Full-Time Public Enemy

As for Chen Gu himself, he certainly wanted to handle Wei Jiangqi’s most likely next appearance. However, by this point, Quantum Divination could no longer help him. So, after much hesitation, Chen Gu still decided to call Valkyrie.

"What is it?" Valkyrie always exhibited an attitude towards him as if to say, "I don’t want to speak even one extra word to you."

Chen Gu took a deep breath and asked, "I don’t know if my clearance level is sufficient, but in order to accurately track down Wei Jiangqi, I must ask something very important."

"Hmm," Valkyrie replied with a single word.

Chen Gu asked, "Why do we just keep someone like Wei Jiangqi in prison? I know he’s the spiritual leader of True Knowledge Sin; he’s more useful alive than dead. Indeed, simply executing him would cause True Knowledge Sin to completely spiral out of control, resulting in even greater losses..."

Aviloya interrupted him, "There’s no need to belabor things we both understand."

Keeping Wei Jiangqi in custody was indeed far more advantageous for the Confederation than killing him outright. He was not just a military leader; he was a spiritual symbol of a heresy.

Chen Gu asked directly, "Interrogation is undoubtedly futile with Wei Jiangqi, so why not conduct memory reading on him? Even if it turns him into an idiot, it wouldn’t matter as long as he’s still alive. We could also learn all the secrets of True Knowledge Sin and have the chance to uproot the heresy completely!"

After Chen Gu finished speaking, Aviloya remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Do you promise this is crucial to tracking down Wei Jiangqi’s whereabouts?"

"I promise!"

Aviloya hung up and soon called back on a different line. "This is one of the three highest-security lines in the department," she said. "What I’m about to tell you is a massive scandal. It absolutely cannot be leaked, under any circumstances."

"I understand." I almost regret asking, Chen Gu thought. It’s best to know as little as possible about such sordid secrets; those who know too much die quickly.

Yet, thinking of the stolen nebula bullet, he clenched his teeth and resolved to listen.

"Wei Jiangqi is very special. His spiritual power is extremely strong. In any prison, he wears special suppression devices."

"Furthermore, he has undergone brain augmentation. Our current technology simply cannot perform memory reading on him. It’s even possible that during such a process, he could use the equipment to amplify his spiritual power, causing massive damage."

Chen Gu was startled. "Brain augmentation?"

Without giving him a chance to ask, Aviloya went on, "Long ago, during the era when humanity first left its mother planet and ventured into the Star Sea, the power of professionals gradually became apparent. Consequently, every major Star Nation was eager to recruit more of them."

"However, becoming a professional requires talent, and the success rate of initiation is extremely low. This led to numerous related research projects. Among them, one theory posited that stronger spiritual power correlated with a higher success rate for becoming a professional. Whether this theory is correct remains debatable, but it was very popular at the time, and many research teams based their studies on it."

"Over a thousand years ago, within the Confederation, a group of people who believed their theory had matured quietly began conducting human experiments!"

Chen Gu: "..."

Aviloya continued, "Illegal body modification has always been strictly forbidden. Brain augmentation experiments, in particular, were unanimously denounced by all nations as the most cruel and heinous form of human modification. Not only was the probability of failure extremely high, but the entire process was also exceptionally painful and inhumane."

"So... to successfully complete their experiments, this group sought protection from a prominent political figure of that era. They then found a hidden mine on the already declining planet of Tianluo and commenced their inhumane experiments."

"I don’t need to detail the various inhumane procedures involved; you can imagine them. Using living people as test subjects was just routine for them," Aviloya said, unable to stop herself from shaking her head and sighing.

Chen Gu asked through gritted teeth, "Why would those so-called political figures be willing to shelter such vile experiments?"

"Because this particular figure realized he was aging, and his family lacked a sufficiently powerful professional to secure their position. Frankly, for that individual, this experiment was nothing more than ’a casual attempt.’ Yet, that single, casual attempt altered the destinies of countless people!"

"Back then, public order on Tianluo was already deteriorating. Poverty-driven crime was rampant, resulting in many orphans."

"Initially, the experimenters only used prisoners from the jails as subjects. However, as their experiments grew more frenzied and prisoners became scarce, they began secretly kidnapping orphans and vagrants for their trials!"

Chen Gu shook his head repeatedly. "Madmen!"

"Yet, no matter how many fresh lives were sacrificed, the experiments repeatedly failed. This continued for decades. Then, one day, those fanatics suddenly reported to the political figure that they had succeeded!"

"But just as they excitedly bellowed the words ’We succeeded!’ screams suddenly erupted over the communication channel. Then, the entire research base lost contact with the outside world."

"The political figure, unconcerned, merely sent people to investigate. They found everyone in the base dead, their deaths horrific. Some had gouged out their own eyes, stabbing electronic pens from the lab into their sockets, deep into their own brains!"