Mental Illness Evolution Manual - Chapter 23

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The Mechanical Pure Land’s people were naturally skilled enough to dare to break into the Dongye family’s building.

The moment they infiltrated the banquet, they found the monitoring room and physically eliminated the hacker inside, ensuring that their subsequent actions would be foolproof.

The underground parking lot was always poorly guarded, vehicles belonging to outsiders were handed over to the security guards, who would drive them in through a secret entrance, and when guests wanted to leave, the security guards would drive their cars out of the parking lot in advance.

Only internal personnel could take the elevator directly to the basement in the Quhai Building. The Mechanical Pure Land had thought of this, which is why they decided to use this as an ambush point.

The hallucinogenic agent thrown from the can, even if they held their breath, psionics wouldn’t be able to hold out for more than a minute. As for the alarm they pressed, the signal had already been intercepted.

All they had to do was wait in the dark, and they could capture the doctor without breaking a sweat. No one would expect danger in their own territory.

But for some reason, the electrical equipment that had been infiltrated suddenly worked again, the signal blocking also suddenly failed, the alarm sounded, and their actions were exposed!

The sound of countless footsteps was rushing towards them, the Mechanical Pure Land members looked at each other, their faces were filled with undisguised shock and panic.

It was supposed to be a foolproof plan, how could it go wrong?

“Find a way to break out!” One of them gritted his teeth, “Don’t get caught, don’t expose the base.”

“There’s a vent at six o’clock!” The hacker’s voice came through the earpiece, “Damn it! Someone’s tracking me, the other party is so fast, I can’t hold on!”

“I’ve marked the evacuation route for you, go!”

After saying this, the voice in the earpiece disappeared.

The group ran blindly, knowing that the other party was probably doomed.

“Vielle…”

“The most important thing now is to survive, get out of here, and then we can find a way to avenge her!”

The speaker wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye, and climbed into the vent with his companions, as soon as he got out and landed, he turned around and suddenly saw countless guards standing behind him, holding guns, waiting for them.

…They were caught.

“Is Dr. Serra okay?”

Dongye Zhengqi left the banquet and was pacing in front of the medical room, his face was clouded with anger, “Who is so bold as to dare to kidnap someone on my property!”

“The doctor is safe, she’s not injured, she’ll just be unconscious for a while. They blew themselves up as soon as they caught her.” A person who looked like a secretary said, “According to observations, it should be the Mechanical Pure Land.”

“It’s them again. This isn’t the first time, those guys, they keep ruining my plans, robbing potions, killing guards, they’ve been trying to kidnap the doctor for days.”

Dongye Zhengqi snorted coldly, “How did they get in?”

“They were wearing waiter uniforms when they were caught, they might have snuck in when they were recruiting waiters for the banquet.” The secretary replied.

“Who was in charge of this?” Dongye Zhengqi narrowed his eyes.

“He’s been taken away for interrogation, we’ll be able to get an answer soon.” The secretary said.

“Find a way to strike back at the Mechanical Pure Land, they’re getting a little too arrogant, I’ll leave this to you.” Dongye Zhengqi said, then walked away, he still had to continue hosting the banquet.

While the Mechanical Pure Land was struggling with the guards, Yan Xianchuan and Lu Mingqiu had already picked up the people and driven away from the scene.

The Mechanical Pure Land’s exposure was Black’s doing.

They went to the monitoring room to physically eliminate the obstacles, as soon as they left, Gold Ring and the other two snuck in, attached a screw-shaped intrusion device to the mainframe, allowing Black to directly dismantle the defense system from the inside, leaving a backdoor.

Then, the two of them took advantage of the fact that everyone was distracted by the attack in the parking lot and left smoothly.

The operation was very successful, Yan Xianchuan sat in the car, she greeted the two of them very friendly, “Do you want some ice cream?”

“This is a new member, she’s currently acting with me, her name is Polite Biscuit.” Lu Mingqiu’s voice came from the earpiece.

