Mental Illness Evolution Manual - Chapter 98

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What did she say, and why did she feel compelled to say it once they were outside?

Yan Xianchuan looked at her blankly, like she was looking at an unsolvable problem.

But she knew that once Lu Mingqiu decided on something, it was hard to change her mind. Since she said she had to say it outside, she wouldn’t reveal it beforehand.

Maybe, maybe she wanted to give her something to look forward to… Yan Xianchuan guessed.

The hemostatic spray was working. Although she couldn’t feel whether her blood was still flowing, the spray had started to take effect. Her body was also repairing itself, at a very slow pace.

She had survived the most difficult moment.

“Okay,” Yan Xianchuan said. She didn’t have anything else to say.

Then her lover gently touched her face and pulled her back into her arms.

Communication was quickly restored. Lu Mingqiu wrapped one arm around Yan Xianchuan, and with the other hand, she opened the floating screen. She saw her teammates’ avatars, almost half of them were black. Her heart sank.

Although it was expected, seeing this still made her heart tighten.

The explosion was too powerful.

They weren’t at ground zero, and they weren’t on the surface—they were incredibly fortunate. Had they not been underground, had they faced the initial impact directly, everyone would have been instantly vaporized.

But the damage was still too high.

Lu Mingqiu couldn’t count how many missiles had fallen. The sound of the explosions was continuous, she couldn’t hear clearly anymore. She had expected that after Azberto’s death, they would definitely be pursued and retaliated against. So the people who were supposed to pick them up were waiting in the airship. The communication breakdown was the signal to act.

With their abilities, even if they faced the impact of the reinforcements, they could hold out for a while. When the airship arrived, they could retreat quickly.

Lu Mingqiu couldn’t imagine that the rebels’ retaliation would be so fierce. They didn’t care about the other soldiers and civilians in the city at all. They directly chose to bomb Gaoshan City.

After all, there were still many of Azberto’s confidants here, they hadn’t been transferred yet. She didn’t know who gave the order, but they didn’t even care about their own people’s lives.

It was truly insane.

If Yan Xianchuan wasn’t here, I probably wouldn’t have survived either.

Between life and death, it all came down to luck.

Lu Mingqiu’s gaze swept over the names of her fallen teammates one by one: Pepper, Hercules, Maple Leaf, White Dove… there were too many. Some of them had been on missions with her, some of them were comrades she had trained with. She clearly remembered everyone’s past.

Pepper always complained that she couldn’t find a partner. She was full of poison, no one could touch her. But the reason she awakened this ability was to escape from the hands of others.

She was rescued from an underground clinic. The black doctor was about to turn her into a sex doll.

And the reason she was there was very simple. A young master had taken a liking to her and wanted to turn her into his exclusive slave.

Hercules was found in a homeless camp. Most of the others were rescued from the church’s experimental base or snatched from the tycoons’ guards.

There were too many… too many sacrifices, heavy losses.

Every ability user was a precious asset to the organization. To die like this, the blow to the organization was immeasurable.

As soon as communication was restored, everyone who was still alive quickly explained their current situation, their location, and their injuries.

The survivors were lucky. Some had abrasions, fractures, cuts, etc… Compared to death, these were all minor injuries.

The unfortunate ones couldn’t hold out until now.

Only White was in a bad way. His left hand was broken.

A piece of iron sheet slammed down, it was covered with countless stones. It directly severed his palm.

But the Holy Knight was by his side, he used his ability to stop the bleeding. His condition was currently stable, but White had never been so badly injured before. He had fainted from the pain.

The fact that he was still alive was a blessing in disguise. His hand could be cultivated with a new prosthetic when they returned to the base, it would be the same as the original.

Lu Mingqiu glanced at their location. They weren’t too far from her. She briefly comforted the survivors, then immediately contacted the people who were waiting outside.

“We’re all buried underground. There are eight of us left.”

But the other person said, “I can’t go there immediately.”

Then Lu Mingqiu received a video. In the video, green mist was billowing and spreading, it had already covered half of Gaoshan City. You could faintly see many figures in the mist.

