The Phantom Cat was originally a petite girl with a lively expression, but at this moment, she was like a fanatic who had entered a devil's den. Her upside-down face was filled with the flames of confusion. When she saw Li Yao and Lady Grey Mist enter, she stared at them and laughed foolishly.
"The final judgment is coming. No one can escape the judgment of reincarnation. No matter how you struggle, you will only harm yourself and others. Give up, repent, and be redeemed!"
She narrowed her eyes, intoxicated by the so-called redemption. She had completely fallen into an endless loop of self-logic, unable to break free.
Beside her stood a hunched, wretched man. His appearance was ordinary, but he had a pair of strangely large hands. His fingers were almost twice as long as an ordinary person's, and he even had an extra finger bone. It felt as if there were two large spiders growing on his wrist.
When he gently placed his hands on the temples of the Phantom Cat, his palms were like an iron hat, completely enveloping the Phantom Cat's head.
The man murmured in a dialect from Nanyang. A series of strange tattoos appeared on his arms. Then, something that looked like Gu worms protruded from the bottom of the tattoos. It was as if the tattoos had a life of their own as they danced devilishly on his arms.
Accompanied by such a strange scene, Li Yao felt ripples coming from the man's palms. They were somewhat similar to brainwaves, and they continuously flowed into the Phantom Cat's brain.
The Phantom Cat's eyes instantly rolled back. Her entire body trembled violently, and the iron chains rattled.
The man seemed to have read a lot of information from the Phantom Cat's brain. He let out a satisfied murmur, and his expression was somewhat similar to the Phantom Cat from before.
As he cast the spell, he stared at Li Yao. His gaze was half cold and half hot, like two small knives. He wanted to dig out the deepest secrets in Li Yao's heart.
"They're interrogating the Phantom Cat."
Li Yao muttered, "But why are you doing this in front of me? Is it to intimidate me?"
Li Yao rolled his eyes and suddenly sensed dozens of powerful auras hiding in the shadows around the warehouse. With the help of the dim light, he could vaguely see some fully-armed Awakened ones, standing or sitting, stroking their daggers and fiddling with their guns. Their eyes were fixed on him at the same time, showing a posture of high vigilance.
Li Yao was stunned for a moment before he flew into a rage.
"Wait a minute …"
He said in a low voice, "Are you interrogating her or testing me?"
The Nanyang weirdo with the living tattoos on his arms finally completed his spell. The corners of his mouth cracked up to his ears. As he laughed, he shook his head at the Lady of Grey Fog.
When her large hands left the Phantom Cat's head, the female spy's eyes had already turned gray and drooped down like a dead fish.
"I'm sorry, but his name is' Brain Worm. 'He's an expert at reading minds in the organization."
Lady of Grey Fog explained expressionlessly, "You know, since the Apocalypse sent her to the Ark Foundation as a spy, she must have received special training. Ordinary interrogation methods won't work on her at all. However, 'Brain Worm' has the ability to devour brainwaves, which happens to be the nemesis of the Phantom Cat, an Awakened with a particularly developed brainwave.
"If you're really an undercover sent by the Apocalypse and met the Phantom Cat before, then the Phantom Cat's brainwaves would have undergone subtle changes when she saw you walk in. She would have definitely been caught by the 'Brain Worm.'
"But now it seems that the Phantom Cat has no special reaction to you. You two really didn't know each other before. This partially proves your innocence and accumulates more trust for you."
"There's a limit to my patience!"
Li Yao growled. "The patient in Mind Space, Mr. Zhang Jiashu, was the first test. The second test was when he risked his life to fight a hunter in a speeding train, a flood, and a mudslide. Now, he was suspected by you and sent to the Phantom Cat to be screened. That's the third test. What do you want? Isn't that enough?"
"Do you think it's enough?"
Lady of Grey Fog asked back. "Think about it from another perspective. If you were the leader of a secret organization like the Ark Foundation, and you met a mysterious person who had inexplicably awakened a super ability and might even become a Superawakened in one step and was caught in the middle of a whirlpool, how many tests do you think you would have to go through to completely prove his innocence and let him enter the organization's most secret lair and come into close contact with the organization's most important leader, especially at such a critical moment?"
As Lady of Grey Fog spoke, she gestured toward the depths of the warehouse. Immediately, two burly men pushed an iron chair that looked like a dental operating table along two tracks on the ground to Li Yao.
