"Qin Chuan!"
A sharp, stern voice boomed from the central figure, its authoritative tone echoing throughout the interrogation room.
The aged face was etched with the ravines carved by time. Though his temples were streaked with white, his expression showed no sign of weariness.
"Qin Chuan, do you know what you are saying!"
Listening to the scolding, Zhou Zhe dared not lift his head. He lowered his gaze, his legs inexplicably buckling.
Even Dr. Xia, standing beside the elder, couldn't help but tremble.
"I know." Only Qin Chuan replied, his tone indifferent, unfazed by the elder's stern demeanor.
The elder was Qin Chuan's grandfather, Qin Jialiang.
"I know what I am doing, Commander Qin!"
Qin Chuan spoke each word with firm resolve. Ever since he could remember, this authoritative elder before him had only ever called him by one title: Commander Qin.
Seeing Qin Chuan's unyielding attitude, Xia Jin glanced at him, pondered for a moment, and then offered the grandfather and grandson a way to de-escalate.
"Elder Qin, we invited you here today because this is a family matter. Why should things become so strained? Since Qin Chuan says no one else was there, then there truly wasn't anyone. We shouldn't wrongly accuse him."
Everyone present understood that Xia Jin was trying to save face for Qin Jialiang, but no one wanted to truly escalate the situation.
After all, no matter how impartial Qin Jialiang was, Qin Chuan was his only grandson. Who knew if his current harsh scolding was just an act?
Xia Jin concealed the calculations in his eyes. Since the exploration team discovered a third resident from the lighthouse had emerged from the cave with Qin Chuan, he had been subtly probing.
However, Zhou Zhe was loyal to Qin Chuan and highly devoted to him, making it impossible to extract any useful information. It was even more impossible to get anything out of Qin Chuan himself.
This was why he had summoned Qin Chuan's grandfather.
He hadn't expected Qin Chuan to actually disregard his own grandfather's feelings and remain so stubbornly unresponsive.
Qin Chuan had failed two missions in a row. It was impossible to say he had no issues with Qin Chuan, but he was severely short-handed at the moment. He thought of something, a smile curling the corner of his lips, a peculiar glint flashing on his pale face.
"Qin Chuan, you also know that the mission you undertook is a top secret of the lighthouse. My questioning you is not out of suspicion, but to clear your name. Can you understand me?"
Giving a blow before offering a sweet date, Xia Jin looked at Qin Chuan with apparent sincerity, as if he hadn't been the one leading this interrogation.
Qin Chuan was not foolish. Despite his dissatisfaction, he would not vent it here. He nodded expressionlessly, remaining silent.
Xia Jin showed no anger at Qin Chuan's attitude. Instead, he patted Qin Chuan's shoulder with concern. He was merely putting on a show for others; as long as the audience was satisfied, why bother with the actor's emotions?
"Is there anything else? If not, I'll be leaving. I have matters to attend to with the guard force."
Before Xia Jin could speak, Qin Jialiang, unable to contain his anger, yelled at Qin Chuan, "Get out!"
His spirit was so vigorous that one wouldn't guess he was a man nearing seventy.
Xia Jin, standing beside them, remained awkwardly in place, his hand frozen mid-air after patting Qin Chuan's shoulder, looking slightly embarrassed.
As soon as the words fell, Qin Chuan, ignoring Xia Jin before him, cast a look at Zhou Zhe and turned to leave the interrogation room.
"Phew~ That scared me. Captain, is your grandfather usually like this at home?"
Qin Chuan glanced at Zhou Zhe but said nothing. His attitude grew colder, and he strode forward.
"Has Xu An returned?"
Hearing Xu An's name, Zhou Zhe's face instantly fell. "Re... returned..."
Listening to Zhou Zhe's hesitant response, Qin Chuan could largely guess what had happened.
"She refused to see me?"
Zhou Zhe was startled, unsure if he should disclose this information. He uttered a "Ah," his eyes darting away. "No. No, she said she's been a bit busy lately and will come over later."
At the same time, he began to inwardly rant. Given Qin Chuan's previously unyielding demeanor, he had expected Qin Chuan to storm into Xu An's house. Why was he so concerned now about whether Xu An would meet him?
After his internal complaints, he looked up again at Qin Chuan's silent expression. Although Qin Chuan had always maintained such a cold, unapproachable demeanor, today, he actually detected a trace of loss on his captain's face...
Zhou Zhe immediately averted his gaze, as if he had discovered a major secret of the day.
No way, no way... is the evergreen iron tree about to bloom?
Zhou Zhe dared not think further, fearing he might be silenced by Qin Chuan.
Qin Chuan turned his head, no longer looking at Zhou Zhe's constipated expression. He thought of Xu An's self-preserving nature and could likely understand why she was unwilling to see him.
Recalling Xu An's words at the entrance of the stone cave, he couldn't help but care. He just wanted to clarify with Xu An the meaning behind her words.
While Qin Chuan had reservations about Xia Jin's various experiments, he had never intended to obstruct them.
Otherwise, Xia Jin would not have trusted him repeatedly and assigned him to such confidential missions.
However, Xu An had told him to be wary of Xia Jin and to guard against his true intentions.
What Xu An could understand, Qin Chuan could also comprehend.
If Xia Jin knew the difference between adult and juvenile sand monsters in the cave, how could he not know that these creatures feared fire?
They were almost flammable to the touch, so why would he have Qin Chuan bring the newly developed cutting-edge weapon, the laser gun?
Thinking back, Qin Chuan recalled Xia Jin's specific instructions not to use thermal weapons, especially gunpowder explosives.
"Is Xia Jin afraid that all these monsters would spontaneously combust? Or is it that Xia Jin intended for me to go to my death?" Qin Chuan muttered to himself.
Zhou Zhe, following behind him, asked, "Captain, what are you talking about?"
Qin Chuan glanced at him but remained silent. "Nothing, let's go."
...
In the laboratory, Xia Jin was focused on his work, meticulously handling glass containers filled with various substances.
Weng Quan, filled with indignation, walked in holding a stack of documents. "The sample analysis is complete. The adult sand monster has been confirmed to have been incinerated by fire, and there are indeed traces of a third ID card at the scene."
Xia Jin responded with a soft "Mm," showing little emotion.
"Doctor! Qin Chuan was clearly lying, so why did you let him go so easily? You clearly knew..."
His words were cut short by Xia Jin, "There's none among this batch of monsters."
"None?" Weng Quan, who had been fuming, immediately calmed down upon hearing this.
"The heart still cannot detect the location of the consciousness source?"
"If it were that easy to find, would I need to use Qin Chuan?"
Xia Jin set down the glass container he was holding. Inside the transparent vessel, a strain of mycelium swayed its soft, tender tendrils, stretching within the small container.
"The consciousness source has moved!"