NABC Page 17
Page 17
Occasionally, passersby would glance up unintentionally and see a dark shadow overhead, followed by the sound of tiles cracking, but they couldn't see anything clearly and could only rub their eyes in confusion.
……
While the rest of the Qiu family members were rushing home, one Qiu family member was an exception; he was still sitting in his chair, motionless.
It wasn't that he wanted to disobey the family's orders, but that he simply couldn't get away from it.
This was because he had been targeted by the largest 'violent organization' in Muyun Port.
—In the cold interrogation room of the Muyun Harbor Police Headquarters, a gas lamp hanging from the ceiling cast a pale light.
The air was thick with the smells of tobacco, sweat, and blood.
Yuan Hao Qiu—Ming Yuan Qiu's father, a middle-aged man with a calm face and reserved eyes, is sitting on a high-legged hardwood chair in the interrogation room, his back ramrod straight.
But his clenched fists and tightly pressed lips betrayed his inner tension.
On the battered wooden table in front of him lay a delicate charcoal sketch.
The portrait depicts a young man: pure black hair, deep black eyes, a handsome and refined face with smooth lines, who looks to be in his early twenties.
The police commissioner, a burly, imposing man in a crisp dark blue uniform with gleaming badges on his shoulders, stood beside the table.
He pressed his large right hand heavily on the table, almost pressing his palm lines into the wood grain.
His sharp, hawk-like eyes were fixed on Yuan Hao Qiu's face, his voice icy, carrying a judgmental tone:
“Yuan Hao Qiu, did you see clearly? Tell me, is this ‘rare person’—a member of your Qiu family? Where is he now?!”
He leaned forward slightly, and an immense sense of oppression pressed down on Yuan Hao Qiu like a solid wall.
"You'd better answer honestly, tell me everything you know, word for word. Don't try to get away with anything, don't hide anything." The director's voice was like an icy blade, "Otherwise..."
"...You and your rare family are in big trouble."
He stared into Yuan Hao Qiu's eyes and said, enunciating each word clearly, "This person, named 'Zhang Su,' is on the highest-level wanted list issued by our Calidor Empire's Intelligence Bureau! The crime is—"
The director paused deliberately, emphasizing his words, “'Endangering national security,' 'Suspected core member of an evil god organization,' 'Extremely dangerous superhuman!'”
"Anyone who attempts to cover up, harbor, or even simply fail to report will be considered an enemy of the Empire! As an accomplice to endangering national security! They will be subject to the most severe legal punishment! The gallows, or the Black Stone Mine where you will never see the light of day again, that will be your only destination!"
He straightened his posture, his gaze sweeping down on Yuan Hao Qiu, his tone chilling with the chilling force of an ultimatum:
"Now, tell me the truth! Right now!"
The interrogation room was deathly silent, with only the faint hissing sound of the gas lamp wick burning.
Yuan Hao Qiu's gaze fell on the portrait of the young man, scrutinizing him carefully. He then slowly raised his head to meet the director's oppressive and threatening eyes, his expression one of utter helplessness.
He really didn't know how to explain it, because he genuinely didn't know who this Zhang Su was.
Although both are rare individuals, the other party's bloodline is clearly superior to his. According to the hierarchy among rare individuals, his family would find it extremely difficult to befriend such a noble person, let alone have 'him' be a member of his own family.
Unfortunately, this hierarchical concept is only a consensus among the rare people. In the eyes of the other majority of people, they all look the same and are all related... In Muyun Port, the only rare people are all from the Qiu family.
That's why the police chief arrested him and brought him in for questioning, demanding that he honestly confess everything.
This left him truly speechless and unable to defend himself.
I wanted to run, but I couldn't, and I dared not run...
Volume 1: Chapter 17: The Game of Strategies in the Interrogation Room
Yuan Hao Qiu sat on that cold, hard bench, barely feeling its presence, only experiencing a stiff discomfort in his spine.
He unconsciously adjusted his posture for the third time, the sound of his clothes rubbing together was particularly jarring in the interrogation room.
The hustle and bustle of Muyun Harbor outside the window—the pier horns, the wheels rolling over the stone pavement, the distant crowds, the indistinct chatter—all seemed to be separated by a thick veil, unable to penetrate this suffocating room.
He really wanted to rush home right away!
Currently, only his two children and his terminally ill father are at home. If the family is attacked by the enemy, they will be unable to cope! He must hurry back to provide support!
A minute passed, and his inner torment reached its limit.
Yuan Hao took a deep breath and forced himself to look at the giant standing beside him—Raymond Stone, the police chief of Muyun Harbor.
