In the interrogation room of the Public Order Department.
A charred Qi Yuan sat on a cold metal chair, silently looking at the three people in front of him.
Qi Yuan was a little puzzled. He was clearly the victim, but not only did he not receive timely treatment, but he was also brought here to be interrogated.
If it wasn't someone who was deliberately targeting him, then he must have been deliberately framed.
However, Qi Yuan was not worried. He was now a second-level researcher and had three big shots, Tanqiu, Cao Yansheng, and Mo Sheng behind him. In addition to the deal with the person from the Army, unless the Public Order Department had solid evidence, they would not dare to do anything to him.
A slightly plump middle-aged woman glanced at the surveillance camera in the corner, then nodded slightly and began to ask questions.
"Qi Yuan, did you know anything about the explosion that happened today?"
"I don't know," Qi Yuan said faintly.
"We've checked your travel records. Fifteen days ago, you went to the prison. What were you doing there?"
"Taking samples for an experiment."
"Be more specific."
Hearing the woman's question, Qi Yuan's eyes flashed. He vaguely guessed something, but he was unwilling to believe it. If his guess was true, then the conspiracy behind this explosion was probably beyond his imagination.
Qi Yuan sorted out his thoughts and began to answer the woman's questions.
"I applied for a third-level research project and have already reported it to the project review team in the laboratory. After receiving the pass to the lower twenty floors of the prison, I went to the prison to take samples for the project research."
"I took a total of three samples from the prison. They were the twelfth floor's fallen mechanical body numbered 12- 00012, the twelfth floor's mechanical beast numbered 12- 00055, and the ninth floor's Tree of Annihilation."
Although Qi Yuan did not activate the area detection, when he mentioned the twelfth floor's mechanical beast numbered 12- 00055, there was a slight change in the woman's eyes, which made him even more certain of his guess.
There was something wrong with the missing 12- 00055 mechanical beast sample!
The slightly plump middle-aged woman was wearing an earpiece. She was silent for a while, as if she was listening to someone's orders. After a while, her entire person's aura suddenly became oppressive.
She looked back and forth at Qi Yuan with a scrutinizing gaze.
"Tell me about the specific use of these samples in the research project."
Qi Yuan raised his eyebrows. This question was obviously out of line. Although the laboratory often discussed various research problems, it was only limited to the laboratory. As long as they left the laboratory, no one would disclose any information related to the research project.
Revealing information related to the research project to people outside of the laboratory would not only result in the cancellation of the research project, but in severe cases, the researcher qualification would also be stripped.
Although the Order Department didn't have much contact with the laboratories, they should be very clear about this rule. However, this middle-aged woman had directly crossed this red line.
"I refuse to answer this question. According to the rules, I can't disclose any information about the research project to you!" Qi Yuan said.
The middle-aged woman snorted and slammed the table.
"Qi Yuan, the explosion this time has caused serious damage to the laboratory. Many researchers have died in the explosion. Now is not the time for you to talk about rules."
"This is the Public Order Department, not a laboratory!
Tell me everything you know, and don't hide anything! "
"Explain?"
Qi Yuan looked at her coldly.
"I'm also a victim of the explosion. I'm not the perpetrator of the explosion. What do you want me to explain?"
"Victim?"
The slightly plump middle-aged woman stared at Qi Yuan.
"Since you're a victim, then tell me, how did you survive the explosion?"
"The energy intensity of the explosion in your laboratory was comparable to the full power attack of a Rank 5 powerhouse. You're only a Rank 3 ability user. Without any preparation, that explosion was enough to kill you a hundred times over!"
Qi Yuan frowned. Although two people had already noticed the existence of the Blazing Angel, he still didn't want too many people to know about the existence of the Blazing Angel. Moreover, the Blazing Angel was only a Rank 4 energy body. If he wanted to fully explain the reason for his survival, he would have to reveal his Rank 3 abilities.
Qi Yuan didn't want to reveal too many of his secrets in order to deal with this kind of interrogation.
After muttering to himself for a moment, Qi Yuan decided to hide the existence of the Blazing Angel.