The perspective gradually rose and ascended into the air. There was only endless green on the ground, you could hardly see the boundary.

The deputy had even blown up Gaoshan City, he naturally wouldn’t care about anything else. He had used the remaining missiles to target the Federation’s legions.

No one was controlling it. The mutated potion was blown by the strong wind and the shockwave of the explosion, it had already spread for dozens of miles, and it was still extending outwards.

The people left in the mist were in a precarious situation. It was hard to say whether they were normal people or lunatics.

Only one person could rescue them, but he couldn’t get through.

Faced with this situation, Lu Mingqiu was also helpless. She could only wait, wait for the Federation to come and collect the potion, then they could be rescued.

“You retreat first. Go to Lipe’a City and wait for instructions.”

Then she contacted the Minister of Finance in the capital, another leader of the Resistance, and explained the situation.

The latter immediately said, “Rescue will arrive soon. It’s estimated to take a day. Can you hold out?”

It would take a day to transport the equipment to clean up such a large area of poisonous gas. They would also need to mobilize enough troops to suppress the patients. A day was incredibly fast.

“We can,” Lu Mingqiu said.

She sent their coordinates, then she said to the others, “Rescue will arrive in a day. To reduce physical exertion, you can sleep for a while.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll survive.”

Their injuries weren’t serious, a day wouldn’t be difficult to endure. What worried Lu Mingqiu was Yan Xianchuan.

But she couldn’t say it. If she passed on her worries and fears, it would only make things worse.

She could only tell them the good news and swallow the bad news.

“I’ve contacted the people outside. We’ll be able to get out in a day.”

“That’s good.”

“Why don’t you seem very happy?” Yan Xianchuan asked.

Because you will miss the best time for treatment, the consequences are unpredictable.

“…Many comrades sacrificed themselves,” Lu Mingqiu wrote.

So that’s it!

Yan Xianchuan quickly accepted this explanation. After all, she didn’t take her own injury to heart.

Her lover was very kind. At this moment, she must be very sad.

What should I do?

What should I do, what should I do, what should I do… Yan Xianchuan racked her brains, trying to recall the social knowledge she had learned, trying to find a few suitable methods.

After thinking for a long time, her mind went blank.

It’s over, she thought sadly, I seem to have Alzheimer’s now.

But thankfully, heaven still favored her, allowing her to grasp a fragment of memory.

Usually, when someone is sad, you have to see the situation, see if they want to be alone or if they want psychological comfort.

If it’s the former, then you have to give them enough personal space. If it’s the latter, it’s more complicated. You have to comfort them verbally and physically.

Verbal comfort… Yan Xianchuan frowned, she thought and thought, then said, “They… they, um…”

“Went to heaven early? No, no,” she mumbled, “Happy death? No, no. It’s, it’s… they died for a good cause!”

“Yes, they must have felt that their sacrifice was worthwhile. Don’t be sad.”

That should be the end of it, right?

It’s so hard, human interaction, it’s really too hard.

Yan Xianchuan felt a pang of sadness. When will my smart brain be returned to me? Which organ is responsible for blood production? Why isn’t it working faster!

Her head was spinning, she was afraid of saying the wrong thing again. But she couldn’t not say anything. Lu Mingqiu was sad, how could she pretend not to see it?

As for physical comfort, Yan Xianchuan had a flash of inspiration, she immediately cheered up.

She knew this one. Of course, it was to eat something sweet. Eating sweets would make people happy and emotionally stable. She remembered that.

She liked to eat sweets.

“Do you want some candy?”

Lu Mingqiu was feeling a mixture of sadness and joy, she was both amused and helpless when she suddenly heard this person ask.

“Candy? Did you bring candy?”

Yan Xianchuan tilted her head, she used one arm to prop herself up slightly. She stretched out her other hand, closed it, then opened it. A clean, brightly packaged milk candy lay quietly in her palm.

“Look!”

“Here, have some.”

Lu Mingqiu took the pink and white packaged milk candy into her hand and examined it carefully. It was indeed a real milk candy.

