Chapter 101: Laboratory No. 1

Du Zhengyi ended the Teleportation with Luo Qi at the edge of the old moat, five kilometers away from the office. This area had been cleared into a riverside green space; the side adjacent to the asphalt road was planted with trees and dust-proof shrubbery, while the other side was the old-era moat, which had now turned into an unremarkable, murky little river.

Du Zhengyi let go of Luo Qi's arm and looked around at the place he had chosen to pause for the moment. It looked like a small park; not far away, a group of elderly humans in uniform attire were waving bright pink fans, and sanitation workers were methodically cleaning up trash by the roadside. The distance was gray and hazy, with cars flowing endlessly behind the wall of trees, and occasionally someone honked in violation of the rules. All of this was so incredibly mundane, and so incredibly calm, as if the confrontation he had just had with a Venerable in the world of Magic had never existed at all.

Even as he stood here, recalling the tense, sword-drawn moment from just before felt like a lifetime ago. Yet his fingertips were still numb; he had just gathered immense power. If he had truly released that power and committed it to the battle against the Venerable, he would have continued to release more and more—more power than his current body could withstand. He was not sure what he had just brushed past; perhaps it was the god of death, riding a gray horse in a gray dress.

"Hey!" Luo Qi called out excitedly in front of him. Now that his face had returned to normal, he was relieved to see that his mouth was a normal size. His smug face glowed, his eyes full of joy, and, losing all sense of propriety, he asked him urgently like a monkey, "Am I awesome? Am I shining with awesomeness?"

Du Zhengyi looked at him expressionlessly; in truth, he could not say much. He was struggling to restrain the aftereffects of gathering too much power. His hands were numb, and his chest was suffering from severe palpitations; the feeling was a bit like having just downed two liters of strong coffee. A bitter taste rolled through his heart. He still remembered the days when he could use his abilities without restraint, and the feeling of vast power rolling through his hands. Now, he had only just opened the floodgates of his power, and he was already trembling like a cripple. If Luo Qi hadn't miraculously ended the battle, he would have been in grave danger.

Luo Qi waited for a while, but not getting any "candy," his face fell like a child's, shifting from displeasure to full-blown resentment. He looked like a child who had arrived at Disney only to find the park closed due to heavy rain.

"Do you still want a silk banner?" Du Zhengyi said, struggling to speak while restraining the slight trembling caused by his palpitations.

His ability to control the external appearance of his body was excellent, and Luo Qi was too excited, his desire for praise already overflowing. Finally receiving Du Zhengyi's subtle affirmation, he was like a cat that had consumed catnip, failing to notice Du Zhengyi's slight abnormality.

He grinned for a while, then continued to ask, "Was I witty?"

Du Zhengyi smiled slightly, feeling that he could not follow Luo Qi down this ignorant, childish path any longer. He turned his gaze away from Luo Qi and looked toward the murky moat.

Luo Qi had always been good at reading the room. Seeing Du Zhengyi's solemn expression, he became a bit more serious himself and immediately began to analyze.

"Brother, what's wrong? Are you feeling a bit bitter? That's fair, right? You've been working your life away for the Qionglin since you were underage, haven't you? And in the end, they... they turned their backs on you. They really are a bunch of old idiots."

Du Zhengyi, however, noticed that after Luo Qi finished speaking, he patted his own mouth in surprise, his expression strange. He didn't know what Luo Qi had originally intended to say, but it was clear that whatever it was, it wasn't anything good.

Luo Qi rubbed his nose, meeting Du Zhengyi's gaze as if nothing had happened, and continued, "They didn't send Liu Li; I think Fan Shi definitely wants to stir up trouble."

Du Zhengyi did not speak, listening quietly to Luo Qi's encounter after he had gone inside. The feeling of excessive caffeine intake gradually subsided.

