When Ye Chen and Xiao Han regained consciousness, they quickly realized they had been arrested by the police.
Ye Chen's mind buzzed in confusion.
What the hell? Jiang Che actually handed them over to the cops while they were unconscious?
That shameless bastard!
Xiao Han, who had just woken up, looked around with a depressed expression.
"Brother, what do we do now?" he asked, voice filled with anxiety.
Although he had never been to a detention center before, he knew what it meant to be locked up here. The chances of getting out unscathed were close to zero.
Ye Chen's face darkened.
"We take it one step at a time."
Right now, things weren't looking good.
Before they could discuss further, the cell door swung open.
Mu Xiaoyao walked in, flanked by several uniformed officers. She cast a cold, piercing gaze at the two of them.
"Take them away."
Without resistance, Ye Chen and Xiao Han were dragged off for separate interrogations.
Inside the stark white room, Ye Chen sat across from Mu Xiaoyao, his hands cuffed to the metal table.
Mu Xiaoyao flipped through a thick case file, her eyes sharp as daggers.
"Name?"
"Ye Chen."
"Age?"
"Twenty-six."
Mu Xiaoyao tapped the file with a gloved finger before speaking again.
"When did you go to the Black Continent to become a mercenary?"
Ye Chen's expression remained neutral.
"Five years ago, when I was twenty-one."
His voice was calm, unfazed by Mu Xiaoyao's scrutinizing gaze.
He had spent years living on the edge of death, dodging bullets and ambushes in foreign battlefields. This interrogation? Nothing compared to that.
No matter what happened, as long as he was still alive, there was always a way out.
Mu Xiaoyao narrowed her eyes.
"We already interrogated your accomplices. They confirmed that you're the leader of the Sirius Mercenary Group."
She leaned forward.
"Do you admit it?"
Ye Chen didn't even hesitate.
"I admit it."
His past in the Black Continent was an open secret. Denying it was pointless.
But then—
"During your time there, did you kill any Kyushu nationals?"
Ye Chen's face tensed slightly.
He had expected questions about smuggling weapons, but this was different.
Mu Xiaoyao's expression turned icy.
After digging into Ye Chen's history, they had discovered multiple cases involving Kyushu nationals being killed in the Black Continent—cases where Ye Chen's namekept appearing.
Ye Chen quickly suppressed his emotions and shook his head firmly.
"I didn't."
He knew what admitting to that meant.
If he confessed to killing Kyushu nationals, he wouldn't just be looking at a life sentence—he'd be facing immediate execution.
As long as he denied it, there was still a chance.
Mu Xiaoyao sneered.
"Still denying it?"
She tossed a thick file onto the table.
"We already have the evidence. You're just wasting your time."
"Confess, and you might get leniency. Keep resisting, and we'll make sure you never see daylight again."
Ye Chen stared at the file, but didn't flinch.
"Officer, none of this has anything to do with me."
"You can't slander me like this!"
He sounded confident, even offended.
"Yes, I've killed a lot of people abroad. But I never killed a Kyushu national."
He was playing innocent, knowing full well they lacked direct evidence.
Without undeniable proof, all they had were accusations.
Mu Xiaoyao laughed coldly.
"Then why did your own men say otherwise?"
Ye Chen's face darkened instantly.
His fists clenched, veins bulging in his arms.
Damn it!
He had trusted the wrong people.
Some of those bastards must have ratted him out—probably ones who resented his leadership and saw this as their chance to take him down.
He forced himself to stay calm.
"They're lying."
"They just want to take my place, so they're trying to frame me!"
Mu Xiaoyao smirked.
"Is that so?"
She suddenly flipped a page in the file and tapped a section with her finger.
"Then let's talk about why you were helping mercenaries enter the country."
"And why you were purchasing illegal arms."
She narrowed her eyes.
"What exactly were you planning?"
Ye Chen took a deep breath, mentally preparing his response.
Then, in a move that completely surprised Mu Xiaoyao, he smirked.
"I bought those weapons… to deal with Jiang Che."
Mu Xiaoyao froze for a split second.
"…Jiang Che?"
That name caught her off guard.
No wonder Jiang Che had been one step ahead of them this entire time.
This whole arms deal wasn't just about money—it was a direct hit against him.
Her expression hardened.
"And why would you need a whole arsenal just to deal with one man?"
Ye Chen leaned back, smirking slightly.
"Because he's more dangerous than you think."