Mental Illness Evolution Manual - Chapter 21

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The Holy Healing Church was a formidable opponent. The chaebols provided the organization with a great deal of financial support and firepower, allowing them to quickly gain a foothold in society.

The more chaotic the soil, the easier it is for the seeds of faith to sprout. Because people need a spiritual anchor, when life is filled with boredom, pain, and despair, they need a peaceful environment to give them a brief respite.

Even if this environment is false, artificial, they will believe it wholeheartedly, believing that it is reality.

In a way, this is also a form of self-rescue.

The Holy Healing Church’s philosophy is that this life is full of hardship, but the next life will be peaceful.

They set up churches in various places, expanding their followers, spreading their doctrines, telling everyone that although this world is full of hardship, Mother Goddess Itaru is watching over you in heaven, she will bestow blessings on the most devout believers.

Allowing them to escape their miserable lives in this life, and those who haven’t received blessings don’t need to be disappointed, because as long as you devoutly believe in the Mother Goddess, follow the doctrines, the Mother Goddess will remember your virtues and names, and give you a happy and beautiful afterlife.

This is a pure, blatant lie.

The doctrines were fabricated, the goddess’s relationships with other deities invented. Their “blessings” were merely artificially enhanced cannon fodder—bribed and manipulated into unquestioning service for the Church.

Everything is fake, but the money they scammed is real.

Donations are also a way to express devotion, the Church’s followers are all over the place, it’s easy to imagine how much money they have illegally obtained through this method, and how many “miracles and blessings” they have fabricated with this money.

No chaebol family would ever complain about having too much money.

They build churches, and the churches give back to them.

They use the Church to brainwash people, making the lower classes more submissive and unaware of resistance. After all, pleasure is the beginning of corruption, everyone is born to walk on a land full of thorns to atone for their sins.

So working harder, squeezing out their value, is the best interpretation of the doctrine.

And the followers scattered all over the place are also the best and most hidden informants, they report any abnormalities, and the Church sends people to deal with those who try to challenge authority.

The chaebols never stop this action, having the Church just makes the process simpler and more convenient.

The Church is just the tip of the iceberg exposed by the behemoth that weighs down society, it is the hands and feet of their extended will, it is the proxy, the executioner, and also an insurmountable peak.

The Resistance currently only knows that the Church was created by the chaebol families, but they don’t know who the founder is, or who else has joined.

On the way to the black market, Lu Mingqiu told Yan Xianchuan about the Church, giving her some understanding of it.

Yan Xianchuan was eating pineapple pie she had brought from home in the car, and she expressed her opinion, “Does the Resistance also have sponsors?”

Lu Mingqiu was silent, like a machine with a broken part.

Yan Xianchuan licked the jam off her fingers, took out a wet wipe and wiped her hands, “Okay, then can you tell me about psionic abilities?”

The broken part suddenly fixed itself, Lu Mingqiu started talking again, “In the current context of rapid population growth, the total number of psionics is actually not that rare. The Federation has additional subsidies and benefits for psionics, and most of them will join the government, or enter underground organizations similar to ours, so you rarely see them in society.”

“Psionics are all second-class citizens, even if a person was a criminal before, a fifth-class citizen, they will automatically be upgraded to second-class after becoming a psionic. They will be recruited by relevant departments and serve the Federation under supervision.”

Yan Xianchuan casually commented, “It seems like the Federation is more accepting than my stomach.”

Lu Mingqiu wanted to laugh, but she held it back, and continued, “The types of psionic abilities are also different, they can’t be classified. Some people can transform, some can become invisible, breathe fire, travel through space, release electricity, mimic, even those who have psionic abilities related to physical enhancement are different, so far, there are no identical psionic abilities recorded.”

“Your psionic ability is related to the mind, right?” Yan Xianchuan looked at the back of her head, “Brainwashing? Hypnosis? Or altering perception?”

“I can do all of those.” Lu Mingqiu said.

“So what were you going to do to me that day?” Yan Xianchuan reached out and hooked the back of the chair in front of her, leaning half her body forward, tilting her head to look at the other party.

Her lips were slightly curled up, her eyes were filled with curiosity. This expression wouldn’t be out of place on any child under four years old on the side of the road, but on her, it only had a chilling effect.

But with her eyes covered, she looked particularly innocent.

Lu Mingqiu turned her head to look at her, her mind involuntarily recalled the relevant information she had deliberately looked up.

Psychopaths often have excellent appearances, their behavior is normal and polite, they are good at controlling their emotions, they disguise their harmless exterior, making people trust them.

