Chapter 19: Trauma

Chapter 19: Trauma

On the other end of the call, there was a few seconds of silence.

Then, Xie Nanjun's raised voice came through: "Didn't I just give you some six months ago?!"

"A full six doses used to last you a year! Even at the very beginning, one dose a year was enough for you!"

Shen Tingyu looked down at the potion in his palm.

Golden, with flecks of shimmering light.

Xie Nanjun, not getting a response, continued to chatter: "You know, back in the Tower of Evil, there were gentler ways to end things early, but you had to go all out like that, and now you're left with this illness."

"They sent me to Tower 1 of the Tower of Evil, and you expect me to stay calm?" Shen Tingyu laughed without emotion, "Or do you want to go in and experience it yourself?"

Tower 1 in the Tower of Evil is the smallest of the five towers.

Basically, only the most heinous criminals and particularly extreme and difficult-to-tame Type E users are taken there. Inside, they face various harsh punishments, especially electric shocks that can severely impact their mental pools, causing great pain and shock.

Shen Tingyu was sent there when he was just 12 years old.

In the empire's history, there was a famous case of a Type E user who massacred a city; that Type E user also solidified at his age. So, when a similarly talented Type E user appeared, the empire couldn't rest easy and wanted to blunt his edge before he could act out.

He spent three dark years there, enduring nearly every punishment in Tower 1.

Later, he used a method that hurt the enemy a thousand but cost him eight hundred, leaving Tower 1 early.

The suicidal energy explosion of a Type E user's mental power was enough to severely injure everyone nearby, even blinding one of the empire's eldest prince's eyes.

The eldest prince had always used his status and power to personally administer punishments to him.

So he chose the day the prince came to act on purpose.

After that incident, he requested a meeting with the empire's royal spokesperson, calmly and rationally negotiated. The terms were simple: he would join the military, using his power for the empire, in exchange for his freedom.

The outcome was relatively successful, and then he was transferred to the outer tower, where he underwent psychological counseling and value re-education provided by the Tower of Evil, passed all tests and assessments, and graduated successfully from the Tower of Evil, becoming what the staff referred to as an 'excellent student.'

Xie Nanjun, hearing this, refused: "No, no, I take back what I said earlier."

"Sigh, I thought the inhibitors would help you control it well, but now you're starting to develop immunity to them."

That explosion ultimately left severe trauma in Shen Tingyu's mental pool. Although it doesn't affect the normal use of mental power, every so often, symptoms of mental disorder occur. When symptoms arise, he needs to spend more energy to suppress the violent nature of the Type E, preventing mental power from going out of control, while the pain in his mental pool also doubles.

In the empire's past records, those who had injured their mental pools all went mad and were thrown into the Tower of Evil. His case is special; he usually relies on Xie Nanjun's sister and their father to help him with special potions they developed to suppress it.

But as Xie Nanjun said, the potion's inhibitory effect on him is becoming less and less. This was something they spent over a year developing, with rare materials, and the amount they can prepare for him each year is very limited.

Xie Nanjun on the other end hesitated for a long time, tentatively saying: "So, have you really not considered finding a high-level D-type to form a soul contract with?"

Although the medical field hasn't found a way to completely repair a damaged mental pool, D-type users above S-level, once forming a partner relationship, have a chance to slowly repair their partner's mental pool trauma through mental power interaction.

There have been several such miracles in medical history, so D-types are also the favorite soul and mental types among doctors.

Shen Tingyu replied: "There's no suitable one."

Xie Nanjun urged anxiously: "What does suitability matter at this point? Of course, curing the illness is more important! With your conditions, even if the compatibility isn't high, there must be someone willing to be with you."

Shen Tingyu laughed and said: "What I mean is, there's no one who fits my heart."

Xie Nanjun: "...You E-types are really a pain. It's already hard enough to find a partner, and you're still so picky."

Shen Tingyu's discomfort reached another peak during their brief conversation. The splitting headache made him want to end the conversation quickly. After instructing Xie Nanjun to have his sister prepare a new batch of medicine, he hung up the call.

After injecting a special inhibitor, he leaned against the desk, waiting for the discomfort to fade.

On the desk, the momentum conservation pendulum collided repeatedly.

Shen Tingyu stared at them, slightly distracted.

Although everyone says that D-types are the most suitable partners for E-types, and are the dream partners for many, he doesn't particularly like them. D-types are too weak-willed. Over the years, the Empire has arranged many matches for him, but the truth is that his soul rejects them. The highest compatibility he had with any of them was less than 10%.

As he pondered, the scene of Xu Qingran at the Grandis Middle School branch a few days ago flashed through his mind.

He let out a sudden chuckle.

If there were a D-type like that, he might consider it.

Just as Shen Tingyu disposed of the used medicine shell, there was a sudden knock on the bedroom door connected to the study.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, then walked over to open the door.

The person outside was wearing beige pajamas that hung loosely on his thin frame, revealing a large patch of skin below his neck. His hair was slightly messy, and his eyes were still misty and slightly red, clearly having just gotten out of bed.

Shen Tingyu couldn't fathom why Xu Qingran would show up at his door at this hour, so he proactively asked, "What do you need?"

Then he saw the soft-looking person, with a cold and indifferent expression, reply in a tone that sounded like he was seeking revenge, "Climb... bed."

·

Xu Qingran sat at the foot of the large bed, slightly hunched, with his hands clasped and resting against his mouth, deep in thought.