His nearly two-meter-tall frame, like an iron tower, cast a huge and oppressive shadow under the flickering gaslight, completely enveloping Yuan Hao, who was sitting there.
Yuan Hao tried to put on a sincere expression and said to him, "Director Stone, I must clarify this to you again. I, Yuan Hao Qiu, and everyone in the Qiu family of Muyun Port, really do not know the person on the wanted poster—Zhang Su. We have never seen him, nor have we ever heard of this name."
He spread his hands, trying to make his explanation more convincing: "As you know, Twilight Port is one of the most important gateways for the kingdom's foreign trade. Every day, ships from all over the world dock and depart, and countless unfamiliar faces come and go. Although there are not many travelers with rare bloodlines, they are by no means unique. Therefore, it is quite common for a 'rare person' to set foot in Twilight Port."
“Although he is a rare person like us, it doesn’t mean we know him. We rare people are not all related to each other as the rumors suggest, and not everyone knows each other… no matter how few of us there are. I believe you understand this.”
"Our Qiu family has been rooted here for nearly a century, always law-abiding and paying taxes on time, never causing any trouble for the authorities. Please believe me. We truly don't know who this person is. I swear in the name of the sea god!"
Raymond Stone did not respond immediately after hearing this.
He looked down at Yuan Hao, his thick lips pressed tightly together, like a weathered rock.
The only sounds in the room were the low hiss of the gas lamp and Yuan Hao's slightly rapid breathing.
After a few suffocating seconds of silence, Director Stone's deep voice rang out, icy cold and devoid of any warmth, striking Yuan Hao's heart: "Understand? Mr. Yuan Hao, I can understand what you're saying."
He straightened up slightly, and the shadow moved with him, the oppressive feeling not diminished at all.
"But how can you prove you don't know him? You think you can clear your family of suspicion just by talking?"
Stone took a small step forward, the shadow cast by his massive body almost suffocating Yuan Hao.
He looked down at Yuan Hao, questioning him word by word: "Twilight Cloud Harbor is bustling with people, and it's not uncommon for rare individuals to set foot here. However, for a rare individual to also be a superhuman with extraordinary abilities—that's extremely, extremely rare!"
"And your Qiu family, with eight members, has produced six extraordinary individuals. This ratio is simply outrageously high. Such a thing is extremely rare even in the entire empire!"
He straightened up, crossed his arms again, and looked down at us with a sharp, knife-like gaze: "Therefore, under these circumstances, it is hard for us not to suspect that Zhang Su, who suddenly appeared in Muyun Port, possesses rare characteristics and is an extraordinary person, is a trump card that your Qiu family has been secretly cultivating and keeping hidden for a long time!"
It was only because of this unexpected incident that the deception was exposed! Your so-called 'not recognizing' is more like 'not daring to recognize'!
This logically rigorous and relentlessly pressing reasoning struck Yuan Hao like a series of heavy blows to the heart, instantly soaking his back in cold sweat.
Although the bureau chief's words were aggressive, they were extremely persuasive.
The high proportion of extraordinary individuals in the Qiu family is indeed a "hidden danger" that they have been carefully concealing but have not been able to completely avoid. Now, it has become the most powerful "evidence" pointing to them as "harboring serious criminals"!
He opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found that any argument seemed so pale and powerless at this moment.
The family's 'curse' ultimately became their greatest shackle.
A sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him like a cold tide.
Yuan Hao swayed and slumped back against the cold chair, as if all his strength had been drained away.
He gave up on futile explanations, simply closing his eyes wearily, his chest heaving violently, his fingers unconsciously pinching his brow.
Under the pressure of despair, his brain raced, considering any possible way to break the deadlock—bribery? The other party was the chief of the Muyun Port Police Headquarters. There were at least five hundred to a thousand people trying to bribe him every day. If he really wanted to make money, he could make a fortune in no time.
His small Qiu family couldn't possibly have that much money to satisfy his appetite.
Moreover, the severity of this incident is extraordinary, requiring the personal supervision of a bureau chief.
In this situation, he would absolutely not dare to accept a bribe and let him leave.
Should we ask someone of a higher rank for help?
Unfortunately, they are just a small, rare family. Even though they have six extraordinary members, they have no way of coming into contact with high-ranking figures in official organizations because of their appearance and race.
Even the director who was interrogating him was someone he had only met twice before; the first time was at his inauguration ceremony—he stood in the crowd looking up at him as he spoke on the stage, and clapped along with the crowd.
After much thought, he still couldn't find a way to break the deadlock.
