Bai was shaking all over from shock. The patriarch believed he had taken a new incredible genius in the family, but in fact, it was a real devil who would destroy the Stones from the inside. The deaths of Dinah, Kirsan, and Yegorka had just proved hit. Unfortunately, the boy had been registered for the tournament of the families, and there was no way to remove him from the list. The Stones turned out to have only nine partic.i.p.ants... Or even eight! They wouldn"t take even the tenth place. And it would affect the value of their property in the equivalent of Tokens. The collapse of the family was inevitable. It would be the end of the Stones soon.The patriarch thought through the next steps. Then he picked up the sound transmitter and made a call. – «Grandson, I need you to come to my office. We need to talk.» – He said as calmly as could be and finished the call. He shouldn"t give out his true intentions. Justice must be served. He had to execute Kyon for his serious misdeeds. It no longer mattered who his master was. The patriarch wanted to be true to himself, and for poor Dinah to find peace and happiness in the afterlife.
He finished the call and said, chewing loudly:
«If life is dear to you, brother, don"t go to grandpa, or he will kill you! In fact, you"d better leave the family before they find you! Do you hear me?!»
«Don"t you hate me, XiaoBai?» – Kyon asked, surprised.
The fat guy got it right away that his brother knew everything, which was to be expected from the little weasel! – «You see, unlike my grandfather, I can always tell if someone has a good heart. Yeah... We are kindred spirits. I am sure that all your sins have an acceptable price.»
Kyon smiled. Once XiaoBai saw him as a profitable partner, they became blood brothers. Besides, they were both kicked out of the family, which was a deciding factor to buddy up. – «I like your unconventional thinking, Xiao Bai. Well, every action I take has a purpose. I always pay my debts, just like you. By the way, Dinah is alive. My master took her as his student. He decided to develop a worthy opponent and motivate me to get even stronger.» – He made up a believable story.
«TsyJi?! Wow… All right then… His eccentricity knows no bounds. I am glad that the grandfather"s dear maid is alive. How do you feel about it?»
«I am fine. I am ready for anything that life might throw at me. By the way, there"s a big order for medicine in the trade guild…»
The conversation with the fat guy wasn"t too long.
Kyon was in the ministry leafing through the reports. His colleagues kept talking about the death of the king. The news had shocked everyone. They also discussed how to catch the Black Queen and how wrong they were about the Stones and the Browns. Charge even approached Kyon and apologized for his mistake.
However, Kyon was not particularly interested in their chatter. He was a partic.i.p.ant in the tournament of the families, and that"s what really mattered. Whether Bai liked it or not, Kyon would come and get his 1-3 prize as the most active contestant.
«They have caught the thief!» - Rasya, the investigator, yelled joyfully as soon as she received the latest information from her subordinates.
The gloomy atmosphere livened up at once.
«Neophyte, you are incredible! It"s the first time we"ve caught a thief alive! It"s a miracle! It took you only a couple of days to get things off the ground!» – Charge rejoiced.
«He is in the interrogation room. Come on, let"s take a look!» – Rasya said.
Kyon and seven investigators headed for the minus 3rd floor to the interrogation department.
They entered a brightly-lit white room that looked like a doctor"s office. There was only a silver rack with s.h.i.+ning instruments for torture: from forceps to scalpels and needles. In the center, there was a white transformer chair with straps. A handsome black-haired young man was sitting there, unconscious. He had only in his underpants on.
The thief had gotten into a primitive trap. The perfumer offered him to try a new flavor of Azure Blue Sky, but as soon the thief moved closer, he sprayed a powerful "sleeping" drug right in his face. The medicine also paralyzed the swallowing reflex.
Rasya examined the sleeping criminal with interest and shook her head. – «It"s such a shame... So strong and handsome. Why did he have to mess with the wrong people? The torture will ruin his good looks beyond recognition. What a waste. Poor little thing…» – She said sadly.
Charge laughed at her words. – «Don"t feel sorry for this low life sc.u.m, Rasya! They all deserve to be executed. I have specifically called the best executioner. Ha ha ha! I bet our guy will get out of him all the information we need…»
Kyon cleared his throat, making everyone quiet. – «Gentlemen, tortures can take a whole day if not a week... He is a well-trained professional thief, after all! Let me find out everything myself. Give me ten minutes. I guarantee the result.»
«Ten minutes? On your own? Are you kidding me?!» – Charge asked, puzzled. Then an idea flashed across his mind. – «Wait… Don"t say anything! Does it mean that you can beat out the information!?»
Kyon smiled meaningfully behind his mask. – «I can do everything.»
The high-ranking investigators looked at each other suspiciously and turned into attentive spectators before showtime. Even now, they found it hard to believe in the trick with the hair smell.
Kyon took a long needle from the rack, gave the thief some weakening poison, and then woke him up with pungent medicine.
«Name?» - Kyon said, his voice as cold as ice.
«Huh? Who are you?! Where am I?!» – The criminal cried out in alarm.
«Name?» – Kyon repeated impa.s.sively. His voice had a steely edge this time.
The handsome guy with long hair looked around and turned pale. The sharp tools on the shelves suggested the answer: he had been caught! Fear and despair flashed across his face. His heart started beating faster.
Kyon slapped him across the face and repeated his question.
«My name is Roman! I am from another kingdom…» – The thief answered plaintively.
Rasya turned away. She couldn"t stand the sight of the handsome young man with delicate features being tortured.
