Shang Jianyao let out a long "Oh" and walked into the room, circling the captain twice.
Finally, he stopped and exclaimed in his mother tongue:
"So, it's you, kid!"
The source of the "darkness" was actually inside the captain's body!
Immediately afterward, Shang Jianyao stroked his chin, ignoring the captain's aria, and muttered to himself:
"From inside the body..."
"Did he eat something he shouldn't have?" The honest one on Shang Jianyao's right shoulder poked his head out and joined the discussion.
The playful and cheerful Shang Jianyao emerged from his left shoulder:
"No matter what it is, as long as it's not stuck in his body, anything eaten will eventually be excreted, it just might not have the same shape."
"Stuck in the body..." The calm and rational Shang Jianyao said thoughtfully, "Doesn't that remind you of something? Transplanted bone marrow, the goddess who became a researcher, Daffodil Osla..."
The honest Shang Jianyao suddenly jumped up, craning his neck:
"Is the source of the 'darkness,' the node of the 'New World,' derived from Daffodil's bone marrow?"
"She entered the 'New World,' and her physical body in reality mutated, including the donated bone marrow?" This time, the cheerful Shang Jianyao didn't talk nonsense, demonstrating his humor.
The Shang Jianyao in the middle defaulted to this guess and smiled:
"Don't forget, she was also a researcher."
Regarding the source of "Heartless Disease," many clues currently point to a scientific experiment involving "darkness" and the New World in the Old World.
And the most mysterious and dangerous organization in the graylands, preventing people from figuring out the cause of the Old World's destruction, is the Eighth Research Institute.
As soon as the calm and rational Shang Jianyao finished speaking, his expression turned gloomy.
He looked at the captain, who had stood up and was pacing aimlessly, tears streaming down his face, and said in a deep voice:
"Whatever the reason, the source of the 'darkness' is confirmed to be in his body.
"Giving him an electric shock should solve the anomaly on this cruise ship, allowing us to break through this psychological shadow in an unconventional way."
The other Shang Jianyaos were silent at the same time.
After a few seconds, the compassionate Pudu Chan Shi asked hesitantly:
"Will giving him an electric shock cause his death?"
"Isn't it a good thing if he dies? Throwing the corpse into the sea can bury this 'New World' node." The gloomy Shang Jianyao dismissed the semi-mechanical monk's words.
The Shang Jianyao, who hated evil and saw saving all of humanity as his duty, emerged from his body:
"But he hasn't done anything wrong.
"We can't just doom someone because they got a contagious disease from surgery, which might affect others, right?"
"Wake up!" The gloomy Shang Jianyao scolded, "This is a psychological shadow, the people here are fake!"
"A gentleman is cautious when alone. We can't indulge ourselves and violate our own worldview, philosophy of life, and values just because we are in a virtual world." The righteous Shang Jianyao didn't give in.
The gloomy Shang Jianyao "Heh"ed:
"Hypocrite!
"If we don't deal with the captain, most of the passengers here will get 'Heartless Disease' by the last day!
"You'd rather thousands of people die to show your kindness?
"Is that kindness? Bah, it's self-pity!"
"No, we can't think like that." The Shang Jianyao who valued feelings helped the one who hated evil, "If you were the captain, how would you think, what would you do if you were being shouted at and killed, and someone was trying to humanely destroy you just because you hadn't really done anything wrong, but were passively infected?"
"Of course, I'd kill them!" The gloomy Shang Jianyao answered without hesitation, "Even if it meant being against all of humanity! If I'm dead, what value does this world have for me?"
Without waiting for the other Shang Jianyaos to respond, he fully elaborated on his philosophy:
"Isn't the final choice in such matters based on which side you're on?
"If I were the majority, I certainly wouldn't tolerate someone harming us in the name of respecting the rights of the minority and not harming any individual, choosing the lesser of two evils! If I were the minority, the individual who might be harmed, then of course, I would tell everyone, 'Will the one who started this have no descendants?' Even if it meant opposing all of humanity and causing most people to die, I would have to ensure my own survival!
"Those who can make opposite decisions in both situations are either saints or heroes."
Seeing him being so selfishly candid, the other Shang Jianyaos couldn't find a reason to refute him for a moment.
As time passed, the calm and rational Shang Jianyao smiled:
"Actually, there's no need to be so extreme.
"In the current situation, is giving the captain an electric shock really the best option?
"Before, we were dealing with objects, the ceiling, but this time it's the human body, and no one knows if there will be any additional changes."
He looked around, watching the heads popping out of his body, and said with a smile:
"Although this is a psychological shadow, if something really goes wrong and threatens us, we might also be harmed in reality, becoming a vegetable or even dying on the spot, so being cautious and careful isn't a bad thing."
"That's true." The sinister, venomous, but timid and cowardly Shang Jianyao pondered for a few seconds and agreed.
The calm and rational Shang Jianyao then stated his plan:
"Let's first try to take the captain five kilometers away from the cruise ship and observe the changes."
