Chapter 80: Interrogation

The Photographer was unconscious for a while.

When he woke up again, his hands were already tied tightly with strips of cloth.

There hadn’t been any ropes in the room, but there were towels.

Although the towels provided by the bathhouse were of good quality, under Bai Xia’s monstrous strength, tearing them into strips was still pretty easy.

He looked up and saw three “ferocious” girls—one was pretending, two were real.

Real, as in the kind who had seen blood on their hands, the kind who had been through life-and-death.

The Photographer was silent for a long time, then lowered his head and said,

“If I talk, they’ll kill me.”

He knew these girls had captured him to get information, but still, betraying others had a terrible price.

Especially since the Baiyuan City Branch operation was so massive, with reinforcements rushed in from several neighboring cities, countless people in the Association were watching this move.

But no one paid him any attention.

Each girl was busy with her own thing—Su Qingyu was soothing the Magic Flute, Bai Xia was fiddling with the Pocket Watch, and only Bai Xiaoya had found a clothes hanger to poke him from a distance.

“You don’t think we need your cooperation, do you?”

The big-breasted girl said.

At this moment, Bai Xia, holding the Pocket Watch, sneered and mocked,

“You’re not that resolute either.”

On the dial, the metallic color representing resolve was less than a third, the rest all shifting, uncertain shades.

“Looks like with a little patient questioning, you’d spill everything.”

The girl pressed down the minute hand of the Pocket Watch.

“But I don’t have that much patience right now, so let’s use the simplest method.”

The blade of the minute hand swiftly erased the resolve, and shock flashed across the Photographer’s face—then only terror remained.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! I’ll say everything!”

No surprise in the outcome.

Bai Xia and Su Qingyu exchanged a glance, wondering who should ask first, and what to ask.

But Bai Xiaoya spoke up first.

“What conspiracy do you have against me?”

She didn’t bother with the black-haired or blonde girls, just went straight for the white-haired, big-breasted one.

Xiaoya felt a bit strange.

She wondered, I don’t have much combat power anyway, so why target me first in a group fight?

Is it because I look easier to kill?

“The leader said, based on previous observations, you’re very important to them—maybe even with some… impure relationship.”

Su Qingyu blushed, stepped over and kicked him, growling,

“What are you even saying? Get to the point!”

Then she glanced at Bai Xia, as if to say, what’s with your Pocket Watch always making people spill the truth?

Bai Xia ignored her.

Isn’t the Pocket Watch meant for getting honest answers?

“By targeting the weakest first, the other two are forced to hold back, limiting their actions—that’s the purpose of the ‘Idol Project’.”

Bai Xiaoya’s mouth twitched.

No way, you really used that as the plan name?

“Fine, you’re invincible.”

She said.

What else could she say?

After Bai Xiaoya finished her question, Bai Xia stepped forward and asked the most practical question.

“What’s your force deployment? How many people are there, and what Mysterious Items did you bring?”

It was a big question.

Even for the Photographer, he hesitated for a moment before starting to answer.

First was the force deployment—asking him about this was actually a bit much, since he was just a front-line soldier who thought a bit too highly of himself.

Actually…

Actually, the fact that the leader assigned him to deal with the easiest girl already said a lot.

“I only know that they probably all have Hot Weapons. Of course, just the basic kind.”

Meaning handguns, right?

Bai Xiaoya understood at once.

Back when she’d been caught in that half-finished building and saw Sen Kui draw a handgun for the first time, she’d been completely stunned.

It took her a long time to realize this wasn’t her original world anymore.

“I’m not sure exactly how many people there are, but those who own Mysterious Items should only be a few,”

The Photographer said.

“When we ‘Mysterious Item Owners’ held a meeting, there were only five or six people in the restaurant.”

Even as a prisoner, he couldn’t help puffing out his chest when talking about being a Mysterious Item Owner.

However, Bai Xia didn’t give him any face at all.

“Speak properly. What Mysterious Items do they have? What are their abilities?”

To make him more honest, the girl shifted the second hand’s vote toward fear, deepening the color of terror.

This guy was different from the ones from Xinglong International—he already had a bit of a grass-bending-in-the-wind personality, so apart from resolve, there was fear and a bit of luck mixed in.

But after this adjustment, the long-haired man hunched his shoulders and began confessing obediently.

In fact, he didn’t fully understand his teammates’ abilities, only part of them.

For example, there was one with a Prismatic Photo, capable of creating illusions.

“Mirage!”

As a legitimate member of a management Family, Su Qingyu instantly recognized it.

“Not much to say—it’s pure illusion, with a maximum range covering about half a street.”

She said.

Bai Xia nodded.

“Go on.”

After thinking, the Photographer listed the rest of what he knew in one go.

One person held a Rubik’s Cube—the effect was to divide a space with a radius of 100 meters into as many blocks as the cube had, unable to harm people, but able to move the spatial blocks around like a Rubik’s Cube.

When the effect ends, space returns to normal, and everything that was divided is restored.

Another was called ‘Postcard’—its ability was to replicate a scenery or phenomenon, summoning it from the Postcard into reality, but it had to be prepared in advance.

Of course, things like that would be prepped ahead of time.

If someone had once snapped a photo of lightning, they could become a one-time-use Thunder Mage—regardless of friend or foe, or even themselves.

The rest, he didn’t know.

“Really, that’s all I know. The rest is beyond me. Can you, kind sisters, spare my life?”

The long-haired man pleaded in tears.

Bai Xia glanced at the Pocket Watch and saw that he was being sincere.

Su Qingyu came over and tugged at her sleeve.

“What now? We’re out of supplies.”

She was referring to Black Swan’s Kiss.

They’d only applied for three feathers in total, and now all were used up.

Bai Xia thought for a moment, then rolled up her sleeves under the terrified gaze of the long-haired man.

“Sometimes, you don’t need something so refined, especially for these types.”

She pressed one hand on the back of his head.

“As long as it works.”

Her other hand delivered an elbow.

The man instantly collapsed to the floor, unmoving.

Su Qingyu twitched her mouth, silently called her a monster girl in her heart.

Once again, with her actions, the girl showed this member who’d come from the Family Ivory Tower a simple truth—

Mysterious Items may not obey the laws of physics, but those who use them must.