Chapter 8

November 24th, 1 PM.

This was the fourth day since Zilin entered the correction center. In the previous two days, he hadn't done anything special; he had merely been observing and waiting.

Waiting for some matters to be confirmed...

This matter was handled by his accomplice, whose name was Zhang San, the "Zhang" of Zhang San, and the "San" of Zhang San.

This was a real name, but the person using it was not registered in the federal citizen database.

More than two months ago, Mr. Zhang San used a fake identity to meet Professor Tang. Professor Tang was a semi-public figure and also a local power player in Linyi, so being "recognized" was not unusual, making this "acquaintance" seem perfectly normal.

A few days later, Zhang San found an opportunity to give Professor Tang a red envelope and, in the process, secured the contract for the cafeteria of the Sunshine Youth Behavioral Correction Center.

This was also nothing out of the ordinary.

The correction center was essentially a one-man show by Professor Tang. Whatever adjustments he wanted to make were just a matter of speaking. Over the past decade, he had changed suppliers for equipment, clothing, and various other items almost every so often. In short, whoever offered the highest kickback got the contract, and the quality of the items provided didn't matter, as they weren't for his personal use.

In short, Zhang San easily took control of the center's food supply without arousing any suspicion.

From that day on, he began long-term preparations for a certain plan... and this work was finally completed this morning.

...

"You came just in time."

When the "dessert girl" suddenly appeared in the room, Zilin was lying on his bed with his eyes closed, resting.

However, he didn't need to open his eyes to know someone had come and who it was.

"I warned you to leave," the other party said coldly, without any intention of making small talk. "I waited for you for two days, and today is the third day. It seems you have no intention of leaving."

It was nap time, and Wang Yong had gone to visit other dorms, so Zilin was alone in the room. She had chosen this moment to come, knowing he was alone.

"Don't worry, I'll leave tomorrow," Zilin replied. "But... you should leave today."

"What?" she sneered. "You want me to leave?"

"Yes, not only you, but Xian Xiaoxiao should leave too," Zilin continued.

His words made her expression change.

"Hmph... So, you're after her too?" Her murderous intent was palpable.

"No," Zilin said truthfully. "And I'm not after you either."

"Do you think I'll believe that?" she asked.

"Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter," Zilin said. "Your hostile attitude, or rather, your show of force, won't solve any problems; it will only waste our time." He paused, opened his eyes, and stared at her without fear of her murderous intent. "If you had the wisdom or ability, you wouldn't waste your time here but would have already taken Xian Xiaoxiao away. If you had the strength and determination, you wouldn't be arguing with me but would have taken action directly... Now, since you have neither, shut up and listen to me. After I finish, think about it, and then you can give your opinion."

Zilin's words hit the core of the matter, making her very angry, but she had no room to argue and could only suppress her anger and wait for him to continue.

"Since you agree, I'll start," Zilin said after looking at her for a few seconds. "Two mornings ago, during breakfast in the cafeteria, I identified Xian Xiaoxiao. People like her, who can't control their abilities, stand out like a sore thumb to me... Combined with your previous 'warning,' I immediately deduced that your 'target' was her.

"It's no wonder her file says she 'voluntarily requested to enter the center for treatment,' which sounds like a fabrication. After meeting her, I understood her motivation was reasonable—she is confused and afraid of her ability, thinking it's a disease or a curse, but she doesn't dare tell others. So, she came to this institution, hoping to be 'cured' with money.

"Of course, I've already said I'm not after her; I don't care about her thoughts and actions. However, solving this mystery made me feel quite relieved."

He paused for a few seconds, then changed the subject: "I'm more interested in you...

"After identifying your 'prey,' finding you, the 'hunter,' was not difficult. Just look around her.

"So, that afternoon, I saw through you. Although you wore a very expensive semi-implanted fiber mask and your figure was indeed petite, your expression, gait, and some subtle actions were not those of a teenage girl...

"As a cautious and thorough person, I immediately sent a message to my outside contacts to investigate your identity.

"Although our interaction was brief, that minute was enough for me to learn a lot. For example, you know the 'rules of the underworld,' and... your ability is related to 'shadows.' These two points alone can narrow down the investigation significantly.

"By dinner time yesterday, my contacts had completed the investigation and provided me with information on several suspects with shadow-related abilities who are currently missing. After a simple deduction, I confirmed that you are a Level 2 ability criminal wanted by the federal government, codenamed 'Shadow Weaver.'"

"Hmph..." Shadow Weaver didn't bother with pointless arguments after her identity was revealed. She just sneered and asked, "Then who are you? The same 'Zhou Ming' who's pretending to be young here?"

She used a mocking tone to say Zilin's fake name, making her meaning clear.

"Zhou Ming is indeed a fake name. My real name is Zilin. I'm sorry to meet you under these circumstances," Zilin replied. A second later, he added, "Oh, by the way, I'm not pretending to be young; this face is real."

"Fine, I'll remember this face... and your name," Shadow Weaver said fiercely.

"Whatever," Zilin replied. "Just listen to me. I understand why you haven't taken Xian Xiaoxiao away. Her ability is quite troublesome for you. Even if you knock her out and imprison her, she might kill you unconsciously.

