Act.7 Better

[Part 1: One-way Mirror]

In the interrogation room for serious offenders, A Xing, covered in cold sweat, helplessly roared at the one-way mirror.

"Hey! Something's not right! This isn't right!"

She spread her hands, and the strong, forceful body language looked so ridiculous and powerless on this little girl.

"The surveillance footage clearly captured everything! Why? Why am I locked up? I didn't kill anyone! Jacqueline has become a monster!"

Just then, the meteor suddenly remembered that painting—

--That painting, "<The Starry Night>".

"That crazy woman has turned into a monster! She's going to eat me! It's clearly her fault! I'm innocent! If there's CCTV footage, Warden, you must have seen the whole thing, right?"

No matter how much she called out, no one answered.

Xue Ming was taken to another interrogation room for serious offenders.

Without tables, chairs, or ventilation, the room was stuffy and hot, like a giant steamer.

Only a one-way mirror monitors the prisoner's every move in the room, as well as the questions transmitted through the mirror.

"Female prisoner G117! You killed J76 using Soul Might, didn't you?"

Xue Ming: "That's not right."

"Still trying to deny it now?!" the interrogating officer roared. "Don't you have even the slightest bit of remorse? Just half an hour ago, you used your soul power to kill your neighbor! You've only been in prison for less than a day! How cruel! How brutal! You murderous monster who harmed the innocent! Damn it! When you talk about these crimes, you don't even change your expression."

Xue Ming: "I don't know who you are, and I don't know what happened in Room 2765."

Interrogator: "Nonsense! Is your soul power completely out of your control?"

Xue Ming: "You could say that."

Fragrant Dream followed Meteor. The Big Sister had no idea what had happened. Before she could even ask about the crime scene, she was forced to separate from Meteor and brought to the interrogation room.

"Do you know anything!" the interrogator roared, "Your Soul Weapon disemboweled your new neighbor in room 2765. Her death was gruesome. Was she your enemy? Were you paid to infiltrate Blackland Prison to carry out the assassination?"

Xue Ming: "No, I don't know her at all."

The interrogator then asked, "Then explain to me! Why was your Soul Power present in room 2765?"

"My roommate is very naive; she's too young, so I have to protect her. That's why I entrusted my Soul Power to stay by her side," the Big Sister answered truthfully, walking towards the one-way mirror. "If she's attacked, my Soul Power will retaliate automatically. It's that simple."

Upon hearing this, the interrogator hesitated to ask further questions.

At the Blackland Royal Hotel, every prisoner's room is equipped with surveillance cameras, but only the warden can view the footage. Even with the interrogators' limited authority, they cannot obtain this crucial evidence anytime soon.

For Hedland, the electronic eyes are the warden's eyes, and also the eyes of [Heaven's Gate]. If the surveillance data is discovered by malicious criminals, they can deduce the warden's room. As long as the warden is killed, all the demons imprisoned in Hedland will regain their freedom.

Unless in extremely special circumstances, violent crimes committed within prisons are handled by professional criminal investigators who collect evidence, minimizing the use of surveillance camera data.

How can we deduce the warden's location from surveillance footage?

Because of the special nature of [Heaven's Gate], the location of this highly powerful person in charge must be equipped with numerous hidden cameras. These cameras are used to move the main gate, design secret rooms, and directly expose the delivery records of daily meals and supplies. If an insider obtains the relevant video data, they can find the warden's whereabouts.

For these reasons, the interrogator preferred to have A Xing confess voluntarily rather than have the matter reported to the warden.

Using surveillance footage to make a judgment is tantamount to using the eye of God. The moment God opens his eyes is also the moment when the warden is most vulnerable.

There is another off-field factor --

"--Do a good job, don't let those two sisters get out of the hardened criminals' cell so easily."

A package was delivered to the interrogator's desk containing 200,000 Hui Stone Currency and a note.

The note contained this sentence and bore a large red stamp of a blood butterfly, while the smaller stamp was the emblem of Eagle Falcon.

