Interrogation and Escape

An hour earlier.

The school.

Seventh-floor staff area.

Teacher Jing had finished his errands and returned to his dorm room.

He walked to the door, inserted the key, and turned the lock. Just a split second before pushing the door open, he froze.

Every time he left, he would wedge a strand of hair where the door crack met the lock.

A clever investigator might assume the hair wasn't supposed to break, and that a broken hair meant someone had tampered with the door.

In reality, the hair Teacher Jing used was special; it was guaranteed to break. Moreover, the breaking point changed every time, shifting according to a specific cycle.

This time, however, the hair had broken in the exact same place as the last time.

This meant someone had discovered his cunning little trick and perfectly forged a replacement.

He pushed the door open.

Sure enough, someone was already sitting inside.

"How did you find me?" Teacher Jing didn't seem surprised by the person's presence.

"I remember a famous quote of yours, Teacher Jing: the most dangerous place is the safest. Thinking along those lines, as I searched the entire city, the easiest place to overlook would be the very school I'm in." Fengling revealed her face from the shadows.

"You're alone? Are you that confident you can take me down?"

"I don't need to fight you. The fact that I'm here means you can no longer escape."

"Impressive. But why would I run? I'm a teacher here, just coming back to prepare my lessons as usual."

"A teacher who juggles multiple roles, including being a bishop of the Church?"

"There's no rule saying a bishop can't be a teacher."

"Alright, Teacher Jing, or Bishop Jing, enough nonsense. Come with me."

Fengling walked straight out of the room, and Teacher Jing silently followed.

There was no one surrounding them, no one standing guard.

City Hall.

The interrogation office.

This was a relatively "civilized" interrogation room, primarily used for powerful officials whose crimes had not yet been proven.

Fengling and Teacher Jing sat across from each other at a desk.

"Bishop Jing, why don't you speak for yourself? Now that you're here, you should know that you won't be leaving unless you confess something."

"I still prefer it when people call me Father Jing."

"No problem."

"There's not much to say. I failed in my supervision. My subordinate, Wu Bin, made a grave mistake, and I couldn't stop him in time."

"What, you're pushing all the blame onto a dead man? You were the one who signed all the relevant documents in the end."

"I was merely deceived."

"Then why did you run? Why hide?"

"I was deeply devastated that a colleague could commit such evil deeds. I came out to clear my head, and since I also had a class to teach, I came to the school to prepare."

"Clear your head? When the incident happened, you closed the entire church, and a bishop just ran out to clear his head? Father Jing, do you even believe your own words?"

"A storm is brewing in the city lately. The church wasn't planning to receive outsiders anyway, so it was a good time to close for a few days of maintenance."

"I thought a priest would be smarter than the rest and understand the situation. I didn't expect it would still come to using force."

Father Jing looked up at Fengling and shook his head slightly.

"Mere threats aren't a good idea, Fengling. You don't have the authority to torture a city's bishop without evidence. You should think more about your own position."

"She doesn't, but what about us?"

The door was pushed open.

The Big Three of Sixiang City walked in.

Chief Sun's face was full of fury, skipping the pleasantries:

"Now, in my capacity as the City Chief, under the City Security Endangerment Law, and in the name of the Triumvirate Council, I order that desperate times call for desperate measures. Fengling, do whatever you can to make him talk."

President An coldly added, "Hmph, biting the hand that feeds you."

Two hours later.

Covered in blood and grime, Father Jing passed out once again.

Fengling walked out of the room and shook her head at Chief Sun.

"Still nothing?"

"We've used every method. An ordinary Mystic would have confessed long ago. Generally speaking, this has already exceeded the physiological limits of the human body. A traitor shouldn't be able to endure it."

"Is it possible that he really has nothing to do with it?"

Chief Sun didn't get the results he wanted and quickly left.

His main task right now wasn't catching traitors, but preparing for the final battle tomorrow.

Tomorrow's battle would be a do-or-die fight for Sixiang City; they couldn't afford to lose.

The Society Alliance Hall.

President An was in a meeting with the presidents of the various societies, checking for loopholes and formulating contingency plans for every conceivable variable.

On the walls of Sixiang City.

Human experts who had come to help stood guard on the walls, working with the school's personnel to build an impenetrable line of defense.

