But reason told him that if he truly did that, the consequences would be absolutely dire and beyond estimation…
After all, no matter what, Lin Ran, a person who was almost impossible to kill, held a major trump card against him!
So, how should he respond?
The intelligence currently available indicated that Lin Ran had already been spying on the contents of their carriage a long time ago.
But the problem was, how much did he know, and from where to where…
If he lied on certain questions and Lin Ran found out, Lin Ran would absolutely expose him directly or walk away decisively.
Then, he would lose the last chance to keep his secret.
If he didn't lie and revealed everything, the amount of information exposed would be immeasurable, leading to an even bigger handle for Lin Ran…
It was truly a no-win situation!
After much thought, Arthur decided to make the greatest compromise he could possibly make…
As long as his ultimate core interests could be guaranteed, those losses and concessions would be entirely worth it!
So Arthur opened his mouth and said:
"Brother Lin, if you want to know something, just ask directly. I will tell you as much as I can…"
"But in return…"
As he spoke, Arthur pointed to his mouth.
Lin Ran immediately laughed:
"That's of course no problem…"
"As for me, the future of Kyushu Island and Sakura Country, their ethnicity and nation, has nothing to do with me."
"If you answer well, I certainly won't say an extra word!"
With Lin Ran's assurance, Arthur finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although this seemingly dragged him into an extremely disadvantageous passive position, handing over all the initiative to Lin Ran, it also, in a relative sense, limited the scope of information Lin Ran could obtain.
When Lin Ran asked him questions, he only needed to provide the information pertaining to the part he mentioned.
However, Lin Ran's words also clearly carried a threat…
If he answered well, he wouldn't say an extra word;
Then if he answered poorly, Arthur would have to imagine the consequences himself…
So, to be safe, Arthur decided that at the very least, he absolutely could not conceal anything he had said in the carriage from Lin Ran.
Otherwise, if he angered Lin Ran, making him feel that he was deliberately lying about something he already knew…
Who knew how huge a concession he would have to make to regain Lin Ran's trust!
Seeing Arthur nod in agreement, Lin Ran smiled and asked his first question:
"Is the current Pope himself the one who dispatched you with troops?"
So explosive to start with?
Arthur, though displeased, still answered honestly:
"Indeed!"
Lin Ran nodded, then threw out his second question:
"Then I assume this order was issued to you privately as a secret decree when you two were alone, correct?"
"And the decider on the secret decree was solely him, with no other Vatican elders involved?"
His questions were so professional…
Arthur wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued to nod:
"Yes! No other elders."
To prevent Lin Ran from extracting more information from him, Arthur answered with extreme caution, to the point where he didn't want to say a single extra word…
Facing Arthur's cautious demeanor, Lin Ran couldn't help but smile.
He was well aware of Arthur's current predicament.
The reason this guy was being so obedient now was simply because he didn't know how much Arthur knew about him, or how much Arthur knew that he didn't know he knew…
Therefore, when asking questions, he also had to try his best to keep them vague and ambiguous, related to the topic, and not just ask anything at random.
After all, being able to intercept Arthur during this investigation was an unexpected bonus.
If he had to extract memory fragments from the souls of powerful individuals, he would definitely be hindered by their resentment, and the efficiency would be very low.
But now, being able to interrogate Arthur, the chief judge, face-to-face was much more comfortable!
So, he had to cherish this opportunity.
Thus, after nodding, Lin Ran asked his third question:
"How long has the main force of your Holy Light Crusaders been hidden on this island?"
Seeing Lin Ran's questions becoming increasingly pointed, Arthur's expression grew more and more grim.
However, he still calmed himself and answered honestly:
"Three months…"
Lin Ran nodded again and asked his fourth question:
"Before you accompanied the participating teams here, who was the high-ranking official in charge of command and coordination?"
Arthur's face suddenly darkened:
"Brother Lin… I think your questions are a bit too many…"
"Even if I agreed to answer you, you can't question me without limit, right?"
It seemed this matter had not been mentioned in the carriage…
And the importance of this question was likely top-tier.
Lin Ran understood.
So, Lin Ran smiled apologetically:
"Alright… Then I have one last question…"
"That is, how many of you, hidden beneath the dark side of the Holy Light Vatican, are there?"
Arthur's expression underwent an unprecedented change after Lin Ran spoke. He suddenly slammed the table and stood up:
"Who is the mole you planted within the Holy Light Vatican?!"
"Or, which one of the Secret Masters has an unspeakable deal with you?!"
Seeing Arthur so agitated that he almost overturned the entire carriage, Lin Ran couldn't help but laugh heartily:
"Forget it, forget it, if you don't want to say, then don't. Why are you getting so worked up?"
"Since the living you is unwilling to cooperate properly, I will have to interrogate your corpse…"
Lin Ran said, narrowing his eyes and staring intently at Arthur.
Arthur let out a laugh of rage:
"You've truly gotten too arrogant!"
"Don't you think I haven't acted against you until now because I'm afraid of you?"
"Since you intend to solve this with force, then I will accompany you to the end!"
Saying this, Arthur took out a prepared silver crystal and wiped it across his neck, while also communicating with his biological chip, issuing orders for the main combat forces outside to surround and annihilate.
He actually didn't want to reach this point of mutual destruction, but Lin Ran's questions had clearly touched his bottom line, and he even threatened his life…
If he still retreated now, he would truly fall into an abyss.
But at this critical moment, the intelligent AI inside the carriage suddenly announced a new problem:
"Ding!"
"Detected the arrival of the Devastation Wind. Please leave this area as soon as possible…"
"Devastation Wind Intensity Level: Infinite; Survival Rate upon Encounter: Zero!"