Once, I wanted to be a good person

```

Although surprised, Fang Ze thought about it and felt it was understandable.

After all, this investigation room allowed him to perceive the emotions of the person being investigated and hear their inner thoughts, so it made sense for him to know the real information about extraordinary items.

After all, the former could be considered a type of "Appraisal."

While thinking thus, Fang Ze recalled the information about the paste in his hand.

"Treant Essence."

"It takes the withering of 200 Giant Tree People to extract one gram of essence, which has the magical effect of accelerating the healing of bodily injuries, even to the point of regenerating flesh and bones. It is also effective on Awakeners."

Recalling this introduction, Fang Ze couldn't help but glance at the bottle.

Two hundred Giant Tree People could only extract one gram of essence?

Although he had not weighed this bottle, Fang Ze felt there must be at least about 10 grams in it, right?

And for such a Healing Sacred Medicine that can be used on Awakeners, the price should not be cheap, right?

5k Lini per gram?

So... was he still going to make a profit this time?

Most importantly... his injuries seemed like they could recover, right?

With such thoughts, Fang Ze opened the bottle, poured out a bit of Natural Essence, and carefully applied it to his right arm.

As the Natural Essence spread over his arm,

His previously sensationless right arm immediately felt cool, and Fang Ze felt as if a strange sensation was spreading across his limb.

It seemed like something was permeating through his skin, then inside his arm, helping to repair the broken muscles and reconnect them.

Visibly, his arm went from being shriveled to swelling up, regaining its strength.

After several seconds, when Fang Ze came to his senses, he tried to grip his right hand.

His right hand regained sensation once again.

He shook it with a bit of astonishment; although it was still slightly uncomfortable, it had already recovered a great deal.

With that in mind, Fang Ze did not skimp on this product.

Although it seemed expensive, was anything more valuable than his own life?

If enemies kept coming wave after wave, and if he didn't recover properly and got killed, wouldn't all his possessions become war booty?

Then the enemy would be smearing on the essence he hadn't dared to use, wielding the weapons he hadn't wanted to spare, and even whipping his corpse!

What kind of perverse NTR plot was this!

While wandering in such wild thoughts, Fang Ze removed his clothes and poured out some more Natural Essence, applying a little to all the wounds on his body. Of course, he focused primarily on his right arm, which had only begun to heal.

Soon, feeling vitality coursing through his whole body and his physical recovery complete, Fang Ze felt incredibly comfortable!

He got dressed and then looked again at the Natural Essence in the bottle. About half was left.

"Truly a life-saving Divine Artifact!"

After uttering this praise, Fang Ze suddenly understood why the ranger's life force was so tenacious.

Apart from the inherent vitality of a high-level Awakener, Fang Ze guessed it was related to their Awakening Ability?

Being able to extract such valuable Recovery Medicine, their own Recovery Power must also be exceptionally frightening.

This was probably why he didn't die despite his severe injuries.

However... not dying from severe injuries wasn't necessarily a good thing. After all, in the presence of Fang Ze and his Late-Night Investigation Room, perhaps... death would have been a form of relief.

...Coming from an era of information explosion, Fang Ze's mind was filled with various punishments merely hearing about which would send chills down one's spine...

With that thought, Fang Ze, now recovered, got dressed and sat down at the chair, tapping lightly on the table.

A moment later, a bunch of three-dimensional images popped up before him.

And the first one was the ranger's figure.

Seeing the ranger's image, Fang Ze's face bloomed with a splendid smile.

Indeed... whether someone was unconscious or had fallen asleep, as long as their body remained still and their consciousness in slumber, it was possible to investigate.

However, he didn't know whether investigating an Awakener would result in any strange changes...

With that thought, Fang Ze made some minor arrangements to the room and grabbed the iron spear, getting ready and selecting the ranger...

......

As a high-level Awakener, especially one with Healing abilities, Zheng Shu held a certain status within the organization.

Usually, he had almost no tasks and could live freely in the forest, planting flowers, trees, and doing as he pleased.

Only when tasks that required high-level Awakeners or combat in the forest emerged would the organization assign him to join the battle.

Half a month ago, he had accepted such a task: to hunt down a wealthy individual with three other high-level Awakeners and Fusers, to retrieve an item the tycoon had cached away.

The mission was perilous and far from perfect. Not only was the objective unmet, but they also nearly lost their lives there.

Having escaped back to his hideout, Zheng Shu had spent half a month recuperating in peace.

He thought the mission was over.

Unexpectedly, the day before, he received orders from his superiors: to go to Bluewater Forest and bring back a Periphery Member suspected of having taken the target item and deserted the organization.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

He had seen that Periphery Member before; he had been the one to lead them to the tycoon's villa.

Back then, he was just an ordinary person. It was hard to imagine that in just half a month, the man had found the target item, become an Awakener, and even deserted the organization.

Still, such a mission was relatively easy.

After all, a newly Awakened Awakener had almost no power to fight back against him.

