Chapter 84: Futile Return

Chapter 84: Futile Return

The water prison was built in the basement, with no windows and no daylight.

The water reached just above the waist. Prisoners had to endure sitting in their own filth, holding their breath, if they wanted to rest. Otherwise, they had to remain standing, unable to lean against the walls for support, as their hands were often shackled to chains hanging from the ceiling.

Li Xiong had a habit of locking any Psychics he disliked into the water prison. After a few days without food or water, the Psychics who emerged were always exceptionally docile.

He had never imagined that he would one day be locked in here, too. His hands were shackled behind his back in the most painful position, making it impossible for him to sit and rest. When utterly exhausted, he had no choice but to kneel in the filthy water, his shoulder blades screaming in agony as they were pulled backward.

No food, no water, and no light—just endless darkness. Except for the initial questioning by Shen Lan about the formula, during which he cursed and mocked him, Shen Lan had locked him in and no one had come to see him since.

He was forced to kneel and drink the filthy water, even relieving himself in it. He began to fear he would rot away in silence, forgotten by the world.

He had shouted and screamed, but eventually realized that no one cared.

How long had he been locked in here? Three days? Five days? Time had become a blur. He remembered once locking a Psychic in for a month without food. The Psychic didn’t die, but went mad afterward and became useless. He heard the Psychic was later fed to the tigers.

Psychics had stronger vitality and could survive for a long time. Would they treat him the same way?

He prayed Luo Yisen would take care of them soon.

Suddenly, the cell door opened.

Li Xiong quickly looked up, *snap*!

The light turned on.

He immediately closed his eyes and lowered his head. After being in darkness for so long, even the dim light stung his eyes, causing tears to stream down his face.

Someone walked to the edge of the pool, seemingly observing him in silence.

It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the light. Through his tears, he saw Shen Lan standing under the light.

Shen Lan gazed at him calmly, his face as pale as death. In his hand was a plate neatly arranged with pastries, a mix of white and green.

At the sight of food, Li Xiong felt a burning hunger. He sneered, "What? Do you want me to beg and cry for a bite?"

Shen Lan said nothing, simply bending down to place the plate on a floating basket, setting it on the water in front of him. Then he sat down on a chair nearby.

Li Xiong was momentarily stunned but still forced himself to lower his head, despite the pain in his shoulders, and used his mouth to grab the pastries. He was so hungry that he devoured all the pastries on the plate in one go. Then, with disgust, he said, "If you want me to give you the formula, at least bring something I like to eat. This sweet stuff—I’ve never liked sweets."

Shen Lan replied, "The Alliance Special Forces have arrived. Their medic is interested in pandan leaves, so the kitchen staff made a lot of pandan cakes. I was in a hurry, and this was all the kitchen had." His tone was surprisingly calm.

Li Xiong looked up at him and chuckled, "You’re acting like we’re back studying abroad. Where did you go early this morning? In such a hurry?" His smile carried a hint of lightness and cunning. Despite being tortured for days, drenched and disheveled, his eyes still held a trace of his former pride.

"What, you didn’t come here to reminisce, did you? The Alliance Special Forces have arrived, but they won’t support you. The Alliance higher-ups have already contacted me, offering me a high price for my formula. You’re still hoping to rely on them? Has that illusion been shattered?"

"Out of our old school ties, if you let me go now, I’ll guarantee your drug supply. I’ll also put in a good word for you, like before, so Luo Yisen won’t be too harsh on you."

Shen Lan said calmly, "Luo Yisen is dead. This morning. I shot him myself."

Li Xiong’s expression shifted slightly, but his smile remained unchanged. "Dead? Well, that’s that. I always thought he was too clingy, relying on his family connections. When he found out you were a mole, with so many uncles watching, I had no choice but to deal with you. But..."

He looked at Shen Lan, his gaze hesitant, as if genuinely emotional. "I really thought it was just an old classmate visiting... I thought you..."

He stopped speaking, suddenly coughing violently, his face flushing red. His shackled hands trembled, making the chains clink. His pale, thin shoulders moved weakly, like a withering flower on the verge of death.

Shen Lan looked down at the familiar face before him—the wet hair, the eyebrows, the thin, pale lips—and said softly, "I’m here to end your life."

