Chapter 406: Ignorance is Death

"How strange..." The man turned his head with a vacant gaze and looked at Yun Yao. "What are you saying?"

Yun Yao couldn't help but swallow slightly upon seeing the man's methods. "I-I didn't say anything..."

"You're saying that person is called Chen Jun Nan?" the man muttered to himself. "How strange... I really don't understand... You all know, but you won't tell me? Are you all planning to deceive me?"

Several girls were already feeling a chill down their backs, and none of them dared to say another word.

This man seemed able to hear what people were thinking.

The man widened his eyes and looked at them one by one. "Do you all know that person called Chen Jun Nan?"

Qin Ding Dong realized the situation was out of control and shouted, "Run! It's Tian She!"

Before anyone could react, vines sprouted from everyone's feet, binding them firmly to the ground.

"Good... good..." Tian She nodded angrily. "So you're all deceiving me? I treated you with courtesy, and you deceive me? I... I..."

He seemed to want to say something harsh, but he kept stammering and couldn't get it out.

"Wait... wait a minute..." Lin Geng endured the intense pain in her right leg and spoke up. "You... you're looking for Chen Jun Nan, right? I'll tell you where he is... Binding us like this is useless..."

"What?" Tian She stared at Lin Geng for a few seconds.

Lin Geng felt as if her soul was about to be devoured by that gaze.

Tian She slowly raised his eyebrows. "What does 'Mao' mean? And where is 'Jian Yu'?"

"I..." Lin Geng quickly closed her eyes, trying not to let the other see them. "Let these people go... Once they're gone, I'll tell you..."

She felt that this powerful mind-reading ability must require some activation condition, and it was likely seeing her eyes.

"Do I really need to go through all this trouble...?" Tian She turned his head to look at Qin Ding Dong lying on the ground. "I'll interrogate you one by one... Someone will tell me eventually..."

He slowly walked toward Qin Ding Dong, then squatted down and said, "Please listen to the question..."

"Listen to the question...?" Qin Ding Dong was stunned. "Don't... wait a moment... I have an idea... Hear me out first..."

"What is the meaning of 'Feng Zhong Xiao Ying'?"

"Wait... wait..." Qin Ding Dong instantly panicked. "Even if you're really going to ask... shouldn't you pick something simpler..."

"Five-second countdown," Tian She said.

"You... you bastard..." Qin Ding Dong immediately closed her eyes, and in her panic, even the giant clock behind her started swinging. She muttered quickly, "What a shame about these vines... They're actually fake... So where are the real vines..."

A bead of sweat formed on her forehead.

What a ridiculous belief—that the lush green vines growing from the ground, carrying the scent of soil, could be fake?

This was Tian She's method, after all. How could it be fake?

Tian She sighed and reached out to grip Qin Ding Dong's neck. "Without knowledge, you're destined to die."

His pale, slender hand slowly tightened, and Qin Ding Dong felt as if her tongue was about to be bitten off.

"I-I know!" Zhang Chen Ze suddenly spoke up, though her voice trembled. "I'm with her... Can I answer for her?"

Tian She didn't speak and turned back to look at her.

"'Feng Zhong Xiao Ying' means... humans usually only remember the peak emotion and the emotion at the end of a period..." Zhang Chen Ze tried to calm herself down. "If both are positive, then overall, the period is pleasant... and vice versa."

Tian She remained silent, slowly increasing the pressure in his hand.

Zhang Chen Ze didn't know what he meant and quickly added, "For example, in some restaurants... one dish tastes great and leaves a strong impression, and then at checkout, you see free candy on the counter... When you eat that candy, it triggers a typical 'Feng Zhong Xiao Ying.' Since the peak and end feelings are both 'good,' the restaurant leaves a 'good' impression in your mind. People tend to overlook negative factors like slow service, noisy environment, or long lines. Many shops apply this principle widely... That's what it's called..."

Crack!

Tian She exerted force and snapped Qin Ding Dong's neck in his hand.

Zhang Chen Ze hadn't even finished speaking when she choked up.

Qin Ding Dong's facial features protruded grotesquely, and bloody, mangled flesh spilled from her mouth.

Qin Ding Dong had once known Tian She, but before she could explain how to deal with this ruthless man, she was dead.

The bright red blood splattered onto Tian She's white shirt. He stared blankly, shook his hand, stood up, and looked at Zhang Chen Ze.

Zhang Chen Ze swallowed hard, feeling as if she was about to die too.

"You... you have a lot of knowledge," Tian She nodded. "I like you. Do you want to be my assistant?"

"Assistant...?" Zhang Chen Ze slowly furrowed her brow. "You're someone who kills because of 'no knowledge.' Who would want to be your assistant?"

"Don't the ignorant deserve to die?" Tian She looked into Zhang Chen Ze's eyes. "Heaven gives everyone the same amount of time... I can learn so much knowledge, but they remain ignorant... How tragic? Rather than letting them waste their time, I'll send them on their way."

"But is that fair...?" Zhang Chen Ze knew she had no way out and mustered her courage to continue. "Just because you know one more thing like 'Feng Zhong Xiao Ying,' she deserves to die? You know heaven gives us all the same time, so if we haven't used it to learn your so-called knowledge, we've used it for things you haven't done. What gives you the right to decide our lives and deaths?"

Lin Geng and Yun Yao were both intimidated by Zhang Chen Ze's aggressive demeanor. Although she was telling the truth, was this the time to provoke Tian She?

"I don't believe it," Tian She sneered. "There's no knowledge in this world that I don't know."

"Fine." Zhang Chen Ze nodded. "Please listen to the question."

"What...?"

The people around stared at her with wide eyes.

"How should counterfeiting currency be punished?" Zhang Chen Ze asked.

Tian She thought for a moment. "That should be Article 170 of the Criminal Law: Anyone involved shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than ten years. If it's a ringleader of a group or involves a huge amount or other serious circumstances, it shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years or life imprisonment."

Zhang Chen Ze swallowed slightly and searched her mind for a more obscure question. "If someone helps manage another's property... but then suddenly wants to keep it for themselves, how should that be judged?"

"Article 270: Fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years. If the amount is huge, then not less than two years and not more than five years, along with a fine." Tian She answered again, and this time his response was noticeably faster. It seemed he had figured out Zhang Chen Ze's questioning strategy.

"I've said..." Tian She slowly walked toward Zhang Chen Ze, "There's no knowledge in this world that I don't know. You can't beat me, so you're all fools, and fools must die."