Apocalypse Circular-Chapter 520 - 518 Interrogation

After being scolded by Wu Ye Ji, he actually began to entertain some mad thoughts. Tonight, he would have this woman.

"Your Highness Ye Ji, stop running, it’s useless. How do you think I knew you were here? It’s because your own eleventh brother sold you out. The Imperial Family is heartless, but its subjects still have feelings. Don’t worry, I’ll treat you well."

Liu Qi’s words caused Wu Zhe in the distance to frown slightly. He shifted a little, but ultimately, he did not take any action. Liu Qi wasn’t wrong. Today, when Wu Zhe brought him over, he indeed had the thought of trading Wu Ye Ji for benefits. Although upon seeing Wu Ye Ji, he did feel some regret, those feelings were nothing compared to his own future status and power.

Meanwhile, Wu Ye Ji had withdrawn her gaze from Wu Zhe. Originally, she wondered if her royal brothers and sisters would lend her a hand, especially since she wasn’t using her abilities. But it now seemed like a pipe dream. These people were all ruthless; they would rather see her turned into someone else’s toy. That way, when it was time to reclaim her, she would become a very useful weapon, a commodity, in their hands.

Heh, naive fools. If Wu Ye Ji were truly just an ordinary princess, her fate would not be good. It would be natural for her to become the plaything of people like Liu Qi. Valueless princes and princesses would eventually be gifted to ministers; this was a recurring event in the Empire. This practice had continued for thousands of years and would certainly not change for any individual, because it was, in itself, a strategy of the Imperial Family: ensuring that each minister’s household contained some Imperial bloodline. Those of the Imperial Family with some status and influence were said to be married for alliances. But for those without status, influence, or strength, they were indeed mere playthings.

At this moment, in Liu Qi’s eyes, Wu Ye Ji was such an existence. However, he had clearly miscalculated.

"Master Liu Qi, please don’t do this. I am a princess. I have my dignity; I am not your toy. I have always maintained my propriety. You cannot humiliate me like this."

With Wu Ye Ji’s plea, ripples formed in the air of the bar. The once bustling place suddenly fell into an eerie silence. Among them, some people clenched their wine cups tightly. Their eyes were firmly fixed on Liu Qi, who was coercing Wu Ye Ji. Her words were like the fuse of a bomb. Now, the bomb had been ignited, yet Liu Qi, at the center of the storm, was utterly unaware.

"Heh heh, what are you talking about, my dear Princess Ye Ji? How could a woman like you become a plaything? Rest assured, once you come back with me, I’ll treat you well. You definitely won’t feel like... a mere plaything." Liu Qi’s voice even began to quaver, his torso swaying continuously, his excitement causing his expression to distort. It was as though he could claim Wu Ye Ji in the next moment.

Just as he took a step forward—

BANG!

A wine bottle suddenly exploded on Liu Qi’s head.

Liu Qi was stunned; Wu Zhe was stunned as well. They had not expected that someone would dare to strike at this moment, especially against the son of the Imperial Minister of Finance.

"Kill him!"

No one knew who took the lead, but a crowd suddenly rushed forward. Bottle after bottle smashed onto Liu Qi’s head. Facing Wu Ye Ji’s humiliation, the group of drinkers had long since lost their rationality. This was Wu Ye Ji’s powerful ability; her influence could even make these people lose their minds over Wu Yi, the Twelfth Princess, let alone Liu Qi, the Minister of Finance’s son.

Bottles burst open one after another. Liu Qi had already fallen onto the couch, but clearly, these people weren’t going to let him off that easily. One of them picked up a broken bottle and stabbed it into Liu Qi’s abdomen.

SQUELCH!

The splashing blood and Liu Qi’s screams finally snapped Wu Zhe back to reality. "Stop! Save him!" he shouted while organizing the rescue efforts. But these already crazed individuals were in no state to heed such advice. The bottles in their hands were their best weapons. The shattered glass pierced Liu Qi’s body time and again.

Liu Qi was a First Tier Transcendent, but a First Tier in a place like the Imperial Capital was really not much. Moreover, those attacking him were not limited to the First Tier.

Wu Ye Ji watched this scene, her expression nervous and frightened. "Stop fighting!"

