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Chapter 66: It stood amidst the ruins, an anomaly in the vast debris.
Thanks to Zhang Xiao’s efforts, he gained the right to use a certain room at the top of the Crisis Office.
“This room used to be exclusively for Qin Shuangshuang,” Zhang Xiao told Qin Ge and Xie Zijing. “Back when Qin Shuangshuang was the head of the Crisis Office, she used it specifically for patrolling the ‘sea areas’ of new recruits or interrogating certain dangerous individuals within their ‘sea areas.'”
Gao Qiong, standing in the corner of the elevator, lifted his head and said, “She examined my ‘sea area’ here.”
Xie Zijing: “Then why not let Qin Ge use it? He’s now the only adjuster in the Crisis Office.”
“He’s not the director,” Zhang Xiao smiled, “Besides, that room is too large, violating regulations. It’s completely empty now, which is quite a waste. But from what I understand, Gao Tianyue plans to allocate this room for your Adjustment Department as a dedicated mental adjustment studio.”
The four of them entered a spacious room at the top of the Crisis Office.
The room was circular, with a high ceiling forming a huge dome. A few sparse, small windows were embedded in the dome, with sunlight streaming through the glass.
In the center of the room was a reclining chair, and nothing else.
Compared to a typical adjustment studio, this room was indeed excessively large.
Gao Qiong walked around the room, releasing his wolf. This wolf looked somewhat different from ordinary wolves. This time, it didn’t rub against Zhang Xiao but instead seriously ran along the walls, inspecting the room’s interior. Zhang Xiao stood in the center, with billowing white mist rising from him.
No one saw the form of his spirit body. The mist surged towards Gao Qiong, who hugged it. Then the mist completely spread out. In that moment, the sealed space was filled with a refreshing, gentle atmosphere. The flowing air brushed Qin Ge’s and Xie Zijing’s hair, invisible and traceless, like the freshest, softest spring breeze.
Xie Zijing stood there dumbfounded, his gaze chasing the invisible spirit body.
It was light and lively, its four hooves leaping, treading over the river with breaking ice, falling into new grass leaves and moist soil.
Xie Zijing even felt it brush past his face, the short, soft fur grazing his nose. It must have kissed his cheek. So he immediately calmed down, with his fear completely gone.
“What is that?” he asked Qin Ge.
Qin Ge shook his head, “I don’t know, Mr. Zhang rarely reveals its full form.”
Xie Zijing looked down at his palm, “I want to touch the rabbit.”
Qin Ge: “…It won’t come out.”
Both Xie Zijing and he looked at the wolf standing not far in front of them. The gray-white wolf had short legs and a fat body, but its gaze was stern, scrutinizing Xie Zijing from head to toe.
The long-haired rabbit just wouldn’t take shape, a white rolling mist circling in Xie Zijing’s palm. It was very scared. Xie Zijing raised his hand, speaking softly to the invisible rabbit.
Before coming here, Qin Ge had asked Xie Zijing if he still remembered anything about his father.
Xie Zijing couldn’t recall his father’s name or what work he did. He vaguely remembered his father often traveled for work, sometimes to Beijing, sometimes elsewhere, sometimes for ten days to half a month. When asked what he did, his father said he went to work, to meetings, to conduct research—in short, just ordinary work.
Qin Ge didn’t tell him what Zhang Xiao had revealed. Xie Zijing’s father, Xie Liang, was the country’s second adjuster, serving special individuals, with his identity and actions top secret.
The couple who went missing in the Luquan incident still haven’t been found, dead or alive.
Qin Ge hadn’t felt his eyelids twitch this frequently in a long time, but ever since learning about Xie Zijing’s father, he hadn’t been sleeping well, with chaotic dreams and frequent wildfires in his ‘sea area,’ reddening the sky.
He was also fearful. He had a sense that something significant would happen when entering Xie Zijing’s ‘sea area’ this time. He couldn’t say what, but the premonition made him uneasy.
Xie Zijing sat on the reclining chair. He saw the sunlight on the ceiling, felt the gentle atmosphere pervading this large room, belonging both to Zhang Xiao and to Qin Ge.
