The unfamiliar voice and strange change in appearance startled Sheriff John into drawing his flintlock pistol and aiming it straight at the captive.
Qin Ran waved John off.
Then, after studying the captive closely for several seconds, he asked, "Who are you?"
"Who I am doesn't matter."
The captive's voice remained exactly as it had been.
John, however, stared wide-eyed from the side.
The instant the captive had spoken, Qin Ran had seized one of his fingers and bent it backward.
Crack!
Despite the sound of the finger bone snapping, the captive's speech never faltered, nor did his expression change in the slightest.
"You're a cautious man, just as the rumors say, 2567."
The captive raised his hand and looked at the finger dangling limply from it.
The ropes binding him had all snapped the moment he raised his hand.
Qin Ran narrowed his eyes at the sight.
Breaking free of ropes like these would have been effortless for him, and even iron chains would have posed little difficulty. But for someone who, a second ago, had been only slightly stronger than an ordinary person, it was utterly extraordinary.
Some sort of enhancement?
Or is it "that"?
Qin Ran speculated inwardly.
His gaze changed as he considered the possibilities.
It grew ever more profound.
Anyone familiar with Qin Ran would have understood that he was at his most dangerous in this state.
Even if he seemed perfectly normal on the surface.
"It seems you've heard quite a bit about me."
Qin Ran spoke slowly.
"Yes, far more than you imagine."
The captive made no attempt to deny it.
"Then what have you come here for?"
Qin Ran asked another question.
"To cooperate, of course!"
"I hope we can work together, just this once, against..."
The captive did not voice the