This is the [Falcon Gang], a large, predominantly male gang in Blackland Prison. They are mercenaries from a branch of the Madness Butterfly Sect Cult. The gang leader doesn't want Tyrannosaurus Warrior to have an easy time, nor does he want G117, this vampire of unknown origin, to become Tyrannosaurus Warrior's new accomplice. Perhaps she's an expert in appraising antiques and can make a lot of money at antique auctions, but there are only so many old rooms in the grand hotel. If Tyrannosaurus Warrior buys one, there will be less meat left for the others.

What the Big Sister and A Xing didn't know was --

--At the moment they were imprisoned, apart from the bullfighter Morian, many, many people had their eyes on them.

The warden himself witnessed everything that happened in room 2765, but no matter how aggressively the interrogators pressed and framed him, this silent and powerful figure never uttered a single word.

He's like a mysterious X factor, always calmly maintaining his prison.

Right now, at this very moment--

--The interrogator's eyes gleamed with greed as he was about to open the package filled with pyroxene banknotes and smell the sweet-smelling banknotes bearing the image of the Ming De.

Another package was handed over from outside the room with the one-way mirror.

The newcomer was Hasben Madison, a soldier in the Ranger Regiment of the Guangling Zhixi Rapid Reaction Force.

This tall young man has joined the Tyrannosaurus Warrior Gang, where Jello is, to help the two sisters and deliver a message to the interrogator.

He emerged from the hidden door behind the painting, placed another package on the table, swept open a thick notebook, and spoke to the interrogator.

"Here's two hundred thousand. Take it and let these sisters go."

The interrogator said smugly, "That won't do, sir."

The word "[Sir]" carries a hint of mockery, and it was Morian's special instruction: when you meet Hasben in prison, you must be polite. This young man is a dragon among men outside; he's not even twenty years old yet, and he's about to transform into a butterfly. A bright VIP path awaits him.

Hasben, dressed in a white wolf pelt, clasped his arms together. From the interrogation rooms on either side came howls, the innocent and helpless cries of A Xing for help. In the sweltering environment, it was easy for people to lose their balance, suffer from oxygen deprivation and dizziness.

The red-haired young man clenched his teeth and glared angrily.

"Aren't you just doing things for money?"

The interrogator shrugged. "That's right! You brought 200,000, and the Falcon Gang also brought 200,000. It's all about first come, first served. I can't break the rules. If I just take the money and don't do the job, I'll lose my head."

The clever old man had a fawning and sly smile on his face, and then returned all of Hasben's money.

"No, Commander Hasben, I can't help with this."

Hasben took out a hundred dollars from his pocket and placed it on the package.

What if I raise the bet?

"Please don't make things difficult for this old man." The interrogator immediately became aggrieved, as if he had been bullied by his superior. "Just this little bit? Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it. Which team you want me to stand on, I'll stand on that team. You have such a big ego, no wonder Morian got beaten by you."

Upon hearing these sarcastic and clichéd remarks, Hasben immediately raised his fist, wanting to teach this wretched old man a lesson.

"Ouch! They're going to hit me again. Ouch, ouch, ouch!" The interrogator raised his hands high, protecting his head and shoulders, as if he were asking for a beating, as if the landing of his fists would allow him to negotiate some more payment with Morian.

This body can withstand several punches from its superior, but it will only take a blink of an eye to heal it with White Lady's medicine.

With the punch landing, both Morian and the matador owed him a favor—a perfect deal indeed.

[Part 2: <Feast of Herod>]

In the end, Hasben didn't go through with it. He finally managed to suppress his anger and began to bargain.

"I'm here to perform the autopsy, determine the cause of death, and prove their innocence."

The interrogator wanted to say something more.

Hasben pointed at the old bastard's nose. "Is it that hard? I'm a law enforcement officer! Do you think you can question my legitimacy? In the rapid reaction force, I'm not just an assault soldier and commander, I'm also the team medic. I can figure out the cause of death and lifestyle habits of this unfortunate guy just by looking at a corpse. I can uncover a lot of useful information."

The interrogator, feeling guilty, said, "You're not protecting those two women, are you?"

Hasben: "I stand only on the side of truth."

Interrogator: "That's good."

