Guan Xia struggled to control her facial expression, careful not to let any trace of contempt or hatred show.
Naturally, she didn't believe what Wu Yang said, but since he had already denied it, she could only try to extract information from another angle.
Guan Xia let out a cold laugh and looked at Wu Yang, saying, "Even if what you say is true, and everything related to the orphanage was Lin Jinnan's responsibility, then as someone who also came from that orphanage, you just stood by and watched indifferently, letting Lin Jinnan lead those poor orphans down a path of crime? Their starting point in life was already so low, and you people..."
Unexpectedly, for the first time, Guan Xia's words were cut off halfway by Wu Yang, who remained impolite. Still smiling, he shook his head at Guan Xia and said, "You've made another mistake. That path is only defined as a 'path of crime' by your standards. But for us, they are walking a very sacred path of resistance and struggle. This world is full of so much injustice. As members of the oppressed, if it weren't for us, they could only endure beatings, humiliation, and despair. It is we who gave them courage and weapons, allowing them to live happily and freely in this world. Isn't that a good thing? If I guess correctly, you've met Yao Qingyan and Wang Huiqin, and you've certainly investigated them. Since you investigated, you should know what kind of lives they lived before. Now think about their present. Isn't the contrast stark enough?"
Wu Yang's words were very persuasive, but Guan Xia remained unmoved. She just looked at him coldly, emphasizing a fact. "Their present? The contrast is indeed stark. Before, they were at least alive. And now? They are dead, killed by you."
"No, no, no," Wu Yang chuckled. "You're wrong again. They weren't killed by us, but by you. Yao Qingyan died by police gunfire, Wang Huiqin died by suicide. We have always been very tolerant of our own people."
Guan Xia felt like sneering again upon hearing this. "What about Lu Manqing? And Wu Xingxian? Don't tell me you don't know. These two were both silenced by you."
As if he had long expected Guan Xia to say this, Wu Yang's expression didn't change at all. He continued smiling and said, "It seems that although you are excellent, your memory isn't very good. Didn't I say before? The reason Li Feng's wife was killed was because I didn't want to go to prison. Their deaths are the same. If they were caught, they would expose us. To protect ourselves, we had to sacrifice them. I imagine they would have been willing even while alive."
Looking at Wu Yang, who appeared decent on the surface, Guan Xia only found him utterly repulsive, even to the point of briefly not wanting to speak to him. But remembering the interrogation wasn't over and she hadn't gotten all the answers she wanted, she could only force herself to continue with patience.
Guan Xia took a deep breath and looked at Wu Yang again. "Whether you admit it or not, the fact is, if you hadn't lured those children who left the orphanage onto a criminal path, they would have been better off. At least they wouldn't be facing imprisonment like they are now."
Wu Yang chuckled lightly again. "Every life finds its own path. Just like we lost, they, as members of our group, also lost. When you lose, you must accept the consequences. There's nothing to regret. If you don't believe me, you can go ask Lin Jinnan if she regrets it."
Guan Xia looked at him with a cold expression, offering no response to these words.
She did indeed plan to see Lin Jinnan after interrogating Wu Yang. She was also very curious about this suddenly emerging confidante of Wu Yang's—how Lin Jinnan had gone from a smart, ambitious young person with a bright future to her current state.
The interrogation had lasted less than two hours, but amidst Wu Yang's various outrageous statements, Guan Xia had lost all curiosity and patience with him. She now just wanted to end this interrogation as soon as possible and leave the rest to real interrogation experts. So she asked her final question.
"What about Meng Lan?" Guan Xia asked. "You can deny the others, but you can't deny Meng Lan, can you? I know you met with Meng Lan several times. Did you target her when she was very young, wanting to guide her onto that path as well?"
This time, Wu Yang showed a look of disdain and spoke in a very casual manner. "Meng Lan? I know she's important to you, but to me, she was just an extremely ordinary one among the countless children at the orphanage. If there was anything special, it was that A'Nan found her special and mentioned her to me a few times. That's why I got curious and met with her a couple of times. But after meeting her, I was greatly disappointed. In my view, she wasn't smart enough, not ruthless enough, and not bold enough. I don't know how A'Nan took a liking to her and gave her so much patience. But to me, she was just another unremarkable face in the crowd."