Luo Qi gave a rough account of how he had been bullied by that stupid, big, dark, and coarse Mage in a tone that was almost like snitching, then highly praised his own subsequent witty and glorious actions, excitedly recounting his first successful experience calling the police. He had long wanted an opportunity to call the police, and chances to find the police didn't come every day. He even experienced a live stream for the first time; although there were basically no viewers, it still managed to startle those losers.

He talked and laughed until his throat went hoarse, but Du Zhengyi listened expressionlessly the whole time. Realizing he was making a fool of himself, Luo Qi finally became serious. Adopting an earnestness matching his age, he asked the key question, "What exactly does Fan Shi want to do? Is he in cahoots with Li Xu?"

"Probably not," Du Zhengyi said. "But he represents the current attitude of the Qionglin. I am a street rat now."

Luo Qi's expression tightened, and he hurriedly asked, "Then what exactly is Pei Shu doing?"

"He is in seclusion in the Lone Mountain Holy Temple. The duration of the seclusion isn't entirely fixed, but according to custom, it is usually at least three months," Du Zhengyi said, speaking honestly this time. Even Luo Qi realized this, lifting his eyes to look at him with a hint of relief in his expression. People said that a Mind Master could discern truth from falsehood even without relying on Magic; now, he was starting to believe that rumor.

They stood by the railing along the river. He watched as Luo Qi poked the railing unconsciously with one finger, thinking as he spoke, "Can I ask what Pei Shu is actually doing in seclusion? Is he doing academic research? Even then, there's no need to be so extreme about not being disturbed, right? He's squatting in a cave writing a thesis—can't he even take a call from a student?"

"It is an experiment for Mind Mages," Du Zhengyi said. He hesitated, but seeing Luo Qi's instantly dejected expression, he really didn't want to let Luo Qi down. If his time in this world was ultimately limited, and the return date for his path was already set, why should he really bear the responsibility for the world behind him? Who was he keeping secrets for, and whose Guardian was he acting as?

He had never wanted to owe anyone anything, nor did he want to have deep ties with anyone. But Luo Qi had already lost his parents, and his legal standing in this world had been almost completely erased. He had saved his life, even taking him as an Anchor for his Consciousness. Luo Qi was like the innocent fairy in the story holding a spindle, spinning fine golden threads, ignorantly wrapping them tightly around them, thinking he had gained precious friendship, while completely unaware that the end of fate was ultimately ruthless. Whenever he thought about how Luo Qi would have to remedy his unbalanced Consciousness World after Du Zhengyi died, he would fall into guilt.

"Do you know what the Lone Mountain Temple is?" Du Zhengyi said. "The temple that I guard, the one protected by the Gushan Guards?"

Luo Qi looked up in surprise. "Isn't that just some ancient totem with symbolic meaning or something?"

"That counts, too," Du Zhengyi said. His body relaxed a little as he leaned back against the river railing. "There are many secrets in Gushan. Some are things I can tell you, and some are things I am absolutely unwilling to tell, even to you."

Luo Qi straightened his back happily, his face glowing. As long as Du Zhengyi gave him a few secrets, it was like a down payment for being friends.

"But I can tell you about the Lone Mountain Temple, because this part might have something to do with you in the future," Du Zhengyi said. "The Lone Mountain Temple is a Mind laboratory. It is located in a cave deep in the mountains, isolated from the world, relying on the mountain to block external Radiation and maintain a constant temperature, humidity, and many other subtle parameters. This laboratory is used to perform the most subtle and complex Mind operations in this world."

"That awesome? And so..." Luo Qi weighed his words, "so realistic? I originally thought the Lone Mountain Temple was an ancient ruin and that the Venerables were there performing traditional rituals, like Meditation or something. It turns out it's a laboratory? Our Mage race is quite pragmatic, isn't it?"

"Your father, the Great Mage Luo Ruian, was summoned there every year to assist Pei Shu," Du Zhengyi said in a low voice, somewhat reluctantly.

Sure enough, Luo Qi's expression changed; his happiness was like a crisp shell, shattering at a single touch.