Mental Illness Evolution Manual - Chapter 28

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After a while, Yan Xianchuan slowly ate her dessert, then she suddenly blurted out in a mumbling voice, “You swore.”

Lu Mingqiu: “…I can say ‘go to hell, you idiot’ in fifteen languages, do you want to hear it?”

“Really?” Yan Xianchuan turned her head, her eyes sparkling, as if she had taken a stimulant, “Can you teach me? Ugh, I can’t swear, I’m often bullied because I’m too polite, people curse at me, and I can’t even retort.”

Normally, the person probably wouldn’t curse a second time, right? Although she wouldn’t retort, she would fight back, wouldn’t she?

Lu Mingqiu couldn’t help but scoff, she shook her head, “Good children don’t swear, being polite is a good thing, if someone curses at you next time, you can tell me.”

Yan Xianchuan didn’t agree immediately, instead, she thought for a while and said, “If I curse back, can I not fight back?”

“That depends on how things develop.” Lu Mingqiu replied.

“Then forget it.” Yan Xianchuan put the last cherry in her mouth, she squinted her eyes because of the sweet and sour taste, “I’ll be very sad if I can’t pull out his tongue.”

What a textbook perfect answer, Lu Mingqiu thought, she didn’t make any comments.

“Are you really not going to get yourself one?” she said, biting her fork, “You exercise so much, it’s perfectly fine to eat some high-calorie food.”

“No, I’m prone to gaining weight.” Lu Mingqiu said.

“Ugh, it’s clear that disciplined people are scarier than crazy people.” Yan Xianchuan said.

The air conditioning in the dessert shop was very strong, in the outdoor temperature that could cook an egg, the indoor temperature was as cool as a spring morning.

The sweet scent of honey and cream filled the air, even the floor was soft and beige, there wasn’t a speck of dust in the corner, neatly dressed waiters carried trays, they spoke softly as they served the guests their meals.

Outside the bright and clean glass windows, the passersby were also dressed in fine clothes, their makeup was exquisite, they held umbrellas to block the scorching sun.

The East District and the West District were separated by a bridge over the river, but they were like two different worlds.

Yesterday, they were still living in a dilapidated rental house in the West District, today they were sitting in a high-end dessert shop, enjoying a cake worth hundreds or thousands of credit points.

Lu Mingqiu tipped the waiter, she received a brighter smile in return.

—The most fundamental determining factor in being able to enjoy these things is money.

So even though their clothes weren’t designer labels, people mistook them for bespoke garments. The same outfit, in the West District, looked sloppy, worn, and cheap; in the East District, it exuded a carefree elegance, a unique style, a lived-in experience.

Lu Mingqiu had long been accustomed to all this, she had also passed the age of being cynical and showing all her dissatisfaction on her face, but as she looked at the happy face of the person beside her, she felt that at least having money was a good thing.

She had a cup of milk tea in front of her, and half a cup of cold boiled water, the former was ordered by the person next to her, the latter was ordered by herself.

Lu Mingqiu, without thinking, picked up the straw and took a sip, the translucent golden-brown pearls fell into her mouth along the straw, she bit down, it was a slightly sweet, soft, and elastic texture.

Actually, it was quite delicious.

“Is it good?” Yan Xianchuan noticed this, she leaned over like a thief.

Lu Mingqiu nodded.

“What’s wrong with having a little bit occasionally, such deliciousness, not even trying it, wouldn’t that be a waste of life?” Yan Xianchuan raised her hand and called over the waiter, she pointed at the floating screen menu on the table, and ordered four or five more small cakes, “Two of each.”

“I can’t eat that much.” Lu Mingqiu said helplessly.

“I can eat the rest.” Yan Xianchuan said.

The other party didn’t say anything.

Lu Mingqiu was an extremely disciplined person, in Yan Xianchuan’s limited life, she had never seen anyone like her.

There was everything in the escape game, the thing they didn’t lack was crazy people, but Lu Mingqiu, how to describe her, her self-control was almost inhuman.

