Having slurped down his yogurt with sugar, Shang Jianyao, holding his lunchbox, turned his gaze to Ren Jie and Li Zhen.

The two women in charge of distributing the sacrament deliberately ignored him, and in a counter-clockwise order, spooned the yogurt from the cylindrical container to different members.

After the sacrament, Li Zhen carried her utensils and entered the inner room through the middle door. Ren Jie casually chatted with the other believers, asking for their opinions on today's sacrament.

Throughout the process, she completely avoided Shang Jianyao's direction because she felt she could guess what he would say.

"He'll definitely say 'It tastes great, but the portion is too small.' How did we ever bring someone like that into the cult? Even though the 'Holy Master' always tells us to recruit more young people, especially those just reaching marriageable age, young people still need to be categorized..." Ren Jie glanced at Shang Jianyao, and rationally abandoned the idea of sharing her field experiences with him.

She walked to the passageway leading to the middle door, turned around, and said to the crowd:

"Today's gathering ends here. Please go back in order, and be careful on the way."

The members present bowed simultaneously and left Li Zhen's house in separate groups, heading to different places in the night without streetlights.

Shang Jianyao and Shen Du were going the same way. Both were wearing dark green cotton overcoats, holding clumsy flashlights, and walking silently along the edge of the surveillance,

When they were about to part ways, Shen Du looked up at the ceiling immersed in darkness and choked out a question:

"What does the real sky look like?"

Shang Jianyao stared at the flashlight beam and said:

"Very high, very blue, very empty."

Shen Du fell silent, parted ways with him, and walked towards his home.

After returning to Room 196 in Block B, Shang Jianyao took another nap, and waited until the morning rush hour was over before rushing to the cafeteria for breakfast before it closed.

Having filled his stomach, he arrived at the elevator hall in one corner of Block C.

The twelve elevators here led directly to the "Research Area."

Shang Jianyao skillfully pressed the button for the 25th floor, and then, as the elevator descended, swiped his card and lit up "3."

Upon arriving on the 3rd floor, Shang Jianyao walked along the corridor outside the metal door and went to the room farthest on the right.

"Knock, knock, knock." He knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" A soft female voice came from inside.

Shang Jianyao gave his name and added:

"Dr. Lin, I would like to make an appointment for a follow-up."

Dr. Lin inside the room immediately smiled:

"Little Shang, oh...

"I happen to be free right now. Come in."

Having received permission, Shang Jianyao turned the handle and pushed open the door.

Dr. Lin was still wearing her gold-rimmed glasses and a white coat, sitting behind the original wood-colored desk, playing with the pen in her hand.

Unlike before, this time, her hair was not tied up, but casually scattered down, making her look a few years younger.

"Good morning, Dr. Lin," Shang Jianyao said with a smile.

Dr. Lin pointed to the chair opposite her:

"Good morning, have a seat."

As she spoke, she glanced at the folder spread out in front of her.

After Shang Jianyao sat down, she asked casually:

"How many days have you been back from the field?"

"I came back yesterday afternoon," Shang Jianyao did not hide it.

Dr. Lin tapped the desk with the end of her pen and said with a smile:

"It's too sudden today, so we won't do any tests. Let's just chat.

"How was it? Was this field mission successful?"

"Very exciting," Shang Jianyao replied truthfully.

Dr. Lin was a little curious:

"How exciting?"

"Enough to kill the average Safety Department employee several times," Shang Jianyao chose a relatively standard answer.

"Then you're lucky to be alive," Dr. Lin couldn't help but exclaim.

She then smiled:

"Tell me about this experience. You don't have to mention anything confidential."

Shang Jianyao showed a reminiscent expression:

"We drove out of the gate and arrived on the surface. The sky was very blue, very high, very empty, feeling like it could suck people up. It was very scary, but you get used to it...

"There were many trees around. Some of the leaves were green, some were withered and yellow. The air was filled with the fresh smell of shit..."

"Stop!" Dr. Lin raised her hand and pinched her nose. "There's no need to talk about these details."

She then picked up her cup and took a sip of tea:

"What happened next?"

"Nothing happened next," Shang Jianyao replied calmly.

"Huh?" Dr. Lin was unable to react for a moment.

Shang Jianyao explained:

"The rest involves confidentiality clauses."

"..." Dr. Lin was a little stunned. "So, you encountered something involving confidentiality clauses just a few hours after you left? Then what else can you say after that?"

Shang Jianyao replied seriously:

"I ate canned braised beef, ate energy bars, ate compressed biscuits, went behind a bush to urinate once, and killed two mosquitoes..."

"There's no need to talk about these things," Dr. Lin said with some helplessness.

She was silent for a while, and couldn't help but ask again:

"Apart from the details of daily life, everything else involves confidentiality clauses?"

Shang Jianyao nodded:

"We have to wait for the company to review it before we can determine what can be said and what cannot be said."

"Um." Dr. Lin sighed. "What exactly did you encounter? Uh, were there any casualties?"

