Chapter 52: The Wheels of Destiny Turn... and Go Haywire (Part 1)

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“Wait until the interrogation is over. What are you in such a hurry for?” Mickey took the book away and whispered furtively, “Remember.”

“If you don’t know, just say you don’t know. Don’t make things up.”

The Spirit Detention Bureau had no direct evidence in this case. They had found neither witnesses nor the murder weapon, so the interrogation was merely a formality. As long as he kept saying he didn’t know, he would be free to leave.

“Got it, got it.” Li Guanqi smiled. “I’ve discovered that you’re quite the nag.”

“Correct your attitude!” Mickey regained the imposing air of an investigator and said sternly, “You’re a suspect. No smiling!”

Under the cameras, they still had to put on a show.

Li Guanqi’s expression turned serious as well. He gave a salute. “Yes, sir!”

Mickey entered the interrogation room and was just about to sit down when a mechanical announcement, utterly devoid of emotion, rang out overhead. Its voice was cold and solemn, echoing through the empty room and sending a chill through the air.

“Under Article Twenty-Six of the Alliance Code, the Spirit Detention Bureau is now conducting a lawful interrogation.”

“You have the right to remain silent, but everything you say will be recorded and may be used as evidence in court.”

“You have the right to retain an attorney. If you cannot afford one, the Alliance will appoint a public defender for you.”

“Criminal suspect, you are required to give a truthful account.”

When the announcement ended, Qiqi gently adjusted the microphone and asked in an even tone, “Name.”

“Zero Seven Four Eight,” Li Guanqi replied after a moment of hesitation.

The recorder, Mickey, opened the file and was about to enter “Numbered Citizen 0748” in the name field.

Qiqi suddenly said coldly, “You cannot possibly be a numbered citizen.”

Li Guanqi and Mickey both froze.

Beep—

A projection appeared, displaying two photographs: the number branded onto Li Guanqi’s wrist and the electronic pattern on his face.

“The edges of the number are rough, and the color is too pale. There is insufficient adhesive compound. It was applied in haste.”

“Judging from the marks on the skin, the brand is no more than twenty hours old. A numbered citizen cannot possibly complete the branding, registration, release from custody, and transport within two or three hours.”

“At least a week is required for registration and review. The Spirit Detention Bureau must then arrange the branding, enter the person’s identity information, and finally assign them to their respective post.”

“The number on your wrist was forged temporarily.”

“The transport driver illegally branded you with the number, threw you onto the truck, and then sold you to a team as a sacrificial substitute, didn’t he?”

Li Guanqi listened to the end, his heart rising into his throat. He had never expected the Spirit Detention Bureau to investigate so quickly.

“I…”

He stammered, unsure how to explain his identity.

“We’ve already brought in the driver. He has confessed.” Qiqi’s voice remained flat. “Now tell us.”

“Who exactly are you?”

Mickey sat to one side, utterly dumbfounded.

Was this really the same Qiqi—the bureau’s mascot?

Rumor had it that Qiqi was the minister’s illegitimate daughter. She had no performance requirements and no fixed duties. She could be late, make mistakes, or even be absent until her score dropped to zero without consequence. She could never be dismissed. Year after year, she ranked last in the entire team.

How had she become so fierce today?

“I…” Li Guanqi let out a long breath. “My name is Li Guanqi. I’m homeless.”

“So you really do have a name.” Mickey changed the name in the file to “Li Guanqi,” then checked “Wasteland Resident” in the identity field.

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There were only three possible identities: citizen, wasteland resident, and numbered citizen.

There was no category for extraterrestrials.

“Wasteland resident” was the collective term for people living in the satellite districts. Their status fell between that of numbered citizens and ordinary citizens: poor, struggling, but free.

“Did you really bring the driver in?” Mickey asked curiously after finishing the paperwork.

As a member of the Fifth Division’s intelligence branch, he had no idea such an operation had taken place.

Qiqi said expressionlessly, “We can go arrest him now.”

“Wow—” Mickey found the Qiqi before him strangely unfamiliar. “You tricked him into confessing?!”