She had a schedule, she exercised at a fixed time every day, she didn’t eat high-calorie, oily, or spicy food, she studied, she read, she scheduled herself from morning to night, even her relaxation time was fixed.

The point wasn’t the schedule, but that she followed it every day, no rest, no holidays.

Yan Xianchuan couldn’t do it herself, she wasn’t a planner, she preferred to act on a whim. She could also make plans when she was doing certain things, but if she had to do it like Lu Mingqiu, she would probably kill the person who made this request on the third day.

Like a robot, she really didn’t understand what supported her in her unwavering persistence for years.

Yan Xianchuan didn’t understand her, and she didn’t understand anyone in this world, it was as if she was missing a processor in her brain, she couldn’t understand.

Why was pushing someone into a pond wrong, why was pointing out the logical errors in someone’s words wrong, why did you have to apologize when you refused someone, why did you have to comfort someone when they were sad, what was sadness, it was just a few words, what kind of magic did it have, could the dead come back to life if you said it, could things that had already happened be reversed?

She didn’t understand.

She memorized these rules, just like she memorized one plus one equals two.

When you see someone crying, you have to say I’m sorry, are you okay, when you refuse to participate in a group activity, you have to say sorry, I have plans, when someone is in trouble, you have to offer help, when they achieve something, you have to praise them, when they fail, you have to encourage them…

She practiced her expressions in front of the mirror, she got her parents’ approval, and then she used these rules to integrate into the crowd, as if she wasn’t different from anyone else.

Even after a hundred years, she wouldn’t be able to understand, but the taste of frosting melting on her tongue was still the same, she liked sweets.

The two of them finished everything on the table, to be precise, Yan Xianchuan finished it all by herself, just as they were about to leave, a waiter came over and handed them two parasols, “The sun is very strong outside, please take these.”

What considerate service, the waiter had a polite and friendly smile, he put the parasols in their hands.

Physical sun protection is always one of the most effective methods.

The two of them stood by the side of the road for a while, Lu Mingqiu raised her hand and hailed a taxi, she gave the address.

The new safe house was almost the same as the previous one, a fully furnished model house, there were no signs of use, it was probably newly rented, or maybe it was newly bought.

Two bedrooms, one for each of them, Yan Xianchuan chose the smaller one, the second bedroom without its own bathroom.

She could have chosen the master bedroom, Lu Mingqiu wouldn’t have disagreed, maybe it was out of habit, out of her rational application of social rules, Yan Xianchuan chose this room almost without hesitation.

Although there was air conditioning in the car, she hadn’t been exposed to the sun for long, but the high temperature still made Yan Xianchuan sweat.

She went to the bathroom and took a shower, the pajamas were new, they were hanging on the clothes rack, she took them down and put them on.

Yan Xianchuan stepped on her slippers, she threw herself onto the soft bed, she turned her head and looked out the window at the clouds outside, they were rolling, snow-white, like cotton candy.

Different world, and yet the sky seemed to be the same.

She rolled around on the bed twice, then got up, she went to the living room and turned on the TV, she searched for Lu Mingqiu’s movies to watch.

Two peaceful, uneventful days passed, successfully transforming Yan Xianchuan into a couch potato with a vacant stare. Ten times a day, she’d ask the other person in the house, “Still no news? When are we acting?” She’d sarcastically remark that Dongye He was a coward and an ignoramus, unfamiliar with the idiom “a clean cut,” which explained why he was constantly overshadowed by Dongye Zhengqi.

Lu Mingqiu silently assessed her mental state, she was considering whether to take her out for a walk, let her get some fresh air, and take care of a few evil criminals, to get her spirits up.

Then she received a text message.

Lu Mingqiu walked over to the person, a smile appeared on her lips, “Do you want to go out for a walk?”

Yan Xianchuan gave her a disinterested and emotionless look.

“Atmore said he got a mission, it’s a good chance for us to see his skills.” Lu Mingqiu said softly.

“What mission?” Yan Xianchuan raised her eyelids.