Wu Yang paused suddenly as he spoke, then looked at Guan Xia and smiled again. "There are very few things I regret in my life, but now I do regret one. I should have listened to A'Nan and paid more attention to Meng Lan. That way, I would have discovered you earlier, and perhaps we wouldn't have come to this point. Speaking of which, you haven't answered my previous question. How do you manage to not care about those voices? Don't you find it irritating? Don't you feel pain, don't you feel envy and hatred? Looking at that face so similar to yours, yet so much happier and more fortunate than you—don't you want to destroy her?"
Wu Yang's arrogant expression suddenly changed again, his eyes fixed intently on Guan Xia, revealing a gaze of curiosity and puzzlement.
Hearing this, Guan Xia sighed inwardly. So, it was no coincidence that her biological sister had found her. Everything was guided by Wu Yang and his people from behind the scenes. But what puzzled Guan Xia was, if they had orchestrated all this, why did they seem to have only recently discovered her?
With this doubt in her heart, Guan Xia asked it. "Before I answer you, answer me one more question. When did you start targeting me? Why did you make that person who looks so similar to me appear in front of me? What was your purpose?"
"Purpose?" Wu Yang smiled. "There was no purpose. It was just an experiment conducted on a whim. And I wasn't even the one who initiated it; it was A'Nan. She learned about you through Meng Lan. At first, she just thought you were too weak, too spineless, like a lump of dough that didn't care how others scolded or bullied you. Compared to Meng Lan, you seemed like two completely different kinds of people. A'Nan couldn't believe there really existed someone so weak who could still live so well. So she did a simple investigation and found out that your biological parents abandoned you and then had another daughter who looked very much like you. She wanted to conduct an experiment to see, when you actually saw this daughter, what interesting changes might occur beneath your calm facade."
Guan Xia listened, feeling nothing but disgust and nausea. These people claimed to be punishing evil and upholding justice, filling the gaps in the legal system, but their words were filled with utter contempt for the lives and fates of others. They completely failed to see anyone besides themselves as human. They arbitrarily altered and toyed with others' destinies, treating it as a game, an experiment, yet in the end, they still wore the posture of someone performing virtuous deeds, expecting gratitude and reverence.
Recalling all the information she had gathered about Wu Yang over these past days, Guan Xia had initially thought he harbored sympathy for pitiful individuals like Sun Xiuxiu, which led him to establish such a large criminal organization. But now it seemed he was simply a lunatic, a psychopath. He used the punishment of evil as a pretext, but the true core was his complete lack of respect or awe for life. In his eyes, people were no different from cats or dogs. That's why he could so easily decide a person's life or death, even if that person was his sworn brother's wife, or even the sworn brother he grew up with.
No wonder he could become the villain in a crime investigation novel world. Truly a thorough pervert. While analyzing this in her heart, Guan Xia couldn't help but sigh with this thought.
Having asked all the questions she wanted, Guan Xia didn't wish to stay a second longer. She decisively stood up.
Wu Yang sensed something and asked urgently, "You haven't answered me yet. How did you manage to be indifferent to those voices? Have you never experienced times of pain, jealousy, or hatred?"
Guan Xia stopped her movement, instinctively recalling her life before and after the crossing. She took one last look at Wu Yang and said with a calm expression, "If you see yourself as human, and also see others as human, you will find that people like me are as numerous as fish in the river. Of course we have times of pain, jealousy, and hatred. But in our hearts, hope has never vanished. So we can always cast aside that pain and hatred and continue moving forward, light as a swallow."
After saying this, Guan Xia left the interrogation room without looking back. Just before she pushed the door open, perhaps provoked by something, Wu Yang began muttering and repeating a phrase, "See yourself as human, also see others as human... see yourself as human, also see others as human..."
Guan Xia didn't pause. After exiting the interrogation room, she casually closed the door, shutting Wu Yang and his incessantly repeated words inside.
Guan Xia had known the observation room would be crowded, but she hadn't expected this many people. It was packed to the point of being a squeeze just to stand. However, perhaps because Guan Xia had been inside the interrogation room, she saw Xu Nian, Pang Le, and others occupying a relatively good spot as soon as she emerged. She looked over just as they did, and Pang Le and Zhong Xiaoyu even flashed big smiles, waving at her.
