Chapter 127

Side Story: Locked Memories—Interrogation

Blue-White Star, Time: 4033.

Luo Family Manor.

Since being adopted by the Luo family, Bai Bai Yue had been waiting for his parents to come and take him home.

During that time, the Luo family members who had always taken care of him, Bai Bai Yue also knew how to repay kindness with gratitude.

After moving into the Luo family, starting from the age of seven, he began to display his talent and wisdom.

He constantly learned various kinds of knowledge, including psychology and the study of various devices, and even simulated the living habits of mutated animals through research to find their weaknesses.

But he was unwilling to learn the languages of other countries; in his own words, the language of the Dragon Kingdom was the best.

This situation continued for ten years, and he formulated these information into plans and handed them to Luo Kai; for this very reason, the Luo family's reputation climbed step by step.

At first, some people just thought he was a child, saying that perhaps these were all just things he did on a whim.

But with every mission execution afterwards, this plan reduced their losses to the maximum extent; therefore, they changed their view of Bai Bai Yue: Do not underestimate anyone because of their age!

Bai Bai Yue also hoped that when his parents returned, seeing what he had done would make them feel proud.

Although so, actually Bai Bai Yue had long guessed in his heart the answer to why his parents had not come to pick him up for so long, but he was unwilling to believe this was the truth, always using this way to numb himself and deceive himself.

Just two years ago, Luo Kai could not bear it anymore, and finally told Bai Bai Yue the truth of the matter.

The facts he had guessed and the facts told by others were completely two different results.

Hearing the truth spoken by Luo Kai, Bai Bai Yue knew the original course of events, could not accept it, and from then on became silent and spoke little, no longer having any excessive communication with others.

Luo Kai saw this with his own eyes, and his heart was not at ease either.

But this is reality; one can only let time slowly wash everything away, hoping Bai Bai Yue can forget the past and start anew.

At this time, Bai Bai Yue was fifteen years old, standing in the pavilion of the manor's back garden, holding that heart-shaped butterfly pendant and staring blankly.

"Bai Bai Yue, are you thinking of your parents again?" A graceful woman came to Bai Bai Yue's side, seeing him holding the heart-shaped butterfly pendant and staring blankly again.

She was Luo Kai's daughter—Sister Luo Li.

"No." Bai Bai Yue simply answered her with two words, and then did not continue speaking; his words seemed as if they had lost all emotion.

Sister Luo Li also understood; for these ten years, Bai Bai Yue had always been alone, crying secretly in places where others could not see, and even if discovered, he would only say, "My eyes hurt, so tears flowed."

She also wanted to help Bai Bai Yue, but without experiencing another's suffering, one should not urge another to be kind; she dared not try, fearing Bai Bai Yue would resent her because of it.

She could only contact him by chatting slowly together to dilute that pain in the heart, but every time Bai Bai Yue would end the chat with just a few simple words.

But Sister Luo Li still did not give up.

Just as she was preparing to invite Bai Bai Yue to go out and stroll with her, an urgent phone ring sounded.

Sister Luo Li opened the smart bracelet on her hand, and a small virtual projection screen floated out.

Displayed on it were the words "Brother"; Sister Luo Li felt somewhat helpless, as this came at a very bad time.

Helpless as she was, she still answered the call.

As soon as she clicked to answer the call, a person appeared on the small virtual screen; that was Sister Luo Li's brother—Luo Zhan Yun.

"Brother, what are you calling for? You'd better give me a reasonable explanation!"

Seeing his sister Sister Luo Li seemed very angry, Luo Zhan Yun's heart tightened immediately; he knew very well his sister's personality, hiding a particularly black-hearted mind beneath a beautiful appearance, and being proficient in various medical devices and knives.

Even if you weren't sick, she could make you sick.

"Ahem, Xiao Li, I have no choice either; I have something here that needs Bai Bai Yue's help. If he can't do it either, then the things afterwards will probably cause great trouble!"

"Roar~ What matter actually needs Little Bai Bai Yue's help? Brother, aren't you very powerful?! How is there something even you can't solve?"

Being teased like this by his sister, Luo Zhan Yun's old face also turned a bit red, saying: "I am only powerful in combat; if it changes to interrogation... this... isn't this simply making things difficult for me!"

"Then tell me, what is it?"