The packaging was delicate and small, it was like it had just been taken from a candy store. It still had a sweet milky scent. You didn’t even have to put it in your mouth to faintly taste its flavor.

It must be a very delicious milk candy.

It appeared in her hand out of thin air.

Lu Mingqiu didn’t know that this person had this ability. Was this also a kind of ability?

If it counted, along with her strength, her body’s defense mechanism, her senses that were far beyond normal… how many abilities was that?

Could one person have several different types of abilities?

And all the strange things she had said before, the discrepancies with the information, each one made Lu Mingqiu doubt.

Who was Yan Xianchuan? Was she her, or was she someone else? What secrets did she hide…

The colorful candy wrapper pressed against her palm. But this person didn’t seem to realize that she had revealed something extraordinary. Instead, she kept urging her, “Why aren’t you eating it? It’s delicious, it’s very sweet.”

“Eat some sweets, you’ll feel better. Really, eat it.”

Lu Mingqiu quietly tore off the wrapper and put the round, white milk candy in her mouth. As soon as the candy touched her tongue, a refreshing sweetness instantly spread throughout her mouth.

It was full of milk flavor, but not at all cloying.

Just like she said, it was very delicious.

“It smells so good,” Yan Xianchuan sniffed, “So sweet…”

Lu Mingqiu stared at her face, thinking: Is this a good time to talk?

The two of them were trapped here, in a quiet, small, undisturbed corner. The person she wanted to question was still not fully conscious. She would probably say whatever came to mind.

Besides the suspicion of taking advantage of someone, there didn’t seem to be any other drawbacks.

She slowly wrote down this sentence, “Is this your ability?”

“It’s not an ability,” Yan Xianchuan said dizzily, “It’s my…”

She was about to say skill, but her nerves suddenly felt like they were electrocuted. It was like when she was drowsy and someone poured a bucket of ice water on her head. It was cold and stimulating. Yan Xianchuan instantly woke up.

Even the dizziness caused by blood loss, the culprit of her confusion, disappeared completely.

That kind of wakefulness was like she had a new brain.

It was the main god warning her not to talk nonsense.

Yan Xianchuan blinked a few times, “Um, it’s also an ability.”

Lu Mingqiu looked at her deeply, “You didn’t say that just now.”

“Yes, I lied. I’m sorry,” she said guiltily, lowering her head, “I don’t want to lie, but I can’t tell the truth.”

“We agreed to be honest with each other, but I can’t say it.” Her voice was low and weak, “Can you forgive me?”

“You have many secrets,” Lu Mingqiu said calmly, continuing to write.

Yan Xianchuan secretly glanced at her, but she couldn’t tell anything. She frowned in distress, she said honestly, “That’s right.”

“There shouldn’t be any secrets between us, right?” Lu Mingqiu wrote slowly.

After writing this sentence, the other person’s face clearly became even more difficult to look at. It was a kind of awkwardness that was both guilty, flustered, worried, and troubled.

“Then let’s do this. I ask, you answer. Okay?”

Yan Xianchuan nodded.

“Are you…” She had only written two words when Lu Mingqiu suddenly stopped.

Should she really ask? If she asked this question, if she broke through this windowpane, what would happen if their relationship fell apart?

But since she had already decided to accept this person’s love, she couldn’t tolerate any instability or uncertainty.

She was honest, and Yan Xianchuan had to be too.

If the answer she got was unacceptable, or if it directly caused them to go their separate ways, then she would accept it.

But once that happened, for her own safety, for her ideal cause, the other person probably wouldn’t be able to leave here alive.

Yan Xianchuan was still anxiously waiting for her.

Lu Mingqiu paused, then continued to write, “Are you her? If you can’t answer, I can ask something else.”

Seeing this sentence being written out bit by bit, Yan Xianchuan felt like her heart had stopped beating. But then she thought, she had been nonchalant before, she hadn’t tried to hide or disguise the differences between her and the original owner.

Even now, she hadn’t deliberately hidden it.

It was only natural that she would be discovered. Besides, Lu Mingqiu was so smart, she probably had already figured it out.

