Chapter 10: Interrogation

“Mmm~”

Just as Su Xuan was getting carried away, Su Xuan’er’s voice sounded in his mind. He looked in contemplation and saw that Su Xuan’er had already sat up and was looking at him, but her eyes were dazed.

‘Could she have slept herself silly?’ Su Xuan thought in his mind.

“Hello?”

“Moshi moshi?”

“Hello!”

Su Xuan was in a good mood and greeted Su Xuan’er. However, she just stared at him blankly without any reaction.

This strange behavior made Su Xuan nervous all over again, and he quickly closed the distance with Su Xuan’er.

“Could there be a problem with eating that Black Energon Stone?”

Su Xuan’s heart was filled with anxiety. After all, it was a product of the Dark Abomination civilization, and he had never heard of anyone being able to eat a Black Energon Stone. He was the first person to try it. If any problems arose, there was no experience to guide him.

“Pfft…”

Just as Su Xuan was about to examine Su Xuan’er carefully, she suddenly burst out laughing, which both surprised and delighted Su Xuan.

“Hey, if you’re awake, you’re awake. Why did you scare me?”

Su Xuan clutched his chest. Although he was a conscious entity and had no heartbeat, doing this told Su Xuan’er that he was really scared. After all, although she was her, she was also his Phantom Soul. If something was wrong with his Phantom Soul, how could he not be nervous?

“Haha, I was still processing those words you said just now. Weren’t you the one with an iron will who wouldn’t cross-dress? Why are you suddenly willing to cross-dress all the time?”

Su Xuan’er clutched her abdomen and said with a laugh.

Hearing Su Xuan’er’s mockery, Su Xuan’s face instantly darkened. Before, because he was too excited, he had directly said those words about accepting cross-dressing. Now, it seemed that he had completely lost all his integrity.

He thought she had fainted and hadn’t heard that sentence, so it had just passed. He didn’t expect her to have heard it after all.

“Heh heh, it’s inevitable for people who have survived a desperate situation to say some incredible and incoherent things out of excitement. You don’t need to worry about whether I cross-dress or not in the future.”

Su Xuan said coldly, as if the person opposite him was his lifelong enemy.

Then, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he said cheerfully, “And I’ve already found a way to not become a woman. What do you think? Surprised? Unexpected?”

Su Xuan’er looked at Su Xuan without much reaction, as calm as if Su Xuan was telling a joke.

“You… aren’t you nervous?”

Su Xuan looked at the strangely quiet Su Xuan’er. Shouldn’t she show a shocked expression? This Phantom Soul who was dedicated to turning him into a woman.

“Why? Why should I be nervous? I am you, and you are me.”

Su Xuan’er said calmly.

In fact, Su Xuan was probably the only one who could have a big fight with his own Phantom Soul, to the point that Su Xuan had a feeling that his Phantom Soul and himself were two independent units.

However, in reality, the two were one. So as long as Su Xuan didn’t die, Su Xuan’er wouldn’t disappear either. Perhaps it was just that things couldn’t develop in the direction she hoped to see, but it indeed had no negative impact on her.

“Boring.”

With that, Su Xuan directly exited the world of consciousness, washed the blood-stained clothes from the battle, and then hid the special iron blade in a cabinet. He formulated a story in his mind, waiting to deal with any possible conversations that might come.

And on the small hill behind the residential complex hundreds of meters away, a group of people in black uniforms had already surrounded the place where the cultist had been cut in two.

The body on the ground had long been taken away by the coroner. The bloodstains were cleaned up and marked with other colors.

And the black-uniformed personnel who remained were the ones inspecting the scene and looking for useful clues.

The leader was a middle-aged man. Years of experience had weathered his face. His stern and unsmiling expression made him look imposing without being angry. He carefully inspected this small hill.

“Captain Chen, there’s some news from the autopsy over there. The cultist probably died about two hours ago, around 5:10. And that person’s information has also been cracked. It’s Zuo Tao, known as the Southern Transport Envoy in the Black Fall Cult.”

“As for the cause of death, you guessed right, Captain. It was indeed death by a slash from a special iron blade. Another strange thing is that no personal belongings were found on the body.”

The man called Captain Chen nodded silently. In fact, investigating the cause of the cultist’s death was no longer an important matter. The important thing was to figure out why he came, where he came from, and who sent him.

Now that his identity was known, he could understand who sent him. The Southern Transport Envoy, one of the nine transport envoys of the Black Fall Cult, a fanatical running dog who only took orders from the cult leader. So the person who sent him this time must be the leader of the Black Fall Cult.

To be directly ordered by the cult leader, it seemed that the Black Fall Cult had a big move again, and the target was White City. But there were no personal belongings in the autopsy report, so it was very likely that they were taken by the person who killed him. It was also not ruled out that he was specifically here to deliver information.

“Captain, two dark darts were found on a tree forty meters southeast of the body!”

A young man hurried over, interrupting Captain Chen’s train of thought.

“Take me there.”

Captain Chen quickly stopped his thoughts and rushed to the location where it was found.

Two bladed throwing darts were firmly embedded in the tree trunk. It was clear how much force was used when they were thrown.

Putting on gloves, Captain Chen pulled out one of them.

“It’s made of special iron, without any markings, and no poison has been applied.”

After a brief inspection, Captain Chen asked the recorder next to him to record this, and he himself returned to the battle site.

That was obviously used in battle and had no informational value.

“It’s hard to see any signs of a fight on the ground. The cultist was most likely instantly killed. To be able to instantly kill an old hand who had awakened his initial form for many years, that person’s strength, if not at the second form, is not far off.”

“For such a powerful person to move silently in White City is not a good thing.”

