Night Journey

Chapter 39 Interrogation
Cillian put on the handcuffs, and a man named Daelin sat opposite him with a serious expression.

After being forced to stop by Daelin, Cillian didn't have time to observe the true appearance of the City of Convergence, Hel, before being taken to this interrogation room by this group of so-called city guards.

After waiting for several hours, Dalin finally pushed open the door and began questioning Cillian.

"Name."

“Cillian”.

Dai Lin started taking notes, asking without looking up.

"What about the last name?"

After a moment of silence, Cillian said, "I am an orphan. I have no surname, only a given name."

Dalin glanced up at Sirian. There were many examples like Sirian in Hel City, so he didn't dwell on it too much.

"age."

"Seventeen."

Dalin carefully examined Cillian's appearance. The wind, sand and scorching sun of the past few days had made Cillian look quite disheveled, but Dalin could still detect the youthful innocence in him.

"Only seventeen? It's quite impressive that you can survive in the wilderness at your age."

Dai Lin's tone softened, no longer as harsh as before.

"You are also a superhuman?"

Cillian readily admitted this, “Yes, I am a torchbearer.”

"Where are you from?"

“I was originally traveling with a troupe, but a while ago, we encountered a source energy tide, and after that night, I was separated from the troupe.”

Cillian answered without changing his expression.

He had already prepared these words on his way to Hull.

Then, Cillian countered, "Is this how you interrogate me? Have I violated some law of the city-state?"

"No, the interrogation of you was only for security reasons."

Dalin replied, “You are only seventeen years old, and you are not only a torchbearer, but you can also survive alone in the wilderness... You even have the energy to bring a dog.”

As he spoke, Dai Lin glanced at the corner of the interrogation room, where a dirty white dog was lying. It looked like it was curled up asleep, but its ears were perked up, eavesdropping on the two people's conversation.

"It's hard not to suspect that you've been corrupted by chaos."

Dailin fiddled with his pen and continued, "As you know, for the city-states standing on the outer frontier, the threat of Chaos is imminent."

Cillian agreed with Daelin and chimed in, "Then how can I prove myself?"

“You don’t need to prove it yourself, we have a way to test it,” Dai Lin glanced at his watch, “but my colleague in charge of testing seems to be busy with something else, so I’ll have to wait for her a while.”

"Ok."

Cillian waited patiently.

Cillian always harbored a great deal of curiosity and anticipation for the outside world, but he also deeply understood that the outside world was not a fairy tale, and the cruelty of reality would be a hundred times more severe than Cillian had imagined.

However, this seems to be a good start.

He had not been subjected to severe torture, and the man named Dai Lin did not show any obvious hostility towards him; in fact, he was quite friendly.

During the wait, Daelin took the initiative to talk to Cillian at length, asking about the details of Cillian's night in the wilderness, his experience as a torchbearer, and so on.

Dalyn left the question at that, and Cillian found it much easier to lie.

"Sorry, I'm late."

A tall woman pushed open the iron door of the interrogation room. She had golden curly hair, light makeup, and exuded charm with every gesture.

"Anya, where have you been?" Dailin frowned as he saw the woman arrive. "Do you know how late you are?"

“I have a date tonight,” Anya raised an eyebrow at Dalyn. “It’s a really handsome guy. I’m so excited that I’ve lost track of time.”

"Since I'm already late, let's not waste any more time and just get started."

Anya opened her briefcase, took out a syringe, and casually rolled up Cillian's sleeve.

"what is this?"

Cillian instinctively pulled his arm back.

Anya shook the syringe. "This is a Soul Essence Agent, a method we use to detect chaotic contamination."

She activated the source energy within her body at the right time, and Anya's hands glowed faintly, revealing luminous capillaries beneath her orange-red skin.

Anya is also a torchbearer, and her rank is clearly higher than Cillian's.

"After the Soul Essence Agent is injected into your body, if there is any chaotic power in your body, it will spontaneously combust and burn you into an empty shell from the inside out."

Anya inserted the needle into Ciri's vein.

"But if you are not contaminated, nothing will happen. The medicine will be metabolized within a week. Even if there are adverse reactions, it will only be some nausea, which can be relieved by drinking more hot water."

Cillian responded, "I am also a torchbearer."

“So?” Anya countered, “Do you think the torchbearer won’t be contaminated?”

The image of the Deathbird flashed in Cillian's eyes, and a piece of history surfaced in his mind... the year of rebellion.

"In fact, it is more dangerous for the torchbearer to be contaminated."

Anya's smile vanished, her gaze sharp. "Because of the Torchbearer's identity and the soul essence within him, the public easily trusts him and thus lowers their guard."

"Alright." Anya pulled out the needle. "Now, activate the source energy within your body."

Cillian didn't immediately do as Anya suggested, and asked curiously, "What would you do if I were corrupted by Chaos?"

Anya paused for a moment, then covered her mouth and chuckled. "What a stupid question you asked."

