Xiao Xun pointed at the spatial ring on his hand. The Captain of the Guard took a look. It was just a finely crafted gem ring, with no hidden switches on the band, revealing nothing out of the ordinary.
He then gestured for his subordinates to remove the gag from Xiao Xun's mouth, "What's wrong with this ring?"
"You can take all those things. That ring is my wedding ring with my wife. Return it to me."
The Captain of the Guard snorted, "That won't do. Who knows if this ring is some device you use to contact aliens." Then he said to his subordinates, "Take him for an X-ray. Be thorough, scan his entire body. In case he's hiding some high-tech stuff that could harm us."
"Yes!"
The guards put a white robe on Xiao Xun and led him out.
At this moment, Qin Yongmei walked in, "Any discoveries?"
The Captain of the Guard, with a fawning expression, lifted the tray, "Boss, look, the evidence is conclusive. Your foresight is truly remarkable! You've caught the bad guy from within our ranks."
Qin Yongmei picked up the weapons and looked at them, then took a few photos with her phone.
"Put these items in my office. Everyone, start a thorough investigation. First, 'clean up' any problematic individuals within the base, and then from the outside, find everyone who has had contact with aliens."
"Since K is Xiao Xun's recommender, he..."
"Investigate. Everyone in Zone 8 who has any connection with Xiao Xun needs a thorough investigation. But do it discreetly; it's easy to alert the enemy if it's too public."
The Captain of the Guard nodded, "Understood."
Xiao Xun was subjected to a variety of examinations. Even his teeth were inspected one by one with a thin tube equipped with a pinhole camera. His nostrils were widened and a micro-camera was inserted for a detailed inspection, leaving almost no pore unexamined.
Finally, after determining there were no issues, he was confined to a separate room within the base.
The room was not large; it was difficult to even stretch out one's legs to sleep. Inside, there was only a thickened yoga mat and a stainless steel flushing toilet.
The walls were made of pure aluminum alloy, both cool and slippery.
There were four surveillance cameras in the four corners, and infrared robots patrolled outside.
Xiao Xun looked around and scoffed, "What's to stop them from fabricating charges?"
At this moment, a voice came from the adjacent room, "Kid, were you also arrested as an alien spy?"
Xiao Xun didn't expect there to be fellow sufferers, "What were you arrested for?"
"I'm just an astronomy enthusiast. I used to post about aliens online, and then they arrested me for investigation. I don't know what kind of crappy equipment they used, but after the scan, they just kept me here, saying I've had 'close encounters of the fifth kind' and direct contact with extraterrestrial civilizations."
"Did you have contact?"
"I just made a signal transmitter myself and tried sending what I wanted to say into outer space. No one replied. Does that count as contact? I don't even know who to contact. What about you? Why were you arrested?"
Xiao Xun chuckled self-deprecatingly, "They found high-tech weapons on me and suspect aliens gave them to me."
"Wow! You actually have high-tech weapons. Then your situation is much more serious than mine. Yours counts as direct evidence."
Night deepened, and snoring could be heard everywhere. It was evident that many people were detained here.
Xiao Xun was extremely sleepy, but the room was too small to stretch out. He decided to lie down in an L-shape, placing his legs on the toilet tank. At least he could get some sleep.
He felt he hadn't slept long before the iron door was opened, and he was dragged out by two guards.
He was taken to an office not far away and placed in a specially made interrogation chair.
A bright desk lamp shone in his face, making it impossible to open his eyes.
At this moment, a voice devoid of emotion came through, "Xiao Xun, the evidence is conclusive now. Do you have anything else to confess?"
Behind the desk lamp sat the Captain of the Guard, his hands clasped, resting his chin on them. "If you tell me how you contacted the aliens and what mission they assigned you, I can vouch to get you a more comfortable room."
"I have never contacted aliens. I've never seen an alien in my life."
"Don't be stubborn. Do you know where you are? This isn't a police station. Denials will do you no good. I've been polite enough to you. K, who introduced you, has already been beaten for half a day."
At this moment, the office door opened, and a steaming bowl of bone soup noodles was brought in, topped with a perfectly soft-boiled egg and large chunks of char siu.
"You haven't eaten anything since that old tofu in the morning, you must be starving! I know you like noodles, so I specifically asked our base's kitchen to make this for you."
As he spoke, the Captain of the Guard turned off the desk lamp and shone the light onto the steaming noodles.
The Captain of the Guard picked up the noodles with chopsticks. "Why are you doing this to yourself? You're from Earth, why must you work for aliens?"
"If I did it, I did it. If I didn't, I didn't. I haven't seen aliens."
The Captain of the Guard smiled, "Haven't seen them? Then where did all your equipment come from? With our planet's current technology, it would take another hundred years to create something like that. You can't possibly say you picked it up, can you?"
"It wasn't given to me by aliens, anyway."
The Captain of the Guard suddenly stood up and threw the noodles onto the ground. The large ceramic bowl instantly shattered into pieces, splashing soup everywhere.
"Xiao Xun, let me tell you, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Although the regulations clearly state that torture is not allowed, there are plenty of ways to mess with you, and none of them are pleasant."
Xiao Xun blinked hard. The blinding light had made him unable to see anything.
"Are you preparing to torture me into a confession?"
The Captain of the Guard walked up to Xiao Xun, grabbed him by his robe, and lifted him up. "You can survive in my hands, believe it or not. If other residents of this planet knew you colluded with aliens, a fate worse than death would await you. In our place, you would be stoned to death by the mob."
After speaking, the Captain of the Guard threw Xiao Xun back into the chair.
He lit a cigarette and said to the person beside him, "Tonight, there's only one rule: either open your mouth or keep your eyes open."
Then, he turned the bright desk lamp towards him again. "We're on shifts. We'll take turns playing with you."
He took a deep puff of his cigarette and slowly exhaled, then said to his subordinate, "Get our Boss Xiao some elegant music with those big headphones."
"Yes!"
The Bluetooth earphones were placed on Xiao Xun's head. It was very serene music. He was already tired, and it made him sleepier.
But every time he was about to fall asleep, they would find ways to wake him up.
After sleeping for a few hours, the Captain of the Guard came in. "You've had enough quiet music. Let's give our Boss Xiao some stimulation. Play the hottest song right now on repeat."
From outside, Xiao Xun's Bluetooth earphones could be heard clearly, "I owe thirty thousand, listen to the wind sing money into my pocket..."