138: Accepting the deal (4.1K, please support!)

"Good, good, good, good!"

Jon clapped his hands, looking at Xiao Qiang with appreciation.

He sighed regretfully, turning his gaze to Su Wen, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

He remembered this girl and her older sister vividly.

At that time, he had just returned from "Zumaka," the home planet of the Hazbuzan Syndicate.

He went to Zumaka to help the Terran Union establish a spy network, and he was also a member of the envoy team, secretly receiving deeper-level agent training from those aliens.

The two children were "voluntarily" handed over to them by their parents, and before the age of twelve, they were subject to secret research.

At the age of twelve, to avoid political friction with the Gai'ya People, all these children were placed into a cover project called the "Prodigy Program."

He remembered clearly that the chief scientist believed Dr. Su Li had great potential, and to study why Su Wen couldn't do what her sister could, the scientists used every method they could think of.

They stimulated her to delve into the depths of the Shroud, provoked her curiosity, and used techniques of psychological remodeling to implant an absolutely logical way of thinking into her consciousness.

Jon remembered Su Wen being the most obedient; after all, being electrocuted every day for no reason, he would be obedient too if it were him.

Unfortunately, Su Wen ultimately could not reach Dr. Su Li's level.

So much so that when the project was discovered by the Gai'ya People, and they demanded the Terran Union disband the plan, Su Wen was deliberately released as a decoy to cover up Dr. Su Li's carefully orchestrated, mysterious death.

Of that batch of children with psychic potential back then, only Su Wen remains alive today.

The majority were dissected for research.

A minority were used to study 'Synthetic Human Personality Matrix' technology.

The rest were unable to resist the whispers of the Shroud, eventually either going mad and committing suicide or being forcibly "neutralized as a threat."

He looked at Xiao Qiang, taking a deep breath.

Since being transformed into a synthetic human, he rarely experienced such emotions.

Raising his wristband and opening an encrypted channel, Jon said flatly, "Send that bottle of blue capsules to Interrogation Room 5 immediately."

Xiao Qiang looked at him, his heart sinking slightly.

Jon stopping the questions meant he had a bigger scheme planned.

'Damn it!' Xiao Qiang gritted his teeth. 'I shouldn't have bought Su Wen those detective novels!'

'If it weren't for that set of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," she wouldn't be obsessed with wanting to help others...'

Xiao Qiang recalled the past; he had indeed helped the Earth Alliance Intelligence Bureau do many similar dirty jobs.

At the time, he thought this was the purpose of his service, the necessary price for the strength of the Terran Union.

But later, when Dr. Su Li forgave him, he realized he had already fallen desperately in love with her.

It was too late.

That mission, that trap—he could only watch helplessly as everything transpired.

Xiao Qiang slumped back into the chair, his powerful back hunched, silently hanging his head, the earlier firmness completely gone.

The purple light in Su Wen's eyes intensified, occasionally even solidifying into tangible points of light.

Her body began to twitch uncontrollably, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

Jon knew this was a phenomenon: the soul being forcibly dragged into a terrifying, incomprehensible domain called the Shroud.

Her lips moved silently, as if she were conversing with an invisible entity.

Jon placed his hand on his sidearm.

His gun was no ordinary weapon; it was a small tool bought from the Minamar Specialized Industries specifically for "taming" psychic slaves, and it was the source of his confidence.

Finally, the interrogation room door slid open silently.

A police officer cautiously entered, holding a transparent evidence bag containing a medicine bottle.

Xiao Qiang bolted forward, quickly tearing the bag open, pouring out four blue capsules, and immediately turning back.

"Su Wen! Take the medicine!" Xiao Qiang knelt beside Su Wen, his voice hoarse.

He almost forcibly pried open Su Wen's clenched jaw, slipped the capsules inside, and then carefully gave her water.

Su Wen swallowed unconsciously, and sounds came from her throat.

"This is deduction! It must rely on evidence!"

"This is science! It must rely on logic!"

Jon frowned, listening carefully, and a moment later, an unbelievable smile appeared on his face.

'The psychological model still works! This is a discovery worth celebrating.'