Every psychopath is the most popular person in their social circle, they are always considerate, and they can chat with anyone.

If Lu Mingqiu relied on her psionic ability to bring about affinity, then Yan Xianchuan was playing with her nimble tongue.

At that moment, looking into the other party’s deep eyes, in a flash of lightning, Lu Mingqiu suddenly realized that everything the other party had done was intentional, whether she had amnesia or not, she could pretend to be exactly the same personality as her former self, but she didn’t.

She could also hide her abnormality, but she didn’t.

She could have communicated in a completely different way, but she deliberately showed off her pathology.

She was normal with Su Hong, she was also discreet with others, even at the crowded film festival, she was discreet, but only in front of her, she would show her neurotic side.

Someone once said, when you try to understand what a psychopath is thinking, and you can understand them, congratulations, you should find a bed for yourself.

Thinking of this, she immediately stopped thinking about why the other party was doing this, she didn’t have a penchant for being crazy.

She thought for a long time, as if she were staring at Yan Xianchuan’s face.

“Why aren’t you talking?” Yan Xianchuan reached out and touched her face, “Is the face mask I used last night so effective?”

She turned her body, twisting to the other side, facing Su Hong in the driver’s seat, the chilling smile in her pupils dissipated, she looked no different from any other girl who cared about her face.

“Do you think I need to learn how to put on makeup?” Yan Xianchuan said with a feigned distress, “I know it’s perfect, this face doesn’t need any changes, but putting on makeup, changing styles occasionally, wouldn’t that be nice?”

“You can try it first.” Su Hong replied.

“That makes sense.”

Yan Xianchuan turned her head back, complaining, “It’s a bit of a hassle to talk like this, why don’t you sit in the back with me.”

“I almost forgot the question from before, you haven’t answered yet, Madam.”

She said the word “Madam” with a mischievous delight.

“I want to check your memories.” Lu Mingqiu said.

A truck carrying a flute passed by, the sound waves washed away her words, a few young people riding motorcycles laughed loudly, the engine roared as they overtook the truck in front, they gave a middle finger, and then whizzed past like the wind.

Night had already fallen, the ubiquitous neon lights dyed the city in a dazzling white day.

“There’s nothing interesting in my memories, but if you want to know which store has the best desserts, then it’s definitely worth a look.”

But if you look, you’ll be in big trouble, the main god wouldn’t allow the existence of the escape game to be exposed, and it wouldn’t allow any risks to the souls it marked in this regard.

With the insurance set up by the main god, Yan Xianchuan was essentially equipped with a privacy protection layer, which could prevent brainwashing and other dangers from the mind.

The car stopped, Lu Mingqiu took out a chip and handed it to Yan Xianchuan, “Insert it behind your ear, it’s for internal communication, to prevent the signal from being intercepted.”

Yan Xianchuan took the thin black chip, peeled off the imitation skin behind her ear, revealing the socket, and inserted the chip.

Speaking of which, Yan Xianchuan really wasn’t used to the high-tech auxiliary functions of this world. For example, things like phones and text messages, it was like they were projected onto the retina, other people couldn’t see them at all.

When she received a message, a semi-transparent floating window would appear in front of her eyes, very similar to the game’s operation interface, that kind of feeling of adding a border to the screen.

But she actually liked the fact that she could pull out the floating screen anytime and anywhere, one was convenience, the other was privacy. The content of the floating screen was only visible to her, others could only see a semi-transparent screen, and they could even see through the screen to the scene behind it.

As for the two sockets behind her ear, with this, she felt like a robot, not a real person.

But in this society where almost everyone had prosthetic modifications, if there were really robots pretending to be humans living among them, probably no one would notice.

Yan Xianchuan reapplied the imitation skin, touched the earring, changed her face, and then got out of the car with Lu Mingqiu.

Su Hong would stay in the car to provide support.

“How’s it going?” Lu Mingqiu asked Mirror, who had arrived earlier, through internal communication.

“The prosthetic doctor is operating, he left me in the outer room, it’s been smooth sailing so far.” Mirror replied in a voice indistinguishable from Poison Sting’s.

“Be vigilant.” Lu Mingqiu said, ending the communication, and said to Yan Xianchuan, “We can’t just stand here, we need to find something to do, naturally.”

“Can we buy some roasted marshmallows?” Yan Xianchuan said, her gaze following a red-haired woman who was walking by, she was holding a string of them.

“…Okay.” Lu Mingqiu said.

