Eight Tiers (1)

A lizard-headed man was brought to an interrogation room specially prepared for him by the Collectors. The glaring lights shone directly into his eyes, leaving him unable to open them. He could only vaguely make out two creatures sitting across from him.

This was the interrogation process. Having gone through it once before, the lizard man was much calmer than last time. At the very least, he managed to suppress the panic in his heart.

"I remember... you were from the Ailan United Trade Caravan... the president of the Norton Commercial Ship... Your name... your name was... Norman..."

"Is that right?"

The Collector tried hard to remember. There were too many matters to handle, especially during wartime—construction projects, combat details, information on new races, and more. The vast amount of miscellaneous information had buried the results of the previous interrogation, so recalling them again took extra effort.

Norman was stunned at first, but he quickly recovered. Displaying the fine qualities of a smooth-talking merchant, he immediately gave an awkward laugh and chimed in.

"Yes, yes, that's right. So you still remember me. You have such a good memory, hehe."

Speak to people as people, speak to ghosts as ghosts—this was Norman's way of survival after so many years of traveling and trading. As long as he could get the other party talking, he had a way to quickly win their favor. He could turn enemies into business partners and persuade villains to become escort guards.

Norman was a staunch egoist, and he firmly believed that everyone else was one too. With that understanding and style, he had traveled far and wide without ever meeting an obstacle he could not overcome.

However, this time, he had run into a wall. The Collectors did not fall for his act.

"You merchants have