A crazy thought suddenly popped into my head: Escape! Now! Before the enemy can completely blockade the police station, rush out immediately! Take everyone with you, abandon the family business you've worked so hard to build, board the family's spare fishing boat, and escape into the vast sea under the cover of night! The family's century-old wealth is important, but the lives of your family are more important!
This thought sent his adrenaline soaring.
He slightly opened his eyes and quickly scanned the closed iron door of the interrogation room and the activity in the corridor outside the window.
My heart was pounding in my chest.
However, desperate rationality quickly extinguished that spark.
The Dusk Cloud Harbor Police Station is not a marketplace; it is one of the core nodes of the Kingdom's violent apparatus, and it is staffed with more than one low-sequence superhuman officer.
And the Director Raymond Stone in front of us is a strongman of the 'Enforcer' or 'Powerful' pathway, 'Sequence 8', a pathway known for its powerful physique and 'increased organizational discipline'.
If he tries to escape, his opponent won't even need to draw his gun; their sheer physical strength and defense will easily crush him.
Resisting or fleeing would only confirm their "guilt" and "resistance to arrest," bringing utter disaster upon their family.
There's no escaping it... there's absolutely no way to escape it...
The pain of losing a century-old business in an instant, intertwined with the fear of his family's safety being threatened, almost set Yuan Hao ablaze.
He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, forcing himself to calm down. His fingers loosened from between his brows and fell limply to his knees.
"Damn brain, think of something! Come up with a way out! If you don't come out soon, the family will be in danger!"
He simply leaned back in his chair, no longer speaking or looking at the suffocating bureau chief, as if everything around him was irrelevant.
Raymond Stone looked at Yuan Hao Qiu in silence, his brows furrowing even more deeply.
He was trying to put more pressure on them, for example, by notifying them that the police team conducting the "verification" might already be at the Qiu family's doorstep.
But at that moment, an inappropriate voice rang out.
"Tuk-tuk-tuk-"
There was a knock on the heavy oak door of the interrogation room.
Director Stone was interrupted and hissed impatiently, "What is it?"
The door was pushed open a crack, and a young police officer in the same navy blue uniform poked his head in, saluted him, and said, "Reporting to the chief, there is an urgent communication. It's a private line from above, specifically requesting that you answer it personally."
A hint of seriousness flashed in Stone's eyes.
The higher-ups? At this time?
His sharp gaze swept over Yuan Haoqiu, who seemed frozen in his chair, and then looked at the police officers waiting at the door.
"Understood," he replied in a deep voice, not glancing at Yuan Hao again, and strode towards the door.
Heavy footsteps echoed dully on the stone floor.
As his imposing figure disappeared outside the door, the iron gate, a symbol of confinement, closed again with a soft click.
The suffocating oppression in the interrogation room dissipated almost entirely after Raymond Stone left.
The next second, Yuan Hao Qiu's tense body collapsed instantly, and he leaned back violently.
"I shouldn't have thought so much. The right thing to do is to just escape." He said with a half-smile, "Anyway, the family is already in danger. Whether I stay here or choose to run away, the family will not be better off."
"Since that's the case, why should I hesitate? Just like the saying that has been passed down in our rare history—since we're going to die anyway, why not fight to the death!"
Even if the Muyungang Police Station is a den of dragons and tigers, he has to break out of it!
"Go!" Yuan Hao Qiu's eyes were resolute. He suddenly jumped up from the chair, his movements so agile that he was unlike the silent middle-aged man from before.
Like a trapped wild beast, his sharp eyes scanned rapidly across the gray walls of the interrogation room.
The walls are thick and made of sturdy stone bricks and cement.
"With the power of Sequence 9, to quickly open a hole large enough for a person to pass through, I must find the weakest point in the load-bearing structure!" he analyzed in his mind.
His gaze eventually settled on the corner of the east wall.
There was a thin, almost imperceptible vertical crack there, its color slightly different from the surrounding area, seemingly a trace left by wall settlement or repairs many years ago.
"This is it!" Yuan Hao Qiu brought his right index and middle fingers together to form a sword finger, and a faint blue energy light, visible to the naked eye, instantly condensed at the fingertip, like a burning, cold flame.
The abilities of Sequence 9 Listener were activated by the Qigong Qijiu = Liusan Emu, who planned to draw a wall-breaking talisman!
Just as his fingertip was about to touch the crack, preparing to gather the power of the runes—
"Mr. Qiu, are you... trying to run away?" A cold, deep voice sounded from behind him.
Yuan Hao Qiu trembled violently, and the blue light at his fingertips vanished instantly!
He turned sharply.
Raymond Stone had somehow returned to the interrogation room doorway, his imposing figure almost filling the door frame.