"What... what do you want?"

Gu Shen was finally able to speak.

However, he heard his own voice, as if it were floating out of his chest, no longer belonging to him.

"You have no right to ask questions."

He was answered with a cold reprimand.

The light above suddenly converged into an extremely hot straight beam, enveloping Gu Shen completely.

In an instant, his soul felt as if it were being scalded by boiling water!

"That day of the fire, what means did you use to kill those two extraordinary beings?"

Han Dang stared intently at Gu Shen.

Under the burning light, Gu Shen roared in pain, veins bulging on his forehead. He didn't want to speak.

But then, an enraged voice resounded in the depths of his soul—

"Speak!"

[Truth, activate!]

With a bang, Gu Shen's entire head felt like it was exploding, as if an invisible hand was pressing his skull down hard onto the judge's table.

He tried to resist the Truth.

But his voice, beyond his control, squeezed out bit by bit from his chest, hoarse like dry sand: "It was... a sealed item... I used an extraordinary sealed item..."

Han Dang stared coldly at Gu Shen.

In the Truth domain, Gu Shen could not lie.

Sure enough, as he had thought, Gu Shen himself did not have the strength to deal with those two extraordinary beings; he relied on external force.

"What kind of sealed item? Where did you get it?" Han Dang asked slowly and deliberately. He gradually retreated from his furious state, returning to his gentle and refined demeanor.

The surrounding darkness slowly dissipated.

But the only thing that remained unchanged was that Gu Shen was still pressed against the table, his voice being squeezed out of his throat bit by bit.

"It was... a ruler... I got it from A-009..."

"A-009?"

Han Dang frowned, then suddenly realized.

The last doubt had been cleared.

This was indeed the blind spot in his investigation. Han Dang had previously guessed that the "extraordinary item" was something Gu Shen had possessed all along, which was how Gu Shen had survived the two consecutive extraordinary events.

So that was it... Gu Shen had coincidentally obtained a sealed item from A-009.

"The fire attracted a lot of attention, so you hid the sealed item under the wooden planks in the corner of the rooftop stairs, and after the incident, you went back to the fire scene to retrieve it." Han Dang smiled, crossing his hands. "Gu Shen, I must say... you are a courageous person. Do you have that ruler on you now?"

"..."

A long silence.

Gu Shen's voice no longer trembled.

"No... I left it in my apartment bedroom in Da Teng City."

"Oh?" Han Dang chuckled. "It seems you're not so clever after all, not carrying such an important item with you... Where exactly in the bedroom is that ruler?"

He didn't notice the subtle change in Gu Shen's tone.

Nor did he see.

Above the chair behind Gu Shen, a snow-white dress floated, swaying and falling slowly in the dark space.

The girl overlapped with Gu Shen, sitting in the chair.

In [Truth], Gu Shen could not lie.

But... someone else could.

Chu Ling, who had established a [Mental Link] with Gu Shen, was an unconstrained observer in this dreamscape. Neither [Truth] nor [Jing Zhe], none of the dream's rules applied to her.

This was the method Gu Shen had thought of at the last moment to deal with Han Dang's interrogation.

This was the thirteenth day of Han Dang's investigation, already at its final stage. Han Dang had extremely strong suspicions about him.

So, faced with this soul interrogation... even with the [Mental Link] ability, Gu Shen couldn't try to deceive him with complete lies. His opponent was an extremely perceptive and ruthless character. Once he realized that Gu Shen could lie in the [Truth] domain, the situation would escalate to an unsolvable level.

Therefore, he could only honestly confess the existence of the Ruler of Truth.

He had to endure the suffering he deserved.

The purpose was to lower Han Dang's guard for the final moment of [Mental Link].

"I put the ruler in..."

Chu Ling's voice overlapped Gu Shen's, slow and drawn out: "The bedroom storage cabinet, the third drawer."

...

...

Something was strange.

Gu Shen's aura had changed, becoming unlike himself.

Han Dang frowned slightly. He sensed a trace of abnormality, but quickly dismissed it as his own illusion. There was no way this kid could deceive him in the [Truth] domain.