"It's like this..." Luo Zhan Yun had just wanted to speak, but saw him look around at the surroundings behind him, and continued speaking: "We caught an M Country spy; he not only stole our Dragon Kingdom's latest 【Dark Matter Energy】 research results, but even more, he..."

Speaking of this, Luo Zhan Yun clenched his fists, gnashed his teeth, and his face was even more covered with anger.

"When he was escaping, he hid in a family's home, and when leaving, he... he also cruelly killed the entire family... among them... there was a ten-year-old little girl, her heart was..."

"What?! This beast! Why didn't we kill him!? What use is such a beast living in this world!?" Hearing these words spoken by Luo Zhan Yun, Sister Luo Li could no longer hold back and shouted directly.

"Xiao Li, I know your mood now, but how is my heart not the same? I also wish to torture this beast to death! But this time... it concerns the Dragon Kingdom's top-level secrets! The M Country side has been eyeing our Dragon Kingdom hungrily for more than a day or two..."

Before the words finished, Bai Bai Yue on the side spoke up: "Time, address."

These four brief words already expressed Bai Bai Yue's current mood; Sister Luo Li was closest to him, and although she could not see any expression on his face, the anger in his heart unconsciously radiated out.

"Bai Bai Yue..." Sister Luo Li had just wanted to stop him, but unexpectedly Bai Bai Yue only repeated the previous words again: "Time, address."

"Wait, I'll come pick you up. Bai Bai Yue, this time, I'm counting on you!" Luo Zhan Yun said earnestly.

"Mm."

Not long after, a hovering war chariot flew to the Luo Family Manor's back garden and stopped; Luo Zhan Yun opened the cabin door and walked out from inside.

"Bai Bai Yue, I'm counting on you."

"Mm." Bai Bai Yue responded, then put the small black backpack prepared during the waiting period on his back, walked in front of Luo Zhan Yun, and entered the war chariot.

Just after Bai Bai Yue entered the war chariot, Sister Luo Li shouted to Luo Zhan Yun: "Brother, protect Little Bai Bai Yue."

"Don't worry, I will!"

The hovering war chariot flew for a period of time and arrived at a certain secret base.

After getting off the vehicle, Luo Zhan Yun led Bai Bai Yue into the secret base, walked a distance in the corridor, and arrived next to the interrogation room.

Four people were standing inside the room; one of them was Luo Zhan Yun's father—Luo Kai.

The other three were the Investigation Team Captain, a War Police Bureau Chief, and the last one was a War Police Sergeant.

A large virtual projection screen floated on the wall, and around it were all kinds of instruments and computers for detecting human emotional data.

"Team Leader Luo, why did you bring a child here?" The Sergeant saw Luo Zhan Yun bringing a young man of about fifteen years old here and felt somewhat puzzled.

"Zhan Yun, this is nonsense. We can handle this ourselves. How can you drag Bai Bai Yue into it? Do you think you can face his parents after doing this?" Luo Kai scolded Luo Zhan Yun.

"Chief, Dad, let's talk later. Maybe Bai Bai Yue can solve this. Don't forget, at least half of our family's current achievements are thanks to Bai Bai Yue!"

"Sigh..." Seeing this, the four stopped blaming Luo Zhan Yun further; after all, he was doing it for everyone's sake.

On the screen, the M Country spy detained in the interrogation room was extremely arrogant. He had medium-length golden hair and blue eyes. Even though he was handcuffed to the chair with laser cuffs, his attitude was still very hostile.

Sitting opposite him were two interrogators, staring angrily at the M Country man.

"Hey, I'm saying, if you don't release me, you'll be violating the convention! Remember, I am a friend of M Country. You detained me without cause; be careful, or I'll complain to my country about you Dragon Country!" The M Country man sneered, speaking fluent Dragon Country language with a fearless expression.

"Jeros! You'd better tell the whole story exactly as it happened, or else..."

"Or else what? If you beat a confession out of me, I'll complain to your superiors and make today's events public. Is this how Dragon Country treats foreign friends? A nation of etiquette? You're making me laugh! Hahahaha!" Jeros said mockingly.

When the interrogator who had just spoken pulled out a retractable electric baton to take action, the other interrogator stopped him: "Xiao Zhang, don't be impulsive! He's just trying to provoke you!"

Seeing this, Jeros became even more arrogant and continued to mock: "I remember that if you detain someone for over 24 hours without any results, you must release them innocent. It's already been over twenty hours, with less than two hours remaining!"