Hasben handed over the package. "Take the money, I'll do the autopsy."

The interrogator was overjoyed. "Good! My dear sir! As long as you uphold justice, you will soon find out that the woman locked up in this room is not some pitiful woman, but a two-headed, man-eating tiger."

Hasben didn't say much. He walked towards the exit of the one-way mirror room and saw the painting hanging by the hidden door.

That was <Feast of Herod>, a story about the murder of a loyal official.

The New Testament records that Herod's daughter Salome fell in love with John.

But John had no interest in the woman. Coincidentally, Herod had just married his brother's wife and committed adultery. John kept scolding him for this, and John was very dissatisfied. After his daughter said this, he beheaded John at the banquet.

The banquet began, and Salome dance. At the same time, John's head rolled to the ground, and Herod watched this scene coldly from afar.

Like the image of Saturn devouring his son, these paintings mostly have strong religious and mythological overtones and are characterized by carnivorousness.

As Hasben stormed out, the interrogator immediately dialed the morgue.

"A new mortician is going to perform an autopsy on Jacqueline."

"What's wrong, boss?"

"Are you sure that woman was killed by Hunwei?"

"Absolutely right, completely dead. It's already rotting, and it's fucking weird, it's rotting so fast."

"That's good, that's good."

"Boss, why are you so nervous? Does the mortician want to overturn those two women's cases? No way! I told you before, we need to use some ruthless methods, beat them up, and once they've been tortured, they'll honestly confess to any crime."

"The dead can't speak. If Jacqueline was indeed killed by G117, no matter how capable Hasben is, he can't change the fact."

Are there any other questions?

"Be polite to our superior. When you see Hasben, offer him a cigarette and say hello. Give him a quiet environment, understand?"

"A quiet environment?"

"Idiot! Can't you understand what I'm saying?! If the corpse decomposes quickly, that's a great thing! A quiet environment! A quiet environment! Don't give him any assistants! It takes hours to decompose a pig, let alone a human!"

"Okay, I remember, boss."

"It's alright, it's not your fault. I just like telling riddles. I'll transfer you thirty-four thousand yuan."

"Thanks, boss."

Do you know why we're spending so much money?

"I don't know, but thank you, boss."

"You told me last time that you liked Cartier watches, the most basic Pasha de Cartier—it should be around this price."

"Thank you, boss. So you've always cared about me this much? Thank you so much."

"If you get things done well, I'll only treat you better."

After hanging up the phone, the interrogator waited, hoping for good news from Mr. Hasben.

In the morgue of the Blackland Royal Hotel, Hasben changed his clothes. He asked the kitchen and bathroom for a leather apron and went shirtless to avoid any hair from his clothes falling onto the corpse and affecting the process of collecting clues.

He tucked his hair into his hat, picked up various surgical tools, greeted the armed personnel at the morgue, and then walked alone into the cold autopsy room.

Most of the deceased Jacqueline's belongings remained in room 2765. When Hasben pulled the body out of the freezer, the woman was still wearing the clothes she was wearing when she was murdered, and had no other belongings on her.

Hasben smelled a strong stench, the putrid odor of rotting fat and protein from a corpse.

He walked alone in the spacious corridor, already accustomed to this loneliness and oppression. In his childhood, he frequently visited sanatoriums; his mother was a caregiver at the hospital, and he spent half of his childhood with doctors. Death was a childhood companion to him, and he felt neither strange nor afraid of it.

Just as the interrogator said, Hedland's prison system did not assign Hasben any assistants.

However, none of these things could stop him. When he pushed the body from the morgue to the autopsy room, he observed the extent of Jacqueline's decomposition and immediately turned on the air conditioner to lower the temperature to below sixteen degrees Celsius.

He then began preparations, taking two tape recorders and two cassette tapes out of his toolbox.

One of the cassette tapes was from Guns N' Roses, specifically the song "My Michelle".

When the WALKMAN started working, Hasben immediately pressed the record switch for the blank tape as well.

"Hello, Warden of the Blackland Royal Hotel, I am Hasben, and I am conducting an autopsy on the deceased Jacqueline Sirius, also known as female prisoner J76, in room 2765."

