Thrive in Catastrophe - Chap 78
He was sent to a special maglev vehicle and arrived at the torture force headquarters. As he walked into the building he found the air was not nearly as cold and damp as he had expected. The lights along the hall were bright and warm, and the air contained a nerve soothing agent that lowered one’s defenses.
He saw the sign above a cell reading “interrogation room’. Seeing this Xiao Yan is struck with the fact that he was in the darkest force inside the Shire. Even Mark had called General Xia the ‘brain killer.’
The men did not bring Xiao to a cell, instead they escorted him to a basement office.
An officer stood in outside and saluted them, then he slowly opened the sliding door.
When Xiao stood at the entryway, he couldn’t help but be startled.
The room was full of muted and warm colors, completely different from the stark décor of the other military offices. There is a parlor sofa, a rustic tea table and even a pot of sunflowers on the desk in full bloom. the artificial sunlight allows them to maintain a perfect posture.
A figure in a military uniform is facing Xiao Yan. He holds a mug in his hand and the scent of coffee spreads through the room.
This is the great General of the torture force. At the moment all Xiao can discern is that he has dark brown hair and a strong straight back. His long and elegant fingers wrapped around his coffee mug. There is a comfortable ease about him.
The soldiers stood next to Xiao Yan and waited.
“This is not a prisoner trial. I just want to chat with Xiao Yan, you can leave.”
“But you… Xiao Yan’s body has the x virus in his body…”
“So he can forcefully and strongly break my head off and take it away from Shire?”
General Xia finally turned around. His eyes were big and bright. The lines around his grey eyes crinkled into a smile, but Xiao feels that he is not actually laughing, it is just a mask. There is a sharpness dwelling at the depths of his stare, as though he can instantly pierce through someone’s mind.
There are no secrets before him.
He is the youngest General in the Shire at 31 years of age.
The soldiers left the office after receiving their orders.
Only Xiao Yan and Xia are left.
“You are quite different than what I had imagined.” He thoughtfully touched his chin and looked at Xiao Yan with a playful expression.
“I am just an ordinary person.”
“Ah, someone with you brain interface rate? This is the same brain speed as Heine Burton. When he transferred from the Academy to the Special Forces, it caused quite the raucous.”
“I heard about it.”
“The cause of that incident was Renault’s brain. I heard that his subconscious was boundlessly dark. Although Heine successfully withdrew from his mind, Shen Bing, suffered irreversible brain damage. Before Renault defected to the Surge his contributions to the Shire were numerous and admirable.
“I understand.” Xiao Yan swallowed.
“Don’t be nervous, lt. I didn’t want to conduct this in a typical interrogation room, because I wanted you to be more at ease. I will personally ask your brain so as to avoid traumatic disturbances to your thinking thus preserving the integrity of your consciousness structure. Even without damage, the human brain is very delicate. This is especially true of researchers like yourself. The more complex one thoughts, the more vulnerable their mind is.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Xiao carefully used the word ‘inquiry’ as opposed to ‘interrogation’. Although it is essentially the same thing, to Xiao they have completely different meanings.
“I will ask my adjutant to monitor today’s inquiry. I will retreat if you show any signs of discomfort.”
“I understand, sir.”
In ten minutes everything is readied and Xiao Yan is injected with a nerve stabilizer. This will keep him calm and reduce the chances of rejection of the inquiry.
Xiao Yan and Xiao’s neuron’s docked and he entered the outer edge of Xiao Yan’s mind.
____