Chapter 60: High-Risk Element

"To be honest, I don't know either." Maji looked at Luo Qi through his lenses; the lenses slightly magnified his eyes, refracting his pupils into a blur of light. "Telepathy is the most fundamental and natural form of Magic Ability. This ability is innate; just as infants learn to swallow and grasp, they also use their intent to perceive this world. Distinguishing one's own Yajian from the Yajian of others, the subconscious from the conscious—these are all established gradually and naturally. So I think the person, or those two people, who sealed your telepathic ability must have wanted your ability to remain asleep forever. What can I say? I suppose it's a case of 'the expert is bold'; those who did this were confident they could achieve it."

Luo Qi recalled all those days that were bleak to the extreme. He had wanted to talk to his father, but his Baba's attitude was always indifferent, neither here nor there. Even when he mentioned that his future life direction was to integrate into human society, his Baba said nothing. He had once thought it was because his Baba was utterly disappointed in him, but now he saw it more clearly: it was actually just because his Baba had known everything all along, and everything was within his control.

Then what exactly was he? Experimental data?

"But you don't believe they could succeed," Du Zhengyi interjected from the side.

"This is, after all, a task no one has accomplished before," Maji said. "From an academic perspective, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and disagreements are inevitable, so my view is merely my personal view and does not represent a definitive conclusion. But the views of the majority can still serve as a mainstream reference..."

"Speak plainly," Du Zhengyi said. "Give me a clear professional judgment."

"Whoever did this is talking nonsense!" Maji let out a breath. "It's impossible to succeed. Life will always find a way. The part of Luo Qi that was stifled is still Luo Qi; the real him will always find a way to come out. Meeting a lunatic like Li Xu might have caused him to break through a bit earlier, but even without meeting Li Xu, sooner or later he would have reached this point."

Luo Qi looked blankly out the window, unable to say anything. He could still feel the slight noise, but after listening for so long, it no longer seemed important.

"Then do you have any constructive advice for him?" Du Zhengyi asked coldly. "Besides suggesting he go back to infancy to be remade?"

"There isn't a good solution for the moment," Maji said. His gaze swept over Luo Qi, cautiously assessing Luo Qi's somewhat frantic expression, and he said in a low voice, "I already said, this is an experiment no one has done before."

"You'd better not treat him as an experiment," Du Zhengyi said irritably.

Maji scoffed, and lowering his voice even further, he said to Du Zhengyi, "I wasn't the one who first treated him as an experimental subject."

Du Zhengyi sighed. For the first time, he began to feel that perhaps he really had no other options. "If you have no way, I can only go find Pei Shu, but the uncertain risks in doing that are even greater. The bigger risk now is..." He didn't continue; he began to have a faint, uneasy premonition. "Right now he is only receiving external intent, but if he starts outputting in reverse, and he himself cannot control it..."

"If that were to happen, then that would..." Maji said, but he noticed Luo Qi had cast his gaze over once again. A chill went through his heart, and the mocking words he was about to say were swallowed back down. A thought crossed his mind, and he cautiously checked his own barriers, confirming that no one had invaded his brain and he hadn't "said" any Yajian out loud. "Du Zhengyi, I suggest you contact his parents at an appropriate time." He thought for a moment and then corrected himself, "Perhaps as soon as possible."

Luo Qi's gaze drifted away again. He looked back out the window as if nothing had happened.

Du Zhengyi was also watching Luo Qi. He bit his lower lip; this decision was not very hard to make. "I won't go find his parents. Since you have no solution, I will take him to my place first. There's no one there who will disturb him anyway, and he won't affect my Yajian."

Luo Qi turned his head abruptly to look at him in surprise, and Maji was also glaring at Du Zhengyi. "You know I can't truly grade his telepathic ability, so don't be so confident that you won't be threatened. Have you thought about the fact that his parents sealed his telepathic ability when he was young—besides the possibility that his parents might be perverts, is it possible it was actually for some reasonable purpose?"

"You mean, I really am a high-risk element, right?" Luo Qi said. He saw Du Zhengyi turn his head and glare at him heavily, using his eyes to sternly signal him to shut up immediately. But he had long since stopped caring. He had escaped the Qionglin, only to find that he was still in a cage, and he could not escape the predicament that followed him like a shadow. "Whatever, just send me back to the Underground Cube then."

Maji did not speak; he did not take this opportunity to immediately express agreement. In the silence, Luo Qi remembered that he could be considered a good person; in fact, he didn't want to make this decision either. Perhaps he suggested this only because it was the method with the lowest harm to others, and also the method with the lowest harm to Du Zhengyi.

Luo Qi was not a selfless person; he just had no other way. A hand landed on his shoulder and pressed down. "You just haven't completely broken free from the despair created by Li Xu yet."

Luo Qi was startled again. He raised his head to look at Du Zhengyi. Regardless of how much disapproval Maji wore on his face behind them, Du Zhengyi did not turn back to look. "This is not a big deal," Du Zhengyi said firmly. "Since all Telepaths naturally adapt to this process, once you've taken a bath, eaten a meal, and had a good sleep, you will be able to overcome this problem."

"I wouldn't make such an optimistic prediction," Maji said, frowning behind him. "Once Pei Shu finishes his seclusion, I will contact him."

"Whatever," Du Zhengyi said, reaching out to pull Luo Qi up roughly, not caring that he was still trembling slightly and looked as if he were falling apart. "This is a mascot given to me by Pei Shu and Liu Li; it belongs to me to handle."

"This isn't snatching toys when we were kids," Maji said unhappily. "I will contact his parents too."

"You'd better go contact a little girl first." Du Zhengyi's fingers traced through the air, and a string of glowing numbers was imprinted on his hand.

He gasped from the heat and glared at Du Zhengyi.

"Go to this address to pick her up, and ask her if she is willing to go home or willing to come to you. If she wants to go home, you stake out her vicinity twenty-four hours a day; I suspect the Lotus Burner might look for trouble with her recently. Tell her I will call her." After Du Zhengyi finished speaking, he dragged Luo Qi into the Subspace.