"Before the explosion, Tanqiu sent me a private message, telling me to leave the laboratory immediately. When I arrived at the entrance of the laboratory, I discovered that the control authority of the door had been tampered with. Before the explosion, I made some defensive measures, and that's how I managed to survive."
"Nonsense!"
The slightly plump middle-aged woman berated loudly.
"Don't think that you can cover up your mistakes by dragging Tanqiu into this!"
"The explosion that happened in your laboratory was just a ruse. You did that just to wash away the suspicion on yourself!
"You deliberately caused the explosion and made the corresponding defensive measures in advance. That's how you managed to survive!"
Qi Yuan's frown deepened. If this woman wasn't ordered by someone to deliberately frame him, then she must have some unfavorable evidence. Otherwise, there was no reason for her to accuse him so recklessly.
"Why aren't you talking?"
The woman sneered.
"Since you can't explain how you managed to survive, then let's change the topic!"
"Let's talk about how you transformed from a wastelander to a second-grade researcher in the Biological and Mechanical Research Laboratory in just a few months."
"Qi Yuan, don't think that we can't discover your problems just because your cover is flawless!"
"You're too impatient. If you had more patience and climbed up bit by bit instead of trying to reach the heavens in a single step like this, perhaps you wouldn't have been exposed so thoroughly!"
Qi Yuan shrugged when he heard this.
"In other words, you don't have any evidence. All of your accusations against me are baseless suspicions!"
"Qi Yuan!" The slightly plump middle-aged woman berated once more.
"If you confess honestly, you might still have a chance to live. If you continue to resist stubbornly, don't even think about leaving the Ministry of Order today!"
"Enough!"
Qi Yuan calmly exchanged glances with the woman.
"I don't care why you locked onto me as a suspect, but please don't forget my current status. I'm now a second-grade researcher. You must produce sufficient evidence for all of your accusations against me!"
"I'm willing to come to the Ministry of Order and cooperate with your investigation, but this doesn't mean that I'll admit to something I didn't do."
"I've already been in the Ministry of Order for twenty minutes. If you can't produce sufficient evidence, please send me back to the laboratory in forty minutes. My laboratory was destroyed in the explosion. I still have a lot of work to do!"
The originally angry woman suddenly restrained the anger on her face and looked deeply at Qi Yuan.
"If it were any other time, you would indeed only need to stay in the Ministry of Order for an hour. But now that the laboratory is in a mess, no one will care about the whereabouts of a second-grade researcher."
The woman stood up and spoke as she walked.
"So, even if I detain you here for an entire day, no one will come looking for you, much less an hour."
The woman walked to Qi Yuan's side, bent down, and said in a low voice, "You were also injured in the explosion.
"Moreover, you were severely injured in the explosion in the laboratory. Even if you die in the Public Order Department, no one will say anything!"
"We still have a lot of time. We can slowly drag this out with you until you confess!"
Faced with such a blatant threat, Qi Yuan didn't panic. Even if the laboratory was in a mess and Tanqiu and Cao Yansheng couldn't take care of him, there was still one person who definitely wouldn't forget about his existence. In less than an hour, that person would come to the Ministry of Order to ask for him.
Seeing Qi Yuan's silent appearance, the middle-aged woman's eyes flashed.
A fierce look flashed across the middle aged woman's eyes, and she immediately extended her hand to press on Qi Yuan's wound.
Qi Yuan let out a muffled groan. The wound that had turned charred under the impact of the destructive energy suddenly burst open. Dark red blood flowed out of the wound.
Looking at the burst open wound, the woman smiled and released her right hand that was pressing on the wound.
"You see, if you're unwilling to speak, we have many ways to pry open your mouth."
"I can give you another chance to take the initiative to confess. If you continue to be stubborn, then the following conversation won't be as gentle as before."
Qi Yuan glanced at the wound and instantly realized that someone wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to kill him.
The few staff members in the room were all Rank 3. If they suddenly attacked him, he could easily kill the three of them. However, the consequence of doing so was very likely that he would be killed on the spot by the people guarding outside.
