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Chapitre 14

“It’s emitting a wave,” she turned to me and stated her conclusion.

“It’s emitting a mental wave, a wave that can directly affect a person’s thinking. It seems that what you just encountered was it.” “But I didn’t see anything…” “It doesn’t seem to be continuously activated, and the power of each activation may be different.” She said thoughtfully, “The few times just now were very weak, not enough to bewitch a person. Ordinary people can’t feel it.” “But,” she added, “if it were stronger, it could definitely knock a person unconscious. The wave it emits is clear and direct, its sole purpose being to attract people to its side; you could say it’s an enticing signal.” Things seem to be getting more and more complicated. But I have a feeling that I’m getting closer and closer to the correct answer, just a few final steps away. I believe Lu Yun can help me find the answer.

I found a teahouse and sat down with Lu Yun. Then I recounted the whole incident, starting with the archaeological excavation at the Zhidan Garden site, the various biological mutations, including my assessment of earthworms, and finally, how I was drugged by the well. Lu Yun listened patiently, occasionally offering his own opinions.

“For you,” she took a sip of tea, “the mystery surrounding that well isn’t the most pressing issue to address. It might even have nothing to do with the whole thing, including the archaeology. What I can help you with now is dealing with Su Ying, whom you mentioned is problematic, and Ruan Xiuwen, who is concealing the truth. I have ways to get them to tell the truth.”

Hearing the word "method," I frowned. Of course, I knew what this master of manipulation meant by "method"—I'd experienced it myself, a little. To her, the human brain was just as predictable as a computer. Looking at Lu Yun's confident demeanor, I hesitated. After all, Ruan Xiuwen was from the X organization, and as Liang Yingwu had said, his identity was far from that of an ordinary researcher. If any misunderstanding arose, the consequences would be far beyond my ability to bear. Once Lu Yun was involved, things would only become more complicated. Besides, Su Ying was a good friend of mine; doing this would be an invasion of her privacy, and it would be unfair.

Lu Yun clearly sensed my hesitation: "I can also help treat that lady with a history of mental illness. I guarantee there won't be any problems."

After hesitating for a while, I agreed and headed to Zhidan Garden with Lu Yun.

In the afternoon, when Su Ying was almost home, Lu Yun and I knocked on her door.

Su Ying was also taken aback when she saw Lu Yun. I introduced her as my friend, not my girlfriend, of course. Su Ying then politely welcomed us into the house.

Although I had planned to start with topics that Su Ying would be interested in, gradually revealing my purpose to avoid seeming abrupt, the doubts I had been holding in all afternoon made me cut straight to the point: "Su Ying, this Miss Lu Yun can cure your illness, that's why I'm here." "I'm not sick. You've got it wrong!" Her cheek twitched, and she awkwardly sat down on the sofa.

“I know you had some mental issues in the past, and Lu Yun is an expert in this area.”

"What? You're talking nonsense! How...how did you know?" She scratched her hair, bit her lip, and looked more angry than surprised.

"I just happened to overhear your classmate say it, so..." So you're trying to trick me into revealing anything? This guy's a hypnotist, isn't he? I can tell just by looking at him. It's useless.

Lu Yun sat to one side and smiled slightly at her, but Su Ying remained unmoved.

I don't deny her questioning, because it's indeed the case. Su Ying's intuition is quite sharp. But I still pulled out my prepared trump card.

“I interviewed the archaeologist Ruan Xiuwen today. I heard there was new progress today.”

She did indeed quiet down.

"Today's progress has directly impacted the entire archaeological research, yielding many new clues. That was the first thing he said to me when we met today." I continued, and as I expected, Su Ying began to shake his legs, showing signs of unease.

However, I didn't continue. After about twenty seconds of silence, Su Ying finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Any progress? Keep going!"

"Of course I can tell you, but there are conditions."

Su Ying was hesitant at first, even biting her nails, but her unusual interest and curiosity about this archaeological expedition eventually led her to give in.

"Okay, but I want to make it clear beforehand that if you fail, it's not my responsibility, and you still have to say what you need to say."

"no problem."

"To be honest, my family has hired several hypnotists before, some of whom are even PhDs in psychology, but none of them worked on me. Let me make this clear, you can't back out now. And you don't have much time; you have one hour. If the time is up, you've failed."

"I know, I won't go back on my word."

So Lu Yun and I exchanged a glance, and she stood up and walked over to Su Ying.

"An hour is enough."

Su Ying did have experience communicating with hypnotists. She was facing Lu Yun, but turned her head to look at the aquarium, avoiding eye contact with Lu Yun, and fiddling with her hair with one hand.

