With tension thick in the air, Shanxiao chuckled.
“You said it yourself—you're the chief. If you want the body camera, go request it.”
As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Mr. Lu's hair, hoisting him up like a helpless chick.
“Until then, how I conduct my interrogation is my business.”
“Oh, by the way, if you're going to request the body camera, you'd better hurry. For a heinous murder case like this, we're bound to use some... rougher interrogation tactics.”
“If you're too slow, there's no guarantee this guy will still be alive when you get back.”
Hearing this, Su Baadao suddenly burst out laughing.
Seeing this, Mr. Lu hastily spoke up.
“Mr. Su, don't worry about me! They want to—”
Thud!
Shanxiao threw a punch, instantly knocking out several of Mr. Lu's teeth. Blood sprayed everywhere.
With a savage expression, Shanxiao snarled,
“What? Colluding right in front of us? Do you think my brothers and I are dead?”
Wang Gen clenched his fists tightly, and the other security officers reacted similarly.
Yet Shanxiao acted as if he saw nothing, his eyes locked onto Su Baadao.
“You think you're the only ones who can purge political rivals? Traitorous scum!”
Su Baadao's smile didn't waver. He looked around the room and said,
“Beating a suspect and extracting a confession under torture... Do you even know what you're doing?”
“Of course.”
Shanxiao shrugged, a smirk spreading across his face.
“This is just how we 【Baleful Star】 do things.”
“If you don't like it, Mr. Su, feel free to file a complaint with our bureau chief.”
Su Baadao smiled and waved his hand.
“No need for that. After all, you're a Baleful Star. With no wife or children, you can afford to play the righteous officer without worrying about retaliation.”
As he spoke, his gaze casually swept over the other people in the room.
“But sometimes, shouldn't you spare a thought for your brothers here?”
The moment those words left his mouth, the expressions of several people in the room instantly shifted.
Shanxiao narrowed his eyes.
“Oh? Is Mr. Su threatening me with the families of my brothers?”
Su Baadao feigned utter astonishment.
“What a thing to say. I'm a law-abiding citizen.”
“It was merely a friendly warning. This is just how we do things.”
“If you don't like it, feel free to file a complaint with Your Majesty.”
...
After walking out of the psychiatric hospital, Yin Yang hailed a cab.
His claim that the Wannian Platform was a brain had, of course, been a lie to fool Yang Kaixin.
After all, he hadn't even dared to go near the Wannian Platform, so how could he know what it actually was?
He had only said that because Yang Kaixin was obsessed with brains.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
“The transcendent market.”
The driver gave a grunt of assent and drove toward the transcendent market.
About half an hour later, the car pulled up at the transcendent market. Yin Yang paid his fare, got out, and headed inside, hoping to browse the stalls and see if he could find a hidden gem.
He had to admit, there were too many knowledgeable people in Central City, making it exponentially harder to find a hidden gem.
Yet Yin Yang never expected to run into a major figure here.
Mr. Gong!
Mr. Gong of the True Knowledge Society.
Right now, he was holding a paperweight, aggressively haggling with a stall owner, spit flying everywhere.
“Three gold notes?”
“Is this paperweight made of solid gold or something?”
The stall owner sat on a small folding stool and cast a sideways glance at Mr. Gong.
“If you can't afford it, don't block my business, you smelly out-of-towner.”
Mr. Gong was so angry he laughed.
“Oh, listen to you, the fragrant local.”
The stall owner snatched the paperweight back and waved Mr. Gong away.
“Get lost, get lost. I'm not selling to you.”
Mr. Gong sneered, pointing to his shoulder.
“Let me tell you! I'm a video blogger with over three million followers. I recorded everything just now. Just you wait to go viral!”
The stall owner's face fell. He gritted his teeth and said,
“Fine, name your price.”
“Twenty!”
“Take it, take it.”
The stall owner tossed the paperweight to Mr. Gong, looking thoroughly disgruntled.
Looking like a victorious general, Mr. Gong handed over a twenty-dollar bill.
“Be a bit more polite when doing business, you hear me?”
Ignoring the stall owner's sour expression, he walked over to Yin Yang with the paperweight, looking thoroughly delighted.
“What are you staring at, kid? Buy me a cup of herbal tea!”
Yin Yang was slightly dazed, then let out a dumbfounded, “Oh.”
The onlookers were dumbstruck. Thinking this old man was incredibly overbearing, they quickly averted their eyes, terrified that they might be forced to buy him a cup of herbal tea next.
Mr. Gong expertly navigated the market to a herbal tea stall. After ordering two cups of herbal tea, he pointed at Yin Yang.
“He's my student. He's paying.”
Yin Yang didn't argue and stepped forward to pay.
Sipping his tea, Mr. Gong looked at Yin Yang.
“Finished reading the files?”
“Yes.”
“Learn anything?”
“Not much, other than realizing how powerful the transcendents of the Zhou Era were. They could actually subdue natural disasters and turn themselves into deities that controlled them!”
Mr. Gong laughed.
“Zhou indeed did a fine job in that regard, but in terms of pure combat power, Shang was actually even more terrifying. They just walked different paths.”
Yin Yang nodded and took a sip of his herbal tea, his face instantly puckering up like a crumpled dumpling.
Seeing this, Mr. Gong grumbled,
“What's with that face? You can chug down bitter coffee, but you can't appreciate a cup of herbal tea?”
“Fine, if you can't stomach it, don't drink it. No need to force yourself.”
Upon hearing this, Yin Yang decisively gulped down the remaining tea in one go.
As everyone knew, Yin Yang was an incredibly frugal person. Since he had paid for it, wasting it was absolutely out of the question.
“Mr. Gong, if Shang and Zhou were so powerful, how did they end up destroyed?”
“The mass extinction, obviously. It's in all the history books.”
“But what exactly was the mass extinction? Volcanoes, floods, meteors?”
“Weren't all those natural disasters already subdued back then?”
Mr. Gong nodded.
“They were. But even if they hadn't been, the things you mentioned couldn't possibly threaten the powerhouses of the Shang and Zhou Eras.”
Yin Yang grew even more confused.
“Then what on earth was the mass extinction?”
Mr. Gong downed his herbal tea in one long draft and let out a satisfied burp.
“Have you ever heard the saying, 'The world under heaven, after a long period of division, must unite; after a long period of union, must divide'?”
“I have.”
“And what about authority?”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me. Suppose there are currently four Sea Gods, representing the East Sea, West Sea, South Sea, and North Sea.”
“Each of them holds a portion of the ocean's authority. If they want to become the sole Sea God and claim the absolute authority, what must they do?”
“Devour each other's authority until only one remains.”
“Exactly.”
Yin Yang looked astonished.
“It's that simple?”
“It's that simple.”
“And that is the mass extinction?”
“It's a bit of an oversimplification, but yes, that is indeed part of it.”
“Then...”
“That's enough!”
Mr. Gong raised a hand and patted his belly.
“I only got one cup of herbal tea out of you, and you expect me to answer your questions all day?”
“I'm off.”
Rate on N.U.