With permission, Yan Xianchuan immediately crossed the street and walked quickly to the red-haired woman, and asked frankly in the other party’s bewildered gaze, “Good evening, where did you buy this roasted marshmallow?”

“I thought you were going to ask for my contact number.” The red-haired woman flipped her hair and pointed behind her, “See, the one with the blue sign, it has a bee on it. By the way, don’t get the tickle honey flavor, I suspect it’s made with skunk, ugh, it’s absolutely disgusting. Everything else is okay except that one.”

“Thank you.” Yan Xianchuan said politely, and looked at Lu Mingqiu who was chasing after her, “Shall we go?”

Lu Mingqiu let out a sigh, repeatedly telling herself in her heart: Relax, relax, relax, she’s just crazy, not stupid.

There’s still a bomb in her brain, she definitely won’t do anything reckless.

After doing some mental preparation, Lu Mingqiu replied, “Let’s go.”

After a while, she couldn’t help but say, “Next time you want to do something, tell me in advance, don’t act on your own.”

Yan Xianchuan looked a little troubled, she furrowed her brows and said, “Do I have to report everything?”

Lu Mingqiu nodded, “Yes.”

Yan Xianchuan: “Okay, I understand.”

After a while, the two of them stood at the door of the shop, Yan Xianchuan looked at the various flavors on the menu, “I want to eat the matcha peach flavor, is that okay, Madam?”

Lu Mingqiu: …?

Lu Mingqiu: “Okay.”

Under the shop owner’s seemingly discreet gaze, Yan Xianchuan paid and got the pink and green roasted marshmallows, she ate a piece right away.

“Delicious.”

“The black market doesn’t seem to have anything special.” Yan Xianchuan chewed on the sweet snack, her mood index went straight up.

“The special things are all in places you can’t see.” Lu Mingqiu watched the other party eat while mentally rehearsing the evacuation route, considering the possible unexpected risks during the execution of the plan, she decided to walk it through in person.

Yan Xianchuan naturally chewed and walked with her.

The roasted marshmallows here were also strange, they were like chewy candy, you could chew them for a long time, but the texture was no different from the version she remembered, which melted in your mouth.

A serving of roasted marshmallows cost fifteen credit points, much cheaper than the fifty credit point roasted squid she had before.

There were three evacuation routes, each for different situations, of course, the reasonable planning of the routes was thanks to Black.

Since he had become a pure data consciousness from a flesh-and-blood person, Black’s work had obviously increased exponentially.

One person’s energy is limited, they need to sleep, they need to eat, no matter how well-trained or multi-tasking a person is, they can’t handle dozens or hundreds of things at the same time, but Black, who had become a data entity, could.

He could handle different files while following the doctor in his research, and he could also accompany his twin brother 24/7.

White had woken up from his coma, but his condition was even worse than when he was unconscious and relying on nutrient injections.

Black’s death was a big blow to him, the people in the base took turns comforting him, they had all lost people they cherished, and they knew that they could only rely on themselves and time to slowly move on.

Compared to them, White was lucky, at least his brother could still accompany him, albeit in a different way.

After walking through all three routes, Mirror sent a message, the prosthetic doctor was finally done.

Few people knew the doctor’s real name, everyone called him Blackheart, because he charged a lot, but his skills were also the best in the area, which was commensurate with the price.

Blackheart was particularly good at all kinds of plastic surgery, he was very familiar with the technique of changing people’s appearance, and he also knew people who made fake identities, it was a one-stop shop.

So many people hated him for being so greedy, but they had to risk having their wallets emptied and go to the slaughterhouse.

He looked like a dry, skinny old man, wearing a white coat with bloodstains on the cuffs, his porcelain teeth were white and shiny.

“You wouldn’t have been standing here waiting for so long, would you? Come on, come on, sit down!”

Blackheart dragged over two iron chairs, took off his coat and rolled it up casually, sitting on it.

“How could I not be in a hurry!” Mirror didn’t sit down, she imitated Poison Sting’s way of speaking perfectly, even his own mother wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

“The Masked Man won’t contact me at all! You guys, are you serious about your word, are you going to sell me out!”

“Don’t be in such a hurry, why are you so angry?” Blackheart took out a tin box from his chest, opened the lid, took out a cigarette and handed it over, “Have one to calm down, this is a new good one.”

“I don’t have the time for that.” Mirror paced around like a caged beast, “You guys set off bombs, such a big commotion! Damn it, that’s the city center! They were all scared to death, and then they did two more reviews, I almost blew my cover, you know!”

