Chapter 160

Inside the Fourth Bureau interrogation room, the air reeked of blood and sweat. Lin Yu pushed the door open and entered, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it; amid the curling smoke, he gazed at the wooden frame before him.

The Zhou Special Envoy from the Da Qian Court was bound to the frame, his clothes in tatters, his body soaked in blood. This court official had been tortured beyond recognition, all his fingers broken, his body covered in branding‑iron wounds.

Seeing Lin Yu enter, the Zhou Special Envoy suddenly broke into a nervous, slightly mad laugh. He coughed violently a few times, a mouthful of fresh blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the floor as dark‑red spots.

Lin Yu sat in the chair before him, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and said, "Sir Zhou, I have a question I can't figure out."

"Cough…" the Zhou Special Envoy spat another mouthful of blood, "You… you want to know what?"

"I'm merely a low‑ranking Fourth Bureau Chief," Lin Yu slowly exhaled a smoke ring, "and also hold the post of Inspector of the Shen City Security Army. Why has the Da Qian Court suddenly decided to do away with me?"

The Zhou Special Envoy laughed again, his tone tinged with mockery, "Do you really think the Da Qian Court would believe you're merely a low‑level bureau chief?"

"Then how does the Da Qian Court view me?"

"You suddenly have at your disposal a mysterious division‑sized force," the Zhou Special Envoy gasped, "equipped with the most advanced German‑made weapons. Such a force appearing out of nowhere in Shen City—do you think the Da Qian Court could fail to notice?"

Lin Yu nodded thoughtfully, "So the Da Qian Court is afraid of me?"

"It's not just that…" the Zhou Special Envoy suddenly broke into a violent cough, "The Qin clan is controllable by the court, and the Liu clan can be managed as well. But you… you madman, you never play by the rules. Killing Wu Tengqiu openly at the Grand Triad, plotting the death of Qin Dong Zhi—none of this escaped the Da Qian Court's notice."

He paused, then continued, "What the Da Qian Court fears most is someone who disregards the rules. You're too dangerous… an uncontrolled madman holding a crack unit in his hands—how could the court possibly tolerate that?"

A flicker of coldness crossed Lin Yu's eyes, "So that's it. The Da Qian Court thinks I, as its subject, am not obedient enough."

"High treason?" Lin Yu rose to his feet and stepped closer to the frame, "Let me tally up the good deeds the Da Qian Court has done over the years."

He flicked ash from his cigarette, his voice laced with sarcasm, "Last year at Beigang, foreigners demanded more open ports, and the Da Qian Court agreed without a word. The year before that in Shen City, foreigners asked to expand the concession, and the court immediately issued an edict of consent. Three years ago in Nan Yue…"

"These are merely stopgap measures!" the Zhou Special Envoy interjected, "The Da Qian Court has its own considerations!"

"Stopgap measures?" Lin Yu sneered, "Wu Tengqiu openly slaughtered Da Qian citizens in Shen City, yet the Da Qian Court dares not pursue him. Qin Dong Zhi and Liu Xu grovel before foreigners, and yet the court still employs them?"

He bent down, locking eyes with the Zhou Special Envoy, "Tell me, is this what you pride yourselves on as the Celestial Empire? Is this the sage ruler you speak of?"

"You… you disloyal, unjust traitor!" the Zhou Special Envoy hoarsely shouted, "Defying the sovereign deserves death by a thousand cuts!"

"I am indeed disloyal," Lin Yu straightened, his voice calm, "because I am not a blind loyalist. I see clearly that if we keep relying on you people, this vast Eastern empire will sooner or later become a colony of foreigners."

He turned his back to the Zhou Special Envoy, "Do you know? Whenever I see foreigners running roughshod over our land, and our officials groveling before them, I just want to slaughter every spineless lackey."

"Da Qian has existed for three hundred years, calling itself the Celestial Empire. But now? It doesn't dare offend a mere Wu Tengqiu, must bow to a tiny concession. What right does such a court have to demand loyalty from its subjects?"

The Zhou Special Envoy's eyes widened, "You… you're plotting rebellion!"

"Rebellion?" Lin Yu turned his head, a cold glint in his eyes, "If killing a few spineless lackeys and punishing a few traitors counts as rebellion, then fine—I want rebellion. It's far better than watching Da Qian fall while you do nothing."

"You!" the Zhou Special Envoy trembled with rage, "You are defiling the Da Qian Court, defiling the sovereign!"

Lin Yu suddenly turned and grabbed the Zhou Special Envoy's chin, "Defiling the Da Qian Court? Defiling the sovereign? Then I ask you—when foreign warships blasted open Beigang, where was the court? When the people of Nan Yue were forced by foreigners to smoke opium, where was the sovereign?"

His voice grew colder, "Our people are dying, our land is bleeding, and all you do is retreat—what else are you capable of?"

"This… this is to avoid war…" the Zhou Special Envoy's voice began to shake.

"Avoid war?" Lin Yu released his grip and let out a cold laugh, "Do you think foreigners will back off because we yield? They'll only press their advantage, and in the end our territory, our people—everything—will become their slaves."

He drew a deep breath, a flicker of sorrow in his eyes, "I would rather die in battle than see Da Qian become a plaything of foreigners. Is this what you call high treason? Is this what you call defying the sovereign?"

For the first time, the Zhou Special Envoy saw something different in Lin Yu's eyes—a fire burning there that he had never seen in any court official's gaze.

Lin Yu drew a deep breath, calmed himself, looked at the Zhou Special Envoy, and snorted, "I'm just casting pearls before swine."

He relit a cigarette, smoke curling in the dim interrogation room, "The Da Qian Court, and you people with your ingrained servility and fear of foreigners, are beyond redemption."

"You've grown accustomed to kneeling, to bowing your heads, to saying yes to foreigners. This sickness has seeped into the marrow and can never be cured."

Lin Yu's voice grew colder, "Then let me, Lin Yu, be the villain. I will make those foreigners know that not everyone on this land is a spineless lackey. I will make them tremble, make them bow, and make them pay for their arrogance."

He stepped up to the Zhou Special Envoy, a terrifying chill flashing in his eyes, "Let me tell you good news. For every humiliation they have inflicted on Da Qian citizens over the years, I will repay it a thousandfold. I will let them know what fate awaits those who dare to insult Da Qian's people."

The Zhou Special Envoy looked at Lin Yu's gaze and suddenly shuddered. He finally understood why the Da Qian Court feared this young man so much. In him he saw a terrifying madness, a resolve capable of overturning everything.