Interrogation

"There's a reason, officer," Wu Ci said softly.

Under the bleak interrogation lights, he faced the serious and inquiring scrutiny of the two policemen opposite him, suppressed the excitement in his eyes, and repeatedly told himself to stay calm.

The book says that you must grasp the rhythm of the conversation and not be affected by what the other person does.

The old policeman seemed to want to continue asking questions, but Wuci ignored whatever he asked. Instead, he kept his own pace and threw the question back in advance, adding in a low voice, "But unfortunately, you can't help me with anything."

The old policeman frowned, "What happened to you?"

"The reason I missed the college entrance examination and am here is simply because of a conflict with some people. You cannot provide me with effective help. Instead, you will make me suffer misfortune after your help and law enforcement."

Wu Ci heard his heart beating steadily and powerfully in his chest. He lowered his eyes and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't deny your intention, nor did I want to hinder the enforcement of the law. I just hope from a personal perspective that, as I don't need your help, you don't ask me any more questions. I don't want to hinder your future, and this will actually help maintain my dignity."

The old policeman pondered for a moment, then entered Wu Ci's name and the student ID number on the computer search bar next to him to retrieve the file.

The computer was turned over so that the screen was facing Wuci.

“Is this information yours?”

Wu Ci raised his chin without looking closely. His eyes moved away so quickly that it seemed that he didn't even have time to focus on the screen. He just glanced at it and nodded in confirmation, answering briefly and affirmatively, "Yes, officer."

After saying this, he stopped talking, as if waiting for the police officer opposite to continue questioning him.

In fact, Wu Ci was secretly reviewing and deepening his memory of the glance he had just taken.

His brain called up the frame that just flashed by like watching a movie, temporarily suspending all subjective control of the body, and used all the brain power it could to reconstruct and pause that frame, trying hard to remember something that was about to disappear.

Wu Ci certainly didn't really take a quick look at it, but rather quickly scanned his own files, memorizing it in a short period of time through key words before the visual range reconstructed in his mind collapsed and disappeared.

Because the file information in the computer may be true or false.

If it is true, then this file is extremely urgent for Wu Ci's current state of amnesia, and he must memorize it quickly.

But if the police on the other side deliberately deceived him and made the file fake or hid fake information inside, then he could just give it a cursory glance and then make an excuse that he was too nervous and didn't look carefully.

Wu Ci's expression was calm and peaceful. He repeated the key words in his mind to memorize them deeply, making sure that every key word he extracted could bring out the information that he didn't remember clearly.

Orphan: Born in the Downtown Slums

Address: Room 405, Unit 2, Anle Community, Liumin Street, Old Town, Dark Star City

Study: Always the top student in the grade

Character relationship: lonely, no close friends

Finance: Sky Foundation Student Loan (Under the Spiritualist Ordinance)

…

As he tried to memorize this information, the policeman sitting opposite him was looking through the files and tapping on the table to get his attention. "You haven't committed any crime. It was the abnormality of the fluctuation detection device that caused us to arrest the wrong person. We kept you here for questioning just to make sure you are not a suspect."

Wu Ci smiled sympathetically without any hesitation, "It's okay. All the police officers are here for the safety of the people. We must be serious when serving the people. Doesn't arresting me and questioning me mean that you are serious about your work? This is a blessing for all the people.

If all police officers and leaders were as honest as you two, I wouldn't be in the trouble I'm in now."

He spoke too smoothly, like an old hand in the system speaking in official language, yet his calm tone was so sincere. The old policeman opposite coughed twice, and the younger policeman next to him immediately understood and turned off the law enforcement recorder that could record audio and video.

The old policeman nodded and said to Wu Ci, "If you are the son of a rich and powerful person in the upper city or someone in the system, I really can't help you. This kind of evil trend has not changed for so many years. It is purely a problem of Dark Star's national conditions and system.

But you can try to report to the Special Management Bureau. Although the Special Management Bureau is nominally responsible for the affairs of heroes, it has great power and is now in charge of everything. The current director Zhen Shanhe will definitely help you while publicizing the matter for the sake of his reputation."

Special Management Bureau? I have never heard of this agency... Was it newly established in the past 20 years?

What are Heroic Spirits? Why is there an entire organization to manage them?

Wu Ci was cautious and did not ask any more questions. He classified all the information he heard as available clues, waiting for an opportunity to connect them with other clues to figure it out.

"Let me stop here. Your file doesn't seem to match your identity." The old policeman asked the young policeman to open the law enforcement recorder again. "The file doesn't have your specific identity before you became a student of Dark Star Academy... Are you a wild man who entered the city through the ferry?"

