"Hmm..."
Members of the psychological analysis team conversed for a few moments before the person in charge—a scholarly old man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a formal suit—said, "According to our psychological profile of him, the information provided by Comrade Li Rising is highly likely to be correct."
"However, the Mirage Dragon possesses the ability to create illusions, and the Drought Demon, as a mythical creature, also has various other powers."
A young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, whose eyebrows gave him a somewhat sinister appearance, said in a low voice, "Relying solely on psychological profiling can't guarantee the authenticity and accuracy of this information. We also have no way to determine whether he has told us everything."
At this point, Bai Haozheng, an Intelligence Analyst for the Special Affairs Bureau, turned his head to look directly at Xing Hechou and asked bluntly, "Old Xing, is there any way we can trick him into revealing more?"
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Facing a Natural Disaster like the Demon Prison that poses a great threat to all of humanity, it's reasonable to use every means at our disposal. Moreover, the Special Affairs Bureau didn't intend to mistreat Li Rising in any way. The most likely scenario was simply hoping that Li Rising would cooperate with the Bureau and go to the laboratory in person for lie detection and hypnotic induction. This would ensure the information he provided was truthful, accurate, and comprehensive.
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Xing Hechou's face. He could understand his colleague's perspective, but he still spoke his mind, saying, "It's not very likely. This Li Rising is exceedingly cautious in his actions, with a very high awareness of the need to protect his own identity and excellent counter-surveillance skills. However, his behavior seems to be in our favor. Otherwise, in this deathmatch mission, he could have killed Little Zhao and his companion (referring to Ash and Chu Yin) to protect his identity. That way, he wouldn't have needed to worry at all about the Special Affairs Bureau discovering who he was. In my opinion, he probably hasn't withheld anything."
"For such a crucial matter, we cannot place full trust in an individual's conscience and integrity, especially since he's not one of ours." The Intelligence Analyst Bai Haozheng shook his head. "We suggest continuing to investigate Li Rising's true identity. The information provided by the Drought Demon is too critical to risk any mistakes. After all, over at Kunlun Mountain..."
At that moment, the atmosphere in the office became oppressive again.
Last night, the Demon Prison, as if it had grown legs, covered thousands of miles in an instant, moving directly from Yin City to the base of Kunlun Mountain in the far west. The Special Affairs Bureau reported the intelligence immediately. By now, a massive armed force in full readiness had surrounded Kunlun Mountain, and a comprehensive scientific research laboratory had been established at the foot of the mountain to continuously monitor Energy fluctuations occurring beneath Kunlun Mountain.
Most people in the office did not have the security clearance to know the specifics of the situation at Kunlun Mountain. In fact, around one to two o'clock last night, Kunlun Mountain was erased from satellite maps, making it impossible to see the area via satellite imagery. Only a very few organizations and individuals had access to real-time information about Kunlun Mountain.
"There will be notifications about Kunlun Mountain from those in charge; what we need to do is ensure the safety of the people in Yin City." At the far end of the conference table sat Wen Hongchou, the director of Yin City's Special Affairs Bureau. He was a middle-aged man in a suit with a somewhat weary face. He massaged the bridge of his nose and said slowly, "Next, please let Comrade Qi from the Heterodox Academy report on the residual Energy problem on Qianhua Road."
---
"Whew."
Inside the room in Wanhe Residential Area, Li Ang closed the chat page and let out a sigh of relief. This deathmatch mission could be described as excruciating. Even though it had only been a few hours, it felt like an entire month had passed. He guessed that at this moment, the heads of the Special Affairs Bureau were definitely discussing the information he had provided. They might even be trying to uncover his real-world identity as much as possible.
Trouble, trouble... Should I go abroad and hide for a couple of days?
Li Ang muttered softly, stretching lazily and rising from the sofa. He drew the living room curtains and released Miss Chai.
Miss Chai's spiritual condition was still quite good. During the ride through the foggy passage and past the Demon Prison, the yin energy in several layers of the prison was extremely dense. It had completely filled up the capacity of the Soul Pulling Coil, greatly benefiting Miss Chai. She looked reinvigorated and even felt her strength had increased a bit.
However, she was still a Salted Fish Demon with no dreams or aspirations, only thinking of clinging to Li Ang's thigh, lazing about and freeloading.
Li Ang watched Miss Chai clamoring for the Qinge Armor the moment she was free from the Soul Pulling Coil.
Li Ang, looking utterly exasperated, took out the Qinge Armor. The armor had sustained quite a few damages in the previous battle with the Resentful Demon, but the Qinge Armor possessed a self-healing Special Effect, and by this time, it had already healed as if new.
Miss Chai hovered over the sofa, staring at the Qinge Armor laid on the coffee table. She frowned, glared, and with a low shout, she somersaulted through the air like a diver, spinning several times before gracefully leaping into the armor and disappearing from view.
Shedding its disguise, the Red White Plate immediately opened its eyes. The armor executed a kip-up, springing from the coffee table. Under Li Ang's gaze, CLICK! It hit a button on the TV remote control. It then CLANKED its way to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door, and grabbed a 2L bottle of Pepsi. From the snack box, it took a large pile of snacks: chips, seaweed, dried fruit, meat jerky, and squid strips. After that, it CLANKED back to the living room and crashed onto the sofa in one leap. It continuously wriggled, squeezing Li Ang out of his space.
Li Ang watched the Salted Fish Demon consume Pepsi and snacks non-stop. She was fixated on the TV, constantly switching channels with her toes. He could only say helplessly, "You have such a powerful Qinge Armor, and you're just using it as a tool for eating?"
"What else?" Miss Chai's cheeks were puffed out, but she spoke quite clearly. "Heaven gave me a mouth and a stomach; of course, it hopes I will eat and rest, then rest and eat. Besides, I'm doing this for you! Moving around burns yin energy. Burning yin energy means you'll have to go out to replenish it. Going out exposes your identity, so for our sake, I'd better just lie here. Yes!"
Miss Chai nodded vigorously, as if admiring her own convincing and logically impeccable argument.
As a demon, she hadn't tasted or smelled anything for many years. Now that she had regained the ability to eat and even had a body that wouldn't gain weight no matter what she ate, how could she not indulge herself?
As she pondered, Miss Chai's eyes whirled, as if she had thought of something. She suddenly put down the snack that was about to enter her mouth, blushed, and CLANKED to the bathroom.
After a while, she CLANKED back again, not uttering a word, and continued to lie on the sofa, watching TV.
"What did you go and do?" Li Ang asked curiously.
"Teeheehee," Miss Chai, with a blush, goofily stuck out her tongue, flailing her arms as if boneless and blocking Li Ang's face. "I'm not telling you."
"How mysterious."
Li Ang couldn't be bothered with her any longer, letting Miss Chai continue her lazy ways while he returned to the master bedroom to survey the gains from this mission.