ASA Ch10: Blood and Wine

Chapter 10: “He is my diving companion.“

When a group of people arrived at 267th Hospital, Cai Yi had already been waiting for a while.

He was about thirty years old, tall and handsome, and the public face of the Special Management Committee. Due to his involvement in various matters, many people had to give him some face, which had cultivated an inexplicable arrogance in him over time. When he looked at people and spoke, his eyes were fixed on the top of their heads, never falling on their faces.

But he carefully assessed Qin Ge.

“I remember the Psychological Adjustment Department hasn’t been officially established yet, and there are some deficiencies in the preparation, and the Crisis Management Office hasn’t been fully supplemented either, such as the confidentiality agreement you need to sign,” Cai Yi said calmly.

Qin Ge quickly responded, “We’ll have everything ready by Monday.”

Cai Yi chuckled and said, “Still in the preparation stage, then it indeed hasn’t been established. So, can you act now? The Special Management Committee has never received any investigation requests. Is this how Gao Tianyue taught you?”

Qin Ge replied, “I am currently acting as a psychological adjuster.”

Cai Yi: “Huh?”

“I am Qin Ge, a psychological adjuster from the Crisis Management Office. I am currently handling an abnormal sea incident involving a doctor at 267th Hospital. This is not an investigation as you understand it, just a visit from a psychological adjuster.” Qin Ge looked directly at Cai Yi, “The work of a psychological adjuster doesn’t require approval from the Special Management Committee.”

This was the explanation Qin Ge had come up with in the car. It was clear that Cai Yi had sought them out because of Cai Mingyue, and since the Psychological Adjustment Department had not been officially established, Qin Ge decided to use his profession to explain all his current actions.

“Since your client is only Peng Hu, why do you want to investigate my mother?”

Qin Ge denied, “I’m not investigating your mother; I just think that your mother, as Peng Hu’s elder, has a significant influence on him. To help Peng Hu solve his problems, I need to have a thorough understanding of the people and things around him. I just want to get more detailed information about Peng Hu from your mother.”

As he said this, a small corner of Qin Ge’s mind thought about how he had been influenced by Xie Zijing. He was telling lies without even changing his expression.

Cai Yi reacted to his words.

“Alright, we don’t need to continue this boring conversation. Why I wanted to see you and why you’re here; we all know in our hearts.” Cai Yi turned to look at the door of the ward beside him. “I have only one request, to let my mother suffer less.”

Cai Yi had met them outside the special ward. Cai Mingyue was inside the ward.

“Do you know what happened to Dr. Cai in the past?” Qin Ge asked.

“I don’t know.” Cai Yi looked at him, “I hope you can tell me after.”

Qin Ge immediately refused without hesitation, “No, psychological adjusters have a confidentiality principle. Even if you are Cai Mingyue’s son, I will not disclose any information related to her ‘sea area to you.”

Cai Yi: “But I can see it after you make your summary report.”

Qin Ge: “The reports of the Psychological Adjustment Department are all top-secret. Deputy Cai, you are not in charge of the crisis management office, let alone psychology-related work. You are not qualified to see them.”

Cai Yi nodded approvingly, showing no disappointment, “Good. By the way, my mother has been very miserable in recent years. She often sleepwalks, goes to the kitchen or the balcony, and takes a knife or other tools, repeating surgical actions continuously. At first, we thought she was just not used to retirement and still longed for her previous work, but later we found that she was getting more and more abnormal, saying nonsense that became increasingly irrational. She needs your help.”

Qin Ge’s excitement grew in his heart, but he still managed to maintain a calm expression on his face, “Are you allowing us to investigate Dr. Cai’s ‘sea area’?”

Cai Yi replied, “Of course.”

The three people behind Qin Ge exchanged glances, and Tang Cuo, who was almost unable to contain his excitement, already had a smile on his face: they had successfully overcome the most challenging obstacle!

Cai Yi smiled and looked at Qin Ge slowly, saying, “Qin Ge, I, as Cai Mingyue’s son, am entrusting you on her behalf. Her ‘sea area’ has been abnormal for a long time, causing her great suffering. Please patrol my mother’s ‘sea area,’ identify the problem, and solve it.”

Qin Ge’s smile had not yet disappeared from his face when he asked, “What?”

“The client is my mother, and you are a psychological adjuster, Qin Ge.” Cai Yi emphasized, “This is a one-on-one assignment. Qin Ge, please adhere to the confidentiality principles of a psychological adjuster and do not disclose any information about the client to others.”

Qin Ge was dumbfounded.

He had fallen into Cai Yi’s trap.