He did not wait for Wuci to answer, and continued, "The reputation of the wilderness people is not good. They will do anything to achieve their goals. Those who come out of that environment are all psychopaths. Most of the wanted criminals are you wilderness people."

Wu Ci's heart skipped a beat and his pupils suddenly contracted and then dilated. He immediately forced himself to calm down. Fortunately, his hair covered most of his eyes and no one noticed his abnormality.

Stay calm...stay composed...considering the old policeman's previous words and attitude, smuggling through the wilderness should not be a big deal.

After all, the police all know about the smuggling crossing... so this smuggling crossing should be tacitly known to everyone... It is only a crime in name only. If there is a problem, it can be used to hold someone accountable. When there is nothing wrong, people generally won't care about it. Instead, they will use it to gain benefits. So denying it will make people suspicious of him.

After quickly thinking this through, Wu Ci said:

"Yes, officer, but no one can choose their origins. They can only rely on their own efforts to create a new life. Because of everyone's perception of the wild people, I don't want to be a wild person anymore. I want to study and find a job in Dark Star City with my own abilities. In my spare time, I will try to take the civil service exam and work for the people in the system like you officers do, and change people's prejudice against the wild people."

"Your ideological awareness is high, but these days, the class system is rigid and it is not easy to get into the system."

The old policeman shook his head, and suddenly seemed to have seen something in the file, "I see that you applied for a student loan from the Sky Group to pay for your tuition. This kind of loan requires high interest payments every month. If you fail to pay back one installment, you will be arrested and sent to the Spirit Stone Mine to work as a miner. When your body can no longer support you and you die, you will be made into a spiritual power battery and installed in spiritual power technology equipment or spiritual power technology formations.

With a contract like this, even if you add the monthly interest and your scholarship for being the top student in your grade, it's still far from enough. But you don't look like you're doing hard labor. I'm curious, you have no parents, no friends, so where do you get the money for interest, living expenses, and rent?"

Spirit stone mine, spiritual power battery, spiritual power technology equipment, spiritual power technology formation... these are some terms that I don't understand.

But... Wu Ci knows about the Sky Group.

Twenty years ago, the entertainment and legal education program that killed him was sponsored by a subsidiary of Sky Group.

But... now, it has developed to the point where such "student loans" are made public?

The interest rate is high, and if you fail to pay back even one installment, you will be captured and taken to mine. And after death, your body will be made into a so-called "spiritual power battery." The most important thing is that these things seem to be legal.

Wu Ci had already realized the horror of the Sky Group from the old policeman's few words.

20 years ago, the Sky Group was an oligarchic company in the Dark Star World. Any entertainment program in any of its sub-industries could make officials around the world cooperate with the "Entertainment Law Popularization" and play with it like a little clown. Now, 20 years later, it has developed to this point.

Wu Ci tried hard to suppress his anger and forced himself to focus on the interrogation. He finally forced out a helpless smile that could not hide his sadness. "There are always more solutions than problems. As for the trivial ways to survive, they can be done as long as they are not prohibited by law, right? Officer? You can't let a living person not want to find a way to survive."

"Indeed, most people have the same idea as you, so they want to try their luck and apply for a loan from Sky Group."

The old policeman stroked his stubble. "But it seems that you applied for a spiritualist study loan. I saw that you passed the spiritualist awakening yesterday. According to common sense, it is not a big problem to skip the ordinary subjects of the college entrance examination today. When the spiritualist certificate comes out, you will be a rich man and can even live in the central city. It is not long before you can repay the loan. When we see you, we have to call you leader. But it seems that you failed to contract with the heroic spirit?"

"Tsk...if you have money and good luck, you can still survive...but now..."

The old policeman shook his head, a little pity in his eyes, "Come on, you won't live long, so hurry up and have a good meal tonight. You are a smart man, so you'd better not think about committing suicide, otherwise the Sky Group will not let you have a good end. If you breach the contract, you will have to pay more compensation, and your soul will be extracted to work for them. According to the regulations, you must work for them day and night for at least 570 years."

He stood up and closed the law enforcement recorder, and waved his hand impatiently at the young policeman who was taking notes next to him, "Xiao Zhang, drive him back. It's not safe at night. If he dies, the Sky Group will ask us for money.

Don’t forget to return his pencil as evidence to him. After the registration of the level of the psychic tomorrow, even if it is the stuff of the Sky Group, they are very domineering. Everything is theirs and they want to take everything. Even an ordinary pencil cannot be touched by us..."