This was the method the group had used to deal with the crucifix pendant before.
"Okay, okay!" The subordinate Shang Jianyao, who hadn't dared to speak because his companions were arguing, quickly raised his hand in agreement.
The ten heads of Shang Jianyao turned to the captain, who had knelt down again and was singing a love aria.
Smiles appeared on their faces.
In less than a minute, the captain, draped in a bed sheet, was tightly bound.
During the process, Shang Jianyao didn't dare to use his ability, fearing being contaminated by the "darkness."
But with his physical fitness alone, he easily completed the "kidnapping" task.
Then, he carried the moaning captain and, dragging his paralyzed right leg that had been moved to his tailbone, ran out of the room and straight to the deck.
His goal was the cruise ship's own lifeboat!
Relying on his ability to sense human consciousness and his parkour skills, Shang Jianyao bypassed the humans who were in a state of chaos and arrived at the corresponding side of the ship, lowering the lifeboat into the sea.
After getting on the lifeboat with the captain, Shang Jianyao waved his right hand at the cruise ship:
"Bye-bye!"
He was as cheerful as if he were playing a game.
The sea was windy and cold at night, Shang Jianyao tightened his clothes and said to the captain, who was in an unconscious state:
"You're lucky it's the compassionate me now. After all, the semi-mechanical monk isn't that afraid of the cold. Otherwise, your bed sheet definitely wouldn't be safe!"
While chattering, Pudu Chan Shi drove the lifeboat a long distance.
He couldn't calculate exactly how far, but he was sure it was more than five kilometers.
Then, he materialized a high-powered telescope and, using the moonlight and starlight shining from the sky, observed the situation on the cruise ship.
The "darkness" was still permeating there, but it was a little thinner than before, and people were undoubtedly still in a state of chaos and madness.
"This range of influence is a bit terrifying... Or is it because it's currently a psychological shadow, and unless you find the right method, it's essentially impossible to create distance? Do we really have to use an electric shock?" Shang Jianyao stroked his chin and muttered to himself a few times.
After considering it, he sent the captain back to the cruise ship and left this psychological shadow himself.
…………
In the real world, Shang Jianyao opened his eyes and saw Jiang Baimian and the others looking as if they were facing a great enemy.
"How was it?" Jiang Baimian breathed a sigh of relief and asked with concern.
Shang Jianyao quite seriously explained the situation he had observed and his handling of it.
"Now, whenever I hear about research institutes and researchers, I get a headache." Long Yuehong couldn't help but exclaim.
Shang Jianyao laughed:
"Bai was a researcher before."
"Assistant, assistant." Jiang Baimian said modestly, pondering, "We might have to find a way to suppress the 'New World' node that fits the cognition of that psychological shadow or the room's owner."
"Do you have any ideas?" Shang Jianyao never cared about face and would ask whenever he had a question.
Bai Chen pursed her lips and said tentatively:
"High-voltage electrical shock?"
"Let's consider that last." Shang Jianyao looked around, "Are there any other methods?"
Genaver, Long Yuehong, and the others fell into contemplation.
After a while, Jiang Baimian said thoughtfully:
"Let's go through the patterns of the entire psychological shadow again."
"One, under normal circumstances, you leave where you were, and when you enter, you're in the nearest room..." Shang Jianyao quickly began to recall.
These were all summarized by him before.
He repeated them one by one until the end:
"Six, the time before boarding the cruise ship was quite special, and it hasn't been repeated since."
Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully:
"The sixth point wasn't involved before, hmm... After you enter again, ask Ruowang and Sally what was different before and after boarding the cruise ship."
Snap, Shang Jianyao clenched his right fist and struck his left palm:
"Okay!"
…………
When Shang Jianyao entered again, that psychological shadow had become daytime, and everyone had returned to normal.
He found Ruowang and, once again successfully fooled him, turning him into a blood brother from a different father.
"What do you think was the biggest difference before and after boarding this cruise ship?" Shang Jianyao asked with a gleam in his eyes.
Ruowang frowned slightly, recalling:
"We finally settled down, or at least it felt that way before we discovered the anomalies at night.
"Also, we didn't have to worry about being chased by a large group of 'Heartless Ones'..."
Shang Jianyao listened attentively, not interrupting.
In the end, Ruowang smiled:
"There's also one thing I don't know if it counts:
"The weather was quite warm before, and a long-sleeved t-shirt was enough for me, but on the day we boarded the cruise ship, the temperature dropped suddenly in the evening, and it became very cold at night. I had to add a thick coat or wrap myself in a blanket. Damn captain, he wouldn't turn on the air conditioning to save energy!"
"It became very cold?" Shang Jianyao repeated the words, his eyes gradually lighting up.
ps: Asking for monthly tickets~
ps2: Recommending a book by a friend, 《Love Starts from Online Dating》 Description: This is a romance novel that starts in a game.