LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 211 - Interrogation
When Mai Dongzi first boarded the spaceship, she noticed mercenaries targeting Zhuang Huaiya, which prompted her to pay close attention to the mercenary team in the lobby. At the time, there were 23 mercenaries present.
So far, they had only dealt with four of them, leaving at least 19 mercenaries still at large. Unless these four had acted independently without informing the others, the remaining 19 mercenaries posed a significant threat.
Mai Dongzi planned to locate the mercenaries and render them all unconscious.
Since living creatures cannot be stored in a spatial device, the mercenary captain had kept the metal box in his jacket pocket earlier.
If any of the remaining mercenaries carried similar metal boxes in their pockets, she intended to secure them and hand them over to the National Security Bureau upon their arrival. This would prevent any accidental release of the parasitic beasts on the spaceship.
When Mai Dongzi suggested going out to incapacitate the entire mercenary team, the two cadets agreed that it was a good idea. However, they pointed out a significant issue.
“We don’t know which mercenary group they belong to, where they’re staying on the ship, or how many members they have. Why don’t we wake one of them up and interrogate them for the information?” Wang Liri suggested.
Zong Qingping agreed wholeheartedly. “We have antidotes, and we’re skilled in interrogation.”
If they could extract useful information, it would make Mai Dongzi’s search more targeted, especially regarding the exact number of mercenaries. She nodded in agreement.
The two cadets pulled out the female mercenary to wake her up for questioning, while Mai Dongzi returned to her cabin to bring Zhuang Huaiya over.
“This is my cousin, a first-year student in the Command Department at Imperial University. When we boarded the ship, this mercenary group also had their eyes on him,” Mai Dongzi explained to the cadets.
Hearing that this was Mai Dongzi’s cousin, the cadets treated Zhuang Huaiya warmly. Despite being a first-year student, his abilities were comparable to theirs. Although his talent wasn’t as monstrous as his cousin’s, he was still a genius.
Zhuang Huaiya was initially confused, but as the female mercenary was revived, the others were too busy to explain the full situation to him.
The two cadets were indeed skilled interrogators. Without requiring Mai Dongzi’s psychic interference, they quickly extracted the mercenary group’s location on the ship and the number of members.
“Where did you get the parasitic beasts, and why are you targeting us?” Wang Liri pressed further.
Before he could finish asking, Mai Dongzi noticed the female mercenary’s body tremble violently, and her eyes suddenly became vacant and lifeless.
Mai Dongzi immediately used her psychic abilities to probe the woman’s mind, discovering that it appeared to have experienced a massive explosion, causing significant damage.
When the cadets repeated their questions twice, the mercenary failed to respond. They quickly realized she had become unresponsive, almost like a dull-witted child. Even when subjected to mild pain as part of the interrogation, she didn’t react as though her sense of pain was completely gone.
“Big Sis, what’s wrong with this mercenary?” Zhuang Huaiya asked in confusion.
He had overheard enough to understand the situation, but the sudden onset of the woman’s mental state left him baffled, so he turned to his ever-resourceful cousin for answers.
“These mercenaries were carrying parasitic beasts and targeting the two senior cadets. Whether it was a random selection or a premeditated plan, this matter is anything but simple. These mercenaries’ combat abilities aren’t high, nor are their skills particularly impressive. Whoever is behind this wouldn’t have let them act without precautions to prevent being traced back to them,” Mai Dongzi explained carefully to Zhuang Huaiya.
“Because their captain could control us just by knocking on the door, it’s likely that the people behind this operation also have ways to control them,” Zong Qingping added, understanding Mai Dongzi’s analysis.
“So, the masterminds behind this must have planted a mechanism in their brains. The mention of the term ‘parasitic beast’ is likely a trigger. When that trigger is activated, it causes the mechanism to explode, damaging the female mercenary’s brain and leaving her in a vegetative state,” Mai Dongzi analyzed.
When Wang Liri asked about the parasitic beasts, Mai Dongzi sensed a sudden psychic storm erupting in the mercenary’s mind, which obliterated her consciousness.
“We’ve never heard of such a technique before,” Wang Liri said, astonished by the revelation.
Even Zhuang Huaiya, a novice in such matters, and the two seasoned cadets were taken aback.
“I noticed a psychic fluctuation in her brain when you mentioned the parasitic beasts, even though she herself isn’t a psychic ability user.”
The three young men exchanged grim looks. The sophistication of the mastermind’s methods was both shocking and terrifying.
“Big Sis…” Zhuang Huaiya began to speak, but Mai Dongzi raised a hand to silence him. He stopped immediately.
“Another group of mercenaries is coming,” she said.
The three men instantly tensed. Zong Qingping whispered, “How many?”
“Six. Two fifth-level practitioners and four at the fourth level,” Mai Dongzi replied.
“Should we lure them in and knock them out like before?” Wang Liri asked.
“That won’t work this time. They’ve already sensed something is wrong. Only two fourth-level mercenaries are coming to the door, while the other four are guarding the ends of the hallway.”
The three men exchanged uneasy glances. As Zhuang Huaiya began to say something, the doorbell rang.
Mai Dongzi took out a jade flute. Zhuang Huaiya immediately understood what she intended to do, but the two cadets were puzzled as to why she was bringing out a musical instrument now.
“I’ll lure the mercenaries guarding the hallway toward us. Wang, you open the door. Zong, use the knockout powder. Then the three of you drag the mercenaries inside as quickly as possible,” Mai Dongzi instructed.
The doorbell had been ringing for over ten seconds. There was no time to hesitate. Following her plan, the two cadets moved into position by the door.
When Wang Liri opened the door, he mimicked the dazed expression he had used before. However, the two mercenaries at the door remained wary and were not fooled. They opened their mouths to question him.
At that moment, a melodious tune emanated from inside the room. The two mercenaries’ eyes gradually lost focus, and they began to step into the room.
The cadets didn’t fully understand what had caused this change but didn’t hesitate. They swiftly used the knockout powder to incapacitate the two mercenaries. Zhuang Huaiya stepped forward, grabbing one mercenary in each hand and dragging them into the room.
The cadets didn’t follow Zhuang Huaiya back inside. They stepped into the hallway, knowing that the earlier commotion might have alerted the other four mercenaries.
Sure enough, as they exited, they saw the four mercenaries approaching from both ends of the hallway. The cadets assumed defensive stances, prepared to take down the two fourth-level mercenaries first. However, they soon noticed something strange about the approaching mercenaries’ expressions.