“It seems to be against a small gang or something, if you don’t want to go, I’ll decline.” Lu Mingqiu said, she raised her hand and was about to type on the floating screen.

“Wait!” Yan Xianchuan flipped over and sat up, “I want to go!”

“Remember to bring a gun.” Lu Mingqiu reminded her.

Yan Xianchuan was as agile as a monkey on a jungle, she jumped up from the sofa, pulled open the drawer and took a gun, she handed another one to Lu Mingqiu.

The safe house came with transportation, there was a car and a motorcycle to choose from, this time they chose the latter.

Lu Mingqiu sat in the front, she started the car, Yan Xianchuan sat in the back, she put her arms around her waist.

It was thin.

The wind from the speeding car dissipated the heat, and it also blew Lu Mingqiu’s scent to her nose, it was the smell of shampoo, the same one she had smelled in Nanjin City.

A normal safe house wouldn’t have a specific brand of shampoo, it must have been something Lu Mingqiu specifically requested.

Speaking of which, what did her pheromones smell like?

Yan Xianchuan had only smelled pheromones once since she came to this world, it was on Tan Yiyuan’s wife. The few omegas she had come into contact with were all during the filming of the reality show, they had all injected suppressants, they wouldn’t let themselves release pheromones.

And the people she met in her daily life were either betas or alphas, but she couldn’t tell the difference between the two, over time, if it hadn’t been for her conversation with Lu Mingqiu about omegas, she would have forgotten that this was a world with complex and diverse genders.

She said to Lu Mingqiu through internal communication, “After the glands are removed, can you still produce pheromones?”

Lu Mingqiu’s voice was calm, “No, why are you suddenly asking this?”

“I was just suddenly curious what your pheromones smell like.” Yan Xianchuan said, “Can you smell other people’s pheromones?”

“Theoretically, I can, but it will be very faint.” Lu Mingqiu chuckled, “As for my pheromones, they’re very ordinary, how to describe them, um… freshly baked bread?”

“That’s delicious! What a pity.” Yan Xianchuan smacked her lips, she repeated, “What a pity.”

“My pheromone suppressant seems to be expiring.” She reached out a hand and touched the back of her neck, it was smooth, she didn’t touch anything.

“I’ll have someone send it over tonight. Research department product, one dose lasts for half a year.” Lu Mingqiu said.

That’s also strange, this society still values freedom and autonomy, logically, pheromones are a natural part of the human body, but regardless of whether it’s an alpha or an omega, they will choose to hide it.

To make themselves more human? So they hide the side of them that is more like an animal.

Yan Xianchuan sighed in a feigned manner, she would never understand these people.

The location Atmore gave was on the far left side of the West District, the low buildings squeezed the space tightly, the bottom floor was all shops, with all sorts of signs hanging up.

Because it was daytime, the lights weren’t on, the rusty metal frames were particularly obvious. Several ragged vagrants were lying on cardboard boxes, hugging each other’s smelly feet, yellow and white vomit lay on the ground nearby.

Yan Xianchuan took a look, she gagged and quickly turned her head, “I should have brought a gas mask.”

Lu Mingqiu pulled out a mask from her pocket as if by magic and handed it to her.

Yan Xianchuan quickly put it on, after a while, she said, “Although I really want to thank you, sometimes having a good sense of smell isn’t a good thing.”

It was useless, she could still smell it clearly.

If this were a dungeon, this kind of environmental annoyance wouldn’t be a problem at all, the stench from a corpse’s open mouth, the decaying body, a thousand times more gruesome than this, she could still face it without changing her expression.

But this wasn’t a dungeon, it was the real world, Yan Xianchuan was also slowly regaining the behavior of a normal person. It was normal to feel disgusted by human waste, so she frowned and showed a look of disgust.

“I see Atmore.” Lu Mingqiu said.

Yan Xianchuan immediately shifted her attention, her furrowed brows relaxed, she followed the other party’s gaze and saw Atmore pacing back and forth outside a repair shop, his mouth moving rapidly, a layer of anger appeared on his face.

