Chapter 560 - 63: Incan Treasure
"God!"
Although ships made of large amounts of steel and capable of sailing the seas without wind defied common sense, they didn’t bring such a shock to Havier.
He saw a white column of light splitting through the dense forest, like Moses parting the sea in the Bible, a dazzling spectacle appearing in the dark night.
At this moment, Havier, who usually had little interest in religion, felt an inexplicable sense of devotion.
He gripped the window sill tightly, frantically recalling the Bible passages about God creating a passage through the sea.
Immersed in a religious atmosphere, having heard preaching from a pastor while on the merchant ship, even though Havier wasn’t particularly devout, he could vaguely recall some fragments from the Bible.
He murmured, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance the Lord will bring you..."
At that moment, he seemed to feel a sense of redemption belonging to God, belonging to Heaven, a feeling that was cleansing his soul.
Yet, in the next second, flaws appeared between the beams of light—
It was Chen Zhou and the fully armed members of the guard squad.
They, along with the island’s high officials like Sunday and Saturday, brought a native girl responsible for translation, came overnight to the prison to interrogate the prisoners.
But this time, Chen Zhou did not intend to use a strong flashlight to intimidate the Spaniards.
Previously, he had little manpower, with only one captured prisoner, the brown-haired one, and couldn’t communicate, thus relying on tricks to apply psychological pressure on the prisoner to obtain information.
Now there was a prison, manpower, torturing tools, and a pile of prisoners for interrogation.
The Spaniards had been divided into two batches while on the ship, and lodged separately in single rooms upon entering the prison, with no chance to coordinate their testimonies. Even if someone lied, through mutual verification of the accounts of others, the truth could be deduced.
Under such conditions, using a flashlight was simply because torches weren’t bright enough, and the island was currently in dry season, allowing photovoltaic panels and energy storage batteries to function properly, eliminating the need to conserve the flashlight’s power.
...
The shadows looming in the beam of light completely shattered the newfound reverence Havier had for God.
He widened his eyes as he saw the beam of light moving through the forest along with the group, the source of the light in the leader’s hand, a sight no less shocking than when the beam appeared.
"How could this be?
Can man emit such light?
Or are they not humans at all? Is this the legendary Lost Continent?"
Havier recalled a noble banquet he attended, where high-ranking nobles mentioned the philosopher Plato’s depiction in his book of a magnificent civilization called Atlantis, located on the legendary Lost Continent, destroyed by a world-ending flood.
"Atlantis..."
Havier repeated the magical word softly, thinking of all he encountered on this journey—
Weapons with unimaginable power, steel ships, power enabling them to navigate the sea without sails, this unknown island, and the people glowing light; he was increasingly convinced they were people from the Lost Continent of Atlantis.
"Perhaps Atlantis wasn’t destroyed by the flood, they survived, and now I’m facing the people of Atlantis..."
Havier felt he found a perfect explanation, and couldn’t help but feel proud of his extensive knowledge and impeccable reasoning.
...
Chen Zhou and others’ steps did not halt due to Havier’s speculation; they didn’t even notice someone afar peering out from the window.
The long procession swiftly passed through the woods, greeted the prison guards, and went in to take out the Spaniards from Cell No. 1.
...
To pry open the mouths of these Spaniards, Chen Zhou specially made a chair of hard wood that one could sit straight on, unable to move an inch, and built a dim and oppressive interrogation room for this chair.
The walls of the interrogation room were hung with various forms of torture instruments: sharp knives, red-hot branding irons, cold gleaming iron hooks—
These items were crafted by Chen Zhou based on what he saw in anti-Japanese dramas, though none were put to practical use until today.
Fearing the Spaniards wouldn’t be sufficiently intimidated upon seeing brand-new torture devices, Chen Zhou deliberately smeared rabbit blood on the interrogation room walls, enhancing the bloody ambiance and making the torture devices appear even more terrifying.
Of course, the "unique wall paint" in the interrogation room resulted in a significant loss to the rabbit family.
At the beach banquet tonight, there were many roasted whole rabbits or freshly fried rabbit meatballs, which were the by-products of the "wall paint."
...
Late into the night, the interrogation room was brightly lit.
Chen Zhou sat in a corner observing, Saturday was responsible for recording, and Sunday took charge of the interrogation process.
The Spaniards weren’t as tough as Chen Zhou imagined—
They loved wealth, but in the face of the threat to their lives, no one would gamble with their life, and moreover, this room conveyed to them that there are things far worse than death in this world.
Not only the Spaniards, but even the native girl responsible for translation was so nervous at the sight that her legs trembled, her voice quivered, fearing she might be bound to that chair facing their relentless interrogation.
By asking questions, Chen Zhou first understood the Spaniards’ firearm reserves on the Archipelago.
Comparing multiple testimonies, it was certain that the Spaniards hadn’t deployed much firepower on the island; neither cannons nor even a barrelful of gunpowder was present.