“Hello, welcome. I’m Gold Ring,” he said, gesturing to the person beside him. “This is Silver Ring.”

Why wasn’t there a welcoming ceremony for a new member? Both of them were a little puzzled, but thinking about the recent turbulent times, Yellow Canary must have her own considerations, so they didn’t think too much about it.

The two of them each ordered a waffle cone, Yan Xianchuan also made one for herself and held it in her hand to eat. At first glance, the three of them sitting in a row looked quite harmonious.

They were all members of the Resistance, these two didn’t seem to be wary of her, they had been staring at her when they first got in the car, a little wary, but as soon as Lu Mingqiu spoke, they immediately relaxed, took the things from her hand, and ate without looking.

Was it because she was someone Lu Mingqiu introduced?

They obviously trusted Lu Mingqiu more than their own judgment.

After turning a few corners, the two of them got out of the car and went to their safe house, they parked the car on the side of the road and left.

The safe house was a simple one-bedroom apartment, located in the West District, this was where fourth-class citizens gathered, it was full of drunks, addicts, vulgar language, and all kinds of problematic people. Compared to the actress’s residence, it was undoubtedly heaven and earth.

Lu Mingqiu walked through the street without looking sideways, Yan Xianchuan followed behind her, looking left and right, like a child going to the market to buy things for the first time.

The safe house was on the second floor, they went up the stairs, used their keys to open the door lock, and a somewhat dilapidated but fairly tidy living room appeared before them.

The slightly messy street was a minor matter, only the single bedroom was a major issue.

“You sleep in the bedroom, I’ll sleep on the sofa.” Lu Mingqiu said, she put the sofa back down, it looked like a single bed.

Yan Xianchuan watched her make the bed for a while, she didn’t feel any guilt about hogging the big bed, “So, are there any missions next?”

“Yes, we need to find a local, to take us to the neighborhood where Dr. Serra lives.”

Inside the safe house, the two of them shed their disguises and returned to their original appearances.

Just looking at Lu Mingqiu’s face, no one could say anything bad about her beauty, but when she was thinking, analyzing, sparks of intelligence danced in her eyes, at this time, her appearance was undoubtedly even more beautiful.

It was because this kind of beauty was alive, not a vase, an ornament, or an object that could be placed at will.

What truly made Yan Xianchuan notice her wasn’t her face, but the extraordinary soul beneath her appearance.

The longer they spent together, the more interesting she found her, she had many thoughts and secrets hidden in her heart, her beliefs, her personality, what was she really joining Starfire for?

Lu Mingqiu was like a book, the real content was wrapped in layers of shells, and she wanted to understand it.

“That rare raw material, it’s definitely not as simple as they say. If it was just too expensive, it wouldn’t be a problem at all, the monthly revenue of any top chaebol company would be worth several years of assets for a small family.”

“Half of Night City’s industries belong to the Dongye family, food, medicine, real estate… they cover almost every industry, how could they be short of money?”

Lu Mingqiu clasped her arms in front of her chest, “There must be other factors involved, we have to get Dr. Serra. Find out the secrets behind it.”

Deciphering the game, Yan Xianchuan said with a lack of interest, “Okay, okay.”

“Have you always been doing command work?” she said, “I mean, doing things like providing support, tasks that don’t involve getting your hands dirty.”

If that was the case, she found it a little boring.

“No.”

Lu Mingqiu raised the label “bloodthirsty” on her mental assessment sheet.

“Get ready, we’re going out tonight, to post a bounty mission.”

“Where to?” Yan Xianchuan asked.

“Sunrise Bar.” Lu Mingqiu replied.

Sunrise Bar was located on Black Goose Street, the sign had jellyfish-like colored lights hanging on it, and there was also an octopus light fixture next to the name, its tentacles resting on a reef, emitting a circle of blue flashes.

It seems like the owner of this bar likes marine life.

Black Goose Street was in the same block as the safe house, very close, choosing the safe house here must have been planned in advance.

