Chapter Thirty-Seven: Interrogation

“Special Operations Division…”

Guo Tingyu vaguely remembered his father mentioning them—a group wielding enormous power within the army. “Tan Hai is right. Even if we charge in, we can’t save Huaishan. Let’s hurry back and find Instructor Lai!”

The three immediately withdrew from the crowd and sprinted back to the Military Academy.

But to their surprise, the campus was surrounded by soldiers and vehicles.

Guo Tingyu spotted several special agents draped in green cloaks, accompanied by fully armored soldiers, sealing off the entire Demon Training Building. Every so often, they escorted individuals out, forcing them into military vehicles.

Many new and veteran soldiers stood around, watching.

“You’re back?”

Wu Ming saw the trio moving hurriedly through the crowd and rushed over, calling out, “I heard there’s been a death in the Academy. Not long after you left, two bodies were carried out of the training building… Hey, only three of you? Where’s Huaishan?”

“Huaishan was taken by the special agents! We need to find Instructor Lai,” Tan Hai said urgently, unable to explain further.

“How did that happen!” Wu Ming’s face changed dramatically. He quickly led the way. “I saw Lai Pilong return to his office just now. Come on, let’s go together!”

Soon, the four reached the new recruits’ instructors’ office.

“Reporting!” They stood straight at the door and called out in unison.

Inside were only Lai Yanlong and Zhou Zhong’ai.

Lai Yanlong, who was tidying up documents, paused and looked up. “Speak.”

Among the four, Tan Hai was the most articulate, so he quickly recounted everything that had happened.

“What!?” Zhou Zhong’ai instinctively rose from her seat.

Lai Yanlong’s eyes widened, his brows furrowed, even the tuft of his goatee quivered. He immediately tossed aside his documents, strode to the telephone, wound the generator, and began dialing. “Connect me to Special Operations Platoon of the 73rd Brigade. Tell them I am Lai Yanlong, Chief Instructor of the 173rd New Recruit Training, Deputy Commander of the 683rd Regiment, yes.”

After about ten seconds, the operator connected him.

Lai Yanlong spoke, his tone urgent, “Is this Deputy Liu? One of my new recruits was taken by your men. Yes, I’m certain he has nothing to do with this incident. Don’t touch him. Wait for me to arrive before doing anything. Good! Good!”

He hung up and grabbed his military coat. “You all go back to your dorms first. I’ll handle Du Huaishan’s matter!”

With that, he left swiftly.

“Thank you, Chief Instructor! Thank you, Instructor Zhou!”

The four saluted, then departed.

Once outside the office, they exchanged glances, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

“Old Lai may be strict during training, but when it matters, he’s always willing to protect us,” Yang Anfu remarked, clicking his tongue.

Wu Ming nodded, “He reported his unit and position, clearly putting pressure on them!”

“Huaishan should be fine now. Let’s go, we’ll wait for news,” Guo Tingyu said, patting Tan Hai on the shoulder as they headed downstairs.

Inside the office, only Zhou Zhong’ai remained, her pink eyes filled with worry.

Even though Lai Yanlong had personally gone to the Special Operations Platoon quarters.

Because—

Just before Tan Hai and the others came to report, Chang Sui’an had been taken away for questioning.

Now, Du Huaishan had also been taken, and this time he was bound and seized in broad daylight!

“This is more than just a few dead soldiers…” Zhou Zhong’ai narrowed her eyes, hurried to the phone and dialed. “Connect me to Commander Chen of Reconnaissance Regiment, First Battalion. Wait… First, connect me to Chief Instructor Luo Zongwen, Martial Arts Instructor of the Military Academy’s Yan Prefecture Third Army.”

…

“Name.”

“Du Huaishan.”

“Age?”

“Sixteen.”

“Gender.”

“…”

Bang!

“I asked you a question! Gender!”

In a closed cement-walled interrogation room, a special agent in dark olive military uniform slammed the table, shouting.

“Male, obviously. How many times do you need to ask? Can’t you tell?” Du Huaishan, locked in the interrogation chair, frowned coldly.

Even now, he couldn’t understand why these people dragged him here. They’d already found his pass signed personally by Lai Yanlong. A simple phone call would clarify his identity.

Bang! The special agent slammed the table again. “Is this how you show respect?”

Beside him, a man in his late twenties, pale and cold-skinned, with a high nose and a cap, tapped his shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

This was the same soldier who had bound Du Huaishan in the alley—the Ghostman.

“Don’t be angry. It’s procedure; we need a full written record,” the high-nosed officer said with a sinister smile. “My name is Zhang Zheng, Squad Leader of Interrogation Squad One, Special Operations Platoon, 73rd Brigade. We brought you here mainly to understand what happened in the alley.”

He was only a squad leader, but Du Huaishan noticed that when reporting his unit, he didn’t mention the regiment, meaning the Special Operations Platoon was directly under brigade command, almost like the ancient secret police.

No wonder the infantry soldiers, whose ranks were higher than Zhang Zheng’s, still fawned over him.

“I’ve said it many times: I acted in self-defense. I know nothing else!”

Zhang Zheng shook his head, smiling as one would at a child. “You’re smart. You’ve repeated your statement so many times, always clear, no flaws. But…”

He picked up the red-grid interrogation paper. “Your words are exactly the same every time—word for word. That’s not normal. Most people can’t recall events so precisely. Clearly, you rehearsed this repeatedly and memorized it. Tell me, what’s your relationship with the deceased?”

“I’ve said it. I only met him twice, in the Demon Training ground for new recruits. I know nothing else.”

Du Huaishan realized these Special Operations Platoon members were lunatics. Maybe it was the end of the year and their superiors needed more cases, but they wouldn’t let him go.

Bang! The special agent slammed the table again and roared, “You know nothing? You’re a fresh recruit, here barely five or six days, facing a veteran with three years in the Demon Training ground, and you stabbed him fatally, then followed up with three more blows. Ordinary people don’t have that presence of mind!”

“So many bottles of Red Marrow serum and you say you didn’t take a single one? Who wouldn’t take some cash if they saw it? You keep repeating yourself, looks like we’ll have to use other methods…”

“Hey, wait. He’s just a kid!” Zhang Zheng stood, smiling, and held back his companion, then turned to Du Huaishan and leaned in, whispering, “My comrade’s temper is bad. Say something different, just to calm him down. Otherwise, if they bring in those methods, your small frame won’t handle it…”

Playing good cop, bad cop?

Du Huaishan stared at Zhang Zheng. “Something different?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll think. This morning, I woke up and saw my comrade Tan Hai crawling out of his bed. He asked why I was up early on a rest day. I said it was habit, and then he said…”

Bang! The special agent slammed the table yet again, shouting, “Are you writing a diary? Give me the key points! Your connection to the deceased! And the contents of the notebook!”

“Sir, doesn’t your hand hurt?”

“Damn it! Are you mocking me?”

Even though the special agent was playing along with Zhang Zheng, this last comment finally broke his composure. He shoved aside his chair and lunged at Du Huaishan.

Zhang Zheng’s eyes darkened, clearly losing his temper, but he didn’t intervene.

Just as the special agent was about to reach Du Huaishan, the iron door of the interrogation room was pulled open. “Squad Leader Zhang, tidy this kid up and send him to the platoon leader’s office!”