Since he claimed to be acting independently as a psychological adjuster, he also had to adhere to the psychological adjuster’s confidentiality principles.

Once Cai Mingyue became his client, an unspoken agreement was established between them, and the confidentiality principles immediately came into play. He would have to keep everything related to Cai Mingyue’s “sea area” hidden within himself.

Qin Ge immediately thought that, apart from the confidentiality agreement, there were also exceptions to confidentiality.

Exceptions to confidentiality referred to situations where the client, as a sentinel or guide, had committed murder, planned murder or suicide, or engaged in other major criminal activities. However, Cai Mingyue’s secret dated back thirty years, and even if she had committed murder, it was beyond the statute of limitations. A psychological adjuster could not disclose her old secrets to anyone or any institution.

Cai Yi was using the psychological adjuster’s “confidentiality principle” to permanently preserve Cai Mingyue’s secret within Qin Ge and ensure that he would not reveal it.

“If you don’t want to agree, you can decline,” Cai Yi said softly. “My mother is having surgery tomorrow, and after that, she will leave here for overseas recuperation. You will forever lose the opportunity to explore my mother’s ‘sea area,’ and you will never know the truth.”

A thousand thoughts raced through Qin Ge’s mind.

He could refuse and wait a few more days. Wait until Gao Tianyue returns, wait until the Psychological Adjustment Department is officially established; perhaps then things would go more smoothly. But it was only a “perhaps.”

What if something happened to Cai Mingyue during surgery?

What if Gao Tianyue was an agent of the Special Management Committee and also wanted to suppress this terrible secret for Cai Yi?

There were too many variables, and Qin Ge couldn’t bring himself to let go of what might be his only chance to step into Cai Mingyue’s “sea area.”

“I accept the commission,” he said in a deep voice.

Behind him, Bai Xiaoyuan sighed softly, “Qin Ge…”

“We can start now,” Qin Ge said calmly, looking at Cai Yi.

Cai Yi appreciated his determination and politely opened the door to the ward for Qin Ge, saying, “One-on-one patrol, just you and my mother.”

“Please wait a moment,” Qin Ge said calmly. “Your mother’s situation is quite special, and I need to enter her deep-sea area. Deep-diving patrols all come with risks, so I need a sentinel to cooperate with me and to call me back when necessary.”

Cai Yi furrowed his brow.

“This is a regulation in the psychological adjuster’s code about the ‘Diving Companion’ system. If you doubt it, you can verify it.”

Cai Yi gestured with his eyes to his secretary to check, and after a moment, he received a positive response.

“Diving companions are the designated partners of psychological adjusters during their work. Most diving companions are sentinels, responsible for ensuring the safety of the guide throughout the entire patrol and awakening them at the appropriate time to sever the link between the psychological adjuster and the client’s ‘sea area,'” the secretary said, looking at his phone.

Cai Yi asked inquisitively, “But if the sentinel can’t enter the ‘sea area’ with you, how can they sever the connection between you and the client?”

Qin Ge: “I’m sorry, but this is confidential information within the scope of a psychological adjuster’s work. You are not my diving companion, so I cannot tell you.”

At this moment, the secretary chimed in, “Diving companions, like psychological adjusters, are also bound by confidentiality principles.”

“Alright.” Cai Yi looked Qin Ge up and down, “I will be your sentinel.”

“You are the client’s son. What I need is an assistant, not someone who may disrupt the client’s thoughts,” Qin Ge emphasized, “And I already have a designated diving companion.”

He pointed to Xie Zijing.

“Crisis Management Office’s Psychological Adjustment Department, Xie Zijing.” Qin Ge looked at Cai Yi, “He is my diving companion.”

Cai Yi looked at Xie Zijing, narrowing his eyes.

“Xie Zijing?” He tilted his head as if trying to recall, “You’re the sentinel that Gao Tianyue went to great lengths to bring back from the Western Division last year? You received a First-Class Merit for the 630 Major Case?”

“Yes,” Xie Zijing replied simply.

Cai Yi commented, “But it’s just a first-class merit. I don’t see anything particularly outstanding about you to warrant such an effort from Gao Tianyue.”

Xie Zijing retorted, “First of all, that wasn’t my first First-Class Merit. Secondly, I don’t see anything exceptional about you either. You’re quite impolite in your speech.”

Qin Ge maintained a calm expression on his face, even though he was mentally shaking Xie Zijing vigorously. It was a critical moment—don’t provoke Cai Yi!

But Cai Yi wasn’t provoked. After confirming that Xie Zijing was from the Crisis Management Office, he walked away from the ward entrance.

