Chapter 32

20:30

It’s not that I don’t remember anything about those ten years.

Gongye Shengliang admired himself for still having the leisure to reminisce about the past under such circumstances.

In the first or second orphanage, the oldest among the children was a gentle girl. She had black hair, blue eyes like the sea, and a smile like a bright purple sunflower. The children, the director, and the staff all liked her very much.

She was very friendly to everyone, attentive and cheerful, and always smiled gently. Therefore, even though she was past the best age for adoption, she was spotted by a foreign couple who came to visit and wanted to adopt her.

On the day the girl left the orphanage, her adoptive parents sent a big cake to share with the children in the orphanage.

The girl in the new dress found him behind the warehouse where they often played hide-and-seek, and magically sent a cake to him from behind. It was a piece she had specially left for him.

What he ate was fruit, cream, or chocolate, he couldn't remember. Anyway, it was very sweet. It was the first time he ate something so sweet, so sweet that it made him sick.

The girl, who was about to move to a new home on another island with her adoptive parents, touched his cheek and said with a sad expression: "What will you do when I leave?"

Why should I be sad? No one is bullying me here, the dinner is delicious and the weather is always sunny.

The elder sister with beautiful blue eyes shook her head, "But Sylla, you'd be lonely if you weren't held tightly by someone."

Sylla is a child who cannot survive without a home.

Before leaving, she carefully left behind a string of straw bracelets.

…

The needle-like pain suddenly brought him back to consciousness, and Gongye Shengliang couldn't help but shudder. His neck struggled to support his dizzy head, and it was a bit difficult to lift it up again.

The pain he felt before was reduced to the lowest level, and he realized once again that the system's explanation that "further adjustment will greatly affect the life safety of the contractor" was true. It didn't hurt much, but the sequelae were honestly showing on this body. This feeling was like the soul and the body were separated, numb and unable to move.

But this numbness and calm was suddenly broken. He felt someone roughly pinching his right wrist, and the pain came from there.

Kono Seiryo squinted his eyes, trying to see the person beside him clearly - long hair, red lips, a neurotic grin, long and sharp nails deeply embedded in his wrists, where there was a bulge under the skin, as if something was struggling to break out of the ground.

It was not Zhuichuan, nor any of his subordinates. Everyone in the room had left at some point, leaving only him and this woman he had never seen before.

That's right, for a professional job like interrogation, too many people present would only hinder the work. And this one-on-one time alone hides too many opportunities.

Seeing him wake up, the woman became even more excited. She doubled the strength she used, and the bulge under her skin finally found an opportunity, and she broke it open in one go.

A bloody rose emerged from his wrist.

The newly grown petals and leaves were still very tender, and drops of blood were tremblingly falling from the buds that had not yet bloomed. In stark contrast to the delicate appearance of the rose, Gongye Shengliang could feel something rushing upstream in his blood vessels.

There was a sudden blank in his mind. He opened his mouth and heard only intermittent gasping sounds.

The anxious voice of the light ball came closer: [The pain has subsided - how could this happen! I will go and check it out immediately! Please, contractor, you must hold on!]

Seeing his reaction, the woman kneaded the flower bud lovingly and chuckled with satisfaction: "How about it, my supernatural power is beautiful, right?"

"That guy Zhuichuan actually dared to disdain me... Humph, he is just a piece of trash who got to the top by talking big, how could he possibly understand my art?"

His heartbeat was so fast that it seemed like it was going to burst out of his chest. Every cell in his body was screaming under the heavy burden. It was a terrifying experience. Kono Seiryoshi believed that the system would not fail for no reason. The problem must be with the woman or himself.

The first time he came here, he felt pain for no reason because his memory was awakened, and the last time was also because he recalled the past. The system had clearly told him that it was because the memory was related to the cause of the destruction of the world line that it could not be presented to him directly.

Either the woman's ability was to ignore the limitations of the flesh and reach the soul, or the pain came from some unknown supernatural power of his.

