—He’s been silenced—

Once the two left the interrogation room, Ranen couldn’t help but scratch his head.

It seems that Archie doesn’t like him much.

Although Albert had mentioned that the payment would be made regardless, Ranen wouldn’t feel right taking the money if he didn’t contribute anything, no matter what Albert’s reasons were for bringing him here.

So he looked at the other people present and asked, “Is there anything I can do here?”

The other police officers exchanged glances.

“What should we do? After all, this is someone the boss brought in. We should be able to trust him, right?”

“But Consultant Hayes…”

“It wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.”

One of the officers hesitated for a moment before speaking. “You probably heard that our work progress isn’t going well. The suspect is pretending to be insane and not cooperating in the interrogation room. Due to human rights organizations’ threats, we can’t use any coercive measures, not even adjusting the lighting in the room.”

Ranen noticed that the lighting in the interrogation room was much softer than here.

“We’ll try to interrogate him again later. If possible, you could observe and record his psychological state as a note-taker. Since you’re not from the police department, you can serve as a witness if human rights organizations inquire later.”

“No problem.”

“And you’d better wear a mask. This gang member is reckless and might take a liking to your face if he sees it,” the officer hesitated for a moment before adding, “We might not even be able to send him to prison this time.”

Ranen understood immediately. He didn’t want to attract unnecessary trouble either, so he took the paper and pen, put on a mask, and followed the officer through a side door.

Inside the interrogation room, Ranen got his first proper look at the man sitting across from him. He looked much the same as he had through the glass—a bald man who seemed to be between twenty and thirty years old, with a four of spades tattooed on his left arm. His gaze was downcast, and he didn’t even bother to look at them.

According to the Black Poker internal structure knowledge that Albert had previously popularized to Ranen, they usually distinguished their internal status by the size of the poker card patterns. If the status changed, they would re-cover the tattoo.

So, this man was probably someone important in the Black Poker gang.

After they sat down, the bald man remained unresponsive. The officer began the usual questioning, asking the routine questions about why he caused trouble, the reason, the location, his motives, and what he intended to do.

The bald man’s face was full of indifference, and he kept his head down, maintaining an arrogant demeanor that quickly angered the officer in charge of the interrogation. The officer slammed the table fiercely. “What kind of attitude is this?!”

“I’m so scared, officer. Come on, hit me right here,” the bald man said with a playful grin, presenting the right side of his face. The officer took a deep breath, his face full of indignation, but the cameras in the interrogation room reminded him that he absolutely couldn’t lay a hand on the suspect.

This guy wasn’t even a convicted criminal, just a suspect. Even if he were a real convict, the officer still couldn’t do anything. Otherwise, the next day, reporters would swarm the police station, calling it a grave violation of human rights.

So, even though every officer in the precinct knew this man was scum, responsible for crimes like robbery, assault, disturbing public order, and drug trafficking, they couldn’t lay a finger on him. The lengthy prosecution process was also fraught with obstacles, and with the Black Poker’s connections in this city, it was uncertain if they’d even be able to send him to prison.

Damn this world!

Cursing under his breath, the officer sulked back into his seat. The bald man, still grinning, casually glanced at Ranen, who was taking notes nearby. His gaze was instantly drawn to those green eyes peeking out from above the mask, a flash of astonishment and confusion flickering in his eyes.

…Confusion? Ranen, who had been carefully observing the man’s expressions, didn’t miss the look on his face. He was used to people being struck by his current appearance, but this didn’t seem to have the same mind-altering effect on the suspect as it had on the player in the hospital that night.

With the interrogation not progressing smoothly, Ranen couldn’t help but recall that night in the hospital.

As he continued to think, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Ranen’s mind.

Ignoring the bald man’s intense gaze, Ranen walked over to the officer named Charlie, bent down, and whispered in his ear.

Charlie looked at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”

Ranen smiled and nodded.