“You have only one hour,” Cai Yi said.

Qin Ge nodded.

The special ward consisted of single rooms with simple but neat furnishings. Besides the hospital bed, there was a sofa and a coffee table for receiving visitors. Currently, the sofa and coffee table were filled with fresh fruits and flowers, all still very fresh.

The room was enclosed by curtains, and Qin Ge couldn’t see Cai Mingyue.

The door to the room couldn’t be locked; he could only close it tightly.

Xie Zijing was about to move forward, but Qin Ge grabbed his hand and pulled him aside.

“Xie Zijing, listen carefully to what I’m about to say.” Qin Ge quickly whispered, “You are not my diving companion, and you haven’t completed the hiring process, so you are not considered a member of the Crisis Management Office’s Psychological Adjustment Department. Neither the confidentiality principles that diving companions must adhere to nor the confidentiality agreements of the adjustment department apply to you.”

Xie Zijing listened calmly.

“You will be a complete outsider during the upcoming patrol.” Qin Ge gripped his sleeve tightly, “Do you understand?”

“So, how should I protect you then?” Xie Zijing asked, “I haven’t learned how to be a diving companion.”

Qin Ge started to feel a bit anxious and had to continue speaking in a hushed tone, “Don’t worry about protecting me or anything like that. Just remember, everything that happens in this room—everything I hear and see—only an outsider like you can record and report to others. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” Xie Zijing said, looking into Qin Ge’s eyes. “When you mentioned that I was your diving companion, I knew Cai Yi was deceiving you, so now you have to deceive him. As for how to deceive him, I wasn’t sure earlier, but now I get it.”

Qin Ge breathed a slight sigh of relief and released Xie Zijing’s hand.

But immediately, Xie Zijing reversed his grip and seized Qin Ge’s wrist.

“So, how do I protect you?” Xie Zijing leaned in closer. “How dangerous is this deep dive, and what exactly do you plan to do? I have no idea.”

He was getting too close, and it sent a danger signal ringing loudly in Qin Ge’s mind.

“You don’t need to protect me.” Qin Ge freed his hand from Xie Zijing’s grip. A misty form rose from his shoulder, and in no time, a long-haired rabbit appeared on his shoulder.

The rabbit was about to pounce on Xie Zijing upon seeing him, but Qin Ge immediately held it firmly, preventing it from moving.

“Deep-diving has its risks, but Cai Mingyue is getting on in years, and her ‘sea area’ can’t trap me.”

Xie Zijing followed him as they approached the curtained-off hospital bed, speaking softly, “So, I need to protect the rabbit too.”

The rabbit excitedly fluttered on Qin Ge’s shoulder, but he tightened his grip, ignoring Xie Zijing.

He carefully drew back the curtains, and the elderly woman lying on the hospital bed opened her eyes, silently looking at him.

Cai Mingyue was in her seventies, emaciated due to illness and the prolonged torment of her abnormal ‘sea area.’ She wore an oxygen mask and had a weak and nervous expression.

Qin Ge sat down by the bedside, holding Cai Mingyue’s hand.

“I am Qin Ge, a psychological adjuster,” he whispered. “Dr. Cai, I was invited here by your son to resolve the issues with your ‘sea area.'”

Cai Mingyue suddenly widened her eyes. Her thin hands trembled, and she mustered a burst of strength, gripping Qin Ge’s fingers tightly.

Tears flowed from her eyes, rolling into the dry white hair at her temples.

“Save… me…” she opened her mouth wide, shouting silently.

————

630 Major Case: The most significant case of semi-zombified human murders to date, also known as the “Winter Disaster” by the Crisis Management Office’s Western Division due to its occurrence in the winter. Between August and November of the year before last, the Crisis Management Office’s Western Division received multiple reports and discovered a total of 66 bodies of semi-zombified humans at different locations. All the bodies had their hearts and brains brutally destroyed, and the bodies were often found in suburban garbage dumps and landfills. This case was considered a series of consecutive murders targeting semi-zombified humans, characterized by group violence and extreme cruelty. It had a severe and adverse impact on society, particularly creating a chain reaction of mutual hatred and fear between special humans and ordinary humans. The case took an entire year to solve, and 37 personnel, including Xie Zijing, were commended for their efforts.

The author has something to say:

“Diving companion” is a term derived from diving activities, referring to a partner during a dive. Most of the terminology related to the “sea area” in the story is inspired by diving terminology.

Additionally, the principles of confidentiality and exceptions to confidentiality mentioned in this chapter are based on the confidentiality principles and exceptions in the professional norms for psychological counselors.

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