The Screening Begins: You Should Have Said Sooner

At noon, Shen Yan and Old Chen were patrolling the streets. They had reached a corner and were discussing where to eat lunch when a collaborationist policeman came running over and saluted. "Officer Shen, Director Lu wants you in his office immediately. It's urgent."

Shen Yan's heart skipped a beat. Without betraying his feelings, he patted Old Chen's arm. "Keep an eye on things here. I'll be right back."

Old Chen pursed his lips. "Watch what you say. Don't offend the boss."

Shen Yan acknowledged him and turned, striding toward the police station. As soon as he entered the station courtyard, a system notification sounded:

[Ding! Intelligence update! Lu Tinghui is about to initiate a loyalty screening, ordering you to interrogate and severely punish an "underground Party leader" to test your stance and loyalty. Failure will expose your identity!]

[Ding! Quest triggered: Safely pass the loyalty screening]

[Quest requirement: Complete the interrogation as instructed, avoid exposing your identity, and successfully gain Lu Tinghui's trust.]

[Quest reward: Unlock a new skill-Discern Truth, which allows you to hear directly whether another person's words are true or false.]

[Failure penalty: Your identity will be exposed, placing you in danger.]

Shen Yan's heart tightened, and his fingertips grew slightly cold.

He kept his head down as his mind raced. If I do it, I'll really become a beast! But if I don't, I won't pass this test, and all my previous efforts will have been for nothing!

System, hurry up and think of something! Give me some advice!

"Please resolve this yourself, host. This system cannot offer any advice."

Fuck! What do I do? Do I really have to draw my gun, shoot my way out, and spend the rest of my life on the run?

But what about Old Chen?

The struggle pricked at his heart like needles, but Shen Yan still knocked respectfully on the door of Lu Tinghui's office. "Director, you wanted to see me?"

Lu Tinghui sat behind his desk and smiled, pointing to the sofa nearby.

"Don't be so stiff. We're all brothers here. I've been watching your recent performance, and it's been excellent! Neither rash nor impatient, steady and orderly! I was right about you!"

Shen Yan immediately rose and stood at attention. "You've placed your trust in me, sir. I wouldn't dare slack off in the slightest! I only hope to live up to your guidance!"

His words were firm and decisive, his performance as a loyal subordinate flawless!

"Good! Good! Good! Sit down."

Lu Tinghui was utterly satisfied, admiring his own eye for talent.

"However..."

Lu Tinghui changed tack, regret in his voice, though his eyes remained fixed on Shen Yan's expression.

"I called you here today to give you some bad news. I received word that after your teacher Inoue left your village all those years ago, he encountered Communist Party guerrillas and was mercilessly killed!"

"What?!"

Shen Yan stood up again, his face filled with disbelief.

But inwardly, he shouted to the system, System, upgrade my acting! I'm having a little trouble keeping up with this scene!

[Ding! Host has purchased an acting skill upgrade. Skill upgraded to proficient. That will be 1,000 good-and-evil points!]

Shen Yan's eyes turned red, tears streamed silently down his face, his lips trembled slightly, and his face went pale. He looked utterly devastated.

In character in one second. Nice work, system!

Lu Tinghui's suspicions eased a little more. A person wouldn't show such genuine emotion unless someone very close to him had died.

He stood, came over to Shen Yan, and patted him consolingly on the shoulder. "My condolences! Shen Yan, you must pull yourself together. I'm sure your teacher in heaven wouldn't want you to sink into despair!"

Just then, someone knocked on the office door again. The man who entered was a squad leader from the operations team.

"Director Lu, the Communist we caught yesterday still won't talk. What do you think..."

Here it comes!

Shen Yan now fully understood Lu Tinghui's tactic: first tell him of his teacher's death and see whether his reaction was genuine, while also increasing his hatred for the Communist Party.

So, if I were really grieving for my supposed teacher, right now I should...

"The Communist Party?!"

Shen Yan first glanced at the squad leader, hatred practically overflowing from his eyes.

Then he turned, stood at attention before Lu Tinghui, and shouted, "Director, please let me interrogate this Communist!"

Lu Tinghui feigned difficulty. "That's a little against the rules..."

Shen Yan stepped forward, his words urgent. "Please, Director Lu, give me this chance!"

"All right..."

Lu Tinghui pretended to give in reluctantly.

"The operations team has interrogated him for a whole day without getting anywhere. Maybe you'll have some success! You, take Officer Shen there. I'll come and listen in too."

Shen Yan grabbed the squad leader and hurried outside, his face full of eagerness, though his heart sank to rock bottom.

What do I do?!

I'll take it one step at a time!

The operations team squad leader led Shen Yan through several gloomy corridors, turning this way and that until they reached a hidden basement deep inside the police station.

The heavy iron door was pushed open, and a gust of cold, damp air carrying a faint scent of blood hit them.

The room was small and dim, lit only by a yellowish bulb swaying overhead, stretching the shadows long and thin.

Several instruments of torture rested against the wall: an iron rod, a leather whip, a branding iron glowing red-hot, and an electric torture device that made one's skin crawl just to look at it, its exposed wires gleaming coldly.