The music drove away his inner fear, and when he went to examine the corpse, the soft tissue and congealed blood squirmed and collided with each other, and even these writhing noises could not frighten him.

"I will record the entire autopsy process on tape; it's all in order to find the truth and prove the facts."

He rummaged through Jacqueline's clothes, offering no prayers or uttering any respectful words for the deceased, demonstrating his staunch materialism.

"The deceased has already begun to decompose, which is highly unusual. Her face is starting to swell, and I have reason to suspect that this is due to the emulsification of lymphatic fluid and a large amount of gas trapped in her neck. Surgical examination is necessary."

He then uncovered the deceased's tattered clothing.

"The wound is deep and a laceration, consistent with the characteristics of a Soul Power attack seen by witnesses. However, it's not an external wound, but rather an internal one. Judging from the texture of the skin and flesh, the sternum and ribs, and the degree of lung eversion, it looks as if something has ripped open his abdomen, piercing through his chest and abdomen."

Right now, at this very moment--

--When the temperature reaches sixteen degrees Celsius.

The body began to change.

Jacqueline's blonde hair gradually began to turn black. Hasben quickly noticed this.

"J76 is likely a blood-infused monster; I've never seen this species before. After the temperature reached 16 degrees Celsius, her hair started to turn black, and her skin began to turn green."

The corpse gradually became limp, and its previously swollen neck and cheeks returned to normal, beginning to seep water and discharge fluid.

Hasben gripped the scalpel, growing tense.

"She reverted to her state before death; the congealed blood and the rusty smell of decay had transformed into a strange, sweet scent, like the fragrance in a hotel lobby. It was quite peculiar."

Hasben was about to draw his knife, Jacqueline's right hand suddenly twitched.

"Jacqueline moved. Specifically, her right ring finger twitched. It was a natural finger movement. She still maintained a zero heart rate and zero blood pressure. The hole in her chest remained unchanged. There were still about three liters of blood left at the crime scene. She definitely couldn't have survived, right? This finger twitching was just a nerve reflex triggered by changes in the fluid within the corpse."

Hasben continued, pressing down on Jacqueline's arm, feeling the subcutaneous tissue of the corpse, including the flexibility of the muscles.

"Her body is gushing water, which is very rare; it's uncommon for organisms to expel large amounts of water after death. Her hair was previously champagne-colored, but now it's turned a seaweed-like dark green. Let me see."

The incredibly bold young man lifted Jacqueline's eyelids.

"The eyes are out of focus, the pupils are dilated, there are signs of vitreous deformation, the time of death doesn't match, and the rate of decomposition is too fast."

They removed earrings, jewelry, and other items from the female corpse.

"She has a pair of earrings, which must be her pyroxene."

Open the mouth and nose to examine the mucous membranes.

"Her second-to-last tooth on her lower right side was decayed, and there was a capsule-shaped cavity inside. It was probably used to hide poison or as a [Tooth Fairy Room] for concealing information. Universal Elixir can cure dental diseases, and people in the underworld couldn't possibly have such exquisite teeth."

"Her nose was full of fine hairs and dust, and the fluid in her nasopharynx had solidified. To be honest, it was disgusting, but I had to keep going. I hope Ms. Glory knows about this and can sing me a song. Warriors always need the praise of beautiful women, right?"

"Her muscle tissue is very healthy, like someone who exercises regularly. If she were still alive, I'm afraid I wouldn't be her match. At least in terms of her physical constitution, she seems stronger than me."

"Her nasopharyngeal tube was normal. Before she died, she cried a lot due to the pain of the trauma. The tears, along with her nasal mucus, blocked her throat and upper respiratory tract, making her death extremely painful."

"She"

Hasben hadn't finished speaking.

He suddenly realized that Jacqueline was looking at him.

Specifically, the pupils become unfocused, but the eyes exhibit inexplicable eye movements.

One of the eyes, the left eye, has slowly moved to one side, while the right eye remains frozen and motionless.

Hasben casually closed Jacqueline's eyes, completely unafraid.

"You have to listen to me, J76."