Chapter 275: Are You Going to Try to Arrest Me?

"[Heart 6]?" Chen Ling asked blankly, "Deputy Captain, what are you talking about?"

A professional Thespian... no, a professional actor, would never easily abandon their role. Although Han Meng pointing out his identity did make his heart tremble, not a single expression leaked out.

"At first, I didn't actually suspect you that much," Han Meng said slowly.

"A Tier 1 rookie enforcer, even if they wanted to play both sides, wouldn't dare to stab one superior in the back in front of another... Unless, of course, you were completely naive and ignorant of social nuances. So at that time, I was just a bit suspicious, not thinking too deeply about it.

But after I took you to the third floor once, the third floor fell into chaos, and then you went missing... If I didn't suspect you after that, I would have wasted all these years as an enforcer.

If you just change your perspective, you can see that you agreed to follow me simply because you hoped to use me to enter the third floor. And the checkpoint leading to the third floor is specifically designed to counter those with Divine Paths who possess the ability to disguise and change faces. That’s also why you had to rely on that companion who infiltrated the test subjects to destroy the checkpoint... because your face is fake to begin with.

Coincidentally, I happen to know someone who can change their face..."

Chen Ling spread his hands helplessly, "So what? Why do you think I’m the person you know?"

"You could have used the opportunity of transporting corpses to escape the base with that companion, but you didn't... because you, like me, learned of Zhao Yi’s death.

Since you chose to retreat at that time, it means the mission was likely already completed, so the later laboratory explosion and the test subject rampage were actions you took outside the mission. You did this just to avenge Zhao Yi, which means your relationship with him was very close...

Terrorist attack, face-changing, close relationship with a survivor from District 3... Besides you, Chen Ling, who else fits all these elements?"

As Han Meng finished speaking, the candlelit corridor fell into a deathly silence.

Chen Ling looked at the figure in the trench coat before him, and a familiar feeling of being seen through washed over him again... He gave a bitter smile.

A thin layer of skin drifted away into nothingness as his fingertips brushed across it. Chen Ling returned to his own face, and a bright red theatrical robe seemed to be soaked in blood in the firelight.

"Then, Officer Han Meng," Chen Ling dropped all his disguises and said calmly,

"Are you going to try to arrest me?"

Although Han Meng had already guessed Chen Ling’s identity, his expression was still incredibly complex when he actually saw that familiar face.

He was silent for a long time, not answering Chen Ling’s question, but asking instead:

"When you were in District 3, why did you become an enforcer?"

"Why?" Chen Ling chuckled, "To disguise my identity as a member of the Twilight Society, to prevent you from tracing it back to me, to obtain more intelligence... it’s that simple."

"Did you kill Jiang Qin?"

"No."

"What about Xi Renjie?"

"Not him either, I let him go."

"Why did you do that?"

"I do what I want. Who says the Twilight Society only kills and burns?" Chen Ling sneered, "Though, I’ve done plenty of killing and burning too... Do you want to know about it?"

Chen Ling was telling the truth. He had blood-bathed the Ancient Armory, he had killed all the enforcers in District 3 except for Xi Renjie, he had used the residents of District 3 to enter Aurora City, he had razed the Star Chamber of Commerce, he had framed a prosecutor, he had shot a witness in broad daylight, he had blown up the Aurora Base’s laboratory...

Any one of these things would be enough to label Chen Ling as a "must-kill" criminal. From the perspective of Aurora City, he was a crazy, bloody, sinister, and extremely difficult-to-capture villain!

Han Meng stared at Chen Ling in silence, and after a long while, he slowly lowered the black gun in his hand.

"...You go."

"Are you sure you’re not going to arrest me?" Chen Ling raised an eyebrow, seemingly unsurprised by this result. "If you let me go now, it won't be so easy to catch me later."

"Not necessarily," Han Meng said calmly.

"We will meet again... but it won't be in an enforcer’s black prison."

Seeing this, Chen Ling didn't say anything more and turned to walk toward the elevator... If he didn't leave now, it would be troublesome once Qiong Xuan and the others returned.

Han Meng watched with his own eyes as the red-clad figure stepped into the elevator, brushed his fingertips across his face to change back into "Chen Xin," waved at him with a half-smile, and disappeared into the base along with the elevator.

Han Meng turned and returned to the third floor. By now, the many enforcers had completely killed the rampaging test subjects and were leading the white-coated researchers to clean up the battlefield and check which equipment could still be used. But looking at the broken and chaotic parts on the ground, it was estimated that everything was completely ruined.

"Deputy Captain! We have a new discovery!" an enforcer ran up excitedly.

"What?"

"We caught an intruder!"

Han Meng was stunned for a moment, then saw another enforcer escorting a figure to him.

It was Wen Shilin, still wearing the enforcer uniform, his face covered in dust and bruises, looking incredibly disheveled. Even so, he was still clutching a camera, and a burning rage seemed to be in his eyes.

"He was just over by the observation room on the third floor, taking pictures of Laboratory No. 0, when we discovered him," the enforcer recounted the incident. "But he seems to be an ordinary person, he was taken down without any ability to resist..."

Han Meng frowned as he looked at Wen Shilin, feeling he looked familiar. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

Han Meng thought carefully and finally remembered where he had seen this guy. During the first trial, he was sitting with that Lin Yan, and seemed to be a reporter as well.

Wen Shilin didn't intend to answer Han Meng’s question, nor did he intend to defend himself. At this moment, he was still immersed in the shock of what he had seen inside the Aurora Base...

"I want to see Tan Xin!!" Wen Shilin gritted his teeth and spoke word by word.

Han Meng looked him up and down and said calmly to the others, "He shouldn't be the main culprit of this intrusion. Take him to headquarters and let the people there interrogate him."

"Yes."

Wen Shilin was handcuffed and taken away by the enforcers, and even his camera was forcibly confiscated. As he left, the lights above everyone’s heads flickered and returned to brightness.

"Power restored." Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

By the light, Dr. Yi finally saw the mess before him, his drunkenness dissipated somewhat, and he looked lost in thought with a complex expression.

Just then, a cry of alarm suddenly came from afar:

"Lord Aurora... Lord Aurora is gone!!"