novelraw Chapter 192: Interrogation and the "Key"
Chapter 192: Interrogation and the "Key"
The faint light of dawn precisely sliced through Cairo's heavy night veil. The roar of a steam engine carrying the scent of the industrial age broke the silence near the Khan el-Khalili Grand Bazaar, approaching from afar.
A modified steam van with no markings, its windows curtained and its front equipped with a simple ramming horn, stopped outside the alley that had been transformed into a watery landscape.
The door opened, and Old Ab's lean figure jumped down from the driver's seat.
When he saw the "crime scene" before him—flooded with murky Nile water, the walls still bearing the marks of a massive explosion—the muscles on his old face twitched.
"Allah…"
This "living fossil" of the Cairo Branch let out a pained groan laced with a headache and a premonition of overtime work.
"It seems today, besides writing a combat report to headquarters, I also need to concoct a bizarre yet sufficiently plausible lie to explain to those greedy officials at Cairo City Hall…"
"…why their ancient Roman sewer system, dormant for centuries, suddenly became 'constipated' tonight."
Muttering to himself in a voice only he could hear, he turned his cloudy eyes towards the four young people helping each other out of the chaotic floodwaters. They were soaked to the bone and utterly exhausted, but their eyes remained sharp.
When his gaze finally settled on Nephthys, slung over William's shoulder, long since unconscious and firmly bound by spiritual shackles, all the helplessness in his eyes faded away."It seems you finally managed to drown this venomous snake hiding in the sand."
There were no superfluous greetings or exchanges. In this land rife with danger and deceit, action always carries more weight than words.
The team loaded all their spoils from this operation onto the back of the steam van, including the unconscious Nephthys and her Grotesque Armament, the Scarab's Sanctuary.
Then, under the cover of the deepest darkness before dawn, the steam van sped towards the I.A.R.C. Cairo Second Branch on the other side of the city.
All that remained was a scene of devastation and a "city mystery" that would give Cairo City Hall headaches for weeks.
Disguised as a tobacco shop, the Cairo Second Branch appeared somewhat dilapidated, not much better than Old Ab's own shabby shop.
But when everyone plunged through the inconspicuous iron door in its backyard, the I.A.R.C. fortress hidden beneath this shabbiness finally revealed its true face.
With the heavy sound of interlocking gears, the stone floor of the backyard slowly cracked open, revealing descending stairs that led them into a brand new underground world.
The underground space of the Cairo Second Branch was cramped, oppressive, and embodied a rough, utilitarian style.
Thick steam pipes were exposed on the walls, and the air carried a mix of disinfectant and the unique, dry dust of Egypt.
Most of the staff coming and going were solemn-faced locals with dark skin. They moved swiftly, their eyes alert, exuding the resilience of those who had long dealt with the desert and death.
After Nephthys was taken to the medical room for basic treatment of her injuries, an interrogation personally led by Old Ab commenced immediately.
The interrogation room was located on the lowest level of the branch, constructed from thick lead plates. Its only exit was a heavy gate requiring three independent passcodes to open.
The room was bare except for a wooden table, two chairs, and a dim oil lamp on the ceiling.
This was an absolute restricted zone, a "confessional" specifically designed to pry open the mouths of the most stubborn and dangerous criminals from the inner world.
Half an hour later, Nephthys slowly regained consciousness, stimulated by a bucket of ice water.
Once her eyes regained focus, they immediately swept across this completely unfamiliar and oppressive enclosed environment.
When she saw the spiritual shackles engraved with the I.A.R.C. emblem on her wrists and ankles, and the expressionless face of Old Ab opposite her, her face showed no trace of a prisoner's fear or panic.
Instead, a chilling smile surfaced.
"I ultimately underestimated you filthy tomb raiders from the 'civilized world'," Nephthys's voice was weak, but the mockery and venom within it were undiminished.
Old Ab ignored her provocation. He simply pushed a document compiled by a stenographer to the center of the table and began this interrogation destined to be anything but easy.
"Name: Nephthys. Codename: 'Scarab'. Executive officer for the Cairo region of the Descendants of Apophis cult. According to Association records, you have been linked to at least thirteen missing persons cases involving European archaeological teams and Association peripheral personnel over the past five years. Now I need you to answer the first question…"
However, Nephthys seemed not to hear him at all.
Upon waking, she immediately displayed the pathological stubbornness and arrogance characteristic of a top-tier fanatic facing a trial by infidels.
She scoffed at all the Association's questions, deigning not to answer in English or any other modern language.
She simply closed her beautiful eyes and began chanting in a low voice, using an ancient Egyptian tongue, a dark prayer praising the great serpent god Apophis and cursing the sun god Ra.
