63: Are you crazy, or am I crazy?

The sole witness.

These five words were like five icy steel needles piercing Su Qingxue's eardrums.

Inside the ward, the sunlight was bright.

But Su Qingxue felt as if she had been instantly thrown into the deepest trench of the Arctic Ocean.

All around her was boundless, suffocating coldness and darkness.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Her voice was dry and raspy, and every word seemed to drain all the strength from her body.

"Are you poisoned too deeply? Has your brain been fried?"

This was the most rational explanation.

A police officer, a strictly trained materialist, could only come to this conclusion.

Chen Mo did not refute her.

He simply looked at her quietly.

In those eyes, there was no madness, no confusion, only a terrifying clarity.

A clarity that was even sharper than her own.

"When I died, you were right outside the glass."

His voice was flat and monotonous, as if he were recounting a case report that had nothing to do with him.

"You were pounding on the glass with your fists. You were shouting."

Su Qingxue's breathing stopped for a second.

How could he possibly know?

At that time, he was clinically dead—no heartbeat, no breath, pupils dilated.

He couldn't have had any perception.

"You yelled, 'Aren't you the Judge?'"

Chen Mo continued.

"'Can't you even judge your own life now?'"

"'You coward.'"

Boom!

Su Qingxue's mind went blank.

The desperate words she had screamed out were repeated by him, word for word.

Accompanied by the cold scrutiny of an outsider.

Fear.

An indescribable fear, stemming from the complete subversion of her understanding, instantly seized her heart.

"You were the one who woke me up."

Chen Mo's gaze pierced through her pupils, looking directly at her trembling soul.

"No, to be precise, it was the two words, 'You coward,' that woke me up."

Su Qingxue's lips began to tremble.

She wanted to speak, but no sound came out.

She looked at the man before her.

She had seen this face countless times, familiar enough to describe every detail with her eyes closed.

Yet now, she felt an immense sense of unfamiliarity.

It was as if a completely unknown soul was residing in the body she had fought desperately to save.

"Who... exactly are you?"

She finally managed to ask the question.

The corner of Chen Mo's mouth curled into an extremely slight arc.

That was not a smile.

It was a declaration that was almost cruel.

"I am Chen Mo."

"A complete Chen Mo, one who no longer needs to hide in the closet."

His voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable, resolute power.

"Now, do you understand?"

Understand what?

What am I supposed to understand?

Su Qingxue felt her worldview shattering inch by inch.

Has the world gone mad?

Or have I gone mad?

"Creak—"

The ward door was pushed open.

Bureau Chief Zhou and Zhao Dahai walked in, interrupting a conversation fit for a paranormal file.

"Chen Mo, how do you feel now that you're awake?"

Zhao Dahai's face was full of concerned smiles.

Bureau Chief Zhou, meanwhile, immediately noticed Su Qingxue's pale face.

"Qingxue, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Su Qingxue snapped back to reality.

She glanced at Bureau Chief Zhou, then at Chen Mo on the hospital bed.

Chen Mo's expression had already returned to its usual composure.

It was as if the harrowing conversation just moments ago had been nothing but her own hallucination.

"N-nothing."

She shook her head.

The cold sweat on her back had already soaked her clothes.

"Maybe a little low blood sugar."

Zhao Dahai didn't think much of it. He walked to the bedside and patted Chen Mo's arm.

"You lucky bastard! You've got nine lives!"

"Arrangements have been made back home. As soon as your condition stabilizes, we'll return immediately."

"We'll also escort 'Shadow' back with us. This time, we absolutely must pry out all the secrets of 'Spade K'!"

Bureau Chief Zhou's gaze fell upon Chen Mo's face.

"You rest well. You don't need to worry about the interrogation."

This was an order, and also a sign of care.

Everyone believed that what Chen Mo needed most right now was quiet recuperation.

Except for Chen Mo himself.

"I want to see him."

Chen Mo spoke.

The voice was not loud, but everyone in the ward heard it clearly.

Zhao Dahai was stunned for a moment.

"See who?"

"'Shadow'."

An eerie silence fell over the ward.

Bureau Chief Zhou's brows immediately furrowed.

"Nonsense!"

His tone carried a severe reprimand for the first time.

"Don't you know what physical state you are in right now?"

"The interrogation is our business! Your job is to lie in bed and not move!"

Chen Mo did not look at Bureau Chief Zhou.

His gaze fell upon Su Qingxue's face once more.

In that gaze, there was no plea, no negotiation.

Only an undeniable command.

He was testing her.

Testing whether she, the "sole witness," would choose to follow the rules or choose to believe him, this "monster."

Su Qingxue's heart was in turmoil.

Reason told her that she should immediately agree with Director Zhou and make Chen Mo abandon this crazy idea.

But her instinct, her criminal detective's instinct, was screaming wildly.

The Chen Mo before her was different.

He must have his reasons for doing this.

A reason she couldn't comprehend, but one that might be critically important.

"Director Zhou."

Su Qingxue took a deep breath and spoke, meeting Bureau Chief Zhou's astonished gaze.

"I think... we can let Chen Mo try."

"What?"

Zhao Dahai thought he had misheard.

Bureau Chief Zhou's expression darkened.

"Qingxue, do you know what you are saying?"

"I know."

Su Qingxue's gaze did not waver in the slightest.

"'Shadow' is not an ordinary criminal. Standard interrogation methods might be ineffective against him."

"Chen Mo understands him better than any of us."

"Perhaps, he really does have a way to make 'Shadow' talk."

Every word she said was reasonable and flawless.

But only she knew that the reasons she gave to persuade Bureau Chief Zhou were not these at all.

Rather, it was Chen Mo's recent words.

That "complete" Chen Mo.

That "Judge."

She wanted to see.

She wanted to witness it with her own eyes.

What exactly this man, who had returned from death, had become.

Bureau Chief Zhou stared at Su Qingxue, seemingly trying to read something on her face.

But he failed.

Su Qingxue's expression had returned to its usual composure and determination.

Finally.

He looked at Chen Mo on the bed, then at Su Qingxue, and let out a long sigh.

"Fifteen minutes only."

"Bring him over. The interrogation will happen right here."

He pointed at Su Qingxue.

"You are in charge. If he shows any sign of discomfort, terminate it immediately."

Su Qingxue nodded.

"Yes."

As Bureau Chief Zhou and Zhao Dahai left the ward to make arrangements.

Chen Mo looked at her and slowly spoke.

"You made the right choice."

Su Qingxue did not reply.

She simply walked to the bedside and gently tucked in the corner of his blanket, her movements as delicate as if she were handling fragile porcelain.

Then, she leaned down and whispered into his ear.

In a voice only the two of them could hear, she said, word by word.

"I don't care if you are Chen Mo or the Judge."

"Remember this."

"Your life, I saved it."

"It belongs to me."