Sky-cracking Rider-Chapter 384: Section 380 - Life-prolonging Interrogation

"Katya, get up and do..."

Water Tank Auntie said nonsense with her eyes tightly closed.

Her body suddenly shivered, and the eyeballs under her eyelids trembled rapidly, finally slowly opening.

"Name, place of birth, Social Welfare Number?"

A strange voice entered her ears, and it was only then that Water Tank Auntie noticed she was lying on the ground surrounded by a circle of people.

"...#￥%&@..."

A bunch of gibberish and nonsensical swear words surged out.

"You don’t have much time left!"

The Old Tree Boundary Ape thumped his withered vine staff, and without control, Water Tank Auntie’s body shuddered, and the green shoots protruding from her wound grew a few centimeters taller.

In order to maintain the host’s wound and its own growth needs, the green shoot would continuously absorb flesh and blood as a source of nutrition. Although this could temporarily keep the host alive and prevent death from serious injury on the spot, parasitism was by no means a legitimate treatment.

Especially now, no one cared how long this Water Tank Auntie could live. In the end, the effect of parasitic life support was only to stave off the inevitable, and once the flesh and blood were exhausted, vitality would be completely drained, and even gods would find it difficult to save her.

"This one... still so stubborn when facing death!"

A-class Metal Ability User Kiterley extended his hand, and with a whoosh, a three-foot-long longsword pointed straight at the other’s nose.

"Hey, I’m talking to you! You fat hag!"

The effect was immediate, and the jibber-jabber of foul language ceased abruptly.

"..."

The plump Water Tank Auntie felt the sharpness of the sword tip, her body hair standing on end, a sensation as if needing to urinate but being unable to do so.

"Name, place of birth, Social Welfare Number? Speak or die!"

Kiterley was ruthless too.

In fact, most combat-oriented Metal Ability Users were ruthless folks who valued human life cheaply, armed with lethal weapons, harboring murderous intents easily, with no place for kindness or soft-heartedness.

Water Tank Auntie, frightened, grew even paler, and said tremblingly, "Ka, Katerina Yoon Sidneya, born in Kyiv Orchid, Social Welfare Number ********!"

Her gaze fixed on the blade an inch from her nose, she didn’t even dare to take a deep breath, afraid that any dissatisfaction might result in a direct stab.

She didn’t notice her plump Water Tank waist gradually deflating, her skin starting to wrinkle, the roots under her skin becoming denser, and whisps of white smoke emitting from the surface of her body.

Adrian made a gesture to Kiterley, who immediately sheathed his sword and stepped back, then he asked again, "Your occupation and the names of your accomplices?"

"The boss is Sergey Sherekov Antonyunov. He’s been on the battlefield, killed people. Spenser Vladimir is his enforcer, Katya Viktor Afzeyeve, I... I’m a female worker at Lubuk Slaughterhouse, responsible for slaughtering and skinning. Other than little Katya, who lives in the same district as me, Sergey and Spenser are thugs, they should die, we were forced, please save me."

Water Tank Auntie quickly spilled everything like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube, confessing completely with now a crying tone at the end.

According to the seats in the pickup, as well as the remains of the bodies found on the scene, there were indeed only four people, and three would be enough to operate a mortar.

"Why did you attack us?"

Adrian delved deeper into his questioning.

However, he still noticed some insincerity in the other’s words, as if she was hiding something.

But that was fine, as long as they had a name, they could soon investigate more information. Even if she said nothing, the pickup’s license plate, or even the vehicle identification number, would be enough to trace many clues by following the trail.

Water Tank Auntie said with a sob, "We thought we encountered a Magical Beast, really, we didn’t mean to."

She felt a renewed pain throughout her body, her breathing became increasingly rapid, obvious root-like objects protruded beneath her skin, her eyes deeply sunken, and her once plump face now looked haggard and gaunt with high cheekbones and fleshless cheeks.

In the pitch-dark snowy night, it was inevitable to have some unnecessary imaginations when suddenly seeing a big tree glowing all over (the Snow Velvet Weeping Willow itself does not glow, it was illuminated by the Mobile Base Vehicle’s lights).

Who would have thought that firing thrice with the 120mm mortar on the pickup would provoke such a terrible counterattack. Till now, there was still no information on the other three; it was likely they already met a bad end.

"Has anyone instructed you? Have you ever heard the name ’Water Bear’?"

Not just Adrian who was questioning, everyone present knew the woman who was once Water Tank Auntie and now had turned into Bean Sprout Lady didn’t have much time left.

Her original weight of nearly three hundred pounds now barely exceeded a hundred pounds, her skin completely slackened, and once it lost elasticity, wrinkles piled upon wrinkles.

The parasitic plant that Lulu’an brought out was truly terrifying. In such a short time, it had completely drained a fat woman.

"No, nobody, we only handled the animals others brought to us, we don’t know anything else, we’ve never heard the name ’Water Bear’. What is it? A person? No, I don’t know!"

Water Tank Auntie’s voice grew increasingly weak. When she saw her own arms and hands withering and the root-like structures under her skin, she screamed uncontrollably, and to her horror, a lush green plant had grown on her shriveled belly.

