Reading Memories

"What are you trying to do, force a confession?!"

Chen Dun was terrified, but he still put on an act like he knew nothing and had been wronged. No matter how Zhao Lei questioned him, he insisted he was innocent.

Zhao Lei interrogated him for half an hour, but the man still maintained that he knew nothing.

Helpless, Zhao Lei got up and left the interrogation room. There was no point continuing; he had to go back and think of another way.

"This guy's got a hard mouth. He won't say a thing. Captain Zhou, do you have any way to make him talk?" Zhao Lei went to find Zhou Yaning.

Their departments were different, so perhaps she had a solution.

Unless he used some special methods, Zhao Lei had no way to make Chen Dun talk. He hesitated over whether to use special interrogation methods on him. He was afraid something would happen to the man and they still would not get any answers.

The hotel investigation had been thorough. Chen Dun had booked the room, yet he had been at home, and the room key card still had not been found. Zhao Lei simply could not believe Chen Dun had nothing to do with it.

For the moment, Zhao Lei did not want to resort to torture, so he could only ask Zhou Yaning for advice.

"Use an Esper directly. I'll get someone to read his memories!" Zhou Yaning had little patience and intended to use a special method to obtain information.

"An Esper... reading memories? We have someone like that?"

"We do. I'll report to the higher-ups right away and have them send someone over to help." Zhou Yaning sent a message to the director, asking the Investigation Bureau to dispatch someone to assist with the case.

Since they had a solution, everyone waited in the monitoring room.

Chen Dun sat alone in the interrogation room, anxiously guessing what would happen next. Seeing several cameras above him, he could not help shouting at them.

"Let me go!"

"What you're doing is illegal! I want to see your superior!"

"Just wait! You're abusing your authority! I'll report you! I'll report this to the central government!"

Chen Dun's voice came through the speakers. Everyone found it grating, but they could not turn off the sound and could only listen to him yell. After more than ten minutes, he finally grew tired and stopped.

An hour later, the person capable of reading memories arrived.

Three people came—two men and one woman. The young woman in the middle looked very youthful, like she was still in school.

"Which one of you is the Esper?" Zhao Lei asked.

The youthful girl timidly raised her hand. "I... I am."

"Come with me. Do you need help to read memories? Will the person whose memories are read die?"

"I need someone to hold the target down. He won't die, but he'll be uncomfortable for a long time."

Relieved that it would not kill him, Zhao Lei immediately led them toward the interrogation room. Everyone returned to their positions and waited for the next round of questioning to begin.

"Hey! What are you asking this time?! You're perverting the law!"

When he saw the police enter, Chen Dun, his mouth dry, started shouting himself hoarse again.

Ignoring his yelling, Zhao Lei gestured for his subordinates to pin him down. Chen Dun sensed that something was wrong and tried to struggle, but his body was held fast.

"If you refuse to talk, we'll have to find out ourselves. Don't worry, we won't let you die!"

Zhao Lei showed no courtesy. Once the man was restrained, he had the Esper step forward to read his memories.

Chen Dun watched in horror as a masked person approached and placed a hand on his forehead. Just as he was about to say something, a force suddenly surged into his mind. His mouth hung open, but he could not utter a word.

The interrogation room and monitoring room fell silent. Everyone watched the girl.

Ten minutes later, the girl withdrew her hand and waved weakly. Zhao Lei had his subordinates help her out. As he was about to check on Chen Dun, Chen Dun's eyes suddenly rolled back, and incoherent sounds came from his mouth.

Before Zhao Lei could ask how he was doing, Chen Dun bent over toward the floor and began vomiting.

With a retch, foul-smelling vomit spewed from Chen Dun's mouth.

The scene immediately became chaotic. Worried that something had happened to him, Zhao Lei did not dare leave. Seeing this from the monitoring room, the others hurried to call a doctor.

By the time the doctor arrived, Chen Dun had stopped vomiting. His upper body slumped over the table, utterly listless.

After a careful examination, the doctor confirmed that his life was not in danger. He was merely extremely weak and needed rest and nutrition.

Knowing there was no danger to his life, Zhao Lei relaxed. He had several people carry Chen Dun to the infirmary, then hurried back to the monitoring room. He needed to know at once what memories the Esper had read.

In the monitoring room, the girl was not in good condition either. She was exhausted and looked somewhat drained.

When Team Leader Zhao returned, she slowly recounted the memories she had obtained.

"I saw a lot of people. I was talking to them, talking about kidnapping, saying we still needed many more people... They were going to kidnap the Mayor's Daughter, more than a dozen people... so many. They said they were hiding in the West City Suburbs... I asked them to give me the Godblood Stone. Once the thing arrived, I agreed to help them... stones, men, women... My son needed money... My wife said she wanted it too..."

The memories the girl had obtained were numerous and chaotic, largely disconnected, but quite a few pieces were vital information.

They could now confirm that this man was connected to the kidnappers. At the very least, he was an accomplice.

"The West City Suburbs... it's the same direction we've been tracking. Hurry and get Chen Dun treated. I want to interrogate him thoroughly!"

Having obtained crucial intelligence, Zhao Lei and the others were greatly excited. After ordering someone to treat Chen Dun, Zhao Lei asked the girl whether she had any other information.

"A man with a vicious-looking face. There was a knife scar at the corner of his left eye, and a Black Snake tattoo on his right forearm..."

Everyone listened intently. This was very likely one of the kidnappers. Zhao Lei noted down the characteristics and immediately sent people to search for him.

Learning that the targets might be hiding in the west of the city, they immediately set off for the western district again.

Lu Chengchuan got into the vehicle with Zhou Yaning and the others. He had barely had any presence that night. First, he did not know how to investigate and did not understand the details. Second, his job here was simple: if they encountered kidnappers, he only needed to capture them. Nothing else was required of him.

They were heading for the West City Suburbs when Lu Chengchuan's phone rang.

It was his personal phone. The caller was Gu Mingwei. It was almost ten at night—could Gu Mingwei be calling at this hour because something had happened?

Lu Chengchuan glanced at Zhou Yaning. Seeing that she had no objection, he answered the call.

"Boss Gu, what happened?"

"Mr. Lu, my daughter has been kidnapped! Can you help me find her?!"

The voice on the phone was frantic. His daughter had been kidnapped, and Gu Mingwei was so panicked that he had not even called the police. He had gone straight to Lu Chengchuan for help.

"Kidnapped... When did it happen?"

The moment Lu Chengchuan heard the word "kidnapped," he knew something was wrong. The people beside him also pricked up their ears.

"Just an hour ago. My daughter was taken away in the west of the city. I only just received the news. Mr. Lu, please, I'm begging you, help me."

"Don't panic. I'll help you. Boss Gu, call the police shortly and tell them everything. I'll look for her on my end too."

Lu Chengchuan agreed to help. He was already investigating this matter with the others.

"Where was she kidnapped?" After offering a few reassuring words, Lu Chengchuan asked for more details.

Gu Mingwei told him everything he knew without concealing anything. He even suspected that one of his business rivals had kidnapped his daughter.

Lu Chengchuan told him to call the police and wait calmly, then hung up.