Chapter 60: Mad Dog Unleashed (Revision)

Outside a special isolation interrogation room of the Heresy Tribunal.

Qi Junyi rubbed his still-aching chest and walked to the one-way glass.

On the other side of the one-way glass was a room, after preliminary processing, temporarily used to detain Lin Hao and Ye Lin.

Inside it was less an interrogation room than a fully equipped guard room, but the walls were covered with runes that suppress energy.

A technician in Heresy Tribunal uniform saw him and immediately stepped forward to report.

"Captain Qi, the examination reports for the two have come out. The male target's mutation level is extremely high, but after treatment with holy water and stabilizer, the mutation speed has temporarily slowed; he is currently in a sleeping state, vital signs are stable."

"Female target... her emotions are more agitated, she stays by the male target's side, refuses to separate, and will not rest."

Qi Junyi nodded; he was not surprised by this situation.

He glanced at the other side of the glass; Ye Lin clutched the still-unmutated hand of the sleeping Lin Hao, her face full of worry and fatigue.

She acts recklessly, her emotions fully exposed, showing no concealment at all.

Like a flower that has never encountered the world's dangers, protected in a greenhouse.

"Go contact the Church and find a doctor who can perform mutation stripping surgery."

Qi Junyi ordered, his tone carrying a barely perceptible complexity.

"This kid's mutation is too deep; conventional methods can't save him, and if we delay any longer he'll truly become a monster. Do your best... think of a way to preserve whatever sliver of humanity he still has, and also whatever knowledge he has in his mind."

The technician took the order and left.

Qi Junyi inhaled deeply, placed his hand on the interrogation room's door handle, and prepared to go in to meet the girl from the Old World, to see if he could extract any valuable information.

Just as he was about to push the door open, his movement halted; he keenly sensed a cold, oppressive aura behind him.

He sighed helplessly, withdrew his hand from the handle, and turned around.

Sure enough, Chi Jinan had somehow already been standing behind him, like a ghost without temperature.

He still wore the dust‑stained battle uniform; his black eyes stared through the one-way glass at Ye Lin and Lin Hao inside, his face showing no expression.

"Why are you here?" Qi Junyi felt his head start to throb again. "Weren't you told to go back and rest, write an action report?"

He knew Chi Jinan hated this paperwork the most, but at least change clothes, right?

Chi Jinan ignored his question, was silent for a moment, his gaze still fixed on the interior, and his voice, low and hoarse, began.

"Is he a Co-Absorption person?"

"Co-Absorption," formally "Symbiotic Eclipse," is a cult that spreads silently in the shadows.

They preach that mutation is humanity's ultimate evolutionary direction, and claim to have mastered a method to restore conscious awareness to those who have become Aberrant Species, mindless monsters.

More unsettling, they are not just talk; Co-Absorption members indeed include some extremely dangerous individuals who remain rational even after full mutation.

Chi Jinan simply furrowed his brows and said with certainty.

"He has no mutation feature." Here "he" refers to Ying Duo.

When confronting Ying Duo, he sensed that the opponent had disguised his appearance, but Ying Duo's body showed no obvious mutation marks.

"But the horn on his companion's head is too obvious," Qi Junyi replied.

He was referring to Bai Mu Yun.

At that moment Bai Mu Yun's figure suddenly became exposed; although he quickly used illusion to blur his face, the distinctive ram horns could not be fully concealed.

"Preliminary assessment suggests that guy is the one who assisted Dark Raven in the earlier 'Hunting Raven' incident; his abilities also match, both excel at illusion and concealment."

Qi Junyi watched Chi Jinan furrow his brows, still seeming doubtful, then shrugged indifferently, his gaze shifting to the two inside the glass, his tone a bit nonchalant.

"Maybe your intuition is right; perhaps his mutation feature simply hasn't manifested, or... Co-Absorption has devised some new trick."

He said that offhand, trying to brush Chi Jinan off.

However, as soon as the words fell, Qi Junyi realized something was wrong.

"Not manifested..."

"Doesn't that indirectly admit that the kid may not have used his full strength when fighting Chi Jinan?"

Sure enough, the aura around Chi Jinan beside him instantly dropped to freezing point.

In those black eyes, the previously restrained ferocity flared like ignited explosives, surging again.

"Not manifested?"

Chi Jinan repeated the sentence, his anger turning to a bitter laugh, the smile cold and twisted.

"When he fought me, he... didn't even use his full strength?"

"Very well..."

Chi Jinan's voice came out as if squeezed from between his teeth, carrying a rust‑like, bloody scent.

"Next time we meet, I will definitely kill him."

He said that unusually calmly, yet it carried more weight than any roar, as if issuing an irrevocable death sentence to Ying Duo.

Qi Junyi watched Chi Jinan's serious demeanor and could only silently light a candle in his heart for that unnamed fellow.

Being targeted by this madman Chi Jinan is far from a pleasant experience.

He only hopes that the next time these two meet, they won't tear anything apart again, since applying for repair funds is a hassle.

Qi Junyi felt overwhelmed, already pondering whether to come back tomorrow.

Having this Chi Jinan in that state beside him, watching the interrogation?

He fears that if three questions aren't asked, he might recall that guy from a keyword and then go berserk, demolishing the interrogation room and everyone inside.

He must find a way to lure this demon away first.

His mind raced, recalling the mountain of recent reports and intel.

Suddenly, a piece of information he hadn't given much weight to flashed through his mind—a cruel assassination that occurred on a Church peripheral member.

Got it!

Qi Junyi's face remained impassive; he deliberately spoke in a tone as if he had just remembered something, with a hint of nonchalance, breaking the suffocating silence of the corridor.

By the way, speaking of Co-Absorption... a few days ago a priest responsible for grassroots material allocation was killed on his way home at night.

The scene was handled rather roughly, leaving something behind.

He paused deliberately for a moment, noticing Chi Jinan's ear twitch almost imperceptibly; although his gaze remained fixed on the Interrogation Room, his attention was clearly drawn partly over.

According to preliminary analysis by the traces department, the scene retains a Mutation aura, but combined with that cruel torture method, it cannot be ruled out as the work of those Co-Absorption lunatics.

He spread his hands, making an expression that said "This is kind of interesting but I'm not sure."

Originally this isn't our jurisdiction, but since you're so "interested" in them...

Before Qi Junyi had finished speaking, Chi Jinan's statue-like figure had already moved.

"Where?" Chi Jinan uttered two words concisely, his voice hoarser and lower than before.

Qi Junyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but kept his composure, quickly reporting the file number.

The file number is DT-734, I don't remember the details.

Chi Jinan said no more, not even glancing at the Interrogation Room again; his figure flickered, vanishing like a ghost into the hallway shadows, leaving only a faint trace of bloody scent.

Qi Junyi stared at the empty hallway, finally letting out a long breath.

He rubbed his temples, feeling more exhausted than after a fight.

Finally got rid of that lunatic...

He muttered softly, rearranged his expression and thoughts, then pressed his hand against the Interrogation Room door again.

As for what might happen if Chi Jinan is let out...

Hmm, he trusts Captain Yue.