Wei Shu never expected that the case involving the seemingly ordinary youth named Gu Shen would attract so much attention.

The hospital's fluorescent lights were dazzling.

The long corridor was silent, echoing with the rhythmic thud of iron boots.

Wei Shu, not particularly tall, was followed by a dozen burly men, each with a grim face and a sharp, steely demeanor. Beside him was the "Judge," responsible for the Qinghe District prison system. In contrast to the imposing group behind him, the Judge was rather short and frail, with a hunched back. His face, shadowed by a black peaked cap, was craggy like a mountain rock, and a terrifying, centipede-like scar snaked across his nose.

The Judge was reading the file handwritten by Wei Shu, walking slowly.

The burly men behind him all slowed their pace, moving as silently as needles.

Wei Shu could hear his own heartbeat, he was so nervous. These people were just here to accompany the "interrogation," and the subject was only a seventeen-year-old boy. Yet, this terrifying show of force looked like they were about to attack a fortress. He had no doubt that at the Judge's command, these guys would…

The Judge murmured to himself. Wei Shu noticed that the Judge's gaze didn't linger on the A-009 file for long, but instead focused on the second case file.

The massive fire that had occurred twenty-eight hours earlier.

The fire had caused significant negative impact on Dateng City. There was immense external pressure from the media, and the authorities hadn't yet found a suitable explanation for the sudden fire, as well as the power and network outages that occurred at the time.

But the most noteworthy detail in the file was "Gu Shen."

The starting point of the explosion was Gu Shen's residence. He himself was merely unconscious. Judging from the scene... he had been lucky enough to survive, thanks to an unreasonable downpour that extinguished the fire.

But everyone knew that was nonsense.

Wei Shu was well aware that this was a supernatural event. Someone had launched an assassination attempt against Gu Shen... but they had all died. Two bodies were discovered near the rooftop, one brutally dismembered, the other burned to a crisp.

Wei Shu couldn't imagine that this lucky teenager, who had survived the A-009 attack, could awaken such terrifying "supernatural powers"... With his level of access, searching the "Deep Water Zone" of the Deep Sea, he had only found one or two similar cases in Dateng City's past thirty years that could compare.

This was an extremely dangerous being.

Now that even the Judge had been alarmed and chosen to come in person, the boy named Gu Shen... his fate would probably be grim.

Wei Shu sighed inwardly... he didn't know whether Gu Shen would be placed under observation and control, or directly imprisoned.

"We're here," Wei Shu said softly, feeling sorry for the boy.

...

...

The door was gently pushed open.

Contrary to Wei Shu's expectations, the boy in the hospital room was already awake, sitting up in bed reading a newspaper. A crack in the window allowed a gentle breeze to stir the daffodils by his bedside.

The Judge, with his hands clasped behind his back, slowly entered the room. The interrogation team blocked the doorway, their towering figures casting a suffocating shadow. But the boy merely glanced up before returning his gaze to the newspaper.

The room was surprisingly quiet and peaceful, making one reluctant to disturb it.

The Judge glanced at the window, his expression unreadable.

"Gu Shen, I am here to inform you on behalf of Dateng City Prison."

Wei Shu approached the bedside, habitually beginning, "You are involved in two supernatural events and 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 everything you say will be used as evidence in court. You have the right to retain counsel before trial, and they may be present during the entire interrogation process." The boy raised his head and smoothly finished the sentence for him. His face was still pale from his illness, but his eyes were clear like a lake. He smiled politely and said, "Long time no see, Mr. Wei Shu."

Wei Shu was stunned.

The phrase "long time no see" sounded somewhat ironic.

But it did give Wei Shu a sense of "three autumns passing."

It had only been about thirty hours since their last meeting, but Gu Shen's demeanor was completely different. Wei Shu found it hard to believe that the composed young man sitting in bed now was the same one who had been agitated and flailing about like a clown during the last interrogation.

Was this kid acting before?

After sending Gu Shen away, Wei Shu had always felt that there was something subtly wrong with the written record of the interrogation, such as the period of time when the car's surveillance footage was corrupted, which, according to Gu Shen, was when he was in a stalemate with A-009.

That was A-009, a highly destructive runaway subject. They were in a stalemate for a full twenty minutes, but the car wasn't damaged, yet the surveillance system conveniently malfunctioned... This was simply too unreasonable.

The only explanation...

Was that this cunning young man had seen through the deception of the lost surveillance footage from the beginning, and therefore chose to conceal his true encounter in the car.

So... the clown wasn't Gu Shen, but himself.

"The people from the Tribunal just left, right?"

The Judge, who had been silent all this time, spoke.

"That old guy must have taught you how to deal with the upcoming interrogation..." He suddenly laughed, his voice as mellow as aged wine, very magnetic, unconsciously inspiring goodwill and relaxing one's guard. "Right?"

"What are you talking about?" Gu Shen looked blank, his acting skills worthy of an award. "I don't understand."

The Judge smiled.

He raised his hand, and several large men filed in.

"...Take him away."

...

...

"Name."

"Gu Shen."

"Age."

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

"Gender."

"???"

The familiar opening.

But this time, Wei Shu heavily knocked on the table and said angrily, "Be honest, and confess quickly!"

"Female... would you believe it?"

Gu Shen pointed to the hospital gown he was wearing, equally displeased. "I'm in the hospital, just got out of bed, and was carried here... Can you guys have a little bit of humanity?"

"Gu Shen... this interrogation is very serious. You better cooperate." Wei Shu lowered his voice and leaned in menacingly. "Do you know who that person outside is? The Judge in charge of the entire Qinghe District!"

The Judge?

Gu Shen shrugged, expressing ignorance and fearlessness.

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

"Mr. Wei Shu, I am a survivor and a victim. I'll be very sad if you say that." Gu Shen looked innocent, raised his head, looked at the surveillance camera, and said slowly, "As for why I was there... it was going to rain, so I went to the roof to collect my clothes. That's reasonable, right?"

That's very unreasonable!

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

But Wei Shu couldn't find a reason to refute it... because it really was raining.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The door of the interrogation room was opened after three light knocks. Seeing the Judge's figure, Wei Shu immediately stood up. He wanted to say something, but the old man gently patted his shoulder. "Wei Shu, I've read the files. You've done a great job. Thank you for your hard work these past few days."

Wei Shu finally sighed and wisely got up to leave.

So, only Gu Shen and the Judge remained in the interrogation room.

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

The old man sat down casually and placed the files on the table. He raised his hand, signaling to turn off the surveillance cameras, and the light from the cameras in the corners of the room dimmed.

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes.

He knew what this meant... the content of the following interrogation would not be known to anyone else.

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

"Before that annoying old fellow arrives." The Judge raised both hands, propping up his chin, and smiled. "Let's have an open and honest conversation, shall we?"