Yan Xianchuan followed Lu Mingqiu into the bar, passing through the crowd of revelers, and came to a private room with a star chart tarot card pasted on the door.

The other doors were wine red, only this one was blue-black, making it stand out.

The latter knocked three times on the door and pushed it open, a thick black silk curtain greeted them, like a black river, blocking the interior from view.

Yan Xianchuan lifted the curtain, a mysterious room, something like a meeting room, came into view.

The reason she used “something like” was because she couldn’t be sure. Besides the few chairs placed on the black carpet in the middle, the books piled up in the corners, the constellation pendants hanging from the ceiling, the crystal ball on the coffee table, and the compass, crucifix, and other objects hanging on the wall, filled the entire room, making it very cramped.

Yan Xianchuan suspected that there might be a six-pointed star array hidden under the carpet where the chairs were placed, one that could summon demons.

A woman with long, flowing hair walked out from the inner room, her hair was as dark and curly as seaweed, a silver chain with pearls threaded through her hair, her face was painted with blue-green paint, her golden eyeliner was winged, like a peacock and also like a priestess.

“I love guests who are not late like you, please feel free to sit down.”

She pointed to a few chairs, Yan Xianchuan noticed that her nails were also painted gold-green, with a cat’s eye-like shimmer.

“Just call me Ms. Moon.” She sat on the only high-backed chair, “You’re guests introduced by Boss Hao, you have a 90% discount, tell me, what kind of bounty hunter do you want?”

“Someone who can get people into the Warren Building.” Lu Mingqiu said.

“Warren Building?” The self-proclaimed Ms. Moon raised her eyebrows, “That’s a bit difficult, let me think.”

She pondered for a few minutes, her fingertips swiping across the light screen, she seemed to be looking for someone, “This should work.”

She turned the light screen over, opened the permissions, a name popped up, and below it was his contact information.

Atmore.

“Welcome back next time, I also offer fortune-telling services here.”

Lu Mingqiu paid, took a string of contact numbers, and pushed open the door as Ms. Moon said goodbye.

“Are all intelligence dealers in bars?” Yan Xianchuan asked a soul-searching question.

“Bars are a melting pot, there’s a lot of traffic, so naturally there’s a lot of information.” Lu Mingqiu said, “I’ll contact this hunter first, wait for his reply, you can go to the bar and get a drink.”

“You really…”

“Go quickly.” Lu Mingqiu interrupted her mid-sentence, “There won’t be any seats later.”

Yan Xianchuan looked over, she only saw one empty seat, she made a valid point, but she still suspected that the other party just didn’t want to hear her say “you’re so nice.”

Yan Xianchuan looked at her for a while, she couldn’t find any reason to pick a fight, so she gave up and sat down at the bar, “I want a drink that doesn’t taste too strong, but the alcohol content isn’t too low, and it’s best if it’s sweet.”

This kind of request was unheard of among all the requests she had heard in her bartending career.

“The owner of this bar…” Yan Xianchuan said halfway through, the person opposite understood and continued.

“It’s Boss Hao.” The bartender said, “The one standing by the railing on the second floor.”

Ms. Moon didn’t look like the owner, she was so strange, how could the owner’s office be so small.

As they spoke, the bartender pushed a pale purple drink over, round ice cubes floated in the liquid, like plump, crystal-clear grape pulp.

Yan Xianchuan picked up the glass, just as she was about to take a sip, someone bumped her arm, the drink splashed out, soaking her.

She put down the glass and fixed her gaze on the person who bumped her, her voice calm, “You bumped into me.”

The person had green hair and was wearing a T-shirt with the words “Get Lost” printed on it, he glanced at her, “Yo, so what if I bumped into you?”

He leaned against the bar, revealing half a metal arm, his outstretched fingertips flashed with a cold light, “Give me a Hell’s Guest!”

“Didn’t your mother teach you that you should say sorry when you bump into someone?” Yan Xianchuan seemed puzzled, her voice was filled with a faint curiosity, but it sounded like a blatant insult to the other party.

