CHAPTER 208: LYING THROUGH HER TEETH

The cold fluorescent lights hummed overhead, casting harsh white shadows across the rectangular steel table. The air smelled faintly of antiseptic and tension. A row of digital cameras blinked red along the wall, recording every breath taken inside the room.

Mayor Everlyn Grace sat perfectly still in her tailored grey suit, her copper hair tied neatly in a bun. Despite the fatigue beneath her eyes, her expression remained composed — unflinching even under the scrutiny of nearly a dozen eyes.

Across from her sat Captain Miles, a square-jawed officer from the national military, his tone clipped and formal. Beside him, a police investigator tapped on a tablet, scrolling through satellite footage and reports. But the real weight in the room came from the four seated figures at the far end — representatives of the Super Families and two from the World-Class Houses.

They didn’t wear uniforms. They didn’t need to. Their presence alone was enough to make even the air itself feel heavy.

One of them, a tall man in a pristine navy coat — Carter Franklin, the representative of the Franklin Family — leaned forward slightly, his cold blue eyes fixed on Everlyn.

"Mayor Grace," he began, his voice silky but edged, "you’ve maintained that the explosion at the eastern outskirts was the result of a gas main rupture. Yet the analysis of the impact zone shows energy levels consistent with high-grade mana discharge. Care to explain how a gas leak could mimic a Class-S magical phenomenon?"

Everlyn’s lips curled faintly. "Maybe the gas was having a bad day."

A low murmur rippled through the officers behind the glass window. Even Captain Miles twitched — unsure whether to laugh or scold.

Apparently, everyone present in that interrogation either knows about the existence of cultivations and Qi or are one themselves.

Carter’s eyes narrowed. "You think this is a joke?"

"I think," she said calmly, crossing her legs, "you’re wasting precious time asking the wrong questions. Blinding Town’s been due for an infrastructure overhaul for years — which I’ve already filed three separate budget requests for. If the state had approved those, we wouldn’t be sitting here talking about broken pipes and mana interference."

Her tone was steady, professional — but the words carried subtle defiance. She wasn’t bending to anyone.

The World-Class representative beside Carter — a man named Adler Voss from the Voss House, the one who was particularly anxious of this explosion due to the person that clashed with Hutton earlier— finally spoke up. He was younger, early thirties perhaps, but his aura pressed against the room like an invisible hand. The faint mark of cultivation glimmered at his wrist — an open warning.

"We both know this wasn’t an infrastructure failure, Miss Grace. There are traces of resonance energy in that blast zone — energy linked to the forbidden class relic known as a God Crystal."

The word hit like a thunderclap.

The police officer paused mid-scroll. The military captain’s eyes flicked to Everlyn.

But Everlyn? She didn’t even flinch.

She let the silence hang for a few seconds before speaking evenly.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about. My town doesn’t have anything called a God Crystal. We have fog, coffee shops, and a very overworked sanitation department. If you’d like, I can give you a tour."

Adler’s jaw tightened. "Don’t play smart, Mayor. We’ve traced multiple mana distortions in the area leading up to that explosion — all converging near the old world vein site you’ve kept conveniently sealed off. So I’ll ask again, more simply: what are you hiding?"

Everlyn exhaled slowly, leaning back in her chair. "You think a small-town mayor could hide something from the Super and World-Class families of the United States? You flatter me, Mr. Voss."

The air pulsed for a moment as Adler’s aura flared — a soft hum of restrained power. Papers rustled on the table, a glass cracked. But Everlyn didn’t move. Her eyes met his, cold and steady.

The military captain cut in quickly, raising a hand. "Enough, Mr. Voss. This is still a federal jurisdiction. Let’s maintain professionalism."

"Professionalism?" Adler muttered under his breath. "The woman’s lying through her teeth."

Everlyn gave a small, dangerous smile. "And yet, you can’t prove it."

The room fell silent again.

Finally, another voice spoke — calm, female, and sharp as a scalpel. She belongs to the second World-Class representative and was asked to do the interrogation for the family since the main representative was suddenly given another mission to fulfill. Her name is Elara Dorne, of the Dorne Family. She had been quiet until now, her crimson glasses glinting as she studied Everlyn like a specimen.