She didn’t ask before, she pretended to be deaf and dumb. Now she suddenly asked, there must be a deeper reason. Yan Xianchuan instinctively realized that this question was important. She had to be on her guard and answer carefully.

Thank you, main god, for returning my smart brain at the last minute.

Questions that didn’t involve the main god could be answered.

Yan Xianchuan thought carefully and replied, “I’m not, but I’m her from a parallel world. Our names and appearances are the same.”

“The me you know has always been me.”

The concept of parallel worlds was old-fashioned. Even now, there were still countless speculations. The more advanced technology became, the more curious humans became.

Perhaps curiosity was the real reason why humans continued to progress and continued to die.

“I’ll tell you what I can, then you can ask me again. How about that?”

“Okay,” Lu Mingqiu had no objections.

She didn’t seem particularly shocked, and she didn’t show any strange expressions. Yan Xianchuan breathed a sigh of relief. She carefully chose her words and said, “I came here after this body died. A few months ago, there was a news report about the Mechanical Holy Land attacking an airship, kidnapping Dr. Morian, and causing the airship to explode.”

“She was on the airship. She was pierced in the stomach by the airship debris. She was already dead when she fell. But even if she hadn’t died then, her single-person parachute was gone. She would have fallen to her death anyway.”

“I guess I’m a case of possessing a body?”

“I don’t have her memories, so I only found out later that she was from the Mechanical Holy Land.”

“I also came here after I died. These abilities are my own.”

Her tone was sincere, her gaze was genuine, “These things are very strange. Did you understand?”

“What I said before, about myself, those things actually happened. There wasn’t a single lie.”

After saying this, she looked at Lu Mingqiu anxiously, not knowing what her fate would be.

It was really absurd. If she had gone back to her previous life, if someone had told her, “I’m not me, I’m me from a parallel world. I’m a time traveler,” she would have thought that this person should be in a mental hospital.

But she was a mental patient herself… Yan Xianchuan suddenly froze.

These things sounded like crazy things that a mentally unstable person would say. But considering her identity, it seemed normal for her to talk crazy.

…It’s so hard to be human.

The longer the other person was silent, the more disheartened she became.

“I’m telling the truth,” Yan Xianchuan repeated softly, “I really didn’t lie to you, really.”

After an unknown amount of time, it felt like an eternity to her. Finally, the other person moved.

“I know,” Lu Mingqiu wrote.

—Know what? That I’m telling the truth, or that I’m not the real person?

Yan Xianchuan looked at her hand anxiously, afraid of misreading a single word.

“You said you passed away?” she wrote.

“Um,” Yan Xianchuan was stunned. She didn’t really want to talk about this, she simply replied, “I jumped off a building. I didn’t want to live anymore.”

She didn’t understand why she was chosen by the main god after she died. Perhaps it was because of her nature. Of course, the facts proved that she was indeed in her element.

She died at the age of seventeen, she spent five years in the escape game. Now she was twenty-two.

Five years was a long time, but in that kind of environment, it was hard to say whether she had improved or regressed.

Lu Mingqiu was silent for a moment. She had many questions, but she didn’t know how to continue.

Her silence might have made Yan Xianchuan misunderstand something. The latter grabbed her hand, she said flustered and anxious, “I’m not lying, it’s all true, really. I didn’t lie to you.”

“I’m not trying to hide it from you, I just don’t know how to say it.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry… This is the only thing I haven’t said. This is the only thing. Can you forgive me? Will you forgive me?”

“You will, right? You will forgive me. Aren’t we friends? Friends should forgive each other,” she spoke quickly, her voice also became much higher, “I’ve already apologized. I said I’m sorry. You should forgive me! This is, this is the rule, the social rule. Normal people would do that!”

“Say it, say you forgive me. Say it!”

Her expression was stern, but there was a hint of panic in her eyes, her reason was crumbling, her eyes were crazed.

Only now did she truly, completely become a lunatic.

Lu Mingqiu softened her gaze, her expression showed a hint of understanding and helplessness.

Then she lowered her head and kissed the person’s chattering lips, blocking the rest of her words.

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