Chapter 7

Chapter 7

After the two left the interrogation room, Lain couldn't help scratching his head.

It seemed Archie didn't really like him.

Although Albert had mentioned that his salary would be paid regardless, Lain, no matter how much he needed the money, couldn't bring himself to accept it without actually contributing, regardless of Albert's reasons for hiring him.

So, he looked at the other people present and asked, "Is there anything I can do here?"

The other officers exchanged glances.

'What to do? After all, he's the boss’s man, we should be able to trust him, right?'

'But what about Consultant Hayes...'

'Just trying out should be okay.'

One of the officers hesitated for a moment, then spoke up: "You must have heard earlier, our investigation isn't progressing smoothly. The suspect in the interrogation room is feigning insanity and not cooperating with us. And because of human rights organizations, we can't use any coercive measures, even turning up the lights in there is not allowed."

Hmm, Lain had noticed, the lighting in the interrogation room was much more comfortable than here.

"We’ll try to interrogate him again later. If possible, you could stay by the side and record his psychological state. Just act as a recorder. Since you're not with the police department, if those human rights observation organizations ask, we'll have a witness."

"No problem."

"You should wear a mask too. These gang members are reckless, and who knows if they'll take a fancy to your face," the police officer hesitated before adding, "We might not even be able to get him into jail this time."

Lann understood immediately; he didn't want to attract unnecessary trouble. Taking the paper and pen, he put on a mask and followed the officer through a small door.

In the interrogation room, Lann looked directly at the man opposite him for the first time. He looked almost the same as when Lann had seen him through the glass – bald, appearing to be between twenty and thirty, with a tattoo of the four of spades on his left arm, his gaze downcast, showing no interest in those who came in.

According to what Albert had explained to Lann about the internal structure of the Black Spades, their status is usually indicated by the rank of the card tattooed on their body, and they would even redo their tattoos if their status changed.

So, was this man a high-ranking member within the Black Spades?

After both men were seated, the bald man still showed no reaction. The police officer began the routine questioning – why he caused trouble, the reasons, location, motive, and other standard questions.

The bald man's face showed utter indifference, his head still lowered, his careless attitude infuriating the interrogating officer who slammed the table fiercely: "What kind of attitude is this?!"

"Oh, I'm so scared, officer. Come on, hit me here," the bald man said mockingly, extending the right side of his face. The officer took a deep breath, his face filled with rage, but the surveillance camera in the room reminded him he must not lay a hand on the suspect.

It didn't matter that this man was only a suspect and not yet a convicted criminal. Even if he were a prisoner, the officer couldn't touch him, or else the next day reporters would besiege the police station, accusing them of a gross violation of human rights.

Therefore, even though every police officer in the station knew this man was scum, charged with robbery, brawling, disturbing public order, and drug trafficking, they could not lay a finger on him. And the lengthy prosecution process was full of twists and turns, especially given the Black Spades' connections in the city; it was uncertain whether they could get him into prison at all.

"What a damned world!"

Cursing under his breath, the officer sat back down, frustrated. The bald man grinned, his gaze inadvertently catching Lann, who was taking notes on the side. His eyes were drawn to Lann's green eyes peeking out from the mask, a flash of astonishment and daze appearing in his eyes.

...Daze?

Lann, who had been observing the bald man's demeanor, didn't miss the expression on his face. He was used to people being amazed by his looks, but it didn't seem to have the same mind-affecting effect as it had that night in the hospital.

The interrogation wasn't going smoothly, and Lann couldn't help but recall that night in the hospital.

As he pondered, a sudden idea flashed through his mind.

Ignoring the bald man's intense stare, Lann stood beside the officer named Charlie and bent down to whisper in his ear.

After hearing it, Charlie looked at him in surprise: "Are you sure?"

Lann smiled and nodded his head.

The bald man's gaze clung to Lann greedily and with conflict. Though only a pair of eyes was visible, he inexplicably thought the face behind the mask must be stunningly beautiful. But soon, he felt something was off – he was attracted to women!

Before he could further ponder his sexual orientation, he saw the two rise and leave the interrogation room without hesitation. They seemed in a hurry, leaving the door slightly ajar.

The bald man was stunned for a few seconds, not expecting the cops to give up so easily. He glanced down at the handcuffs binding his hands to the chair, snorted dismissively, and thought it was better this way – no more annoying babble in his ear.

As the bald man sat daydreaming, waiting for his lawyer, the lights in the interrogation room suddenly dimmed.

The sudden shift from light to dark startled him; he couldn't see anything in the pitch black. Frowning, he assumed it was some kind of prank by the incompetent cops, and sneered, "Do you think this will scare me?"

"Hey! Do you think I'm a three-year-old afraid of the dark? Should I cry out for mommy to play along with your game?"

The bald man shouted towards the outside, thinking it was just a silly trick by the police, until he suddenly heard gunshots outside.

Instantly, he became as quiet as a mouse. Having been in a gang for years, he recognized the sound of real gunfire. But what was happening – why would there be gunshots in a police station?

Could it be that the Black Spades had come to rescue him?

This thought flashed through his mind but was quickly dismissed by the bald man himself.

Firstly, having operated in Arkham for years, the Black Spades wouldn’t need to resort to such a crude method as storming a police station to get him out. Such an act would be an open declaration of war against the police, and he wasn't important enough in the gang for such an extreme measure.

So, was it someone else causing trouble at the police station at this time?

