In a Level 3 Ability User’s blood sample, the cell activity and energy concentration far exceeded those of ordinary people by dozens of times. Under the microscope, those mitochondria looked like burning stars, releasing staggering amounts of energy every second.
“Dr. Chen.” A man in a white lab coat hurried in, his face etched with obvious tension. “The interrogation room... there’s still no result.”
Chen Shijie’s brow furrowed slightly as he looked up from the microscope. “It’s been three hours. You’ve questioned them for three hours and got nothing?”
The man lowered his head, his voice tight. “Yes. Those two are too stubborn. We’ve used every method available, but they just won’t talk...”
Chen Shijie’s expression turned extremely ugly in that instant.
He stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over. It hit the floor with a heavy thud.
The man in the white coat recoiled a step, his lips trembling. He wanted to say something but didn't dare speak.
Chen Shijie didn't look at him. He strode out of the laboratory, his leather shoes clicking sharply against the floor with every step, each one carrying a sense of suppressed rage.
The interrogation room was on the second basement level. To get there, one had to cross a long corridor and go down two more flights of stairs.
Chen Shijie walked quickly, forcing the lab assistant to jog to keep up.
The security personnel along the corridor saw his ashen face and lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound.
The interrogation room door was a heavy alloy door that made a dull sound when pushed open.
Inside, a strong smell of blood hit them, mixed with sweat and a strange, unidentifiable burnt odor that was nauseating.
Lei Lie was shackled to a metal bed, the alloy restraints on his limbs having rubbed his wrists and ankles raw and bloody.
His clothes were soaked through with blood, making it impossible to distinguish old wounds from new ones.
The splint on his left arm had long since fallen off, and the limb was bent at an unnatural angle; the fracture must have worsened during the interrogation.
His face was as pale as paper, his lips parched and cracked, and his eyes were tightly shut. The rise and fall of his chest was so faint it was almost invisible.
If not for the weak fluctuations on the nearby vital signs monitor, one might have thought he was already dead.
Scarface lay on the adjacent metal bed, and his condition was no better.
His face was covered in blood, his left eye was swollen shut, and the gash at the corner of his mouth was still seeping blood. His clothes were torn in several places, revealing skin mottled with purple and blue bruises.
His breathing was slightly more stable than Lei Lie’s, but he had also lost consciousness.
Chen Shijie stood between the two metal beds, his gaze landing on Lei Lie, his pupils constricting slightly.
This Level 3 Ability User was currently on the brink of death, like a corpse barely clinging to life.
Looking at the various indicators on the vital signs monitor, Chen Shijie nearly exploded with rage.
Every one of Lei Lie’s vital signs was abnormal—blood pressure, heart rate, temperature... they were all dropping!
These so-called interrogation experts, these masters of prying mouths open, had tortured a precious piece of experimental material into this state.
Rage churned in his chest, and his temples throbbed.
He turned sharply, his gaze sweeping over the interrogators standing against the wall.
They all kept their heads down, not daring to meet his eyes. Some of them still had wet blood on their hands.
“Is this the extent of your skill?” Chen Shijie’s voice wasn't loud, but every word sounded like it was squeezed through his teeth, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
The interrogation room was deathly silent; no one dared to answer.
Chen Shijie walked to Lei Lie’s side and looked down at the pale face.
The physical constitution of a Level 3 Ability User far exceeded that of an ordinary person, and their self-healing ability was much stronger, but even the strongest self-healing had its limits.
In Lei Lie’s current state, forget about experiments—it was a question of whether he would even survive the night.
These idiots who only had interrogation on their minds didn't understand the concept of “knowing when to stop”!
Chen Shijie slowly withdrew his hand and turned around, his gaze sweeping over the group.
The corners of his mouth quirked into a chilling smile—a smile devoid of warmth, containing only the most extreme, suppressed fury.
“You useless trash, do you have any idea how important this man is to me?” His voice was very soft, as light as if he were asking about the weather.
“He is material for the live fusion experiment! Gene editing! Core transplant! Every single project requires a healthy test subject with normal physical indicators!”
Chen Shijie’s voice suddenly rose, echoing through the cramped interrogation room.
He pointed at Lei Lie, his finger trembling slightly. “But look at him now! You’ve tortured him to this state—blood pressure, heart rate, temperature are all abnormal. He has a mountain of internal and external injuries. It’s a miracle if he even survives!”
“Tell me, how am I supposed to conduct experiments on a test subject like this?”
The men lowered their heads even further. Some had trembling lips, others had legs that were going weak.
One of them tried to explain, “Dr. Chen, we just wanted to break him as quickly as possible...”
“And did you?” Chen Shijie interrupted.
The man opened his mouth but couldn't find the words.
“Three hours, and you’ve learned nothing.” Chen Shijie’s voice returned to that terrifyingly calm tone, but every word felt like a knife stabbing into their hearts.
“Not only did you fail to break him, but you also ruined my test subject.”
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
Getting angry wouldn't solve the problem. Right now, the most important thing was to keep Lei Lie alive.
He turned to the lab assistant behind him. “Take him to the medical room. Give him full treatment. Use the best medicine, the best equipment. At any cost, he must be restored to health in the shortest time possible.”
“His vital signs must meet the standards as soon as possible. My experiments cannot be delayed!”
The lab assistant nodded hurriedly and gestured for several helpers to come in. They carefully unfastened Lei Lie from the metal bed, placed him on a mobile stretcher, and rushed him out of the interrogation room.
Chen Shijie watched the stretcher disappear down the hallway before slowly turning his gaze to Scarface.
“As for this one...” Chen Shijie waved his hand and continued, “Go prepare the Truth Serum!”
The expressions of the men changed slightly.
Truth Serum was a specialized drug developed independently by the Deep Blue Research Institute, specifically designed for interrogating prisoners who were particularly difficult to break.
It worked by using the drug to forcibly stimulate the brain’s nerve centers, putting the subject into a semi-hypnotic state. In this state, the subject would uncontrollably answer any question, revealing everything they knew without reservation.
However, the side effects of this drug were extremely severe. It would irreversibly damage the brain’s nervous system, leading to psychosis, memory loss, and a collapse of cognitive function, eventually turning the subject into a complete wreck.
Because of this, the institute rarely used the drug under normal circumstances.
After all, a living person who could provide intelligence was usually far more valuable than a psychotic wreck.
Rate on N.U.
