Chapter 108 Interrogation 2

If it were Lu You in the past, he probably wouldn't have been so tactless as to ask about his concerns when he saw that the other person was clearly weak.

But he is not like that now. Perhaps it is because the monsters and the Seed of the Heart are closely related to the Humanity Bureau and the creator of the monsters that he cherishes, causing him to lose his normal mind and do things that are not like himself.

"It's just a unique ability of mine."

Ma Zao looked at Lu Youxun warily, without revealing any further information.

"Abilities..." Lu Youxun gazed at her thoughtfully, "Has your soul been damaged? Is your retention of the Seed of the Heart temporary or permanent?"

After thinking for a moment, Asahi said, "...The source of this strange person's power is still trying to escape. If I were in my prime, I could easily detain it permanently, but right now I can only control it for two or three hours at most."

"Two or three hours... that's more than enough time for interrogation." Lu Youxun sighed first, then asked, "We in Luoshan can help you heal your soul wounds. Of course, it will definitely take a long time. After you recover, can you help us capture other strange people?"

“This is a scar left by a great demon, and it cannot be healed without a method of equal level,” Ma Zao said frankly. “In the words of your time, it is only the Great Impermanence that can heal me.”

"The Great Demon? The Great Impermanence?" Lu Youxun frowned.

I was somewhat surprised. Before, when I saw that Mazao was in much better condition than when we first met, I thought that her emotional trauma would gradually improve over time until it was completely healed. Now, hearing what she said, it seems to be completely different from what I had assumed.

Unfortunately, Lu Youxun is still here, so no matter how much I care about Ma Zao, it's not convenient for me to ask him any further questions here. I can only ask for details later.

"Speaking of which, the sword you're holding looks a lot like Zhu Shi's sword." I decided to change the subject.

"This?" Lu Youxun showed off his sword. "This is called the 'Sword of Impermanence.' It's a magical weapon bestowed upon those who become Impermanent beings of Luoshan. It has the function of enhancing physical abilities and is also a symbol of the Impermanent's identity. Although I have now changed my profession to a patrolman, the Sword of Impermanence is still in my hands."

"After you complete the process of becoming a heretic and impermanent person in Luoshan, Luoshan will also equip you with a 'Heretic Impermanent Sword,' so you can look forward to it."

Hearing that there was a magical artifact to take, and a sword-shaped one at that, I was really looking forward to it. Then I asked, "But I don't think you had this sword with you before. Where did you get it from?"

"The Impermanence Sword can be hidden under normal circumstances, but can be summoned when needed."

As Lu Youxun spoke, he tossed the Impermanence Sword aside, and the sharp sword vanished into thin air as if it were dissipating smoke.

At first, I suddenly realized what was going on, and then I had a question.

Wait a minute, since the Impermanence Sword has a built-in concealment function, why does Zhu Shi always hide it in a black guitar case and carry it with him? Isn't that very inconvenient?

Zhu Shi didn't join the conversation about the Impermanent Sword, but instead got back to the main topic: "We still have two or three hours to deal with the monster. Is there really no way to use our technology to capture the Seed of the Heart?"

“There’s nothing we can do.” Lu Youxun shook his head regretfully. “For Luoshan, the Seed of the Heart is still an unknown technology. Especially given the conditions here, it’s impossible to find a way to seize the Seed of the Heart in two or three hours.”

"So, the only option is to kill him after interrogation..." Zhu Shi said. "Then let's hurry up and interrogate the Shadow Changer first."

"Alright." Lu Youxun sighed again.

He approached the Shadow Changer, who was still unable to accept reality, and once again used the human skin glove that was said to be able to read the target's surface thoughts to press down on the other's head.

“Let’s test the props first.” Lu Youxun said, pointing at me with his free left hand. “Why didn’t you attack him first, but instead attacked me first?”

The Shadow Man squeezed his eyes shut and remained silent.

Lu Youxun simply nodded, then turned to look at me.

“I see. The reason he attacked you first was because you bound him with flames. So he wanted to get rid of you first so he could escape…” he said knowingly, then exclaimed, “I’ve been thinking about this since the beginning. Your flames can actually bind a target like a solid substance.”

It seems that the Shadow Changer's resistance was completely useless.

"It's just a little trick," I said.

Normally, even if flames were shaped like a hand, they couldn't actually grasp or throw objects like a hand.