Guan Xia also instinctively curved her lips into a slight smile. Then she saw Director Gao give her an approving pat on the shoulder. "Well done. You've really worked hard these past days, Expert Guan. Leave the rest to us. You all should get some proper rest, focus on recovering from your injuries properly, and don't let any after-effects linger."
As Director Gao finished speaking, several leaders from the task force, some familiar and some not, all chimed in with praise for Guan Xia. It wasn't until Captain Zhang also exited the interrogation room that the others quieted down and began discussing who should conduct the second round of interrogations.
Seizing the opportunity, Guan Xia and her group quietly slipped out of the observation room.
Finally finding a less crowded corner, Pang Le enthusiastically gave Guan Xia a big hug, saying excitedly, "Guan Xia, you were amazing! I always knew you were outstanding, but I didn't realize you were this outstanding. Facing Wu Yang, you didn't lose your footing at all. Instead, you suppressed his imposing manner and made him affected by your words."
Guan Xia knew Pang Le was referring to the scene she had heard just before leaving the interrogation room, with Wu Yang muttering to himself. Honestly, she hadn't expected it either—that a criminal like Wu Yang, who had a natural antisocial personality with his own twisted logic, would be affected by her final words.
She couldn't quite figure it out, but couldn't be bothered to dwell on it. She smiled and said, "He might truly be affected, or he might be pretending. Who knows? He's captured now anyway. There's no need for me to care about what he thinks."
“Exactly,” Zhong Xiaoyu said. “We’re normal people; he’s a pervert. How can a normal person understand the thought process of a pervert? So let’s not make things difficult for ourselves. Who cares what he thinks? We just need to know he’ll pay for his crimes and face execution.”
Regarding whether he would receive the death penalty, Guan Xia had never thought to ask Xu Nian and never doubted it. After all, judging by the soul light orb of Wu Yang she had seen, which was red to the point of turning black, she figured even with the country's strict standards for capital punishment, he would definitely qualify.
Compared to the excitement of Zhong Xiaoyu and Pang Le, Ji An was much calmer. Gently patting Guan Xia's back, she smiled and said, "Tired, right? You haven't slept or eaten properly for several days in a row. Since it's still early, why don't we go for a meal together? We can deal with everything else later."
Pang Le and Zhong Xiaoyu, with perfect tacit understanding, were the first to respond. "Great! I want a feast! I want hot pot! After eating instant noodles and boxed meals for days, my mouth feels utterly bland."
Guan Xia also relaxed, showing a smile and nodding. Then she remembered something and turned to Xu Nian to ask, "After interrogating Wu Yang, I'd still like to see Lin Jinnan. Can the task force arrange a time for me to meet her?"
Xu Nian nodded without hesitation. "Of course. Before you even left the interrogation room, I discussed it with Director Gao. He had no objections and said they would actively coordinate with your schedule. Also, actually, Lin Jinnan has been requesting to see you as well."
Now Guan Xia was genuinely surprised. "She wants to see me too?"
Xu Nian said, "Yes, we didn't expect it either. But we discussed it. She probably learned through the cases of Wu Xingxian and Linjia Village that you were the real core behind their capture. Didn't we analyze before that she's very similar to Wu Yang, almost like a replica of him? So we suspect that just as Wu Yang is curious about you, she is too. But compared to Wu Yang, her attitude will likely be much more sharp. Be careful during the interrogation; don't let her attitude affect you."
Guan Xia wasn't worried. Instead, she smiled slightly. In the eyes of Xu Nian and the others, Wu Yang's attitude towards her wasn't bad, but that was only because Wu Yang knew how to disguise himself. After all, only Guan Xia could see the system interface.
Guan Xia still remembered that as long as the criminals she encountered held no malice towards her, her halo consumption would not reach 100%. However, during both of her encounters with Wu Yang, the consumption value on her system interface had been skyrocketing every single second, flooding the screen. If she hadn't fully mastered the system's operation and closed the interface while interrogating Wu Yang, she wouldn't have been able to focus on observing every subtle expression in his speech.
She wasn't nervous about what attitude Lin Jinnan might take with her. After all, even Wu Yang, who hated her to the bone, couldn't do anything to her. As long as she remained alive, it was the greatest injury she could inflict upon both Wu Yang and Lin Jinnan.