Then, shouts and calls for backup came from outside, soon drowned out by an explosion. The bald man's heart began to race uncontrollably. Recalling the hurried departure of the two earlier, he tried to shout towards the door, "Hey, is anyone there? Can someone get me a glass of water? Hello?"

There was no response, only the sound of gunfire growing louder. The bald man wanted to cover his ears, but he couldn't move, handcuffed to the chair.

This was bad. If something really was happening, wouldn't he be like a fish stuck to a cutting board?

Soon, the gunfire outside ceased, plunging the room back into suffocating darkness and silence.

The bald man didn't dare make a sound. At that moment, he keenly detected the sound of footsteps.

They seemed to be approaching.

"Hey?" the bald man tentatively called out, "Bro, are you here to raid the police station? I'm with the Black Spades, you know them, right? I'm not one of the cops..."

Click.

The sound of a pistol safety being released.

"Wait, what are you doing? I'm with the Black Spades, you—"

The bald man breathed heavily, his heart pounding faster and faster. He could feel a breeze, the silence foreboding; it felt like death was approaching.

Whoosh—

Just then, the lights suddenly blared on. The bald man jumped at the unexpected brightness. Amidst his heartbeats, thunderous as drumbeats, he locked eyes with the person in front of him.

It was Lann, who had removed his mask.

His face, hauntingly beautiful to a degree that seemed beyond human limits, loomed and multiplied in a haze before the bald man's eyes, forcefully seizing every nerve.

The bald man's expression became completely vacant, his eyes fixating almost obsessively on Lann's face.

"Hello, Sean," Lann smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting, "May I have a word with you?"

The bald man slowly nodded his head.

……

When Archie and Albert entered the interrogation room after their discussion, they noticed something unusual.

The police officers observing the interrogation from behind the glass wall were all staring, dumbfounded, at the scene before them. The once tough bald man was now answering Lann's questions like an obedient child, his responses filtering through the wall.

"What happened? Did you guys use truth serum on him?" Archie asked Albert, who was following him.

"No, no, boss, we wouldn't dare use that."

Archie listened silently for a while, then stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the bald man's expression. There was no vacant look that would suggest the use of special methods. Instead, his eyes were lively, his speech fluent and natural. What was even more chilling was that he seemed utterly unaware of the critical information he was divulging, his face showing only fascination.

It was as if... he had become a puppet on strings.

"I get it! It must be some kind of hypnosis, like in the TV shows. He must be a master hypnotist!" a police officer couldn't help but exclaim, his eyes burning with excitement as he looked at Albert, "No wonder, boss, you specifically asked for him. He really has some tricks up his sleeve!"

Albert chuckled dryly without responding, glancing subconsciously at Archie, only to find his expression extremely grave.

This is impossible.

Hypnosis? Only laypeople would believe such nonsense. While hypnosis is a tool in psychotherapy, it's not as magical as outsiders think. It requires a quiet environment, with the patient's belief and acceptance, to be effective.

Or perhaps some kind of drug was used.

The current situation defied all logic, especially considering the subject was a ruthless gang member, a desperado. These kinds of people, who barely trust their own lives, let alone others, how could they possibly be hypnotized so easily?

The more Archie understood about psychology, the more baffling he found this scene.

So... how exactly did he do it?

When Lann finished the interrogation and stepped out, the policemen spontaneously applauded him. Especially a few younger officers, who, while clapping, eagerly approached him with questions, "How did you do it? Was it the legendary hypnosis? That's incredible!"

"Uh... it's not that exaggerated," Lann replied with an awkward smile.

"No, no, no! You don't understand, this is truly miraculous! I've never seen that guy so compliant before. Only hypnosis could achieve this, right? I knew you psychologists had these tricks up your sleeves!" another officer chimed in.

Ah, was he reinforcing stereotypes about his profession?

Lann wanted to object, but he held back, glancing at Archie, expecting him to scoff at the layperson's comment with his usual disdain.

Huh? Why didn't he say anything?

Lann blinked at Archie and noticed that he was staring at him gravely, lost in thought.

How Lann achieved this was actually quite simple. He once read on a players' forum about a player named Druid who said that the system rolled several hidden dice when they met, suggesting his mental state was influenced at that time...

The player even provided system prompt evidence, so Lann took his word for it. However, although his face did indeed evoke fascination and awe in others, it never again affected someone's mental state like it did that night.

Lann had initially dismissed this as a difference between players and NPCs in the game 'Destiny's Spiral', which boasted realism and role-playing. The players could blend in almost indistinguishably with the natives. What if it wasn't due to being a player, but some other factor?

Like, for example, the surrounding tense and stimulating environment.

The sounds Sean heard earlier were actually a recording. Nowadays, police use body cameras, so getting similar audio wasn't difficult.

After all, there was no harm in trying; the worst that could happen was failure.

And this trial turned out to be a success, making him feel a bit more justified in accepting the payment.

"I shouldn't get sued for this, right?"

"Don't worry, you won't. It was just the lights out for a few minutes at the start. We'll just blame it on a power outage. The surveillance cameras inside don't record sound, so even if that guy comes to his senses later, he won't have evidence to report us to any human rights organization," Charlie said nonchalantly.

"That's not what concerns me," Lann replied. "I think... he won't go to report it."

A grown man probably wouldn't go crying to a human rights organization about being scared into spilling everything when the lights suddenly went out.

Bad as it sounds, the thought of that scene is kind of funny.

Archie happened to catch Lann's faint smile. The smile was beautiful, but combined with the bald man's 'compliant' behavior earlier, it added a layer of unspoken mystery and eeriness, almost as if implying:

He won't be speaking anymore.