“I’m leaving, I’m leaving now! If it happens again, I’m definitely going to be caught, what’s the point of living then! You guys said I could fly away, go to hell!”

“This isn’t what we agreed on, I can’t make the decision either.” Blackheart said with a troubled expression, “I’m just a guy who does the dirty work, look, I’ll ask the higher-ups, I’ll give you an answer, how about that?”

“Calm down, there’s nothing wrong, you’re panicking, isn’t that a dead giveaway?”

Blackheart handed over the cigarette in his hand again, “Have one? I’ll find you a woman later, she’ll be a real kick!”

“I’ll smoke my own.” Mirror said rudely, took out a cigarette that Poison Sting usually smoked from his pocket, sat down on the stool and puffed away, his large frame made the stool creak, like an old, frail person whose bones were groaning under the weight.

“Give me a definite answer.” After finishing a cigarette, he looked a lot more relaxed, perhaps because he was in a relatively safe place, far from the blade at his neck.

Mirror exhaled the last puff of smoke, “Two days, I want an answer within two days, the next mission or something else.”

Throwing the cigarette butt on the ground, Mirror stood up, stepped on the still-smoking cigarette butt with the tip of his shoe and pursed his lips, “Don’t treat me like a fool, if you sell me out, I’ll sell you out too, we’re all in the same boat.”

“The Resistance might not be able to deal with the Church, but they can definitely deal with you, if I die, you won’t be able to live well either.”

Leaving those harsh words, he snorted coldly through his nose and turned to leave Blackheart’s underground clinic.

Yan Xianchuan listened to the whole thing and exclaimed sincerely, “I think all of you guys are pretty good at acting.”

Her comment drew a warning look from the person beside her, Yan Xianchuan used her hand to draw a line from left to right across her lips, zipping herself up.

“Evacuate according to Plan One.” Lu Mingqiu said, then turned off internal communication, she looked at the person who was pretending to be innocent with disapproval, “During the mission, don’t talk about things that are irrelevant to the mission, keep your mic off.”

Yan Xianchuan looked apologetic, “It’s my first time, I don’t know anything.”

A pack of lies, Lu Mingqiu didn’t believe it.

She was very sure that this person was deliberately causing trouble, testing her, and making things difficult for her.

Yan Xianchuan had been cooperating so far, and her abilities were very strange, Lu Mingqiu wanted to figure out what was going on.

If she killed her, she would still have to marry another Alpha, being an omega, so it was better to maintain the status quo.

“Don’t do it again.” Lu Mingqiu said.

“Can we go buy something to eat?” Given a chance, Yan Xianchuan immediately took advantage of it, “When we were scouting the route, I saw a shop selling skewers, they smelled so good.”

Lu Mingqiu immediately understood her implication: See how obedient I am, even though I really want to eat, I didn’t make a single request while we were doing the important stuff.

“Okay.”

“You’re so nice, Madam.” Yan Xianchuan spun around on the spot, using the heel of her left foot as a pivot point, she tilted her head slightly and chuckled, “I’m liking you more and more.”

Plan One was the evacuation plan for a smooth operation, Mirror would return to Poison Sting’s residence alone, Black would monitor the surveillance the whole time to see if anyone was following.

Yan Xianchuan and the others could act freely, so Lu Mingqiu agreed to her request.

Of course, she also had other considerations, just as Yan Xianchuan was constantly testing her, she was also constantly playing tug-of-war with the other party.

It was like a tug-of-war, back and forth, each side vying for control.

Besides this black market contact person, Lu Mingqiu had sent two non-psionic members to scout out the bar, a small stronghold, that she had gleaned from Poison Sting’s brain.

Since Poison Sting hadn’t been exposed, they should hold off for now, and see if they could figure out what the stronghold was used for.

Nanjin City naturally had aboveground churches, for tourists to visit, for believers to pray, these churches were basically open and transparent, there were no secrets.

The Church’s illegal activities were all done in the shadows, they wouldn’t be done here.

“If I don’t have anything scheduled tomorrow, I want to go see the church.” Yan Xianchuan said.

The car stopped in the underground parking lot, Su Hong had already left.

The empty underground was only filled with cars of different shapes and sizes, neatly arranged, cold air poured down from the vents above, making the temperature of the entire parking lot feel like a refrigerator’s cold storage.

Yan Xianchuan walked unsteadily, as if she were dancing a waltz by herself, her heels clicked on the concrete floor, making a clear, crisp sound, after spinning around with her arms outstretched twice, she stopped, “Look, I’ve been in Nanjin City for so long, and I haven’t even gone out to visit the tourist attractions here.”

