It was only to pick someone up; this time only one battleship was dispatched.
Upon reaching the region where Changsui Star was located, Xie Rongjue did not leave immediately. He fiddled with a device similar to a black box and soon successfully connected to this world’s network.
The deputy chief might occasionally act foolish in some decisions, but his intelligence was fine. When he couldn’t get in touch with them, he would certainly try to access Changsui Star’s signal network.
Xie Rongjue called several times in succession. On the third time, there was finally a response.
There was no nonsense on the other side. Coordinates were sent directly. Soon after, they found the deputy chief on a beach. All around were corpses of various mutated sea beasts, along with a small number of zombies whose heads and bodies had been separated.
To prevent a psychic backlash, Xie Rongjue walked over and injected him with a stabilizer. As he slowly pushed the syringe, he asked, “Why did you leave the team without authorization?”
Ji Tianjin added from the side, “We searched for you like crazy for over half a month.”
The deputy chief’s hair was full of seaweed. He really couldn’t hold back and cursed, “I saw with my own eyes the battleship fly away. I shouted from behind, shouted very loudly…”
They didn’t know what had happened. Not long after they left, a large number of soldiers began searching nearby. Based on his hidden observations, he discovered they were looking for Su Cha.
Obviously, something had happened to Su Cha again, and that was why the battleship had hurriedly returned.
Because all the areas he could move through were patrolled by soldiers, the deputy chief had no choice but to hide on the beach and wait for them to come back and rescue him. As the days passed one by one and he was about to live like a wild man, he finally realized a fact: he might have been forgotten.
Su Cha interrupted his furious recollection: “The air here is toxic. It impaired our memory.”
If Land hadn’t been here, the deputy chief would really have wanted to grab his neck. At this moment his face was livid as he mercilessly rebuked, “You’re the real culprit.”
If it weren’t for him offending people everywhere, how would he have fallen to this point?
Su Cha coaxed him like a child: “My fault. Let’s go back first.”
The stabilizer contained sedative components. The deputy chief’s vision went black, and he suddenly fell backward.
Land disdainfully supported him with telekinesis and frowned. “Is he the reincarnation of a fainting goat?”
Fainting over such a minor setback. The deputy chief, who still had a trace of consciousness, was completely angered into unconsciousness.
When he woke up again, he was in a VIP hospital room.
Hearing that he was awake, the doctor came to conduct a follow-up examination and even specifically gave him a full set of psychiatric evaluation tests.
“Your brain seems to have been stimulated. Your psychic power has been in a subtle fluctuating state.”
The deputy chief suddenly sensed something wrong. With Xie Rongjue’s memory, how could he have inexplicably forgotten him? Could it be that the other party deliberately left him behind and then had a doctor issue an evaluation of unstable mental status, so that he could be demoted in a perfectly justified way?
No matter what Xie Rongjue was planning, one thing was undeniable: the deputy chief’s assessment results were indeed not very good. The doctor recommended that he recuperate on Fukui Island for a period of time.
“I. Am. Not. Going.” The deputy chief ground his teeth.
The doctor spoke objectively: “Your mental state is very poor. It’s better to treat it early.”
After the doctor left, the deputy chief took several deep breaths and finally decided to follow medical advice. He had no choice. There would be a year-end position assessment. If by then his mental and psychological state were still unstable, he truly wouldn’t need to continue working.
Su Cha waited rather responsibly on the bench outside the door. Seeing the doctor come out, he quickly stood up and asked, “How is the situation?”
“Fukui Island?” Su Cha had an impression of this place. He remembered that when he had just been brought out of the ruins, Li Huai’s personal guard had said he would very likely be taken to Fukui Island.
Su Cha had been quite curious about the place. However, being healthy and unharmed, he had no reason to go, and that bit of curiosity was quickly extinguished.
After leaving the hospital, Su Cha temporarily moved into the Ji family’s old residence.
