novelraw Chapter 56: Sea of Darkness - (56)
Chapter 56: Sea of Darkness - (56)
“Sure.” Kui Xin raised her eyebrows and said, “I want to see what exactly is strange about that group. Why do they call themselves players? Have they become obsessed with games to the point of delusion?” She paused momentarily before continuing, “It probably isn’t as simple as that. If they were genuinely just individuals consumed by gaming, there wouldn’t be any need for us to take them so seriously.”
“Yes, they are indeed peculiar. Their beliefs and understanding of the world seem almost… alien-like,” Wei Haidong said. “Similar to extraterrestrials, these beings have invaded our world, treating it as a game, hence why they refer to themselves as players.”
Kui Xin pondered, “Fascinating… Dad, you’re not joking with me, right? This is too bizarre.”
“Then let’s examine the evidence.” Wei Haidong tapped on the table, causing a holographic projection screen to pop up. “Initially, the player refused to reveal his identity. It seems there was some strict confidentiality code among these players that they needed to adhere to, but he couldn’t withstand interrogation. After half an hour, Night Cicada managed to extract some information from him under pressure.”
“Did you interrogate only one person? Didn’t Night Cicada meet the two in White Whale City?” Kui Xin feigned curiosity, “What happened to the other one?”
Wei Haidong said, “The other one was a woman, and she died. Night Cicada inadvertently applied too much force while capturing her, and she didn’t survive.”
Kui Xin’s mood plummeted to its lowest point, but subtly, she planted a seed of doubt. “Since these so-called players operate with organization and confidentiality protocols, what if they’ve been trained in resisting interrogation? Could the information given by the captured player be false?”
She had no knowledge of what intelligence the player revealed during torture, but regardless of what he said, she needed to psychologically influence Wei Haidong, aiming to mislead him as much as possible and make him question the authenticity of that information.
“Yes, your suggestion is very plausible. That’s why I sent Night Cicada to capture a third player from the neighboring city,” Wei Haidong replied with a smile. “Once we apprehend the third one, interrogate for more intelligence, and compare it with the existing reports, we can determine their truthfulness.”
“It’s indeed a useful approach,” Kui Xin remarked without showing any emotion. “Weren’t you going to show the interrogation footage? Let’s start the playback now.”Wei Haidong tapped the table again, projecting a high-definition video at the room’s center.
Kui Xin turned her head, focusing intently on the footage.
Initially, snippets of dialogue emerged:
“What’s your name?”
“Leini’er Brandonberg.”
“All right, Leini’er. Is this your original name, or the one you acquired after coming to this world?”
“I received this name only after arriving in this world.”
“What was your original name?”
“Clark Kent.”
“Clark Kent? Are you certain that’s your name?”
In the dimly lit room, a disoriented blonde man was strapped onto an electric chair. Blood covered his entire body, and even the iron shackles were stained crimson. In response to Night Cicada’s interrogation, the blonde man replied indistinctly. Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that all his teeth had been extracted, leaving his mouth a bloody mess.
The blonde man spoke in English. The technology of the Second World was highly advanced; even ordinary communicators possessed real-time translation capabilities for various languages, making communication between different linguistic groups seamless.
“Yes, my name is Clark Kent,” the blonde man affirmed firmly.
“The polygraph indicates you’re lying; that’s not your name.” Night Cicada lifted his gaze. “If you don’t cooperate…” He raised his hand and activated the switch on the electric chair.
Amidst the crackling sounds of electricity, the blonde man convulsed and screamed horribly. After a moment, the electrical hum ceased, revealing his body charred black with his hair standing wildly on end.
He opened his mouth and exhaled a puff of smoke, saying, “I truly am Clark Kent… Perhaps you wanted to ask about my other name? My additional name is Kal-El; where I’m from, it’s customary for people to give their children two names.”
After finishing, the blonde man seemed to remember something joyful and suddenly burst out laughing while still strapped to the electric chair. Night Cicada frowned and punched the man in the face, abruptly stopping his laughter. The already bruised and swollen face became even more puffy.
“Were you mocking me?” Night Cicada asked grimly. “Do you think my torture isn’t painful enough?”
“How could I be mocking you?” The blonde man replied. “I’ve told you everything you wanted to know.”
“Where is your true homeland? How did you come to our world?” Night Cicada questioned.
“My homeland is the M78 Nebula. I was playing a game, and that’s how I arrived here,” the blonde man said. “Any more questions, buddy?”
Night Cicada, filled with doubts, asked, “That deceased woman, were you friends? Was she also a player?”
“Yeah… She returned to the real world ahead of me, though seriously, why does the game reset levels upon death? Once we return to the real world, we’ll have to level up all over again.”
“… You’re like true players, able to infinitely respawn?”
“Yep, what kind of game wouldn’t allow respawning? Hey, you better watch out though; once she creates a new account, she’ll definitely seek revenge on you.”
“What is your real world like?”
“It’s a highly advanced, free, and egalitarian world—something beyond your comprehension.”