Li Xiong's coughing abruptly stopped. He looked up at him, his eyes filled with confusion and pain: "Are you going to kill me?"

"What about those people? What about your justice? Your laws? Didn't you exploit our past friendship to infiltrate my side and deceive me, all for those ideals?"

"When the truth came out, not only did I protect your life under pressure, but I also gave you the chance to awaken your psychic abilities. And now you want to kill me?"

"Now, the lives of these people are in my hands. You are all psychics. As long as you supply the medicine on time and use your abilities as before, you can all live well! Are you going to selfishly kill me for your own satisfaction, letting those people die with you?"

Shen Lan took out the pistol, twirled it in his hand, and slowly loaded it.

Li Xiong saw that his expression was as calm as ever, and he trembled inside, goosebumps rising all over his back. This guy's lost it! He's not even thinking about his own life!

At the brink of life and death, he cried out: "I was wrong! Shen Lan! I was wrong, okay! Let me go, from now on I'll listen to everything you say, I'll even take the medicine, okay? I'll be with you, I can control all the psychics for you, help you conquer the world! Shen Lan!"

"I'll give you everything! I was wrong about everything before!"

He looked at Shen Lan: "My psychic ability is to manipulate poppies. I can confuse and control people's minds; the control over you all relies on my psychic ability..."

In despair, he watched Shen Lan aim the loaded gun at his forehead, closed his eyes, and let tears fall.

Suddenly, the sound of the iron door unlocking echoed: "Captain Guan, Dr. Zhou, don't let him fool you; he's a smooth talker... Since we detained him, none of us dared to see him, afraid... afraid that we might soften upon seeing him."

Shen Lan put away the gun, retreated into the shadows of the corner, turned off the light, and the room plunged back into darkness.

At the door, Qi Shuhong whispered: "We won't go in... Not to make fun of you, but even now, seeing him, we can't help but feel admiration and reverence. It's hard to harm him, and we even find ourselves making excuses for him, wanting to let him go."

Zhou Yun nodded: "I just want to ask some questions about psychic abilities." He glanced back at Guan Yuanfeng.

Guan Yuanfeng said: "I just got off the phone. The Alliance negotiation team and the Psychic Research Institute are already on their way. They will arrive tonight and will take over the negotiations completely."

Zhou Yun was startled. Guan Yuanfeng nodded: "I'll wait for you at the door. Call me if you need anything—ask whatever you need to know."

Zhou Yun raised his eyebrows, his gaze met Guan Yuanfeng's for a moment, then he nodded, pushed the door open, and turned on the light by the door.

Li Xiong, locked in the middle of the pool, looked up at him, surprisingly young: "Who are you?"

Zhou Yun said: "I'm the team doctor of the Alliance special forces, currently providing a treatment plan for psychics to quit drug addiction."

Li Xiong's eyes lit up: "You're from the Alliance? Tell them I agree to their conditions. I can send food to Central Base for free! I can awaken psychics for Central Base, just get me out of here! Now! Please!"

He was drenched, his handsome face, clear black and white eyes filled with tears, looking very pitiful: "I just accidentally awakened my wood psychic abilities, which let me control poppies, but then Luo Yisen controlled and threatened me... I can't hold on anymore. Please, give me a sip of clean water..."

Zhou Yun carefully observed his expression for a while: "Are there only three skills: charm, hallucination, and mental suggestion?"

"And your skills seem a bit weak. Do hallucination and mental suggestion require physical contact?"

Li Xiong's face stiffened: "What are you talking about?"

Zhou Yun thought for a moment: "You haven't been diligent in practicing your psychic abilities, have you? With poppies... if you had advanced, you should have a group hypnosis skill, or group hallucination, suggestion." The strength of wood psychic abilities lies in being able to use various skills while controlling mutated plants. Mental skills are very powerful, but you're too lazy.

He concluded simply: "You probably rely too much on your charm skill. Once you use it, others are eager to serve you, so you've gotten lazy about practicing."

Li Xiong watched as the other man walked to the edge of the pool steps in front of him, slightly crouched down, and gazed at his abdomen in the water, as if studying a lifeless plant, his whole demeanor rational and indifferent.

