"Okay, what do you want to ask?" She glanced at her parents' complicated expressions and asked hesitantly.
The lady with the rank of superintendent pointed at the door. "Let's talk inside."
She didn't ask Jasmine's parents to leave, just ordered two of the police officers who had come with her to stand guard outside.
After casually closing the door, she pulled over a crudely made round stool, sat down without ceremony, and looked very relaxed.
This immediately relaxed Jasmine and her parents.
"You can call me Miss Grey." The officer introduced herself and pointed to the other chairs and the bed outside. "Please sit."
When everyone had found a seat, Grey smiled at Jasmine and said, "I received a report that some unexplainable things have been happening around you—for example, the level of men's predatory intentions is significantly higher than normal. This isn't to say there aren't any villains or criminals among them, but the proportion is too high, so high that it's strange."
With these words, Grey's gaze swept over Jasmine's face. "As far as I know, you were seriously injured in a fire before and suffered irreversible disfigurement. But now I can't see any sign of that. What do you have to say?"
Jasmine's heart tightened again. She didn't dare hide anything and spoke a little flustered: "I went out tonight to attend the carnival at the municipal square. Passing by a street, I met a wandering magician who called himself Merlin
"He said I was the first experiencer and could try it once for free. Then, then, I turned back to my original appearance, and all the injuries healed.
"Officer, that's the truth. You have to believe me."
When she finished, she glanced at Miss Grey and her assistant, then looked at her parents, trying to get their approval.
But the expressions on her parents' faces clearly said, "How is this possible? How could there be a machine that automatically grants wishes? How could there be such a good deal where a wish is granted for just a penny? And the first trial is completely free?"
Miss Grey and her assistant didn't show any obvious change in expression, so Jasmine didn't know if they believed her or not.
"Continue." Grey nodded encouragingly when Jasmine paused.
Jasmine quickly described, in full detail, how she had gone home to get a coin and made two wishes: for her parents to recover their health and for herself to become beautiful. Finally, she said, "I really did become very beautiful—even I couldn't take my eyes off myself. This brought me a lot of kindness, but later, men around me began to scare me…
"Besides, my mom and dad didn't recognize me and kicked me out. I was scared, really scared, so I went back there and made a third wish. Ah, the gentleman called Merlin Hermes said the first wish was free and didn't count among the three. Anyway, I turned back to my original appearance, and then you found me."
Hearing these words, Jasmine's parents immediately thought of that beautiful "thief." Then they noticed that their bodies were indeed much healthier than before—their vision was restored, their arms were strong, and everything felt different. They began to believe Jasmine's account, but they became even more frightened because it seemed like encountering a demon, just like in many folk tales.
Grey nodded slightly. "I've seen many things beyond your imagination, but this is the first time I've heard of a 'Fully Automatic Wish Machine.' Compared to the folk wish‑granting lamps or wells of wishes, this is far too modern."
She paused, and her expression became serious. "As a relatively experienced law enforcer, I'll give you three pieces of advice.
"First, never believe in such things again. In most cases, the easy fulfillment of wishes comes with a great disaster. There's no doubt it's the devil's temptation."
Jasmine nodded heavily, indicating she would never dare again—the last experience still terrified her.
"Second, go to the church as soon as possible, confess this to the bishop, and ask for purification." Grey looked around the room. "Your whole family must go."