Confession

Yang Ning shook his head, pushing away the chaotic memories. He looked down at the screen, which displayed a special audio track he had synthesized using AI technology – a perfect imitation of the assembly bell from the Undercover Camp back then. For anyone who had emerged from that hellish place, that sound signified absolute obedience and a fear etched into their very bones.

As the "ding-ding-dang-dang" bell rang in the mole's earphones, the mole, bound to the chair, suddenly convulsed violently.

Even after continuous torture and interrogation, his body already lost to pain and on the verge of unconsciousness, his muscles still tensed instinctively. This was a conditioned reflex formed through long-term training.

Outside the one-way glass, Yun Zishan's brow furrowed tightly. She keenly sensed this subtle change.

Xu Yinyin, standing behind her, unconsciously took a step forward, almost pressing herself against the glass, wanting to see everything on the other side more clearly.

The mole's eyelids slowly opened a crack. Days of brutal torture had left his eyes swollen and red, his vision a blurry halo, only allowing him to vaguely discern shifting figures.

At this moment, the VR glasses he wore on his head began to light up. Within the lenses, a figure appeared that was indelibly etched into the minds of all mole seeds – the training camp's head instructor, "Scorpion."

That one-eyed man, with a hideous scar across his face, had been the nightmare of them all. Every cruel training session, every life-or-death test in the camp, had originated from his arrangements.

No one could forget that cold, single eye and the bone-chilling fear it brought.

The scene within the glasses was precisely that of the training camp's head instructor from back then, the man who terrified everyone – Scorpion.

The mole began to tremble uncontrollably, his head swaying weakly from side to side. Though he was already at his weakest, a sliver of strength returned. His lips moved, issuing a garbled plea:

"Spare... spare me... please..."

Yang Ning moved his stool forward a step, perfectly blocking the view of the three behind the one-way glass. This subtle action caused a flicker of doubt in Yun Zishan's heart, but she suppressed the urge to question and decided to continue observing.

Yang Ning picked up the microphone beside him and spoke in a hoarse voice, altered by a voice changer to sound about seventy percent similar to Scorpion's: "Maggot."

These two words, transmitted through the earphones, struck the mole like thunder.

"Maggot" – this was Scorpion's usual derogatory term for them, the mole seeds.

The mole trembled all over, muttering:

"M-master..."

The continuous torture had already pushed his mind to the brink of collapse. The realistic image in the VR glasses, the familiar voice from the stereo earphones, combined with the camp's unique assembly bell and that unforgettable, insulting moniker, finally shattered his psychological defenses completely. In his daze, he could no longer distinguish between reality and hallucination.

Yang Ning glanced at the tablet in his hand. The mole's heart rate was soaring.

"Maggot, tell me, your codename."

Simultaneously, Yang Ning quietly picked up his phone and pressed the record button.

The mole's throat moved with difficulty: "Ladybug..."

"Your mission?"

"Infiltrate Dan Peak, steal the Sword Sect's Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir Formula..."

Yang Ning, under the guise of adjusting his posture, glanced back at the three behind the one-way glass and continued to press:

"Maggot, how are orders sent and received?"

"Magic Stone... transmission..."

Yang Ning pressed the pause button on his phone recording.

The mole then added the latter half of his sentence: "And Poison Bee..."

Yang Ning immediately restarted the recording and pressed for details: "What does the Magic Stone look like?"

"Purple... palm-sized, emitting a purple glow..."

Yang Ning nodded with satisfaction and pressed the stop recording button. Using a voice that was seventy percent like Scorpion's, he delivered the final line: "Maggot, you've been exposed."

Then, he stood up, efficiently turned off the VR video and surround sound, and turned to open the door.

The moment the door opened, a heart-wrenching howl erupted from inside:

"Ahhhhhh—"

Qiao Bin lunged into the room to check on the mole's condition.

At the same time, Yang Ning felt a powerful pressure surge towards him – it was the sharp aura emanating from Yun Zishan.

At the critical moment, Yang Ning pressed the play button on his phone before she could make a move.

The recording instantly echoed throughout the interrogation room:

Mole: "Ladybug"

Yang Ning: "Your mission?"

Mole: "Infiltrate Dan Peak, steal the Sword Sect's Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir Formula."

Yang Ning: "Maggot, how are orders sent and received?"

Mole: "Magic Stone transmission..."

Yang Ning: "What does the Magic Stone look like?"

Mole: "Purple, palm-sized, emitting a purple glow..."

Instantly, the pressure on Yang Ning vanished. Yun Zishan immediately took the phone from Yang Ning's hand, examining the glowing object closely: "Is this... a Sound Recording Stone?"

Yang Ning's heart was pounding rapidly. He managed to reply:

"S-something like that."

Yun Zishan fiddled with the phone, unsure how to operate it, her voice carrying a rare urgency: "How do I use it?"

Yang Ning pointed to the pause button: "Just press here."