After midnight, the area was placed under absolute martial law. No paperwork or personal favors mattered anymore; all entry and exit points were sealed, and anyone who approached was killed on sight.

The night of the fifth day of the third week, the Frost Moon Night, passed just like that.

Chen Miemie was at home, clutching her little blanket tightly, sleeping soundly.

The sixth day finally arrived.

The six major alien races were Witches, Elves, Bloodkin, Ghosts, Yokai, and Spirits.

Among them, Witches and Elves were relatively neutral, the Spirit race was on good terms with everyone, and the ones truly hostile to humans were the Bloodkin, Ghosts, and Yokai.

Throughout the entire day.

The fighting never stopped.

The experts of the alien races acted like madmen; anyone who showed up charged desperately at the four sealing points.

Various Mystic methods emerged endlessly.

There were those digging tunnels, those projecting acid rain, those acting as suicide bombers, those manipulating venomous insects, those who were invulnerable and forced their way in, and those using illusions to create chaos...

But no matter what, this was Sixiang City's home ground.

The local Mystics had the advantage of terrain and unity. Furthermore, this was their home; they had no way out, so they fought just as fiercely.

From seven in the morning until dusk.

At the four sealing points, the killing blocked out the sun, and blood flowed like rivers.

Blood flowing like rivers wasn't an exaggeration. There was no time to clean the battlefield, and everywhere was truly dyed red.

It wasn't that there were a massive number of Mystics, but rather that some could enlarge themselves, producing an astonishing amount of blood when wounded; some Bloodkin were covered in blood sacs, so killing one would turn a large area red.

The severed limbs of Tier 4 Mystic experts, rarely seen on normal days, were scattered everywhere today.

At the core sealing point.

Chief Sun's face was covered in blood splatters.

"Little Jia, what's the casualty situation?"

Director Jia, the deputy head of the investigation team, was still just "Little Jia" in front of Chief Sun.

"At the other three sealing points, a total of 77 people have died in battle. Severe injuries are uncountable, and it's estimated we've killed over a hundred enemies."

Chief Sun's expression was grim.

How many high-level Mystics did Sixiang City have in total? How could they withstand such attrition? At this rate, with six hours left in the night, could they hold on?

"Where did the alien races get so many people? Didn't they say there were only a little over 100 of them in total? Who did the intel before this!"

"The intel was correct, they really only had a little over 100. According to our observations, they... they..."

"They what? Stop stammering."

"They're almost all dead."

"How is that possible! Do you think they're all idiots, with zero tactics, just throwing their lives away? Knowing they have no chance of winning, they all just came to die for nothing?"

"I find it strange too, but judging from the current situation, the analysis team hasn't found any other motives."

Chief Sun wiped the blood from his face.

Upon learning that the enemy was almost entirely wiped out, he did not feel happy. Instead, his heart pounded wildly, as if something terrible was about to happen.

The Rainbow Moon rose into the sky.

Blood-red moonlight shone down upon the brutal battlefields scattered everywhere.

Chen Miemie fully armed himself and arrived at the East District sealing point overseen by the [Court of the Silver Moon].

Right as he entered the perimeter of the sealing point.

City Hall.

A smile crept up the corners of Father Jing's mouth.

The blood and grime covering his body could not conceal his genuine, heartfelt joy. In an instant, he transitioned from a weak, tortured state to one of glowing vitality.

"The time has come."

He called out loudly, "Someone come."

Guarding him were two Mystics.

A man and a woman.

The woman walked up to the iron gate.

Father Jing spoke calmly, "Open the door."

The woman took out a key, preparing to unlock it.

The man hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed her arm, "What are you doing? He is still a suspect..."

The woman turned around and delivered a single knife slash.

Blood spurted from the man's throat as he slowly collapsed to the ground, "You... you...!"

The door opened.

Father Jing walked out.

"Where are the clothes? I cannot lose my decorum at such a sacred moment."

The woman lowered her head, "Please follow me."

The woman led Father Jing, and they walked confidently and openly through the currently undefended City Hall.

They encountered only two types of people along the way.

One type was just like the woman, bowing to him in respect;

The other type was just like the man, lying dead in a pool of blood.

Bathing was incredibly painful when one's body was covered in injuries, but Father Jing did not care in the slightest.

He changed into a brand-new priest robe, a robe without the sun and moon on it, and walked out of the City Hall.