Chapter 3 The crew collapses
Special Investigation Bureau interrogation room.
The giant fortress-like building buried deep underground isolates all sounds from the outside world. Gray walls wrap around the room, and only the "clicking" sound of fingertips tapping on the keyboard echoes in the air.
Tao Qi always felt that there was something strange about Li Xiaogou, so he simply focused on being a recorder and pushed the questioning work to Jiang Mu.
Jiang Mu smiled gently, his voice soft, "We already have your basic information. Next, please explain in detail how you found this place. You don't have any special abilities around you, and the existence of the Special Investigation Bureau is kept absolutely secret from ordinary people."
Li Xiaogou looked indifferent and said calmly, "Yunlou told me."
"Puff." Tao Qi subconsciously glanced at the dark glass on the right, and Jiang Mu kicked him hard under the table.
The corners of Li Xiaogou's lips rose slightly.
Jiang Mu suppressed the fluctuations in his heart and remained calm: "If you are not honest, there is no need to continue."
Li Xiaogou chuckled lightly, his tone calm: "I didn't lie. I did learn about the existence of the Special Investigation Bureau from Yunlou, but -" He paused, looking directly at Jiang Mu, "I learned about it through my special ability."
"Then tell me about your special ability."
"Eat melon."
Tao Qi's typing hand suddenly stopped, and he stared at Li Xiaogou as if he had seen a ghost: "Eat melon? Watermelon, winter melon, or pumpkin? Or... that kind of melon?"
…
"That kind of melon-eating." Li Xiaogou said calmly, "I can understand the secrets of others just by looking at each other."
He turned his gaze to Jiang Mu: "Last night, downstairs in the hotel, Yun Lou and I looked at each other."
He could gather so much information with just one glance! If only someone like that could join the Special Investigation Bureau...
Jiang Mu suppressed his inner shock and asked, "What other information did you get?"
Li Xiaogou shrugged: "My ability level is very low, I only know this much."
Jiang Mu and Tao Qi looked at each other, and saw the shock that was hard to conceal in each other's eyes.
If what Li Xiaogou said is true, his ability is undoubtedly an extremely valuable information collection ability in team combat.
Not only that, his ability is actually a growth-type ability!
As research into superpowers deepened, they were categorized into various types, such as natural powers, animal powers, etc. Among these, the most special and rare were growth-type powers.
There are very few people with growth-type abilities, and 90% of them remain at level one throughout their lives. But once they grow...
——The two most powerful fighters in Daxia today are both growth-type mutants.
"Ask him why he ran last night."
A calm and restrained voice came from the headset, bringing Jiang Mu back to reality from his shock.
Jiang Mu calmed himself down and followed Yun Lou's instructions, asking, "Since you were planning to hand over your supernatural powers, why did you run away last night?"
I expected this question.
Li Xiaogou said innocently, "There was a man in a black car on the street staring at you. You looked him in the eye curiously, and then his two black eyeballs suddenly exploded into a bloody mist—"
He spread out his five fingers and made an explosion gesture.
Li Xiaogou asked back, "When you saw this situation, you didn't run away?"
Jiang Mu choked and changed the question:
"You are not a registered psychic. Secretly using your powers can bring you many benefits. But if you hand them over, you will be subject to restrictions. Why do you want to hand them over?"
You are really trying hard to solve the problem.
Li Xiaogou clasped his hands together and rubbed them nervously: "Actually, I have secretly used my supernatural powers to do some things that benefited me..."
"The police who appeared downstairs in the hotel that day were the ones I called."
Tao Qi's already wide eyes widened even more: "You mean that Teddy Director, you reported it?!"
Li Xiaogou gritted his teeth, filled with hatred: "Yes, he actually wants to take advantage of me, I will not let him get away with it."
"I used my supernatural powers to investigate his past and discovered he's completely deranged. His career history is a complete mess."
He took a deep breath and continued, "Among the victims were underage girls."
"I thought the matter was over, but today I heard that although Huang Binhai was incarcerated, he spread the word that he was going to make things difficult for me. I...this is the real reason why I came to you."
He observed the changes in the expressions of the two people opposite him, and showed a sad look at the right time, like a young animal forced into a desperate situation.
