Edited by Cloud Chip Cake.
The Logic Research Institute in Haidu, located in an underground cell on the 35th level below ground.
The dark, layered soil rolled heavily downward, forming a semi-circular top that resembled a European-style dome, dominating the already stagnant air with the smell of earth. In this spacious environment, the central square glass cage exuded a delicate charm.
The transparent glass reflected the restless figure of a man pacing back and forth.
He was extremely restless.
Pan Yue bowed his head, clenched his fists tightly, and hurriedly took half a step to the left, then turned back to the right. His bald head was reflected on the clean and bright glass, shining like a peeled boiled egg under the light.
…
After walking for a long time, sweat began to bead at his hairline.
Pan Yue suddenly stopped, facing the nearest surveillance camera, and shouted, “Where is your boss? Water Punishment? I have important information to provide. Come see me. Don’t you want to know who caused the chaos in Haidu two months ago?!”
Three minutes later, Luo Sheng and Xu Siqing arrived at this dark cell together.
Luo Sheng got straight to the point, sneering, “You better know something for real.”
Xu Siqing, on the other hand, pushed his glasses and gave a meaningful look, speaking casually as if consoling the inmate, “Captain Luo likes to intimidate prisoners, but it’s understandable. She has never liked killers. After all, no police officer likes criminals.”
Relative to their cold demeanor, the bald strong man sneered after a while, “One playing the good cop, one playing the bad cop?”
Luo Sheng snorted at this; she indeed didn’t see the need for this extra drama.
Xu Siqing didn’t comment further.
Pan Yue was anxious. It had been exactly four days since he was captured by the Extermination Squad in Haidu. He had been a bit panicky since the first day of his capture, and this anxiety had only grown more apparent with each passing day.
He no longer bothered with these two official “dogs”. Because of these days in prison, the strong man’s complexion had turned somewhat pale, his fierce gaze sweeping across their faces, “I can provide you with information, but you have to offer me something in return.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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First, “Holy Sacrifice” Huo Lanxu used the logic chain of “Pope’s Crown” to carry out a wild massacre in Zhongdu, eventually being arrested in Haidu.
The second was the theft of the Court of Judgment, leading to official searches for suspects across the city.
Both of these were significant events.
However, unofficial users, even level five users, might not be clear on the difference between these two events, possibly conflating them into one. They might think that the official investigation of users across the city was related to Huo Lanxu’s arrest case.
However,
Pan Yue smirked coldly and retorted, “I’m not interested in the news of a level five user being captured.” He was, of course, aware that the authorities had arrested a level five user in mid-November, as the User Committee had even issued a collaborative arrest task for it. But he continued, “What I’m referring to is, of course, the second event—your thorough investigation of Haidu users. It’s obvious that something big happened. Something even more serious than capturing a level five user.”
Xu Siqing asked, “It seems like you have some speculations?”
Pan Yue replied, “If it wasn’t for killing someone particularly important. In terms of status, killing some leader; in terms of danger, killing Water Punishment or Spear of Judgment. But there’s been no news, so it wasn’t a public figure who died. Water Punishment is in front of me, and Spear of Judgment is obviously alive. For the authorities, losing an important figure in Haidu is a big deal.
“What’s left is that a user has done something that can shake the Haidu authorities.”
He was seemingly in deep thought, but Pan Yue’s cunning eyes quickly revealed that he had already gone through a thorough and lengthy thought process and believed he had the answer, “Someone stole a high-level pollutant?”
Luo Sheng and Xu Siqing looked at him without changing their expressions.
Pan Yue added, “Or maybe…the Court of Judgment?”
Once ranked A09, a top-tier user, his intelligence was naturally unquestionable. Although his ranking was obviously closely related to his unique logic factors: rising in rank at an incredible speed and dropping just as fast.
But in the end, he was just a level five user.
Seeing Luo Sheng and Xu Siqing not denying it, Pan Yue’s eyes flickered as he confirmed his speculation.
The bald strong man spoke, “What I want to say is exactly this. Water Punishment, let me ask you first, I did indeed manipulate the time of those in the affiliated hospital, but did I kill them? No, I didn’t. Did I cause any trouble to their lives, leading to injuries or serious illness? Again, no. So, my logic skill isn’t one that harms people.” He passed judgment on his own actions.
Both outside the glass cell were slightly taken aback by this.
After a while, Luo Sheng exclaimed, “Twisted logic!”
But Pan Yue laughed, “You can’t deny it. By the way, on the day you arrested me, did any of the members whose throats were slit end up dying?”
The answer was no; thanks to Xiao Jinyu and the medical staff’s timely intervention, those ten members were fortunate enough to survive.
However, Luo Sheng didn’t answer him.
Pan Yue continued, “So, I haven’t killed anyone. As a user like myself, I’ve made mistakes, but they’re not major. And now, I can provide such important information to you. Shouldn’t that be considered turning over a new leaf, even leading to my release?”
“What information can you provide?”
“What are the benefits?”
“Depends on the importance of the information you provide.”
Pan Yue slowly smirked, suppressing his inner anxiety, feigning calmness, “This incident has alarmed many people. The Extermination Squad has searched throughout the city for so long, and even Spear of Judgment seems to have intervened, yet they couldn’t catch the culprit. I don’t know how this person did it, but they must be very strong.
“A user’s strength is very straightforwardly reflected in the user rankings. This app claims that ranking positions are determined by logic skill intensity, contribution values, and so on, but in reality, the higher you climb, the more it reflects a user’s ability to kill.
“Especially, a user’s ability to kill other users.”
The dangerous user with a pleasing name was now speaking with a trembling voice, lowered tone, and bent posture, as if fearing that someone might overhear his next words. He spoke softly, each word carefully pronounced, “This person, he must be more powerful than me. That means his ranking is definitely before A09.
“Water Punishment, I know of a user, he was in Haidu when the incident happened, and he’s much stronger than me. Much, much stronger.”
Luo Sheng finally spoke, her voice cold as she questioned, “Who is he?”
“I’ve never met him, don’t know his name, don’t know his user ID. I don’t even know if he’s a level five user. Or, he might already be level six.
“But I can give you his contact information. And I know one thing he can do—
“He can transform into anyone.”
The three in the cell showed no signs of shock.
Luo Sheng and Xu Siqing seemed unfazed by the suspect’s revelation of the ability to shapeshift, leaving Pan Yue regretfully retracting his gaze, feeling for the first time that he might have been mistaken, overshadowed by immense disappointment.
Xu Siqing asked, “So, who is he?”
“Everyone calls him ‘Boss Jin’.”
“What ‘Jin’?”
“‘Jin’, as used in ‘cautious’.”
【It seems like Relativity is about to confess. But he probably won’t confess detailed information about his logic skill. According to the Institute’s speculations, he might hold out for 13 days. This timeframe aligns with the nature of Relativity’s logic skill. However, he’s only been here for four days and is already talking about confessing… Aren’t you afraid he’ll confess about you?】
【Oh, long time no see.】
【…】
【Are you helping me? Don’t you know I have many users, you know for sure. But you haven’t mentioned my existence.】
【I haven’t committed any crimes.】 So there’s no need for me to confess to secure a way out.
【Thanks. I’ll consider this information a favor.】
【…Mm.】
I’m so lost, lost in the sauce of information. Thanks for the chapter!
Are one of the members of the task force working for Boss Jin?