“Is he on the phone?” Yan Xianchuan asked, she couldn’t read lips.

“He’s greeting the other person.” Lu Mingqiu said, “Now he’s concerned about the other person’s health.”

They walked over, Yan Xianchuan heard the last sentence.

“Yeah, just let someone ruin your ass, you spineless coward!” Atmore spat, he turned around angrily, glaring at the two people who were staring at him strangely, “What are you looking at, never seen someone swear before?”

“It’s me.” Lu Mingqiu said concisely.

Different faces, but the same voice, Atmore suddenly realized, “You changed your face? So fast?”

“A small device.” Lu Mingqiu replied, “You’ll have one too when you become a full member.”

“Big organizations have good benefits.” Atmore couldn’t help but exclaim. The next moment, he remembered what he had just said, his eyes immediately darted around, he cleared his throat tactically, “I was just on the phone with some trash.”

Speaking of this, his expression turned resentful once more. “You can truly see what kind of people they are in critical moments; they all run away faster than if their house were on fire. I wouldn’t expect them to be loyal; I wouldn’t even expect a stray dog on the side of the road to speak human language.”

“That’s how it is, I know a friend, she usually delivers goods for the Blood Pigeon Gang, it’s not anything dangerous, it’s food.” Atmore added, “She runs a fast food restaurant.”

“You guys should know about the Blood Pigeon Gang; I won’t bother introducing them. But last month, they intercepted a shipment from the old man—he runs the entertainment venues in the West District. I don’t know what was in the shipment. They’re a powerful gang, and fighting over territory is fine; it doesn’t affect us. But the old man’s people took Xiaolin!”

“Just because Xiaolin is in a relationship with a member of the Blood Pigeon Gang, they can’t do anything to the Blood Pigeon Gang, so they took Xiaolin to vent their anger, they want to forcibly turn her into a sex doll!”

“No one who gets taken by the old man survives. I’ve seen the people there, they work day and night, they don’t make much money, they wear their bodies out in a few months.” Atmore almost squeezed these words out through gritted teeth.

“And that bastard boyfriend of hers, he didn’t even care, I went to find him, he just said he broke up with Xiaolin, they weren’t together anymore.”

Atmore gritted his teeth, he punched the wall, “What a beast! I’ve been looking down on him for a long time.”

“You want to go save that Xiaolin, right?” Yan Xianchuan tilted her head.

“Yes.” Atmore took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, “Actually, I’ve already made some connections, I know where Xiaolin is being held, she’s just an ordinary girl, there won’t be many guards.”

He pulled the corner of his mouth, revealing a genuine wry smile, “If it’s too troublesome, if it’s urgent, the message I sent was a plea for help.”

“There’s an abandoned clothing factory, the old man turned it into a clinic, they have their own prosthetic doctors, they specialize in turning captured people into sex dolls.” Atmore pointed north, “We’ll talk as we walk.”

“The clothing factory is usually deserted, there are no nosy punks going there to cause trouble, the people here all know it’s the old man’s territory, no one wants to risk their lives.” He said.

“Xiaolin will be sent there in a while, the doctor will first treat her injuries, because these bastards will definitely do something to her, then they’ll start the transformation, implanting chips.”

“Have you known her for a long time?” Yan Xianchuan asked, “You care about her a lot.”

“I’ve known her for over a year.” Atmore said, he put his hands in his pockets, his golden hair shimmered in the sunlight, “Her fried chicken is different from what other stores sell, I always go to her place to eat.”

Yan Xianchuan waited a while before saying, “That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Atmore said, “We’re friends, that’s reason enough, it doesn’t matter how long we’ve known each other.”

“Unlike that scumbag, they’ve been together for three years, they’re supposed to get married, he’s trash, worse than trash!”

Yan Xianchuan: “The King of Trash?”

Lu Mingqiu pursed her lips, she suppressed an untimely smile, she gave her a look, telling her not to say anything. The latter shut her mouth, her eyes were innocent.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?” she said.

