Truth Serum (Physical)

The shadow quickly materialized into a physical form: a person wearing a tattered jacket and trousers, holding a black submachine gun, with a ferocious, distorted expression, as if hating everything in the world.

In an instant, all three people present felt threatened. Trist stood up slightly, Xiya raised her right hand, and Lu Ban materialized the [Last Words] in his hand, adjusting the magazine of the Speech Bullet to the one that was moving at high speed.

The man with the submachine gun grinned, seemingly saying something to the person inside through the glass, before pulling the trigger.

But before the first bullet was fired, he seemed to be hit by something, and his whole body crashed forward.

Splash—

The transparent glass was smashed open by the person moving at high speed, and the submachine gun in his hand, the weapon that the gangsters jokingly called a typewriter, also lost its aim due to the sudden movement.

The next moment, the typewriter that had just fired two unfocused bullets suddenly disintegrated, turning from a precision industrial whole into scattered parts. Springs, bolts, and cartridge cases scattered in the sky, turning into raindrops.

thump--

The man knocked over the table in front of Lu Ban, overturned the teacup containing hot tea, and hit his head on the ground with a crisp sound.

A disturbance broke out in the teahouse.

The ladies, young masters, and big bosses all stood up. Several men in black suits and baseball caps filed in and protected the most distinguished among them.

Was it an attack targeting them, or...?

Trist took out his gloves, put them on, and bent down to check on the man's condition. It was clear that the man had been knocked unconscious by the impact.

Turning around, Trist was about to ask Lu Ban for his opinion when he noticed that Lu Ban was still holding a teacup—he had been about to drink tea when he was attacked.

"We can't waste it."

Lu Ban poured the steaming hot tea into his mouth; it was fermented and had a very mellow black tea flavor.

Meanwhile, amidst the scattered fragments of the table, the system's cold and indifferent words began to assemble.

[Ruined City]

[Year 23 (Gregorian Calendar): Inauspicious for all activities]

The glitz and glamour of high society is alluring, but its dark underbelly remains unknown. People eagerly await new works that can create a frenzy, as if only such excitement can alleviate the oppressive atmosphere.

This is the best of times, this is the worst of times.

Evil thrives in the cracks between fantasy and reality.

[Task Difficulty: Alienation]

[Mission Requirements: Find the missing novelist]

[Mission Requirement: Witness the ending of the story]

[Task Requirements: Find the fragments of Du Danping's Melody Fragment]

"It seems the mission has already begun."

Lu Ban thought to himself that, under normal circumstances, it was definitely not a coincidence that they were attacked here.

The teahouse was still in chaos when police sirens began to sound.

When the sheriff, dressed in a dark police uniform and sporting a small mustache, arrived with his officers, who were lined up casually with rifles in hand, he saw Trist standing next to the man who had fallen to the ground.

"Old Cui, it's you again?"

The sheriff seemed to know Trist well, his tone tinged with a hint of helplessness.

"Isn't this great? It saves you the trouble of finding eyewitnesses."

Trist took a puff of his pipe and answered calmly.

"I would like to ask the other gentlemen and ladies to leave this place with my subordinates for the time being. We will investigate and search for them one by one later."

The sheriff waved his hand, unusually dismissing the crowd.

"Many of the people sitting here have ties to the underworld. If we just take them to the police station, the gangs in the Ruined City will probably besiege the police station."

Trist whispered in Lu Ban and Xiya's ears.

"This is Sheriff Huo, my friend, Chief. These two are my assistants, Lu Ban and Xiya."

He then introduced both parties.

After the police led the crowd away, they turned the unconscious person over.

"I know this guy. He's a mercenary who lives in this neighborhood. Why would he attack you?"

Sheriff Huo glanced at the unconscious man.

"I'm curious too."

Trist spread his hands.

"Xiya, do you have any methods to get him to tell the truth, like truth serum or something?"

Lu Ban asked the mage girl in a low voice.

"Unfortunately, magic is not such a convenient thing. Magic involving the mental realm is generally prohibited."

Xiya answered, and before Lu Ban could lament again how inconvenient magic was, she walked forward and picked up the unconscious man.

It's hard to describe how this girl, who only reached Lu Ban's shoulder, managed to lift this man who was taller than Lu Ban, but she did it, as easily and unbelievably as stuffing an elephant into a refrigerator.

"However, you can't use magic to get him to tell the truth."

Xiya grabbed a half-finished cup of tea from the table next to her and splashed it in the other person's face, then slapped him across the face.

A slap wearing a metal glove landed on the man's face, causing him to twitch before he slowly regained consciousness.

He looked somewhat bewildered at the girl in front of him, who was shorter than him but was holding him up, and muttered something to herself.

Why did you attack us?

"Xiya asked seriously."

"Everyone will die, everyone will die, everyone will return to His embrace, the real terror is yet to come, dedication, dedication, dedication, I must make a dedication, ah, the supreme and most supreme Him."

The man had clearly gone mad, speaking incoherently and uttering incoherent sentences.

Speak like a human.

Xiya raised her fist and punched him in the face. His face suddenly deformed, and several teeth were spat out of his mouth, with blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just wanted to, I wanted to spare you some suffering, to die quickly while you still could, otherwise, otherwise..."

The man became Affliction and spoke in a pleading voice, but his words were still illogical.

"Do you have any Last Words? Or do your family members need our help taking care of them? Sheriff, where do his family members live? Can you take us to see them later?"

Xiya asked expressionlessly.

The man finally revealed an expression of extreme fear. His voice was hoarse and whimpering as he touched his chest.

"It's all true in the book, it's true, I know, I've told you, I've told you, please don't kill me, please don't kill me."

Without saying a word, Xiya punched the man again, knocking him unconscious. She then threw him aside and rummaged through his chest, quickly finding a book.

"So this is the culprit, huh?"

Xiya turned around and saw several people, including the sheriff, staring at her, some of them hesitant to speak.

"Hey bro, what did you say she did?"

Trist was dumbfounded.

Thank you to "Book Friend 20200420021449110" for the 1500 coins reward!