Chapter 215: Mirror Project

While the entire world focused on this attack, Yang Yi came alone to Beverly Hills.

Under the setting sun, this manor villa resembled a phantom dream: the lake surface shimmering with floating light and dancing gold, the oak forest with lush leaves—everything familiar yet strange.

A figure sat on a lounge chair in the outer hall, silently raising his head to gaze at the sky; he seemed to have been waiting there for a very, very long time.

On the round table before him sat a laptop.

Yang Yi landed and sat opposite him.

"You've come," Chris said. He gazed at her face with restrained yet greedy eyes; he had not seen her for 48 days.

Her gaze was an unbearable calmness and indifference: "When you first approached me, was it a conspiracy of the Ark Kingdom?"

She preferred directness and honesty, detesting complexity and lies. Chris suddenly remembered this.

"Yes." His voice was dry; he barely heard his own response, only a buzzing sound like tinnitus.

He opened the laptop and turned the screen toward her.

It was a CIA intelligence analysis document:

Document Classification: Top Secret | For the eyes of the "Mirror Project" core team only

Project Codename: "Mirror Project"

Target Subject: Yang Yi (Codename "Artemis")

Analysis Team: National Strategic Intelligence Bureau Behavioral Analysis Division, Anomaly Research Advisory Group

Report Summary: Based on publicly available and accessible information regarding the target, formulate a non-coercive contact and trust-building strategy.

Part One: Target Core Psychological Profile (Comprehensive Assessment Based on Existing Intelligence)

1. Personality Foundation: High-functioning Avoidant Personality and Idealist

Evidence Chain:

Digital Footprint: Early social media posts displayed concern and worry for abstract philosophy, social equity, and natural ecology, but rarely shared personal life or emotions. In recent years, she has tended toward silence.

Cross-verification of Growth Experience: Rumors that she lost her father early, was abandoned by her mother, raised by grandparents and an uncle and aunt, suffered abuse, and maintained distant relationships with relatives were partially corroborated by classmates. During her student years, her grades were excellent but her social circle extremely narrow; multiple classmates described her as "quiet, a loner, but decisive," and "as if living in her own world."

Behavioral Patterns: After becoming the "First Awakened One," she rejected all commercial endorsements, political rallies, and in-depth interviews, releasing information only through brief announcements or third parties. She exhibited a physiological aversion to the spotlight and an absolute defense of her private domain.

Core Inference: The target does not lack emotion but internalizes it deeply and sublimates it into loyalty to abstract ideals. She holds deep distrust and fear toward "concrete interpersonal relationships," viewing them as filled with uncontrollable harm and compromise. Her moral sense is extremely strong, but its standards are internalized and absolute, not secular.

2. Trauma Imprints and Defense Mechanisms

Evidence Chain:

Growth Environment Analysis: Originated from an ordinary background; economic conditions during adolescence may have been poor (requires further verification of financial records); experiences of exclusion due to "difference" may exist.

Teacher Evaluations: Multiple teachers mentioned she had "extremely strong self-esteem," was "overly sensitive," and "would rather bear burdens herself than seek help."

Core Inference: The target possesses unpublicized emotional neglect or early trauma experiences, leading to the development of a highly independent facade and an internal sense of "unworthiness." Her "avoidance" is an active evasion of potential harm. "High self-esteem" and "low self-worth" may coexist within her, forming a latent logic of "I must be perfect/strong to deserve existence."

3. Current Behavioral Drive: A Lone Wolf Bearing a Mission

Evidence Chain:

Public Statements: All remarks regarding her abilities point toward "responding to future crises" and "protection," rather than personal ambition or pleasure.

Ability Usage Pattern: Used only to resolve major anomalous creature threats, disaster relief, and other "undeniable acts of good," after which she immediately withdraws to avoid sustained social interaction.

Core Inference: The target views her abilities as a heavy responsibility or curse rather than a gift. She is walking a self-imposed, almost ascetic "Guardian" path. She feels responsibility toward humanity as a whole (abstract) but maintains distance from individuals (concrete).

Part Two: Contact and Trust-Building Instruction Manual (For Chris to Execute)

Core Principle: Play the role of a "safe and non-threatening ideal projection"

You hold an initial phase advantage with the target; the target has been projecting onto you for four years.

You are not going to "conquer" or "seduce," but to become the real-world mirror image of that perfect projection in her heart. The key lies in triggering her projection mechanism and aligning yourself with her projection.

Phase One: Non-Contact Preparation (Establishing an Impression Foundation)

Image Management: Naturally integrate the following elements into public interviews and social media:

Focus on Art and Ideals: Discuss deep understanding of roles, appreciation for specific philosophical or aesthetic concepts.