“Really, I don’t need it.” Atmore patted his bulging side, “I’m prepared, and I’m not the kind of person who likes to show off and die for face, just consider this an assessment. It’s just that without an assessment, I always feel empty inside.”

“You’re decision.” Lu Mingqiu said.

“Don’t worry, I’m very measured. There’s usually only one assistant at the black market doctor’s, even if they transport people there, there will be at most two people, I can definitely handle them.” Atmore said confidently.

“After you rescue Xiaolin, what are you going to do with her?” Lu Mingqiu asked again, “You’ve offended the old man’s people, what are you going to do, they don’t sound like the kind of gang who’s easy to talk to.”

“That depends on what Xiaolin chooses, if she wants to leave Night City, I can find a way to send her away, actually, it’s not bad to settle down in another place, she has the skills to cook, she can make a good living anywhere. Night City…” Atmore’s tone was sarcastic, he shook his head and said, “Night City really isn’t a place for humans.”

“If she doesn’t want to leave, I also know a doctor who can help people get plastic surgery and change their faces, that way she can just live with a new face.” He said, “But it’s better than being retaliated against again and losing your life.”

He thought it through, and he left the choice to Xiaolin herself, he wasn’t making a decision for her out of his own wishful thinking.

“That’s the clothing factory.” Atmore pointed to the gray-black building at the end of the street, “Let’s wait here for a while.”

He took the lead and walked into a store selling virtual dream tapes.

The store wasn’t big, and it was a little messy, a young man with headphones was sitting behind the counter, his hands were frantically pressing on the light screen, he was almost pressing out a double image, he didn’t even look up, he said, “If you want to buy something, look for yourself, there’s a machine in the back, free trial for three minutes, overtime you have to buy.”

Atmore wasn’t there to buy anything, so he found a window seat, pulled up a stool and sat down, observing every car that passed by.

Yan Xianchuan was very interested, she had only seen a virtual dream once, the experience was very bad, but she had researched it later, the content of the virtual dream was very extensive, it included not only videos recorded from a real person’s perspective, but also virtual scenes, such as Mars, the moon, the Middle Ages. The main god should really learn, don’t always do amusement parks, hospitals, villages, castles, it’s really unoriginal.

“Are there any two-person virtual dreams?” Yan Xianchuan asked.

“There are, but those are just scenes, there’s no real person’s perspective.” Lu Mingqiu said, “Current technology can only support one person’s immersive experience.”

“I thought the ones on the market were far from the actual level.” Yan Xianchuan picked up a tape with “The Saint’s Journey” written on the packaging, she saw a young man, who was almost naked, wearing a gray robe, lying in the woods with a flushed face, she immediately put it back, she even wiped her hands on her pants.

“There’s a difference between military and civilian use, but there are still some technical problems with two-person simulation that haven’t been broken through.” Lu Mingqiu saw this, but she pretended not to see it, she explained the previous question.

“Ah…” Yan Xianchuan looked very disappointed, “I wanted to watch a movie with you.”

“But what is the Blood Pigeon Gang?” She continued, “I don’t know about it.”

“The Blood Pigeon Gang is the controller of the black market, most of the black markets in the city are their industry, they’re the gray area power brokers that the government tacitly allows. And their leader is very smart, he’s well-versed in the art of self-preservation and pretending to be deaf and dumb, he trades with anyone, he doesn’t favor any side.”

Lu Mingqiu commented, “It’s not so much fair and impartial, but more like a fence-sitter.”

“Most bounty hunters are also affiliated with the black market, so in terms of gang size and scale, the Blood Pigeon Gang is undoubtedly the largest.”

“We can’t even compete with them?” Yan Xianchuan asked.

“We’re taking the elite route.” Lu Mingqiu said.

“Here they come!” Atmore shouted softly.

They stopped talking and looked out the window, a black van stopped in front of the clothing factory, two people got out of the car, they opened the trunk and carried someone inside.

They couldn’t see her face, but her long brown hair was hanging down, swaying with her body.

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