Jiang Mu's Adam's apple moved, and his voice unconsciously softened: "We will report your situation and difficulties. Please wait here for a while."
Li Xiaogou nodded obediently.
The moment the metal door of the interrogation room closed, Yunlou leaned with his arms folded in the shadow of the corridor, his black combat uniform almost blending into the wall.
"Captain, I think we can show some leniency."
Yunlou didn't even raise his eyelids: "Reason?"
"Ignorance is not a crime. No one taught him not to use his supernatural powers on ordinary people." Tao Qi swallowed his saliva. "Besides, Huang Binhai's death is not a pity."
Yunlou's gaze suddenly turned to Jiang Mu.
Jiang Mu's fingertips unconsciously rubbed his tactical belt. Having grown up in the Special Investigation Bureau compound, he knew all too well how seriously Yunlou took discipline. But the huddled figure of the boy in the interrogation room kept flashing before his eyes...
"I agree with Tao Qi," he heard himself say. "Law is nothing more than human feelings, and Li Xiaogou is also a victim. From his perspective, his actions were just self-defense."
Yunlou's gaze passed through the one-way glass.
The boy stared up at the ceiling, the cool white light highlighting the pale blue veins on his neck. His pure white sweatshirt cast a soft glow against the industrial-style gray wall, like a fawn straying into a concrete jungle.
"My information is difficult to verify, but it's not completely confidential." Yun Lou suddenly spoke, his voice like an ice-hardened blade. "Can you confirm with absolute certainty that he obtained it through supernatural powers?"
Jiang Mu's pupils suddenly constricted. The doubts he had deliberately ignored during the interrogation suddenly resonated in his ears—if it was true that they could know each other by looking at each other, why didn't Captain Yun notice Li Xiaogou's abnormality at the time?
"I understand." He replied hoarsely.
"You're not going yet?"
Tao Qi was so frightened by the cold light in Yun Lou's eyes that his hair stood on end. By the time he reacted, he had already fallen into the interrogation chair.
When Li Xiaogou saw the two men coming back, he immediately straightened his back, and his slightly drooping eyes showed stars of expectation.
Jiang Muqu tapped the table with his fingers and said softly, "Your superiors value your abilities. But the Special Investigation Bureau is a frontline department—"
"We all have to turn our backs to our teammates."
"Your boss doesn't believe me." The boy's curled fingers twisted on his knees until they turned blue.
Jiang Mu's fingertips scratched a tiny crease in the interrogation record book. "Team Yun treats everyone with the same standards. The same experience..." He suddenly remembered himself kneeling and trembling at the simulated explosion scene three years ago. "We've all been there."
The metal chair legs scraped against the floor, making a harsh sound. Jiang Mu lowered his voice, "Don't be afraid. I just need you to demonstrate your abilities on the spot to support your claims." He raised his chin towards Tao Qi, "Use your 'eating melon' to see him—I need the real stuff besides his height and weight."
Li Xiaogou's tense shoulders suddenly relaxed.
He did hide the truth - there was no special ability, he was just bound to the melon-eating system.
Tao Qi's pupils, bulging with rage, swelled to the size of two amber crystals in his field of vision. Ripples suddenly formed in the air, and a translucent floating window unfolded across his retina: [Health History/Relationship History].
The translucent interface flickered on his retina. The densely packed floating windows under the "Health History" category resembled dewdrops hanging on a spider web. Li Xiaogou's eyes quickly scanned one of them, and his Adam's apple suddenly rolled suspiciously twice.
Tao Qi sat upright, and when he saw the apologetic light in the boy's clear almond eyes, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood up.
"Go ahead." Jiang Mu said.
Li Xiaogou curled his fingertips into his palms, and spoke softly and slowly: "Tao Qi is a decent person, but..." He suddenly glanced at the other person's tense sitting posture, "It's just that young people don't know how to take care of their bodies, and they sit for a long time at work-"
"Wait!" Tao Qi's tactical gloves made a leather friction sound, but it was too late.
The boy's devilish whispers buzzed through the ventilation ducts: "I have hemorrhoids."
"When I received the call from the captain this morning..." He paused, staring at the other party's suddenly pale face, "I was so nervous that I used ointment instead of toothpaste."
"vomit--"
Tao Qi leaned on the corner of the table and retched.
