After Lu Zexuan returned to the White Tower, he happened to meet Mor, who smiled and asked, "How was the meeting with Yu Ran going?"
"… Should be okay?" Lu Zexuan didn't know if this meeting was good or not, but it seemed to be a little better than last time. At least Bai Ying was happy? He ignored the strange feeling in his heart and changed the subject, asking, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm going to go check on Xiao Qi. She doesn't seem to be in a good condition."
Xiao Qi was the girl they rescued in this mission. Lu Zexuan turned around and followed Moore: "I'll go take a look too."
The two walked side by side to a room labeled "Sentinel Isolation Observation Room". Moore swiped his card to open the door.
The furnishings in the room are similar to those in the high-end wards of the hospital, with a private bathroom, a sofa for resting, and a single bed. The room is full of white noise, and the floor is covered with thick carpets, which will not make footsteps when you step on them.
Since the sentinels have keen five senses, this "isolation room" is usually used to isolate mentally damaged sentinels to prevent them from being disturbed by the outside world.
A little girl about 7 years old sat on the edge of the bed with no expression on her face. She stared blankly ahead. Even when Moore and Lu Zexuan walked into the room, she did not react at all.
Lu Zexuan stretched out his hand and waved it in front of her: "Xiao Qi?"
The girl's pupils followed Lu Zexuan's hand and she could see it, but the expression on her face was still like a puppet that had lost its soul.
Moore said: "She was too young, and I forcibly erased her memory. Part of her mental picture, which was already small, was forcibly dug out. The result is like this."
But if she had not erased her memory at that time, that bloody and horrifying experience would probably have formed a stubborn negative shadow in her spiritual world and affected her growth.
Moore sighed and said, "Fortunately, his life was saved. The trauma in his spiritual world can be healed slowly."
"Have you found her relatives?" Lu Zexuan whispered.
"Her mother died when she was very young, and she has been dependent on her father. Her father is the person closest to her and the one she trusts the most. But this man turned into a living monster in front of her eyes, strangling her neck and almost eating her..." Moore rubbed his forehead helplessly, "Memories can be erased, but the emotions deep in the heart cannot be completely eliminated. She is very sad now, but she doesn't know why she is sad."
"..." Lu Zexuan frowned slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "I have an idea. Yu Ran happens to be a forest healing guide. When he learns to use his mind tentacles to rebuild his mental image, let him try to help Xiao Qi, and you can assist him. The two of you can enter the child's mental image together. If Yu Ran does something wrong, you can stop him in time so that he won't get hurt."
Forest healing guides only account for 5% of all guides. Graduated guides all have their own jobs, so Lu Zexuan cannot directly mobilize them to help Xiao Qi. The few guides that he knows well in private are not in the capital planet recently.
On the one hand, Lu Zexuan went to find Yu Ran because Yu Ran could indeed help, and on the other hand, he also wanted to test Yu Ran's healing ability to see if he could come to the Falcon Special Forces as a guide.
Moore thought about it carefully, nodded and said, "It's feasible. Xiao Qi's mental strength is very low, and it will definitely be enough for Yu Ran and I to work together to treat him. But... is Yu Ran a learner so fast? I remember that it took students in Class C half a year to learn to use mind tentacles to heal others."
Yu Ran is a growth-oriented guide. This is his privacy. Lu Zexuan couldn't tell Moore directly, so he found an excuse and said, "He is 18 years old after all. He has a much better understanding ability than a 13-year-old student. It is normal for him to learn faster."
Moore had no doubt: "That's great."
Two days later, the Falcon Special Forces received another urgent mission. This time the mission was issued in the middle of the night. Lu Zexuan did not even have time to say goodbye to Yu Ran before he led the team away from the capital planet.
Like the Southern Cross, a large number of frenzied Sentinels also appeared in the Ophiuchus galaxy.
When Lu Zexuan led the team to the human safety zone, he happened to see two deformed sentinels sharing a human corpse.
The scene was horrific and bloody.
Lu Zexuan calmly pulled out the electromagnetic knife, flew forward, and cut off the heads of the two mutants cleanly and efficiently!
Moore looked at this scene and asked in confusion, "Do you feel that... there are suddenly more frenzied Sentinels recently?"
The mental world of the Sentinels was not very stable, and frenzy was common. In the past, some Sentinels who had gone berserk and distorted due to mental breakdown appeared in the border area between humans and alien creatures, and were handed over to the Falcon Special Forces to arrest or kill. However, a situation like the recent concentrated frenzy... Lu Zexuan had never experienced it before.