Qin Ge administered a sedative.
Fifteen minutes later, Zhang Xiao signaled they could begin.
For two guides to patrol a sentinel’s ‘sea area’ simultaneously, their own ‘sea areas’ must be connected first.
Zhang Xiao held Qin Ge’s hand, his expression calm and gentle, “Don’t worry, my companion and I will ensure your and Xie Zijing’s safety.”
Qin Ge closed his eyes.
He stood atop a high mountain, watching the stars perpetually falling from the sky and countless raging wildfires. A voice called to him from behind, and he ran down the mountain with his rabbit.
Below the mountain was neither a valley nor a fire scene. He broke into a forest, where streams flowed over his bare feet, making him shiver suddenly.
Upstream, he saw a small beast drinking.
The small beast’s back was curved, its shell-like ears almost transparent in the sunlight, its fur seemingly glowing, shedding bits of sunlight with its bending and stretching.
It lifted its head, its round, bright eyes watching Qin Ge.
The long-haired rabbit in Qin Ge’s arms suddenly perked up. It brushed aside the fur covering its eyes, staring at the small beast.
The small beast suddenly turned and ran. Qin Ge crossed the stream, closely following it.
They broke into a dense forest mist, and Qin Ge’s legs trembled, nearly making him fall to his knees.
He saw a desk, a small bed, and tightly closed bookshelves and wardrobes.
“…Is this the sealed space within Xie Zijing’s ‘sea area’?”
The small beast was gone. Zhang Xiao stood in the center of the room, looking with interest at the posters on the walls.
Qin Ge hurriedly got up, feeling extremely embarrassed, “This is…”
“I know,” Zhang Xiao smiled, “This is normal. He must really like you.”
Zhang Xiao told him that his own ‘sea area’ was a forest, while Gao Qiong’s sea area was a snow-covered plain. But over long periods of interaction, their respective ‘sea areas’ had developed new changes because of each other.
“I can see snowy mountains in my own ‘sea area,’ and the edges of Gao Qiong’s snowy plains have started to show green forests,” Zhang Xiao said. “Qin Ge, two people in love influence each other, and everything permeates between them, leaving traces of themselves in each other’s spiritual worlds.”
He turned to look at the posters on the wall.
In fact, this wall looked very different from when Qin Ge had last seen it. The wall was densely covered with countless posters and photos, all related to Qin Ge. But there was nothing about Xie Zijing.
“It’s all you,” Zhang Xiao said, “but there’s nothing about himself.”
Qin Ge: “There weren’t so many before.”
Zhang Xiao: “Yes. Because being with you has enriched him.”
He walked to the desk and tried to pull open a drawer, but it didn’t budge. Qin Ge quickly tried as well, but the drawer wouldn’t move an inch.
“It’s okay, have you seen what’s in the drawer?” Zhang Xiao waved his hand. “He trusts me, but that doesn’t mean he’s willing to reveal all his secrets to me. What’s stored here must be his most precious things.”
Zhang Xiao then looked at the books and photos on the desk. The frame still held a picture of Qin Ge holding a flower close to the camera, the most primal memory of Qin Ge in Xie Zijing’s mind.
Next to the frame were several small ornaments: a panda, a sand cat, and a slightly larger werewolf.
Zhang Xiao looked at them carefully for a while: “What’s this?”
Qin Ge: “These are people he knows in the Crisis Office. The werewolf is Lei Chi, and the sand cat and panda are the mental bodies of two other people in our department.”
Zhang Xiao suddenly stood still: “…Your department has a panda?”
Qin Ge: “Yes.”
A hint of uncontrollable amusement flashed across Zhang Xiao’s face, which he quickly covered with a light cough. He carefully examined every corner of the room before finally standing in front of the wardrobe.
“Is this a passage?” he asked.
Qin Ge knocked on the wardrobe door: “Xie Zijing?”
There was no response from inside, and Qin Ge tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge.
