Shackles (Part 1)

This was Shi Youchen's third night staying overnight in the digital archive.

His favorite aspect of the training base in City A was that searching for information here didn't require the same level of access and time restrictions as the association's archives. However, all the information here was presented in digital form, requiring a specific method to decrypt it in order to truly view the contents.

Shi Youchen spent five days learning and mastering this solution, and then he worked through it night after night until he finally unlocked all the information he wanted to find.

After verifying his doubts and suspicions, he cleared his browsing history. The influx of information in such a short period of time caused the back of his head to feel a bit swollen, so Shi Youchen checked the time and decided to go outside for some fresh air.

The night sky was dark tonight, devoid of any visible lights. There was no movement in the heavens, but the creatures on the ground were agitated, perhaps because spring had arrived. Shi Youchen wandered around the museum, occasionally hearing the cries of an unknown bird. He looked up and saw that the moon was mostly covered by clouds.

Just as he was about to look away, a dark figure from the highest floor of the archives came into view. With the sound of something heavy falling to the ground, Shi Youchen froze in his tracks. If he was not mistaken, someone had jumped from the roof.

After standing there for half a minute, unable to ignore the situation and walk away, he cautiously approached the bushes ahead. Not smelling the expected scent of blood, Shi Youchen instantly regretted turning back when he heard the sound of someone turning over inside, accompanied by a soft "Who's that?"

It was obvious that there was a living person inside.

Shi Youchen hesitated for only a second between leaving and staying, and decisively chose the former. Unfortunately, his movement of leaving could not keep up with the speed of the man approaching, and something pressed against his lower back.

The air behind him was stagnant and heavy, standing like a wall, but no breathing could be heard. "Who are you?"

Shi Youchen took a deep breath and raised his hand to show that he had no hostility, then said: "Number 8463, Shi Youchen." The man behind him jumped from the roof without any external injuries. No matter how you think about it, he couldn't be an ordinary person, and the fact that he could enter this training base itself proved that he was a person with superpowers, so this was undoubtedly the best answer.

The heat source in his lower back did not disappear. The man seemed to mutter, "8463?" and then asked, "Who recommended you here? What were you doing here just now? What did you see?" Every time he asked a question, Shi Youchen felt himself being pushed forward harder.

Under obvious duress of force, Shi Youchen answered truthfully: "Lu Zhiqi introduced me. I just came out of the museum and was taking a breath when I saw someone jumping from the roof." He did not directly say "I saw you jumping from the roof" because he was not sure whether the other party wanted to be seen.

The heat on his lower back gradually faded, but Shi Youchen still didn't turn around. "I'll check," the man said, pausing briefly. "You better not be lying. Now close your eyes and count to 300 before opening them again."

"You can also try opening your eyes early...as long as you can afford the price."

...

Shi Youchen certainly wouldn't cause trouble for himself at this time. He obediently closed his eyes and counted silently, even slowing down his pace. Then, after a moment of darkness, he opened his eyes again, and there was no one around.

He didn't care who that person was, nor did he care why he jumped off the building. At this moment, Shi Youchen had only one thing in his mind - how could he investigate the past deeds of the Mo family in City Z without Lu Ming noticing that he had recovered his memory.

Lin Zhouze has been busy with docking work recently, and he himself couldn't count how long he had been working non-stop. Today, the "colleagues" from the headquarters finally went back, and he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and have a good rest. This was his plan.

"..." This was the first time Lin Zhouze didn't want Shi Youchen to come to him, because every time he showed up in his office, it meant "rest" was further away from him. "You mean, you want me to help you revise the mission, but you actually want to investigate last year's second explosion?"

Shi Youchen nodded. "Now that we know it was the Maintenance Bureau's fault, the Association doesn't seem to be planning to reopen the investigation. I want to give an explanation to my deceased teammates, and I want to find out what happened to Li Luo and Lu Quezhi."

"You said it yourself, that's the Security Bureau. Aren't you afraid of another incident?" Lin Zhouze actually wanted to know the truth, but he wasn't as involved as Shi Youchen, so he wasn't as eager or desperate. "You've already been targeted once. Aren't you afraid that their accomplices will come after you for revenge?"

Shi Youchen had already considered how to deal with Lin Zhouze's objections. He said seriously, "So this time, I will actually accept the mission in City Z and carry out my activities under the supervision of the association's system. It's just that it will inevitably take a while, so I need your help."