In the center stood an iron interrogation chair fitted with restraints for the hands and feet.

A man was tied to the chair.

His clothes were in tatters, his chest and arms bore several wounds, and his disheveled hair covered half his face. Pale and with cracked lips, he hung his head slightly. He looked as though he had been tortured all night. His breathing was faint, yet he still had an air of defiance.

Hearing someone enter, he slowly raised his head and looked at Shen Yan, his eyes tired but still forcing themselves to remain vigilant.

Almost at the same instant, a line of text appeared above the man's head.

[Name: Matsumoto Ichiro]

[Identity: Japanese Special Higher Police agent]

[Good-and-evil value: -120]

[Current thoughts: This is the person being screened. He's pretty young]

Shen Yan was overjoyed, and the angry expression on his face nearly slipped.

He's a little Jap! You should have said so sooner!

Lu Tinghui followed behind them and went into an observation room with one-way glass at the side, where he stood quietly watching from the shadows.

The squad leader said quietly to Shen Yan:

"Officer Shen, here he is. He's very tight-lipped. No matter how we beat him, he won't talk."

Without turning around, Shen Yan spoke in a voice as cold as ice:

"All of you, get out. I'll interrogate him."

"But..."

"The director put me in charge. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."

The squad leader dared say no more. He glanced toward the observation window and, seeing that Lu Tinghui did not object, hurriedly led his men out, closing the iron door behind him.

Only Shen Yan and the bound agent remained in the room.

Shen Yan walked slowly to the interrogation desk, picked up the record book, and gently opened it.

He did not act immediately. He merely looked down at the man, his gaze icy and oppressive.

"Name."

"..."

"Name!"

The man slowly raised his head, his voice hoarse and his expression aggrieved.

"Sir, I've been wronged! I'm just an ordinary citizen. You've got the wrong man."

"Oh, an ordinary citizen?! What do you do for a living?"

"I'm just a peddler who goes from door to door. I was going to buy some stock that day, and I don't know why you officers grabbed me. Please be kind and let me go. I really am not a Communist."

The man sobbed as he defended himself, looking deeply aggrieved.

Shen Yan, however, showed no sign of relenting.

He stepped forward with a cold laugh and seized the man's hand.

"A peddler, are you? Then explain to me why you have such thick calluses on the first joint of your right index finger and in the web between your right thumb and index finger."

The man jerked his head up and stared at Shen Yan in astonishment.

Shen Yan continued with a cold laugh. "What? Don't understand? Let me explain. Calluses in those two places can only mean one thing: you've handled a gun for years! Tell me, why would a peddler handle a gun for years?"

"Brilliant!"

Behind the one-way glass, Lu Tinghui couldn't help praising him aloud. With such keen observation, he was a natural-born agent!

"I... I'm not... I don't know..."

The man stammered, unable to think of an answer.

Shen Yan gently lifted the man's right hand and rubbed the calluses on his fingers. His touch was so gentle that it gave the man goosebumps.

Suddenly, Shen Yan gripped the index finger and wrenched it upward!

"Ah!"

The man's index finger bent at a ninety-degree angle to the back of his hand. He screamed, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

"Ruthless enough!"

Lu Tinghui nodded in satisfaction once again.

Ignoring the screaming man, Shen Yan walked to the wall and took down a whip, speaking to himself. "You are a Communist. You just don't want to admit it. Do you know? In my hometown, almost every family kept a dog. My family had a big black dog, and I was especially fond of it when I was little. Whenever I had something good to eat, I'd share some with it. But one day it bit me. I was very upset and told my father what had happened."

Holding the whip, Shen Yan smiled at the man.

"Guess what my father did?"

The man's face was pale, and cold sweat streamed down his cheeks. Watching Shen Yan approach, he kept shrinking back and shaking his head.

Shen Yan tugged at the whip in his hand, his voice still gentle.

"My father took a whip much like this one and gave the big black dog a vicious beating. From then on, that beast never bared its teeth at me again! My father told me, a beast is a beast. You have to beat it into submission first, and only then will it understand who's in charge!"

With that, Shen Yan raised the leather whip without warning and lashed the man across the face.

"Crack!"

"Ah!"

The single lash instantly split the skin on the man's face!

The man screamed wildly in pain, trying in vain to dodge Shen Yan's storm of lashes. Before long, he was covered in blood.

The squad leader, who was also in the observation room, shuddered and looked at Lu Tinghui, who stood silently beside him.

"Director... shouldn't we call it off... Matsumoto looks like he's almost finished..."

"We can't stop! We have to carry the act through to the end! Besides, if he can't endure this little bit of suffering, how can he call himself one of the empire's elite!"

Lu Tinghui spoke coldly, though his eyes were full of admiration for Shen Yan.

The whipping continued for ten minutes, and Shen Yan seemed a little tired.

He dropped the whip, picked up the branding iron glowing red-hot in the brazier, and, without giving the man any chance to react, pressed it hard against his chest!

"Sizzle!" A soft sound rang out, white smoke rose, and the smell of scorched flesh instantly filled the air.

