Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 109 - 106 Interrogation 1

Chapter 109: 106 Interrogation 1

While Lu Youxun was drawing the Array, a night club in the distance was undergoing an unprecedented raid.

Because my "Fireflies" had not yet been withdrawn from the nightclub, I had a clear view of the developments there. With nothing else to occupy me, I decided to divert some of my attention to that location.

Earlier, Lu Youxun had phoned his subordinates to deal with the nightclub situation. Since they were his subordinates, they must be agents, and agents are ordinary people, so they couldn’t rely on individual violence to destroy the nightclub. They probably communicated with official forces about this matter. As Zhu Shi had said, with Luo Mountain and the official forces at a standstill, the latter would not tolerate nightclubs of this kind. And so, in less than twenty minutes, a large law enforcement team stormed in without further ado.

The subsequent changes were akin to a thorough purge. No amount of local power behind the nightclub could hinder the official forces’ resolve to dismantle it. The guests, in the midst of their revelries, were caught so off-guard that they didn’t even have time to dress properly before being embarrassingly apprehended on the spot by the law enforcement team. All managers and staff were immediately subdued, and seeing a scene reminiscent of the sky falling, the security guards quickly ceased resistance and obediently knelt, their faces still marked with a temporary inability to accept reality.

I saw Changan and Jinyu nearby, still lingering across from the nightclub, silently watching as one person after another connected to the nightclub was taken away under the control of the law enforcement team.

Among those being escorted was the little girl I had glimpsed earlier, standing behind the Shadow Swapping Monster. She was no longer wearing her rabbit mask, but her hairpin gave her away. The law enforcement team treated her rather kindly. Jinyu also noticed her, her gaze lingering on the girl’s face for several seconds.

After a moment’s hesitation, Changan called into the air, "Zhuang Cheng, you’re watching, right?"

So he knew I was observing. How did he find out? Was it because I had arrived just in time when he was being abducted and beaten by two Shadow Clones, or because I didn’t avoid him when discussing tactics with Zhu Shi and Mazao earlier?

I didn’t mind letting others know about the "Fireflies" now, so I maneuvered a "Firefly" to appear before him and Jinyu.

Both of them immediately noticed the small light, their expressions a mix of suspicion and apprehension. I continued to manipulate the "Firefly" to a nearby alley where it wouldn’t attract attention. The two exchanged a glance and followed silently.

Once we were in a secluded spot, I let the firefly expand into a Fireball, created a vocal apparatus within it, and then transmitted my own voice: "What is it?"

While it sounds sophisticated to create a vocal apparatus, it wasn’t a complex skill. I was just going by feel. In my Fire Element form, I could speak normally; now I was simply remotely controlling fire, simulating some functions of the Fire Element humanoid form.

Creating a throat and mouth out of thin air with flames seemed a bit nauseating, so I wrapped them with fire as a sort of packaging.

Changan, apparently unaccustomed to conversing with me in this manner, hesitated for a moment before speaking, "It’s nothing special... just wanted to ask if your fight is over."

"It’s over," I responded.

"Is the Shadow Swapping Monster you’re looking for really Jinyu’s father?" he asked, clearly concerned about this question.

"Yes," I answered.

"It’s really strange talking to you in this form; it feels as though you’ve become some kind of bizarre entity..." he couldn’t help but express his thoughts.

Is that so? I felt it was much like having a phone conversation.

Suddenly, Jinyu asked, "So, is he dead?"

"Not yet," I said, "There’s still some information that we need to extract from him."

She persisted, "And after you’ve asked everything?"

"Then of course, we kill him."

Even though I was speaking to the Shadow Swapping Monster’s daughter, I saw no need to sugarcoat. Not just because she herself harbored deep hatred for the Shadow Swapping Monster, but even if they had a normal father-daughter relationship, I had no interest in feigning emotion.

"Don’t even suggest something like ’let me kill him,’" I continued. "Even bound up, a monster isn’t something a normal person can harm, let alone kill. You’d be putting yourself in danger by rashly approaching him.

"If you’re prepared to die, I won’t call you foolish. But we don’t want his chance at escape, which could happen if you interfere."

In a tone of disbelief, Changan replied, "Ah Cheng, can’t you just plainly say you don’t want others to lose their lives..."

I continually felt that both he and Zhu Shi viewed me with some sort of strange filter, as if they really thought I was this tsundere character with a tough exterior but a soft heart. Am I that kind of person?

By contrast, Jinyu seemed to understand much more, clearly having taken my words seriously.

"I understand," she said. "I won’t do anything rash, but before you kill him, can I see him one last time?"

Upon hearing this, I consulted with Lu Youxun, who was in charge of the interrogation.

"One is Zhu Shi’s brother, and the other is the Shadow Swapping Monster’s daughter?" He thought for a moment and then said, "It’s fine; bring them here."

