Sheng An sat on the sofa.
Hao Jingye sat at the dining table nearby, his computer and other equipment spread out before him. He had also set up a stand to film everything live.
As for Jiang Yu...
She sat on a stool opposite the sofa.
Of the three plainclothes officers, one guarded the door while the other two stood on either side of Jiang Yu, watching her from every angle.
Jiang Yu felt chills all over and couldn't sit still.
Looking at the camera only made her more uncomfortable.
"Do you have to film this, too?" Jiang Yu asked meekly.
She had been so busy lately that she hadn't washed her greasy hair, washed her face, or put on makeup. And sitting opposite her was a beauty like Sheng An...
Jiang Yu felt awkward.
Sheng An said, "Yes. For the record."
Hearing that, Jiang Yu could only reassure herself that they were probably just recording her "interrogation."
It should be fine, right?
Meanwhile.
At the other end of the camera's live feed, more than a hundred officials of various ranks and relevant personnel sat in a huge conference room, their eyes fixed on the big screen.
With notebooks and pens in hand, they stared intently at Jiang Yu, as though they wanted to study every strand of her greasy hair.
Jiang Yu knew nothing of this.
Sheng An said, "Let's hear it."
Jiang Yu stammered, "H-hear what?"
Sheng An set her gun on the table. Whether deliberately or not, the muzzle still pointed at Jiang Yu.
She toyed with a pen between her fingers and chuckled.
"Jiang Yu, I don't have time to waste on you. The fact that I'm here means I already have all your information. You have no other choice. As for your rebirth and your storage space, I think you'd prefer to tell us yourself."
Jiang Yu's heart tightened.
Tell them myself...
That meant there were other ways to make her talk.
Her scalp prickled, but she refused to admit it so easily. Gritting her teeth, she said, "I really don't know what you're talking about."
Sheng An looked at Hao Jingye.
Hao Jingye immediately assumed a stern expression and spoke in a rigid, matter-of-fact tone.
"Jiang Yu, twenty-four, graduated one year ago. Your parents died five years ago, and you've lived alone ever since. You had a boyfriend, Yu Litian, whom you recently broke up with after he cheated on you. Throughout your four years at university, you financially supported both Yu Litian and your roommate, Chen Jiaojiao."
Jiang Yu whipped her head around and stared at Hao Jingye in horror.
No one would feel comfortable having their entire life laid bare.
Sheng An raised an eyebrow. "You really were a sucker."
Jiang Yu: "..."
She already knew that. There was no need to rub it in.
Hao Jingye continued, "But five days ago, your behavior changed. You installed a steel door and replaced your windows with bulletproof glass..."
Jiang Yu said urgently, "I was afraid my ex and his side chick would come cause trouble! What's wrong with that? Is that not allowed?"
Sheng An smiled and shook her head. "Of course it's allowed. Then tell me, what happened to the iron bars that disappeared? They were in the basement, but after you went down there empty-handed, they were gone."
Jiang Yu: "!!"
Her breath nearly stopped.
Hao Jingye said, "Over the past two days, you've bought a total of 135 bags of rice, 120 bags of flour, five cases of salt, five cases of sugar, as well as purchases from the supermarket..."
Sheng An swept her gaze around the room, a faint, knowing smile on her lips.
"Where did you put all that stuff?"
Jiang Yu: "..."
She was falling apart.
How the fuck did they even know how much she'd bought?!
Who the fuck had nothing better to do than count it all?!
Left utterly speechless, Jiang Yu clamped her mouth shut, feeling thoroughly wretched.
They clearly already had "evidence." Her brain spun like a flaming wheel, practically throwing off sparks, yet she still couldn't come up with an explanation.
The things had disappeared. That was a fact.
Maybe...
She could secretly move them somewhere else?
She stole a glance at Sheng An and felt certain this woman would never be easy to fool.
But Sheng An changed her expression. She sighed and looked at Jiang Yu with a focused gaze.
"Jiang Yu, I have a hundred ways to make you talk, but I chose a peaceful approach in the end. Because I don't just want information from you. I want you to join us and fight the apocalypse together."
Fight the apocalypse?
Jiang Yu almost thought she'd misheard.
Her expression turned mocking. "Humans can fight the apocalypse? Do you even know what an apocalypse is?"
How could anyone say something like that?
Fight the apocalypse?
What a joke. These people had no idea what kind of disaster it was. Mere flesh and blood, and they dared talk about fighting the apocalypse.
How arrogant could they be?
Just thinking about what would happen in twenty-one days made Jiang Yu tremble uncontrollably.
Yet Sheng An's expression didn't change. She remained calm.
"You may think we're arrogant. But if we do nothing, everything that happened in your previous life will happen again in this one. Our land will be devastated, and human civilization will gradually disappear..."
"The country has over a billion people depending on it. We cannot retreat. Now that we know, we must do everything in our power."
Jiang Yu said, "Doing everything in your power won't make a difference!"
"I know," Sheng An said slowly. "Twenty-one days from now, those meteorites will arrive, striking the entire planet without warning and dealing a devastating blow. Even afterward, natural disasters will keep coming..."
With every word she spoke, Jiang Yu's body grew more rigid.
There were other people who had been reborn?!
The government... really knew about the apocalypse already?
"The government knows more than you think, and it's doing more than you think."
After saying that, Sheng An held out her hand.
Hao Jingye immediately passed her a tablet.
Sheng An set it on the coffee table, facing Jiang Yu.