```

The only thing he had to be careful of was not to accidentally kill him.

And indeed, the progression of events was going very smoothly.

Until...

Those two damned low-level Disaster Creatures clung to him for dear life.

It was only when that periphery member, who he never took seriously—like an ant—fired that terrifying strike rivaling that of a Fuser that he felt fear!

But it was all too late!

By the time half his body was blown apart, even losing half of his head, he was plunged into endless darkness and fell into a coma...

In that moment of unconsciousness, his only thought was: If given another chance, he would disregard the mission entirely and hold nothing back!

He would unleash full firepower from the get-go, and then kill those two damned Disaster Creatures, kill that periphery member!

As the boundless darkness faded and light returned, Zheng Shu found himself in a dark room.

It felt like he was missing half his body—his face, neck, body, organs—everything hurt, and it seemed like he had lost a lot of his strength.

The only consolation was that his Awakening Ability, although damaged severely, was persistently repairing his body—slowly, but at least it was healing.

Plus, he still had the valuable Treant Essence with him, which meant his life was at least saved for now.

'But... where is this?'

Bearing the pain, he propped himself up with the only hand he had left, struggling to get up from the ground to see where he actually was.

And just as he was about to lift himself up...

Suddenly, a "swoosh" broke the silence as a finely crafted iron spear ruthlessly pinned his remaining arm to the ground.

"Ah!" he screamed in agony as his arm bent in pain, and then he collapsed to the floor!

Only then did he realize that due to severe injuries, his Law Defense had long since failed to protect him, making it possible for him to be hurt by an ordinary weapon.

His arm was nailed to the ground, blood gushing, he endured the pain and tried to see who had attacked him with eyes full of rage.

Then... he saw the periphery member he wished to flay alive a thousand times over.

"It's you!" The sight of the periphery member filled him with boundless sorrow and rage, his eyes reddened with fury, wishing he could stand up right now and tear the periphery member apart with his bare hands!

Perhaps sensing this intense emotion, as he was thinking this, that hateful periphery member pulled out the spear and raised it high, then thrust it down mercilessly once more!

"Thump!" The spear went straight through his body!

"Ah!" A scream of agony escaped him once again...

Then, that cold voice of the periphery member, as chilling as December's frost, echoed in his ears,

"I'll ask, you'll answer. If you dare lie, I'll make you experience the greatest pain in this world."

Hearing these words, Zheng Shu strained to lift his head, following the torn hem of the periphery member's trousers up.

Perhaps it was the darkness of the environment, but the periphery member's face was half-shrouded in shadow, spear in hand, dominant like a Demon God...

"What's your name?"

"Zheng... Zheng Shu."

"What's the name of your organization?"

"That's our organization, don't you know its name?"

"Thump!"

"Ah!"

"The... Salvation Sect."

"Thump!"

"Ah! Why are you stabbing me when I've answered!"

The voice of the periphery member was devilish, "Because you lied."

Zheng Shu looked at the periphery member in horror.

The "Demon" looked down at him from above, an expression on his face that was clearly not a bluff, but a genuine knowledge that he was lying...

Then, with a wave of the "Demon's" hand, suddenly, a large cauldron appeared before him, steaming with billowing black smoke and spewing heat.

In that instant, Zheng Shu's eyes widened in terror, an ominous premonition filling his heart...

Having been brainwashed and nurtured by the organization for many years, Zheng Shu's loyalty was beyond doubt. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

But the Demon before him was too terrifying, as was this place...

Any incorrect answers or even a moment's hesitation, and the environment would begin to change.

From iron cauldrons filled with boiling oil, to endless icebergs, to red-hot copper pillars...

Punishment after punishment was inflicted upon him, eroding his will bit by bit, pushing his spirit to the brink of collapse.

There were moments when he wished he could simply die.

But what made him despair was that aside from the real damage of the iron spear to his body, he could feel the pain of the tortures without being physically harmed.

Death had become a luxury beyond his reach...

After suffering countless spear stabs, boiling oil immersions, wooden horse rides, and flesh cutting, Zheng Shu felt his consciousness fading, having confessed everything he could.

The Demon finally spared him...

In that moment, unable to hold on any longer, he once again lapsed into boundless darkness...

Watching Zheng Shu's form slowly vanish with an expressionless face, a murderous aura around him, Fang Ze tiredly deactivated the Late-Night Investigation Room's disguise and then collapsed into a chair, not coming back to his senses for a long time...