He thought to himself, his gaze toward Su Wen growing increasingly cold, as if he were looking at a psychic slave.

Finally, like a receding tide, the terrifying purple light in Su Wen's eyes slowly faded, replaced by the clear, infinitely weary look of a human being.

She coughed violently a few times, her body slumping back against the chair, gasping for air, as if she had just struggled back from the brink of drowning.

Cold sweat drenched her clothes.

"How do you feel?" Xiao Qiang's voice was almost inaudible.

Su Wen weakly shook her head, indicating she was fine.

She slowly sat upright.

Her face was still pale, but her eyes had regained focus.

She looked at Jon, her gaze strangely calm, as if the painful struggle moments before had never happened.

"Mr. Jon."

Su Wen's voice was hoarse, like someone recovering from a severe illness, but exceptionally clear.

"You need something from us.

That is the only reason you intervened to save us."

Jon's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't reply.

Just by the fact that Su Wen hadn't cursed, he knew that no matter how tough the woman in front of him appeared...

fundamentally, she was still that psychic-awakened "cockroach" who had been electrocuted until she lost control of her bladder.

Su Wen's eyes grew brighter.

Countless fragments in her mind connected into lines, forming a clear structure in her deduction: "It's a huge problem, one that even your Black Ops teams find too tricky to handle, and one that you cannot afford to deal with directly."

Her gaze seemed to penetrate Jon's carefully constructed facade, looking directly into the calculations deep within his heart.

"The Qien Empire.

They have meticulously woven a spy network within the Terran Union, and their activities have become increasingly frequent and rampant recently."

"Like a pack of hyenas that have smelled blood, correct?"

Jon's pupils suddenly contracted, and the fingers resting on the table curled slightly.

The aluminum alloy tabletop was twisted and snapped by his motor-driven strength, as if it were a potato chip.

'She can actually master precognition? Since when? How is that possible?'

'It's true, the Tzynn are planning a major event, but none of us know what it is.'

'If we don't immediately root out these spies, and they actually succeed in their plans.'

'The consequences will be unimaginable!'

Jon felt disbelief deep in his heart.

He had seen psychic users before.

Whether they were awakened Earth humans or the psychic slaves he saw when he went to the Minamar Specialized Industries, only a handful of people could master such a nearly magnificent ability.

Su Wen's voice flowed like a stream beneath the ice.

"And the Hazbuzan Syndicate... the pressure they are applying is so great that the Terran Union high command cannot afford to ignore it."

"The alignment has begun, and the Terran Union has no choice but to submit to the Hazbzan side, which has deeper infiltration."

"Because the Hazbuzan People only want the Terran Union's money, while the Tzynn want all the Terran Union's territory."

"Eliminating the Qien Empire's embedded agents is both a pledge of allegiance to the Hazbuzan People and the first step toward self-preservation."

"This mission is a hot potato, incredibly dangerous, and... must be kept secret."

"It can only be handled by 'unaffiliated personnel' like us... No..."

She instantly realized who had arranged the mercenaries.

She also instantly realized why the Anti-Terrorism Mobile Unit had arrived so quickly.

It was Jon, it was the Earth Alliance Intelligence Bureau.

They wanted a psychic tool... because possessing psychic potential is a relatively significant characteristic of Human Federation humans.

Su Wen paused, her expression darkening: "It can only be handled by Xiao Qiang and me."

"If we succeed, the credit goes to the Earth Alliance Intelligence Bureau.

If we fail, we are the perfect scapegoats."

"All you need to do is pin the label of a Human Federation spy on me, and it will be acceptable even to the Qien Empire."

She stated this calmly, as if the words spoken had nothing to do with her own fate or Xiao Qiang's.

The shock in Jon's heart was undeniable, slowly transforming on his face into a deep scrutiny and a hint of unspeakable apprehension.

He remained silent for several seconds before speaking slowly, his voice much lower.

"Precognition... you can actually control it? And so clearly?"

He shook his head, disbelief in his eyes: "I have seen too many people awaken psychic abilities.

They either go completely mad, destroying themselves in frenzy, or the power backfires and turns them into idiots..."

"Someone like you who can maintain clear logic... is rare.

Very rare."