Now he had obtained the most important information, the location of that ruler—

Mission accomplished.

Finally... a choice lay before him.

Han Dang only wanted to disrupt this review.

There was no simpler or more direct way than to severely injure Gu Shen.

In the [Truth] dreamscape, he only needed to wave his hand to make this kid lie in bed for three to five months.

But soon.

Han Dang abandoned the idea.

Not because he didn't dare to do it, but because he didn't want to.

If he crippled Gu Shen, and it was exposed, he would be in serious trouble. The students under Teacher Shu were very united, and they might do something crazy... Just thinking about that crazy woman surnamed Luo gave Han Dang a headache.

"Let's end it here... Obtain the ruler, submit it to the review team, and it will all be over."

Han Dang pondered silently for a minute.

It was also a minute of silence in the Truth dreamscape.

During this minute, Chu Ling remained in the [Mental Link] state, without disconnecting, while Gu Shen suffered in agony during the long wait, his fate not in his own hands.

It could even be said that his life or death depended on Han Dang's whim.

"Snap."

Finally, Han Dang snapped his fingers.

He looked at Gu Shen, a smile blooming again on his cold face: "Alright, let's forget everything that happened here and return to reality. In reality, we will become friends at first sight."

...

...

It seemed like a long time had passed in the [Truth] dreamscape.

But in reality, the clock seemed to have only ticked once.

In the stairwell, the two men, frozen like stone statues, returned to normal.

Gu Shen scratched his head. "Mr. Han, were you calling me just now?"

"No."

Han Dang smiled gently, adjusting his glasses. "Could you have misheard?"

The landlady's enthusiastic voice sounded from below the stairwell: "Xiao Gu, the tea is ready! Quickly bring Mr. Han down..."

Han Dang picked up his briefcase, went downstairs to the landlady, bowed slightly, and showed his harmless, refined smile: "Landlady, I have things to do. I won't bother you any longer."

The landlady stood there, somewhat awkwardly.

"This... you were having such a good chat. Why are you leaving so soon?"

She tried to wink at Gu Shen, wanting to know what had happened while she was brewing the tea.

This was a big fat fish... no, a rare guest.

Gu Shen shook his head subtly, indicating that he didn't know anything.

The landlady quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Hey, hey, Mr. Han..."

"Landlady, you want to ask about the sponsorship, right?"

Han Dang smiled. "Rest assured, there's no problem with the sponsorship. Mr. Gu Shen and I hit it off right away, and we had a very pleasant conversation, so I'll cover the cost of renovating the welfare home. Besides, I really like the flowers on the roof. There aren't many people like you in this day and age. I hope the welfare home can continue to operate."

If he hadn't seen Han Dang's file in advance, and hadn't personally experienced the [Truth] dreamscape, using [Mental Link] to resist the hypnosis...

Gu Shen might really have hit it off with this "Mr. Han."

And anyone would think that this was a positive, socially conscious youth, with a generous manner and refined demeanor.

"This is the first batch of sponsorship funds."

Han Dang took out a check from his suit pocket, wrote the amount of one hundred thousand yuan, and signed his name. He looked at the landlady's joyful and excited smile and said with a smile, "I will continue to send money to the Morning Light Welfare Home in the future."

"Thank you, thank you." The landlady tugged on Gu Shen's sleeve and said, "Xiao Gu, don't just stand there."

Gu Shen quickly said with a smile, "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Han."

The more kind and amiable Han Dang appeared in reality,

the more apprehensive and wary Gu Shen felt, having seen through everything.

Clearly, this man already possessed the extraordinary power to change thoughts in dreams, without needing to act or disguise himself, yet he still wore a mask and tirelessly enjoyed people's respect.

Dream or reality, which one was the real Han Dang?

"You're welcome."

Han Dang smiled and patted Gu Shen on the shoulder. "I should be thanking you."

Seeing the "uncomprehending" confusion on Gu Shen's face, Han Dang smiled again, said nothing more, and left the welfare home with his briefcase, his steps light.