"As long as you help me extend the time limit of the mission, I can accomplish two things, and with the protection of the mission monitoring system, even if the people from the Maintenance Bureau want to attack me again, the chances of doing so at this time will be greatly reduced." He did not explicitly say that Ah Xian's attack was mostly due to personal feelings rather than faction stance, not to mention that he still had a relationship with 07 that he could use. There was no reason for other people from the Maintenance Bureau to attack an ordinary and harmless "spy" like him.

On the contrary, the biggest threat to his current trip to City Z wasn't the Maintenance Bureau, but Lu Ming. If Lu Ming discovered that he had recovered his memories of the Mo family investigation and was still active, then whether he voluntarily joined the training base or stopped interacting with Li Ming, the cover-up for these actions would be exposed.

Only then will there be real danger to life.

After listening to him, Lin Zhouze felt that what he said was quite self-consistent, so the two of them discussed the details and finally finalized the action plan. Shi Youchen also left the association base and went to City Z after Lin Zhouze's repeated instructions.

Meanwhile, Ying Yungui's breakthrough training had hit a bottleneck. The long-term use of the limiter had profoundly impacted his ability to use his special abilities, making it difficult for him to compress and store the enormous amount of energy within his body.

"Otherwise, we can separate the energy and store it in an instrument, just like some people with special physical functions do." The observer looked at Ying Yungui who had just been fished out of the lake, observed Ying Xiangze's expression, and suggested.

Ying Xiangze said, "Making skillful use of every ounce of energy in one's body is a must for high-level psychics. The entry threshold and assessment criteria for Level 7 won't allow a psychic like him, with all four limbs and organs intact, to use external objects to complete the level test." He raised the vibration amplitude of the lake bottom mechanism again and signaled the auxiliary tester to throw Ying Yungui back. Then he turned and stared at the observer, "Do you know why there are far more psychics who meet the energy fluctuation requirements for Level 7 than the number of people currently logged in, but they're not in a hurry to complete the level test?"

The observer's own level was not very high, but his special ability happened to be suitable for this, so he naturally couldn't answer: "Because... the test is too difficult?" He said tentatively.

Ying Xiangze's eyes suddenly grew sharper. "Yes, because the test is too difficult." The observer, feeling a chill for some reason, shrank his neck. Before he could secretly congratulate himself, he heard, "Those who passed the high-level test are the ones standing at the top of the association's superpower group. Those who failed..."

"It means death."

"So they won't apply for level-up tests until they're completely confident." Ying Xiang looked at the figure in the distance outside the cabin. "Of course, there are also many who choose to remain at level 6 for their entire lives."

But Ying Yungui would never choose this path.

The observer was more puzzled than shocked. "Why would I die if I didn't pass the test?" He wanted to ask, but didn't dare. After much hesitation, he chose to keep silent. After all, he was extremely lucky to have such a stable job at the association's headquarters due to his special abilities.

Yes, he only regarded this as his job and Ying Xiangze as his boss. He showed sympathy for the pain that Ying Yungui had suffered during this period, and made appropriate suggestions. These were all actions to win Ying Xiangze's favor, just to make the other party think more about him and promote him in future projects, that's all.

If he had a strong family background and innate talent like Ying Yungui, then he wouldn't have to work so hard. But in the end, he was just a "lucky guy" with average conditions, a family that was not happy, and even a little miserable.

While lost in thought, Ying Xiangze's scolding reached his ears: "So stop interfering in other people's karma, both in actions and thoughts." "..." "He still has a long training schedule, you just need to do your job well."

——

It was half a month later when Shi Youchen returned from City Z after completing his "mission." Even Lin Zhouze couldn't tell what he had found out and done during that time. On the surface, everything seemed normal, and he had successfully received his mission rewards.

"A few days ago, Treatment Room 3 sent me an alert saying Yan Zhiyuan's condition is worse than before." Lin Zhouze no longer had the mood to fiddle with the tumblers. With a gloomy face, he confided in his long-lost friend, "Because his condition is so strange, the branch office invited a renowned psychiatric specialist from headquarters to see him. He said he seems to be trapped in his own memories."

Shi Youchen's eyes dropped to the table, and he didn't know what he was thinking: "Is it related to the energy of mental invasion?"

"Well, the experts say he... seems to have sealed himself away." Shi Youchen noticed Lin Zhouze's hesitation, so he asked, "Did something happen to him?"

Lin Zhouze fell silent. He drank several sips of milk tea, chewing the jelly vigorously, as if to prepare himself mentally. Before long, the cup was finally empty, and his "share" of snacks for the day had been used up, which made him even more depressed.

Shi Youchen reached for the drink cup, stood up, and walked to the bathroom. A few minutes later, he returned and handed the clean cup back to Lin Zhouze. "I'll take you somewhere," the cup's owner finally said, finally letting go of his frustration.