Someone deliberately didn't bind him and let these people who were only Rank 3 interrogate him. Furthermore, they used torture. It was likely that they wanted to provoke him into making a move.
"Using torture on a Rank 2 researcher without any conclusive evidence. It seems like you really don't want me to walk out of here alive," said Qi Yuan.
The woman's eyelids twitched. She said, "Tell me, and I'll let you die a painless death."
Qi Yuan was silent for a few seconds.
After a few seconds, he asked, "Have you found the source of this explosion?"
The woman narrowed her eyes and looked at him.
"I'm the one asking you now, not the other way around!"
Qi Yuan smiled.
"You should at least let me die with some understanding."
The woman circled around Qi Yuan and said, "You're smart.
"You're very smart. You didn't do it yourself. Instead, you used the body fragments of the 12- 00055 mechanical beast on the twelfth floor of the prison to invade the control systems of many laboratories. Then, through the backdoors of some experimental equipment, you triggered the explosions of the laboratories."
"You tried to disguise this explosion as an accident, but you neglected one point. All the data in the laboratories are backed up in detail in the database."
"We've already retrieved all the abnormal data. It clearly shows that all the authority tampering started from your laboratory. You're the main culprit of this explosion!"
"Now, do you have anything else you want to deny?"
Qi Yuan frowned. He suspected that the other party was deliberately tricking him. However, at the same time, he had some doubts in his heart. Was he really being used by the real mastermind behind the scenes?
"Even if the authority tampering started from my laboratory, it doesn't mean that I did it. I'm just a Tier 3 Aptitude User, not a Mechanic. With my strength, it's impossible for me to tamper with the authority!"
"So, you used the 12- 00055 Mech Beast in the twelfth level prison!" said the woman.
"Although the 12- 00055 Mech Beast has self-destructed, it can't cover up what you've done."
"We've found evidence. The 12- 00055 Mech Beast may look like an ordinary Mech Beast, but there's a mysterious Veda hidden in its body. You took the opportunity to take samples from the prison and brought the mysterious Veda back to the laboratory. Then, you used it to invade the laboratory's network and triggered the series of explosions."
There's a Veda hidden in the 12- 00055 Mech Beast?
Qi Yuan suddenly believed what she said because a checkpoint refreshed on the 12- 00055 Mech Beast.
It was just that he was not strong enough at that time, and he could not observe it closely, so he did not notice the Veda's existence.
As for the Veda hidden in the 12- 00055 Mech Beast, it probably relied on the experimental samples taken from the 12- 00055 Mech Beast to invade and tamper with the authority of the laboratory.
In that case, the explosion this time was very likely a conspiracy by the Mechanical King's Court.
The Mechanical King's Court had dealt with Doomsday Munitions many times, so they knew very well that after Doomsday Munitions captured a Mech Beast, they would definitely not destroy it immediately. Instead, they would use it as an experimental sample for research.
The Mechanical King's Court deliberately let the Mech Beast with the Veda hidden in it get captured. Their goal was probably to create such chaos.
But the question was, why did they only do it today?
The 12- 00055 Mech Beast had been imprisoned for many years, and the experimental samples had been taken many times. Logically speaking, the Mechanical King's Court could have created such chaos a long time ago, so why did they do it today?
Was it because of the First Seat's big project?
They did not want the project to go smoothly, so they chose to do it now!
If this speculation was true, then there must be a mole from the Mechanical King's Court in the laboratory!
The Black Steel Shelter would conduct detailed checks on the captured Mech Beast before they were imprisoned. It was difficult to detect the Veda in a hibernating state, but at the same time, once the Veda entered hibernation, it was difficult for the Veda to wake up on its own unless it was awakened by an external force.
This mole hidden in the laboratory, after learning about the First Seat's project team, chose to awaken the Veda and started the explosion!
Just as Qi Yuan's mind was racing, trying to find the culprit behind the explosion, in another room of the Public Order Department, a young man was watching the scene of Qi Yuan's interrogation on the projection while playing with a mutated energy weapon that was not fully activated.
"Tsk tsk!
I didn't expect a Level 2 researcher to have a mutated energy weapon! "The young man said softly.