"You’re remarkably composed for a mayor whose town just became a federal-level incident zone. Tell me, Miss Grace... are you truly that confident, or just very good at pretending?"

Everlyn’s expression softened just slightly — the faintest trace of emotion cracking through. "I’m confident because I care about this town. I grew up here. These people depend on me to hold my ground when everyone else comes pointing fingers. So yes, Miss Dorne, I’ll keep pretending. Until the truth is proven, my answer remains the same — this was an accident."

Elara’s eyes lingered on her for a long moment — then, unexpectedly, she smiled faintly. "You have nerve. I’ll give you that."

Captain Miles cleared his throat, sensing the tension ease. "We’ve heard enough for now. Until further evidence is found, Mayor Grace remains under municipal observation, not detainment."

Carter Franklin looked displeased, but even he knew when to back down. The World-Class reps exchanged brief, unreadable glances.

As Everlyn stood to leave, Adler spoke one last time. "If we find even a trace of deception, we’ll come back. And next time, we won’t be so polite."

She turned halfway toward him, her heels clicking sharply on the tile. "Next time, bring better evidence."

And with that, she walked out — chin high, expression cool, her phone already buzzing in her pocket.

Outside the interrogation room, the hallway was a blur of flashing lights and press shouting questions. Everlyn put on her sunglasses, ignored them all, and stepped into her car.

As the door shut behind her, she finally let out a slow, weary breath. Her driver looked back.

"Ma’am? Everything okay?"

She nodded faintly, staring out at the fog still blanketing the horizon.

"Yeah," she murmured. "For now."

But deep in her gut, she could feel it — the storm wasn’t over. It was only waiting for the right moment to break again.

------

The afternoon sun hung low, casting long shadows across the misty highway that led back into Blinding Town.

A sleek black Mercedes cruised smoothly down the asphalt, its tinted windows glinting faintly in the light.

Inside, Mayor Everlyn sat quietly in the back seat, her gaze fixed on the blurred landscape passing by. Her tailored navy suit was slightly wrinkled — a rare sight for the composed mayor — and the exhaustion in her eyes betrayed the strain of the endless interrogation she’d just endured.

Her driver, Davis, kept his attention on the road, occasionally glancing at her through the rearview mirror.

"Rough day, ma’am?" he asked carefully.

Everlyn exhaled, her voice cool but tired. "The police, the military, and half the Super and World Class Families all asking the same questions I’ve already answered twice. I think ’rough’ might be an understatement."

Davis gave a small nod. "Do you think they believed you?"

A humorless smile touched her lips. "They believed what they wanted to believe. And that’s all that matters for now."

Her phone buzzed. She looked down at the screen — ten missed calls, half of them from city council members and reporters. She silenced the phone, then leaned her head against the window. "Let’s just get home, Davis. The town’s been through enough chaos for one week."

"Understood, ma’am."

They drove for another few minutes in silence, the mist thickening as they neared Blinding Town’s outskirts. Then —

SCREEECH!

The tires screamed as two black SUVs suddenly swerved into the road, blocking their path. Davis cursed and slammed the brakes, jerking Everlyn forward before the car skidded to a halt.

"Ma’am—?" Davis started, his hand hovering near the hidden compartment under the dash.

Everlyn’s sharp voice cut through. "Don’t. Let’s see who dares to stop me now."

The SUVs’ doors opened in perfect sync. Four figures stepped out, moving with quiet precision.

The first — a poised woman in a white trench coat, her long red hair swaying like silk — walked forward with calm, commanding grace.

Ling Fei.

Behind her were Vivian, dressed in a simple gray suit, Veronica Franklin, her expression sharp and unreadable, and Kenneth, his arm still bandaged, a faint limp in his step from his recent injuries.

When Everlyn saw this people, her eyes narrowed as she asked in a solemn tone. "Who are you?"

"Were close friends of Hutton, who I humbly ask for his whereabouts and his health" Ling Fei asked calmly as she maintained a rather interrogative eye contact with Everlyn. But Everlyn refused to back down from the eye contact as she replied.

"Am sorry but I don’t know what you are talking about."