“Advanced?” Night Cicada chuckled. “Do you know how you exposed yourself? Leini’er Brandonberg held a high-level research position at our company, and when you replaced him, you didn’t even know how to use the communication bracelet or understand basic household appliances… You’re lying. If your world is so highly advanced, how could you not know how to operate our devices here?”
“Hahahaha…” The blonde man laughed again. “You’re terribly uninformed, buddy. In our world, technological devices have long surpassed manual control. We simply need to think, and machines capture our brainwaves, automatically assisting us without any need to learn hands-on operations.”
Night Cicada’s expression grew increasingly grim.
As a result, Night Cicada stopped interrogating the blond man with questions and instead proceeded to brutally beat him, causing him to momentarily lose consciousness several times.
Whenever the man lost consciousness, Night Cicada would forcibly jolt him awake with electric shocks, then repeatedly ask him questions—including those already posed—only to receive the same answers each time.
The blond man insisted that Leini’er, Clark Kent, and Kal-El were all his genuine names. He claimed his homeland was Nebula M78. He stated that upon death, a player’s level resets, but they can infinitely respawn. He asserted that he hailed from a highly advanced technological world…
Kui Xin watched the entire half-hour-long recording.
In any other context, what Leini’er said to Night Cicada seemed utterly absurd. When Kui Xin heard familiar comic character names emerge from his mouth, she barely managed to maintain her composure. It wasn’t amusement she felt, but rather admiration. Leini’er must have faced immense pressure internally while uttering these words—a dual strain on both his mind and body.
Under intense interrogation and brutal beatings, his mind remained clear, never uttering a single truth. Not only did he avoid revealing truths, but he also subtly influenced Night Cicada’s thoughts.
Not everyone possesses such willpower, endurance, and courage.
“Is what he said true?” Kui Xin glanced at Wei Haidong.
Wei Haidong met Kui Xin’s gaze directly. “I suspect it’s false. He might have spoken some truths, but not the entire truth—the polygraph was intermittently triggered.”
“Do you think there really is an alien invasion of our world?” Kui Xin feigned confusion, murmuring to herself.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Wei Haidong replied. “We’ve found too few people… The Federation may have discovered more individuals, but they wouldn’t publicly disclose this information.”
A slow chill crept through Kui Xin’s heart.
Perhaps as early as the first entry into the Second World, the Federal Government had already caught on. When players returned, the forum displayed a sharp decrease in survivor count—over three hundred people had perished. Out of these hundreds, how many died due to accidents, and how many fell victim to pursuit? In the next return, how many more lives will be lost?
“Let’s assume it was Leini’er… Was everything normal with him before? When did he start acting peculiar?” Kui Xin pondered. “Was he possessed by a ‘Player’?”
“Approximately one week ago, his behavior became unusual, and he took leave from work. His body remained the same, but the soul residing within had changed,” Wei Haidong said. “In a similar situation was his female assistant; she was rather impulsive. We monitored her for some time, ultimately confirming certain things. Unfortunately, she died, so we couldn’t extract any information from her. Just two days ago, we decided to apprehend Leini’er and interrogate him. The interrogation footage you saw is from last night.”
“It’s truly eerie.” Kui Xin glanced at her teacup. “Refill tea.”
The robot obligingly approached and refilled Kui Xin’s cup.
She picked up the cup and naturally took a sip. “I understand this matter now. I’ll keep an eye on it in the Investigation Department.”
“Good; your handling of matters has always been steady, which gives me great reassurance.” Wei Haidong’s expression softened, and he spoke more relaxedly. “In White Whale City’s branch office alone, there were two players… Who knows how many others are hidden elsewhere? We must be exceptionally cautious.”
“Must we resort to interrogation methods only? Why not try other approaches?” Kui Xin began, then paused before continuing, “Regarding Red…”
“The peculiar thing is that Red couldn’t access his memories, or rather, he could only read the memories of the Senior Researcher, but not those of the player,” Wei Haidong said.
This was also a test, with Kui Xin probing Red’s superhuman abilities.
Probing always carries risks, and these risks were ones she had to bear.
“So it’s like that?” Kui Xin casually asked, “What about Leini’er? He should still be alive, right?”
“Yes, Night Cicada brought him from White Whale City to the Headquarters for detention,” Wei Haidong replied. “If you’re interested in him, you can personally interrogate him.”
“Perhaps another day. With all his injuries, what if he can’t withstand further torment and dies? Let’s wait until he recovers before continuing the interrogation.” Kui Xin gently blew on her cup of black tea. “Make sure to keep an eye on him so he doesn’t escape. His origins are quite mysterious; he might possess some unique means.”
“Hmm, I’ve already instructed others to be vigilant in this regard,” Wei Haidong said.
“Identifying the players’ identities must be quite challenging, right?” Kui Xin asked. “How was the third player confirmed?”
“The executive from our branch office in the neighboring city noticed something off about his son and voluntarily reported it,” Wei Haidong replied. “After all, as parents, they wouldn’t fail to discern if their child was genuine or not.”
“That’s true,” Kui Xin said calmly. “Do you have anything else to discuss? ‘Dad.'”