"Enough!" Xiao Qiang erupted again, standing in front of Su Wen like a wall of fire.

"Jon! We are not your pawns! Not anymore!"

"Now, return our belongings immediately! We are leaving this wretched place! We are going back to our lives!"

Jon looked at the two of them, the last trace of pretense completely fading from his face, leaving only cold reality.

He leaned back in the chair, crossing his hands, resuming the posture of a controller.

"Leave? Live a normal life?" Jon's voice was flat, yet carried immense weight.

"Xiao Qiang, do you think Director Fobler is really that easy to deal with?"

"Do you think those mega-corporations whose table you overturned will easily let go of two 'heroes' who made them lose face?"

"Without my continued protection, the moment you step out of this building will be your death sentence."

He paused, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Do you want to completely resolve this matter, to truly get rid of these troubles?"

"You can." He nodded, his voice dropping very low.

"Help me finish this job.

Clear out the Qien spy network.

Do it cleanly and flawlessly, and I guarantee that the corporations' claws will retract, and there will be no more trouble from Fobler's side."

"Only then can you truly attain... the 'normalcy' you desire."

Xiao Qiang's chest heaved violently, his teeth grinding audibly.

He looked at Su Wen, his eyes filled with struggle.

To enter the game again, how could they easily get out?

He wasn't stupid; he understood this principle naturally.

Su Wen met his gaze.

Her pale face was devoid of expression, containing only absolute rationality weighing the options.

She briefly closed her eyes, seemingly sensing the residual psychic energy within her, or perhaps calculating countless future possibilities.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and gave Xiao Qiang an extremely subtle nod.

The movement was so small it was almost invisible, yet it contained a thousand unspoken words.

Agreement.

This was currently the only path to survive and gain true peace, although it led into a deeper, bloodier darkness.

The fire and struggle in Xiao Qiang's eyes were slowly replaced by a heavy sense of helplessness.

Like a deflated balloon, he heavily sank back into the chair, making a dull "clank."

After a few seconds, Xiao Qiang wiped his face and said in a muffled voice, "...The belongings.

Give them back to us first."

A genuine smile finally appeared on Jon's face.

He knew the chips were on the table; the game had begun.

He shook his wristband again: "Send the items numbered S-77, S-78, S-79, S-80 from the evidence room, along with the 'titans hand' exoskeleton, to the area outside Interrogation Room 7."

He specifically emphasized the numbers, clearly knowing those "pieces of evidence" like the back of his hand.

Before long, the interrogation room door opened again.

Several fully armed, serious-faced special services personnel wheeled in several heavy alloy carts.

Secured on the carts were four humanoid robots, two Robot Dogs, and the iconic heavy 'titans hand' exoskeleton, which was battered, pried open, cut, and sawed apart.

Only when they got closer did Xiao Qiang see clearly: three of the robots were covered in fine traces left by various detection probes, but were otherwise intact, merely powered off, resembling metal statues.

The fourth one, however, was nothing but scorched, twisted wreckage.

Parts of the torso and broken limbs were faintly discernible, emitting a faint smell of burning—it was the casualty of self-destruction.

It was still warm, indicating the explosion had happened recently.

Xiao Qiang looked at the wreckage, his eye twitching fiercely.

Su Wen's gaze lingered on the intact robots and the exoskeleton for a moment.

A faint purple light seemed to flash deep within her eyes, too fast for anyone to notice.

"Everything is here."

Jon stood up and straightened his impeccable suit: "Remember our agreement.

Keep communications open; I will contact you."

He didn't look back at the two, walking straight toward the door: "You may leave.

There is a van outside, compliments of me."

The alloy door remained open behind Jon.

The air was filled with the smell of burning, and the lingering heaviness of something called "a bargain."

Xiao Qiang and Su Wen exchanged a look and walked over to power on the robots.

But only Su Wen knew that these robots had, in fact, never been powered off.

With the opening of the door, certain information would be transmitted.

And everyone would witness an unprecedented rage, one that would burn the entire sky.

Yet, behind that rage, there was vaguely something far more terrifying, which Su Wen could not clearly perceive at the moment.

'My shackles will surely find release in this great fire.'