Chapter 344 A Belated Judgment

In the interrogation room, a dim incandescent light hung from the ceiling, barely illuminating Joanna, who was tied to a chair.

The red dress she had intended to wear to make a splash at the banquet was now wrinkled and stretched tightly around her proud figure, making her look rather disheveled.

From the shadows, a tall figure slowly emerged.

Standing under the lights, Qin Zheng's face, disguised as an ordinary guard, appeared exceptionally stiff.

He remained silent, not uttering a word, only staring intently at Joanna with his bloodshot eyes.

Joanna raised her head, and despite being at a disadvantage, she still managed a hint of sarcasm on her face.

"What? That bitch Bai Shu doesn't dare to interrogate me herself?"

Qin Zheng ignored her provocation.

He raised his hand and slowly, bit by bit, removed the mask from his face.

Under the light, his face, covered with hideous scars, was exposed to the air. The crisscrossing scars resembled ugly centipedes, coiled around his once handsome face.

Joanna's sarcastic expression froze instantly.

Her pupils contracted to pinpoints the moment she saw that face.

It was an expression that mixed with fear, astonishment, and utter disbelief.

“It’s you…” her lips trembled.

"You're still alive?"

Qin Zheng's lips curled into a smile that looked even more like a grimace.

"Are you disappointed?" His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against a rusty iron plate.

"Wang Hai, Li Weiguo, Zhao Jianjun, Sun Shengli..."

With each name he uttered, he took a step closer to Joanna, his injured leg dragging out a dull thud in the silent room.

Each name struck Joanna hard in the heart.

Her face turned from white to green, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

These are the names of the squad members she personally sent to their deaths, the nightmares that have haunted her in the dead of night for the past ten years.

"You still remember them." Qin Zheng finally walked up to her, looking down at her.

"Do you remember how Wang Hai died?"

Qin Zheng's voice suddenly rose, filled with barely suppressed hatred.

"He was pinned to the ground by three men, who slit his throat while he was still alive! Blood splattered all over my face! Even in death, his eyes were wide open, as if he wanted to ask me, 'Why?'"

"Li Weiguo, in order to cover our retreat, detonated his last grenade, perishing together with the enemy, leaving no trace of his body!"

"And Zhao Jianjun! After he was captured, he was tortured for three days and three nights. There wasn't a single good inch of flesh on his body, but he didn't utter a sound until he died!"

Qin Zheng's eyes were frighteningly red. He suddenly grabbed Joanna by the collar and lifted her off the chair.

"You bitch! Tell me! Do you sleep well at night? Do you dream that they're coming to take your life?!"

Joanna was almost suffocating from his strangulation; her face, which always wore a charming smile, turned a deep liver color from lack of oxygen.

In the monitoring room next door.

Su Wantang stared quietly at the screen, her brows slightly furrowed.

She picked up the walkie-talkie on the table and pressed the call button.

"Qin Zheng, calm down."

The cold and calm voice was clearly transmitted to Qin Zheng's ears through the miniature earphones.

“Anger won’t solve anything. I need intelligence, not a corpse.”

"Don't forget, I promise you'll avenge yourself."

Qin Zheng's body stiffened for a moment.

He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving, and the madness and hatred in his eyes were slowly suppressed by reason.

He released her, and Joanna slumped back into her chair like a lump of mud, clutching her neck and coughing violently.

Qin Zheng took two steps back, adjusted his breathing, and when he spoke again, the rage in his voice had disappeared, leaving only endless exhaustion and sorrow.

"Do you know? I injured this leg when I was carrying you out of the fire."

He pointed to his right leg.

"For ten years, every time it's cloudy or rainy, it hurts like countless ants are gnawing at my bones."

"But do you know what hurts more than this?"

Qin Zheng's gaze passed over her, as if he were looking into the distant past.

“She was Wang Hai’s mother. She waited for her son for ten years, and her eyes went blind from crying. She just passed away last year.”

"It's Li Weiguo's fiancée, who is still living in the new house they agreed to have married. She's all alone, and she's half-mad."

"And then there's Zhao Jianjun's son. He's twelve years old this year. All his classmates have fathers, but he doesn't. Every time he asks me if his father is a hero, I can't look him in the eye!"

Qin Zheng's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a needle piercing Joanna's heart.

Over the years, she has forcibly sealed these memories away through brainwashing by the organization and self-numbing.

She told herself that she was "Painted Eyebrows," sacrificing herself for a great cause.

But now, Qin Zheng has laid the bloody reality bare before her.

Joanna's body began to tremble violently; she clutched her head and shook it forcefully.

"It wasn't me! It wasn't my fault!" she screamed, her voice shrill.

"It's an order! I'm just following orders! They told me it's for a greater purpose! You're all so stupid! You deserve it!"

Her words were incoherent, and her eyes began to glaze over; clearly, her psychological defenses had begun to crumble.

She thought of the ruthless instructors at "Eagle's Nest" and the inhumane training they subjected her to.

Obey, or be eliminated.

This was the first rule she learned upon entering the "Eagle's Nest".

Just then, a clear, cold female voice rang out through the hidden speaker in the interrogation room.

It was the voice of Atractylodes macrocephala.

"Huamei, you are a smart person."

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried a power that pierced through people's hearts.

"A wise person should know what it means to be a shrewd person who knows when to yield."

Joanna's screams stopped abruptly. She looked up sharply and frantically searched the room for the source of the sound.

“I know you’re not the mastermind. You’re just a tool in their hands.”

“Tell me everything you know, including who ‘Viper’ is, all your strongholds in the capital, and who gave the order back then.”

"If you cooperate, I can give you a quick and painless death. A dignified end, without suffering."

Joanna laughed defiantly. "You think I'm afraid of dying?"

“You’re not afraid of death,” Bai Shu’s voice held a hint of amusement, “but you’re afraid of becoming worthless.”

"You schemed and betrayed your compatriots, your hands stained with blood, all just to climb the ladder and make yourself more valuable, didn't you?"

"But have you ever considered what you are in 'Sir's' plan for eternal consciousness?"

"You are just a spare container, a consumable that can be sacrificed at any time. Your loyalty and your sacrifice are worthless in his eyes."

The word "consumables" exploded in Joanna's mind like a thunderbolt.

Qin Zheng's painful memories, the tragic plight of the victims' families, Bai Shu's cold-blooded threats...

All of these factors combined to completely destroy her last line of psychological defense.

Joanna's face drained of all color, and the last glimmer of light in her eyes went out.

She opened her mouth, making strange "hoarse" sounds from her throat, like a chicken being strangled.

Finally, she suddenly lowered her head and let out a mournful wail that sounded inhuman; she completely broke down.