Bringer didn't understand—but he was deeply shaken.
What happened next, however, no longer had anything to do with him.
Everyone had a phone. Everyone could see just how overwhelming the online uproar had become.
It was so massive that the official livestream had already disabled bullet chats and comments. Even then, the feed stuttered badly—the sheer volume of traffic crashing brutally into the platform's channels.
The screen flickered white at intervals, freezing with every surge. Only a few hurried, fragmented sounds slipped through the broadcast. Devices with weaker hardware quickly overheated, chips grinding to a halt as if their thoughts had simply shut down.
The official response came swiftly. Additional livestream rooms were opened across multiple platforms. On Inter-Knot, some even began rebroadcasting the official feed to cash in on the traffic.
No matter what, after a frantic round of adjustments, the livestream finally stabilized.
Bullet comments reappeared, flowing once more across the top of the screen like rows of death warrants, pressing down on everyone in the Public Security Bureau until their nerves were stretched to the limit.
After a long silence, Qingyi was the first to speak.
She stood and reholstered the segmented baton at her waist. Then she walked calmly toward the depths of the bureau, pushed open a door, and revealed Perlman seated in the interrogation chair inside.
"The two from the TV station… and the citizens of New Eridu—come take a look."
"Qingyi!"
Bringer ground his teeth and spun around, glaring at her.
"That's enough, Bringer," Qingyi replied coldly. "I may joke about ranking myself alongside Bangboos, but you'd do well to show a senior at least a minimum level of respect."
She returned his glare without flinching. Unlike Zhu Yuan—who had once been saved by Bringer as a child and still held some lingering respect—Qingyi felt no such obligation.
As a top-tier artificial intelligence, Qingyi's grasp of human behavior was razor-sharp. She could tell at a glance that something was seriously wrong with Bringer.
But now wasn't the time to pursue that.
The vampire clan had stirred things up far too much. Public resentment had exploded to an uncontrollable level. How TOPS intended to clean up this mess was anyone's guess.
"Come in," Qingyi said calmly. "Friends from the TV station. Zhu Yuan. And the colleague handling the interrogation—come together."
With that, she turned and entered the interrogation room, neatly arranging the previous interrogation records left behind from questioning Perlman and placing them squarely in view of the cameras.
She could only hope it would temporarily suppress the public outrage.
Qingyi let out a quiet sigh.
Soon, the reporters, cameraman, Zhu Yuan, and the interrogation officer filed forward in sequence—
Oh. The interrogation officer didn't make it in.
Just as he was about to step through the doorway, someone grabbed the back of his collar and flung him out.
"Careful!"
He nearly stumbled, but Kovei caught him from behind, steadying him.
"Thanks," the officer muttered.
He looked ahead—Bringer had already forced his way into the interrogation room and slammed the door shut behind him.
Boom!
Click.
After a heavy thud came a crisp locking sound. The door sealed completely, cutting the interrogation room off from the outside world as time marched on.
"Why didn't you go in?" the officer asked in confusion, turning to Kovei. "You're Perlman's defense lawyer, aren't you?"
"No need," Kovei replied with a soft laugh, shaking his head. "The courtroom is my battlefield. As for now… better to avoid any conflict of interest."
He pulled out his phone, tapped into the official livestream, and smiled faintly—an unsettling curve at the corner of his mouth.
Mr. Perlman… after my guidance, you won't disappoint me, will you?
...
Inside the interrogation room.
Bringer dropped heavily into a chair at the table, snatched up the microphone, and spoke sharply.
"I'll conduct the interrogation!"
"You—" Zhu Yuan began, but Qingyi stopped her.
Pulling Zhu Yuan behind her, Qingyi took out pen and paper and said flatly, "In that case, I'll handle the transcript. Zhu Yuan, go inside."
"Yes, Senior."
Zhu Yuan nodded and entered the inner room.
The interrogation room was divided into two sections, separated by a pane of one-way glass.
On this side stood Qingyi, Bringer, and the two TV reporters with their cameraman.
On the other side sat Zhu Yuan and Perlman.
Zhu Yuan stopped in front of Perlman's table. His hands and feet were bound to the chair. Hearing footsteps, he lifted his head sluggishly.
He squinted, barely making out Zhu Yuan's face.
"Oh… it's you," he murmured. "Here to interrogate me? Sorry… I'm really tired. I kind of want to sleep."
"There'll be plenty of time to sleep later, Mr. Perlman," Zhu Yuan replied evenly. "For now, please cooperate."
Seeing Perlman gradually regain some focus, Zhu Yuan pressed a hand to her earpiece.
[Begin.]
[Acknowledged. Interrogation commencing.]
Bringer's voice soon blared from the small speaker embedded at the front of Perlman's table.
[Perlman, during the airship's emergency landing at Ballet Tower, you stole the vessel and fled. That alone adds another charge to your crimes. Confess honestly now, and there may still be room for leniency!]
The accusation came down hard, branding him outright.
Perlman frowned, looking past Zhu Yuan and straight ahead.
"I… did it to stay alive."
After a long pause, he finally spoke. Though he couldn't see through the one-way glass, he could feel Bringer's presence beyond it.
"I knew too many things that were bad for the CEO. He manipulated TOPS to try and kill me. If I hadn't been lucky, that airship would've crashed straight into a Hollow. If I'd kept playing by the rules, I would've died quietly at TOPS's hands sooner or later…"
[Don't spout nonsense! Do you have any evidence?!]
Bringer shouted, slamming the table.
[This is an interrogation room! Confess and receive leniency—resist and face harsher consequences! Only say what you're certain of!]
"Evidence? Of course I don't have any," Perlman said calmly. "I can't prove TOPS tried to kill me. But what I said about the CEO is true."
"He planted people around me. He ordered me to blow up Canvas Street. I have evidence—I preserved it during the original construction—"
[Aaaah—damn it!]
Bringer's frenzied roar burst from the speaker.
In the next instant, he smashed his head straight through the one-way glass.
Shards exploded everywhere, embedding themselves across his body. Blood streamed down as exposed skin was carved with countless cuts.
Bringer didn't care.
Enduring the pain, he yanked a gun from his waist. One shot forced Qingyi back as she rushed forward—then he flicked his wrist and fired again.
The bullet tore into Perlman's lower abdomen.
Blood poured out. Perlman collapsed into a spreading pool of red.
Die, Bringer thought savagely.
Panting, he dropped the gun and raised both hands in surrender.
When Zhu Yuan kicked out his knee and snapped handcuffs onto his wrists, Bringer let out a long breath.
It's over…
Everything's over…
The CEO is probably finished—but at least Perlman didn't drag more things into the open.
Damage control… at least…
"In… the construction blueprints… the CEO's crimes…"
The voice was so faint it was almost lost.
Zhu Yuan froze. So did Bringer, pinned beneath her. Qingyi and the reporters who had rushed in all widened their eyes, holding their breath.
They quickly realized where the sound was coming from.
Perlman.
He still had one last breath.
His "corpse" twitched slightly. Blood sealed his eyes shut as his throat trembled.
"The… CEO… is researching… Sacrifice… He wants to… overthrow… New Eridu…"
With those words, Perlman finally exhaled his last breath.
With his remaining strength, he hurled the filth back onto TOPS.
His eyes slowly lost their light. His lips trembled faintly.
He could no longer speak—only whisper silently in his heart.
Long live the vampire clan.
...
Outside the interrogation room, Kovei watched the official livestream and curved his lips into a satisfied smile.
"The plan is proceeding smoothly," he murmured.
"Perlman has fulfilled his mission."