A sense of uneasiness suddenly arose in his heart.
Lu Zexuan said in a deep voice: "It is more than in previous years. This matter should not be that simple. Let's complete the task first and then go back to the capital star."
This mission was more difficult than the last one. There were already a large number of alien creatures on the planets in the Ophiuchus galaxy. Those berserk sentinels hid in the wilderness. It took the Falcon Special Forces a full half month to capture all the scattered berserk sentinels and clean up all the mutants.
Several comrades were seriously injured and had to be treated in the treatment cabin.
Lu Zexuan, who led the team back to the capital star, looked very unhappy.
After handing the berserk Sentinel over to the White Tower, he and Mor turned to the isolation ward.
Xiaoqi's condition is still the same as before. He eats and sleeps like a normal person, but his eyes are dull and he doesn't talk to people. He is like a walking puppet.
Lu Zexuan said: "This child was at the scene at the time, maybe she knows something?"
Mor said: "After her spiritual world is fully restored, I will try to find a way to read her memory."
Lu Zexuan took out his communicator and sent a message to Yu Ran: "Yu Ran, how is your therapy course going?"
Yu Ran quickly replied: "I have learned the most basic reconstruction of mental images. Recently, I have been doing simulation exercises with my class teacher, and the teacher said that my operation is quite standard."
Lu Zexuan said: "I want you to do a small favor and rebuild the mental picture of a 7-year-old girl."
Yu Ran was stunned for a moment, and said nervously: "But I have no experience in treating real people. What if something goes wrong?"
Lu Zexuan said: "Don't worry, Mor is here to help you. This child's mental power is very low, your mental power is enough to heal her."
Yu Ran breathed a sigh of relief: "If Dr. Moore can help, maybe I can give it a try?"
Lu Zexuan said, "Well, tomorrow is Saturday. I'll pick you up at 9 a.m. Please ask for leave from the college in advance."
Yu Ran: "Okay, see you tomorrow!"
In the student dormitory of the Guidance College, Yu Ran looked at the chat records of the two thoughtfully—
A 7-year-old girl? It seems that she was rescued by Lu Zexuan during his mission. It is very likely that her parents have passed away, and something vicious has happened that is enough to destroy her spiritual world. In order to save her life, Moore forcibly erased her memory, leaving a hidden danger.
If it is an adult sentinel, forcibly erasing the memory will not have a big impact. If an adult does not remember something, he will only feel confused, but he will be able to adjust his mentality and return to normal soon.
But children are different. Their mental endurance is too fragile. If they are forced to eliminate it, their mental picture may collapse directly and turn them into lunatics.
It was thanks to More's excellent medical skills that he knew how to strike the right balance when doing the treatment, otherwise the girl's life would be in danger.
Lu Zexuan asked him to work together with Moore for the treatment, which could not only prevent Yu Ran from "harming the patient due to improper operation", but also test the strength of Yu Ran's mental strength, which was like killing two birds with one stone.
Since General Lu wants to test him so much...
He must perform well.
Yu Ran said in his mind: "Tomorrow, I will use two thought tentacles to treat the child. Follow my instructions, and you can faint from weakness when necessary."
The little white fox said excitedly: "No problem, I love acting the most!"
***
At nine o'clock the next morning, Lu Zexuan drove to the Guide College. Yu Ran was already waiting for him at the door. When she saw him, she immediately trotted over, her eyes filled with joy.
The little white fox also cooperated with its owner in the acting, secretly watching the falcon while covering its face with its big fluffy tail.
White Eagle: “…”
How can there be such a cute spirit? I really want to touch its big tail!
Lu Zexuan immediately stopped Bai Ying from making any moves and got out of the car to help Yu Ran open the door.
After getting in the car, Yu Ran asked with concern: "I haven't seen you for more than half a month. Are you guys going on a mission again?"
Lu Zexuan said: "Well, I've been busy lately and haven't been able to find time to visit you."
Yu Ran said hurriedly: "It's okay, I know you are very busy at work. I am doing well in school, and the teachers are very caring towards me. They give me private tutoring and say that I am making rapid progress."
Lu Zexuan glanced at him and asked, "How many thought tentacles can you condense now?"
Yu Ran scratched his head embarrassedly: "At present, I can only condense two, which last for about two minutes. I don't know if it will be enough."
Lu Zexuan said: "It should be enough to treat young children."