She was worried that this would stimulate Shang Jianyao and worsen his condition.

Shang Jianyao shook his head:

"No."

Dr. Lin breathed a sigh of relief and decided to change the subject:

"In these experiences on the surface, do you feel that you have grown?"

"Yes," Shang Jianyao said with a serious expression, "I found that saving all of humanity is a very difficult task. We often can't even save a small town, a settlement, or a child."

Dr. Lin nodded with satisfaction:

"It's good to understand that.

"I'm not saying that there's a problem with your ideal, but I think you should set some more easily achievable goals before that ideal.

"This can help boost your confidence and improve your condition."

Shang Jianyao immediately responded:

"Yes.

"Therefore, I must work harder to exercise myself and improve myself. Only in this way can I save all of humanity."

"..." Dr. Lin rolled her eyes and sighed quietly.

Before she could speak, Shang Jianyao took the initiative to ask:

"Dr. Lin, I came to you today mainly to ask how to overcome the fear hidden in my heart?"

Dr. Lin's expression changed and she smiled slightly:

"That's a good question."

She didn't use any professional jargon, and spoke in a very approachable, conversational manner:

"Personally, the prerequisite for overcoming the fear hidden in my heart is to recognize it and face it.

"Evasion will never solve the problem.

"Sometimes, you might as well face your own bloody wounds."

Seeing Shang Jianyao showing a thoughtful expression, Dr. Lin added:

"However, in practice, I don't advocate facing fear immediately, because it is likely to cause secondary damage and completely collapse the spirit.

"The correct step is to take appropriate methods to approach that fear step by step, from the edge to the center, and in this process, constantly rebuild the inner strength, and gradually erode the shadows.

"When you can completely face those nightmares, you will find that they are not strong and can be easily defeated."

Speaking of this, Dr. Lin smiled:

"You can tell me your general feelings, and I will help you design some plans."

Shang Jianyao was silent and did not answer.

Dr. Lin was not surprised and said "Um":

"Don't worry, you can take your time to consider it, consider it for a whole week.

"At this time next week, remember to come for a follow-up.

"If you feel that you can't say it to me, then you can change the way, or change to someone you can trust and say it to."

Shang Jianyao nodded slightly:

"Thank you, Dr. Lin."

He then stood up and said goodbye politely.

After returning to the 495th floor, Shang Jianyao went straight to the fourth elevator area in another direction.

This leads to the Safety Department.

Shang Jianyao waited for a while, stepped inside slowly, and swiped his card to light up the 647th floor.

Soon, he arrived at the locker room next to the "Old Task Force" and changed into lightweight clothing.

As soon as Shang Jianyao pushed open the door of the training room, he saw Jiang Baimian with her ponytail tied up, sitting on a long chair, wiping the sweat from her forehead with a towel.

"Why are you here?" Jiang Baimian sensed his appearance earlier.

She remembered giving the three team members two days off.

"Exercise," Shang Jianyao replied truthfully.

Jiang Baimian thought for a while and suddenly realized:

"That's right, your peers are all working at this time, and you can't find anything to do at home besides sleeping."

"I can also read books," Shang Jianyao replied.

"..." Jiang Baimian was about to glare at the guy, but suddenly sensed something and looked at the door again.

Bai Chen, wrapped in a dusty scarf, appeared there.

Before Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao could speak, she took the initiative to say:

"Nothing to do."

Jiang Baimian smiled and praised:

"Not bad."

Just as Bai Chen took a few steps into the door, Long Yuehong also walked over with a towel.

"You, why are you also here?" Long Yuehong saw the team leader, Shang Jianyao, and Bai Chen all looking at him, and was surprised and a little panicked for no reason.

"Why are you here?" Jiang Baimian asked instead of answering.

Long Yuehong stammered:

"The girl my mother introduced me to is at work, I have to wait until after dinner to, to meet, I thought I had nothing to do anyway, so I might as well come over, come over to recover my body."

Jiang Baimian's smile became more obvious:

"Very good."

She then looked around and said with feigned seriousness:

"Since you're all here, let's practice fighting."

"Ah..." Long Yuehong looked embarrassed.

…………

At eight o'clock in the evening, Shang Jianyao, as usual, leaned back on the bed, half-closed his eyes, waiting for the broadcast program to begin.

A dozen seconds later, that familiar sweet voice echoed:

"Hello everyone, I am the hourly news anchor Hou Yi, it is now 8 o'clock in the evening...

"The Board of Directors held its twenty-second meeting of the year today to discuss the focus of winter work...

"The cotton in the inner ecological area has achieved a bumper harvest...

"At 9:35 this morning, Wang Yafei, the director of the 'Material Supply Market' on the 478th floor, died at his post due to sudden cardiac arrest..."

Shang Jianyao's eyes snapped open and he sat up straight.

ps: Seeking monthly tickets for the fourth update~

ps2: Continue to update tomorrow, the first update at midnight, and the second and third updates are at the normal update time~

ps3: I wish you all a happy New Year's Day and a smooth New Year~