Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

In the dim light of Room 101, Wen Yan slowly opened his eyes.

The police car carrying Chen Guohua drove past outside the window, just as clearly as he saw it from "Chen Guohua's Perspective".

He slowly raised his hand and placed it on his heart, which was usually very weak.

"Thump, thump, thump."

My heartbeat was still weak and erratic, but the suffocating feeling that had followed me for over a decade miraculously subsided a little.

Wen Yan understood that this was a feedback from the Seed of Souls—the awakening of the host would benefit the sower.

The anxiety of not being able to get enough oxygen no matter how hard you try, and the dizziness that could occur at any moment due to insufficient blood supply, were relieved at this moment.

It was like a dried-up, cracked riverbed finally receiving a light drizzle.

Although it wasn't enough to turn him into a normal person, the long-lost feeling of comfort was enough to make Wen Yan's eyes well up with tears.

At the same time, in his sea of ​​consciousness, in the originally empty void, a brand new point of light appeared.

The light spot had a violent, blood-red color, like burning embers.

That was the "fruit" that belonged to Chen Guohua, the manifestation of Chen Guohua's core wish, and also the ability he simultaneously obtained from Chen Guohua—[Life Burning].

Wen Yan did not rush to touch that power.

His lifespan was already short.

Wen Yan was more concerned about everything that had just happened.

That's "shared vision".

From Chen Guohua's swift and deadly strike to his insane stabbing in a fit of rage, to the subsequent pretense and scheming of the desperate father after his sanity returned... Wen Yan was like a ghost possessing Chen Guohua, witnessing everything from beginning to end.

Even when the police from the Fifth District Police Station broke down the door, he was able to see their reactions through Chen Guohua's eyes.

That's the reaction of an ordinary person.

Shock, hesitation, confusion.

The scenario Wen Yan had feared did not occur—such as a group of mysterious people in black trench coats suddenly appearing, scanning Chen Guohua with unknown instruments, and then shouting things like "High-energy reaction detected."

Even as Chen Guohua was being taken to the police station in a police car, Wen Yan did not sense any special detection methods targeting the "Seed of Souls".

This illustrates two points.

Wen Yan leaned against the headboard, a thoughtful look on his pale face, his eyes appearing particularly deep in the darkness.

First, the official forces in this world, at least at the district-level security bureau level, do not have a widespread mechanism for detecting and responding to supernatural forces.

Secondly, this "routine handling" attitude may, conversely, confirm that extraordinary phenomena caused by "seeds of souls" are either extremely rare in this world or well-covered up, to the point that they are insufficient for grassroots law enforcement officers to include them in their primary suspicions.

This is news that he can be cautiously optimistic about.

This means that the risks of his initial operations may be lower than expected.

------

Fifth District Police Station, Interrogation Room.

The stark white light shone down from above, illuminating the cramped room without a single shadow, making Chen Guohua, sitting in the interrogation chair, appear even more emaciated.

He was handcuffed, and the section of his wrist that peeked out from his sleeve was shockingly thin, as if it would break with the slightest twist.

Opposite him, Lei Zhen had been staring at him for a full three minutes.

On the table were the fingerprint comparison report and the investigation briefing that had just been sent back from the crime scene.

"Chen Guohua".

Lei Zhen finally spoke, his deep voice carrying a sense of oppression, "Do you know why we arrested you?"

Chen Guohua struggled to lift his eyelids and said, "Officer... I really don't know... I was sleeping at home... why are you arresting me..."

"sleep?"

Lei Zhen sneered and slammed several photos of the scene onto the table.

The photo shows Zhao Dayou's almost severed neck, the blood all over the ground, and the knife stuck in Zhao Xiaoya's chest that she can't pull out.

"The Zhao family of three was brutally murdered just two hours ago. The murder weapon was a fruit knife, and the handle only had your fingerprints on it!"

Lei Zhen leaned forward, staring intently into Chen Guohua's eyes: "You want to tell me about the person you killed in your dream?"

Chen Guohua looked at the photos.

Seeing his enemy's gruesome death from another angle once again filled him with a sense of satisfaction, but his face showed a blank expression.

"No...it's impossible..."

He coughed violently, his body hunched over in the chair, each cough sounding as if he were coughing up his lungs.

The recorder next to him glanced at him with some concern, fearing that the prisoner might die in the interrogation room.

"Officer...look at me like this..." Chen Guohua gasped for breath, even lifting his shirt to reveal the dialysis catheter inserted below his collarbone and his shrunken, sunken abdomen. "I can't even lift a bucket of water...I get out of breath after walking just a few steps...that Zhao Dayou...he's so strong...how can I kill him? How can I kill his entire family of three?"

This is precisely what troubles Lei Zhen the most.

A logical dead end.

Fingerprints are irrefutable evidence that Chen Guohua had contact with the murder weapon.

But the autopsy report and the analysis of traces at the scene are irrefutable evidence—the killer possessed extremely fast speed, explosive power, and superb killing skills.

These two things are completely contradictory in Chen Guohua.

"You have accomplices." Lei Zhen's voice grew deeper, his body leaning slightly forward, his gaze locked on the other person. "Who's helping you?"

"I didn't... I'm all alone... My daughter is dead... I'm dying soon too..." Chen Guohua wept uncontrollably, the desolation and despair emanating from his very bones filling the interrogation room. "I just want to... live a few peaceful days before I die..."

Lei Zhen frowned.

Years of experience had sounded an alarm in his mind—the sadness of the person in front of him might be genuine, but the statement of "quietly waiting to die" was definitely problematic.

But he couldn't find a flaw.

Chen Guohua's weakness was not feigned; the police station doctor had just given him a simple examination and concluded that it was a miracle he was still alive, let alone committing murder, he would have difficulty even walking alone.

……

Ten minutes passed, and apart from intermittent coughing and the same old "I don't know" and "I'm innocent," Chen Guohua didn't reveal any other valuable information.

The interrogation reached a stalemate.

"Chen Guohua, I don't want to beat around the bush with you." Lei Zhen's voice was no longer as aggressive as before, but rather had a tone of earnest persuasion. "There are only your fingerprints at the scene, no one else's. According to the chain of evidence, you are the only suspect."

Chen Guohua lowered his head, as if he hadn't heard.

"However," Lei Zhen changed the subject, "investigating a case requires logic. Given your physical condition, there are indeed significant doubts about how you could have committed this level of killing. So I'm not forcing you to confess, but giving you a chance."

Lei Zhen leaned forward and lowered his voice: "Did someone help you? Or did someone get your fingerprinting tools and frame you? If it's the latter, you need to cooperate with us to find the real culprit."

Chen Guohua finally raised his head.

"Officer... I really don't know," Chen Guohua said in a hoarse voice. "I haven't been there either... I really don't know what fingerprints are. If you think I killed him... then sentence me to death. Anyway... I've had enough of living."

This almost shameless attitude of seeking death made Lei Zhen feel a deep sense of powerlessness.

He interrogated countless prisoners, some who tried to justify themselves, some who broke down, and some who resisted in silence.

But never before has anyone been like Chen Guohua, whose body was as weak as a sheet of paper on one hand, yet whose mental defenses were as hard as a rock on the other.

Does Chen Guohua really know nothing?

"The interrogation is suspended for now." Lei Zhen made the decision. He stood up. "But that doesn't mean you're out of the woods. Until the fingerprint issue is clarified, you remain the prime suspect in this case. We will place you under house arrest in a supervised ward at the Fifth District Hospital. In the meantime, think things through. If you have anything to add, or if you remember anything 'other,' let the guards know."