Her voice was not loud, yet it possessed a bizarre, mind-polluting penetrative power.
Those ancient, evil syllables continuously assaulted the mental defenses of everyone in the interrogation room, attempting to transform this chamber of order into a chaotic dark temple.
Old Ab's brow was tightly furrowed. The two elite guards behind him had subconsciously gripped their weapons, their faces showing expressions of pain and disgust.
The interrogation had reached a deadlock within its first minute.
He spoke to one of the guards behind him in local Arabic, "Go to the Sacred Scorpion Chamber and fetch the Tears of Isis."
Upon hearing "Tears of Isis," a look of reverence flashed across the guard's face. He immediately nodded respectfully and swiftly left the oppressive interrogation room.
Five minutes later, the guard returned.
He carried an ancient stone box made of black basalt, its surface carved with reliefs of scarabs and scorpions.
A cold aura continuously seeped from the seams of the box. Old Ab took it and gently placed it on the table.
He opened the lid. Resting on the black lining inside was a vessel, polished from white jade with a semi-translucent quality.
It contained half a bottle of a mysterious liquid, as green as the waters of the Nile.
"The Tears of Isis…"
Old Ab's whisper drifted to Nephthys's ear.
"This is one of the Cairo Branch's greatest inventions, and the ultimate holy medicine for dealing with stubborn fanatics like you."
"Its main ingredient is extracted from the pollen of the 'Silent Flower', which only grows in the deepest parts of the Valley of the Kings. Legend says it was nurtured by the tears the Goddess Isis shed while searching for her husband Osiris's remains."
"It will not harm your body."
"It can even repair your nerves, damaged by the mental backlash, to some extent."
As he spoke, Old Ab slowly picked up the jade vessel.
"But… it will paralyze your faith."
"Once injected into your bloodstream, it will temporarily and forcibly sever your thoughts. You will forget your 'god'."
"You will become a useless person, capable only of following instinct, unable to think!"
"By then…"
Old Ab scoffed.
"I have a hundred ways to make you talk."
Unfortunately, against a fanatic who had completely closed herself off, entrenched within the ramparts of her faith and actively seeking martyrdom, interrogation methods targeting the body or mind had lost their meaning.
You cannot threaten with death someone who views death as the glorious "return to the divine kingdom."
At the moment the interrogation stalled, the heavy gate opened.
A figure with black hair walked into the interrogation room, where the atmosphere was strained to the extreme.
Seeing Lin Jie appear, a flicker of surprise crossed Abdul's face, but he ultimately chose silence. He waved his hand, signaling the others in the room to retreat to the corners, temporarily handing over the lead of the interrogation to this young man sent from headquarters.
Lin Jie did not look at Abdul, nor did he pay attention to the two local guards who regarded him with curiosity.
He walked straight to the table and calmly sat down opposite Nephthys.
He did not resort to threats or inducements. He did not utter a single word of threat or questioning.
He simply extended his right hand towards the table and placed the item he had found in the wet sand that was Ammit's "corpse" right in the center of the table.
That scarab amulet carved from unknown, heavy black wood.
At first, Nephthys showed no reaction. She remained immersed in her praises to the great serpent god;
the outside world was irrelevant to her.
However, when the scarab amulet was placed on the table, and the ancient spiritual aura it carried—bathed in the waters of the Nile for millennia—began to slowly permeate the sealed interrogation room…
Nephthys's chanting prayer suddenly halted. Her eyelashes trembled.
Her gaze fell upon the scarab amulet, and shock surfaced on her face.
Her lips trembled, as if she had seen something absolutely impossible, something that should never appear in this place!
Finally, she could no longer maintain the fanatic's solid facade. She let out a disbelieving, sharp cry.
"No… impossible!!!"
Her upper body suddenly lurched forward as she tried to snatch the amulet, only to be harshly yanked back by the spiritual shackles on her wrists.
Her eyes fixed on the amulet, she screamed incoherently, "This is the 'Humboldt's Key' to the City of Gold!"
"We've searched for it for ten whole years! How, how can it be here?!"
"Answer me!!" She roared with all her strength, "How did you get it?! Did you I.A.R.C. bastards hide it away long ago?!"
Facing her nearly hysterical, frantic questioning.
Lin Jie merely calmly picked up the glass of water on the table and took a gentle sip.
Only then did he slowly lift his eyelids, looking at the pitiful woman before him with eyes full of pity and faint mockery.
He extended a finger and gently tapped the table, answering her question.
"This thing…"
"Has been right by your side all along."