Chapter 10 Judgment Chief

Wei Shu had not expected that the seemingly ordinary teenager named Gu Shen would be involved in a case that attracted such great attention.

The hospital's blazing lights were dazzling.

The long corridor was silent, echoing with the neat tapping of iron boots.

Wei Shu, not particularly tall, was followed by a dozen robust men, each with a stern face and a temperament as sharp as knives, hard as iron. By his side was the Judgment Chief, responsible for overseeing the institution of Qinghe District's prison system. Compared to the robust men behind him, the Judgment Chief was not tall; on the contrary, he was somewhat small and hunched, his face under a black broad-brimmed hat as rugged as mountain stone, with a terrifying scar winding across his nose like a centipede.

The Judgment Chief slowly read through the file Wei Shu had handwritten.

Thus, the robust men behind him all slowed their pace; they moved quietly, like needles, their footsteps soft.

Wei Shu, on the other hand, was so nervous that he could hear his own heartbeat… These people were merely here to accompany him for the "interrogation," and the person in question was just a seventeen-year-old boy, but the formidable presence now seemed as if they were about to storm a fortress. He had no doubts that at the Judgment Chief's command, these fellows could blast through even 10 cm thick steel plates!

"Interesting…"

The Judgment Chief murmured softly, and Wei Shu noticed that the Judgment Chief's gaze did not linger much on the file labeled A-009 but was fixated on the second case file.

The fire that had erupted 28 hours before.

The fire had a significant negative impact on Da Teng City… There was intense pressure from public opinion. The authorities had not yet found a suitable reason to explain the sudden fire, as well as the concurrent power and network failures.

But the most noteworthy aspect of the file was "Gu Shen".

The explosion had originated from Gu Shen's residence, and he himself had only been unconscious. Considering the situation at the scene... he had been very lucky to survive due to an unseasonal downpour that quenched the fire.

But everyone knew that was nonsense.

Wei Shu was well aware that this was a Transcendent event; someone had targeted Gu Shen with an assassination attempt… only, they had all died. Two bodies were found near a rooftop, one brutally dismembered and the other charred to cinders by a fierce fire.

Wei Shu could not imagine how this lucky boy, who had survived the attack by A-009, could have awakened such a terrifying "Extraordinary Power". With his authorization, he had sifted through Deep Sea's "deep water area" cases from the past thirty years in Da Teng City, finding only one or two cases that could compare.

This was an extremely dangerous existence.

Now, even the Judgment Chief had been alarmed and chose to intervene personally; the outlook for the boy named Gu Shen was likely very bleak.

Wei Shu sighed inwardly… He still didn't know what awaited Gu Shen, whether it would be controlled observation or direct imprisonment.

"We're here."

Wei Shu spoke softly, feeling pity for the boy.

…

…

The door was gently pushed open.

Contrary to what Wei Shu had expected, the boy in the hospital room had already woken up. He was sitting up in bed, reading a paper newspaper, with a window cracked open slightly, allowing a gentle breeze to flutter the daffodils by the bedside.

The Judgment Chief, with his hands clasped behind him, slowly entered the room, and the interrogation team blocked the doorway. Their towering shadows were enough to suffocate anyone, but the boy merely glanced up briefly before shifting his gaze back to the newspaper—

The oddly serene and peaceful atmosphere of the hospital room made it difficult to disrupt.

The Judgment Chief glanced at the window, unperturbed.

"Gu Shen, I formally notify you on behalf of Da Teng City Prison,"

Wei Shu approached the bedside, started to speak customarily: "You are involved in two Transcendent incidents, and you will face a rigorous interrogation… The Constitution requires me…"

"The Constitution requires me to inform you of the following rights: you have the right to remain silent, but every word you say will be taken as evidence in court. You have the right to appoint someone, who may accompany you throughout the interrogation." The boy raised his head smoothly, taking over the line for him. His face still bore the pallor of sickness, but his eyes were clear as a lake, and he politely smiled, "It's been a while, Mr. Wei Shu."

