Chapter 37: Interrogation 2

Luo Qi sat in the chair watching Li Xu and Zhao Zhiyan, the suspicion in his mind growing clearer: he had been framed! But was a Luo Qi worth such a massive mobilization to frame? Unless he himself had no great value, but held some strategic value on the entire chessboard. Their ultimate goal was not him; they were aiming for Du Zhengyi, and perhaps also the Great Mage Pei Shu behind Du Zhengyi.

They were not interested in his affairs at all; everything they wanted to ask about was Du Zhengyi. They didn't even ask him about the thing that terrified him most—why he had told a story of extreme coincidence. Perhaps Du Zhengyi and Guan Xinyue hadn't mentioned this matter, or more likely, this matter was a trap set by these two people before him. He didn't know when they had implanted the story of the corpse into his brain; he had no idea, and just thinking about it made his hair stand on end and his body tremble.

They had the ability to alter his brain, so how much had they already changed? How much more could they change in the future?

If his Yajian had been altered, was he still himself? As Luo Qi, did he truly still exist? Would he still be alive, but already erased by someone else? Panic was like the cold in a mountain forest on a snowy night, vast and empty, wrapping around him from everywhere.

He thought about how Du Zhengyi's Psychic Beast had originally wanted to kill him; what exactly had Du Zhengyi's subconscious discovered in him? Majiang said Du Zhengyi's memory of the incident three years ago was blank, and perhaps only his deep subconscious held it. The questions Li Xu used to press him were also related to the incident three years ago, related to Du Zhengyi.

Pushing further back, Luo Qi suddenly remembered the sadness he felt when he touched the Crystal under the well at the Guan Family, a sadness that did not belong to him. Was that because he had touched the memories left behind by Guan Yushan, or had he awakened his own subconscious? Du Zhengyi was more sensitive in terms of Magic Ability, but when Du Zhengyi touched the Crystal, nothing had happened, so the problem was not with the Crystal; the problem was with Luo Qi himself.

In an instant, Luo Qi fell into a whirlpool within his own mind; various thoughts came one after another, fear followed like a shadow, and for a moment his expression became somewhat lost. Li Xu was very experienced in interrogation and was very satisfied with this change in him; he put on the most amiable yet most hair-raising expression and asked Luo Qi with eager concern, "This is your last chance, think about it again."

Zhao Zhiyan walked forward a few steps, closer to Luo Qi, and the trembling buried deep in Luo Qi's memory began to awaken involuntarily. He felt as if he heard Zhao Zhiyan's laughter again; in his memory, that laughter didn't even count as insanity. Zhao Zhiyan's laughter was as relaxed and cheerful as if he were just playing games with friends on a leisurely afternoon. It didn't sound at all like he was planning to crush a person's legs with a hundred-ton steel beast.

He still remembered these words Zhao Zhiyan had said, "I heard you are particularly obsessed with human industry and often go to the railway museum. Tsk, and then you got your legs crushed by a train; isn't that a good show?" In many nightmares after that, he could hear the roar of the train whistling closer, accompanied by such a voice muttering this sentence in his ear.

Li Xu arranging for him to participate in the interrogation must have been to use him to disturb him, making it impossible for him to be in a state where he could think calmly.

"When I met you again and saw that both your legs were fine, it was really unpleasant," Zhao Zhiyan said, actually pouting like a child. How to put it, Mages generally had good appearances, and he didn't look bad when he did that, but Luo Qi still felt nauseated to the point of his scalp tingling.

"How do you manage to feel so good about yourself?" Luo Qi asked him, imitating the way Zhao Zhiyan spoke, "When I met you again and saw you being beaten wildly by Du Zhengyi, it was truly pleasant. I used to think you were really powerful, but when Du Zhengyi beat you, it was like a hound tearing apart a rag doll."

Zhao Zhiyan's complexion turned gloomy, "I have more than enough to deal with you; it's enough to take your bones apart one by one."

Luo Qi laughed, "Did I hurt your self-esteem? Seriously, shouldn't your boss arrest you first? Your perverted streak is enough to get you into those cubes."

After finishing, Luo Qi suddenly looked at Li Xu carefully, "Oh, I understand, actually your boss should lock up both himself and you. Are you two weasels watching the chickens?"

"Don't be glib," Li Xu said, "I'm not interested in a child's humor."

Luo Qi shut his mouth, feeling a little regretful that he hadn't fanned the flames when Du Zhengyi was beating Zhao Zhiyan. He thought of Du Zhengyi again; although he was also annoying, and Li Xu said he was an egoist who never had friends at school, this might not be an exaggeration. But in Du Zhengyi's infuriating lack of patience, there had never been anything truly sinister, and he hadn't even ever been truly impatient with Luo Qi.

Luo Qi had never had high demands of others. Life is truly bitter, and others have always been hell. They might not count as friends, and the time they had known each other was short, but for some people, some relationships, one side must choose to trust and choose to be loyal first for everything to have a little meaning.

Luo Qi had never insisted on anything for anyone in his life, and he never wanted to be a hero; now he actually wanted to protect Du Zhengyi—just thinking about this thought made him feel it was ridiculous. But he also clearly knew that the point was not here.

At this thought, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. He opened his mouth and said, "Anyway, I live at the very bottom of the Mages; by their ability, any Mage could make my life miserable, and my existence has no meaning to begin with. Since that's the case, I would rather define a little meaning for my own existence. You can tie me to the tracks; I deserve to be crushed by a train, but I won't let you have your way. Don't say you want Du Zhengyi; even if you wanted my sister's hairpin, I wouldn't give it to you, even though I don't even have a sister!"