The bleak indignant light shone on the shackles on his limbs, reflecting a cold and creepy light. His thin body, soaked by the cold water, was stained with sticky blood and mud, his fingertips twitched in vain, and his golden pupils, which were a shade darker than the sunset, were inevitably covered with a layer of gray.

The gorgeous rose had received sufficient nourishment and finally blossomed, with its layers of petals spreading out to its heart's content. Without the guidance of its owner, it climbed up the arms of the person below it on its own accord. It did not need leaves, but sharp thorns instead, which penetrated deeply into the boy's flesh as he moaned. The bright red blood flowed back along the thorns into the blossoming petals, making it extremely beautiful.

Fierce and miserable, bizarre yet beautiful.

"Poor guest... But it doesn't matter, you will be my best creation."

The woman was like a crazy pagan who finally received the Lord's grace. She had attacked hundreds of people in various ways, but this was the first time she had such a wonderful feeling. In order to appreciate the miracle, she stepped back in ecstasy, but accidentally stepped on a pile of debris.

Her eyes briefly regained clarity, but soon turned away with disdain. Those were a bunch of other torture instruments that Zhuichuan had prepared because he was worried about her. They were just some vulgar and ordinary things, how could they be compared with her art?

The woman smiled contemptuously, gathered herself together, and looked excitedly at the gallows, but she heard the young man, who should have fainted, cough heavily.

"What did that person tell you?"

The woman's eyes widened slightly, with disdain, excitement, shock, and all these twisted expressions made her look weird and funny.

No one with special abilities can stay awake for so long under her rose. Once they fall into a coma, they will become sacrifices to her.

——That’s how it should be.

The voice was obviously in great pain, but it still laughed softly: "Your flower survives by absorbing other people's supernatural powers, right?"

"The people behind me told you that my ability is insignificant, at least in your opinion..." He paused, his voice was softer than the expansion of the calyx in the air, "It's not a combat system, nor a mind control system. To put it bluntly, it's as useless as yours."

"...You have been deceived." The bruises on his neck became more obvious after a while, and now they were entangled by the thorns of the rose, oozing with red spots, and were so fragile that they would break if pinched.

At first it was just a light laugh, but then it grew louder and louder, echoing in this small torture room. The blood gushing from his internal injuries made him cough, but his laughter did not stop.

Half of his face was covered in blood, but his eyes were startlingly bright, as if a last ray of light had returned.

Gong Ye Shengliang looked directly into the woman's trembling pupils and whispered very slowly: "Come here, I will tell you the truth."

“…………”

The woman didn't know whether the reason why she was shaking uncontrollably was because she was angry at the person in front of her for insulting her art, or because of something else.

Her chest heaved violently, and hatred burned in her eyes. She looked down at the torture device at her feet, and suddenly a feeling of revenge surged in her heart.

21:30

The night is dark, and the neon lights of the city in the distance form a small piece of colorful light and shadow, just like the gem in Zhongyuan Chuuya's hand. Every slight angle it turns will reflect different brilliant brilliance.

The plane had just landed, and the subordinates who had been waiting here for a long time were carefully carrying the precious cargo. As the leader of this mission, Nakahara Chuuya put his hands in his pockets, silently worrying about the organization that was spying in secret.

In order to ensure the safe arrival of these gemstones in Yokohama, he had been busy going back and forth for several days. Now that the dust had finally settled, he breathed a sigh of relief and all the fatigue that had accumulated over the past few days was swept away.

After the business is completed, there is a commission, but the salary of the port mafia is not low, especially for an absolute fighter like Chuuya Nakahara, a month's salary is enough for an ordinary person to live a life of luxury. He has no material desires except collecting fine wine and maintaining motorcycles, but he still has to go through the procedures. He didn't even look at the commission before and directly let the finance department be responsible for it.

But... today is different.

