A century of exile

The box was silent for a few minutes before Ying Yungui suddenly asked, "Lin Zhouze, could you please step out for a moment? I need to speak to Youchen privately." Lin Zhouze refused outright, "No, I know what you're trying to say. I'm only telling you that since Youchen chose to let me know and intervene, I have no plans for any tearful love dramas with you. But I'm involved in this plan now, and I won't allow anyone to change it without your permission."

"You" Ying Yungui knew that he could speak, but he never expected that one day he would be speechless. He could only look at that face and feel angry but had no place to vent. What happened was that Shi Youchen had no intention of being on his side.

"Okay, then what do you plan to do? How do you make his spirit awaken? Who should carry the snake totem after it is transferred? It won't be you, right?" He looked at Lin Zhouze hesitantly, thinking that as long as the other party was not the carrier, everything else would be acceptable, otherwise he really couldn't explain to Yan Zhiyuan.

Shi Youchen interrupted at this point, "Empathy. While you're empathizing with him, force him to empathize with you. When he truly realizes his inner desire, his spirit will be awakened. As for the carrier..." He looked towards the door, "Here they come."

When the door opened, Ying Yungui realized that it was also pitch black outside. He couldn't see who walked in from the darkness at all. He could only realize that it was a woman through spatial perception.

"Long time no see." These words were not spoken to the "Ying Yungui" that Shi Youchen was pretending to be, but to the real Ying Yungui. The woman's eyes lit up with a faint blue light, not very obvious, but enough for Ying Yungui to recognize her identity.

"Mail?" He was confused. What did that mean? How could Mai be the bearer of the snake totem? How was she connected to this?

However, this time he did not vent his anger on Shi Youchen and Lin Zhouze, because he had already learned from He Xian the truth about Kulin's joining at that time, and he did not believe that they would involve their old friends for no reason.

Mai Er let out a soft sigh and turned on the backup light. She walked straight to the projection screen covered with photos and said as she stretched out her hand upwards, "Have you been sleeping for a year and your brain has become stupid? Haven't you figured it out yet? The power of hypnosis is essentially a 'spell.'"

Her hand stopped moving, and the photo on the projection stopped at a page Ying Yungui didn't recognize. Mai Er pointed at the people in the photo and said, "Over a hundred years ago, this branch of my ancestors was the most orthodox of the Ruien Clan, the most qualified to inherit the totem power. However, during a certain inheritance ceremony, they were killed and exiled by the current Ruien Clan. Some of the survivors fled District 12 and hid in the remote areas of District 8. From then on, they became a small clan without a surname and no connection to the world."

"So, of course, I am the only one who can perfectly carry the power of the snake totem." She said this arrogantly, and at first glance, it sounded a bit like the arrogance of a wealthy family.

But Ying Yungui knew that she had a stable girlfriend, Shen Buhui, with whom she had been together for many years, and there was no reason for her to sacrifice herself, so she deliberately asked, "Are you heartbroken?"

"Get lost! You're the one who's heartbroken!" Mai Er was so angry at his words that she reached out and threw a wine glass at him, but Shi Youchen intercepted it halfway. Ying Yungui then understood. It seemed that Shen Buhui had no idea about this matter.

He didn't want Mai to do that even more.

Unexpectedly, the turn of events came just in time. The day after they met, Mai Er received urgent news from Shen Buhui—Maya had disappeared. Because of the trauma she had experienced, Maya's intelligence remained at the level of a ten-year-old, insufficient to protect herself in the Holy Land, so she was entrusted to Shen Buhui's care.

As soon as the news of her disappearance reached her, Mai Er hurriedly left the Holy Land and rushed back to District 8. Ying Yungui saw her off and then contacted Luo Zhao, who was staying with her family, and told her, "Be sure to stop Mai Er and don't let her have the chance to come to the Holy Land for the time being." He then rushed to look for a suitable carrier among the Rui En clan.

...

The first anniversary of the Holy Land's official opening was also the day Lin Zhouze arranged the empathy ceremony. Early in the morning, the psychics rushed to the central laser tower for their annual identity verification.

You can see quite a few people walking in groups of two or three. One person asks his companion, "How about it, have you made up your mind? Stay here or go back?" His companion looks like he's asking, "Nonsense! Why go back? Forced into taking on tasks I don't want to do? I don't want to work for those inferior people."

People passing by agreed with him: "That's right, it's so nice to stay in the holy land. You can sleep wherever you want, play whatever you want, and no one will control you. If you go back, you will be handcuffed with those things before you even land." He waved his wrist, referring to the bracelet that every psychic used to wear.

The man who originally asked the question had a worried look on his face: "You have no worries, but I am different. I have a wife and children, and they can't enter the Holy Land."

His companion immediately urged, "What's the big deal? Just find another woman here to have a baby with. What are you worried about having no one to live with?" He deliberately raised his voice, causing a group of people around him to laugh and agree.

Elsewhere, at the Far South Super Evolution Experimental Base, Noah asked the technician in charge of the instrument group, "Is everything ready?" The technician replied, "Everything is ready, Chief. You may proceed to Transfer Chamber B." Noah nodded. "Only some of the commonly used instruments are being relocated this time. The Holy Land inspection should have already begun smoothly. Once sufficient energy is collected there to activate Transfer Chamber A, the corresponding hatch here will also open."

