The prisoner finally confessed. Shang Zheng signed the report and tossed it onto the table. Then he slowly rose to his feet and turned to look at Su Mi, who had been standing there silently and blankly for quite a while.
His gaze was dark and inscrutable.
"Who gave you permission to enter?" He said calmly. "There are only two kinds of people who are allowed in here – military police and prisoners."
Su Mi almost immediately walked up to him and hung her head low. "Sir, I was wrong. I'm willing to pledge my loyalty to you."
Shang Zheng looked at her quietly.
Since he had kept her in the Shang Residence, although her status had never been clearly stated, there were still those in the city who curried favor. Jewels and garments were constantly being sent to the hillside, all addressed to her. The butler had picked out a few outfits for her – after all, there had never been a woman in the household before.
And today she was wearing a simple yet elegant blue long dress, which made her slender figure look a bit fuller. Her long hair was simply tied up, her face was bare and she looked cute and quiet, standing in this blood-soaked processing factory, looking completely out of place.
He sat down again and asked, "When you were escaping, why did you set the destination as the Freedom City?"
The Freedom City was the city where Shang Zheng had served in his previous term. Logically speaking, it should have been his stronghold. Yet that was where she had set her escape destination.
Su Mi's complexion changed slightly as she timidly looked up at him.
"The most dangerous place is often the safest." She whispered. "And during my time here, I've never seen any family or friends from the Freedom City in contact with you, sir."
He raised his eyes to stare at her. She summoned up her courage and continued, "I thought that perhaps you, sir, had some sad memories in the Freedom City, so..."
"So you thought there was something in the Freedom City that I was afraid of?" Instead, he smiled faintly. "This choice was indeed unexpected."
She remained silent.
His voice was low but carried a hint of danger. "But have you ever considered another possibility? Maybe the whole Freedom City is afraid of me?"
Su Mi shuddered. A city being afraid of a person? What kind of concept was that?
Shang Zheng didn't continue. Her intuition told her that what he said was true, and she couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
Hiding her surprise and fear, she meekly said, "Sir, I tried to escape because I thought you would send me to the young director of the Zhou Group."
Shang Zheng looked at her. "Where did you hear that from?"
"You Mo-nian."
Shang Zheng, instead, gave a cold laugh. "Su Mi, I took a liking to you because you were somewhat interesting. But there's someone you misjudged."
"..."
"You Mo-nian, the so-called good person, upright and benevolent." Shang Zheng lit a cigarette. "If you had asked him for help that day, I would surely have given you to him. By now, you should already be in some city, breathing your own air and still in possession of your chastity. But you didn't trust him."
Su Mi was shocked in her heart. After pondering for a moment, she gave Shang Zheng a faint smile.
"Sir, I don't regret it at all."
Shang Zheng slightly raised his long eyebrows and looked at her through the curling smoke.
"Choosing not to trust him was the decision with the least risk under the circumstances at that time. Making a decision comes with consequences that one must bear." She looked at him with a gaze of unprecedented sincerity and firmness. "Moreover, the freedom on the ground is only the lowest form of freedom. The freedom in the sky is the real freedom for Su Mi. Sir, as you've seen, I was able to fly over the debris belt... Even under those... Please believe that I will work hard and I will pledge my loyalty to you, never to betray!"
Shang Zheng suddenly raised his hand and lifted her from the ground, placing her on his lap. With one hand holding the cigarette and the other gripping her chin.
"Never betray?"
"Never betray."
His handsome face was close at hand. His thick eyebrows were pitch-black and sharp, and his eyes were deep and piercing, making Su Mi involuntarily think of sharp and dark daggers.
"Mu Xi Ting will make the arrangements. You'll go to the air force for a year first."
"Air force?" She had thought she would be trained under his command.
He ignored her confusion and continued on his own. "After a year, if you don't become an excellent pilot..."
"At your disposal, sir. You can send me to the young director of the Zhou Group." She answered with great confidence, although she had no idea what an excellent pilot was really like.
He gave her a look and tightened his grip on her face, making it ache slightly. "Remember – what I've used, I don't like anyone else to lay their hands on."
"Remembered."
He nodded. "When you come back from training, the Cheetah outside will be yours. But before I give my consent, don't attempt to escape. Within three thousand light-years, you won't be able to get away."
Su Mi was stunned – three thousand light-years?
Shang Zheng was only the director of public security on a planet in the Eternal Galaxy. How could he boast like this and claim to have influence over three thousand light-years?
But she knew that every word he said carried weight.
So... three thousand light-years was the size of his cage?
"Answer me one question. What I've just said takes immediate effect." His fingertips slowly slid across her soft chin and down to her slender neck, making her feel extremely flustered.
"Please ask, sir."
His hand slipped from the collar into her chest and slid down bit by bit. At the same time, his low voice rang out.
"Earth... What is it?"
She was startled in her heart and looked up at him. His fingers were still gently stroking her chest as if, if she gave the wrong answer, his hand would plunge into her chest.
"Sir... Earth exists in my memory." She said slowly. "I only remember that I came from Earth. But now I don't even know if it's a real memory or just a dream or an illusion of mine."
Her words were half-true and half-false, and precisely because of this, Shang Zheng couldn't tell whether they were true or false.
However, Shang Zheng's sudden interrogation wasn't going to end there.
He gave a low "Oh" and then looked at her with an extremely cold gaze. "There are only two kinds of people without an identity."
Su Mi was startled – finally, it had come to this topic.
"One is the mercenary, who abandons their identity, erases their fingerprints, and changes their appearance. Whether they were once extremely wicked or not, no one dares to question their identity from then on – you're not a mercenary."
Su Mi nodded sheepishly.
"The other is the spy from other galaxies or other species." He said slowly. "They hide among humans, and sometimes, even they themselves don't know that they're not human."
Su Mi was shocked in her heart, feeling as if all the blood in her body was about to freeze. His voice was low but it sounded like thunder and lightning ringing in her ears.
Really? If there really were such "people" existing, then was she...?
For a moment, she almost believed what Shang Zheng said. Perhaps the existence of Earth was really just an illusion, and perhaps she really didn't know what she really was.
But after the shock, she immediately remembered that Shang Zheng was still waiting for her answer.
What was more important than the truth of her identity was what kind of situation she would be in if she didn't answer this question well?
Did he really care about her identity? If he did, he should have sent her to the processing factory on the first day, right?
She only thought for a moment, then looked up, her eyes bright and frank as she looked at Shang Zheng. "Sir, if I were a spy, they wouldn't send someone as weak as me."
"And sir..." She slowly raised her hands and grasped Shang Zheng's slender tanned fingers. "Does it matter whether I'm a spy or not, or whether I'm against humanity, as long as I'm loyal to you?"
This statement was extremely disrespectful and was definitely a crime of insolence. Anyone who heard her say this could report her and have her thrown into prison. What's more, she was facing a high-ranking official in charge of legal security at the moment.
But her intuition drove her to answer this question so provocatively and against all odds.
Shang Zheng stared at her. After a not-so-brief silence, he showed a smile that could be considered satisfactory for the first time.
"Hmm... Whether you're against all of humanity or not, what does it have to do with me?"