Mental strength

It was late at night, and the rain was falling steadily. Shenmu saw the coordinates of the mutant disappear from her spiritual sea of ​​consciousness. Jiang Lin's actions were even faster than she had imagined. He had dealt with the mutants in the base so quickly.

Shenmu always felt uneasy when he thought of her last look at the surveillance camera.

Jiang Lin returned to the gate of the courtyard. After the rain at the airport, a lot of weeds had grown on the roadside. The people at the base were curious at first and would look at an ordinary blade of grass for a long time, but now they have become accustomed to it.

Walking into the yard, Jiang Lin was surprised to find that all the saplings he had planted had sprouted. The trunks that had been dormant for a whole winter finally sprouted tender green buds.

"Wen Yan, look quickly." Jiang Lin pointed at the tender buds on the tree and said to him.

Trees grow much slower than plants. Jiang Lin had been looking at these dead trees in the yard for a long time, but he didn't expect that they would sprout at this time.

Wen Yan's gaze did not linger on the fruit tree, but he quietly watched Jiang Lin touching the new buds with his hand.

A few drops of rain fell into the umbrella and landed on his face. "It's getting late. Go to bed quickly."

Jiang Lin waved at him: "Good night."

She watched Wen Yan's figure holding the black umbrella slowly being swallowed by the darkness until she could no longer see him. Jiang Lin didn't know why she felt a little nervous.

This feeling made her feel very uncomfortable. Jiang Lin stood up from the ground and chased after him. The dim street lights illuminated Wen Yan's back from afar.

Jiang Lin ran forward, and the annoying raindrops kept falling on her hair.

Wen Yan heard familiar footsteps and stopped to look back. He was caught off guard by Jiang Lin running towards him. The black umbrella in his hand fell to the ground with a dull sound.

Wen Yan's hands hung stiffly. After a while, he carefully hugged her back. He felt Jiang Lin's body trembling slightly. "What's wrong?"

Jiang Lin shook her head. She didn't know why, but she felt like she was going to lose him. "I just want to hug you."

Hearing this, Wen Yan smiled faintly. He picked up the umbrella to block the raindrops falling on her: "When you miss me, I'm always here."

The familiar embrace made the empty feeling in my heart feel a little better.

"Don't be afraid, I won't let you die." Wen Yan thought Jiang Lin was afraid of the sacred tree that was nourished by the rain, but Jiang Lin in his arms shook his head.

She looked up from Wen Yan's arms, her bright eyes filled with confusion and fear. Even though he didn't know what she was thinking, Wen Yan's heart instantly felt heavy when he saw those eyes.

"Take me home, I'm sleepy." Jiang Lin came out of his arms and stepped on the puddles on the ground embarrassedly.

"good."

The next day, pale yellow mycelium indeed grew on the sacred tree, but they seemed to have not yet grown up and could not release contaminated spores.

Jiang Lin looked through the telescope at Shenmu and breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he was worried about when the next rain would come. The base's weather forecast indicated the next rain would be in three days.

She left through the door. Because clones of the sacred tree were growing around, the base suspended all patrols outside the city and set up several telescopes on the wall to monitor the situation of the sacred tree in real time.

Jiang Lin returned to the Planting Research Institute in a gloomy mood. The first batch of herbs had successfully grown to a harvestable size. Tang Xiaoyan and the experimenter were delighted to receive the first batch of fruits.

"The first bottle of herbal medicine will soon be born from my hands." Tang Xiaoyan walked over and patted Jiang Lin on the shoulder. "What's wrong? You don't look very happy."

Jiang Lin sat on the sofa next to him, and Xu Anan came over: "Has something bad happened outside again?"

The people in the institute looked at Jiang Lin with a hint of fear and worry in their eyes. Jiang Lin saw the looks of the people around him and smiled with relief: "No, the situation is still under control. Besides, the special medicine will be out soon, right?"

The other experimenters breathed a sigh of relief, but Tang Xiaoyan and Xu Anan were quite familiar with Jiang Lin, and they had never seen Jiang Lin so depressed. Things outside must be developing seriously.

"I know even without you telling me that 'she' has become stronger again." Tang Xiaoyan sat down beside her.

Jiang Lin nodded and lay down on the backrest. He didn't sleep well last night and his head was aching slightly.

"Ah Xin's condition has been getting better and better recently, so I guess she must have undergone new changes." Tang Xiaoyan said, and this sentence made Jiang Lin excited.

"Will Ashin still be affected by Shenmu's condition?" She has been very busy since returning to the base and has not paid attention to Ashin's condition.

"Well, when we first arrived at the base, Shenmu was far down at the bottom of the cave. I felt like he was even weaker back then, but now he looks no different from a normal person."

Jiang Lin: "The sacred tree should be able to directly control the mutants through mental control." She thought of the pair of green eyes in the confinement room. How could a mutant who had lost his self-awareness have such clear eyes?

"Are you saying that Ashin might be controlled by the sacred tree?" Tang Xiaoyan's expression turned serious. Since Jiang Lin said it, it meant that this possibility was very high.