"After landing, you will be responsible for putting the equipment in place. Do not leave the central laser tower until the inspection is completed there to prevent any accidents."

"Yes, Chief." The experimenter turned around to count the names of the subordinates who were transferred with her. As soon as she left, the head of another group came running over and whispered something in Noah's ear.

Noah's face suddenly darkened. He lowered his voice and asked, "Are you sure? When did this happen? Why did it take so many days to report it to me?" The person in charge was sweating profusely. "Because the experiment required the closure of all entrances and exits to the Central Tower. It wasn't until today, during a full inspection, that they reopened it and discovered...the previous batch of operators were unconscious. They also found A's body at the scene, already crystallized."

Noah glared at him sharply. "A's body? Are the others still alive? Where's his supervisor?" The person in charge wiped the sweat off his sleeve and said tremblingly, "Supervisor L's body was found outside the tower. He committed suicide."

"A bunch of idiots!" Noah raised his hand and slapped the person in charge on the smooth head, and said angrily, "The supervisor was replaced and no one noticed! This is the team you lead!" He had seen all the people in the operation team with his own eyes, of course including supervisor L.

If the corpse outside the tower was the real L, then who was the L in the experimental group? The Holy Land could not detect any residual supernatural energy, but if there was such a method to take Ying Yungui away, he could only think of the Maintenance Bureau.

Noah turned around and walked towards transfer cabin B, leaving a cold sentence: "Go to the solitary confinement room and receive your punishment." The person in charge collapsed to the ground with a pale face and watched him leave.

At the top of the Central Laser Tower in the Holy Land, Ying Yungui began empathizing with Red. He would randomly enter past memories from Red's perspective, experiencing and reliving all of his feelings at the time. The longer and deeper his empathy, the greater his chances of stimulating Red's sensitivity, and the greater his chances of successfully promoting his spiritual awakening.

Shi Youchen personally protected him and insisted on sending Lin Zhouze downstairs to test the situation.

Before leaving, Lin Zhouze took advantage of Ying Yungui's closed eyes and hugged Shi Youchen, whispering in his ear, "Thank you." He knew that Ying Yungui didn't want him to recall the painful feelings he had felt when he was with him. Shi Youchen patted him on the back and said, "Go, keep an eye on the situation down there for me."

——

The first empathic memory took place in an old castle. Ying Yungui looked at the figure and face reflected in the window and determined that this was an experience that Red had when he was about sixteen or seventeen years old.

Red's clothes didn't fit him well; they were at least two sizes too big. Although the fabric was high-end and the workmanship was exquisite, it was still obvious that they were old clothes discarded by others. He had no servants or waiters around him, and he stood alone in the corner of the banquet hall, feeling lost.

"Hey, hey, isn't this Ryan's little bastard?" At this moment, several slick voices came from not far away, mixed with undisguised malice. Red shuddered, and just as he turned around, he was kicked in the chest and fell to the ground.

He felt a pain in his chest, and he stared blankly up at the four people surrounding him. They looked only two or three years older than him, all dressed in rich clothes and imposing manners. "Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were turning around, and I didn't hold back. Did I hurt you?" The boy in the lead mocked him, not even a hint of a genuine apology.

Red's nose felt sore, and he shook his head silently, trying to get up, but was pushed back down by a palm. "Hey, I think it's quite appropriate for you to talk to us like this, so why not just stay up?" the boy said, motioning for his two companions to come forward and hold down Red's arms, then squatting down and grabbing his chin and pinching it hard.

"Tsk tsk, what a loser! Even though he's a side child, he's still a member of our Ryan family. If you tell anyone about such a weakling, everyone will laugh to death." The boy's eyes swirled around Red's face with obvious ill intentions, and suddenly he smiled. "Your face is not bad, prettier than the maid who follows me in my room. Why don't you follow your cousin from now on? I promise that you won't be bullied anymore. How about it?"

Red was so humiliated by these words that his whole body was burning hot, but he couldn't break free from the restraints of the men. He shouted anxiously, "Cousin!" His voice was shrill and strange, and it gave people goose bumps.

The boy suddenly slapped Red in the face and cursed, "Shut up! Didn't I tell you not to talk? Your voice is so unpleasant that it's ruining my mood!"

The noise in the corner and the shrill voice finally caught some attention. The boy, realizing more and more people were looking in his direction, became furious. He stood up and was about to kick Red in the chest a few more times. "You little brat, you don't know how to behave. I'm going to teach you a lesson on behalf of your uncle!"

There were nails embedded in the toes of his shoes. Even if they were just for decoration and not very big, they would definitely draw blood if they really pierced his body.

Ying Yungui felt his scalp tingling.

Just as the shoe was about to fall on him, the boy suddenly paused, and then fell backwards as if he had lost his balance, rolling a long way and disappearing under a tablecloth that hung to the ground.

The other three men cried out "ouch" and "ouch" several times, each falling flat on their backs, looking very embarrassed. Red hurriedly straightened his clothes and stood up, but accidentally tripped over his overlong trouser legs. He staggered and was about to fall flat on his face when a hand grabbed him.

"Why are you wearing such ill-fitting clothes? Don't you know how to alter them yourself?" The voice was very childish, but it was not difficult to hear that its owner was full of confidence and pride.

Ying Yungui saw himself when he was six or seven years old through Reid's turned gaze.