But her shouts were like Liu Qi’s final death knell, driving the crowd to relentlessly attack him until he was beaten almost beyond recognition.

Wu Zhe watched the bloody scene, thinking to himself, "It’s over. It’s all over." He looked at Wu Ye Ji, only to find her looking back at him.

"Eleventh Brother, what should we do?"

Wu Zhe was momentarily speechless. He felt this matter was related to Wu Ye Ji, but he had no evidence and could only shake his head helplessly. "I don’t know either."

「Inspection Department.」

Lu Luo looked at the crowd before him with a strange expression. Aside from a large number of officials’ offspring and one corpse, even Wu Zhe, the Eleventh Prince who had confronted him before, was unexpectedly among them. As for the catalyst of this incident, Lu Luo had already heard from members of the Inspection Department that Wu Ye Ji had caused it. This made him feel it was utterly absurd! We just met this morning, and now here we are again... Speechless.

Of course, Wu Ye Ji saw Lu Luo. But after stealing a glance at him, she didn’t look his way again. It wasn’t that she didn’t care, but she didn’t want to further provoke Lu Luo’s displeasure at this time.

"What happened?" After a while, Wu Yi herself arrived.

Another Deputy Director of the Inspection Department pushed up the glasses on his nose, tilted his head slightly, and whispered the details of the incident into Wu Yi’s ear. "That’s roughly what happened. Since this is an Imperial Family affair, Your Twelfth Highness..."

"I understand. Leave it to me," Wu Yi said. She understood the implication; no matter what, this was a hot potato. The Inspection Department always handled Imperial Family affairs with deference, keeping them at arm’s length. There were many members of the Imperial Family in the Imperial Capital, and a large number of cases involving them occurred every year. This was normal, which was why the Inspection Department had retained someone like Wu Handing. After Wu Handing passed away, Wu Liji from the military department was immediately transferred to fill the vacancy. The Inspection Department needed a member of the Imperial Family to specifically handle Imperial cases that other division heads couldn’t.

The current case fell into that category. Although both Eleventh Prince Wu Zhe and Wu Ye Ji were present, to be precise, the only one directly implicated was Wu Ye Ji. The Eleventh Prince was merely the owner of the bar.

After Wu Yi briefly confirmed the case details, Inspection Department members escorted the individuals to several interrogation rooms.

Standing outside an interrogation room, Wu Yi glanced at Lu Luo. "Looks like it’s your turn this time. Take care of Wu Ye Ji."

"Me? I’ve never done this before."

"You’re a member of the Inspection Department now, isn’t this kind of thing par for the course?

"Besides, there’s a first time for everything; just think of this as your first time.

"Don’t worry, I’ll give you a private room, one without surveillance."

When Wu Yi mentioned "first time," Lu Luo immediately looked towards Wu Ye Ji in the interrogation room. He had already had *that* ’first time’! And in a private, large room no less—it was all too ambiguous! But Lu Luo had no desire to face Wu Ye Ji again at the moment. Having been so callous after their encounter that morning, and now he had to interrogate her—how incredibly awkward!

"Shouldn’t you be the one to do this?

"Firstly, she’s a princess, and matters concerning a princess should be dealt with by you, another princess.

"Secondly, she’s a woman. A man and a woman alone in a room, and she’s a princess at that—how bad would that look if word got out?"

Lu Luo genuinely wanted to refuse interrogating Wu Ye Ji, but it was clear Wu Yi wouldn’t let him off easily.

"What are you talking about? How could outsiders possibly know about this?

"Rest assured, there won’t be a soul within fifty meters of your room.

"No one will know you’re interrogating her, nor will anyone know which room she’s in.

"Isn’t that good enough?"

"But she..."

"No ’buts.’ You said it yourself yesterday that her strength is at the Seventh Tier, and not just an ordinary Seventh Tier. An expert like her, ordinary people can’t handle.

"If you made me go, wouldn’t that be sending me to my death?

"I nearly fell into her hands yesterday. You wouldn’t push me into the fire now, would you?

"It’s just a standard interrogation, go through the motions, detain her for forty-eight hours."

Lu Luo’s expression grew even more complicated. "If she doesn’t talk, judging by your tone, am I allowed to get physical?"

Wu Yi glanced around and whispered, "You also said your strength is greater than hers, and no one there will know it’s you interrogating her.