"Besides, I didn't do anything wrong. Moreover, it's not impossible that that family offended someone else. Hahahaha!"

"Oh right, the girls in your Dragon Country are so tender and fresh! Not only beautiful, but also gentle, especially those places... tsk tsk tsk! Much prettier than those in M Country! I don't even want to leave! Ahahaha!"

The people in the next room, seeing this scene, clenched their fists to suppress their anger. Only Bai Bai Yue continued to stare at the screen with a blank expression.

Luo Kai looked at Bai Bai Yue and said, "Bai Bai Yue, in this situation, do you... have confidence?"

Bai Bai Yue said nothing, only nodded, then left the next room with his backpack on his back and entered the interrogation room.

The two interrogators saw a child standing at the door and were about to speak when they heard the voice from the microphone on the floating recorder in the interrogation room: "You two leave first. From now on, leave it to him."

The two interrogators were somewhat surprised inside, but since their direct superior said so, they could only comply.

However, before leaving, the interrogator named Xiao Zhang handed the retractable electric baton from his chest to Bai Bai Yue and instructed, "Be careful yourself."

Bai Bai Yue turned his head to look at Xiao Zhang, smiled slightly, and said, "Thank you."

The two left the interrogation room and closed the door, leaving only Bai Bai Yue and that M Country man.

Jeros saw that the interrogator had changed to a teenager and laughed even louder: "Hahahaha! Hey, hey, hey, no way?! You actually sent a child? Could it be that your Dragon Country is all show and no substance, you've run out of options, so you sent a brat to entertain me? Huh? Hahahaha!"

Jeros looked at Bai Bai Yue, who was wearing a black trench coat and pants with half-metal boots, his eyes full of contempt and disdain.

Bai Bai Yue did not show any other emotion due to Jeros's words; he simply walked to the floating table, took off the backpack behind him, unzipped it, but did not take anything out.

This left Jeros and the people in the next room looking puzzled, not understanding what he was going to do.

Afterwards, Bai Bai Yue went to the other side, opened the adjustment switch on the wall, and adjusted all the walls in the room to 【Mirror Mode】.

Beep~

The walls in the interrogation room began to change, turning into one-way glass mirrors, including the ceiling. Then the white lights were dimmed significantly, making the surroundings look somewhat oppressive.

Having done this, Bai Bai Yue leaned his hips against the table, crossed his right arm over his chest, and supported his chin with his left hand. Those scarlet eyes stared directly at Jeros.

Jeros looked at Bai Bai Yue's scarlet eyes. At first, it was nothing, but gradually, a cold sweat bead slid down from his forehead.

Clearly, the child in front of him had done nothing, yet an uncertain factor was slowly eroding his heart.

"What's going on? Why is this brat staring at me?" Jeros thought.

But soon, Jeros thought of a solution: as long as he didn't look into his eyes, it would be fine. So he shifted his gaze elsewhere, but unexpectedly, there were mirrors everywhere.

Even if he didn't look, the mirrors would reflect Bai Bai Yue's eyes. He looked straight up at the ceiling, only to find the same situation.

Plus, with the lights dimmed, the feeling of unease in his heart began to slowly expand!

He might as well close his eyes; out of sight, out of mind.

But things were often not as simple as Jeros thought. The surrounding mirrors, the dimmed lights, and Bai Bai Yue's gaze just now.

Jeros, with his eyes closed, seemed to see an abyss of bottomless depth. When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you.

Suddenly, that abyss opened its eyes; they were so scarlet! Scared, Jeros immediately opened his eyes and met Bai Bai Yue's eyes again.

Just like that, twenty minutes passed. Jeros simply couldn't take it anymore and shouted: "What do you want to do? I... I warn you... if you don't release me, I will... I will appeal and tell everyone in this world that this is malicious detention!"

The few people in the next room were also frightened by Jeros's behavior; this was the first time they had seen that guy look panicked!

At this moment, Bai Bai Yue slowly spoke: "Play a game with me, how about it?"

"Oh? A game, sure!" Hearing this, Jeros was overjoyed, but he forced himself to stay calm and suppressed the unease in his heart.

He thought: A brat is just a brat, only knows how to play! Hehe... Watch how I play you to death! Once I get out, I will definitely find a way to make you disappear from this world!

Jeros: "Speak, what game do you want me to play with you?"

Bai Bai Yue: "The name of the game is 'The Last Heartbeat'."

