Still dazed, the captain took a few moments to collect his thoughts. He rarely encountered situations such as this, but who was he to stop the other man? "Captain Gu," he said, "There's no reason for me to prevent you from picking up a prisoner for interrogation. But, since you're not on duty right now, can you show me your identification token?"
Of course Gu Xintang had his own token. Taking it out, he handed it over. Captain Qin glanced at it for a few seconds before smiling. "May I be so bold as to ask you to verify it?"
An identification token had to be verified by one's own consciousness. Each token was matched to a specific individual. An imposter who attempted to infiltrate the prison would fail here. Their consciousness would not be able to match someone else's token.
"Captain Qin, aren't we old comrades? Is there really a need for this?" Gu Xintang scowled.
"If our roles were exchanged, Captain Gu, I would volunteer my cooperation." The other captain smiled wryly. "It's just that, you know, it's my shift, and I don't want…"
"I've always treated you well, Captain Qin. And yet you lack the most basic of faith in me?" Gu Xintang was displeased.
"If it were you in the flesh, Captain Gu, of course you'd have my full faith. But… I'm worried about imposters, right?"
The Sable Cells were an important area, off-limits to most.
"You certainly have an overactive imagination," Gu Xintang spat angrily. As he said this, he activated his consciousness to show that it did, indeed, match his identification token.
The verification process having passed, apology flickered across Captain Qin's face. "Sorry about that, Captain Gu. Just following due process."
He looked towards Jiang Chen and Emperor Peerless as he said this, clearly looking for their identification tokens as well.
"Captain Qin, are you intentionally trying to make things difficult for me? Is it not enough that I verified, and now my subordinates need to do it as well?" Gu Xintang's expression looked even worse now.
The intense irritation in Gu Xintang's voice sent ripples across Captain Qin's heart. He looked back at his fellow captain and let out a long sigh. "If you put it like that, Captain Gu, then never mind. Go on in."
The rules mandated that everyone who entered needed to have their identity confirmed. But Gu Xintang was a close acquaintance, and he'd passed the check himself. If there was no issue with the leader, how could there be with his subordinates? Captain Qin did not want to offend Gu Xintang any further than he already did. He was happy to offer the relatively casual favor in order to placate the other man.
Jiang Chen and Emperor Peerless were impassive. When Captain Qin had shown intent to examine them, they'd both been prepared to subdue the man on the spot. Thankfully, the captain ended up giving Gu Xintang a bit of courtesy after all. He hadn't stuck wholly to the rules. Still, it had been a pretty close call.
Jiang Chen instantly felt that he'd entered an entirely different world when he entered the Sable Cells. This was a dark realm, filled with filth and fetid air. A nauseating scent assaulted the trio's nostrils. It wasn't the scent of feces alone. Putrescence, stench, and the stink of sweat mixed together to form a vomit-inducing potpourri of smells.
"This is how the Cells are," Gu Xintang coughed apologetically. "Please forgive the atmosphere."
Jiang Chen shook his head. "Let's start looking."
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