“Damn it, you bitch, you dare to insult me?” The green-haired man jumped up, bared his teeth, and slapped her in the face.

Yan Xianchuan caught the slap, twisted her hand, there was a crisp sound, the green-haired man cried out in pain, his arm hung limply by his side, his face instantly turned as white as paper.

She stood up from the chair, the green-haired man widened his eyes, covered his shoulder and backed away, he said with bravado, “You dare to cause trouble here, Boss Hao won’t let you go!”

“Really?” Yan Xianchuan suddenly smiled, she quickly reached out and grabbed his hair, smashing his head against the bar, the glass was of good quality, but his head wasn’t that good, “Shouldn’t you be worried about yourself first?”

The bartender stepped aside, looking at the bloodstains on the glass, he said with a mixture of concern and amusement, “You broke something, Boss Hao is going to be angry.”

“I’ll pay for it.” Yan Xianchuan grabbed his head and slammed it against the bar again, bang bang bang, it sounded like she was smashing a watermelon.

“Apologize.”

“Stop it!” Lu Mingqiu had been watching her with her peripheral vision, she had hung up the communication with Su Hong as soon as the conflict started and rushed over, but there were too many people on the dance floor, it took her a while to squeeze through.

By the time she arrived, the green-haired man was in a sorry state, his forehead was swollen, his nose was broken, and he had probably lost a few teeth. As soon as Yan Xianchuan released her grip, he slid down the bar, leaving a long trail of blood, and fell to the ground unconscious.

He fainted, Yan Xianchuan looked as if she had just realized, she thought he was so stubborn, he wouldn’t open his mouth no matter what.

“He bumped into me first, I asked him to apologize, and he insulted me.” Yan Xianchuan said, looking innocent and wronged.

“Look, my clothes are all soaked, my hands are dirty, I didn’t even get a sip of my drink, it’s all over me.”

The purple wine had spread on her clothes, there were obvious water marks on her shirt and pants, Yan Xianchuan was wearing wet clothes, she looked pitiful, as if she had been bullied, and she was accusing the green-haired man of his evil deeds to Lu Mingqiu.

Lu Mingqiu looked at her, then at the green-haired man on the ground, his chest was heaving, his breathing was weak, but he was still alive.

Although the person on the ground was a little miserable, Yan Xianchuan had been a little too rough, but when Lu Mingqiu saw that the green-haired man was still breathing, she actually felt relieved, she felt inexplicably comforted.

The provocateur was still alive, Lu Mingqiu couldn’t ask for more.

As for telling her about “the crime doesn’t warrant this” kind of moral reasoning, Lu Mingqiu hadn’t even thought about it.

If she really did that, then she was the one with a problem, she should go and make an appointment for herself.

“I’ll buy you a new set.”

The people around them scattered into a circle, but the music didn’t stop. Boss Hao, who was stout and pot-bellied, swaggered down from upstairs, “What’s going on here? There’s blood.”

The bartender quickly explained what had happened.

“Get a few people, drag him out and throw him outside, don’t let him lie here, it’s not good for business.”

Boss Hao then looked at Yan Xianchuan, he smiled and said, “You’re quite ruthless, I won’t hold it against you for starting this, but that’s one thing, you have to pay me for the cleaning though.”

“I’ll pay.” Lu Mingqiu said, she transferred ten thousand credit points, “Are there any empty rooms upstairs, we need to change clothes.”

“There are rooms, and there are clothes.” Boss Hao waved his hand, the big gold chain on his wrist gleamed, a waiter walked over, “Take them to Room Six. No need to pay, they’ve already paid.”

“I haven’t finished my drink.” Yan Xianchuan said.

“…Get another one, the same one, come down and get it later.” Lu Mingqiu said.

The private room was just a normal hotel configuration, there was a bed, a shower room, a small cabinet, the only thing that wasn’t very common was the lighting, it was pink and purple.