Zhang Xiao wasn’t anxious; he sat on Xie Zijing’s bed and suddenly said: “Was this room where he lived when he was a teenager?”
“Yes.” Qin Ge knocked on the door again, “Xie Zijing, open the door.”
Zhang Xiao watched silently as Qin Ge communicated with Xie Zijing, who was inside the wardrobe. After a long while, the wardrobe door finally opened a crack, and a face somewhere between a boy and a young man peeked out, suspiciously looking at Zhang Xiao.
“Hello.” Zhang Xiao greeted him with a smile.
As they passed through the passage, Qin Ge suddenly became tense. He sensed Xie Zijing’s fear beside him. The eighteen-year-old boy in his school uniform stared ahead, his fingers, held by Qin Ge, were cold and slightly trembling.
Who would want to show someone else a world that is in ruins? It was almost his most unbearable secret.
As the three of them crossed the passage and stepped into the cold, foul-smelling ruins, the young Xie Zijing turned to look at Qin Ge. Qin Ge immediately hugged him: “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
The boy’s face turned red, both shy and nervous, and he also hugged Qin Ge back.
The relaxed expression on Zhang Xiao’s face had completely disappeared. He walked into the ruins without saying a word, moving straight ahead.
The silver light ahead still flickered and shone, but no matter how they walked, they couldn’t reach it. Zhang Xiao climbed up the ruins, looking around. In the almost completely dark expanse of ruins, only one small house was illuminated, standing abruptly among the debris.
He looked down at Xie Zijing and Qin Ge standing in the water, and Qin Ge noticed that Zhang Xiao’s expression was very strange.
“You’ve suffered,” Zhang Xiao said to Xie Zijing. “For so many years, this must have been a hard place to be.”
Xie Zijing’s Adam’s apple moved, but he said nothing, staring at Zhang Xiao.
Zhang Xiao turned to look at Qin Ge.
“Are you and Xie Zijing partners?” he asked again.
Qin Ge shook his head: “Not yet.”
“Have you ever experienced imprinting effects?” Zhang Xiao asked.
Qin Ge was stunned; this was a question he had never considered.
Imprinting effects are a kind of sexual response and a very special resonance phenomenon. It refers to the situation where a sentinel or guide is first induced by their beloved to manifest their spirit body power or complete spirit body, a reaction stronger than what is commonly known as ‘love at first sight.’
Sentinels and guides who experience imprinting effects show extreme dependence, affection, and possessiveness towards the inducer, and it cannot be suppressed or eliminated. Once it occurs, it is very difficult to weaken. This is an emotional reflex phenomenon that still has no reasonable explanation. What’s strange is that when one of the two people who have experienced imprinting effects dies, the other will fall into inescapable pain and despair.
Most of the time, imprinting effects are not mutual. The person one loves deeply may feel nothing for them, yet one’s life will forever be bound by this baseless affection. For sentinels and guides who enjoy playing around, imprinting effects are definitely not a good thing.
“No.” Qin Ge shook his head again. He didn’t know why Zhang Xiao was asking this question.
Zhang Xiao: “That’s good.”
He looked at the surrounding ruins.
“Qin Ge, I have good news and bad news.”
The good news was that Qin Ge’s judgment was wrong. Xie Zijing’s sea area had not been destroyed. It had only been damaged, causing memory confusion and even loss, but the spirit body had remained intact.
The spirit body is exceptionally closely linked to the spiritual worlds of sentinels and guides. Any abnormality in the spiritual world will inevitably be reflected in the spirit body. Zhang Xiao had encountered truly destroyed “sea areas”—the moment the spirit body was devoured and disappeared, the “sea area” would immediately begin to collapse and gradually vanish. But Xie Zijing’s lion had no abnormalities; it hadn’t even mutated like the mental bodies of other patients with mental disorders.
“If a sea area is truly destroyed, the person either goes mad or dies,” Zhang Xiao said. “You’re lucky not to have encountered a truly destroyed ‘sea area,’ but for a mental adjuster, it’s a great regret. But don’t worry, Xie Zijing’s ‘sea area’ can be restored.”