He suddenly felt an inexplicable shiver, as if he had encountered something terrifying: "Are you from the Psychic Research Institute? I'm willing to cooperate with your experiments to awaken psychic abilities... and I'll also provide the formula and process you asked for earlier..."

He suddenly stopped speaking because he saw the young man extend his finger and gently touch his psychic core. A powerful surge of wood element energy flowed in.

He felt an unwarranted fear and shrinking. His psychic abilities seemed completely suppressed, the Crystal Core glowing. He watched in horror as the poppy he had carefully hidden was summoned out.

The light in the water cell was dim, and that bewitching, eerie red flower quietly bloomed on the dark water surface. The sweet fragrance filled the room, an infinite temptation like a heart-bewitching spell, intoxicating yet hinting at hidden danger. This danger made adrenaline surge, making one even more willing to follow and indulge.

Zhou Yun looked at the mutated poppy: "Such intense possessiveness, no wonder you only have this one mutated plant and haven't diligently practiced your wood psychic abilities. You haven't even fully grasped the abilities of the mutated poppy."

Li Xiong was trembling all over, his face pale, genuinely frightened: "Why can you summon my mutated poppy... who are you?"

Zhou Yun sighed and shook his head, reaching out to gently touch the poppy.

Li Xiong watched as his mutated poppy swayed gently under the touch of Zhou Yun's fingers, as if dancing in flattery. He blurted out: "Are you going to take it away?"

Zhou Yun said: "No... no need, it's useless."

Li Xiong's face turned deathly pale: "You can control people's minds through it, control psychics... as long as you spare my life..."

His mind was in chaos. Could someone still live if their Crystal Core was removed?

They had conducted experiments; psychics who lost their Crystal Core wouldn't die immediately, but their bodily functions would quickly deteriorate and they would soon pass away. Experts said that the body had already been nourished and enhanced by psychic abilities, and if the energy supply from the Crystal Core was suddenly lost, bodily functions would quickly fail. Whether one could survive depended on their physical constitution.

But Shen Lan! Shen Lan was still in the shadows! If he didn't prove his usefulness and let this strange person take him away, he would surely die!

He emphasized: "You can make everyone love you!"

Zhou Yun smiled, intrigued: "What good is the love of so many people? I'm genuinely curious, how do you distinguish whether someone truly loves you or is just influenced by your psychic abilities when you use your charm skill?"

Li Xiong: "..."

Zhou Yun looked at his expression and smiled: "Forget it, it's not important."

"Such harmful things should not be kept. Destroy it, and the mental suggestion implants you planted before should also be directly destroyed."

"Then those psychics you controlled will no longer firmly believe that only the mutated poppy you bestowed can alleviate their pain."

A trumpet vine suddenly appeared in the void, its countless vines entwining the delicate and frail poppy, mercilessly tightening around it.

The gorgeous poppy emitted an even more deadly fragrance at the last moment. Li Xiong trembled all over and shouted: "Shen Lan! Shen Lan! Save me!"

Zhou Yun slightly raised his head and saw Shen Lan, who had appeared in the dark corner at some point.

He stared intently at Li Xiong, the gun trembling slightly in his hand. Amidst the spreading fragrance, large drops of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Zhou Yun said: "He triggered the seed in your consciousness, you're too close."

Shen Lan slowly walked over. Li Xiong looked up at him, tears blurring his vision: "Save me, I'll do anything you say."

Shen Lan said hoarsely: "I actually also want to know the answer."

The poppy was tightly entwined by the flamboyant trumpet vine, glowing brightly. Li Xiong asked: "What answer?"

Shen Lan said: "Whether it was influenced by psychic abilities."

Li Xiong's eyes widened as he looked at Shen Lan, then suddenly let out a painful cry.

The poppy was directly crushed in the void. Li Xiong clearly felt the Crystal Core in his abdomen completely shatter, the wood psychic energy filling his body rapidly depleting. His limbs became weak, the pain became unbearable, his skin and hair quickly lost the unique luster of a psychic's, and he completely weakened.

He had become an ordinary person.

Shen Lan stared at his vivid face, as if seeing the lively and spirited classmate from their university days, bursting with vitality and freshness. He pressed the gun to Li Xiong's heart, feeling its steady beat.

