Chapter 2

Chen Mei opened his eyes.

The world spun before him. His vision gradually cleared, and he saw three familiar faces.

Zhou Jiren, Nan Jin, and Gu Shen.

Their expressions were subtly similar, each holding a mix of concern and pity…

Gu Shen spoke.

"You're finally awake?"

His memory was still stuck on the moment countless flames consumed him.

Chen Mei felt as if he had experienced a nightmare. He abruptly raised his hands, only to find himself still bound by the "Holy Wood." This struggle caused him to lose his balance, nearly falling to the ground. Only then did he realize that he was still in the interrogation room.

The glaring overhead lights had never shattered, and the floor was perfectly stable… The glass outside the interrogation room was coated with a light-resistant red-silver layer. Everything here had remained unchanged from beginning to end.

"This is…"

Chen Mei looked bewildered.

He could even hear the frantic beating of his heart as he had neared death. If he remembered correctly, the final explosive wave had thrown him hundreds of meters… and then, he had woken up to this scene.

Was it all a dream?

He couldn't understand it.

He was certain that the white shadow and the explosion that had destroyed the derelict building had both been real… He could still clearly feel the side effects of using "Time Slow," his bones feeling as if they were being torn apart.

Yet, there was no pain from the explosion.

Chen Mei stared intently at Zhou Jiren, the only way he could interpret this was as a trick of the old bastard.

Mr. Tree, with a cigar in his mouth and his legs crossed, had his face shrouded in smoke, making it impossible to discern his exact expression. Only a slight upward curve of his lips was visible.

Everything was understood without words.

"About joining the Special Investigations Team…"

Zhou Jiren politely asked, "How have you been considering it?"

Chen Mei bit his lip, his brow furrowing… He still couldn't comprehend whether the explosion he had just experienced was a dream or reality.

Had he been transferred to a new interrogation room, or had nothing changed at all?

His memory was completely muddled.

In this interrogation room, he had lost time and lost his sense of reference… He was even beginning to suspect that everything now was false.

If all of this was a dream, a "power" of that white shadow… then he could only say that the guy's power was too strong, and he couldn't understand it at all.

In his last memory.

That shadow had asked him—

"Do you want to live?"

Perhaps… what he meant by living wasn't the explosion.

"If I join the Special Investigations Team… will I be free?"

Chen Mei hesitated for a moment and said, "What do I need to do?"

"The answer is no." Zhou Jiren said calmly, "You don't need to do anything. Just continue to stay in the interrogation room."

Chen Mei flew into a rage, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Are you playing with me?"

Join the Special Investigations Team, and be locked in the interrogation room.

Don't join the Special Investigations Team, and still be locked in the interrogation room.

What was the difference between these two choices?

"Not at all."

Zhou Jiren shook his head. "This isn't a cage, but a bulwark. What place is safer than staying here?"

"I don't think so."

Chen Mei sneered.

He hesitated for a moment and said in a deep voice, "I can join the Special Investigations Team, but only if I have freedom. I don't want to stay here anymore…"

"I can identify Xiao's identity right now. I saw his true face in the mental link, the same person in the photo you showed me earlier."

"Zhou Yu?"

Gu Shen was somewhat surprised. What had this guy been through? His attitude was completely different from before.

Mr. Tree's expression was calm, showing no surprise at Chen Mei's confession.

"Very good."

He held out a hand and said calmly, "Congratulations, Chen Mei, you are officially a member of the Special Investigations Team. Everything we do is for one purpose only… to kill Xiao."

……

……

Leaving the interrogation room.

"You guys are a little late. Chen Mei just experienced a nightmare."

Mr. Tree explained Chen Mei's confession, "In fact, he already confessed once in the dream… that's why he confessed so readily this time."

So that's how it was…

Gu Shen nodded, but he felt something was off.

If he remembered correctly, Teacher should have gone to the Huazhi Building today?

And Senior Sister had been with him in the hospital room the whole time.

The location here was extremely hidden.

Apart from the three of them, no one else knew… Even if someone did, who besides Teacher would have the ability to hypnotize Chen Mei?

Moreover, Teacher wasn't a mental-type transcendent.

He immediately thought of the "dream" he had experienced… Chu Ling still hadn't returned to the link.

He could still vividly recall the scene of driving away from the capital to trade in the no-man's land, but when he woke up, he found that it was all just a dream.

This… seemed to be a transcendent event.

He looked at Zhou Jiren suspiciously.

The latter calmly flicked his ash and said, "Deep Sea has linked to the Five Continents database and re-modified 'Zhou Yu's' survival status, adding him to the list of S-level fugitives… In fact, there are still many questionable points in 'Xiao's' file. I don't think Chen Mei's identification is reasonable. Zhou Yu has no reason to defect from the Tribunal. He passed the strict assessment of the review team in those years and was a young man with a strong sense of morality and justice."

"Like me?"

"Yes… just like you, with a good foundation, just a little poor." Zhou Jiren laughed, "If Zhou Yu needed to control the Changjiu Foundation, then faking his death wouldn't be a good method… He could completely retain his position as a Judge in the Tribunal and manipulate the Foundation behind the scenes, organizing extreme activities. That would be even more convenient."

"Not bad…" Gu Shen nodded and said, "If I were Zhou Yu, I wouldn't choose to fake my death."

"Deep Sea has given an analysis. It believes that 'Xiao' can be 'Zhou Yu,' but 'Zhou Yu' is not equal to 'Xiao.'"

Nan Jin frowned.

"What does that mean… Xiao, could it be more than one person?"

"Not accurate."

"Deep Sea believes that Xiao may be more than one person, and even more likely… not a living person."

"A few years ago, a special-type transcendent appeared in Central Continent. His ability was called 'Fire Thief.' As long as specific conditions are met, he can steal different levels of transcendent source quality…" Mr. Tree murmured, "I agree with Deep Sea's analysis. Xiao is likely a special-type transcendent. The power he awakened does not belong to the three major types. It is probably something that can steal flesh."

Gu Shen's heart skipped a beat.

"You mentioned earlier that the Zhou Yu you saw in his daughter's dream had a missing face… I guess this may be a manifestation of Xiao's ability defects." Zhou Jiren grinned and said, "Of course, these are just my guesses. I don't believe there is a perfect ability in this world. All transcendents are not gods. Based on my judgment, the only way he can escape Deep Sea's investigation for so many years…"

"He's a dead man."

……

……

(A feint, I don't know how many people were tricked. In short… I still updated the second chapter.)