Qiqi ignored him and stared directly at Li Guanqi. “Family circumstances.”

“Both my parents are dead,” Li Guanqi said quietly. “I have no home.”

“What about friends?”

“Does Investigator Mickey count?”

Mickey jolted. “Hey, hey, hey! She’s asking about your relationships before the incident.”

“Then I have none.”

Qiqi continued, “What happened after the collision at one-thirty in the morning?”

“I don’t know.” Li Guanqi activated his tried-and-true strategy of ignorance. “I suffered a concussion.”

“Other than the illegal transport gang and the team members,” Qiqi asked, swallowing a breath, “who else did you see?”

“There was someone else, though I’m not certain…” Li Guanqi recalled. “There was also a blind girl named Blank Paper.”

“I was half-asleep at the time, so I’m not sure.”

“Blank Paper…” Qiqi muttered. “Describe what she looked like.”

Li Guanqi thought for a moment. “About one hundred sixty centimeters tall. Rather short hair. She was dressed like a schoolgirl, in blue with a white collar, and she was holding a white cane.”

“She was on the transport truck too. She followed me to the league.”

“Hmm?” Mickey’s brows drew together, his face clearly saying, What are you talking about?

Qiqi frowned and sent out an image projection. “Is this her?”

“Uh, yes,” Li Guanqi replied.

Qiqi said blandly, “She died six years ago. She was buried alive.”

“What? Huh?” A chill ran through Li Guanqi.

Had he actually seen a ghost?

Had a ghost groped him all over and then played Pictionary with him?

That pastry had been fake too. No wonder it hadn’t filled him up.

Someone please give me the view from a bystander’s perspective.

The recorder, Mickey, was dumbfounded as well. “How am I supposed to write this down?”

“Things you’re uncertain about don’t have to be recorded,” Qiqi replied casually. She turned back to Li Guanqi. “Did you kill the eighteen members of the illegal transport gang?”

Li Guanqi shook his head. “I don’t know.”

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“Where did you hide the cursed card?”

“I don’t know.”

“What is your symbiotic card?”

“I don’t know.”

A shadow’s abilities were closely bound to the properties and effects of its symbiotic card. If the symbiotic card were Little Night, for example, the host could flash forward and slash an enemy when activating the ability. If the enemy made a move, the attack could chain onward and take out two targets.

Knowing the identity of the symbiotic card could reveal certain clues through deduction, and it would also make it easier to prepare an inhibitor.

Mickey regretfully entered “Unknown” in the symbiotic card field.

The interrogation continued for more than ten minutes and finally reached the last question.

Mickey held up one finger toward Li Guanqi, silently mouthing, “Last question.”

As long as he honestly answered “I don’t know” to this one, the interrogation would conclude perfectly.

Qiqi glanced at the form and asked in a stiff voice, “Before you boarded the transport truck…”

“The last person you saw—who were they?”

“No—” Li Guanqi was just about to blurt out I don’t know when his voice caught.

At times he looked around in confusion; at others he clutched his head.

It was like Seto Kaiba facing Ishizu, drawn into a script.

All Kaiba had to do was attack directly with Obelisk the Tormentor, and the script would be completed.

The same was true for Li Guanqi. In the script, he was supposed to answer, “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure.” The Spirit Detention Bureau would then release him. Because he had helped Mickey arrest Minute Hand earlier, Mickey would put up his own sixty points as collateral, secure him a temporary supercomputing ring, and take him to settle in a residential complex.

Everything would proceed smoothly, following the script, until they reached the designated location.

“Who was the last person you saw?” Qiqi narrowed her eyes and pressed him.

Beside them, Mickey was frantic, waving his arms and making every possible hint.

“No—” Li Guanqi wanted to say that he didn’t know, but chaotic voices stirred in his mind.

There were also scattered images.

“Don’t forget me…”

“My name is…”

An empty hospital. A countdown. A girl in a red dress.

“She said…”

“Her name was…”

Li Guanqi’s lips and teeth trembled as he softly murmured, “Twin Blossom.”

Clang—

An invisible thread controlling fate snapped at that very moment.

The gears of destiny began to turn.

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