Hearing the name of the game, Jeros immediately felt a bad premonition in his heart again.

Bai Bai Yue went to the adjustment switch position again and adjusted the lights of the three floating lamps in the room to red, green, and gray, and also dimmed the brightness a bit.

This scene, combined with the mirrored walls all around, created an indescribable sense of oppression.

Even the group in the next room felt a strange, unexplainable sensation upon seeing this.

It was like a person walking on a concrete road that stretched endlessly into the dark night, with bamboo forests and trees all around.

Looking up, one could only see a sky covered in dark clouds, with only that single blood-red moon shining on you.

The wind blowing with a whoosh, the bamboo forests creaking, and the trees rustling as they collided.

One could even see occasional eerie green and scarlet eyes appearing between the bamboo forests and trees, staring at you fiercely from the darkness not far away, as if waiting for prey!

Jeros felt the atmosphere around him becoming more and more oppressive, and fear even overflowed in his heart!

The matter was not over yet.

Bai Bai Yue took a black cloth for blindfolding out of his backpack; it looked very thick and airtight.

He walked to Jeros and covered his eyes, which made Jeros feel even more uneasy.

Afterwards, Bai Bai Yue took out an alarm clock from his backpack again. This alarm clock could be described as very old, the kind using batteries from thousands of years ago.

He adjusted the time and placed it on the table.

Then he took out a metal pen and held it in his hand; it was only about ten centimeters in length.

"Now, the game begins."

Hearing these words, a bead of cold sweat soaked through Jeros's back.

Tick-tock~ tick-tock~ tick-tock~...

The interrogation room was dim and quiet, with only the "tick-tock" of the alarm clock and the breathing of two people.

Bai Bai Yue's breathing was slow and steady, while Jeros's breathing was slightly rapid.

Suddenly, Bai Bai Yue's voice reached Jeros's ears, sounding now far, now near.

"In the last second before death, a person sees their entire past and memories; it is called a life review."

"The family you killed is in another world, but their daughter... has remained behind."

"Right now, she is slowly walking toward you from the darkness not far away."

Tap~ tap~ tap~

Bai Bai Yue, wearing those half-metal boots, slowly approached Jeros; the footsteps sounded as if she were walking step by step along the edge of Jeros's heart.

"The moment a person's chest is cut open, there are a few seconds to take out one's own heart and see one's own heart beating!"

"And that little girl, knowing this, held a fruit knife; the blade gleamed with cold light, and you even saw your own reflection in the knife's refraction."

"The little girl held the knife and slowly approached you, yet you felt nothing of her presence; you could only see that knife~"

"That knife is slowly approaching you, first moving from your hand slowly toward your neck."

Bai Bai Yue's metal pen lightly grazed the back of Jeros's hand; stimulated by the cold metal, Jeros's body began to tremble.

When the metal pen approached Jeros's neck and lightly grazed it, Jeros felt as though something were choking him, making his breathing somewhat difficult!

Seeing this, Bai Bai Yue continued to speak softly.

"The little girl has walked behind you, yet you still feel nothing of her presence."

"She stands behind you with the knife, extending it from behind you to in front of you, stopping right at the position of your heart!"

"Thump~ thump~ you can even hear your heart's cry for help! It seems to urge you to stop her."

"But you simply cannot do it! Because you cannot feel the girl's presence at all."

"Where is she? Left? Right? When you turn around to look behind you, you still do not see that little girl! Yet you can clearly see that knife still lingering at the chest position of your heart."

"You want to scream, but you simply cannot. Because there is only you alone... and that invisible girl! And that knife that has been lingering on your chest!"

Gently blowing a breath onto Jeros's neck, Jeros could no longer suppress the unease and fear in his heart; he wanted to cry out but could not.

The metal pen pressed against Jeros's neck; that chill felt as if a knife were lightly slicing across your neck!

"With a 'puchi' sound, that knife plunged directly into your chest, slicing it open!"

"A bright red, rapidly beating heart appears before your eyes..."

"Stop talking! I... I... I beg you, stop talking... Give... give the heart... back to me..." Jeros could no longer endure it; the words Bai Bai Yue had just spoken made images involuntarily float up in his mind, and combined with the surrounding atmosphere, he could not bear it!

