Chapter 223: Isn’t It Just Acting? Who Can’t Do That?
“Who are you??”
Cao Weida looked at him suspiciously.
“Secret Marseille, allow me to introduce myself.” The little devil had no intention of standing up at all, still sitting upright in place, forcing a fake smile as he said:
“I am Kawamoto Yoshitaro, serving as Head of the Bamboo Agency.”
“Oh, so it’s Officer Kawamoto, nice to meet you, nice to meet you!” Cao Weida’s face was full of smiles as he stepped forward and extended his hand, grasping his hand and shaking it repeatedly a few times,
“I’ve long heard of your great name, and I’ve always wanted to find an opportunity to pay my respects, but as a lowly small figure, I’ve never found the chance.”
“Now I’ve finally met you, it’s truly my fortune of three lifetimes!”
“.”
Looking at Cao Weida’s excited and enthusiastic appearance, it actually left Kawamoto Yoshitaro at a loss.
Speaking of which, seeing the situation here and those torture instruments, shouldn’t you be uneasy and terrified?
So enthusiastic, it’s making me feel a bit embarrassed to scare you.
“Cough cough.” Kawamoto Yoshitaro forcefully pulled his hand back; this guy’s strength was quite impressive!
He deliberately kept a stern face, just about to say something, when a cigarette was offered right in front of him.
Looking over in astonishment, he saw Cao Weida fawningly say: “Officer Kawamoto, here, smoke a cigarette. This is what Mei Ze Jun gave me, Xuguang brand cigarettes, the kind that only officers of the Great Japanese Empire can smoke. I’ve always been reluctant to smoke it!”
“.” Kawamoto Yoshitaro was rendered speechless by the successive interruptions.
He glanced at the cigarette in front of him, hesitated for a moment, but still took it.
Then, with a crisp ‘ding’ ‘cha’ sound, a lit kerosene lighter was handed right over.
Kawamoto Yoshitaro: “.”
Fine, fine, playing it like this, huh? No wonder that group of second-generation heirs like Ono Shiota enjoy bringing him along; turns out he really knows how to handle things!
Anyone likes being fawned over and served, and Kawamoto Yoshitaro is no exception.
He hadn’t intended to cause trouble for Cao Weida in the first place; it was just routine intimidation for procedure’s sake.
He put the cigarette in his mouth, leaned forward to light it, took a deep drag, felt the smoke swirling in his chest cavity, then slowly exhaled. The stimulating effect of nicotine perked up his spirit.
“Alright, Mr. Cao, I’ve smoked your cigarette, so let’s get started.” As he spoke, he cast his gaze toward the two shirtless, fierce-looking men standing on either side, giving them a look.
The next second, the two stepped forward, and under Cao Weida’s bewildered expression, they grabbed him and walked him to the wooden frame, picked up rope, and began binding him.
“No, wait!” Cao Weida panicked and tried to organize his words, “Officer Kawamoto, what do you mean by this? Why tie me up?”
“Cao Sang, don’t make futile struggles. We’ve already investigated clearly what you’ve done, and we have a grasp of who you are.” Kawamoto Yoshitaro looked at him coldly, the cigarette in his hand burning, smoke slowly rising and drifting, blurring his face somewhat,
“If you don’t want to suffer physical pain, it’s best to confess everything you’ve done. For the sake of your service to the Great Japanese Empire for a time, I’ll give you leniency.”
“Ah? Things I’ve done? Who I am? What is all this?” Cao Weida seemed a bit dazed. Although he ‘strenuously’ resisted, he was still bound hand and foot.
He seemed a bit anxious, struggling hard but unable to break free, saying with a face full of panic:
“Officer Kawamoto, what are you saying? What do you mean who I am? I’m a patrol officer at the police station! We’re on the same side; you can’t treat me like this!”
Though his face showed fear and unease, his heart was actually exceptionally calm, even a bit wanting to laugh.
When he first came in, his heart had indeed been somewhat uneasy, unsure if he had truly been exposed.
But under his successive interruptions, the other’s feigned cold ruthlessness was disrupted, allowing him to keenly perceive that the other was just bluffing him.
Knowing this, he naturally wouldn’t panic anymore.
It’s just acting, after all—who can’t do that!
“It seems you’re not prepared to confess honestly.” A cold glint flashed in Kawamoto Yoshitaro’s eyes, like cold knives slashing over,
“Since that’s the case, you’ll have to experience the hospitality of our Bamboo Agency!”
“Come on, give Mr. Cao an appetizer!”
“Hai!” A shirtless shorty grinned cruelly, picking up a bloodstained leather whip from the nearby torture instruments table.
After taking it in hand, he tugged it between both hands, making the leather whip emit a ‘buzz buzz’ sound, then with a ferocious face, slowly approached him.
In an instant, an indescribable aura came rushing at him.
Cao Weida knew this was a kind of momentum formed after interrogating too many people—indefinable. If someone with weak spirit faced this, they would definitely be scared trembling and soulless.