Jiang Lin nodded: "But if their spiritual connection can be severed, the sacred tree will not be able to control him."

"As for the mental aspect, even the most advanced instruments can't detect it, let alone this kind of mental connection." Tang Xiaoyan felt a headache.

Because Ashin is extremely unpredictable and is also a mutant, the range of activities that Tang Xiaoyan can take him on is limited.

Now if the base suspects that Ashin will be controlled by Shenmu again, then he will most likely be imprisoned and monitored again.

"We will try our best to cooperate." Tang Xiaoyan said as if she had used up all her strength, and the joy she had just felt faded a lot.

Jiang Lin: "I believe he can resist this kind of mental control. If he can feel it, can you tell me?" Rather than imprisoning Ashin, Jiang Lin wanted to know what this kind of neural control was like.

"I'll take you to ask him directly." Tang Xiaoyan pulled Jiang Lin along. Ashin was now in the isolation room of the hospital, where there was a large floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the yard outside.

Now that the land of the base has been fully evolved, the originally bare scenery has become interesting. Ashin observes whether there are any new plants growing in the soil every day.

When the door to the isolation room opened, Ashin saw Jiang Lin walking in and was a little confused: "What happened?"

Jiang Lin: "I want to ask, do you feel the call of the sacred tree?" She said it very abstractly, but Ashin understood what she meant instantly.

"Shenmu can indeed directly control mutants, but this also depends on the mutant's self-awareness. If their self-awareness dissipates after the mutation, they can be easily controlled. But for people like Chen Guanghai, me, and Li Qi who have retained their own cognition, it generally won't forcibly invade our self-awareness."

"Why?" Jiang Lin was puzzled.

"Her mental power is too strong. If she were to forcefully enter my mental world and control me, it would cause brain damage. But she has always liked mutants with brains and consciousness."

Ah Xin paused and said, "My brain has lost some of its memory and cognition. Perhaps it is because of this precedent that she is not mentally controlling Li Qi and Chen Guanghai now."

Jiang Lin thought about the first time she met Li Qi and Ashin, and they were indeed a little different. Li Qi was lively and lively, and it didn't feel like she was a mutant when she was with her. Except for her mutant limbs, she was just like a normal person.

But when they first met Ashin, Ashin couldn't even remember who Tang Xiaoyan was.

Jiang Lin: "The base killed the mutants imprisoned in the dungeon the day before yesterday. I suspect it was invaded by the sacred tree. It seems to be the carrier of the sacred tree."

"The probability of this happening is very high. The unconscious mutants are like her surveillance. She can use their eyes to monitor the surrounding situation at any time."

Ashin tried hard to recall the time when he was controlled: "This kind of manipulation is very difficult to resist. You will forget yourself for a while."

"Have you been able to sense her spiritual connection lately?"

"To be honest, I feel like she is very close to me now." Ashin felt that his body had grown rapidly stronger in the past two days, but this might not be a good thing.

"So, do I need to be locked up now?" Although the isolation room is not as free, it is still much better than prison. There is also time for exercise every day, and Xiaoyan can come to accompany him when she is free.

Ashin is a little reluctant to give up his current life, but he understands that his existence is like a time bomb to the First Base.

"No need, you should have a good rest, but if there is anything abnormal, you must notify me immediately." Jiang Lin stuffed a red button into his hand.

This was bought from the system mall. As long as Ashin pressed this button, she would know the situation at the first time.

"I understand." Ashin pressed the button. It was the best thing he could do if he could move freely for a while. He could feel Jiang Lin's anxiety.

Jiang Lin turned around and was about to leave, but Ah Xin suddenly stopped him, "I think we also have mental powers. If she can control people through her mind, there will definitely be backlash."

"If you are special, when I am being manipulated, maybe you can play a game with her through mental power." Ashin's words were like thunder, blowing up Jiang Lin's calm heart.

She paused: "I'll think about it. I wish you peace."

Jiang Lin came out and saw another sealed ward next door. The name on it was Tang Junming. She remembered that this seemed to be the prison guard whose mind was controlled by the mutant.

"What are you looking at?" Tang Xiaoyan followed her gaze. "He can now barely communicate normally. His brain damage is quite serious and he's still receiving treatment."

The nurse holding the nutritional injection came out and greeted Tang Xiaoyan when she saw her.

Tang Xiaoyan: "How's it going today?"

Nurse: "Much better. He knows who he is now. He remembers most of his social connections, but he can't recall anything about his time in prison. I think he'll be discharged in a few days."

While they were talking, Jiang Lin saw the person on the hospital bed through the glass on the door. His eyes looked a little dull, but he was in good spirits.

"This means that even if my brain is damaged, there is still a possibility of recovery." Jiang Lin thought thoughtfully.

"No, don't take the risk if you can't recover to your best condition." Tang Xiaoyan was shocked by her idea.

"What will happen?" Jiang Lin was a little curious.

"If it gets serious, you'll become a fool." Tang Xiaoyan said expressionlessly, "When we tell you, you'll just drool and that'll be bad."

Jiang Lin: ...