"Four."
Lady of Grey Fog extended four fingers at Li Yao and said, "No matter how many tests you think it would take to prove the innocence of such a mysterious person, Red Pole Star believes that it would take a total of four tests for him to be 100% sure of your identity before he dares to let you into the real Ark."
"What does that mean?"
Li Yao looked at the iron chair with an awful expression. "How else do you want to test me?"
"We hope to awaken your previous life."
In the darkness, a black-haired man wearing a white coat and gold-rimmed glasses slowly walked over. He bowed slightly at Li Yao and said with a smile, "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Dream Traveler. Li Yao and Mr. Niu should've read a lot of my posts on the Internet and are even interested in me, right?"
Li Yao was slightly stunned before he immediately understood. Before they came to welcome him, they must've come into contact with Daniel Zhang. Daniel Zhang was a spineless guy. He would've told them everything without the slightest coercion or enticement.
"I'm responsible for every word I post on the Internet. I guarantee that every word is true. Even if it's not something that really happened, it's at least my true feelings," Dream Traveler said.
"However, what's not written in the posts on the Internet is that I've been on the Ark for the past month and have been enlightened and tempered by Red Pole Star. My abilities are even more powerful than before. Not only can I see my previous life, I can even guide more Awakened to explore and discover their previous lives.
"Li Yao, there's no need to be so nervous. Don't think of this as a test. Try to think of it as a special training, a journey in the depths of your soul. We're all very curious, including Red Pole Star. You've only awakened part of the hazy memory fragments of your previous life, and you already have such powerful combat ability. If you can clearly recall your previous life, the previous life, and even all the memories of dozens of reincarnations and inherit all the abilities under my guidance, how terrifying will you be?
"That's what I want to do.
"In fact, guiding the Awakened to discover their previous lives is very exhausting for me. If it's a monster like you, who's between a Terminator and a Superawakened, I'll have to take great risks to help you find your true self. However, Red Pole Star said that you and Mr. Niu are both indispensable pieces of the puzzle. For the sacred mission and true freedom, I … will not regret it even if I have to die nine times!"
Dream Traveler stopped smiling and stared at Li Yao with the most serious expression.
Li Yao thought for a long time.
"What if I refuse?"
He silently observed the positions of all the Awakened in the warehouse. He did not even let go of the auras that were as weak as zombies that were hidden in the deepest part of the darkness. In an instant, he came up with dozens of plans to break out of the encirclement in his head.
Lady Gray Fog and Dream Traveler looked at each other and smiled bitterly at the same time.
"Don't worry. It's not as bad as you think. There won't be any stupid things like 'silencing'."
Lady Gray Fog said, "The most important thing is that we can't kill you. Even if we heavily wound you, we'll certainly have to pay a heavy price. Chances are that two-thirds of the thirty elites who have been lying in ambush here will be killed. A great war is coming. We can't afford such a loss. That's the result of Red Pole Star's personal assessment.
"Therefore, even if you refuse to take the last test, there's nothing we can do. There's no need for us to hurt you at all.
"However, in such a case, you won't be able to go to the depths of the ocean to look for the Ark with us, and you won't be able to see Red Pole Star in person. We'll go our separate ways here. We'll leave you sufficient assets, firearms, and local currency. Although the apocalypse has come and currency has become useless waste paper, I hope you understand that this is our limit."
Li Yao sniffed and did not say anything.
Of course, he could refuse multiple tests because he was angry about their distrust. Both the Ark and the Apocalypse would have to pay a terrible price if they wanted to keep him.
But since he had refused the tests, and the security of his identity was still questionable, it was perfectly reasonable that they did not want to take him to the depths of the ocean.
Li Yao was somewhat hesitant. He did not like the feeling of being suspected and scrutinized.
"I'm not trying to persuade you, Li Yao."
The Dream Traveler opened his hands, indicating that he meant no harm. "However, before we parted, Red Pole Star asked me to pass a very strange message to you. 'No matter how dissatisfied you are with the tests and suspicions, and how many grievances you have against him, I still hope that you can persevere to the end, because as long as you completely awaken the memories of your previous life and discover your real identity, you will know that all the tests and suspicions were necessary. You can only blame yourself if you want to.'"
"Well …"
Li Yao was confused. "'I can only blame myself if you want to blame yourself'? I arranged so many suspicions, screening, and tests myself? What's going on exactly? "
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