Chapter 860: 457 Deceiving with Principle

My parents... were killed by the Water Bearer Director?

Upon hearing Li Ang's words, the female journalist's body trembled violently; her once unshakable soul was shaken, becoming unstable.

Yes, that's the right question to ask.

Seeing the slight tremor in the female journalist's soul, Li Ang blinked, then pulled out a charcoal pencil and began smudging her file.

Time slipped away. After posing that deadly question, Li Ang said nothing more; the room fell eerily silent, save for the scratch of charcoal on paper and the female journalist's faint breathing.

Breath... in...

Scratch... scratch...

Breath... in...

Scratch... scratch...

Unconsciously, the rhythm of Li Ang's pencil and the female journalist's breathing began to align—first the pencil's scrape chasing her breath, then gradually synchronizing.

By the end, the pencil's sound subtly guided her breath; the female journalist, unsettled by Li Ang's questions, unconsciously adjusted her breathing to match the scraping rhythm.

"Hey!"

Though she knew Li Ang was deliberately wearing her down, the coarse scratch of the pencil made her skin crawl, and his questions left her deeply distressed—she finally couldn't hold back:

"What did you mean by that just now?"

Finally hooked.

Hearing her words, Li Ang—who had spent the last minutes scribbling blank paper and mentally reciting half of "Ode to the Yueyang Tower"—breathed out softly in relief, closed her file, and answered evasively:

"I've read your entire file. The Water Bearer Director seems to trust you deeply—he rarely hid his creation of anomalies from you, didn't he?"

"..."

"Miss Nicole, whether you answer or not, I already know the answer."

Pressing his pencil to match her breathing rhythm, he wrote "Worry before the world worries," then calmly reminded her:

"Moreover, the Bureau has long concluded that the Water Bearer Director secretly created vast numbers of anomalies, long since convicted him, and even hunted down those who aided him—your confession won't count as betrayal."

True...

Hearing Li Ang's words, the female journalist bit her lower lip, then gave a barely audible hum.

Good. The first question is answered; the rest will follow easily.

Having cracked open a sliver of her defenses, Li Ang smirked slightly and continued:

"Since you've witnessed so many of those 'experiments,' have you ever noticed that your own acquisition of anomalies resembles the Water Bearer's methods?"

"..."

Hearing Li Ang's question, the female journalist clenched her fists slightly but said nothing—yet the tremor in her soul surged uncontrollably.

This level of unrest... she must have harbored similar doubts herself.

Observing her trembling soul, Li Ang blinked thoughtfully but didn't press further; instead, he pulled out another file and asked:

"Miss Nicole, how many people have had their lives destroyed because the Water Bearer Director selected them as 'materials' for his anomaly experiments?"

"..."

"There are documented cases tied to him—over a hundred. Many more are suspected but unconfirmed, numbering several times that."

"And these are only those cases where his experiments succeeded—or at least nearly succeeded. Those whose lives he ruined without producing anomalies? They're impossible to track. The victims are countless."

"..."

Hm?

As he spoke, Li Ang noticed a sudden surge of profound guilt in the female journalist's soul—he froze, swallowed the words "You might be one of them," and instead snapped sharply:

"Now that you know all this, will you still protect his secrets?"

"..."

Watching the female journalist's soul tremble more violently, Li Ang narrowed his eyes—he realized this "loyal follower" of the Water Bearer Director had an unexpected conscience, even a relatively "clear" soul.

Clear is good.

Since she's still decent, it's easier to shatter her defenses by brutally attacking her conscience than by sowing discord between her and the Water Bearer Director.

Adjusting his "attack" strategy, determined to extract more information and finally capture the Water Bearer Director—who lived like a Horcrux, never truly dead—Li Ang switched out his 【Master of Performance】 badge, rose from his chair, and roared:

"I really want to punch you!"

Under the female journalist's bewildered gaze, Li Ang—who moments ago had seemed terrified of death—now boldly stepped forward, fists clenched, and spat:

"You think the Water Bearer Director owes you nothing? You repay him, then die happily, guilt-free, even feeling noble—right?"

"Pah! You're a brainless fool!"

"..."

Taking a sharp breath, his face flushed crimson, "furious" Li Ang shouted with unbearable rage:

"Let me tell you—I'm also a victim of the Water Bearer Director's experiments!"

"If not for him, I could've lived a peaceful, happy life—never lost my family, never joined the dangerous Cleanup Bureau, never suffered so much pain, never endured this!"

After silently apologizing to Anna in his mind, Li Ang recalled the "tragic future" shown to him by the King of Nightmares, channeled his emotion, and trembled violently as he screamed:

"Everything I've lost—everything—is his doing! My life has been destroyed by you!"

Did I... make a mistake by keeping his secrets?

Watching Li Ang—jaw clenched, face twisted, knuckles white, body trembling, eyes filled with two parts hatred, three parts sorrow, five parts unbearable anguish—the female journalist's heart jolted.

Under the terrifying power of the Gold-Rank 【Master of Performance】, Li Ang's expression and gestures transmitted 120, 00 points of agony directly into her soul—each slash of pain carved deep into her heart.

In that moment, she forgot entirely that the man before her was a high-ranking duke, a life winner—overwhelmed by his agony, she stared into his eyes, drowning in sorrow so heavy it seemed to overflow, and instinctively wanted to look away...

"Don't turn away!"

Roughly gripping her chin, he forced her face back toward him; "agonized" Li Ang locked eyes with her and snarled:

"You're not afraid of death? If you're not afraid of dying, why can't you even look me in the eye?"

"I..."

Meeting Li Ang's bloodshot eyes, the female journalist, crushed by waves of guilt, trembled as she protested:

"I'm sorry... truly sorry... but the Director saved me, raised me, helped me avenge my family—I... I just..."

"You avenged your family—what about mine?"

Hearing her, Li Ang's face twisted in bitter sorrow, and he laughed bitterly, eyes blazing with fury:

"Tell me! Who do I avenge? Who do I blame?"

"I... I'm sorry! Truly sorry!"

Seeing Li Ang, suffering beyond words, as if living in hell, the female journalist's defenses shattered completely—her eyes red, face filled with guilt, she whispered:

"Ask me anything you want—except his whereabouts. Everything else... I'll tell you."