But such a minor display, how could it scare Cao Weida?
Not to mention how many people he had killed in this period, his heart had long been tempered to be rock-hard.
Just speaking of his mastery of Northern Fist, he was long immune to such things.
To achieve success in fist arts, the most important thing is to have a courageous heart. Those who are timid, fearful, hesitant, and restrained can never reach the profound realm of fist arts.
However, he still showed a bit of a scared expression—not too much, as it wouldn’t be realistic, but not none at all, because that’s not what Kawamoto Yoshitaro wanted.
“No, Officer Kawamoto, we can’t do this; let’s talk it out nicely, talk it out nicely!!” While shouting his grievances, his gaze fell on the whip, and in his heart, he already understood fully.
This was a leather whip, usually made of cowhide or other animal leather. This kind of whip striking a person could cause significant pain.
If soaked in water before whipping, the pain would be even more intense, and it would cause damage tearing off skin and flesh.
However, this whip was dry.
There was more than one kind of whip in this interrogation room, and a dry leather whip was obviously the one with the least lethality among them.
If they truly had evidence on him, it wouldn’t be a dry leather whip.
Iron hook whip, bamboo whip, thorn whip, steel wire whip—any of which were far more cruel and bloody than the leather whip, causing much more intense pain.
For example, the bamboo whip, through special processing like sharpening the bamboo strips very thin and sharp to increase striking force and damage, ensuring one whip down creates countless small bloody cuts—painful, long-lasting, and hard to heal.
For instance, the steel wire whip, covered in barbs, one whip down would strip off clothes and flesh together, with extreme lethality.
Yet they chose the leather whip with the least lethality, and a dry one at that.
Cao Weida’s shouts naturally couldn’t stop the little devil. Kawamoto Yoshitaro leisurely leaned back in the chair, a cold smile on his lips:
“Mr. Cao, don’t resist stubbornly. Since I’ve brought you here, I’ve naturally already grasped your information. Don’t make futile resistance.”
“China has an ancient saying: those who submit prosper, those who resist perish. You’re a smart person; you should know what to do.”
Yeah right! I only know confession gets leniency but long prison term, resistance gets strict treatment but home for New Year!
If I really confessed to you, this old man wouldn’t just be sitting out a long prison term—that would be getting riddled with machine gun fire in several rounds!
Seeing the interrogating little devil already up close, whip raised in hand, Cao Weida yelled: “Stop! I’ll talk!”
“Hm?” Kawamoto Yoshitaro raised his brows, his heart unable to stop beating rapidly a few times,
“Stop.”
After calling off the interrogator, he gave a look to the recorder on the side, then said amiably:
“That’s right, Mr. Cao. You truly are a smart person.”
“Alright, start talking now.”
“No, I really don’t know what to say.” Cao Weida pulled a long face, looking utterly dejected, then cautiously said:
“How about, Officer Kawamoto, you give me a hint?”
“??????” Kawamoto Yoshitaro’s breathing quickened a few beats—damn it, is this guy toying with me?!
He darkened his face and said coldly: “Cao Weida, Mr. Cao, are you toying with me?! Do you need me to remind you what you’ve done!”
“You’d better be honest. You’ve already entered here; if you’re still not honest, don’t blame me for not being polite!”
“But I really don’t know what I should say; at least you have to ask something!” Cao Weida seemed to have suffered a great injustice, saying with a bitter smile: “Rest assured, whatever you ask, I’ll answer everything I know, but please don’t torture me—I’m afraid of pain.”
“.” Kawamoto Yoshitaro felt a toothache; he could tell this bastard wasn’t toying with him—he was purely afraid of getting whipped.
Taking two deep breaths to vent his inner frustration, “Fine, since you say so, I’ll start asking.”
“If you dare deceive me, you know the consequences!”
Cao Weida nodded repeatedly, “Yes, yes, yes! I’ll answer everything I know, holding nothing back!”
“I ask you, what is your relationship with the Communist Party, and what is your relationship with the Kuomintang? When did you join?”
“Relationship? What relationship? Join? When did I join?” Cao Weida was somewhat stunned, pausing for several seconds before suddenly shouting his innocence:
“Officer Kawamoto, where does this come from? When did I join them!”
“Is someone deliberately framing me?! It must be! They’re jealous that I gained the favor of Ono-kun… Officer Ono and the others, so out of envy, they made a false report to slander me!!”
“Damn it!! You still dare deny it! I see you’re not shedding tears until you see the coffin!” Kawamoto Yoshitaro slammed the table with a ‘bang’ and stood up, shouting:
“Don’t think I don’t know you helped Communist Party and Kuomintang special agents, spending money to rescue people from the East Asia Academic Research Association, Matsui Special Agency, and even Gendarmerie Headquarters!”
“You little punk have some courage! Tell me, what’s the purpose of infiltrating the police station! Who is your superior!!”
“If you dare conceal even one thing, I’ll make you try every torture instrument here one by one!”