"Bang!"

The moment the gunshot rang out, Guan Yuanfeng immediately pushed the door open and entered. Upon seeing others in the room, his first instinct was to pull Zhou Yun behind him.

Following Guan Yuanfeng was Qi Shuhong, who widened her eyes: "Shen Lan!"

Shen Lan turned to look at them, then glanced at Zhou Yun, who had been standing quietly all along. The room still seemed to linger with the deadly, alluring scent of flowers, but the poppies and trumpet vines that had been strangled into fragments had already disappeared.

He stepped back and melted into the darkness.

===

The alliance delegation and the Psychic Research Institute arrived much faster than they had imagined.

Watching the large military transport aircraft descend slowly from the sky, Jiang Rongqian gasped: "The alliance is really pulling out all the stops this time."

Zhou Yun, who didn't recognize the aircraft models, quietly asked him: "What do you mean?"

Jiang Rongqian watched as the two aircraft slowly landed on the makeshift runway and explained: "The Nebula transport aircraft, the largest strategic transport aircraft currently in service, equipped with radar and missiles, with a maximum takeoff weight of 300 tons, powered by four non-afterburning turbofan engines, with a maximum range of 10,000 kilometers, capable of carrying a fully armed combat unit at any time, and can transport up to 1,000 soldiers at once."

Sure enough, fully armed soldiers began to pour out of the transport aircraft.

Jiang Rongqian continued: "The aircraft behind it is the Beluga heavy transport aircraft, with a maximum takeoff weight of 405 tons, usually used to transport tanks, armored vehicles, heavy artillery, and missile systems."

"They've brought both troops and weapons; they're clearly determined to succeed."

Zhou Yun glanced at Guan Yuanfeng, who stood at the front of the line, dressed in camouflage combat gear, fully armed, his expression unshakable, exuding a cold and powerful aura, yet seemingly oblivious to their whispered discussions behind him, violating discipline.

Finally, the last helicopter landed with members of the delegation and the expert group.

The head of the delegation was Zhao Jianghui, the Deputy Secretary-General of the base's administrative office, and the leader of the expert group was Liao Zihuai, Deputy Director of the Psychic Research Institute. They were escorted by Ling Dingxiu, the vanguard commander of the alliance forces.

Zhao Jianghui stepped off the helicopter with decisive swiftness, his first action being to ask Guan Yuanfeng, who had come forward to greet them: "Where is Li Xiong?"

Guan Yuanfeng replied: "He was killed."

The entire delegation and expert group collectively changed their expressions.

Zhao Jianghui turned sharply to look at him: "What? Wasn't he still being held captive by the psychic rebels?"

Guan Yuanfeng explained without emotion: "The psychic rebels were unwilling to trust the alliance, believing they couldn't overcome their addiction. One of the earth-type psychics infiltrated the prison and shot Li Xiong."

Zhao Jianghui's expression changed, and he scolded: "What are your special forces doing? Weren't you supposed to stabilize them and not act rashly?"

Guan Yuanfeng remained calm: "The order I received was indeed to stabilize them first and wait for the alliance delegation to conduct substantive negotiations, so Li Xiong remained under their control, and we didn't dare act rashly."

Ling Dingxiu smirked: "Didn't dare act rashly? I just received intelligence that the special forces cleared Li Xiong's mutated poppy fields last night at dawn, leaving not a single plant."

"What?" The experts in the expert group also collectively changed their expressions. Liao Zihuai lamented: "Not a single plant left? Why not wait one more day, leaving some research samples for us?"

Guan Yuanfeng's brow remained unmoved: "Li Xiong's subordinates were relentless, repeatedly besieging the city hall, with dangerous heavy weapons like tanks and missiles, capable of driving dozens of psychics, and raising mutated beasts, occupying a stronghold very close to Cangshan City, posing an extremely unfavorable and dangerous situation for Cangshan City."

"Because of this, the rebel psychics refused to trust the alliance, demanding that we first resolve the siege crisis."

"To ensure the safety of the delegation and the expert group, after a comprehensive assessment, we chose to cooperate with these rebel psychics and conducted a sweep of the stronghold outside the city."