Anya gently stroked Cillian's dirty hair. "Of course I'd kill you, otherwise why would I throw you out?"

Dailin nodded in agreement. "Usually, I would break your neck before you spontaneously combust, which would definitely lessen your suffering before you die."

"Afterwards, this interrogation room will be isolated, and special personnel will be assigned to clean up any potential chaotic contamination. Your body will be thrown into an incinerator and thoroughly burned to eliminate any trace of chaotic power."

Cillian fell into a deeper silence.

Dailin and Anya's friendly attitude was not meaningless kindness, but simply a calm demeanor reflecting their absolute control over the situation.

They can communicate with themselves with a smile, and naturally, they can also kill themselves with a smile.

Cillian sighed helplessly, awakening his source energy and burning his soul essence, causing his body temperature to rise rapidly.

"He seems to be fine."

After observing for a while, Anya and Dailin exchanged glances.

Dalyne stood up and removed Cillian's shackles.

Do you check every single visitor like this?

Cillian flexed his wrists and immediately felt much more relaxed.

Dailin shook his head. "The vast majority of visitors arrive in tour groups, carrying relevant documents from their departure city-state to ensure the purity and safety of the tour group."

"Visitors like you who come alone are a very small minority."

At this point, Dalin couldn't help but laugh. "When we found you, we almost immediately assumed you were a Chaos believer. Only a madman would wander alone in the wilderness at night."

Hearing this, Cillian felt a chill run down his spine. "What made you change your minds?"

Dalyn tilted her head, looked past Cillian, and gazed at Bruce, who was curled up in the corner.

“It’s very simple. Even the most insane Chaos believer wouldn’t take a dog with him on the road.”

Dailin became more and more excited as he spoke, his eyes filled with curiosity. "Besides, even if you really are a Chaos believer, I still have to arrest you and ask you what you're planning... and why you brought a dog with you."

Cillian took a deep breath and covered his face with his hands. He wasn't ashamed; he just didn't know what kind of expression to wear.

The absurdity of life continues.

Cillian never imagined that he would survive for such a ridiculous reason, nor did he expect that someone would relentlessly pursue him for the same reason.

"Well, it's inevitable to feel lonely when you're traveling alone in the wilderness."

With vacant eyes, Cillian babbled incoherently, "Having a dog for company, at least you can talk to it, right?"

Dalyn paused for a moment, looked at Bruce, and then at Cillian's serious expression.

“Talking to a dog?” Dalin burst into laughter. “Anya, this guy, hahaha!”

Cillian clenched his fists silently, wanting nothing more than to leave this awful place as soon as possible and end this strange humiliation.

After three minutes of incoherent rambling by Dalin, Cillian was released from the interrogation room to retrieve his motorcycle and other personal belongings.

Bruce obediently followed behind him, not even wagging his tail anymore.

Dalin and Anya watched Cillian leave, and as soon as his figure disappeared around the corner, the smiling Dalin immediately became serious.

“This Cillian isn’t telling the truth,” Daelin said coldly. “If he were a member of the Phantom Troupe, he couldn’t possibly have been unaware of the Soul Elixir.”

“But he passed the Soul Essence Potion test, which is enough to prove that he is not a Chaos believer,” Anya analyzed. “He must have lied about his origins.”

Dai Lin thought for a while and then shook his head.

"Forget it. The visitors are a mixed bag. We can't possibly investigate everyone thoroughly. As long as we make sure they are not Chaos believers and pose no clear threat to the city-state, that's fine."

He added, "Aren't there things more troublesome than this now?"

Anya opened the suitcase and took out a stack of documents and photos.

"Today's 'date' didn't go well. The man had no redeeming qualities other than being handsome."

Anya picked up a transparent sealed bag and handed it to Dalin. "It took me a lot of effort to get rid of him. This was peeled off his back."

Dai Lin took the sealed bag, and inside was a bloody piece of skin with a tattoo on it.

A jet-black claw drawn with messy lines.

Anya sat wearily in a chair, picked up a mirror, and touched up her makeup.

"The Chaos Cultists have become active again in Hel City. I thought they were all wiped out by the Reverse Falcon decades ago."

Dailin put the sealed bag back into the suitcase and muttered, "Chaos is like a natural phenomenon. Do you think you can kill a tsunami or an earthquake?"

"No matter how many times you defeat them, they will always come back stronger."

Dalin paused, then sighed, "But in this crazy era, this is the first time I've ever seen a lunatic taking his dog on the road."

Anya chuckled a few times. "You go first, I'll pack my things here."

"Okay, thank you for your help. I need to take this back to the archives."

Dai Lin tidied Anya's suitcase, then pushed open the door and left.

Anya was left alone in the interrogation room. After a moment of silence, Anya's gaze gradually became fervent, and she swallowed hard.

Anya lowered her head. On the table sat the empty syringe, the tip of which still bore traces of Ciri's blood.

She picked up the syringe as if to lick the blood from the needle tip, a suppressed sound escaping her throat.

“Cillian…”

(End of this chapter)