Qin Ge’s heart raced. “Thank you, Teacher Zhang! Thank you!”
Zhang Xiao continued, “But there’s also bad news.”
Qin Ge paused. “What is it?”
“There are indeed some abnormal things in this ‘sea area,'” Zhang Xiao hesitated before lowering his head to ask, “What do you think is the most unusual thing here?”
Qin Ge looked at the ruins around him. Black rain fell continuously, and the thin layer of water was filled with bricks and wooden beams, the stench thick and unpleasant.
“The ruins.”
Zhang Xiao shook his head. “No.”
Qin Ge felt as if he were back at his mental adjuster exam, facing a problem he had never seen before.
He cautiously surveyed his surroundings, even glancing at Xie Zijing, who was tightly leaning against him.
The answer flashed into his mind almost instantly.
He turned to look at the solitary small house in the distance. It stood amidst the ruins, an anomaly in the vast debris. Too intact, too clean, too out of place.
“Yes…” Zhang Xiao jumped down from the wall. “It’s the most unusual thing here, something that shouldn’t be here.”
“It’s Xie Zijing’s residual memory,” Qin Ge quickly said.
Zhang Xiao shook his head. “No, Qin Ge, look closely. It’s built on top of the ruins. That means someone first destroyed Xie Zijing’s ‘sea area,’ then built this room. It’s not a remnant; it’s forcibly inserted.”
Qin Ge stood there, feeling as if the cold rain had soaked through him.
“Just like his inexplicable love for you, it’s something arranged by someone else.” Zhang Xiao looked at him with some pity. “Qin Ge, if we want to restore Xie Zijing’s ‘sea area,’ we have to destroy this little house first…”
Qin Ge instinctively shook his head.
“…dispel all his delusions and fantasies.” Zhang Xiao continued, “Remove everything unrelated to his original memories, and only then can his ‘sea area’ return to normal, and he can remember everything from the past.”
Qin Ge stood still, stubbornly protesting. “Teacher Zhang, Xie Zijing… his feelings for me… it’s not a love delusion, right?”
“Right, it’s not a love delusion.” Zhang Xiao looked at him seriously. “Qin Ge, it’s not a delusion, but it’s a false memory created by someone else. It’s fake. You and he only had a brief encounter at the sports meet. Someone captured his slight affection for you and exaggerated it. Qin Ge, you need to wake up. Without destroying it, Xie Zijing’s ‘sea area’ can’t be rebuilt.”
The boy holding Qin Ge’s hand suddenly recoiled. He retreated a few steps, his expression alarmed.
Qin Ge stood in the rain, in the endless ruins of Xie Zijing’s sea area. He wished for a star to fall right now, wished for a fire to ignite here immediately. He dared not think about what would happen after leaving.
Zhang Xiao hugged him.
“…No… it’s not fake.” Qin Ge’s voice was hoarse, squeezing out all his strength to say, “He loves me… that can’t be fake.”
*Imprinting effect: The imprinting effect was proposed by developmental psychology researcher Zhu Mary in 1954. It refers to the situation where a sentinel or guide is first induced by their beloved to manifest their spirit body power or complete spirit body. Through extensive group comparative studies, Zhu Mary found that the limited memory function of the spirit body is particularly prominent in the imprinting effect. The spirit body will leave a deep impression on the sentinel or guide who triggered the imprinting effect and will continuously strengthen this impression, significantly affecting the holder of the spirit body. The imprinting effect is mostly seen in the induction of partial spirit body power, while the phenomenon of inducing a complete spirit body is very rare, with only one case reported. Since the imprinting effect cannot be suppressed or eliminated, and once it occurs, it is very difficult to weaken, many people have a psychological resistance to it. Studies have shown that sentinels and guides who have experienced the imprinting effect exhibit extreme dependence, affection, and possessiveness towards the inducer.
Source: “General Knowledge of Guides/Sentinels” (a national-level planning textbook for special higher education during the “11th Five-Year Plan”) Chapter 3 “Sex and Sexual Knowledge.”
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