Chapter 110

Chapter 110: Deflecting Blame

The police station buzzed with subdued activity, its fluorescent lights casting a sterile glow over the scuffed linoleum floors. 

Gloria slouched in a chair near the entrance, yawning as she tapped away on her phone, chatting with her girlfriends. Her relaxed demeanor mirrored the last time she’d been dragged in for questioning—only this time, she wasn’t the one in trouble.  

No, she was just here for the drama.  

Mi Xiaoliu had been taken in for interrogation, and with nothing better to do, Gloria had tagged along to spectate.  

She switched screens to her conversation with Heli.  

The older woman’s profile picture was a chibi version of herself—a pink-haired doodle, courtesy of Mi Xiaoliu’s surprisingly decent art skills.  

Little Demon Queen: You there?  

Heli in the River Thinks This Is Reasonable: ??  

Little Demon Queen: Your son got arrested.  

Heli in the River Thinks This Is Reasonable: !!  

Gloria stifled a laugh. Oh, she wished she could see the look on that woman’s face right now.  

Heli in the River Thinks This Is Reasonable: Use your connections to get him out. I’ll teach you scientific breast enhancement when I’m back.  

Gloria leaned back in her chair, eyebrows shooting up.  

Excuse me? Was that even a reasonable trade? And what kind of mother immediately assumed the worst about her own son based on one offhand comment?  

Then again… if Heli was offering scientific methods, did that mean her own assets weren’t natural? Cheater.  

—

Interrogation Room.  

Yiwen, no longer hiding her police affiliation, sat across from Mi Xiaoliu in an oversized, outdated ESP officer uniform. Her elbows rested on the table, fingers steepled in front of her mouth as she stared at him down.  

Mi Xiaoliu, for his part, quietly worked his way through a pork cutlet rice bowl.  

Why does he look so… content? Does he even realize what’s happening?  

“So you’re Xiaoliu, huh? Yiwen talks about you all the time.” The detective across from them—a middle-aged man with weary eyes—offered a friendly smile. “You can call me Uncle Chen.”  

An attempt to build rapport.  

Mi Xiaoliu didn’t react, methodically chewing his food.  

Behind the one-way mirror, Lu Mingxue facepalmed. When she’d been summoned, she’d assumed finally, the little gremlin had been caught, and she’d spent the last ten minutes praying she wouldn’t rat her out as an accomplice.  

But this? This was a mess.  

Everything in that girl’s head was tied to her identity as a Man in Black, spatial manipulator—and now it might determine the fate of millions. Given the electronic ghost’s complete lack of morals, there was no telling what he’d do if provoked.  

“Look, just be honest with us, alright? You’re not a suspect. But there’s a… bad guy. Holding millions hostage. Says he’ll kill them unless you hand over that supercomputer.” Officer Chen twisted open a juice box and slid it toward Mi Xiaoliu.  

Lu Mingxue, reading Mi Xiaoliu’s mind:  

Uncle Chen is nice.  

Oh for— Since when did free snacks make someone trustworthy?! How had this girl not been kidnapped yet?  

If I were a man, Lu Mingxue mused, I’d have devoured her ten times over by now.  

“I still don’t buy it. Xiaoliu needed me to teach him how to use a phone. And his ability test only registered regeneration.” Yiwen crossed her arms.  

She knew Mi Xiaoliu. If she’d threatened to chop his dick off, he wouldn’t dare lie—because he would take it literally.  

Besides, 90% of abilities couldn’t be hidden during testing. Not unless you were like Amari Yota, hijacking the equipment itself.  

Most importantly…  

There’s no way Mi Xiaoliu would lie to me.

“Not with me,” Mi Xiaoliu said softly, shaking her head.  

“That much is true.” The telepath’s voice echoed simultaneously in Yiwen and Officer Chen’s minds.  

So, Mi Xiaoliu had seen the supercomputer—it just wasn’t in his (her) possession.  