Going back and forth to Changsui Star twice had delayed too much time. Rong Shao and the others had already returned from the wasteland planet, while Su Cha was still stranded in the Galan Empire. He planned to have one last gathering meal before setting off on the return journey. Unexpectedly, at this time he received an invitation from Fukui Island, asking him to come help with something. The specific matters would be discussed after arriving on the island.
He proposed bringing Ji Tianjin along. The other side did not object.
On the day of departure, the imperial capital was overcast. Fukui Island sent a special plane to pick them up.
Ji Tianjin shook his head. “However, many things on the island were donated by my parents.” He could roughly guess why they had invited someone over. “They want you to cooperate in collecting TCQ data.”
Under Su Cha’s questioning gaze, Ji Tianjin further explained, “Traditional treatment methods take a long time. Many people choose more radical means, that is, TCQ. It allows a person to enter a virtual world and obtain what they desire within it.”
Su Cha’s expression turned strange. “It sounds a bit like a holographic network. Is it useful?”
Ji Tianjin nodded. “In a holographic network, your consciousness remains clear the whole time. TCQ is different. Much data seems to be reset. It can maximize human satisfaction.”
Su Cha gained some understanding, then asked, “Then why specifically call me over?”
“To establish a small virtual world requires data support. For example, someone once regretted not properly saying goodbye to a deceased relative. TCQ would implant photos of the relative provided by the patient, videos from when they were alive, and so on, to build a model.”
“So the deputy chief’s mental problem is related to me?”
Fukui Island was like spring all year round, always with just the right amount of sunlight. Seagulls circled above the blue sea. The buildings on the island were mostly in warm tones. It was Su Cha’s first time seeing such scenery in the Galan Empire.
The island staff were responsible for receiving them. “Thank you both for taking time out of your schedules to come.”
After getting into a brand-new convertible, Su Cha leaned against the half-open window to admire the coastal scenery and sighed that this was the kind of life retirement should be like.
Ten minutes later, the car drove directly into a nearly circular building. The deputy chief was already lying inside a biological pod.
Su Cha found it quite novel. He crooked a finger at Ji Tianjin. When the other approached, he asked, “With such high-tech treatment methods, why does it seem like not many people use it?”
There were many compartments here, and the area was quite large, but at present only the first treatment room had staff going in and out.
“The cost is high, and the success rate is only fifty percent.”
If it failed, not only would the money be wasted, but an even longer period of recuperation would be required.
Su Cha looked at the deputy chief’s bio-pod and said lightly, “Good luck.”
At this time a staff member spoke up, “According to our judgment, the greatest desire in his subconscious is to see you stop pretending to be weak and switch to a kind of dark personality.”
Su Cha: “May I ask, is he a pervert?”
What kind of emotional demand is that?
The staff member fell silent for a moment. “To be frank, we were also very surprised.”
There are actually people who like watching others turn bad.
Inside the bio-pod, the deputy chief was like a patient who had just woken from anesthesia, his brain in an undefended state. When his neurons connected with the purple light inside the pod, he unconsciously opened his mouth:
“Turn back into your true self, Su Cha.”
Su Cha: “……”
Ji Tianjin grabbed his hand and was about to lead him out. “This one’s beyond saving. Let’s go.”
“Wait!”
The staff member forced a smile. “Since you’re already here, please cooperate and let us collect some data.”
Under Ji Tianjin’s ‘why are you so kind’ gaze, Su Cha put on the helmet. The intelligent brain carried out shallow data analysis through the cerebral cortex. The light green lines on the screen went from scattered and disordered at the beginning to assembling into an incomparably realistic virtual figure.
The staff began adding other instructions, such as “no longer weak” and so on. The electronic little person on the screen shattered on the spot.
He was stunned.
Ji Tianjin was not surprised at this result in the slightest. These were real data. The prohibition of weakness completely violated Su Cha’s principles of conduct as a person. If it had succeeded, that would have been strange.
It was the first time the staff had encountered this kind of situation. Before long, several specialists came over. After exchanging a few words, he said somewhat embarrassedly, “We may have to trouble you once more.”
