a nightmare that scared you and you ran to file a police report, do you think you’d be foolish?”
“You…” The little maid opened her mouth to retort Lu Yibei but found that he had a point, and then thought…
Is this brat insulting me?
It seems I’ve been too lenient with him!
With that thought, the little maid was about to make Lu Yibei experience some hardship when suddenly, a knocking sound came from the door, followed by a cold voice from outside.
“Ahua, come out for a moment.”
“Understood, Miss!” The little maid responded, glancing back at Lu Yibei with a glare, swinging her fists twice in the air, and left the interrogation room.
……
Jiang Li watched the entire interrogation process from behind the one-way mirror, and as soon as Lu Yibei chose to give up his dreams, she called the little maid out.
“Miss, why did you call me out? Although that guy has been tough, if you give me a bit more time, I’m sure I can get something out of him!” The little maid said with a resentful expression.
If she could help the miss, what’s the problem with a little inhumane method?
Huff, huff——!
The miss is the best! As long as she can stay with the miss…
“Cough, cough——!”
Seeing the little maid gradually redden, a lewd smile creeping across her lips, clearly lost in some strange thought, Jiang Li couldn’t help but cough a couple of times, interrupting her daydreaming.
“Ahua.”
“Hmm?” The little maid obediently tilted her head.
“Let him go!” Jiang Li said casually, glancing at the copy of the case file on the table behind her and added, “He really has facial paralysis; if you keep interrogating him, you’ll scare him to d*ath.”
“Just like that, let him go?” The little maid pouted, muttering, “But he hasn’t clarified how he knew Mr. Rabbit was a murderer!”
Jiang Li crossed her arms and lifted her chin, looking at Lu Yibei behind the one-way mirror.
In just a few minutes, he had already calmed down from his initial shock and was regaining his spirit, stretching his neck and looking around, quietly shouting.
“Hey? Is anyone there?”
“Someone come! Whether it’s to k*ll or rob me, at least give me a clear answer!”
Jiang Li slightly furrowed her brow. Is this person an indestructible cockroach? He was so scared just a moment ago, and less than a few minutes later, he’s so lively again?
“Miss?”
“Hmm.” Jiang Li nodded lightly, “He did see it in a dream. A part of those with potential to become spiritual ability users may experience this kind of spiritual vision dream upon contact with spirit energy fluctuations. In ancient times, such people often became prophets or seers.”
“Then why don’t we recruit him into the Siye Society?” The little maid said excitedly, “With one more main operative, the miss would also have some free time, right?”
Hearing this, Jiang Li’s expression cooled, and her gaze swept over the little maid, making her shiver slightly.
Thinking of her miss’s painfully difficult experience of becoming a spiritual ability user, the little maid immediately realized she had misspoken and lowered her head, “I’m sorry, miss…”
The process of transitioning from a person with potential to a spiritual ability user is absolutely a very dangerous one.
To gain greater power, you must pay a very hefty price!
And it’s not guaranteed to succeed; more than half of those attempting will d*e at the crucial moment of transformation.
“So… miss, isn’t he already targeted by Mr. Rabbit? If we let him go and he is found by Mr. Rabbit, wouldn’t that be dangerous?”
Jiang Li glanced at her, a meaningful smile appearing on her face, “Do you think I let him go for no reason?”