Bai Bai Yue did not stop; instead, she whispered in his ear: "Shh~ be quiet~ otherwise... you will die even faster~"

Jeros instantly fell silent, as if he saw his own heart drifting away from him; he wanted to reach out and grab it, but he could not extend his hand, could not grasp it!

"That heart automatically falls into your hand; you look at the heart in your palm, wanting to put it back, but your life is slowly draining away... and blood is also flowing from your chest..."

Tick-tock~ tick-tock~ tick-tock~...

The "tick-tock" sound from the alarm clock was like life's time counting down; Jeros felt as though he were right there, watching the heart's beating speed slow down, and his life already draining away...

Finally, Bai Bai Yue leaned close to Jeros's ear, imitating that little girl's voice, and whispered: "I am in hell... waiting for you~"

Ding-ling-ling...

At that very moment, the alarm clock rang, as if announcing Jeros's death knell, shattering the last line of defense in Jeros's mind.

"Aaaaaah! No... no... no no no! I... I... I was wrong! I beg you, spare me! Spare me! I don't want to go down... I don't want to go down! I'll talk, I'll confess everything! Don't drag me down to hell!"

Bai Bai Yue's final words seemed to be the straw that broke Jeros's back, causing him to begin losing his mind; his body trembled, his breathing quickened, and the fear in his heart gradually expanded!

Then, Bai Bai Yue pressed the metal pen against Jeros's chin; feeling the coldness of the metal pen, Jeros kept shivering.

"Tell me everything you know; perhaps I can spare you." Bai Bai Yue said this to Jeros, still imitating the little girl's voice.

Seeing this, Jeros nodded repeatedly and said: "I... I'll talk... I beg you... spare me... I'll tell everything!"

The few people in the adjacent room had just heard it all; combined with the atmosphere of the interrogation room, they felt as though they themselves had experienced being gazed upon by the abyss.

Fortunately, in the end, they managed to pry Jeros's mouth open.

In the final half hour or so, Jeros confessed everything he knew, including the location where the stolen documents and secret files were hidden.

And the details of the matter regarding the killing of that innocent family.

Bai Bai Yue and the few people in the adjacent room listened carefully and recorded everything.

After the interrogation ended, Bai Bai Yue made a "finished" gesture toward the video recorder, took his things, and left the interrogation room.

As for Jeros, whether he lived or died had nothing to do with him.

"Hehe, this time we have caught M Country's incriminating evidence; let's see how they can still wriggle out of it! I will submit this report to the higher-ups; the rest is up to you all." The Director said to the few people behind him.

"Yes!"

"Oh, by the way, this little fellow Bai Bai Yue is truly excellent. Who are his parents? I must get to know them properly; someone who can raise such an outstanding child, their parents must be extraordinary!"

Hearing the Director say this, Luo Kai and Luo Luo Zhan Yun fell silent; a wave of sorrow emanated from the two of them, father and son.

Director: "What? Did something happen?"

Luo Kai: "This... Director, this child is named Bai Bai Yue; his parents... sacrificed their lives ten years ago..."

Afterwards, Luo Kai explained Bai Bai Yue's family background, his parents' identities, the cause of their deaths... and including his current assistance to the Luo family.

The more the Director heard toward the end, the sadder he became, saying: "This child... sigh... it was my fault for speaking too much! But he truly is worthy of the title 'descendant of a hero'; he is admirable! Take good care of this child; if he needs any help, you can tell me."

"Then I will thank the Director on behalf of that child, Bai Bai Yue, first."

"Hahaha, what is there to thank? This child, Bai Bai Yue, is excellent in every way! Enough talk; I will go report to the higher-ups first."

"Yes!" x3

Finally, the Director's gaze swept toward the two interrogators on the other side, and he said, "Record today's interrogation method; you should learn from it as well."

"Yes!" x2

Xiao Zhang recalled Bai Bai Yue's interrogation process just now, and a feeling of admiration rose in his heart. He thought to himself: Indeed, one must never underestimate anyone based on age!

But in the blink of an eye, it seemed he had forgotten something. After thinking for a moment, he realized his telescopic baton was still on Bai Bai Yue.

"Oh no, my telescopic baton... never mind, I'll just consider it a gift to him! Consider it the fee for the lesson you taught me, hahaha!" Xiao Zhang thought to himself.

(Although the novel I write is not very good, I will still try my best. I just hope everyone can read it happily. Therefore, if there are any parts written poorly, please forgive me! Thank you for your continued support and care.)