So I said to Jinyu, "Alright, I’ll take you there. Think about any final words you want to say to him on the way."

I turned the Fireball back into "Firefly" that resembled Mars, and led the two of them toward the small grove we were in.

Meanwhile, on our side, Lu Youxun finished his preparations, claiming he had sealed the Shadow Swapping superpower. I couldn’t detect any obvious sign of a successful "sealing," like specific lights or sounds. Since he said so, I figured it must be sealed for sure.

He approached the Shadow Swapping Monster, taking out a pair of pale blue leather gloves from his pocket. They looked like they were made from human skin, the color reminiscent of a zombie’s flesh. He put them on his right hand and then pressed the hand onto the top of the Shadow Swapping Monster’s head.

"You bastard..." The Shadow Swapping Monster showed a look of humiliation.

Lu Youxun said emotionlessly, "Behave yourself."

I also walked over, and seeing him pulling out another curious Magic Tool, I couldn’t help but take a few extra glances. Perhaps because he had lost his combat abilities, he seemed to be using a lot of magic little gadgets.

Seeing my curiosity, he switched to a friendly expression and explained, "These gloves allow me to read the surface thoughts of the one I’m interrogating. After all, interrogation work sometimes isn’t just about forcing the other party to answer questions; the interrogator might also fail to ask the right questions due to insufficient information.

"After knowing that this incident involves the Human Bureau and the Weirdo Maker, I specifically requested some Magic Tools from the department that stores them so that I could extract more detailed information during interrogation. This is one of them."

"I see..."

I was about to nod in response when the Shadow Swapping Monster suddenly made a move.

Taking advantage of the conversation between Lu Youxun and me, he seemed to think we had let our guard down and launched an attack brazenly.

He was still restrained by my Flame Palm and his Shadow Swapping superpower was sealed, and his condition was quite poor, but his ability to manipulate shadows seemed barely functional. He opened his mouth wide, presumably manipulating the shadows inside, and shot out a Shadow Spear as thick as a bowl from it.

At this very moment, life and death were at stake for him, and the first target of his attack must have been the result of his careful deliberation. However, rather than choosing the closer Lu Youxun, who was support personnel, he made me his primary target.

The Shadow Spear flew out incredibly fast. To be honest, I didn’t actually see it was a spear at first. It wasn’t until a flash of silver sword light suddenly cut through from the side, intercepting and shredding the Shadow Spear, that I was able to identify what had attacked me based on the faint traces lingering on my retina.

In fact, I knew he was going to attack when I saw him opening his mouth toward me, but there was no need to dodge. Now, what surprised me was neither the Shadow Swapping Monster’s counterattack nor that someone else intercepted and shattered the counterattack in time. I initially thought the person who came to my aid was Zhu Shi, but upon closer inspection, it was Lu Youxun.

In Lu Youxun’s hand was a sharp longsword with a red tassel, a black handle, and a silver blade.

This sword looked identical to Zhu Shi’s.

Seeing his last-ditch effort to survive come to naught, the Shadow Swapping Monster’s face fell into despair, and the feeling of power throughout his body rapidly declined.

The seed of the heart was planning to leave his body; he was about to self-destruct!

Having spent the time and patience to set up the Array to seal the superpower, Lu Youxun sighed with immense regret that the opponent still intended to self-destruct in the end. At the same time, Zhu Shi unhesitatingly stepped forward with his sword, aiming to sever the connection between the Shadow Swapping Monster and the seed of the heart.

But Mazao was even faster. She stood her ground without moving, just pointing her hand towards the direction of the Shadow Swapping Monster and declaring in a deep voice, "Stop."

With those words, the Shadow Swapping Monster became frozen in place like the man in the black suit before him, and the sensation of his rapidly declining power suddenly reverted to normal, as if the previous decline had been nothing more than an illusion. He did not shrink down to a normal human size like the Undying Monster had.

"Ah?" The Shadow Swapping Monster was stunned.

Zhu Shi also halted, and Lu Youxun was greatly taken aback.

Both of them looked at Mazao with incredulity.

But Mazao turned pale, showing a weakened appearance, her body swaying back and forth. Her frail and pale complexion, along with her struggling posture, reminded me of her when we first met.

I quickly went to support her.

"You actually canceled the seed of the heart’s escape procedure?" Lu Youxun seemed unable to believe his own eyes.

More than that concern, I was worried about Mazao’s condition: "Mazao, are you alright?"

"I’m fine."

Mazao clung tightly to my arm and took a deep breath.

Perhaps because she had used the blessing power on herself, her complexion visibly improved.

Lu Youxun, uncharacteristically concerned, asked, "How did you do that? To forcefully retain the seed of the heart... Even on Luo Mountain, no one has ever managed to do that before."

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