The bald man’s eyes greedily followed Ranen, filled with both lust and hesitation. Even though only Ranen’s eyes were visible, he had an inexplicable feeling that the face beneath the mask belonged to a stunning beauty. But then he quickly realized something was off—he liked women!

Before he could dwell any further on his sexual preferences, he noticed the two of them stand up and leave the interrogation room without hesitation. They seemed to be in such a hurry that they didn’t even bother to fully close the door, leaving it slightly ajar.

The bald man stared in disbelief for a few seconds, not expecting the cops to give up so easily. He glanced down at the handcuffs chaining his hands to the chair and snorted. Good, now no one will be buzzing annoyingly around him anymore.

Just as the bald man was zoning out, waiting for his lawyer to arrive, the lights in the interrogation room suddenly dimmed.

His vision abruptly shifted from light to dark, and the sudden change startled him. With his surroundings pitch black and nothing visible, he frowned, assuming that the cops were trying to pull some kind of prank. He immediately let out a cold laugh. “Do you think something like this is going to scare me?”

“Hey! You think I’m a three-year-old, afraid of the dark? Should I start calling for mommy to make it more convincing for you?”

The bald man shouted toward the door, confident that this was just some petty trick by the police. That is, until he suddenly heard the sound of gunfire outside.

He instantly fell silent, as quiet as a mouse. With years of experience in the gang, he could easily tell that the gunshots were real. But what the hell—how could there be gunfire inside the police station?

Could it be that the Black Poker gang had come to rescue him?

The thought flashed through his mind but was quickly dismissed.

First off, the Black Poker gang had been operating in Arkham for years. If they wanted to bust him out, they wouldn’t need to resort to something as clumsy as storming a police station. Doing so would mean an outright declaration of war against the police. Besides, he wasn’t important enough within the gang to warrant such extreme measures.

So, then, could it be that some other fool was trying to break into the police station at this very moment?

At that moment, sounds of shouting and calls for backup echoed from outside, but they were quickly drowned out by explosions. The bald man’s heart started racing uncontrollably. Remembering how those two had hurried out earlier, he called out toward the door, “Hey, is anyone there? Can someone get me a glass of water? Hey?”

There was no response. Instead, the gunfire grew louder, making the bald man want to cover his ears, but his hands were cuffed to the chair, leaving him unable to move.

This is bad. If something serious is really happening, won’t he be a sitting duck?

Soon, the gunfire outside ceased, plunging the room back into a suffocating silence and darkness.

The bald man didn’t dare make a sound, but then he caught the sound of footsteps.

They seemed to be approaching.

“Hey?” he called out tentatively. “Buddy, are you here to break into the police station? I’m with the Black Poker gang. You know Black Poker, right? I’m not with the cops—”

*Click.*

The sound of a handgun’s safety being switched off.

“Hey, what are you doing? I’m with Black Poker, you—”

The bald man started breathing heavily, his heart pounding even faster. He could feel a breeze, and the silence sent a chill down his spine—it was as if Death itself was approaching him.

*Whoosh—

Just then, the lights suddenly blazed on, startling the bald man. His heart pounded like a drum as he looked up to see the face of the person before him.

It was Ranen, now without his mask.

That face, so stunning it surpassed human limits, seemed to blur and enlarge in front of him, overlapping and overwhelming his every nerve.

The bald man’s expression became utterly blank, his gaze fixated almost obsessively on Ranen’s face.

“Hello, Sean,” Ranen said, smiling as he spoke. “Can we have a little chat?”

The bald man slowly nodded.

—-

When Archie and Albert finished their conversation and entered the interrogation room, they immediately noticed something was off.

The police officers observing the interrogation from behind the glass wall were all staring in shock at the scene unfolding before them. The voice coming through the wall revealed that the bald man, who had been stubborn and uncooperative just moments ago, was now as obedient as a well-behaved child. Whatever Ranen asked, the man answered without hesitation.

“What’s going on? Did you guys use truth serum on him?” Albert asked as he caught up from behind.