Jiang Mu looked at his partner's distorted expression and didn't even bother to verify the authenticity.
"It's not enough." A cold voice suddenly came from outside the one-way glass.
Jiang Mu looked at the glass in surprise. This level of privacy exposure wasn't considered important enough in the eyes of Captain Yun?
But obedience was ingrained in him. He took a deep breath, his tactical gloves wrinkling the edges of his notebook. "Perhaps you followed him last night? To this extent..." He caught a glimpse of Tao Qi's murderous eyes from the corner of his eye, and continued with a stiff upper lip, "Not enough."
Li Xiaogou's eyes flickered across Jiang Mu's whitened knuckles, then his own blurry reflection in the windowpane. The two remaining melon-eating times danced across his retina, yet he let silence linger in the interrogation room.
After admiring the blushing face opposite him enough, he whispered, "I ate a new melon."
"This melon..." Li Xiaogou's knuckles turned white as he held the water cup. "There's a secret about Tao Qi, and I don't know whether I should tell it or not."
"I, Tao Qi, have never concealed anything from the organization! Tell me, I, I'm not afraid."
"Okay. ...The person Agent Tao has a crush on is in Te--"
"Office romances are strictly prohibited in the Special Investigation Bureau!" Tao Qi gripped Li Xiaogou's jaw tightly, the carbon fiber texture of his tactical gloves leaving red marks on the boy's pale skin. "Blink if you understand!"
"Stop it." Jiang Mu shook his head helplessly.
There was no new instruction coming from outside the one-way glass. It seemed that Li Xiaogou had passed this time.
Outside the window, Yun Lou's index finger rested against his temple. The cold light of the interrogation room shone two silver rays in his dark pupils—unbeknownst to anyone, the two eyes of this Special Investigation Bureau ace shone with distinct halos of light.
The iris of his left eye glowed with gold, reflecting the auspicious purple aura surging around Li Xiaogou; his right eye was condensed with ice blue, clearly seeing the bloody calamity entangled in the young man's fate.
The black and red colors surrounding Li Xiaogou were like two fighting dragons, and neither could gain the upper hand.
If such a person stays in the Special Investigation Bureau, will it be a blessing for the Bureau... or a curse?
*
The soft sound of the metal door hinge turning tore through the silence of the interrogation room.
Yunlou stood at the door against the light. The moment his black tactical boots stepped into the light circle, the paper cup in Li Xiaogou's hand suddenly fell to the ground, making a dull sound on the bulletproof floor.
"Li Xiaogou!"
When Jiang Mu rushed forward, the boy was sliding down the back of the chair. The moment the tactical gloves touched the back of his neck, he felt a cold sweat.
Li Xiaogou slowly opened his eyes amidst the violent shaking, and his eyelashes cast spider-web-like shadows on his pale cheeks.
"You were unconscious for twenty-seven seconds." Yun Lou said in a cold voice, "Do you need me to call a doctor?"
"I suddenly had palpitations... It felt like I was being drained..." He explained, his fingertips clutching the fabric around his chest. "I've never used my powers twice in one day before..."
Li Xiaogou was weak but calm: "I just upgraded my superpowers last night... I was exhausted after using it once before..." He forced a bleak laugh, "Maybe I'm just too weak."
"No wonder I didn't notice your special ability when we met last night." Every word was covered with frost.
The last system prompt on Li Xiaogou's retina was fading: [The number of times to eat melons has been exhausted].
Just now, when he was eating melons, he learned that Yunlou planned to imprison him for investigation, and he had to give a reasonable explanation.
Yunlou suddenly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his pupils had returned to normal. "Your situation is special, so we can't go through the regular recruitment process."
He swiped his fingertips across, and a holographic projection unfolded the case file in the air: "So, if you want to join the Special Investigation Bureau, you need to complete a mission first."
"To ensure your safety, the bureau will assign you a partner."
"The mission briefing will be sent to you in two hours. Until then, you will be staying at Room 13, Section B."
*
Two hours later, Li Xiaogou received his task.
[Mission Level: D]
[Mission Objective: Find Lu Chenzhou's drug dealer/supply agent.]
Lu Chenzhou...
Isn't this the male lead of their crew? Is their crew still standing after the collapse...
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