"Yes, Master."

The young police officer untied the handcuffs from Wu Ci with a click and handed him a pencil in a transparent evidence bag. "Student, come with me. It's not safe at night. I'll take you home."

The interrogation was finally over...but the matter revolved around the Sky Group that killed him in his previous life.

These police officers seemed to be very wary of him, and were even afraid that if he died, the Sky Group would find them. They were also sure that he could not escape the Sky Group's loan regulations...

Wu Ci let out a long sigh.

Forget it... I'll go home and look for any clues first, and figure out what the situation is now before thinking of a solution.

Wu Ci nodded to thank "Xiao Zhang" who was going to drive him back, and followed behind.

He followed the young policeman called "Xiao Zhang" through the empty and dim silver-gray metal corridor of the Law Enforcement Bureau. With the remaining light of his eyes, he observed the gray-white light strips at the edge of the wall that illuminated the road, as well as the red-flashing surveillance and alarm devices above the ceiling.

As Wu Ci walked, he memorized the locations of the ventilation ducts and the internal layout of the law enforcement bureau, and began to build a 3D model in his mind for possible future use.

Along the way, he didn't meet anyone else, only saw a few robots with gray shells operating slowly.

Soon, Wu Ci finally walked out of the Law Enforcement Bureau.

The sky outside was pitch black. There was no moon or even a single star in the sky. Instead, it was an unknown dark red color, like a giant translucent bowl holding the entire city upside down.

Being in the law enforcement bureau was like dancing on the edge of a knife. It was tight and there was no room for error. Wu Ci had thought he would breathe a sigh of relief after he got out, but now he felt his strength being drained away.

The emotions that I had been suppressing began to collapse, and I even felt a suffocating feeling as if I couldn't breathe. My heart finally began to beat with fear without realizing it.

Plop…

Plop…

Plop…

Plop, plop, plop...ordinary, ordinary, ordinary.

Yes, just ordinary.

Wu Ci was just an ordinary person who was pushed forward all his life, and he died at the age of 20.

Twenty years of life passed by like a revolving lantern. Those ordinary scenes flashed through his mind one by one, mixed with the unclear escape life before his death and the clues he had just tried his best to write down...

For the past 20 years of his life, he was just an ordinary person...with no power or influence, and he did not fight or compete, so no matter where he was, he was played from beginning to end.

Coming here, he had to fight for his life the moment he opened his eyes. After escaping with great difficulty, he found that the outside world was not the free air he had imagined, but shackles formed by the clues he had just seen and heard.

Why does he have to go through all this?

Wu Ci bit his lower lip tightly and clenched his fists, letting his long nails dig deeply into the flesh of his palms, letting the pain help him keep his expression unchanged in silence in the darkness.

In fact, he had just seen the map and regional layout at the entrance of the Law Enforcement Bureau.

This is the old city area. The law enforcement bureau that manages this area is a branch, built on the mountainside, which is where he just came out.

To the left of the Law Enforcement Bureau are the slums, garbage district and downtown area, while to the right, beyond the midtown area and beyond the circular Line 7 that encircles the entire inner ring, is Dark Star City's central upper town area, the business district and the North District where the rich and powerful live.

The layout map stated that there was a city with bright lights, an extremely luxurious palace, the headquarters of the Special Management Bureau... and in the center of the city, the sky-high white tower where His Majesty the Emperor of the North Pole Star lived!

Dark Star City was very big, or rather too big. Wu Ci tiptoed as he walked, raised his head, and squinted his eyes, but he couldn't see the metropolis in the distance no matter how hard he tried.

He could only see the neon lights in the distance, across the surrounding low-rise bungalows, and then the tallest white tower reaching the sky, through the sparse and dim street lights, and imagine the prosperity described in the layout map.

[I'm leaving here and going uptown.]

He thought.

[I want to take control of my own life. I don’t want to be played around by others like a little idiot. I want to be the best.]

The royal family who wanted to continue to control his Tenjou Group and never did anything about the Tenjou Group's infringements... the unknown Heroic Spirits and the Spirit Masters...

Complex, confusing, and unclear.

But it is a gift, a chance to start over.

Wu Ci really doesn't want to be manipulated as a low-level person like he was in his previous life.

When he returned to this world again, he was extremely grateful.

This is a new life, a new drama, and he needs power and strength to make the drama unfold as he envisions.

When the drama is over, will he also have a place in this brightly lit metropolis?