Then let the witch offer her loyalty

"All they do all day long is swarm around like flies. It's so annoying to look at them. Get as far away from me as possible."

The man, losing face, slammed his hand on the table, pointed at Luo Lingyou's nose, and cursed, "Are you fucking stupid? You want me to punch you?!"

"Bang!" Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass came from behind the bar.

The burly female bartender smashed a bottle on the table, shaking the broken glass as she stared intently at the man.

The man was so frightened that he sobered up immediately. He muttered that he would never come to this awful place again and hurriedly left.

The female bartender tossed the broken bottle into the trash can, walked over to Luo Lingyou, and, leaning on the bar counter, laughed, "Little Luo, why are you cursing at everyone you see today? Are you in a bad mood?"

Luo Lingyou didn't speak, but simply pointed to the empty wine glass in front of him.

The female bartender didn't pour her a drink, but instead took the glass away: "Don't drink anymore. Last time you got drunk here, I had to carry you home. It was such a hassle."

Luo Lingyou sighed deeply, buried her face in her arms, and kept rubbing her head, making her hair messy.

The female bartender gently poked her head with her finger: "What's wrong?"

Luo Lingyou's muffled voice came through: "It's nothing, just withdrawal symptoms."

The female bartender's expression immediately turned horrified.

"What the hell? Withdrawal symptoms? Holy crap! Don't mess with this, you haven't picked up some weird stuff, have you?!"

"Hmm, that's right."

"Don't scare me! What did you catch?!"

Luo Lingyou slowly raised her head, and behind her messy hair, her rose-red eyes gleamed with a mysterious and unpredictable smile.

"He's been infected with—the clown."

"...What? Drowning in what? The clown? Are we even talking about the same thing? This feels completely irrelevant."

Luo Lingyou gave a short laugh and waved his hand: "It's nothing, just think of it as me going crazy."

She paid with her phone by scanning a QR code, said goodbye to the female bartender, and left the bar.

Luo Lingyou wandered alone through the empty streets at night, without direction or purpose, not even knowing where she was going.

By chance, she passed by a small alley and was drawn to what she saw.

The alley was dimly lit, with only the streetlights casting a soft glow that illuminated the mottled road and walls.

There were two people inside. One was a girl dressed in a maid's dress. She was squatting on the ground, and the hem of her dress spread out perfectly on the bluestone bricks, like a black butterfly resting there.

There was also a little girl in tattered clothes, probably a homeless child, whose bright black eyes reflected tiny glimmers of light as she timidly gazed at the girl in front of her.

The girl took a piece of bread from the shopping bag beside her, tore off a piece, and gently offered it to the little girl's mouth. Her movements were so gentle, as if she was afraid of disturbing the little one in front of her.

The little girl hesitated for a moment, but then, whether it was the bread's irresistible aroma or the girl's gentle actions that made her lower her guard, she took the bread and ate it in large bites.

The girl gently reached out her hand, completely unconcerned about the little girl's dirty face, and helped her smooth the messy hair on her forehead.

This action made the little girl instinctively shrink her neck, but she seemed to be melted by that gentleness and moved closer to the girl.

The maid was facing away from Luo Lingyou, so she couldn't see his face.

But Luo Lingyou always felt that if the girl turned around, she would definitely see a stunning face.

This scene was so beautiful, it was as if time had frozen at that moment, making it impossible to look away.

After feeding the little girl the bread, the girl gave her the whole shopping bag, then reached out and patted her head, whispering something to her.

Luo Lingyou was too far away to hear clearly, but she guessed it was something like "I was once just like you" or "Don't give up hope for life".

She knew nothing about the girl's background, but judging from her delicate and gentle actions, and her lack of embarrassment about filth, she felt that the girl must have been caught in the rain and now wanted to hold an umbrella for someone who was also getting wet.

Until the very end, when the girl left, Luo Lingyou never had the chance to see her face.

The night was still, with only the soft whisper of the wind.

"Jingle Bell."

Just then, my phone rang.

"Yan Group".

"Xiao Luo, go back to the courtroom, there's important business."

Chapter 153 Black Blade

In the Rose Empire, the Tribunal for the Judgment and the Witch Administration can be considered as two separate organizations.

The uniforms of the Bureau's agents are white, and their badges are shield-shaped.