In less than half an hour, the car arrived at the central square of the White Pagoda.
The patrolling sentries saw the Falcon Special Forces vehicle badge and let them pass after a quick check of their passes.
Yu Ran looked up and curiously looked out the window at the towering white tower in front of him, muttering, "This building is so high that I can't even see where the top is."
Lu Zexuan said: "The White Tower has more than 300 floors. The top floor is a helipad, floating in the clouds and invisible from the ground."
Yu Ran turned around and asked, "I heard that many high-ranking sentinels and guides live in the White Tower. Do you live here too?"
Lu Zexuan said: "Well, after graduating from university, I was assigned to the dormitory in the White Tower."
The hover car drove directly to the White Tower's aerial parking platform on the 10th floor. After verification was passed, the metal door slowly opened in front of him. Lu Zexuan drove the car in, stopped at a fixed position, and then took Yu Ran out of the car and came to an elevator.
The elevator went up quickly and stopped at the 240th floor.
Yu Ran followed Lu Zexuan through a long corridor. The constant sounds in his ears made Yu Ran frown slightly. Lu Zexuan explained: "There is white noise here 24 hours a day to protect the sentinels' keen senses from being disturbed by noise. This is your first time here, so you may not be used to it."
Yu Ran smiled and said, "Fortunately, the white noise is not too loud."
Lu Zexuan came to a door and swiped his card to enter.
Moore was waiting in the house. When he saw the two of them, he came over with a smile and said, "Yu Ran, long time no see."
Yu Ran greeted politely: "Dr. Moore."
He looked at the bed behind Moore and saw a little girl about 7 years old sitting on the bed.
She had two ponytails and a fair baby face, which was very cute. But at this moment, her eyes were dull and her face had no expression, making her look like a puppet.
Lu Zexuan said: "You two, let's get started."
Moore took Yu Ran to sit beside the bed and said, "Later, I will go into her mental picture with you. You follow my mind tentacles and go to the depths of her picture to help her repair and rebuild. I will guide you by the side."
Yu Ran nodded seriously: "Okay."
They both closed their eyes and concentrated.
Two white thought tentacles condensed in Moore's palm, swam quickly, and gently stuck to the girl's forehead. Immediately afterwards, Yu Ran also condensed two green thought tentacles and followed Moore.
Lu Zexuan stood by and watched the scene. Sentinels had no mind tentacles and could not enter other people's mental images. He could not see what was happening in the little girl's image, but with More's protection, he was not worried that Yu Ran would make a mistake.
In the mental picture, Moore was leading the way patiently, and Yu Ran followed him carefully.
This girl inherited her father's characteristics and is a sentinel with the spirit form of a brown bear.
Her mental image was of a cave. At this moment, the brown bear, as big as a teddy bear, was hiding deep in the cave. Its body was translucent and it seemed that it might disappear at any time.
Yu Ran's spiritual tentacles followed Mor and slowly entered the depths of the cave.
He found an obvious black hole on the wall of the cave, as if it had been dug out by someone.
Moore paused: "It's here."
The little girl's spiritual world was crumbling at this moment. The cave was shaking slightly and was in danger of collapsing at any time.
Yu Ran concentrated his mental strength, and the green tentacles of his thoughts gently brushed across the damaged wall.
As the two tentacles pierced into the black hole, new soil gradually emerged. As if they had intelligence, they followed the guidance of the green vines and began to slowly fill in the gaps in the wall.
More watched this scene with relief—Ranran had a high talent for healing, and it was rare for a C-level guide to be able to perform such precise treatment without any unnecessary or erroneous operations.
Although I have secured a place for him, he is still a student and has a lot of room for improvement.
This case is very simple. With time, it is possible for Yu Ran to handle more complicated cases, or even help the frenzied sentinel regain his sanity.
The healing process in the spiritual world was silent, but in Lu Zexuan's eyes, Yu Ran's forehead was already covered with fine beads of sweat, and the spiritual body, the little white fox, also looked exhausted.
Time passed slowly, and the sweat on Yu Ran's face became more and more.
Lu Zexuan frowned and looked at Yu Ran. He couldn't interrupt the guide's treatment, but for some reason... he was actually a little worried about Yu Ran's condition.
After about two minutes - a very long time for Lu Zexuan - Moore finally took Yu Ran out of the girl's mental picture.
Lu Zexuan asked hurriedly: "How is it?"
