Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 110: Interrogate 2

Chapter 110: Interrogate 2

"If the past Lu Youxun would have been there, he would not have insensitively inquired about the questions he was concerned with upon seeing the other party’s obvious weakness."

"But now, he was different. Perhaps it was because the Weirdo and the seed of the heart, which were closely related to the Human Bureau and the Weirdo Maker he was obsessively concerned about, made him lose his usual composure and persist in actions uncharacteristic of himself."

"It’s just my unique ability."

Mazao looked at Lu Youxun warily without divulging any more information.

"Ability..." Lu Youxun pondered as he watched her, "Has your soul been wounded? Is your detention of the seed of the heart temporary, or permanent?"

Mazao thought for a moment and then said, "...The source of power of this monster is still attempting to escape. If it were me at my peak, I could easily detain it permanently, but now I can only control it for two to three hours at most."

"Two to three hours... That’s more than enough just for interrogation purposes," Lu Youxun first sighed, then asked, "Regarding the wounds to your soul, we can help you heal them later at Luo Mountain. Of course, it will certainly take a long time. After you’ve recovered, could you help us capture other weirdos?"

"The wounds were left by the Great Demon, and cannot be healed by methods of equal caliber," Mazao said frankly, "In the terms of your era, only Impermanence can heal me."

"Great Demon? Impermanence?" Lu Youxun frowned.

I was somewhat surprised. Seeing Mazao’s condition was much better than when I first met her, I had thought that her soul wounds would gradually improve over time until fully healed. Now, from what she said, it seemed completely different from what I had assumed.

Unfortunately, Lu Youxun was still here, and no matter how concerned I was about Mazao, it was not convenient to inquire further in his presence. I could only ask for more details later.

"Speaking of which, the sword in your hand looks very similar to Zhu Shi’s sword," I decided to change the subject.

"This?" Lu Youxun displayed his sharp sword, "This is called the ’Evil Sword’, awarded to those who become Luoshan Impermanence, enhancing bodily abilities and also serving as a symbol of Impermanence. Although I’ve now switched to patrol, the Evil Sword is still in my possession.

"After you complete the process to become Outer Path Impermanence at Luo Mountain, they will also provide you with an ’Outer Path Impermanence Sword’. You can look forward to it."

Hearing that I could get a magical artifact, and it was a sword no less, I was genuinely excited and then asked, "But I noticed you didn’t carry this sword with you before. Where did you bring it out from?"

"The Evil Sword can be hidden normally and summoned when needed."

As Lu Youxun spoke, he casually threw the Evil Sword to the side, and the sharp blade disappeared like vanishing smoke.

I first realized the implication and then became puzzled.

Wait, if the Evil Sword comes with a hiding feature, then why does Zhu Shi always keep his Evil Sword in a black guitar case to carry around with him all the time? Isn’t that quite inconvenient?

Zhu Shi didn’t join the conversation about the Evil Sword and returned to the main topic, "We still have two or three hours to deal with the Weirdo. Is there really no way to detain the seed of the heart using our techniques?"

"There’s no way," Lu Youxun shook his head regretfully, "For Luo Mountain, the seed of the heart is still unknown technology. Especially with the conditions here, it’s impossible to find a way to detain the seed of the heart in two to three hours."

"So you’re saying we have no choice but to kill it after interrogation..." Zhu Shi said, "Then we better hurry and interrogate the Shadow Swapping Monster."

"Fine," Lu Youxun sighed again.

He approached the Shadow Swapping Monster, who was still unable to accept reality, and once more pressed the other’s head with the human-skin glove, which was claimed to be able to read superficial thoughts.

"Let’s test the effects of the gadget first," Lu Youxun spoke while gesturing towards me with his free hand, "Why did you choose not to attack me first just now, but instead attack him?"

The Shadow Swapping Monster closed its eyes tightly and kept its mouth shut.

Lu Youxun, however, just nodded, then turned back to look at me.

"So that’s how it is, he attacked you first because you bound him with fire. So he wanted to deal with you first, then he could escape..." He first said with understanding, and then with a sigh, "I’ve been wanting to say, since a while ago, that your flame can actually bind a target like a solid substance."

It looked like the Shadow Swapping Monster’s show of resistance was completely futile.

"It’s just a little trick," I said.

Under normal circumstances, even if a flame took the form of a palm, it wasn’t possible for it actually to grasp and throw an object, as a real hand would.