The uniforms of the court members are pure black, and their badges are also a sharp blade.

This actually foreshadows the fact that the two have completely different work natures and styles.

If the Administration is a giant shield standing in the sunlight, protecting the people of this country from the harm of illegal psionic forces.

The court is like a hidden blade in the shadows; it doesn't usually draw its blade easily, but once its cold light shines, it will show no mercy.

...

The closed interrogation room was filled with the lingering smell of rust. The walls were made of thick cement, and the overhead light emitted a dim, yellowish glow, like a peering eye watching everything from above.

In the center of the room, a heavy metal interrogation chair was firmly fixed to the ground, with cold steel handcuffs and shackles tightly binding a man to it.

The man was wearing a worn-out white shirt. Although he tried to maintain a calm demeanor, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, his nostrils trembled, and his temples were damp with sweat, all of which betrayed his fearful heart.

Not far away, several judges in black uniforms stood in the shadows, watching him with cold eyes.

Yan Yong said calmly to Luo Lingyou beside him, "Little Luo, you've been working in the courtroom for a while now, it's time to let you take on more advanced work."

"You should know that our court is specifically responsible for doing the dirty work for the country. Things that the Administration Bureau can't do, we do."

"The person in front of you is Yu Shanghua. On the surface, he is an unofficial agent of the Bureau, but in reality, he works for the Witch Alliance. A few days ago, he tried to pass on intelligence to the organization but was caught."

“You’ve worked in the courtroom for so long, you should know that we have our own set of standards of conduct, and conventional laws do not apply to us.”

"I called you here today to give you your first taste of formal interrogation. You're new, so I've given you a simple target. Try to get Yu Shanghua to talk, by any means necessary."

Yu Shanghua's face contorted into a rage, his arm muscles tensed, and he jerked violently, making the interrogation chair rattle. He yelled, "What the hell? What do you mean by 'found an easy target'? You think I'm a pushover?!"

"Take whatever you've got your hands on! Come on, you stinking bastard! If I utter a single snort, I'll change my surname to yours!"

Yan Yong's expression remained unchanged, like a teacher giving a lesson, as he continued to explain to Luo Lingyou: "Before we conduct an interrogation, we can judge the difficulty of the interrogation by observing the target's reaction."

“Those targets who are completely relaxed and silent are often the toughest to handle, and they are more troublesome.”

"Those who make large gestures and shout loudly are basically hiding their inner fear and are the easiest to bully."

Upon hearing this, Yu Shanghua became even more defensive and launched into a tirade of vulgar and offensive language.

Of course, nobody paid any attention to him; everyone just treated him as a specimen for class.

Yan Yong led Luo Lingyou to an iron rack on one side of the interrogation room, which was filled with all kinds of torture instruments.

Pliers, brass knuckles, stun gun, skinning knife, finger crusher...

Many of the torture instruments still bear dark brown marks, as if telling the story of the previous victim's ordeal.

“As I just said, we specialize in doing the dirty work. Imperial law explicitly prohibits torture to extract confessions, but this law does not apply to our court. We only care about the results, not the process.”

"Alright, enough with the nonsense. Go ahead and choose your torture instruments and try them out. If you feel uncomfortable, nauseous, or want to vomit, just let me know. It's okay. I vomited the first time I was tortured. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

Luo Lingyou said nothing, his gaze slowly sweeping over the instruments of torture, and he reached out and picked up a large wrench.

Yan Yong explained from the side: "An iron wrench is a very simple and brutal instrument of torture. It is usually used to smash bones. If you swing the wrench down on the target's knee or shin, it can make him cry out in pain."

After Yan Yonggang finished speaking, Luo Lingyou swung the iron wrench backhand and slammed it heavily into Yu Shanghua's shinbone.

With a loud crack, the bones made a chilling sound as Yu Shanghua's left calf was smashed open.

"Ah ah ah ah ah--"

Yu Shanghua's screams were almost tearing his throat apart. His body trembled violently, causing the shackles to clang like metal. His face was contorted with pain, his eyes were wide and bloodshot, and sweat rolled down like beads from a broken string.

"I'll talk! Stop hitting me! I'll talk!!!"

This spineless cowardice, unable to withstand even the slightest pressure, drew sneers from the onlookers.