"Fuck!" Zhao Zhiyan couldn't hold back and cursed, wishing he could spit on him again, "You really are a stubborn bastard!"

"Then there is no other way." Li Xu stretched out his hands and made a helpless gesture, "Originally, according to your value, it would be best if you could cooperate directly. Now that it has come to having to use Telepathy on you, the cost is really a bit over budget."

Luo Qi was extremely guarded against him reaching out, but his nerves were so tense that he was actually very sharp, and he caught a piece of content in Li Xu's words. Li Xu felt that using Telepathy on him was not worth it? Could it be that he really hadn't touched his Yajian?

He might realize later that he really shouldn't have let his mind wander at this moment; his peripheral vision caught the direction of Li Xu's palm suddenly changing, and he raised his head in a cold sweat, only to see a palm chopping down from thin air, falling directly toward the top of his head.

A heavy blow landed on his head, landing deep in his Yajian, as if invisible artillery fire were bombarding all his senses. It was like being on a high-speed roller coaster; his body was suddenly thrown into the clouds and then fell rapidly. Dizziness accompanied the pressure of rising blood pressure; he felt his eyeballs were about to pop out. He almost believed he was indeed on a roller coaster, spinning on a path of twists and turns; his Yajian whirled, and he saw shadows of the past, but even he himself didn't have time to distinguish those memories.

Everything came suddenly and went quickly. His intraocular pressure dropped, the agonizing headache subsided, and the ringing in his ears gradually stopped. He heard someone breathing heavily, as if trying to breathe in all the air he could breathe in a lifetime. Then he realized that person was himself; what he heard was his own gasping, his lungs were almost bursting, and his recently healed ribs began to ache dully as well.

"What happened, teacher?" He heard someone ask.

"His Yajian has defensive barriers; they aren't ordinary shields, the structure is very complex. My Yajian went into a blind spot as soon as it entered, and I almost got lost inside."

"Who? Him? Is his head that big?" It was Zhao Zhiyan's voice; this time his Yajian was a bit clearer, and he could clearly understand what they were saying. "Did Du Zhengyi do it?" Zhao Zhiyan asked angrily.

"Doesn't look like it. Du Zhengyi's records show he is not proficient in Telepathy. The structural barriers in Luo Qi's brain are the work of a Mind Master."

"Is it Pei Shu?"

"I am very familiar with Pei Shu, and this doesn't look like his style either." Li Xu pondered and said thoughtfully, "His parents were Doctors? What specialty were they Doctors in?"

"The records don't... say." Zhao Zhiyan said hesitantly, "If it wasn't specifically noted, they should be general practitioners, but the Qionglin rated his parents very highly; his parents were both very prestigious Doctors."

"If there are obvious traces of missing records, then they should have been covered up by the Qionglin. The most likely thing is that they were both Mind Masters, Doctors in Mind Repair."

"Very likely. Mind damage is the most serious Magic damage. If his parents were Mind Masters and also Doctors in Mind Repair, then it makes perfect sense for them to design complex mental protective barriers for their son."

Luo Qi felt dizzy again, finding their speculation somewhat unbelievable, yet feeling he had to believe it under these circumstances. If his parents were really as they said, had he picked up a huge bargain? This seemed to explain why he could see through even Pei Shu's illusions, and even explained why they chose him as Du Zhengyi's partner.

But even though his brain wasn't clear, he quickly realized the existence of a paradox: if his skull was so hard that no one could drill through it, then who put the story of the corpse into his Yajian?

Just when he was still drenched in sweat, panting like a dog, and his brain was too messy to sort out, Li Xu said something else he should have thought of but hadn't. "Du Zhengyi's medical records contain the name of Luo Qi's father; this is the earliest intersection between the two of them that can be traced in the records."

Luo Qi was stunned, listening to Li Xu continue.

"As far as Du Zhengyi is concerned, there hasn't been any medical information since then, but judging from the events of the past few days, Du Zhengyi has had close contact with the Doctor Majiang. Luo Qi is indeed able to provide us with information; even if he didn't have a brain, the amount of information he carries is large enough. It looks like three years ago, the attack Du Zhengyi suffered at Gushan must have been a mental attack."

"This is truly a major breakthrough," Zhao Zhiyan's voice became excited, "We can now basically confirm that this series of Mage deaths all have the shadow of mental attacks. Guan Yushan himself was even a Mind Master, and on top of that, Luo Qi's parents were Mind Mages; this all has to do with the mind."

"Don't forget, in the incident that happened three years ago, Du Zhengyi was involved, and Pei Shu specifically sent Du Zhengyi this time. I'm afraid everything happening now is still related to what happened in Gushan three years ago."

Li Xu's shadow fell on the top of Luo Qi's head; he couldn't help but shrink back, raising his head slowly.

Li Xu looked down at Luo Qi earnestly, "I have a good habit: I only solve one problem at a time."

Luo Qi looked at him in a trance; there was a sinister intent in those abnormally lustrous eyeballs of his. He pushed Luo Qi gently, and Luo Qi, like a puppet waiting to be slaughtered, obediently leaned back against the chair with his force, only a pair of pitch-black eyes flashing with clear, terrified color.

"I have another hobby: I like to decrypt." Li Xu continued, his soft, woman-like fingertips brushing across Luo Qi's temples, "No matter how intricate the lock inside is, I will take it apart. After I take you apart, I will go solve the next problem."

Luo Qi breathed rapidly, blinking in despair—soon this would be the only action he could take.