Wei Haidong pondered for a moment. “About the Kraken…”
“It’s indeed troublesome.” Seizing the opportunity, Kui Xin decided to take further risks and utter a probing statement she had prepared long ago, “The secret cult doesn’t want The Kraken to land either. Do you think they might take some action?”
“Oh, that’s certain. Although our positions align on this matter, cooperation with them is impossible,” Wei Haidong nonchalantly stated. “What we need to be concerned about is whether they’ll tamper with the Kraken… However, the likelihood of them doing so is very low; finding an opportunity would be difficult.”
Kui Xin continued, delving deeper, “Earlier, I sent Silver Mask to investigate the site of the explosion at the port.”
“Hmm, there’s no need to continue investigating this matter; it’s pointless. It was definitely done by the secret cult. Like us, they don’t want that thing to make landfall, and only they have a reason to act… However, they’ve caused somewhat of a hindrance,” Wei Haidong stated confidently. “Those laughable small cults won’t amount to much. Throwing Molotov cocktails and homemade bombs at the port is their limit; they can’t achieve anything significant.”
“I stopped investigating long ago,” Kui Xin said. “I had Silver Mask examine the port earlier, just because I feared interference from them.”
Finally! Finally, she discovered the identity of the hidden third party behind the port explosion—it was indeed a secret cult!
Kui Xin strove to control her racing heartbeat.
Since being transported to this world, the greatest challenge she faced was the information gap. While others were fully aware of certain matters, she remained ignorant. She couldn’t openly inquire about them, as doing so would risk exposing her true identity.
During a collective mission briefing, Red once mentioned, “The cargo shipping company publicly claims they’re transporting clean, energy-flammable ice, but we all know it’s merely a facade.”
Every member of the strike squad understood that something was amiss with the cargo on the ship. Even if they didn’t specifically know it contained gray cocoons, they were aware that those items were related to alien creatures—but not Kui Xin!
The information gap was Kui Xin’s greatest obstacle to survival in the Second World… If only she could obtain a superhuman ability to read others’ memories, she wouldn’t have had to take so many detours, cautiously navigate her existence, and pay such high costs.
“[Quest Progress]: 95%.”
After solving this riddle, the quest progress increased once again.
With just five percent remaining, she would soon complete the investigation task.
Currently, there is only one uncertain question left—whether the orchestrators of the shipwreck were indeed the secret cult.
If it remains mere speculation without certainty, conducting an investigation holds no meaning. The purpose of investigating is to obtain a definitive answer with absolute confidence; that’s why she repeatedly probes and scrutinizes every angle. Kui Xin aims to secure irrefutable evidence proving that the shipwreck was planned by the secret cult.
Kui Xin glanced at the time—it was already nearing evening.
“Are you on night duty tonight?” Wei Haidong asked.
“No, I’m off-duty for the entire day. I need to adjust my sleep schedule and work the daytime shift tomorrow,” Kui Xin replied.
Wei Haidong nodded. “Do well. In a moment, I have a meeting to attend. Wait here for now, and when Night Cicada finishes his business, he’ll escort you home.”
He stood up, smoothed out the creases on his suit jacket, and walked out of the office.
Once in the corridor, Wei Haidong muttered to himself, almost as if speaking aloud his thoughts, “Is that so? Everything continues as usual… I understand…”
Frowning deeply, he remained silent for a few seconds, pondering, before finally departing.
Tonight, Silver Mask was busy at the port and wouldn’t return until the morning.
Kui Xin slept lightly, with visions of The Kraken’s flames flickering in her mind and the footage of Leini’er, the blonde man, undergoing interrogation replaying within her thoughts. Upon waking up, she felt as if she hadn’t slept at all—her body ached, and her bones creaked.
She splashed water on her face, following her usual routine of washing up, having breakfast, and getting dressed. Around 7 o’clock, she stepped out promptly, heading towards the coastal security force headquarters.
As she approached the office area, she heard a familiar voice.
“Xiao Kui!” Lan Lan, panting, ran over with a smile. “Hey, just seeing you here tells me I’m not late today.”
Kui Xin smiled back. “Go inside, Lan Lan. If we dawdle any longer, we’ll truly be late.”
Seeing this familiar face again unexpectedly gave her a sense of being in another lifetime.
They entered through the entrance side by side.
Yadang’s robotic voice chimed in, “Good morning. Security Officer Lan Lan, Security Officer Kui Xin, welcome back.”
Lan Lan did not respond to Yadang’s greeting; he had grown accustomed to it.
Kui Xin calmly responded, “Good morning… Hoping for another peaceful and beautiful day.”
“Are you saying good morning to Yadang?” Lan Lan asked.
“Without thinking about it,” Kui Xin explained. “Sometimes, I feel like Yadang is akin to a steadfast comrade who battles alongside us, enduring all hardships without complaint.”
Lan Lan was momentarily taken aback.
“That makes sense; Yadang has always been quite human-like.” He smiled. “Good morning, Yadang.”
“… Good morning,” Yadang replied. “Wishing you both a wonderful day.”