“You should enjoy life, how can you just stay at home without going out and about.”

Laughter rolled in her throat, to be honest, her voice was very nice, but it wasn’t very good when she deliberately put on a voice.

The lights flickered in her eyes, like two clusters of phosphorus fire.

Lu Mingqiu couldn’t disagree with her request, given her obvious madness.

“It’s good to go take a look,” she said calmly, as if she were discussing the weather with a friend, “The church in Nanjin City is one of the landmarks here, the official statement is that it cost eight hundred million credit points, but that doesn’t include the part that the believers donated voluntarily. The building is very beautiful, there’s also a statue of Mother Goddess Itaru inside the church, it was made by the famous sculptor Michel, it’s definitely worth seeing.”

“Let’s go together.”

“Okay, I don’t have any work scheduled tomorrow.”

The work she was referring to was her work as an actress. She didn’t have much going on in the second half of the year, the film festival was over, and all that was left were some magazine shoots, which would be over soon.

There was definitely nothing this month.

And even if Yan Xianchuan hadn’t invited her, she would have gone with her, she couldn’t bear to leave the other party alone outside.

“Madam, you’re so nice.” Yan Xianchuan said that sentence again, in a tone so bland it was infuriating.

Lu Mingqiu would rather have that word removed from her language system.

Afternoon clouds obscured the sun, dappling the ground with light and shadow. White doves cooed in the church square, where a milky-white statue of a maiden stood, her graceful curves and flowing skirt reflected in the pool below. Water poured from her jug, each drop creating a miniature rainbow as the doves’ wings brushed the shimmering surface, briefly adorning their white feathers with fleeting color.

Tourists snapped photos eagerly, while the believers stood with hands clasped in front of their chests, softly murmuring their prayers..

The stained glass, gilded bas-reliefs, towering dome, and solemn murals—all these captivating decorations faded into the background, overshadowed by the striking statue of Itaru.

The beauty of motherhood radiated from her forehead, brows, eyes, and outstretched arms, accentuated by her voluptuous form. Her compassionate gaze and gentle expression conveyed kindness. One hand held scriptures, the other cradled stars; one hand gestured skyward with a flower, while the other pointed to the ground. Two hands were clasped in prayer before her chest.

Her thick hair fell loosely, covering her body, with nothing else on her. Flowing gold lines were etched into her body, outlining eyes, vines, stars, and other patterns, dazzling and beautiful.

At first glance, you would think that the Mother Goddess should be like this, this is the solemn beauty that a god should have.

Many believers came to Nanjin City specifically to see the statue of the Mother Goddess.

Beauty was Yan Xianchuan’s immediate feeling, and then, there was nothing else.

It was very beautiful, this Michel master was indeed very talented, but they couldn’t make her gasp in awe or cry silently like those believers.

If she judged by the degree of sensory impact, she would think that the main god was the most beautiful, anyone who saw her would be stunned.

Two missionaries in gray robes stood nearby, maintaining order. Each wore a silver pendant on their chests, and their eyeless sockets were hollow, with stalks of wheat piercing through their eyeballs from back to front, filling the void.

What is this?

Are they saying, that they’ve become so consumed by their faith, so blinded by the joy of their harvest, that they’ve lost sight of the world around them.

Yan Xianchuan was just thinking this when she suddenly received a message, from someone with the nickname “Tail-End”.

[How’s married life? I saw you on a reality show, you’re doing well. Thanks to you for catching Dr. Morian last time, rest assured the organization won’t let you down.]

[The research department has created a new gadget for simulating consciousness uploading. I haven’t even tried it yet, but they’ve sent it to you, the big hero, to experience the beauty of a free future in the data sea. When you use it, make sure to let me know what it feels like!!]

Yan Xianchuan: ?

Here we go again, this scene where someone starts talking to themselves, the last time was Yan Family Head, her cheap father, informing her about the marriage.

The other side continued to send messages.

[There’s also a new mission from above, isn’t the Dongye family’s banquet about to be held? You should know this, it’s all over the internet lately, the organization wants you to take two people in.]

Dr. Morian… Yan Xianchuan quickly recalled, she felt like she had heard that name somewhere.

Wait, wasn’t this the news she saw in the elevator, the passenger on the same airship as her?

The news briefly introduced Dr. Morian’s achievements, he had worked at Arclight Technology, and the most common Changping No. 1 and Changping No. 2 series of prosthetics on the market today were his research results.

And the ones who kidnapped him were the Mechanical Pure Land.

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