Wei Shu was taken aback.

"It's been a while" sounded somewhat ironic.

But it indeed gave Wei Shu the illusion of an age having passed.

It had been about thirty hours since their last encounter; the current demeanor of Gu Shen was entirely different. Wei Shu found it hard to believe that the undisturbed boy now sitting on the hospital bed had been panic-stricken, gesticulating wildly, like a clown during the previous interrogation.

Was this kid… acting before?

After sending Gu Shen away, Wei Shu had always felt that there was something indescribably off about the interview file, such as the time of disarray in the car surveillance, which according to Gu Shen, was during his stand-off with A-009.

That was A-009, an out-of-control Transcendent with incredibly destructive power, who had withstood a full 20 minutes without the carriage being damaged, but conveniently the surveillance had malfunctioned… It was simply too unreasonable.

The only explanation—

It was this wily young man who had seen through the lost monitoring ruse in the carriage right from the beginning, and thus chose to conceal his real encounter on the train.

So... the clown wasn't Gu Shen, it was himself.

"The people from the Judgement Institute just left, didn't they?"

The usually silent Judgment Chief finally spoke.

"That old man must have taught you how to deal with the upcoming interrogation..." he suddenly laughed, his voice rich as aged wine, magnetically appealing, unintentionally creating a favorable impression, relaxing one's guard, "right?"

"What are you talking about?" Gu Shen looked completely bewildered. His acting was so convincing he could have won 'Best Actor': "I don't understand."

The Judgment Chief chuckled.

He lifted his hand, and several burly men filed in.

"...Take him away."

...

...

"Name."

"Gu Shen."

"Age."

"Seventeen, with another month and one day until my birthday..."

"Gender."

"???"

The familiar opening.

But this time, Wei Shu banged heavily on the desk and said irritably, "Be honest, confess now!"

"Female... would you believe that?"

Gu Shen pointed to his hospital gown, also not looking pleased, "I'm in the hospital, just got off the sickbed, carried here... Can't you show a bit of humanity?"

"Gu Shen... This interrogation is serious. You'd better cooperate," Wei Shu lowered his voice, coming close threateningly: "Do you know who that important person outside is? The Judgment Chief responsible for the entire Qinghe District!"

Judgment Chief?

Gu Shen shrugged his shoulders, showing he didn't understand and wasn't afraid.

"Regarding the fire that occurred twenty-eight hours ago..." Wei Shu backed off, and asked coldly, "The ignition point was in your bedroom, why did you survive, and why were you on the rooftop at that time?"

"Mr. Wei Shu, I'm a survivor and a victim, your words upset me," Gu Shen said innocently, looking up at the surveillance camera, speaking deliberately: "As for why I was there... it was about to rain, I went up to the rooftop to collect clothes, that's reasonable, right?"

That's unreasonable!

Who goes to collect clothes from the rooftop at three or four in the morning?!

But Wei Shu surprisingly couldn't find a reason to refute... because, it really had rained.

"Thump, thump, thump."

After three light knocks, the door to the interrogation room opened, revealing the silhouette of the Judgment Chief. Upon seeing him, Wei Shu immediately stood up, wanting to say something, but the older man gently patted his shoulder, "Wei Shu, I've finished reading the dossier, you've done well. You've had a few tough days."

Wei Shu finally sighed, standing up and leaving understandingly.

So only Gu Shen and the Judgment Chief were left in the interrogation room.

"Gu Shen, I just finished reading the case file."

The old man sat down casually, placing the file on the desk. He lifted his hand, signaling to turn off the surveillance, and the light of the camera in the corner of the room dimmed.

Gu Shen squinted his eyes.

He knew what this meant... the content of the next interrogation would not be known by a third person.

"Now, it's just the two of us here. Relax."

"While some annoying old man hasn't arrived yet," the Judgment Chief raised his hands to his chin, smiling, "let's have an open and frank chat, shall we?"