Chapter 94 - 89: Tough Bone

Chapter 94: Chapter 89: Tough Bone

Inside the Guard Team’s interrogation room, Ian was strapped to a chair, his head hanging low. His black hair clung to his forehead, and without his glasses, his emerald eyes were half-closed. After three consecutive days of psychological interrogation, he had lost a noticeable amount of weight. His lips were chapped, and his white shirt was stained with blood from the torture.

"I don’t... know..." Ian let out a weak voice. The interrogator from the Cavendish family took off his helmet and shook his head at Victor, who stood outside the one-way mirror. Turning off the equipment, the interrogator walked out, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"His willpower is too resolute. He must have undergone many similar drills. I can’t break him, and I can’t get any useful information out of him. Seriously, I’ve never seen anyone like him," the interrogator said.

Victor crossed his arms, looking through the glass at Ian, who was hanging his head in a semi-conscious state. "He is from Eastern China."

"Huh?" The interrogator didn’t understand what Victor meant.

"Huaxia people are born tough. They don’t believe in gods, yet they possess the most unwavering faith in the world."

The interrogator still didn’t quite understand, but he didn’t press the matter.

Victor pushed the door open and walked in. He closed it behind him, pulled up a chair, and sat down in front of Ian. Grabbing a water bottle from the side, he poured it directly over Ian’s head. Water trickled down the black hair, washing over the pale face and soaking the collar of the shirt. Ian choked and coughed a few times. He slowly raised his head, his wet hair plastered to his face. He struggled to open his emerald eyes, and upon seeing Victor, a smile formed on his lips.

"Junior..."

Victor tossed the empty bottle onto the table. "Saying nothing won’t help your situation at all."

Ian shook his head and slowly straightened his back, letting his exhausted body rest against the chair. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Victor clenched his fists, the veins bulging on the back of his hands. Seeing Ian’s half-smile and absolute refusal to cooperate, he abruptly stood up, grabbed Ian by the collar, and jerked him forward. "For so many years, you were the person I trusted the most!" Victor’s voice was kept incredibly low, squeezed out through gritted teeth. "But you deceived me!"

Ian looked at him without dodging or panicking. That faint smile still lingered at the corners of his mouth. "What did I deceive you about?"

"Lucia!"

Ian tilted his head, shaking the water droplets from the tips of his hair. "Is that the only thing?"

Victor’s fist shot up violently, but it froze in mid-air, stopping short of striking. Ian lifted his face. That scholarly visage, which had always seemed so refined, now bore no trace of fear. Instead, it carried a hint of provocation and a certain rebelliousness that Victor had never seen before. He was a tough nut to crack—a truly tough nut to crack!

Victor lowered his fist, his voice dropping even further. "I just want you to tell me yourself. Did the consciousness transfer experiment succeed or fail? Is she... is she still Lucia?"

Ian looked at Victor calmly. "I’ve already told you, there is no precedent for consciousness transfer. From a data perspective..."

BAM!

Before he could finish, Victor’s fist slammed into Ian’s face. With his wrists handcuffed behind the chair, Ian toppled to the ground along with it. The corner of his mouth split open, and blood pooled on the floor. Victor stood up, towering over him. "I don’t want to hear your nonsense!"

Ian’s emerald eyes were slightly paler than before, and the wound in his mouth was already healing. "From... a data perspective..."

BAM!

Victor kicked him square in the chest. This time, Ian and the chair were sent flying across the room, crashing heavily against the wall. The chair shattered. He collapsed into a pile of splintered wood, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Struggling, Ian pushed himself up into a sitting position, coughing as he spoke, "The experiment... succeeded!"

Victor didn’t strike again. His expression turned ice-cold. He stood there, staring at the man slumped against the wall—face covered in blood but still smiling—and remained silent for a long time.

"The council already knows."

Ian’s pupil color grew even paler.

"They know you never gave up on researching the cure for the Blood Plague. They also know that after you discovered the source of the Blood Plague was that Chi Hai, you’ve been plotting to completely destroy it and kill the three Progenitors. Furthermore...