Perhaps they were trying to create a hazy atmosphere.

“Are you angry?” Yan Xianchuan took a set of unisex short-sleeved workwear pants from the cabinet, tore off the tag, and asked casually.

“You always seem so calm and rational, do you ever have a time when your emotions take over?”

“I’m human, of course I get angry.” Lu Mingqiu said without turning around, her back to the chair, her tone was matter-of-fact, “But most of the time, relying on emotions to solve problems will only make things worse.”

“These clothes are so ugly,” Yan Xianchuan muttered, grimacing at the print as she changed. She pursed her lips. “I don’t think so. I’m very resilient. Have things ever been worse?”

Lu Mingqiu was thinking about how to answer the question without falling into the trap, when she suddenly heard a chuckle beside her ear, the other party had quietly leaned over without her noticing.

“Don’t you find it boring?”

Too close, and too sudden.

The warm breath brushed past her ear, Lu Mingqiu felt a chill run down her spine. What if she hadn’t leaned over to talk, but had twisted her neck? She hadn’t let down her guard, but she hadn’t noticed when the other party had gotten close.

“Methodical, rational, always having a plan for you to follow, you’re bound by worldly rules, so you’re always one step behind me. You want to be a hero, but heroes are destined to be held back by ordinary people.”

The syllables slowly entered her eardrums, Lu Mingqiu turned her head without changing her expression, meeting the other party’s gaze, her expression was calm, like a windless sea, “Not being able to control oneself is a sign of low intelligence, and you will always lose to me, because you are always too emotional, you only chase after your opponent, and ignore key details.”

“That’s a line from ‘The Saga of Salier’.”

“Oh, Madam has a good memory.” Yan Xianchuan straightened up, her eyes were as gentle as a hummingbird kissing a flower, her tone was intimate as she asked, “Do you remember how many days ago it was when you last smiled at me?”

“You’re treating me differently.”

The room fell into a hollow silence, a silence that suggested an impending storm.

Yan Xianchuan didn’t admit that she had mental problems, her insistence on “normalcy” had reached a point of absurdity. Lu Mingqiu didn’t know the reason behind it, but she knew that if she didn’t get over this, the balance that was barely maintained would be immediately broken.

An ordinary person wouldn’t be treated differently by others.

It was like standing at a fork in the road leading to a cliff, she had to choose the right path.

“I thought you didn’t like insincere pleasantries.” Lu Mingqiu said.

“I don’t, it’s a hassle.” Yan Xianchuan nodded in agreement, “But not liking it doesn’t mean I don’t need it.”

“It’s my problem.” Lu Mingqiu understood, she smiled at her gently, “You’ve changed clothes, let’s go downstairs, your drink is waiting for you.”

Her face was still that unremarkable, ordinary, and non-existent generic face, it had the ability to be forgotten even if you passed by it a hundred times on the road.

But she smiled slightly, her eyes curved, her lips lifted, her face was as if it had been suddenly softened with a layer of soft light.

Beauty is not defined,but Lu Mingqiu is beauty.

Yan Xianchuan was satisfied, she tugged at the ugly clothes on her body, “Did you get in touch with that Atmore? I want to go back and change as soon as possible.”

“He’ll be here soon, can you hold on a little longer?” Lu Mingqiu said apologetically and with a touch of pity, “Do you want to eat fries? Let’s buy some fries and wait while we eat, okay?”

Acting, this is the professional quality of an actor.

Yan Xianchuan knew she was acting, Lu Mingqiu knew that she knew she was acting, but it didn’t matter, she only cared about the result.

Besides, Lu Mingqiu’s demeanor and tone were flawless, as if she was born this way.

“Okay.” Yan Xianchuan seemed very happy, easier to coax than a three-year-old, “I like to eat fries.”

She happily went downstairs and happily sat down at the bar.

The glass tabletop was restored to its pristine state, there was no trace of blood on the ground, the crowd was reveling on the dance floor, as if nothing had happened.