"Ah!"

The man's voice no longer sounded human. He twitched a few times and passed out.

"Passed out? That won't do! My teacher must have been in terrible pain when you people killed him! How can you just pass out like this?!"

He casually tossed the branding iron back into the brazier, scooped a ladle of water from a wooden bucket nearby, and flung it hard into the man's face.

The icy water brought the man around.

At that moment, Lu Tinghui tapped gently three times on the glass in the observation room.

The man, his head lowered, breathed a small sigh of relief. The plan could proceed to the second step.

"Don't... don't hit me anymore... I'll talk..."

Shen Yan pursed his lips regretfully, turned, and sat back down behind the desk, picking up a fountain pen.

"Name?"

"Li Guangsheng."

"Position?"

"Courier for the Shanghai District Committee."

"Who is your contact?"

"Zhang Liang of the Shanghai District Committee."

"How do you usually communicate?"

"The fourth brick from the left under the big banyan tree in Anping Lane is our dead drop."

Shen Yan questioned him one sentence at a time, calm and unhurried, and the man gave his answers with great cooperation.

Listening in the observation room, Lu Tinghui nodded to himself. The screening had achieved its purpose by this point. It was now basically certain that Shen Yan was not with the Communists or the Kuomintang. The screening could end.

Before he could give the order, Shen Yan suddenly asked a seemingly pointless question.

"You just said your dead drop was the fourth brick from the left under the big banyan tree in Chunshui Lane, right?"

"Yes, that's the place."

Shen Yan immediately smiled, though his face was icy.

In the observation room, Lu Tinghui's eyes lit up, and he grabbed the squad leader, who was about to go and call a halt.

"This Shen Yan really does keep surprising me!"

In the interrogation room, Shen Yan slowly put down the fountain pen, his voice icy.

"Li Guangsheng, you just said the dead drop was in Anping Lane. Why are you saying it's in Chunshui Lane now?! You still haven't grasped the reality of your situation! Guards!"

The squad leader, having received Lu Tinghui's approval, pushed the door open and entered.

"Officer Shen, what are your orders?" His tone held respect and a trace of fear.

"Our Mr. Li here can't quite see the situation clearly. Let's help him out. Tie him to the electric chair!"

"But... this Communist is almost finished. If we put him in the electric chair too..."

Shen Yan turned sharply, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the squad leader's.

"What?! You feel sorry for him?!"

"N-no, I wouldn't dare! I'll do as you say!"

The team leader felt as though he were facing a man-eating beast, as if Shen Yan might kill him the very next second.

He hurried forward, untied the man, then bound him to the electric chair again.

The man struggled relentlessly. "No! I remembered it wrong just now! It was Anping Lane! Anping Lane!"

Shen Yan picked at his ear in irritation, picked up a dirty rag from the floor, and stuffed it tightly into the man's mouth.

"Since you don't want to talk, don't talk for now! You'll be begging me to let you talk soon enough!"

Then he pointed at the team leader. "I don't know how to use this thing. You operate it. Don't stop unless I tell you to!"

"Yes! Yes! Whatever you say!"

The team leader nodded repeatedly, silently swearing that he would never offend Shen Yan again!

He turned the knob. A sizzling sound filled the air, and the lights in the interrogation room flickered, brightening and dimming.

The man's whole body shook violently, and his eyes rolled back until only the whites showed.

But Shen Yan didn't tell him to stop, and the team leader didn't dare stop. Before long, a faint smell of roasted meat filled the interrogation room.

"That's enough!"

Lu Tinghui pushed the door open and waved at the team leader.

The team leader hurriedly cut the power.

Shen Yan looked at Lu Tinghui. "Director?"

A trace of reluctance and the slightest hint of grievance showed in his eyes.

"All right."

Lu Tinghui patted Shen Yan on the shoulder and comforted him softly.

"I understand how you feel, but we can't rush things. If you beat him to death, what happens to the intelligence? You did very well today, and I'm very pleased! Go back and get some rest early. You'll be getting busier and busier in the days ahead!"

Shen Yan opened his mouth, but ultimately obeyed the order. His eyes red, he asked, "Director, where was Teacher Inoue buried? I'd like to pay my respects."

Moved, Lu Tinghui squeezed Shen Yan's shoulder. "I'm glad you feel that way! You're someone who repays kindness, but your teacher's remains have already been sent back to Japan. Keep up the good work, and once you've earned some merit, I'll take you to Japan to pay your respects to your teacher. I'll also show you the most beautiful cherry blossoms in the world!"

"Thank you, Director!"

Shen Yan turned and left, his whole body limp. His shoulders twitched, and he wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve from time to time.

Lu Tinghui nodded again, then said to the team leader, "Take Matsumoto to the military hospital and see that he gets proper treatment."

With that, he turned and strode toward his office, a spring in his step.

Two hours later, word came from the hospital that Matsumoto's injuries had been too severe and he had died.

Lu Tinghui paused only briefly when he heard the news.

"Report him as having died in the line of duty and issue a compensation payment. His younger brother can be approved to come to China and take his place."

Then he resumed reviewing the documents in his hands.