Moore smiled and said, "It went smoothly. Xiao Qi's mental picture has been rebuilt."
As soon as he finished speaking, the girl on the hospital bed suddenly burst into tears, as if the emotions that had been pent up for a long time had finally found an outlet.
Her spirit bear appeared beside her, hanging his head sadly, and the little girl was crying so hard that she could hardly breathe—
She lost her father. Although she didn't remember how her father died, she knew that her father was gone. She had no relatives in this world.
Negative emotions cannot be suppressed all the time. Sometimes, venting them is a good thing.
Yu Ran reached out his hand, gently touched the little girl's head, and comforted her: "Don't be afraid, I lost my parents just like you. There are many orphans like us in this world, and everyone is trying hard to survive. Besides, you are a sentinel, you have stronger abilities than ordinary people, you must be strong."
The little girl cried and threw herself into Yu Ran's arms: "Brother... is my dad dead... wuwuwu..."
Moore explained: "Your father died while on a mission."
The little girl accepted this explanation and cried for a long time in Yu Ran's arms, wetting Yu Ran's clothes.
Yu Ran was not impatient at all and patted the child's back patiently. He was like a gentle guiding doctor, trying to heal the sentinel's mental scars in his own way.
After a long time, the little girl was tired of crying and fell into a deep sleep.
After this spiritual reconstruction and emotional release, there should be no indelible shadow left in her spiritual world. In the future, she will be able to grow up healthily and may become an excellent sentinel.
Yu Ran breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, looked at Lu Zexuan and said, "Fortunately, I can help a little."
Soon after he finished saying this, his face turned slightly pale, and the little fox, who was already very tired, curled up into a ball and fainted on his owner's shoulder.
Yu Ran seemed to be unable to stand steadily, and his body was shaky. Lu Zexuan hurried forward to support him: "Yu Ran, are you okay?"
The sentry's voice was filled with a tension that he himself was not aware of.
Yu Ran said weakly: "Maybe I have consumed too much mental energy. I just need to take a rest."
The white eagle flapped its wings anxiously: "The little fox fainted! It must be very tired, right?"
Moore said: "Ran Ran is a C-level guide, his mental power is limited, and it is normal for him to be severely exhausted since this is his first treatment. Let's take him to have a good sleep."
Seeing Yu Ran's pale face, Lu Zexuan decisively stretched out his arms, gently picked Yu Ran up, and turned to walk towards his dormitory.
Yu Ran was held obediently by him and actually fell asleep peacefully in his arms.
Lu Zexuan: “…”
The poor little guide cured the patient but fell asleep due to exhaustion.
Lu Zexuan looked at Yu Ran who was sleeping soundly in his arms. He had long and thick eyelashes, beautiful rosy lips, and a fair and handsome face. His appearance was very easy to make people feel pity for him.
If there is nothing wrong with Yu Ran's background... maybe I can let go of my guard and consider actually getting to know him
With mixed feelings, Lu Zexuan carried Yu Ran back to the single apartment, carefully placed him on the bed, and clumsily helped him take off his shoes and covered him with a quilt.
Then, Lu Zexuan turned around and poured water for Yu Ran.
Yu Ran looked like he was sleeping soundly.
But in the spiritual world, Yu Ran was chatting with the two foxes: "It's going well. General Lu is willing to take me to his bachelor apartment and sleep in his bed. It seems that his vigilance against me has been reduced."
The nine-tailed fox calmly reminded: "Be careful not to overact. If he really falls in love with you, it will not end well."
Yu Ran analyzed, "Lu Zexuan is a very rational person. He won't be so easily tempted. He is testing me and approaching me now only because our guiding qualities are highly compatible. He wants to take me to the Falcon Special Forces as a team guide."
The little white fox said doubtfully: "But I always feel that the eagle looks at me strangely."
Yu Ran: “…Really?”
The spiritual body can perceive the feelings in the subconscious mind. Yu Ran carefully recalled Lu Zexuan's reaction... Maybe this sentinel was more introverted, so he didn't notice anything wrong.
Anyway, the two of them were approaching each other with a purpose, so there was no need to worry too much that Lu Zexuan would be attracted to a little guide like him with a humble family background.
According to Lu Zexuan's thinking, the most he could do to him was friendship, right? Just like he did to Moore. General Lu just wanted to test him to see if he could be qualified as a "special forces guide".
It must be like this.
Yu Ran felt relieved and simply took a nap in Lu Zexuan's bedroom.
(End of this chapter)