Chapter 593: Which version of the truth do you want to hear now?

Qiu Ce Yuan Building Three.

The corridor was full of people.

Black combat suits, heavy bulletproof armor, helmet face shields; thirty-seven Federal Special Forces stood in a fan formation, blocking the infirmary door so tightly not even water could leak through. Each person's standard weapon had its magazine changed, loaded with Suppress Spook bullets, muzzles pointing in the same direction.

No one spoke.

Breathing was suppressed to the minimum, but the heartbeat could not be held down.

Jiang Yuan stood at the very front.

His hand drew a black playing card from the card bag, fingertips gripping the edge, exerting no force. He waited for a signal.

Behind him, Lin Fan's right eye had completely turned a deep azure. Cold light welled up from the depths of his pupil, spilling outward to illuminate half his face. Ling Xinyu's power flowed over his body, a thin layer of blue flame soundless and silent, yet the air at the far end of the corridor had already begun to twist and warp.

The retreat was sealed off.

Liang Wen stood to Jiang Yuan's left, his peach-blossom eyes devoid of any smile. His fingerless gloves gripped an alloy short dagger, the faint gold lines along its blade flickering twice.

Su Ming stood on the right. His eyes were half-lidded, pupils dark as black. A Time Marrow Worm lay dormant within him, like a string pulled to its limit.

Qin Zhixia stood behind the crowd. Her mechanical arm hung at her side, her other hand gripping a silver-white submachine gun. Tail-Head Snake. A Zhun S Ji rule-based weapon designed to suppress high-dimensional targets, only two exist in the entire Federation.

Wei Gong's voice came simultaneously through everyone's earpieces.

"Execute."

As Jiang Yuan kicked the door, the Dark Shadow Court exploded outward.

A black domain of rules burst from his body, covering the entire infirmary in zero point three seconds. Ceiling, floor, and all four walls were swallowed by shadow, forming an absolutely sealed space.

Lin Fan followed closely. Azure Hellfire spread from his right hand, creeping along door frames, window frames, every gap and passage, weaving an airtight net.

Thirty-seven guns rose simultaneously.

Infrared laser dots densely fell upon the desk behind.

Then everyone saw.

Chu Che sat in the chair.

His doctor's lab coat was draped over the chair back; he wore a light-blue shirt underneath, sleeves rolled twice. His gold-thread glasses sat straight, and the teacup on the table still steamed.

He was looking at the doorway.

His expression was no different than usual.

A gentle, just-right smile that put people at ease.

Thirty-seven muzzles. Two S Ji domains. Enough firepower to level a city.

Chu Che lowered his head and glanced at the teacup.

He lifted it. Took a sip.

He set it down.

His movements were slow—slow enough that everyone could clearly see the trajectory of each finger. Long, fair, knuckle-distinct hands.

The teacup landed back on the table with an extremely light click.

Then he stood up.

Thirty-seven index fingers tightened simultaneously by half a millimeter.

Chu Che raised both hands.

Ten fingers spread, palms outward, assuming a pose of surrender.

"Don't be nervous."

That voice came from the rule walls of the Dark Shadow Court, clear and pure, carrying no weird fluctuations. Clean. Gentle. Just like the tone he used every time he greeted colleagues in the corridor.

"I will not resist."

No one moved.

Jiang Yuan stared at him. The perception network of the Dark Shadow Court blanketed the entire space; every corner, every crevice lay under his control.

There was nothing.

No weird fluctuations. No precursors to rule release. No hidden means whatsoever.

This person standing there was merely an ordinary human male, lacking even the strength to truss a chicken.

But Jiang Yuan's back was sweating.

Something's off.

It's way off.

A being capable of creating S Ji weirdness, a monster able to flick a roadblock beyond the solar system, an entity defined by the Eye of Truth as 'World-Destruction Level'—facing this scale of siege, the reaction is—hands up in surrender?

"Move aside."

The voice came from behind the crowd. Hoarse, barely recognizable as its original tone.

The human wall automatically parted, forming a passage.

Qin Zhixia walked over.

Her face was white—not the pallor of tension or anger, but the whiteness of excessive blood loss. Her lips were pressed together, showing no expression.

Her mechanical arm hung at her side, unmoving.

She used her other hand—her left—to raise the Tail-Head Snake.

The muzzle was aimed at Chu Che's brow.

Distance: three meters.

Chu Che looked at her.

The eyes behind his gold-thread glasses, from the moment he raised both hands, had never strayed from Qin Zhixia's direction.

"Chu Che."

Qin Zhixia spoke. Her voice trembled. Not from fear. Something else was tearing at her vocal cords.

"It's you."

"It's not a question."

"\"...... All the Weird. Cavity Person. Ghost wall. Smiling Dummy. Midnight nightmare. Blood Moon. Gospel Church. \""

"Each time she spoke a name, her grip on the gun tightened a little."

"From start to finish, it's all you."

"Chu Che did not deny it."

"He looked at Qin Zhixia, slowly lowering his hands. The motion was gentle, as if afraid to startle something."

"Then he laughed."

"The smile was exactly the same as half an hour ago in the debugging room—temperature, arc, the degree of the corners of his eyes, not differing in the slightest."

"\"My promise remains unchanged, Zhixia. \""

"Qin Zhixia's hand was trembling."

"The gun barrel wavered."

"She clenched her back teeth, the strain making the veins at her temples jump."