However, this was just like the time in Changan, in front of Jinyu, when I used flames to create vocal organs — because my Elemental form as a Fire Element allowed for normal contact with objects. So as long as I used flames to mimic the palm of my Fire Element form, I could create a "flame that can grasp objects."

Even the "Firefly" skill had traces of being based on my Elemental form. A long time ago when I first developed the "Firefly" skill, although I could sense my surroundings, it was fuzzy and unable to discern the colors or sounds of those surroundings.

Such capabilities only came after I learned Elementalization. As a conglomerate of flame, my Fire Element form shouldn’t have had normal visual and auditory senses, but I could see and hear normally. After transplanting this effect onto "Firefly," the feedback it gave me included both images and sound.

Modern technology has a branch called "bionics," which involves mimicking animal physiological functions to achieve amazing technologies, with the most famous example being the radar inspired by bats’ echolocation. I’m not sure if this explanation fits, but my abilities might also be considered a type of bionic technology, albeit imitating my own form as a Fire Element.

Lu Youxun tentatively accepted my answer and then focused on interrogating the Shadow Swapping Monster.

The normal method of interrogation would surely require a level of psychological pressure and the like, but as a Luoshan Patrol member, his methods were much more direct and violent, capable of using spells to force the one being interrogated to tell the truth.

I had been thinking about whether I should temporarily return the Black Rope Heart-locking Ring to Lu Youxun, but now it seemed completely unnecessary, as he could achieve the same effect with spells. His right hand, which was gripping the top of the Shadow Swapping Monster’s head, emitted a twisted aura that was directly infused into the monster’s skull. The Shadow Swapping Monster’s eyes glazed over, and even silence became impossible for him to maintain; he had no choice but to spill information like spilling beans.

The legendary truth serum could still cause confusion in the subject’s mind, leaving them half-awake, with their words nonsensical and disjointed. Yet, the Shadow Swapping Monster was speaking clearly, and despite a highly resistant demeanor, he was otherwise quite cooperative.

I thought Lu Youxun would cut to the chase and inquire about the Human Bureau and the Weirdo Maker, but once the interrogation began, he showed ample patience, starting from more preliminary questions like the reasons behind the Shadow Swapping Monster becoming a weirdo and his subsequent motives for committing crimes.

Perhaps I could understand why he did this. I remember sometimes seeing on the internet that when someone posed a question, they would be mocked by others asking, "Why didn’t you just Google it?" This sort of mockery often has validity, but sometimes it is an unreasonable demand.

It’s not that opening a search engine is difficult. Many people have had experiences where, even though they know what they want to find out, they don’t know how to phrase their questions in a way that the search engine can help them find the specific information they need. Especially in certain specialized fields, if the inquirer lacks the necessary preliminary knowledge, they may not even be able to accurately describe what they want to know.

Interrogation has similar difficulties. It’s not just about being able to force someone to answer; "posing the question" itself is an area much deeper than many might imagine. Lu Youxun is probably collecting useful preliminary information from the Shadow Swapping Monster to frame subsequent questions.

"Damn it..."

The Shadow Swapping Monster, full of resistance, couldn’t control himself and had to shamefully divulge his past.

And his words overturned my impression of him.

According to Jinyu’s description, before becoming a weirdo, he was a successful man from the underworld past who had undergone social ascension and entered the upper class after whitewashing.

I too initially saw him like that, but in his own eyes, he was not some successful figure, but plainly a dog without dignity.

All because of his past.

A person’s future is uncertain, while the past is unshakeable. The so-called transformation through whitewashing is nothing more than a fool’s dream. The "past" is definitely not something that can be shed so easily; deeds once done cannot be undone. Once you’ve waded into a mire of odious excrement, even if you eventually make it ashore, the stain remains forever with that person. Bystanders remember and whisper about those who’ve made it ashore.

Once he was a young man with dreams, fighting to make it in the city, and after becoming an entrepreneur through "social ascension," he acquired vast wealth and continued to be ambitious, wanting to become a true member of the city’s elite.

But contrary to his dreams, he wasn’t truly accepted by the elite. Instead, the various things he did while in the gang became leverage for the local powers to manipulate him. The so-called elite welcomed him to their ranks only to make him a useful "tool."

Before becoming a weirdo, he seemed to sit on an equal footing with the powerful, but he was actually the person of the lowest status within the circle, at their mercy for exploitation and value extraction.

Until three months ago, when he encountered a man wearing a silver mask.