This was a treasure that he caught his eye at first sight among a pile of gems of various shapes and colors, each of which was worth a fortune.

The perfectly round cat-eye eyeliner was sharp and bright, transparent and flawless as a whole, and its color was like thick honey, the same color as that person's eyes.

It is suitable for making into brooches, rings or necklaces. Even if it is not polished, it is a good choice to just put it in the window for appreciation.

Will it be rejected if I give it as a gift? Probably not. As for what reason I should use… if I had asked about the birthday last time, it would have been a birthday gift.

Would it be too casual to start by saying “I think it suits you very well”?

The wind tonight is very cool, considerately cooling down my face which is gradually getting hot due to the gravity of my ochre hair.

Nakahara Chuuya's Adam's apple slid up and down, and he refocused his gaze on the city lights in the distance.

He should go home by now...

Before he could think about it, there was a sudden "buzzing" sound in his pocket. Nakahara Chuuya took out his cell phone and his eyes suddenly froze when he saw the caller ID on it.

He turned around and whispered, "Chief."

21:30

The night was as dark as ink; even the rolling waves were black.

Dazai Osamu has been standing on this reef for a long time. He seems to have become one with the rock, solid and silent, like a standing coordinate.

The cold wind blew up his coat, his body temperature had chilled to the bone, and no one dared to disturb him.

There was a receiver hanging on his left ear, but the eavesdropping device connected to it had run out of power an hour ago, so all he could hear was the amplified sound of blood flowing.

But... the sound from before seemed to have never disappeared. It kept repeating in his mind over and over again, slowly and cruelly reminding him of what had happened dozens of miles away.

When Oikawa's curse reached his ears, Dazai Osamu didn't take it seriously. Several scenes flashed through his mind, some of which were more horrifying than the underground brothel of the port mafia. He thought he was mentally prepared. He would pry out intelligence from the smallest details, just like he had done countless times before.

However, when that faint, familiar yet strange voice came, Dazai Osamu realized that not everything would go as he wished.

The blood immediately flowed backwards and he suddenly felt dizzy, as if a TV with bad signal was emitting snow. He felt his body suddenly lose strength and he was about to step on empty air and fall into the turbulent whirlpool.

The reality is that nothing happened.

He still stood there stiffly, his brain forced to think. Next to him were his subordinates waiting for instructions. When the undercover call came through, he had to give an answer immediately.

…

There are only a few methods of torture.

In the underground prison of the Port Mafia, if they encounter some tough prisoners who are difficult to deal with, Ozaki Kouyo's interrogation team will send someone to invite him over.

Dazai Osamu was an expert in interrogation. Although he thought these methods were routine and boring and had never used them, it did not affect his deep understanding of them.

The gentle ones threaten relatives and friends; the more advanced ones adjust the room temperature to below zero and continuously use high-pressure water guns to shock people; the more brutal ones pull out nails and teeth, chop off fingers, tie people up, apply intermittent electric shocks to sensitive parts of the body, put vacuum bags on people's heads, and the feeling of suffocation deepens with every breath.

In addition, drug control, beatings, waterboarding, confinement, sleep deprivation...any behavior that can inflict torture on a person can be used.

Dazai Osamu didn't know whether he should be thankful that his brain was still working as it was designed to.

He wondered dully whether he would choose a method that would take too long because of the distance and time constraints. After he ruled out some options, every remaining word oozed poisonous blood from the seams of his bones.

"Lord Dazai," the subordinate bowed deeply, not daring to look at the pale face of the young candidate, "the ship and personnel have been arranged, and we can set off at any time."

The waves roared, and Dazai Osamu silently stared at the sea and slowly raised his eyes.

"Don't move yet," he said softly, "wait another hour."

The subordinate raised his head in astonishment. He no longer cared about the fear of the officers and said anxiously, "But - Dazai-sama, once it is transported out of the country, we will be powerless!"

The command coming from the figure with his back to everyone was even colder and harsher: "Do as I say."