Looking up, he saw the bedroom's owner sitting in the connected study, calmly handling official business as if nothing had happened.

Xu Qingran hadn't expected to be allowed in so easily.

Shen Tingyu, after hearing him, was momentarily stunned, then smiled amiably and invited him in. This made Xu Qingran, who had come to stir up trouble, hesitate for a few seconds, wary of some kind of trap.

Shen Tingyu, noticing his gaze from across the room, looked up and gently reminded him, "You can sleep. I don't plan on sleeping tonight, so go ahead and climb into bed."

"..."

Xu Qingran thought to himself, 'So this is what climbing the bed meant.' He had misunderstood the system.

System: "..."

It's you two who got it wrong!!

After this whole episode, Xu Qingran temporarily lost his drowsiness.

Mainly because he noticed that Shen Tingyu's room, especially near the study, was filled with interesting things. The first thing that caught his eye was a pile of irregular red models, resembling the strange creatures he had seen on TV news.

"If you're interested, feel free to take a look or play with them."

Shen Tingyu was meticulous; even the slightest movement from Xu Qingran didn't escape his notice.

Xu Qingran wasn't one to hold back either. With the owner's permission, he got up and walked towards the models. As soon as he approached the display stand, a faint light suddenly lit up beneath it, followed by an emotionless male system voice.

"The Devil, an alien species that has been active around the Empire's borders since the mid-last century."

"Mr. Xie Wencai, a renowned extraterrestrial biologist, used data simulations to deduce that their main habitats are located in the Pegasus galaxy, three million light-years away. Two centuries ago, the Empire's physics and aeronautics team had already predicted that a supernova explosion would soon occur in this galaxy. Although the event has not yet been captured by the Empire's observatory, the migration of the Devil species appears to indirectly confirm this prediction."

Xu Qingran reached out and touched the familiar reddish-brown model, only to discover that they were actually composed of many tiny fragments. They could not only be rotated, enlarged, or reduced at will with fingers, but their flexible bodies could also be shaped into various forms.

"Type I Devils were the first type of Devils observed in our country, a collective species, with individual sizes ranging between 0.5-1 cm, and body thickness not exceeding 2 mm."

The massive reddish-brown creatures commonly seen are actually composed of countless Type I Devils moving together, appearing like fine scales from a distance. Their skin is smooth and dry, but beneath lies a ring of sharp teeth, which they use to completely devour captured prey through collective gnawing.

Before devouring their prey, they extend needle-like appendages from their mouths to drain the spiritual and energy essence of their prey.

Their flat, chimeric shape is their form during rest and movement.

When encircling prey or preparing to attack or feed, the connected 'scales' begin to rise.

These creatures also follow a peculiar routine, only becoming active after sunset. During the day, they take on a rusty appearance, clinging tightly to various lifeless objects. They cannot be peeled off directly, but regardless of what is done, they remain in a harmless, dormant state.

Once night falls, they begin to expand, potentially growing to the height of hundreds of floors.

Next to the Type I, Xu Qingran noticed another small model of a blue-black color.

It was the same color he had seen at the sewer entrance after leaving the Xu family that day.

The display system labeled it as Type IV Devils, the fourth type of Devil species discovered by the Empire.

Their basic structure is similar to Type I, also being a collective species. However, the individuals are more slender and are only active after sunset. Their bodies are more flexible and elastic than Type I, and they can even blend into water, entering towns through murky water sources, making them hard to guard against.

Fortunately, it has been found that Type IV Devils are less lethal, mobile, and defensive on land compared to Type I, so weak that they dare not approach any place with electric lights, only growing in the safe dark corners of cities, feeding on dew.

However, to avoid accidents, the Empire strictly controls areas invaded by such Devils, prohibiting citizens from going out after nightfall, or they bear the consequences themselves.

Xu Qingran put the small model of Type IV back and asked Shen Tingyu, "Are these the things your military department is currently fighting against?"

"Yes, Devils are the most threatening invasive species to the Kayan Empire at present."

Shen Tingyu said, picking up another ornament embedded in a small stone on the desk, facing Xu Qingran who turned back at the sound.

"Whether acting alone or collectively, Devils have something called source crystals inside them, which are the source of all their energy. Without the source crystal, their bodies will necrotize within an hour, unable to revive or regenerate."

Xu Qingran walked over, took the small ornament, leaned against the desk with one hand, and examined it carefully.

The source crystal inside the stone was very beautiful, like a star fused within a transparent crystal.

"So, is this thing easy to lock onto?" Xu Qingran asked curiously.

"Not very easy," Shen Tingyu replied, his gaze inadvertently moving to Xu Qingran's left hand resting on his desk.

Perhaps because he was preparing to rest, he had come to him without any cover, and the blue, enchanting soul mark was blatantly exposed before him. Yet, the owner of the mark seemed unaware of any impropriety, his attention entirely on the source crystal, his eyes full of interest.

Shen Tingyu suppressed the aggressive thoughts that surged upon seeing the mark and silently shifted his gaze away.

Finally, he couldn't help but interrupt their serious conversation: "Xu Qingran, you can sleep in my bed, but could you put on your gloves first?"

Hearing this, Xu Qingran remembered being mocked about this at school that day and felt a surge of anger again.

He didn't notice Shen Tingyu's intentional avoidance of his gaze, directly presenting the back of his hand to him, his tone fierce and cold: "I've been wanting to ask for a long time, what's so disgraceful about this thing?"