"She didn't cry."

"She couldn't cry. She wouldn't cry."

"But the thing in her eye sockets wouldn't obey her."

"One drop."

"It slid down her cheek and splattered onto her collar."

"She didn't wipe it away. She didn't lower her gun."

"Everyone nearby watched the scene. No one spoke. Liang Wen looked away, gazing at the shadowy ramparts outside the window. Su Ming lowered his head, his pupil color deepening to black."

"Jiang Yuan's fingers gripping the cards turned white."

"\"Act. \""

"Wei Gong's voice came through the earpiece again. Brief, without emotion."

"The Federation Special Forces First Squad rushed forward."

"The highest-spec S Ji anti-weird metal rings. Eight of them. One by one, they were fastened—neck, wrists, ankles, waist. Each time a ring clicked shut, it emitted a sharp electronic tone, signaling the activation of the suppression function."

"The Rule chains. Three layers. Silver-white chains extended from the rings, cross-woven, wrapping Chu Che completely."

"Chu Che didn't move at all."

"He held his hands forward, cooperating as the Special Forces slipped on the hand rings. The motion was overly natural, like a patient letting a nurse draw blood."

"Jiang Yuan stood three meters away, staring at all of this."

"The Dark Shadow Court remained open. He didn't retract it. He didn't dare to."

"Those chains on Chu Che showed no sign of resistance, struggle, or rule collisions. The metal rings' energy readings were stable. All parameters were normal."

"But Jiang Yuan knew something was wrong."

"Those chains weren't binding him."

"He was letting the chains bind him."

"That realization made Jiang Yuan's stomach clench."

"The Special Forces Captain confirmed all the restraints were in place and gave a hand signal."

"\"Target containment complete. Transfer. \""

"Two columns of Special Forces led the way. Chu Che was carried by four people as they walked out. Or rather, they kept a tense escort posture on his flanks while Chu Che walked himself."

"His steps were steady. Neither fast nor slow. His spine was straight."

"The chains clinked, but his walking posture was unaffected."

"The corridor was packed with people."

"Chen Shao leaned against the wall, arms crossed. The demon eye wrapped in cloth shifted slightly. His normal eye narrowed, watching Chu Che pass."

"Chu Che turned his head to the side."

"He gave him a slight nod."

"The curve of his lips was warm, like greeting a coworker passing by their office."

"On the other side, Ji Bai leaned against the doorframe. The old black umbrella stood at his feet. He didn't lift his head; his drooping eyelids hid any expression."

"As Chu Che passed by him, he glanced at the old black umbrella."

"Then he continued forward."

"Ji Bai's hand hung at his side, his fingertips twitching imperceptibly."

"Special Forces lined the corridor, bodies tense. Each had a hand on their weapon, rounds chambered, safeties off. They could fire at any moment."

"But they were sweating."

"That sweat wasn't from heat. The corridor's air conditioning was on full blast, the temperature only eighteen degrees."

"It was when that person passed by that their bodies instinctively sounded an alarm."

"It wasn't fear. It was something deeper—an innate biological instinct written into their genes, the kind that surfaces when facing a top‑predator in the food chain, impossible to override with reason."

"Chu Che did nothing."

"He was just walking."

"With a smile."

"The containment van waited below. Heavy armor, fully sealed, its inner walls lined with anti-weird sigil arrays. Three escort vehicles flanked it front and rear, their roofs mounted with heavy rule cannons."

"Chu Che was loaded onto the vehicle."

"As the vehicle door closed, he gave one last glance toward the Qiu Ce Yuan."

That Building No. 3. He stayed in the school infirmary for a few months. There was still an unwatered pothos on the windowsill.

The chain clinked. The car door closed.

The motorcade started up and headed for headquarters.

Forty minutes later.

Headquarters of the Federal Weird Investigation Bureau, twelve levels underground.

Top-secret interrogation room.

This is the deepest space in the entire Federation. All six walls are poured with A Ji anti-weird alloy, two meters thick. Twelve independently powered rule barriers are stacked. The air circulation system is completely sealed off, cutting off any form of signal transmission with the outside.

Only one chair stood in the center of the interrogation room.

Chu Che sat in it. Eight metal rings and three layers of rule chains fixed him to the chair back, with additional magnetic locks on his wrists and ankles.

His posture remained relaxed.

He leaned back against the chair, his head slightly tilted, as if waiting for someone.

The bulletproof glass opposite lowered. One layer, two layers, three layers.

The holographic projection lit up.

Lord Wei appeared on the other side of the glass.

His hair was grayish-white, he wore a Mao suit, his back ramrod straight. Those old eyes were wide open now, containing neither anger nor hatred.

There was only one thing.

Scrutiny.

The two men locked eyes.

The silence lasted ten seconds.

Lord Wei spoke.

"Now you can take off your mask, Dr. Chu."

Chu Che tilted his head.

The lenses of his gold-thread glasses reflected the interrogation room's harsh white light.

He smiled.

It was unlike any of his previous smiles.

The warmth drained from his face bit by bit, as if something finally couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore. His features and outline didn't change, but the feeling of looking at his face completely changed.

"Good."

He said.

His voice was still the same voice. Clean, gentle, carrying a professional sense of reassurance.

But the next sentence made everyone watching the surveillance screens outside the interrogation room feel a chill run down their spines.

"Then let's talk, Lord Wei— which version of the truth would you like to hear first?"