Chapter 46: Interrogation

That night.

Ke Lai slept very uneasily.

Even though Luo De's home was very safe, there was no need to consider the various dangers that could arise in the desert.

But she still woke up many times.

And when she woke from the nightmare, her face became ferocious, a purple-black smoke-dust mist spread over her whole body, and she was extremely frenzied; each time Luo De had to knock her unconscious to keep her calm.

Once or twice would have been fine.

But Ke Lai basically woke up every one or two hours, her sleep was very light, any slight disturbance would wake her, and Luo De couldn't use heavy force, so he could only repeatedly subdue the frenzied Ke Lai who had woken up.

This resulted in Luo De barely sleeping all night, stubbornly sitting in a chair despite his drowsiness, guarding her through the night.

Dawn.

Ke Lai finally truly woke up.

However, having opened her eyes, she did not get out of bed but clutched the blanket, curling up inside, quietly observing the surroundings.

"Ha—ah~"

"Since you're awake, don't just lie there sleeping—get up."

The sudden sound startled Ke Lai, making her jump; she almost bared her teeth at Luo De again like before.

Looking at Luo De, who kept yawning.

Ke Lai dazed for a moment, then carefully crawled out of bed.

Seeing her even put on her shoes tip-toeing.

Luo De said irritably, "Stop pretending; there's no outsider here, you don't need to keep up that pitiful act."

Ke Lai, who was in the middle of putting on her shoes, paused, then looked over in surprise.

Luo De, with a businesslike expression, crossed his legs and lightly tapped the back of the chair.

"If you want to stay here peacefully, telling the truth is necessary."

"Otherwise."

"I'm not sure whether you will cause destruction to the village."

"Your origin, past, purpose for staying here, and that strange power in your body—spill it all out."

Like a scene of interrogating a criminal, the atmosphere in the room instantly solidified.

Ke Lai's complexion kept changing.

The previous feigned-innocent, pitiful expression also gradually faded.

"Don't try to attack me."

"Otherwise, you'll bear the consequences."

Luo De gave a light chuckle, as if he knew everything Ke Lai might do.

Still too inexperienced.

Although she has experienced much.

But in front of an adult.

Her little thoughts are still completely transparent to Luo De.

Ke Lai did not stay in A Ru Cun willingly; she remained because she harbored some unspeakable secret.

Luo De is well aware of one thing.

That is, one cannot simply regard Ke Lai as a simple-minded child.

Ke Lai was still young when she was seized for human experiments; later she endured brutal torment in the lab, and even her parents were killed by those people.

Such a painful experience.

One need not think to know that her mental maturity is surely far beyond that of her peers.

After escaping the lab, she, like Luo De originally, wandered in the perilous desert for an unknown length of time.

Furthermore, referring to how Ha Lun and his group previously treated Ke Lai,

one can easily see what might happen to her when passing through inhabited towns and villages.

Magic Scale Disease.

In Mount Sumeru, this is a disease that strikes fear at the mere mention of it.

Besides Magic Scale Disease, under the bandages she also has purple wounds resembling other malignant ailments, with strange colors and distorted shapes; given the upbringing of the desert folk, their first reaction upon seeing Ke Lai would certainly be to drive her away.

Even throwing stones, rotten eggs, or vegetable leaves at her is highly likely.

Thus, viewing Ke Lai as an ordinary child is absolutely the stupidest idea.

However.

After all, having been locked in a lab since childhood, then after escaping facing various rejections, Ke Lai has had too little contact with human society and simply does not know how to conceal herself.

What she wants to do is practically written plainly on her face.

Just like now.

Her intention to attack Luo De is blatantly obvious.

Even after being warned by Luo De.

She is also like a lion baring its teeth and snarling to intimidate an enemy, with fierce flames erupting all over her body.

It is genuine fierce flame.

The kind visible to the naked eye.

Purple-black flames continually spread, twisted, and coiled around Ke Lai's body, eventually forming a blurry, irregular serpentine shape, curving as it silently hissed at Luo De.

Black Flame Snake.

This is the hidden power within Ke Lai's body.

It comes from the Archon residue potion injected into her during the human experiment.

The so-called Archon residue.

This originates from the Archon war of ancient times.

Archon residue is the manifestation of the grudges of those Archons who died in battle.

This residue can let an ordinary person instantly gain extraordinary Archon power.

At the same time.

Since Archon residue is the condensed manifestation of the Archons' grudges, it carries extremely strong resentment.

And these resentments.

They will gradually erode a person's mind until it completely collapses, submitting to the ravings of Archon resentment, ultimately becoming a killing machine that slays anyone it sees.

Moreover, Archon power is not something just anyone can easily control.

Over time.

While gaining formidable power, the user's flesh will also suffer severe backlash, eventually losing life and becoming a corpse, or a puppet controlled by resentment.

What Ke Lai is currently using.

It is the Archon power hidden within her body.

Bang—

A fierce flare of fire flashed past.

Just one strike.

Luo De easily tore apart the Black Flame Snake that had erupted from Ke Lai's body.

Archon power is indeed strong.

But if the user cannot control it at all, they cannot unleash much strength.

Moreover.

When using the power of Archon residue, one will inevitably be affected by Archon resentment.

Ke Lai obviously does not want her consciousness to be manipulated by these resentments.

Therefore, she herself is resisting this power.

With her consciousness struggling against itself and her body unable to exert much strength, Ke Lai is still far inferior to Luo De now.

After the Black Flame Snake was shattered.

Ke Lai weakly collapsed onto the ground, gasping heavily.

Just as she closed her eyes, preparing to await death.

A plate of sliced pan‑fried meat pancake and a cup of sunset fruit juice suddenly appeared before her, leaving the already desperate Ke Lai somewhat taken aback.

"Don't rush, eat something first; I'm waiting for you to tell the truth."

After placing the food and drink, Luo De sat back in his chair, arms crossed, wearing the expression of "If you don't speak today, I'll keep you company."

"You... you won't kill me?"

After hesitating for a while, Ke Lai bit her lip and asked.

This time.

Ke Lai's voice was no longer the timid, kitten‑like tone from yesterday; it now sounded like that of a calm, composed adult.

Just from her voice and manner of speaking, she seemed completely different from yesterday.

"Why would I kill you?"

"You only stole my vegetables and ruined my field; it's not that serious."

"However."

"You must work for me here, restore the field I destroyed, and compensate me for my loss with your labor."

"Of course."

"Before that."

"You also need to clarify your own affairs so I can trust you."

Luo De chuckled: "As always, if you want to live peacefully here, mutual honesty is essential, little—Ke—Lai—"

(End of chapter)