Sure enough, the louder a dog barks, the more cowardly it is.

Yan Yong also looked at Luo Lingyou with admiration. Her movements were clean and efficient, without any hesitation.

This is an excellent performance for a newcomer.

Yan Yonggang was about to question Yu Shanghua when he realized that Luo Lingyou showed no sign of stopping.

Luo Lingyou's expression didn't change at all, as if she had just swatted a fly. She put the wrench back and picked up a pair of pliers.

Yan Yong hesitated for a moment, then explained, "This is a pair of pliers, used to pull teeth. Put it..."

Before he could explain the specific usage, Luo Lingyou had already made his move.

She reached out and pinched Yu Shanghua's chin, forcing him to raise his head.

When he met those indifferent, rose-red eyes, Yu Shanghua's eyes were filled with terror. He trembled and wanted to beg for mercy, but the girl in front of him did not give him the chance.

Luo Lingyou shoved the pliers into Yu Shanghua's mouth and clamped one of his front teeth.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh—" A piercing pain struck, and Yu Shanghua let out a hysterical scream. Veins bulged on his forehead, and tears welled up in his eyes from the intense pain.

With a horrific tearing sound, the front tooth was forcibly pulled out, and blood gushed out from the gums, dripping down the chin.

Yu Shanghua's screams were interspersed with coughing and spitting blood. He wailed in heart-wrenching agony, "Stop hitting me! I'll tell you everything! I'll tell you everything!!!"

Luo Lingyou loosened the pliers, and the crisp, pleasant sound of his teeth hitting the ground created an eerie symphony with the wailing.

She put down the pliers and took out the brass knuckles from the rack of torture instruments.

Yan Yong: "This is a tiger crow..."

This time, Yan Yong only had time to finish saying the name of the torture device before Luo Lingyou put it on his hand and began to beat Yu Shanghua.

These specially made interrogation knuckle dusters are covered with tiny spikes, which can easily tear flesh when struck. After a few punches, Yu Shanghua's face was torn open, and blood mixed with saliva kept dripping onto his body.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

Luo Lingyou kept hitting his face, once, twice, three times...

She didn't make the common mistake of beginners by hitting the other person's cheek or chin.

Because these areas contain many vagus nerves, it's easy to accidentally knock someone unconscious.

Keeping the victim conscious during interrogation is an art; knocking someone unconscious is a complete waste of time and a sign of incompetence for the interrogator.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

Luo Lingyou kept hitting Yu Shanghua's mouth, nose, and eye sockets, so as not to make him faint, but to make him suffer the most pain.

As the beating continued, Yu Shanghua's face was completely mangled, his nose crooked to one side, and his lips split open, revealing his bare gums. He cried until his voice was hoarse, sobbing intermittently, "Stop hitting me... I'll talk... I'll tell you everything..."

Luo Lingyou leaned down and stared at Yu Shanghua's eyes, which were red and swollen from bursting capillaries.

She smiled.

That smile was beautiful, reminiscent of the winter sun, giving off a warm and intoxicating feeling.

But the words spoken in her sweet voice were like ice blades slicing through flesh and bone.

"What did you say? I wasn't even planning to ask. I was just torturing you for fun."

"How much information could a nobody like you possibly know? Asking is pointless. Let me have some fun instead."

As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Lingyou removed the brass knuckles, picked up the skinning knife from the torture rack, and unveiled an extremely bloody scene.

She came up behind Yu Shanghua, grabbed his hair with one hand, and held a scalp cutter in the other, and began to cut his scalp.

"Tear it apart——"

Blood gushed out, flesh tore apart; the scene was so horrifying that even the most experienced interrogators felt their scalps tingle.

After Yu Shanghua's scalp was completely cut off, his consciousness was crushed by the layers of pain. His eyes were unfocused, and his body slumped in the chair like a destroyed puppet.

He had almost completely lost response to his surroundings; only his mouth was unconsciously repeating the same two words: "I'll talk... I'll talk..."

Luo Lingyou then looked at Yan Yong and gave him a playful smile: "He made his move too quickly just now. I was afraid he would play tricks on us and waste our time with false information, so I took a few extra steps."

"If you ask him now, he'll definitely tell you the truth."

The judges around them exchanged bewildered glances, all looking at the junior sister who had just turned 18 with astonishment.