Display "Misunderstood Loneliness": Implicitly express the faint fatigue of being a public figure under constant gaze and commodification, and a longing for "genuine connection" (to resonate with her).

Demonstrate "Non-Aggressive Strength": Emphasize self-discipline, persistence in professionalism, and the perseverance to overcome difficulties (rather than worldly success), shaping an image of "powerful but harmless."

Phase Two: Initial Contact and Low-Intensity Interaction

Excuse for First Contact: Must use "emotional and ideological resonance" as the entry point.

Best Script: Understand her loneliness and trigger resonance. (Template: "Your situation is unique in all of history; no one can guide your life, no one can truly feel your predicament. Walking such a path alone must be very lonely." "Are you afraid of the monsters you face?")

Interaction Style: Maintain physical and emotional distance: conversation focused, polite, keeping a safe physical distance.

Listen More, Ask Less: During initial contact, avoid pressing on personal history, family, or emotional state.

Share "Vulnerability": Carefully share confusion in your artistic creation or the pursuit of meaning (must be genuine or adapted from your own experiences). Showing weakness is the fastest path to gaining her trust, but it must be the "high-level vulnerability" she recognizes (pertaining to existence, not trivialities).

Phase Three: Progressive Self-Disclosure and Boundary Testing

The Art of Self-Disclosure: After establishing preliminary dialogue, limited, carefully designed self-disclosure may be made. Content should revolve around: personal weariness with industry hypocrisy, pursuit of creating genuine value, and past setbacks or lack of understanding (but overcome and sublimated).

Creating a Sense of "Being Needed": When she may encounter public opinion pressure or difficulties (requires intelligence support to time precisely), send a brief, restrained but supportive message through private channels (e. g., "I saw you in the news; I feel your mood is good/bad"). Never make public statements to avoid being interpreted as exploitation.

Display "Limited Vulnerability": At an appropriate time (such as when she expresses disappointment in someone or something), reveal a hint of helplessness under systemic coercion (to pave the way for the later discovery of the spy identity), but immediately show resistance and self-assertion regarding this. Shape a contradictory image of "polluted yet striving to remain pure," mirroring her inner state.

Phase Four: Construction and Maintenance of Deep Trust

Passing "Tests": She will inevitably set unconscious loyalty tests (such as alternating between hot and cold attitudes, or raising ideological questions that put you in a difficult position).

You must pass:

Ideological Questions: Discuss with a sincere attitude, demonstrating depth of thought; even if you disagree, respect her viewpoint.

Emotional Tests: When she distances herself, maintain a stable, continuous, faint presence (such as regularly sharing photos, text messages, and links she might be interested in), occasionally asking or making small complaints, but not excessively, to avoid provoking her aversion.

Become a "Safe Base": When she begins to reveal pain or fear to you, make no judgments, offer no solutions, and provide only emotional validation (Template: "That must have been very difficult." "I see your pain."). Your value lies in providing a safe base where she can temporarily lower her defenses.

Part Three: Absolute Prohibitions (Red Line List)

Prohibit Emotional Blackmail: Avoid using sentence structures like "What have I done for you?" or "You make me feel..."

Prohibition on Public Association: Under no circumstances shall any private relationship with her be mentioned or implied in any public setting without her explicit permission.

Prohibition on Utilitarian Requests: Never request that she use her abilities to secure benefits for you or anyone else.

Prohibition on Any Form of Investigation: Never press her about the past she is unwilling to bring up voluntarily.

Prohibition on Forced Acceleration: Any attempt to accelerate the progress of the relationship will result in all previous efforts being wasted.

Part Four: Contingency Plan (When the Target Becomes Suspicious)

If questioned about motives: The response must return to "human resonance." (Template: "After knowing the real you, I can no longer view you as a 'target' or a 'superpowered individual.' You are the person closest to the ideal image in my heart that I have ever seen in reality. My approach was a mission, yet personal feelings arose within that mission. You may never trust me, but I cannot feign disinterest in you.")

If facing total rupture: Admit the error, but attribute it to "human clumsiness" rather than "malicious deception." You may state: "The mission I initially received was indeed to approach you. But it was you I spoke with, and it was you who made me waver. If you decide to end this or choose revenge, I accept it all. My only regret is allowing a dirty beginning to contaminate what might have been the only genuine thing."

Conclusion: The key to success lies in making the target believe that the connection she feels was discovered and constructed by her own initiative, not implanted. You (Chris) must be that seemingly passive yet precisely reflective "blank canvas" of what she needs in her heart. This plan's success rate is assessed at 47%. Once successful, the trust gained will be deep and exclusive. Both risk and reward are of the highest grade.