“N-No, sir, we wouldn’t dare,” one of the officers stammered.

Archie stood silently for a moment, listening intently. He couldn’t help but step forward, his eyes fixed on the bald man’s expression. The man’s face didn’t display the blankness typical of someone under the influence of special interrogation methods. On the contrary, his eyes were bright, and his speech was natural and fluent. What unnerved Archie even more was the man’s complete obliviousness to the fact that he was revealing critical information, all while wearing an expression of pure infatuation.

It was almost as if… he had become a puppet, completely controlled by the person in front of him.

“I’ve got it! This must be one of those hypnosis techniques you see on TV. The guy must be a master hypnotist!” one of the officers exclaimed, looking at Albert with admiration. “No wonder you specifically brought him in; he’s got some real skills!”

Albert forced a laugh, not responding directly. He glanced over at Archie, only to find his expression was extremely grave.

This couldn’t be possible.

Hypnosis? Only amateurs would believe in such nonsense. While hypnosis is indeed a technique used in psychological therapy, it’s not as magical as laypeople imagine. Hypnosis requires a quiet environment and the patient’s belief and acceptance to be effective.

Alternatively, some medications might be used.

The current situation didn’t fit either of these conditions, especially since the subject was a ruthless gang member, a desperate criminal. Such people rarely trust others, and they certainly wouldn’t submit to hypnosis willingly.

The more professional Archie was in psychology, the more baffled he was by this scene.

So… how did he do it?

When Ranen finished the interrogation and came out, the officers outside spontaneously applauded him. Several younger officers, eager and curious, rushed over, clapping as they asked, “How did you do it? Was it really hypnosis? That was amazing!”

“Um… it’s not quite as exaggerated as that,” Ranen said with an awkward smile.

“No, no, no! You don’t understand; it was truly incredible! I’ve never seen that guy so docile before. Only hypnosis could achieve that. I knew it—you psychologists must know this stuff!” others chimed in.

Ah, did he just reinforce another stereotype about his profession? Ranen wanted to refute them but stopped himself, glancing at Archie. Given that this was Archie’s domain and considering his disdain for outsiders’ comments, Ranen expected Archie to respond with a scathing retort.

Huh? Why hasn’t he said anything?

Ranen glanced at Archie, only to find him staring at him with a solemn expression, seemingly lost in thought.

As for how Ranen managed to do all this, it was quite simple. He had seen a player named Druid on the forums mention that when he encountered him, the system had rolled several hidden dice, suspecting that his mental state was affected at the time…

Since the other party presented evidence from system prompts, Ranen took it as true. However, after interacting with others, although his appearance did indeed provoke obsession and amazement, there had been no further incidents of affecting people’s mental states like that night.

Originally, Ranen didn’t pay much attention to the differences between players and NPCs, but then he suddenly thought that Wheel of Fate was a game that boasted realism and role-playing. Players could come very close to the indigenous people in the game. What if it wasn’t the player’s fault but other factors?

For example, a tense and stimulating environment.

The sounds Sean heard earlier were actually recordings. Nowadays, with police body cams, obtaining similar audio is quite simple.

Since it was worth a try, he decided to experiment. And it turned out successful, which made him feel a bit more justified in accepting the money.

“I shouldn’t end up in court for doing this, should I?”

“Don’t worry, it won’t come to that. We just turned off the lights for a few minutes at the beginning and can blame it on a power outage. The cameras inside had no audio, so even if he comes to his senses later, there’s no evidence for him to report us to the human rights organization,” Charlie said nonchalantly.

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Ranen said. “I don’t think… he’ll report us.”

He doubted a grown man would go to a human rights organization to complain about being startled by the lights going out and revealing everything.

Oh no, the scene seemed a bit amusing when he thought about it.

Archie happened to see Ranen with a faint smile. The smile was beautiful, but combined with the previously ‘obedient’ behavior of the bald man, it added an inexplicable aura of mystery and eeriness, as if hinting:

He’s been silenced.