Chapter 228: How Many Steps to Drive Someone Mad? Three

"No." Yu Dazhang shook his head in confusion.

Police academies are not the same as military academies.

Attending a police academy does not equate to being a soldier, so he knew little about military matters.

"I only heard about it."

Ye Zhiyu spoke while recalling:

"Back when I was at school, I heard a teacher discuss this topic."

"If interrogation is ranked, military-level is undoubtedly the highest, using methods you simply cannot imagine."

"Human rights, dignity, and morality are all ruthlessly trampled during interrogation."

"In short, the goal is one: to pry open the criminal's mouth."

Yu Dazhang nodded:

"I understand that, but what does it have to do with Li Yong?"

War is cruel.

Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself, so the use of extreme measures in the army is normal.

He did not think there was anything excessive about this.

In fact, all countries in the world claim to treat prisoners of war well on their lips, but behind the scenes during interrogation, each is more ruthless than the last.

"Li Yong's condition is very similar to having undergone similar interrogation."

Ye Zhiyu explained:

"What you think of as torture and forced confession—whipping, abuse, and the like—is actually the most basic level."

"Li Yong's severed fingers were actually basic injury, preparation for the next step."

The next step? Yu Dazhang immediately became interested.

This was the first time he had heard that torture and forced confession had so many intricacies.

Although he had never actually encountered it, he had seen similar scenes in many movies and TV dramas.

Whips dipped in cold water, a round of whipping with howls.

Or take an iron branding iron, heat it red-hot, and sear the body fiercely.

If it's even more ruthless, just release dogs to bite.

The main idea is simple and crude: do whatever satisfies the hatred.

After this set of measures, few people can hold out.

Even if they can endure it, the person is ruined.

Yu Dazhang had seen many such scenes, but had never seen any mention of a "next step."

"You mean the criminal cutting off Li Yong's fingers was just preparation work."

Yu Dazhang felt it was a bit far-fetched:

"Then tell me, what is he going to do next?"

Ten fingers are connected to the heart.

The pain of a fractured finger is something ordinary people cannot bear, let alone having an entire finger severed.

If left untreated, this pain will last for a long time.

For an ordinary person, this is already torture.

So he truly could not imagine what else could be done in the next step.

"Depriving dignity."

Ye Zhiyu's voice was very flat, yet it made one feel a bone-chilling coldness:

"After cutting off the fingers, make Li Yong feel this pain continuously for the entire next day."

"Then, at the same time on the second day, make him curse himself; if he hesitates even slightly, immediately cut off the second finger."

"The pain continues; on the third day, the demand to curse himself is made to Li Yong at the same time."

"If he refuses, continue severing fingers."

"Then at the same time on the fourth day..."

Speaking thus, Ye Zhiyu raised his own palm.

In front of Yu Dazhang, he bent down three fingers:

"Obviously, Li Yong only held out for three days, and for that he lost three fingers."

"And on the fourth day, he compromised, starting to constantly insult himself, hoping to end the pain of finger-severing this way."

"Man is the knife and cutting board; I am the fish and meat."

"From then on, he was stripped of the dignity of being human, becoming completely a piece of meat on someone else's cutting board."

Are you a demon? After hearing these words, Yu Dazhang felt a chill at the back of his head. His gaze toward Ye Zhiyu also became complex.

Could an ordinary person think of such a method?

However, this does have some connection to psychology.

"So, Li Yong had a mental breakdown on the fourth day." Yu Dazhang said, frowning.

"Did I say he had a mental breakdown?" Ye Zhiyu looked at him with a puzzled expression:

"You're quite good at adding drama."

He was already cursing himself, and he hasn't broken down yet? Yu Dazhang felt he was being contrarian.

"You mean Li Yong was conscious at that time?"

As he asked this, he felt the possibility was not very high.

In his view, after enduring three days of torture in a row, his spirit must have already reached the critical point.

Even if he hadn't gone mad, he would surely have collapsed.

Unexpectedly, Ye Zhiyu nodded and replied:

"Avoiding misfortune and seeking good fortune; he simply backed down. He didn't go mad."

"Moreover, people don't easily suffer a mental breakdown."

No mistakes, every sentence, every word, every content, all here to read!

"The reason Li Yong went mad later was because..."

He stopped, staring straight ahead, a hint of confusion in his gaze.

At this moment, Ye Zhiyu was like a detective, rapidly analyzing and deducing the subsequent developments in his mind.

Yu Dazhang quietly waited nearby.

Such deduction requires a professional in psychology; as an outsider, he couldn't help at all.

However, there was one thing he hadn't expected.

There was actually a next step!

Moreover, it was clear that Li Yong lost his sanity and plunged into complete madness only during the subsequent steps.

After quite a while, Ye Zhiyu spoke again:

"Mental imprisonment."

Yu Dazhang:????

That sounded a bit like fantasy.

How can the mind be imprisoned?

No matter how one thinks about it, it doesn't seem like something humans can do.

"Can you say something I can understand?" Yu Dazhang protested.

Ye Zhiyu looked much more relaxed than before, his brow unfurrowed.

It was as if a long-troubling problem had finally been solved.

"It's very simple."

As Ye Zhiyu spoke, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and then pulled one out.

Yu Dazhang thought he was going to smoke.

Just as he was about to roll down the window, he noticed Ye Zhiyu didn't bring the cigarette to his mouth but waved it in front of his eyes.

Just as Yu Dazhang didn't understand what he was doing, Ye Zhiyu stuffed the cigarette back into the pack.

"Just like this cigarette."

Ye Zhiyu said slowly:

"If a person is locked in an enclosed space with no windows, cut off from the outside world."

"This environment will cause intense feelings of loneliness and abandonment, triggering fear and anxiety."

"This is the most direct and effective way to achieve mental imprisonment."

It sounded a bit like claustrophobia... Yu Dazhang felt deeply about this.

When he was young and attending kindergarten, teachers often used "locking you in the dark room" to scare him.

Although he was never actually locked up, just thinking about being confined in a dark, deserted place would send a surge of fear to his heart.

Seeing that Yu Dazhang understood, Ye Zhiyu continued:

"Li Yong's nerves had always been in a state of tension."

"After experiencing the pain of severed fingers and the deprivation of dignity, his mind was on the verge of collapse."

"If he were locked in an enclosed space at this point, not even much time is needed, within twenty-four hours..."

"He will definitely go mad!"

Hearing Ye Zhiyu's confident words and seeing the self-assured expression on his face, Yu Dazhang felt a tingling numbness on his scalp.

That's right, just as he said.

Severed fingers, deprivation of dignity, mental imprisonment...

After going through this entire process, no human could withstand it.

Ye Zhiyu's final two words, "definitely mad," were not spoken lightly.

The fact is, all nine victims...

Went mad!

(End of this chapter)