“Miss Su Ying, how can I cure you if you are so uncooperative? Please keep an eye on me.”

"That depends on your skills. I said I'd let you try, but I didn't say I'd let you do whatever you want with me."

Lu Yun laughed. I knew this was a sign that she was about to cast an illusion.

She slowly walked to the aquarium, reached out, and actually plunged her hand straight into the water through the tank wall. It looked so incredible, yet so natural. I stared in disbelief, seriously doubting my own eyes.

Su Ying, like me, was immediately captivated, staring blankly, her eyes unblinking. I instantly realized that Lu Yun had successfully breached Su Ying's defenses. With a casual wave of her hand, Lu Yun created a mist, tiny water droplets forming a curtain in the air, which didn't dissipate but solidified instantly. Lu Yun displayed her immense power.

I was horrified; I hadn't expected her power to be so great. Perhaps it was all an illusion from the beginning, and what I saw was just a mirage. However, under the exaggerated visual impact, my rational mind had almost ceased to function. In my eyes, Lu Yun's methods were just as unbelievable as those of the underwater people.

Lu Yun closed his eyes, seemingly searching for Su Ying's memories, while Su Ying was completely unconscious, staring at the water curtain.

Finally, Lu Yun opened his eyes and said, "Found it!" Then, ever-changing patterns appeared on the water screen, which seemed to be Lu Yun projecting Su Ying's memories onto the water screen.

A series of slideshow-like images rapidly changed, finally revealing the truth about Su Ying. It seemed like a fairytale, an unbelievable spectacle, as if it emanated light from itself, illuminating its shimmering, brilliant colors. From the front, one could almost discern traces of facial features, and see its eyes moving. It swam at an astonishing speed from the distant seabed, unfurling its seemingly freely deformable body into a sphere, enveloping little Su Ying within. And I could sense ample oxygen in this space; little Su Ying gradually regained consciousness.

A sea creature! I was stunned. There couldn't be any mistake. Could this really be a sea creature? It turns out that Su Ying did indeed have a strange encounter with a sea creature.

Then we, namely Su Ying at the time, embarked on an unprecedented ocean journey.

At first, I kept hearing Su Ying's cries, heartbreakingly so. But what surprised me even more was another voice, a loud male voice, also ringing in my ears—it came from the underwater person. Could the underwater person also speak Chinese? This was something Su Ying's memories couldn't explain. The only possibility was that the underwater person possessed superior intelligence and had learned Su Ying's language on their own. If that were the case, my human pride wouldn't allow me to accept it.

The underwater people kept comforting Su Ying and trying their best to soothe her. However, Su Ying was terrified by the sudden change and was alone and helpless on the vast ocean. The underwater people were at a loss for what to do.

Then the scene shifted, revealing a landscape straight out of a fairy tale. Protected by the underwater inhabitants, Su Ying seemed to be aboard a transparent submarine. After an unknown journey, they finally arrived at the inhabitants' dwelling. The underwater dwellers' structures resembled giant seashells, or perhaps sea anemones with enormous tentacles, their vibrant colors dazzling against the backdrop of seaweed. I believe that even the most beautiful coral reefs currently considered by humankind pale in comparison to what I saw before me.

The underwater creature introduced the ocean to Su Ying, telling her interesting stories about it. Every now and then, curious fish swam past. Finally, I heard Su Ying's silvery laughter. I thought that seeing this scene would surely make all worries disappear, especially since Su Ying was just a child at the time. The underwater creature seemed particularly happy, taking Su Ying on a journey through the sea.

“These are all real, definitely not her fantasy.” Perhaps the scene was too beautiful, Lu Yun couldn’t help but whisper in my ear.

"Don't ruin the atmosphere!" I was still annoyed by Lu Yun's inaction earlier.

After traveling in the sea for quite some time, judging from the number of times the light turned to darkness and back to light, it must have been more than a week. The underwater people provided Su Ying with many kinds of food she had never seen before. Some were things that resembled coral but were sweet, and others were small fish. Of course, the underwater people couldn't cook underwater, but these fish tasted exactly the same raw as cooked. Although I wasn't hungry, I could still sense some of it. Now I understand that I can only experience the sensations that Su Ying remembers.

On a sunny day, the underwater creatures brought Su Ying to a deserted beach. Upon hearing of their impending separation, Su Ying was overcome with sadness and tears streamed down her face. The underwater creatures quickly comforted her: "Don't be afraid, I will always protect you."

The words were spoken so gently that even I was moved. The voice was so sincere that it naturally inspired trust.

"But..." Xiao Suying sobbed.

“You have to go home eventually. Your parents should be alright by now. If you don’t go back soon, they’ll worry and think you’ll never be able to come back.”