“Xiaoliu,” Yiwen took his hands in hers, trying to soothe him in this tense environment, “where did you see it? Don’t be afraid, I believe you.”  

Mi Xiaoliu squirmed slightly. Not out of fear—but because she was preventing her from eating.  

Officer Chen misinterpreted his discomfort. “It’s alright. We won’t tell anyone you were the one who told us.”  

Except Amari Yota, of course. He already knew.  

“Master,” Sasha chimed in (If she had a body, her eyes would be gleaming right now), “tell her where you found the supercomputer—just don’t mention you took it.”  

“In the sky,” Mi Xiaoliu answered.  

“…The sky?” Yiwen blinked.  

“Normally invisible.”  

……  

“That’s the situation.” Officer Chen stared flatly at the computer screen, where a grotesque clown face grinned back at him. “The boy claims there’s an invisible, intangible laboratory floating in the sky. Likely a mutation from his regeneration ability—some healers develop secondary physical traits.”  

Enhanced vision, reinforced musculature, even hair manipulation—those were common. The ability to perceive parallel spaces shouldn’t fall under healing, but now wasn’t the time to question it.  

“According to our telepath, he isn’t lying. The supercomputer you want is there.”  

“An invisible lab?” Amari Yota’s voice dripped with condescension. “Then make it visible. Get me what I want. And don’t bother negotiating—remember your place.”  

He was clearly mimicking some edgy protagonist from a trashy web novel, thinking it made him sound cool.  

Officer Chen, meanwhile, had already mentally filed him under “Needs Immediate Disposal.”  

A man-child with this much power? No government on earth would let him live.  

The call ended abruptly—Amari’s doing.  

Rubbing his temples, Officer Chen picked up the landline (One of the few things Amari hadn’t hacked, though he was undoubtedly listening in).  

“Little Demon King? …Yes, I know you’re not in the mood. But we’ve got another Easter situation.”  

……  

Elsewhere, A Hidden Laboratory.

A disheveled old man sat motionless as researchers adjusted his mechanical arm.  

Though he appeared well past seventy, his bare torso revealed a V-shaped physique that could shame most youths. Half his body had been replaced with crude, weighty machinery—a reckless design by conventional standards, the sheer mass should have crippled him.  

Burn scars riddled the junctures where flesh met steel.  

“The 67th branch has been exposed,” a voice announced coldly. “The Little Demon King took it out.”  

“Branch 67 has been discovered,” a voice cut in abruptly. “The Little Demon King has already wiped it out.”  

“What? Who exposed them?” Another researcher looked up, startled.  

The discovery of one branch meant their concealment methods had been compromised. The other branches could soon be in danger—forcing a large-scale relocation.  

“Someone attempted to infiltrate our database, but the program embedded in the USB drive blocked them. It was that Dream Game ability user who’s been causing chaos outside recently.”  

“The audacity. We ignored him, and he dared to target us?”  

“Mmm. We’ve already unleashed the USB counterattack. Overestimating himself, that fool—”  

Suddenly, the researcher’s head was seized by a mechanical hand. “Branch 67… in Fanzui City, correct?”  

It was the old man.  

“Y-yes.” The researcher hastily took two steps back, bowing his head, not daring to meet his gaze.  

“Did Subject Sixth Fractal flee to Fanzui City as well?” the old man pressed.  

“…Yes.”  

“Heh.” A grin twisted across his face—one utterly devoid of the kindness expected at his age.  

“Sir, per higher orders, Sixth Fractal’s defection is not under your jurisdiction,” the researcher said carefully, his tone deferential.  

“I know. Oh, I know…”  

With his remaining flesh-and-blood hand, the old man traced the jagged seam where his body met machinery—a grotesque fusion, all thanks to that little runt. He had rejected regeneration, chosen mechanical prosthetics instead, all to sear this pain into memory.  

His mechanical leg thudded against the floor as he strode forward, the joints whirring with each step.  

The lab doors slid open automatically, followed by a synthesized voice:  

“Farewell, Supreme Celestial.”