Charge grinned viciously.
Kyon hit the criminal again in the face.
«I am Roman Melnikov from Inducie!..»
Another ringing slap.
Rasya whispered Charge in the ear. – «Boss, I doubt the neophyte"s skills to get the information! He is not omnipotent, after all! He doesn"t know what he"s doing... What"s the point of beating the poor guy?!»
Charge crossed his arms. – «Patience. He asked for ten minutes. Let"s wait and see…»
Rasya had to watch the unpleasant scene, her heart aching for the poor guy.
The thief screamed desperately:
« I"m Roman Melnikov, I swear! I beg you to stop beating me! Call my parents, they will confirm everything! Please!»
«Neophyte.» – Charge began, taking a step forward. – «Let"s make a call and find out everything... He said it himself... Why don"t you cooperate with him?»
The boss coughed in his hand and a.s.sumed an impartial look as soon as he met Kyon"s scornful gaze. Charge could get angry and put this know-it-all in his place, but after the recent events, he did not want to come into conflict with this brilliant monster. He"d only make things worse, looking like a complete idiot.
«Don"t disgrace the department, boss!» – Kyon said curtly. His tone brooked no contradictions. – «It is as clear as day that his call would be a signal of danger to the entire guild of thieves! If I weren"t here, you would never catch them with this approach. As for his words... There are at least ten signs that he is lying.» - When he finished, he hit the prisoner again on the cheek and repeated the question.
Charge took a step back, keeping quiet. He felt ashamed of his reckless words. He was afraid to look at his subordinates. What if they considered him a fool? The neophyte was really a prodigy! It was pointless to argue with him.
The thief groaned in frustration. The investigator in the black mask could read him like an open book. Too dangerous, b.a.s.t.a.r.d... All he could do was to bite off his tongue and die of blood loss! However, he wanted to live so much! He still hoped to see his beloved Lanai again. Besides, he felt weak all over. He wasn"t strong enough to bite through his tongue...
Kyon took a needle and stuck it the thief in the knee joint, then he poured Synergy through the needle, stimulating the nervous system.
«А-aа-а-аа-а-аа-а-аа-а-аа-а-аа-а-ааh!» – The thief screamed his b.l.o.o.d.y head off. He had never experienced this agony in all his life! It was like white-hot rods piercing his legs! A terrible, h.e.l.lish pain!
Kyon took out the needle.
«Name?» - He asked in a cold voice, looking into the thief"s eyes.
«Tymoshka! I"m Tymoshka! G.o.ds, I am Tymoshka! Stop it, please! А-а-а-аааh!»
«Last name?!» – Kyon demanded.
«Mironov! My family name is Mironov! Sir!» – The thief yelled hoa.r.s.ely.
«What"s your leader"s name?»
While the neophyte was asking the questions, the seven investigators looked at each other, puzzled. Their faces were shocked, amazed, even terrified. Judging by the thief"s reaction, he was telling everything under the inhuman pain! But Kyon had only used a needle! What was the secret?
At least one thing was clear. He was Timoshka Mironov, the thief.
Kyon had applied the torture method from his own world. With the help of Synergy, he could stimulate the nervous system so that the victim stayed conscious, feeling h.e.l.lish pain with no harm to the body (except for the harmless needle piercing). One needle is enough for 99.99% of people. The majority cracks after one short stimulation, while others need two or three longer periods of stimulation. Only every ten-thousandth takes two needles that stimulate the nervous system with pain.
Kyon"s masters once found out the limits experimenting on Kyon. It took five needles of long stimulation. The human brain can"t possibly perceive more electrical signals.
Timoshka gave up after one needle and a short stimulation. He wasn"t prepared for this level of torture. Even death looked like a good idea during them. He would rather sell his soul to the devil than ever experience such excruciating unbearable pain again.
Kyon stopped interrogating the poor fellow. He looked at the seven shocked investigators and laughed. – «What"s wrong with your faces, guys?»
Rasya nervously squeezed her wrist, feeling sorry for the handsome thief with wet underpants.
Charge stepped forward Kyon and gingerly poked him with a finger. – «You"re f.u.c.king real! I thought I was dreaming! How on earth did you do it?! Our best executioner can"t hold a candle to you! You just pierced the needle, and that was it?..»
«Acupuncture. The rarest pain technique in the world. I won"t teach it anyone, so forget about it.» – Kyon said, raising his brow. – «Well? Did you remember everything? Or shall I write it down for you?»
Charge ran his fingers through his hair. Then he bustled about in search of a pen and a notebook. The boss did the work that servants usually did! The neophyte"s authority had increased nearly to Charge"s level.
Soon, the seven investigators returned to the a.n.a.lytics department. Their faces lit up when they looked at Kyon. They held him in high respect and admiration.
«Here, drinks are on me!» – Charge cried out happily.
«Cheers!» … «The lost cause is making great strides!» … «Kudos to the neophyte!» – The high-ranking investigators shouted, excited. Their department would get awesome awards!
Now they knew the meeting date of the thieves, about a week from today. They get to prepare a nice ambush, and then the second issue in the kingdom would be solved!
Kyon was pleased with the result. He had achieved maximum effects with minimum efforts. He had to find the second brother yet, then Sauron himself. His birds would scour the forest for him. It would be a cushy task that would take him a few weeks max. Kyon could fulfill Vladimir"s task before the tournament started and become an investigator of the 2nd rank! And after that, he would deal with the demons.