Captain Chen looked around, but there were no major traces, making everything seem so calm.

Combining the two darts stuck in the tree trunk from before and the power gap of being instantly killed by a single strike, Chen Daocheng could probably already guess the scene of the previous battle.

The cultist hid in the shadows. Seeing someone come to hunt him, he first used two darts to try to assassinate the person hunting him.

It was unsuccessful. He had no choice but to face him head-on and was cut in two. After his death, all the items on his body were taken away.

So where would he hide to launch a sneak attack?

It didn’t take long for a clue to arrive.

“Captain, there are obvious signs of trampling there!”

A young investigator ran over to report to Captain Chen.

In a low bush less than ten meters from the place of death, it was not discovered at first because of its remote location and dim light.

There were obvious signs of trampling on the ground, and many of the low bushes were broken. There were also a few strands of torn fabric on the branches. Comparing it with his memory, it was undoubtedly the cultist’s.

Looking in that direction, it was northwest. Captain Chen instantly thought of the major raid from two days ago. Was it a fish that slipped through the net?

If so, why was there not a single piece of news after that raid?

All thirty-two cult members had been captured, killed, interrogated, and the information found by nine o’clock yesterday morning. There was no information about this Southern Transport Envoy.

Then it was very likely that all thirty-two people were a cover for him, deliberately attracting the attention of the Investigation Bureau to create chaos and let him sneak in.

Because transportation between cities was very strict, vehicles coming and going had to be registered, and the several checkpoints were very strict. It was difficult to pass without creating chaos.

To pay such a big price, the lives of thirty-two cultists, and not carry anything on him?

It could be verbal information, or it could be that the important items were taken by the mysterious person.

So was that mysterious person an enemy or a friend? Although the act of killing a cultist seemed like a friendly act, it didn’t rule out the possibility of a Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai kind of operation to lower the Investigation Bureau’s vigilance.

But that would indeed be superfluous, because this Southern Transport Envoy had indeed successfully infiltrated White City. There was no need to put on such a good show again.

Captain Chen pondered as he called over a few assistants.

“Go to the property management office and retrieve all the surveillance footage from this area.”

“Retrieve the surveillance footage from the intersection from the North Station to here, from midnight to 5 a.m. today.”

Time was approaching noon. Su Xuan paced back and forth in his bedroom, his mood not as calm as it appeared.

“Knock, knock!”

“One moment!”

‘Are they here?’ Su Xuan’s heart was filled with anxiety, but his face remained unchanged as he calmly opened the door.

“Hello, I am Chen Daocheng, captain of the second team of the Investigation Bureau’s investigation team. May I ask if you are student Su Xuan?”

A dignified-looking middle-aged man introduced himself. Behind him were a few recorder-like figures who did not speak.

“Yes, I am. May I ask what this is about?”

Su Xuan stood at the door, with no intention of letting them in.

“Can we go inside to talk? There is a matter that requires your help with the investigation.”

Captain Chen said unhurriedly, his eyes looking inside.

“Oh, okay, please come in.”

Su Xuan quickly moved aside and let them enter the living room.

“Please sit.”

Su Xuan said, pointing to the sofa.

“Thank you.”

But those few followers had no intention of sitting down.

Clearing his throat, Captain Chen looked into Su Xuan’s eyes and asked directly.

“Did you leave your house at five in the morning to go for a run on the small hill behind?”

“Yes, I have this habit. I’ve never stopped before, but today was a little earlier.”

“Then did you see a man like this during your run?”

A4-sized photo was displayed. It was the arrogant cultist who wanted to kill him.

“…Perhaps I have.”

Su Xuan said with an unchanged expression, but his palms were already sweating, and his heart was racing. However, his eyes stared at Captain Chen without any panic.

“I saw two people fighting when I was running. It couldn’t be called a fight. One person drew his blade, and the other person died. But because I was too scared, I didn’t see clearly who was who. I don’t know which one this person you want to identify is. I think the reason the Investigation Bureau came to me is probably because of this matter,” Su Xuan said with a calm expression.

“Mmm…, why did you go out for a run half an hour earlier today? As far as I know, you usually go out for a run at 5:30.”

Captain Chen directed the question to Su Xuan himself.

“I had a nightmare and couldn’t sleep. Actually, sometimes when I can’t sleep, I go for a run half an hour earlier. Today is no exception.”

“Then did you see that masked person bend down to pick something up?”

“It was a black mahjong-sized metal block, it seemed to be a Black Energon Stone.”

“Black Energon Stone…”

This question-and-answer session lasted for about half an hour. Only then did Captain Chen put away his notebook, say thank you to Su Xuan, and leave with his few followers.

“Captain, is there any problem with that person?”

A follower from behind came up and talked with Captain Chen.

“I can’t tell. It could be a lie, or it could not be… but his aura is too weak, he couldn’t be the killer.”

Captain Chen looked at the jumping numbers on the elevator and continued unhurriedly.

“It’s probably half-truth, half-lie. But he can’t be on the cultist’s side. His parents are martyrs, so it’s only possible that he saw the person who killed the cultist, but doesn’t want to reveal his information, probably because he knows him.”

“And his brother is a Lieutenant General in the Lingnan War Zone, one of the top at the second form. If nothing unexpected happens, he is very likely to be the first person to enter the third form in the last four years. So it’s probably someone sent by his brother. There’s no need to pursue this aspect. Investigating the cultist’s purpose is the most important thing.”

“He just revealed a very important piece of information, Black Energon Stone…”

As soon as his voice fell, the recorder said in surprise, “Lieutenant General Su’s younger brother?”

Captain Chen nodded and said no more.