"The council even knows you cultivated S704 among the Source Series experimental subjects. She inherited Source’s abilities. She is your hope of destroying Chi Hai and killing the three Progenitors, which is exactly why you deliberately let her go!"

Ian leaned against the wall, the smile on his face unchanged.

Victor continued, "In a few days, you will be transferred to the Sea Prison. Tell me, do you think your precious S704 will come to rescue you?"

Ian looked at Victor, the curve of his lips never faltering. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Victor stared at him for a long time. "You’d better truly know nothing." He turned to leave, but paused when he reached the door. "From the moment you deceived me, you were no longer my senior. To me, you are nothing but an accomplice in Lucia’s murder!"

The door to the interrogation room slammed shut. The pale, harsh light illuminated the splintered wood and dark red bloodstains on the floor. Ian leaned against the wall and slowly closed his eyes.

"This world will not go as you wish!"

***

Meanwhile, Yin Zhen had waited in the hotel for an entire day. By evening, Jenny finally called.

"The Rebel Army will not participate in the operation to rescue Dr. Ian. You cannot provide proof that he actually possesses the method to turn the Blood Clan back into humans, and we can’t gamble with our comrades’ lives. Of course, I personally don’t object to you and Zoe going to save him, and I can also provide you with some weapon support."

Yin Zhen said nothing. She realized the characters in this flop novel were surprisingly sharp and not easily fooled.

"Also," Jenny paused, her tone pointed. "If it weren’t for Zoe, knowing as much as you do would get you killed. Do you understand?"

This was a blatant threat for Yin Zhen to keep quiet about the Rebel Army’s affairs. If she didn’t, the Rebel Army would come for her life.

The call disconnected. Yin Zhen tossed the communicator onto the bed. After a moment of thought, she picked it back up to make another call, then pulled on her mask and headed out. She rode her motorcycle across half the city. Overhead, the Guard Team’s armed hovercars continuously swept past, the roar of their engines pressing down heavily. Before she even reached the Seventh District, Yin Zhen heard the dense rattle of gunfire.

She parked the motorcycle a short distance away. Ahead at the intersection, police tape had been drawn, and Guard Team soldiers in gray uniforms were securing the perimeter. Civilians were pouring out of the blockaded zone, with some shouting that the Guard Team was exterminating the Rebel Army. Using Shadow Instant Teleportation, Yin Zhen infiltrated the lockdown area and crouched on the roof of a low building to observe the situation below.

The storefront of the hair salon had been riddled with bullet holes. A faint blue Water Curtain was erected at the entrance. As bullets struck it, they were enveloped by the flowing water, lost their momentum, and harmlessly dropped to the ground. At least twenty Guard Team soldiers surrounded the salon. Clad in matching black Combat Uniforms, they laid down heavy suppressive fire with their weapons. Yin Zhen noticed streaks of blood beginning to appear within the Water Curtain. This meant the person sustaining it was reaching her limit and could no longer fully neutralize the damage from the bullets. Extraordinary Ability Users were not gods. A protagonist wouldn’t die, but they could still get hurt.

Yin Zhen drew Night Song, holding down the trigger to charge it up, and took aim at the armored vehicle parked at the rear of the street.

BOOM!

The Guard Team’s armored vehicle at the rear exploded violently. Soldiers were thrown off their feet by the blast wave, tearing a gap in their suppressive crossfire. Yin Zhen rapidly blew up three vehicles in a row, plunging the Guard Team into total chaos.

Leaping from the roof, she transformed into a cloud of black smoke and materialized at the entrance of the hair salon.

"Come with me!"

The Water Curtain dispersed, turning back into Zoe. She had taken bullets to her shoulder and thigh, but her face lit up with relief upon seeing Yin Zhen.

"The secret passage is open!"

Jenny and Ella—a girl Yin Zhen hadn’t met before—dashed out from inside. They were surprised to see Yin Zhen, but the dire situation left no time for questions. Jenny threw out a few explosives to cover their tracks, and the group quickly fled into the city’s sewer system through a hidden passage in the back room.

However, to everyone’s dismay, when they emerged from a concealed sewer exit on another street, they stumbled right into another Guard Team extermination squad.

And the ones leading the squad were none other than White Phosphorus and Lighthouse!