However, even with all her might to scream, it was no louder than normal speech, and her spirit completely collapsed.

"Who delivered the animals to you? What are their names?"

As the life of the other party reached its final countdown, Adrian did not intend to let it go, pressing on with a stern interrogation.

"I don’t know, I don’t know, save me, save me... ah, gurgling... whoosh!"

The woman, after the hysteria of expending her last bit of vitality, opened her mouth wide, exhaled her last breath, her head tilted, and she lost her spirit, tears of regret streaming down the corners of her eyes.

"Is she dead?"

Adrian felt some regret as he managed to learn the most important information, but had no time to inquire more in detail.

In fact, if it weren’t for the parasitic plant, this woman would have died long ago, instead of living up to the present.

The still-warm body harbored a green sprout that had grown into a two-foot-tall plant. Its roots had filled every inch beneath the skin, and at the topmost branch, a flower bud had swelled. With a light popping sound, a dandelion-like flower blossomed, and moments later, a myriad of miniature parachutes drifted aloft.

Lulu’an reached out to catch one of the "little parachutes," and stuffed it back into his pocket. At the same time, he gave his withered vine staff a shake, releasing an invisible wave from the tip. Before the rest of the mini parachutes could float further than a foot away, they disintegrated into dust and sprinkled down from the air.

The parasitic plant, having lost its source of nutrition from the corpse, visibly withered at a rapid pace, leaving behind a skeleton loosely wrapped in saggy skin. Whether it was the fat and muscle or the organs, everything had been completely devoured by the parasitic plant.

One chicken dies, another crows; no increase, no decrease.

The Old Tree Boundary Ape was a scrupulous intelligent magical beast. It strictly controlled the plant seeds it brought from Cangqiong Star, preventing any dangerous species from spreading out of control.

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"What kind of plant is this?"

An A-grade psychic ability user, the puppet master Josh Xi, felt his scalp tingle at the sight.

Not just him, the others felt the same; being parasitized by such a thing equated to purchasing a one-way ticket to hell— the kind that arrived within an hour.

"Divine Grace Chrysanthemum, originating from the Demon God Valley on the Daoyan Zhou Continent of Cangqiong Star. Unless it comes into contact with a wound, you don’t have to worry too much about it. Even eating it wouldn’t matter."

Lulu’an specially explained to reassure everyone.

"If there’s bleeding in the gums, or if there are wounds in the mouth or the esophagus, or maybe if someone’s stomach is bleeding..."

B-grade ice ability user Susanna Jean Piault finally decided to crawl out from her warm cocoon, making a joke that wasn’t particularly funny.

Yet, it still elicited a wave of awkward laughter.

The Old Tree Boundary Ape seriously said, "Indeed, be cautious. It’s better not to eat it, even though it’s not poisonous!"

"How credible is this woman’s statement?"

Kiterley kicked at the woman’s corpse with the tip of his shoe. Under the skin bag, it seemed as if a viscous liquid was churning, while the roots of the parasitic plant still enveloped the remains without spilling out.

He hastily retracted his foot, filled with revulsion, fearing that a careless kick would rupture it and let disgusting corpse fluids spill everywhere.

Although this obese woman had not mentioned poaching, it was not far from the truth; after all, the dug-up remains of polar bears and seals were hard evidence, leaving no room for denial. They proved that these animals were not voluntary sacrifices but were outright killed.

Kiterley signaled to Susanna.

"It’s full of pus inside. Freeze it, so we can throw it out later."

"Huh?"

The B-grade ice ability user was startled, looking at the ugly remains and shuddering involuntarily.

She quickly pointed a finger and enveloped the corpse in bone-chilling cold, freezing it inside and out, though this action dropped the temperature inside the wagon by several degrees Celsius.

"Ah... Achoo!"

Susanna couldn’t help but sneeze and quickly wrapped herself in a thick coat.

An ice ability user who gives herself a cold—embarrassing if word got out.

"Achoo?"

Little Bird peeked out from its nest, looking around in a puzzled manner.

"On the brink of death, a person’s words are often kind; it’s likely that seventy to eighty percent of it is true."

Adrian opened the vehicle door and threw the frozen stiff corpse out,

As long as it wasn’t related to the "Water Bear" organization, it wasn’t their problem. The local police would naturally handle the follow-up.

The Siberian tundra would preserve the evidence perfectly, so throwing it outside was the right decision. It also prevented potential nightmares from keeping it inside the vehicle.

"I think we should continue investigating the people they were in contact with," said puppet master Josh Xi.

While one person’s wisdom falls short, the collective is enlightening; everyone was actively participating and discussing.

"Let’s make a report first! After all, right now, we’re nothing but tools."

As soon as he thought it, Adrian took out his phone.

Mouri Misono softly reminded him, "Adrian, it seems that Habulav is in more or less the same timezone as here!"

"Who cares!"

Adrian dialed the number unconcernedly.

"Heh heh heh..."

"Ho ho ho..."

"Haha..."

"Hee hee hee..."

Team 04, all villains.

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