"Psychic abilities are uncontrollable in scope, with significant destructive range. Moreover, the order I received was to eliminate the threat of these mutated poppies to the public. With our limited numbers, we couldn't control both the city and the wilderness, so we had to destroy them all."

An elderly expert with white hair lamented: "Eliminating the threat means not letting them spread outside, but you should have left some samples for research! You soldiers are so by-the-book! No flexibility at all!"

Ling Dingxiu chuckled with a hint of sarcasm: "Captain Guan is full of righteousness, waiting to write an explanation. What about those psychics? First, control them, then secure the research building, and protect all relevant research materials and experts."

As soon as his words fell, someone shouted: "Fire!"

They looked towards Cangshan City, where thick smoke billowed into the sky, causing hearts to pound.

Ling Dingxiu's expression changed, and he turned to command: "All teams, move out immediately. Do everything possible to put out the fire, protect the experimental data, and arrest all resisting psychics. We need them alive."

The army surged into Cangshan City in full force, heading straight for the burning city hall, which had already been reduced to ruins by the fierce flames. The towering experimental building was engulfed in thick smoke, and the water psychics brought by Ling Dingxiu were helplessly unleashing torrential rains.

However, the fire was too intense; the rain turned to steam before it could even reach the ground, rising above the city hall.

Fortunately, the city hall was surrounded by high walls, and there were wide roads outside, so there was no need to worry about the fire spreading to residential areas.

But it was clear that both the city hall and the experimental building were lost.

On the watchtower at the city hall's gate, two bodies were hanging. There was no doubt they were the corpses of Luo Yisen and Li Xiong.

These two once-dominant drug lords now had their pitiful corpses mocked by countless laborers who had just been released from concentration camps.

Finally, the alliance army questioned the workers who had originally worked in the city hall and learned the cause of the fire: when the alliance's fighter jets arrived, the rebellious psychics, knowing that Li Xiong was dead and they had no bargaining chips left, drove out the workers and servants, then set the fire using their psychic abilities. It was said that these psychics also perished together in the city hall, not coming out.

After clearing the fire scene, many charred bodies were indeed found inside the experimental building.

Outside the city, Luo Yisen's villa also burst into fierce flames and was reduced to ashes.

The alliance had gone to great lengths this time, expending energy, time, and effort, but achieved nothing and seemed about to return empty-handed.

Zhao Jianghui was furious and wanted to confront Guan Yuanfeng, but Guan Yuanfeng brushed him off, simply stating: "The special operations team is executing orders from the military headquarters. If Secretary Zhao has any complaints, please take them up with the military headquarters."

The special operations team stood above the various army groups, and Guan Yuanfeng, known for his formidable combat skills, led a team of all psychics. They witnessed Guan Yuanfeng release a mutated giant dog, the size of a bear, which pounced on a mutated zombie bone eagle that had descended from the sky, burning it to ashes with a single breath of fire.

Now, being in this remote border area, nominally leading the negotiation efforts and responsible for overall affairs, with the other side assisting, but with the negotiation counterpart having overturned the table, what was there left to negotiate? They were not only from different systems but, if seriously considered, their positions might not even match, and they certainly couldn't command.

If they really provoked him, what could they do if he silently killed and disposed of the bodies? Could they really expect Ling Dingxiu to protect them 24 hours a day?

Moreover, the next day, Guan Yuanfeng took the special operations team members into the mountains, saying they needed to hunt some mutated beasts for food on the road.

They were left in a standoff, with the city hall burned down and no one to arrange accommodations. Cangshan City was full of emaciated people in need of aid and comfort, while the thousand soldiers they brought needed food, water, and lodging, and couldn't stay long.

Zhao Jianghui had no choice but to arrange for a few officials and a team of soldiers to stay and take over the administration of Cangshan City, providing relief and aid to the people, while also investigating whether there were any mutated poppies and related psychic ability research materials left. Finally, he reluctantly boarded the plane with the expert team and returned to Central Base.

In the primitive forests of the Golden Triangle, in a hidden villa, Shen Lan opened the luxurious redwood door of the villa and smiled at Guan Yuanfeng, Zhou Yun, and the special operations team members who had just entered the villa's outer courtyard through the cast iron gate: "Captain Guan, Dr. Zhou, you've had a hard journey."