Seeing Chen Xiyao fall silent, the policewoman assumed she didn't know where to begin. They had never before dealt with someone who had returned from "that place" completely unharmed, but they had seen her outfit, the obvious traces of vomit on her clothes, and the blood and bits of viscera covering her shoes. As police officers, they naturally hadn't overlooked any of it.
That was also why all the interviewers were women. People generally found it easier to open up about painful memories when talking to another woman.
Although it was difficult to talk about something that amounted to reopening someone else's wounds, many people died every year because of Weird Tale invasions. This lucid survivor was almost unprecedented—a breakthrough, perhaps the only one in years.
So the policewoman softened her tone and said gently,
"We know very little about the world over there, so you can start by telling us what you went through. Um, if there's anything you don't want to talk about, you can skip it."
"There's nothing I don't want to talk about." Chen Xiyao shook her head lightly, but just before she began, she hesitated and asked, "What's the country's attitude toward the Weird Tales?"
"?" The policewoman paused at the question. She hadn't expected the girl to ask something like that. In previous years, those who had undergone psychological intervention and could just barely manage a conversation usually expressed obvious hostility, saying things like, "We have to kill all those things." But this girl's attitude was...?
Could this be one of those "sheep falls in love with a wolf" scenarios that wouldn't even appear in a cheesy romance drama?
The policewoman couldn't help thinking that, but after a moment, she answered honestly.
"Actually, we don't have a sufficiently comprehensive approach to dealing with them.