Chapter 138: I Hope You Confess

The previously pleasant atmosphere abruptly tensed at the sound of a cat’s cry. The surrounding crowd looked bewildered, yet nobody dared relax. Not only were countless dark muzzles pointed at Lu Xin and Gecko from behind the blinding lights, but several rocket launchers had also been shouldered and aimed squarely at the towering steel beast looming behind Gecko.

Lu Xin, however, only frowned slightly, recalling the strange look in the orange cat’s eyes just moments before.

Lost in thought, he glanced at the orange cat, then at Elder Snake.

……

“It’s fine…”

Only after being scratched by the cat did Elder Snap seem to snap back to attention.

She looked at the scratches on her arm, her expression unchanged.

With a light wave of her hand, she extended her soft tongue and slowly licked the wound.

Gecko sensed something was off. Though he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong, he reacted immediately.

“Elder Snake, it’s not that we’re being unreasonable. There are regulations from above…”

Smiling, he pulled out a document from his pocket and unfolded it before Elder Snake. “Cognition?”

……

Elder Snake stared at the emblem on the document, her expression freezing momentarily.

A smile reappeared on her face, turning gentle as she looked towards Lu Xin.

In a soft voice, she murmured, “Worth traveling all this way to catch someone—he must have committed a major crime, yes?”

Lu Xin thought briefly before nodding. “Yes.”

“No wonder he needed catching…”

Elder Snake nodded, seeming fully satisfied by this answer.

Her composure fully restored, she lightly waved her hand at those beside her.

Her subordinates looked stunned, as if confused.

Impatiently, Elder Snake slapped the nearest one and whispered something in his ear.

Realization dawned on the subordinates. One of them strode toward Gecko.

Despite Gecko’s beaming smile, the men marched past him without a glance. Instead, they seized the tall, burly Sheriff.

Struggling violently, flushed with panic and rage, the Sheriff was silenced before he could utter a single word—a sharp slap to his face cut him short. Someone grabbed a handful of pebbles from the ground and stuffed them forcefully into his mouth. Dragged away like a sack, his pitiful state made onlookers feel like they were witnessing two lovers forcibly torn apart.

“Don’t arrest him…!”

“Elder Snake, please spare him after all I’ve done for you…!”

“I beg you—help him… sob…”

……

As the howling Sheriff was hauled off, Elder Snake smiled and took two steps forward, signaling everyone to lower their weapons.

Her entourage exchanged uncertain glances but, recognizing her intentions, slowly lowered their firearms.

Gecko grinned and holstered his own gun while gesturing upward—the rotary cannon atop their vehicle retracted silently.

“Truth be told,” Elder Snake began, gently stroking the cat in her arms, “Blackwater Town and Qinggang City are like family. It is Qinggang’s grain that allows us to survive the winters. It’s Qinggang’s liquor that lets us live like humans. Qinggang’s concerns are our concerns. One family, right?”

“Regarding this disobedient underling of mine… I apologize, young man.”

She addressed Lu Xin with soft eyes. “Hope you understand. With so many people under my command, there are bound to be fools. Take this prick—he’d been staring at my behind all this time. Who’da guessed he likes men? Sigh, makes me furious just thinking about it… But what can anyone really do with such things?”

Her light laughter hung in the air, leaving spectators thoroughly bewildered.

Even Gecko watched her incredulously, his eyes slightly wide.

Lu Xin, though, gave a delighted chuckle. “No apologies necessary. I completely understand. Thank you.”

“Oh, what’s with the formalities?” Elder Snake waved a hand dismissively. “If anything, I owe you a debt for this trouble!”

Their polite exchange—one apologizing profusely, the other insisting it was fine—deepened the confusion among the onlookers.

Since when had Elder Snake become so… agreeable?

So… reasonable?

……

Under a sea of baffled gazes, Elder Snake continued brightly, “Moreover, we will fully support your mission here. Need men? Men it is. Need guns? They’re yours. Need fuel? Say no more—fifteen percent discount. Rest assured, any fool who stands against Qinggang City is an enemy of Blackwater Town. Now… How may we assist?”

Gecko could only force a dry laugh. “Too kind, Elder Snake. Truly considerate…”

Still smiling stiffly, he looked at Lu Xin for guidance.

“Yes.”

Lu Xin seemed to have developed some fondness for Elder Snake and nodded, saying, “I need to borrow this garage.”

As he spoke, he turned to look at the man in Crimson Suit and added, “I have to ask him something.”

“You can use it…”

Elder Snake readily agreed and said, “Do you want me to help you bring the chainsaw over?”

“Nails might work…”

“There’s plenty of pepper spray…”

“The barbed whip is also available…”

“…”

Upon hearing Elder Snake’s kind offers, Lu Xin hurriedly shook his head and smiled, “No need for that, don’t trouble yourself…”

“We’re already grateful you waived our fine…”

“…”

“?”

Elder Snake was slightly puzzled; he didn’t quite understand what that meant.

…

Seeing the matter here concluded, Lu Xin, under the watchful eyes of everyone, turned and walked into the garage behind. Then, under the pressure of his gaze, the man in Crimson Suit offered no resistance and obediently followed him inside.

“I already said it’s pointless…”

The Puppet-Type ability user looked somewhat resigned and chuckled, “I can make myself immune to pain. Any form of punishment is useless against me. And from the looks of you, you don’t seem to belong to the Dreamweaver or hypnotic systems…”

“Of course, even if they came, it wouldn’t help!”

“…”

Lu Xin turned around and slowly lowered the roll-up door.

The light outside the door streamed in bit by bit, growing shorter as darkness filled the warehouse like a curtain.

“I said it’s fine.”

He turned around, his back to the roll-up door, with only the faint light from small holes on the door falling on him.

This made his face even more indistinct, entirely swallowed by the darkness.

Only his voice remained calm, even gentle: “I have no intention of torturing you.”

Staring into the darkness, where Lu Xin was merely a vague shape, the man in Crimson Suit felt his heart twitch slightly.

He didn’t know why, but he grew inexplicably tense.

His throat seemed a little dry, and his voice changed tone slightly: “Then, how do you plan to… interrogate me?”

“I’m just an average office worker—I never learned interrogation.”

Lu Xin stood quietly at the door and softly replied, “So I hope you’ll take the initiative to speak.”

“Only what you say yourself will be complete.”

“…”

The man in Crimson Suit felt unnerved by this strange dialogue style.

The words sounded ordinary, but they gave him an eerie, chilling sensation.

Before he could utter anything else, he suddenly heard Lu Xin by the door murmur softly:

“Little Sister.”

“…”

The man in Crimson Suit frowned tightly, not understanding what those two words signified.

The warehouse was too dark, fostering a stifling atmosphere.

This pressure intensified to the extreme, creating a strange illusion that there might be others besides himself and Lu Xin.

By now, he was only growing more tense, his eyes fixed fiercely on Lu Xin at the roll-up door.

But at that very moment, he suddenly felt a small, cold hand touch his face.

At the same time, a faint, barely audible giggling seemed to reach his ears.

Instantly, the man in Crimson Suit was gripped by horror, his heart pounding like it might leap from his chest, his scalp tingling as if electrified, and his hair standing on end with a numbing sensation. He could feel goosebumps erupt all over his body, as indescribable terror and strangeness surged into his mind…

His gaze remained locked on Lu Xin at the roll-up door.

He had been standing there, not moving the whole time…

…So who was the one touching him?