This is just like when I used flames to create a vocal organ in front of Chang'an and the goldfish. Since I can touch objects normally in my fire element form, I can create a "flame that can grab objects" by mimicking my own fire element form hand with flames.

Even the "Firefly" skill shows traces of using the fire element as a reference. When I developed the "Firefly" skill a long time ago, although I could sense the things around me through it, it was only a vague sense, and I couldn't grasp the colors of the things around me or the sounds they made.

I was able to do this after learning elementalization. As a polymer of flames in my fire elemental form, I shouldn't normally have normal visual and auditory senses, but I can see and hear normally. After transplanting this effect onto the "firefly," the perception the "firefly" gave me also included images and sounds.

Modern technology has a branch called "bionics," which uses the physiological functions of animals to achieve all sorts of incredible technologies. The most famous example is radar technology, which originated from the sound-based navigation of bats. I don't know if this explanation is correct, but my skills might also be a kind of bionic technology. Although the object of bionics is myself in the form of the fire element.

Lu Youxun accepted my answer for the time being and then focused on interrogating the Shadow Man.

Normal interrogation methods would certainly require psychological tactics on the interrogated person, but as a patrolman of Luoshan, his interrogation methods were much simpler and more brutal. He could directly use magic to force the interrogated person to tell the truth.

I had been considering whether to temporarily return the Black Rope Heart-Locking Ring to Lu Youxun, but now it seems there's no need. He can achieve the same effect with magic himself. He gripped the Shadow-Changing Monster's right hand, which emitted a distorted aura that flowed directly into the monster's skull. The Shadow-Changing Monster's eyes glazed over, unable to even maintain silence, and he could only spew out information like beans.

Even the legendary Truth Potion could potentially cause mental confusion in the interrogated person, leaving them in a semi-conscious state where their words might be incoherent. But the Shadow Changer at this moment spoke clearly, and aside from his extremely resistant expression, he was otherwise quite cooperative.

I thought Lu Youxun would go straight to the point and ask about the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau and the creator of the monster, but he became very patient after starting the interrogation. He began by asking relatively basic questions such as why the Shadow-Switch Monster became a monster and his motives for committing crimes.

I think I can understand why he did that. I've occasionally seen people online being mocked after asking questions, with comments like, "Why don't you just Google it?" While such mockery is often not entirely unfounded, sometimes it's simply unreasonable.

It's not that using a search engine is difficult. Many people have likely had similar experiences: they know what they want to search for, but don't know how to describe their question, so even with a search engine, they can't find the information they need. Especially in certain specialized fields, if the questioner lacks the necessary prior knowledge, they may not even be able to accurately describe their question.

The task of "interrogation" may present similar difficulties. It's not simply a matter of forcing someone to answer questions to guarantee success; "asking questions" itself is a far more profound art than many people imagine. Lu Youxun is probably currently gathering preliminary information from the Shadow-Changing Monster that will be useful for subsequent questioning.

"hateful……"

The Shadow Man resisted fiercely, yet remained uncontrollable, forced to recount his past in utter humiliation.

His words overturned my impression of him.

According to the goldfish's description, before becoming a weirdo, he was a person who used to be involved in the underworld, but after going through a clean break and transformation, he successfully entered high society.

That's how I initially saw him too. However, in his own eyes, he was not a successful person at all, but clearly a dog without any dignity.

All of this is because of his past.

A person's future is uncertain, but the past is immutable. So-called "whitewashing" and "transformation" are nothing but wishful thinking. The "past" is not so easily shaken off, and past actions cannot be erased. Once you step into a stinking swamp of excrement, even if you successfully get out, the stain will forever remain. Bystanders will remember it and point fingers at those who have made it ashore.

He was once a young man struggling in the city with dreams in his heart. After becoming an entrepreneur through "laundering and transformation", he gained enormous wealth and remained ambitious, wanting to become a true member of the city's upper class.

Contrary to his dreams, he wasn't truly accepted by the upper class. Instead, his past in the gang became leverage for the local elites. They welcomed him into the upper class only to make him a useful "tool."

Before becoming an eccentric, he seemed to be on equal footing with the powerful and wealthy, but in reality, he was the lowest-ranking person in the circle, who could be ordered around and have his value extracted at will.

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

(End of this chapter)