Interrogation and Punishment

While Lin Mo enjoyed a leisurely weekend, the scene elsewhere was quite different.

In the interrogation room, Hu Rong foamed at the mouth, convulsing silently on the cold floor like a fish tossed ashore. The taste of a psychic backlash was a heavy blow for a novice who had just Awakened.

On the other side of the glass wall, Chen Lai waved idly at the one-way mirror.

"This kid hasn't been Awakened long enough. Even if I opened my mind to him, he couldn't hypnotize me. The psychic backlash was inevitable."

Chen Lai's voice wasn't loud, but it came through clearly on the microphone to the monitoring room.

In the monitoring room, Dong Lingjun stood with his arms crossed, a deep frown on his face. His gaze swept over the impassive face of Dongfang Shuye, but in the end, he didn't say another word.

Dongfang Shuye didn't even glance at the monitor screen again. He picked up the drink on the table bearing his namesake, took a slow, deliberate sip, and spoke in a tone as flat as if discussing the weather.

"Even recycling waste requires some quality. This material isn't up to it." He set the bottle down and waved a hand dismissively. "Take him away. Dispose of it cleanly."

With a single, offhand remark, a person's life or death was decided.

Had Hu Rong succeeded in hypnotizing Chen Lai, perhaps he wouldn't have had to die.

Dong Lingjun looked up at the staff member beside him.

The man understood and immediately left the monitoring room.

The door to the interrogation room opened. Two staff members hauled up the still-convulsing Hu Rong as if dragging away a bag of trash.

Only then did Dong Lingjun speak.

"I'll go supervise the execution. Group Leader Dongfang, perhaps you should go in and question Chen Lai yourself. He might be willing to say something."

Dong Lingjun's words weren't without reason. If Chen Lai was innocent and truly knew something, he would at least tell Dongfang Shuye.

After all, Dongfang Shuye was currently his only lifeline.

Yet, despite all these days, Dongfang Shuye had never gone to interrogate Chen Lai.

Dongfang Shuye neither agreed nor disagreed. His gaze returned to Chen Lai behind the glass wall, deep and unreadable, showing neither joy nor anger.

Dong Lingjun didn't press further. He left the monitoring room and headed towards the execution chamber.

In the execution chamber, Hu Rong was securely fastened to a specially designed chair, still not recovered from his psychic collapse.

Several agents responsible for carrying out the execution snapped to attention as Dong Lingjun entered.

"Administer the X-series serum," Dong Lingjun's voice betrayed no emotion. "Send the body directly to Reclamation Unit Three. Understood?"

"Yes, Director!"

The cold needle was plunged decisively into Hu Rong's vein. The life signs on the monitor struggled for a few moments before rapidly flatlining.

It took less than ten seconds.

The body was quickly bagged and carried away. The entire execution chamber was restored to its original state as if nothing had ever happened.

As if no execution had ever taken place here.

"Such a good innate talent. A pity," Dong Lingjun murmured, looking at the now-empty chair with a soft sigh before turning to leave.

After everyone had left, one of the agents who performed the injection unhurriedly removed his mask, revealing an utterly ordinary face.

He took out a black device the size of a matchbox from his pocket. His thumb flew over it, operating without making a sound.

A line of information was sent out silently.

"The cargo is loaded. Proceed with shipment on the original route."

Three seconds later, the device's screen lit up.

"Received."

The agent, expressionless, tossed the device into a nearby strong acid disposal vat. The black box vanished completely without even a wisp of smoke.

Back in the interrogation room, the metal table gleamed coldly.

Dongfang Shuye pushed a drink bottle across the table, his own name on the label strikingly conspicuous.

Chen Lai glanced at it, didn't stand on ceremony, unscrewed the cap, and took a long drink.

The cold liquid slid down his throat, quelling some of the restlessness in his heart.

After downing half the bottle, he let out a heavy, turbid sigh, slumping in his chair like a deflated balloon.

"I never thought the capital would actually send the heir of the Dongfang family."

"That shows how seriously they're taking this matter."

Chen Lai's voice was hoarse, tinged with self-mockery.

Dongfang Shuye stared at Chen Lai, his fingers tapping on the table.

He pointed to a corner of the ceiling. "The surveillance is off. We're among our own. No need to beat around the bush."

He paused, his fingers lightly tapping the tabletop, producing a regular tap, tap sound that broke the room's silence.

"The capital trusts you. I trust you. Now, tell me."

Chen Lai gave a bitter smile.

"I won't dwell on whether that's true or not. But what I want to say is... we seem to have underestimated the Ning family."

Dongfang Shuye frowned. "The Ning family?! But... the Ning branch family has already..."

"That's exactly the problem!" Chen Lai interrupted him. "The Ning branch family and the Ning main family are not of one mind at all!"

Dongfang Shuye's face darkened.

His team hadn't been idle these past days.

The two who set out early had been gathering intelligence in Pengcheng. Regarding the Pengcheng incident, it was confirmed to be the work of some local force.

The opponent was like an invisible hand, wiping all traces clean, leaving them hitting walls everywhere, with strength but nowhere to apply it.

Thinking about it now, this was no mere local power's handiwork.

"The reason. I need to know the reason. And your mission. Why protect that little girl?"

According to the Pengcheng mission briefing, the Ning branch family had made a request, hoping Pengcheng would protect their youngest daughter, Ning Qingcheng, who had fallen into a coma due to her Awakening ability.

But the higher-ups hadn't explained clearly why they needed to do this.

Even Dongfang Shuye couldn't guess.

Chen Lai leaned forward, his voice dropping to a whisper fainter than a mosquito's hum.

"Because that little girl, Ning Qingcheng... she's a genius. Or a monster."

"Before going to the safe house, we detected an energy fluctuation from her body with our most precise instruments. Just once."

"After that one time, all the precision instruments were completely fried."

A trace of lingering fear surfaced in Chen Lai's eyes.

"If that data wasn't wrong, the level of innate talent and energy contained within Ning Qingcheng's body is unprecedented in historical records."

He licked his dry lips, seeming to weigh his words.

After thinking for a long moment, he finally used the simplest, yet most terrifying comparison.

"If she successfully Awakens, she will be more powerful than the Director-General himself."

"Hiss—"

Dongfang Shuye jerked back against his chair, which screeched sharply against the floor.

He now understood why the other side had mobilized almost everything to attack the Pengcheng safe house.

This wasn't protection. This was hiding a nuclear bomb capable of altering the world's balance of power!

"And the person?! Where is she now?!"

"Unknown. But based on my final headcount, the Xia Zhi squad is missing. They might have successfully evaded pursuit."

Dongfang Shuye closed his eyes, beginning to piece together all the information in his mind.