The Trembling World Chapter 290 - Truth

Chapter 290 - Truth

TL: xDh20, LifeisaJourney

Sponsored chapter by "US- Flapo"

After a short interrogation, Treadmill’s statement somewhat matched Zhou JingJing’s first half. Zhou JingJing was in the bathroom for around two minutes or so. Treadmill had the urgency to pee, so he banged on the door, only to find that it was locked. Then, he changed directions to the outside of the ship. He found a corner to release his pee. Afterwards, he stood near the front end of the ship to ponder about his life before returning to the reception hall.

Who would’ve thought that the moment he entered into the reception hall, HuJun would stab him with the dagger. Everything that happened afterwards was what everyone had saw.

“Do you believe that you aren’t lying? Do you know that there is leniency in being frank, and punishment for lying?” Han GuangMing questioned Treadmill.

“Squad leader Han, don’t treat me like I am a criminal already. I really didn’t do it. Even if the thought had crossed my mind, don’t you think this is inappropriate time to do so! This would be adding more trouble onto Elder Liu!” Treadmill quickly said.

“So you’re saying that if there was a better time, you might think of doing it?” Han GuangMing picked at the statement.

“No, I really didn’t mean it that way. Sigh…even if I wanted to do it, I wouldn’t rape his wife! What kind of person do you think I am? Damn! I am really unlucky. To be caught up in this type of situation! From the looks of it, I can tell that when you had the chance to split into teams earlier, you didn’t let HuJun be team leader. So he was very unwilling when I was ordering him to do things. He has been holding that grudge this whole time and felt dissatisfied! I bet he took this chance to ruin me so he can step all over me. He is that type of person…” Treadmill started jabbering again.

“Okay, stop nagging! Take us to the scene!” Han GuangMing told Treadmill.

“I didn’t commit it, so what scene?” Treadmill was dumbfounded.

“The place where you peed…where you were pondering about life. To see if you are lying.” Han GuangMing said to Treadmill.

The three of them left the interrogation cabin, the footprints in the bathroom were indistinguishable from one another. This was because the team members wore new shoes taken from the warehouse, so nearly all the shoeprints were the same. There was no way to confirm that the footsteps were from Treadmill.

The place Treadmill said he took his leak had traces of piss. In addition, the location where he stood, thinking about life, also had footprints. However, these pieces of evidence couldn’t be used to prove an alibi during the time frame when the crime was committed, it could only prove that Treadmill had evidence of not being in the washroom.

Upon returning to the interrogation cabin, Treadmill still insisted on being innocent. He also swore deadly oaths to proclaim his innocence.

“Leave for now, please let therapist Huang come in.” Han GuangMing interrupted Treadmill, otherwise, Treadmill would continue talking until dawn.

“Elder Liu! You must return my innocence! The title of a rapist isn’t a good reputation. HuJun was lying to frame me…” Treadmill started turning to Liu Gan to plead.

“Get out, otherwise, I will castrate you!” Liu Gan replied.

Treadmill didn’t dare to continue talking; he quickly left and called for Huang WeiTao. It was Huang WeiTao’s turn for interrogation.

Huang WeiTao came in first, followed by Qi Shaohua next. What they said was basically the same. They both found Zhou JingJing disheveled and walking with her torn clothes. She was crying to HuJun about being raped by Treadmill. As the couple was talking, Treadmill came into the reception hall from the outside of the ship. Then, HuJun grabbed his dagger and dashed over.

They didn’t hear Zhou JingJing scream for help or make any sound. This wasn’t strange, since the bathroom door could be shut very tightly. After it was closed, any sound coming from within the bathroom couldn’t be heard clearly in the reception hall.

The last one to be interrogated was HuJun. HuJun admitted that he had a grudge against Treadmill from earlier, but he also acknowledged his own faults. He shouldn’t be jealous of Treadmill and Squad Leader Han for the arrangements, so he kept picking on Treadmill. He never thought that Treadmill would rape JingJing as a way to get revenge. Then, HuJun begged Elder Liu and Squad Leader Han to deliver justice and severe punishment for rapists like Treadmill.

“Who do you think is lying?” Liu Gan asked Han GuangMing after the interrogations.

“I am leaning towards Treadmill on lying. It is hard to pin that statement since there is no conclusive evidence. If this was the real world, there would be a forensic investigator to find evidence off of Zhou JingJing’s body. Then obtain Treadmill’s DNA to see if it’s a match. For this type of case, it is very easy to find the truth. But, right now, we don’t have that luxury.” Han GuangMing said helplessly.

“So you are saying that there is no way to resolve this case?” Liu Gan asked.

Throughout the interrogation, Liu Gan felt like no one was lying. Zhou JingJing’s injury, shivering body, and messy clothing matched the description of being raped.

Liu Gan also recognized Treadmill’s personality as a factor. He was talkative, and was not the type to be bothered by trifles. On a normal day at camp, he would hang around the men. There were no complaints from the females about him. It definitely felt out of character if he changed his personality to do something like rape. Even in the interrogation, he looked innocent and swore oaths. So it didn’t seem like he was lying either.

Then, there can only be one truth.

Onboard Serenity, there is a Variant Zombie that is capable of transforming shape. It took the shape of one of the members and pretended to be them. It cleverly took advantage of HuJun and Treadmill’s grudge. Then, it transformed into Treadmill as Zhou JingJing was opening the bathroom door. Inside the bathroom, it raped Zhou JingJing.

“I suggest we lock Treadmill for the time being. This way we can avoid the situation from intensifying. Even as we speak, Serenity is drifting further away. We need to resolve this issue first. We can’t let this small matter delay the bigger issue,” Han GuangMing said to Liu Gan.

“This isn’t a small matter at all, it relates to the lives of everyone onboard. We can encounter a shapeshifting Variant Zombie. It will take advantage of the conflicting views between members and wait for us to kill each other…” Liu Gan countered Han GuangMing.

“Is that possible? That is really terrifying. Then, we should find this creature first! Should we organize a search party and scout around?” Han GuangMing asked nervously.

“It might have killed one of our team mates already, then taken on their shape. It might be tempted to take action against other members. If we split up into groups to search the ship, that will give it more chances to strike,” Liu Gan said after thinking briefly on whether or not to search the ship.

Chapter end