"Nine days ago, we discovered the first person with a special ability. Seven days ago, we found someone who had been reborn. Six days ago, the government began drawing up emergency plans and established the Doomsday Special Affairs Office. Five days ago, preparations began across the country."
She calmly delivered each word that left Jiang Yu stunned.
"Jiang Yu, you've been stockpiling supplies lately. You must have noticed food prices rising, right?" Sheng An looked at her.
Jiang Yu nodded instinctively.
Rising was an understatement. Grain prices had doubled!
But ever since the news about the meteorites, all sorts of reports had been circulating online, and some people had started buying rice and salt.
So although she'd found the price increases strange, she hadn't thought much of them.
Could it be...
Sheng An said, "Yes. The government is stockpiling grain. It's also buying supplies from overseas."
She swiped across the screen, bringing up one picture after another.
"It's not just food. Five days ago, local authorities began converting air-raid bunkers into shelters. In twenty-one days, every city will have several shelters, each stocked with food and daily necessities."
"The communications department is working overtime to manufacture communications equipment for every shelter. Even if there's no signal, the satellites are destroyed, and disaster strikes, thousands of shelters will still be connected in a network under centralized government coordination."
"In addition, hundreds of military factories are ramping up production. Tens of thousands of factories have been working day and night since five days ago. All remaining resources on the market are being reclaimed..."
Sheng An leaned forward, her eyes fixed on Jiang Yu.
"Jiang Yu, do you still think the government can do nothing in the apocalypse?"
Jiang Yu had almost stopped thinking. Holding her breath, she was utterly dazed by this barrage of information.
Sheng An leaned closer still. The complex emotions in her sharp, almond-shaped eyes were enough to move anyone who met them.
"Jiang Yu, most of the government's current preparations are in response to those meteorites. We have too little information from people who have been reborn. We still haven't confirmed the apocalypse with absolute certainty."
"You are the crucial piece."
Her eyes were utterly earnest. As she held Jiang Yu's gaze, they seemed capable of piercing straight into her soul.
Sheng An said, "If we can get more definite information from you, the government can do even more to prepare for the apocalypse in the remaining twenty-one days. Move critical factories underground, rush to harvest crops, evacuate people..."
"Jiang Yu, since you've been reborn, you cannot simply hide away in one corner. Your rebirth can accomplish so much more and have far greater value. It means countless lives. It means hope for our country!"
Under Sheng An's gaze, Jiang Yu couldn't stop trembling.
Two thoughts seemed ready to tear her mind apart.
I can't admit it!
She had a storage space. What if admitting it meant becoming a research subject?
But...
If she admitted it, could she really bring them hope?
She was just an ordinary person, a little selfish, but not some antisocial monster who enjoyed disasters.
And facing Sheng An's solemn gaze, she couldn't help feeling a surge of emotion.
In either her previous life or this one, no one had ever placed so much importance on her...
Sheng An pressed her advantage. "You don't need to worry about anything else. Join us, and you'll be our teammate, under the country's protection."
She reached out and took Jiang Yu's cold, trembling hand, offering her a gentle smile.
"Jiang Yu, even if your circumstances are unusual, none of us will hurt you. An anomaly is a sign of something out of the ordinary. That isn't necessarily a negative description, nor does it necessarily mean something bad.
"An arrest warrant is our last resort. You are our country's hope.
"That's why I'm sitting here, in your home, speaking with you in a way that makes you comfortable."
Jiang Yu's eyes were filled with conflict.
She wanted to speak, but she couldn't stop being afraid.
Her rebirth and storage space were her greatest secrets. Was she really going to reveal them?
Sheng An said, "Oh, right. With the government stockpiling supplies, if you become a member of the Doomsday Special Affairs Office, your living conditions after the apocalypse definitely won't be worse than before it. No matter how much you stockpile, you'll still have to cook it yourself. Our office has state banquet chefs, as well as supplies from government warehouses... The country will keep you safe and provide for you."
Jiang Yu: "..." That was so tempting.
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary policies. The office also has the authority to make arrests. For example, if someone causes trouble or obstructs your mission, you can deal with them yourself, as long as you act reasonably and within regulations," Sheng An added.
Jiang Yu didn't understand.
Sheng An smiled faintly. "For example, Yu Litian and Chen Jiaojiao."
Jiang Yu: "!!!"
That hit her right where it mattered.
Sheng An withdrew her hand and sighed, looking sad. "Never mind. If you're unwilling, we won't force you."
Hao Jingye maintained a serious expression, but inwardly, he couldn't help giving her a thumbs-up.
As expected of Sheng An!
Gentle?
Gentleness with a gun pointed at you.
Force first, courtesy afterward. Then she played the victim, aired their hardships, invoked the greater good, and called Jiang Yu their "hope" and "the country's future." After that came the incentives, and finally, a strategic retreat...
This was an "interrogation" plan tailor-made for someone with Jiang Yu's personality.
Emotional, softhearted, indecisive, naive, yet someone who had experienced the apocalypse and been reborn. With Jiang Yu's temperament, a harsh interrogation wouldn't win her allegiance.
They wouldn't force her?
What a joke. If Jiang Yu really refused to talk, Sheng An could "force" her on the spot.
That gun was loaded!
Sure enough.
Feeling Sheng An's warm hand pull away, Jiang Yu instinctively grabbed it.
Then she stammered, "For the country, I... I-I'll tell you everything. I'll join you."
Before you continue