“Your drink.” The bartender pushed the tall glass filled with liquor over, the ice cubes clinked together in the glass, making a series of crisp sounds.

“A small food platter.” Lu Mingqiu said.

“No problem.” The bartender shouted to the kitchen.

Fried food has an unspeakable magic, it can make people feel inexplicably happy and relaxed.

“Aren’t you eating?” Yan Xianchuan put a fry covered in ketchup in her mouth.

“You eat, I’m not hungry.” Lu Mingqiu said gently.

Yan Xianchuan: Why do I feel like I’m being treated like a child?

She was about to ponder this when a man with blond hair and blue eyes stood next to her, a classic European look, with pale skin and a cheerful tone of voice, “Finally met, I’m Atmore.”

“Let’s talk in the room.”

Room Six again.

Atmore put one hand in his pocket, “I charge a lot.”

“Price is no object, as long as you can complete the mission, without any mistakes.” Lu Mingqiu said, “Take two people into the Warren Building.”

“Guess what, I know a friend, she happens to live there, but she’s not easy to talk to, I can ask. But there’s one thing I need to say in advance,” Atmore raised a hand, “You’ll have to pay her separately.”

Yan Xianchuan held the unfinished snack platter, she sat quietly beside her, eating, watching Lu Mingqiu agree without batting an eye.

She obviously doesn’t know how to bargain.

Atmore’s friend was named Harper, she was a sex doll. She engaged in some work that involved selling her body for credit points, of course, it wasn’t just that.

Some sex dolls lived in their workspaces, burdened with huge debts, while others, like Harper, lived in the Warren Building.

The holographic projection of the communication made her appear in front of them like a real person.

Harper was wearing a black leather jacket, one foot was on the chair, the tip of her high heels sank into the chair, she was putting on a leg ring, she didn’t even look up.

“Get to the point, I have business to attend to.”

Her voice was as thick and intoxicating as the strongest liquor.

The two of them seemed to be very familiar, Atmore shrugged, “I’m just here to introduce you to some business, take people into Warren, it’s that simple.”

The hand with red nail polish stopped on the buckle, Harper straightened up and looked over, Yan Xianchuan saw her face for the first time, she was a woman as vibrant and thorny as a rose.

“The building is under lockdown lately, security is very tight, they have to go through security checks every time they enter or leave.” Harper’s gaze fell on the two of them, she snorted, “You can tell there’s something special going on, you want me to take people in at this time?”

“Do you know why I’ve lived so long?” Harper’s eyes were mocking, “Because I never touch anything I shouldn’t.”

“Hanging up.”

The scene fell silent again, only the sound of Yan Xianchuan eating.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, it’s guaranteed to work.” Atmore laughed awkwardly, he made another call, “You don’t even want the money! This job will be enough for three months of your income!”

Harper’s voice was filled with clear and distinct sarcasm, “I want money, and I want my life, don’t bring me along if you don’t want your life.”

“Don’t hang up! You’re rejecting without even asking, at least listen to the reason.” Atmore said repeatedly.

“Okay, then tell me, what’s the reason?” Harper scoffed.

“Well… wait a minute.” Atmore coughed lightly, “She wants to ask you why you want to go into the building.”

“To find someone.” Lu Mingqiu said. “It’s best to talk in person, it’s not safe to talk online.”

“Don’t worry about the compensation, I’ll give you a price that everyone will be satisfied with.”

“Is it dangerous?” Atmore asked.

“You just need to take us in, you don’t have to do anything else.”

“I’ll think about it.” Harper said, “I’ll give you an answer tomorrow morning.”

They added contact numbers, the two of them left the bar and returned to the safe house, they ordered some late-night snacks.

Yan Xianchuan was wearing her changed home clothes, she sat on the sofa and said slowly, “You said we should talk in person, wasn’t that to make it easier to control people?”

“If she insists on disagreeing.” Lu Mingqiu said, she opened a small box, inside were two round daifuku, “Here you go, strawberry filling.”

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