"How you conduct the interrogation is up to you, isn’t it?

"Given her nature, even if she suffers a loss, she won’t speak of it.

"After all, there aren’t many people who can make her suffer a loss."

Lu Luo looked at Wu Yi with suspicion. If he couldn’t rely on the Observer to confirm that no one had been around that morning, he would suspect Wu Yi knew what had happened between him and Wu Ye Ji. If she didn’t know, why would she arrange such an odd task...

"She’s indeed not easy to deal with. But in this situation, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to attack you in the Inspection Department, right? That would be defying Imperial authority."

Lu Luo was preparing to argue his point, but Wu Yi cut him off.

"Stop your whining. The room is already arranged for you.

"Handle her; let your strength do the talking!

"Mhm, I know you’re strong."

No, you don’t.

Lu Luo felt somewhat helpless, but in the end, he agreed. This incident was a serious official matter for the Empire. The Minister of Finance’s son had been murdered, apparently out of jealousy, and a thorough investigation was inevitable. Although the Minister of Finance was not the most powerful of the high-ranking officials, the power he wielded was not insignificant. No one in the Empire’s current echelons could afford to underestimate him. And Liu Qi was his only son. Now that his only son was dead, everyone would have to face the man’s wrath. What a hassle.

Lu Luo opened the note Wu Yi had given him, which indicated a room in the Inspection Department. Following the directions, Lu Luo finally arrived.

In the room, Wu Ye Ji sat quietly, not speaking. Her hands were clasped tightly together, her gaze lowered, appearing somewhat afraid and nervous. This pitiable appearance, however, provoked a feeling of revulsion in Lu Luo.

"Retract your Sequence. It’s me."

Indeed, Lu Luo’s Unbeliever ability had a strong resistance to Wu Ye Ji’s Sequence particles. If the two remained in a confrontational state, Lu Luo would develop a certain aggressive sentiment toward these particles. This was just an interrogation, a process to go through; there was no need to take it that far.

"Oh, it turns out to be Mr. Lu Luo. I didn’t expect it would be you interrogating me. If it’s possible, could you get me a glass of water? I’m a bit thirsty right now."

Upon seeing Lu Luo, Wu Ye Ji didn’t reveal much emotion, merely acknowledging that she recognized him. It was a very normal reaction, but Lu Luo knew what she was worried about.

He spoke directly. "Don’t worry too much. There’s no surveillance equipment here, no listening devices.

"This place is just an empty room.

"Wu Yi didn’t want to face you, so she sent me here to ’handle’ you."

Under normal interrogation circumstances, one wouldn’t say such things, so Wu Ye Ji’s eyes began to flicker.

"What is Mr. Lu Luo talking about?" Her inquiry sounded as if she were repeatedly confirming the matter.

Lu Luo then lazily stretched. "I said, there’s no monitoring here. No need to put on that facade; it’s unnecessary.

"No one can hear any sounds from this place, nor can anyone see what happens here.

"I’m sure of it."

Lu Luo certainly wasn’t speaking without evidence, nor was his confidence based on trust in Wu Yi. In this situation, he was skeptical of everyone. The only thing he could trust was his own strength. The Observer had already carefully scanned the place. If it found no issues, then there truly were no issues. Since even the Observer couldn’t find any problems, this place was naturally safe.

"Phew... hehe. I didn’t expect it would be you interrogating me." Wu Ye Ji’s guarded demeanor suddenly softened, and her entire aura changed with it. From her previous dignity and restraint, she now appeared relaxed and alluring. The feeling was like a tempting cream cake, making one want to take an immediate bite. Without the emanation of Sequence particles, Lu Luo’s perception of her improved considerably. Although he had been callous after their encounter that morning, Lu Luo’s overall feelings toward Wu Ye Ji weren’t entirely negative. Well... after all, *cough cough*!

"Is there a problem with me interrogating you? After all, Wu Yi doesn’t have any other Seventh Tier experts on her side."

"Wu Yi already knows I’m Seventh Tier?"

"Mm, she found out yesterday. After all, our first confrontation was at the tea party then."

"It should be the day before yesterday, actually. It’s already past midnight."

"Oh."

After this exchange, the conversation between the two fell into silence for a moment.