Su Cha had a bad premonition. “Don’t tell me you want me to accompany him inside for role-playing?”
The fact was that he had guessed right.
The staff assured that it would not be unpaid. “There are many protected scenic spots on the island that are no longer open to the public. Afterward, you can go and visit them to your heart’s content. Believe me, the scenery there will not disappoint you.”
“And for the role-playing, your consciousness will remain clear.”
You will know who you are and where you come from.
Su Cha was somewhat tempted. “What do I need to do?”
“Satisfy the patient’s psychological needs. Let everyone in the virtual world know that you are not weak, you have a dark-type personality.”
Hearing this, Su Cha nodded with great confidence.
The staff repeatedly instructed, “Remember, you absolutely must not be weak.”
Su Cha: “When I handle things, you can rest assured.”
Isn’t it just going dark for a bit? Having carried out so many missions, there’s no character setting he can’t grasp.
Ji Tianjin, however, was not at ease. TCQ does not stimulate mental power growth. The neural connection points are far fewer than in the simulation network; it is almost absolutely safe. But there are always exceptions. He needed to ensure that nothing would go wrong.
Ji Tianjin quickly came up with a countermeasure. Walking over to the confidant guarding the deputy chief’s bio-pod, he asked, “As the second-in-command of the Investigation Department, shouldn’t his undergoing TCQ treatment be reported to his superior?”
The young man’s questioning tone displeased the confidant. Just as he was about to tell him to mind his own business, Ji Tianjin continued, “It would be more prudent to notify them. If an accident occurs, someone can pull him back in time.”
Xie Rongjue’s mental power is extremely strong. If a special situation arises, he can directly manipulate the instrument with his mental power.
Ji Tianjin himself could also do this, but having one more person meant double insurance.
The confidant hesitated for a moment. His gaze passed over him and fell on Su Cha. Wherever this person was, accidents seemed to follow. Not wanting to be held accountable afterward, he considered it and ultimately reported it to the department.
At first, Xie Rongjue’s reaction was very indifferent. “If he wants treatment, then let him. The recovery time will be deducted from his annual leave.”
Upon hearing that Su Cha would also enter the TCQ world and even shed his weak lamb’s skin, Xie Rongjue instantly became interested. “I’ll head over right now.”
He was willing to give up his annual leave just to watch this spectacle.
The matter soon also reached Sanses’s ears. After all, he was an important minister; the deputy chief’s condition would be reported to him regularly.
“Understood.”
He waved his hand with authority, and the reporting guard withdrew, inwardly sighing that the sovereign truly no longer possessed human emotions, not even showing the slightest interest.
After the guard left, Sanses expressionlessly released the golden dragon, which covered the entire Fukui Island. Through the golden dragon’s perspective, everything could be observed.
Fukui Island.
When Su Cha lay down in the bio-pod, he silently recited the keywords in his heart: “I’m going to turn dark, I’m going to turn dark…”
The staff gave affirmation: “That’s right, you must maintain this original intention.”
Xie Rongjue rushed over in a flying craft at the first moment. He nodded at the staff, signaling that they could begin.
Just as he sat down, the communicator suddenly rang.
Li Huai didn’t know where he had gotten the news and sent two messages:
【Is it true?】
【Wait for me.】
Xie Rongjue chose to ignore them. The communicator vibrated again. This time it wasn’t Li Huai, but a member of his own department.
【Chief, can we apply for ‘group viewing’?】
They really wanted to know what someone who could say “love your enemies” would look like after turning dark.
Xie Rongjue fell silent for a moment. He very much wanted to reprimand them, yet he himself had come to seek amusement. In the end, he agreed to allow participation for those with B-level titles and above.
Ji Tianjin did not stop it, only saying, “Don’t forget the ticket fee.”
Su Cha would surely be very happy to make a big profit while helping others.
A quarter of an hour later, Su Cha’s perception inside the bio-pod was completely linked with the instrument. The electronic little person on the screen was running toward another virtual world.
