Zhu Man was led into a room devoid of both lights and windows.

In the darkness, he felt an AI roughly grabbing his hand, throwing him onto a chilling iron chair. His hands were then handcuffed, and iron chains securely fastened him, rendering him immobile.

The AI departed, closing the door behind.

He was the only one left in the room.

After being touched by AI, Zhu Man began to feel nauseous again.

In a narrow space without a window, air became a scarce commodity, and humans couldn’t withstand the fear of darkness and confinement. Coupled with the discomfort in his stomach, Zhu Man’s breathing involuntarily quickened.

As oxygen diminished, his head grew increasingly muddled.

Where is He Feng Hui…

This thought leaped into Zhu Man’s mind.

He almost instantly snapped back to full awareness, harshly pinching the fleshy part between his thumb and forefinger, reminding himself not to be controlled by the AI in the Human Pool any longer. He needed to survive, to emerge unscathed, to see He Feng Hui again.

“Commence interrogation.”

Suddenly, a red dot illuminated on the wall ahead, and a cold mechanical male voice echoed.

Zhu Man stared intently at the red dot, knowing it was the camera used by the AI in the Human Pool to observe him.

“The human pet of GOV01, you have been arrested in the Human Pool on suspicion of intentional homicide. Please answer the questions truthfully.”

Zhu Man clenched his fists, remaining silent.

“Question one: Why were you present at Lin Lang’s residence at 03:08 on the night of April 1st? Why were you armed?”

Zhu Man remained silent.

“Repeating for the first time, why were you present at Lin Lang’s residence at 03:08 on the night of April 1st? Why were you armed?”

Repeating for the first time? What does that count mean?

Zhu Man still refused to speak, recalling He Feng Hui’s final words–Don’t admit anything.

He Feng Hui’s words were concise, but Zhu Man understood that even under the current rule of AI, criminal cases still relied on evidence. Insufficient evidence would lead to an innocent release. Zhu Man was convinced that He Feng Hui’s ability to utter those words meant he had already handled all the evidence.

“Repeating for the second time, why were you present at Lin Lang’s residence at 03:08 on the night of April 1st? Why were you armed?”

Zhu Man gritted his teeth, refusing to speak.

He trusted He Feng Hui, though he couldn’t pinpoint why he had such faith, nor when it began.

“Repeating for the third time, why were you present at Lin Lang’s residence at 03:08 on the night of April 1st? Why were you armed?”

Zhu Man remained silent—

“Zi—”

Suddenly, an electric current surged through him and Zhu Man’s body jerked up. Bound to the chair, he and the chair crashed heavily to the ground.

The same trick again.

He got up, calmly adjusted the chair, and seated himself again, staring at the red dot on the wall. He sneered, “Can’t you come up with something new?”

The cold mechanical male voice ignored his provocation and continued impassively, “Question two: Did He Feng Hui plan the murder of Lin Lang? Did he devise the plan, and was it executed by you?”

Zhu Man scoffed, spreading his hands, “Go ahead, shock me directly. Or do you have a few more questions? I won’t answer anyway, so one good shock should be enough.”

The mechanical male voice did not answer immediately.

The red dot on the wall stayed motionless. In this situation where he couldn’t see his opponent, Zhu Man felt extremely passive. The pounding of his heart, the attempt to control his fraying nerves–Every second felt like walking on a tightrope.

He closed his eyes, and He Feng Hui’s face appeared in his mind. He remembered He Feng Hui, who indulged him in his antics time and again, the same He Feng Hui who embraced him tightly during his seizures, the He Feng Hui who firmly restrained his body and kissed him passionately. He Feng Hui…

Zhu Man admitted to missing him, missing a calm and powerful AI, and this yearning brought him a sense of peace.

Taking a deep breath, Zhu Man needed to turn passivity into initiative.

The mechanical male voice finally spoke again, “Humans can’t endure such electric shocks. If you don’t want to be electrocuted to death, answer honestly.”

Zhu Man smirked.

Wasn’t this more like the demeanor of a living AI? Just now, he acted like an AI from the last century that didn’t pass the Turing test.

The iron chains didn’t bind Zhu Man’s legs; he even crossed them casually, retorting to the red dot on the wall, “Is it legal to electrocute me? If I’m eventually proven innocent and something happens to my body, as an interrogator, wouldn’t you be held responsible? Moreover, why should I admit to something I didn’t do? Do you have any evidence?”

The mechanical male voice said coldly, “The evidence is conclusive.”

Zhu Man’s fingers curled up unconsciously for a moment, but only for a moment.

Despite various possibilities rapidly crossing his mind—such as He Feng Hui not handling the evidence properly, or He Feng Hui setting a trap in collaboration with the Human Pool to take down the Anti-Intelligence Alliance—Zhu Man ultimately didn’t believe in any of them.

Among countless possibilities, he chose to believe in the one presented by He Feng Hui.

“The evidence is conclusive ah.” Zhu Man mused casually, “Why bother asking me then? Just make the judgment directly, right? No confession, but with abundant evidence, you can still convict the suspect. It’s such a simple principle, do I really need to teach you that?”

He spoke eloquently, surprising even himself.

During his two years with the Anti-Intelligence Alliance, as an Executor, he was never required to study legal knowledge. He didn’t know how that statement had smoothly come out of his mouth just now, as if it had been something hidden deep in his memory.

But now is not the time to worry about this.

The mechanical male voice didn’t speak again, so Zhu Man seized the initiative and started his counterattack, “Is that all? Can’t you send someone more competent next time? It’s boring—”

“Question three,” The mechanical male voice interrupted, “Have you developed emotions with GOV01 that violate the Human Management Law?”

The air suddenly became extremely thin.

Suffocating.

His arrogance crumbled in an instant, and Zhu Man felt the icy chill of the iron chains.

“Three seconds,” The mechanical male voice said, “Three, two—”

“I’m not interested in you cold robots.” Zhu Man suppressed his tone and tried to speak naturally.

In truth, the concept of “developing emotions” was the most challenging to define. Emotions were so subjective, and there was no objective evidence that could conclusively prove their existence.

However, even with that being said, of all the questions, it was this one that struck a nerve with Zhu Man. In the realm of humanity, rationality could never fully control emotions.

Suddenly, the red dot on the wall disappeared.

Before Zhu Man could react, the door to the room swung open abruptly. Before he could take a full breath of air, he was dragged up by two AI and escorted out.

This wasn’t the way back to the cell he shared with Liu Wenshu. Where were they taking him?!

“Let go!”

He began to struggle, but the more he fought, the harder the two AIs behind him pressed, rendering him immobile.

Bright white lights, iron walls, an iron door, and iron chains. The chains on his feet remained unfastened, clattering to the ground with a sharp, grating noise as he struggled.

He was taken to a door.

On the door, it read — Forensic Room.