Human Genius? Sorry, I’m a Deviant-Chapter 238: There's really no other way

The icy prison cell had walls made of a special metal that could suppress spiritual energy.
Smooth, cold, without a single visible seam.
Above, only a single cold light lamp emitted a pale white glow.
It stayed on 24 hours a day, depriving a person of any sense of time's passage.
Su Zhan sat alone on the cold, hard bed, his back against the icy wall, body curled up.
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Apart from his own faint breathing, he couldn't hear any other sound.
This absolute solitude was eroding his willpower.
Su Zhan's vacant gaze stared blankly at the opposite wall.
How long had it been since he came to this world?
Over a year now.
He couldn't quite remember clearly anymore.
He only remembered that after discovering his true identity, the one thing he needed to do was—hide.
Walking on thin ice every single day.
He lived like a puppet wearing countless layers of masks.
Playing the role of a genius Awakened individual named "Su Zhan."
His true self was buried deep in darkness where no light reached, unable to see the light, afraid to breathe.
Su Zhan yearned for power, yet had to suppress that innate instinct.
He craved acceptance, yet knew deep down that his true nature would never be tolerated by the world.
Trembling with fear, as if standing at the edge of an abyss, walking on thin ice.
Su Zhan thought that as long as he disguised himself well enough, hid deep enough, he could survive, maybe even grasp a sliver of hope.
But now?
All his caution, all his endurance, all his struggles... in the end, it all came to nothing.
Like a clown, exhausting all efforts to perform a one-man show, unaware that the audience had long seen through everything, coldly waiting for the final curtain call.
Immense exhaustion washed over him.
Su Zhan slowly closed his eyes.
So, from beginning to end, there was nowhere for him to escape.
Too tired.
Really... too tired.
Day after day of pretending, constant vigilance every moment, nerves stretched taut every second, living in fear of being discovered and immense loneliness...
He'd had enough of this kind of life.
Perhaps... death really was a form of release.
No more pretending, no more fear, no more carrying this secret alone that was enough to crush anyone.
No more feeling guilty about deceiving them when seeing the trusting, concerned looks in his companions' eyes.
No more worrying about waking up one day to find he had become a monster that everyone wanted to hunt down.
Just let it end like this.
Admit defeat, admit that he couldn't contend with fate.
He had tried, he had struggled.
He had even gambled with Teacher Wang's future to fight for that sliver of hope...
The higher-ups' cold logic of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty escape" had cut off all his escape routes.
He was truly out of options.
All paths were blocked.
Su Zhan slowly raised his head, his vacant gaze turning toward the cold light lamp. The light stung his eyes painfully, yet he couldn't shed a single tear.
Perhaps, from the very beginning, he shouldn't have struggled.
Perhaps, calmly accepting this long-determined outcome was the only answer.
Inside the icy prison cell, time lost all meaning.
After what felt like three centuries, three long days had passed, leaving only one final day before the seven-day deadline.
Su Zhan sat like a sculpture that had lost its soul, unresponsive to everything around him.
At this moment.
The heavy metal door of the prison cell made a dull unlocking sound and slowly slid open to one side.
Qin Bai's figure appeared in the doorway, a mocking smile on his face.
He walked slowly into the cell, stopping before Su Zhan.
Looking down at this youth who seemed to have lost all vitality:
"Last day, how are you holding up? Any last words you want to share? Speak now, and you might suffer less."
Su Zhan slowly raised his head, glanced at him with empty eyes, no emotion showing on his face.
His chapped lips moved slightly, uttering two words: "Nothing."
"Stubbornness is useless."
Qin Bai didn't seem surprised by this answer, instead smiling cruelly: "No one can keep secrets from me. One day, just one more day.
When the time comes, I'll make sure you properly experience my methods for dealing with special prisoners.
By then, what should be said, and what shouldn't, you'll spill every word without missing a single one."
Su Zhan remained unmoved.
"However, you should also be grateful, grateful that you have a good teacher, and your teacher has a good teacher."
Qin Bai straightened up: "It was Dean Ye who fought for these meaningless seven days for you.
Out of respect for her, I haven't laid a finger on you these seven days.
But tomorrow...
the time will be up.
When that happens, in my hands, you'll be begging to tell everything."
Having said this, he didn't spare Su Zhan another glance, turned and strode out of the prison cell.
The heavy metal door closed heavily again, locking shut.
The prison cell returned to its deathly silence.
Su Zhan's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
What Qin Bai said... was right.
He had seen it with his own eyes.
He had seen how Qin Bai, with his cold, calm tone and just a few words, could begin to break the mental defenses of that Aberrant who had initially been tough.
The most terrifying part was the torture.
Qin Bai's Heart-Interrogation Needle, and he would even use Truth Serum.
No one could withstand that.
Heh heh heh...
Couldn't he even die cleanly?
Su Zhan wasn't afraid of death itself.
From the moment he came to this world and discovered his secret, perhaps subconsciously he had long prepared himself for a bad end.
If the outcome was a swift death by blade, or a clean execution, he might still retain some pathetic dignity in his final moments.
Maybe even spit a bloody mouthful at Qin Bai.
But...
he didn't even have that opportunity.
Even his final release was being taken away.
Now he didn't even have the right to die according to his own will.
Su Zhan looked at his own hands.
Here, spiritual energy was suppressed.
But the Aberrant power was not.
If that was the case...
it seemed he had another option.
Suicide.
Die here, and suffer less torment.
But...
Su Zhan worried he couldn't achieve instant death.
Because Aberrants had extremely powerful self-healing abilities, not to mention humans had self-preservation mechanisms.
When trying to cut yourself with a blade, your strength diminishes.
The same goes for fists, sharp claws.
When attempting suicide, the body's underlying programming cries for help;
generally, you need tools or specific circumstances to succeed.