"So, you can only try to get close to her, gain her trust, and become her friend...

"But now, you don't have to worry. I'll help you solve this problem."

With that, Zilin pulled something out of his pocket.

It was five capsules, each wrapped in a transparent protective shell to prevent contamination or accidental dissolution.

"What is this?" Shadow Weaver's gaze quickly shifted to the capsules in his hand, and she asked.

"You don't need to know what it is..." Zilin replied. "I can tell you that it's a drug that can suppress the special abilities of ability users. For a beginner like Xian Xiaoxiao, half a capsule can last five days. There are five capsules here, equivalent to fifty days of suppression... During these fifty days, as long as you give her the drug on time, she won't be able to use her ability. Whether you want to sell her or do something else... this period should be enough for you to operate, right?"

"Hmph..." Shadow Weaver sneered. "How do I know this drug is real? What if it's part of your plan..."

"If I wanted to harm or kill you, I wouldn't need such a roundabout method," Zilin said. "In the past two days, I could have had someone put a poison in your food that wouldn't even show up in an autopsy, and you'd already be in the morgue."

This made Shadow Weaver's expression change sharply as she suddenly realized a serious issue: "The cafeteria staff are yours..."

"Of course, otherwise, how could I always pass information at meal times?" Zilin interrupted her. "It's good that you figured it out on your own, saving me the trouble of explaining... It also leads to the next thing I want to say..." He got up from the bed, walked to Shadow Weaver, and, while she was still in shock, took her hand and put the capsules in it. "In the past two months, everyone who ate in the cafeteria has had something added to their food every day, every meal."

"What!" Shadow Weaver was shocked, and her expression became very subtle, as if she had touched something filthy, full of disgust.

"It's a specially designed nanomechanical virus, very small, almost invisible to the naked eye," Zilin continued. "Once inside the body, these inorganic substances attach to the stomach lining and wait. When similar machines are nearby, they attract and combine with each other." He spoke casually, completely disregarding the listener's feelings. "When the total mass of these machine viruses reaches a certain value, they can be activated with a remote control to attack the brain.

"Unfortunately, it's hard to calculate exactly when this 'value' will be reached. After all, everyone's eating habits and food intake vary... So, I had to infiltrate this center a few days early. I thought I might have to stay here for a week or ten days, but it looks like I can leave tomorrow."

"You... who are you?" Shadow Weaver asked again, but this time, her tone and the significance of the question were completely different.

"I told you, my name is Zilin. That's all you need to know," Zilin replied. "More than that, I don't think we have much to talk about."

Shadow Weaver took several deep breaths to calm down and think about the situation.

After a while, she spoke again: "You said earlier that I should 'leave today,' and 'not only I, but Xian Xiaoxiao should leave too?'"

"See, you finally learned how to communicate," Zilin said with a teasing smile. "My suggestion is that before midnight today, you choose a time, take half a capsule from what I gave you, and find a way to make Xian Xiaoxiao swallow it. Then, use the cover of night and your ability to take her away... After that, we'll have no further business with each other."

"What about the mechanical virus in my body?" Shadow Weaver asked.

"Drinking coffee can eliminate it," Zilin replied.

"Huh?" Shadow Weaver used this interjection to confirm if she had heard correctly.

"Not just coffee, but also mint, fried food, very spicy dishes, cigarettes, and alcohol. Basically, anything that strongly stimulates the stomach can make the mechanical virus detach from the stomach lining. Once detached, they will be naturally metabolized by your body," Zilin continued. "In short, if you're in a hurry, eating barbecue and hotpot for half a month will definitely get rid of it, and you might even get gout."

"Your virus... is too casual, isn't it?" Shadow Weaver asked.

"Because this is a 'mass-produced' version, the effect is naturally worse," Zilin replied. "If we used a more mature model, the implantation period would be shorter, and it wouldn't be affected by eating habits... Most importantly, the remote control range could be much longer."

"However, there are nearly two hundred people here, and using high-end nanobots for everyone would be too costly," he said, shrugging helplessly. "Fortunately, in the 'Sunshine Youth Behavioral Correction Center,' the mass-produced version is sufficient."

He was right; this method, which requires long-term accumulation and is affected by eating habits, could only be effectively implemented in this correction center. Even in a prison, it might not work.

In this small kingdom of Uncle Tang, many things that seem absurd and inhumane to the outside world are clearly stipulated rules.

For example: "not taking physical exercise seriously," "not eating seriously," "not keeping hands tightly together in formation," "eating chocolate," "drinking beverages, tea, or coffee," "listening to music without permission," "touching computers or accessing the internet without permission," "entering Uncle Tang's or the doctor's office without permission," "talking loudly and playing in the hallway," "talking loudly in the toilet after lights out," "touching RMB without permission," etc.

These things, which we don't consider serious, would result in electric shocks in the correction center.

There are even more absurd reasons, such as "being excited," "being overly sentimental," "trying to convince parents to let you go home," "talking about treatment," "being vain," "being clever," "speaking without thinking," "cognitive bias," "not being willing to accept treatment," "lack of execution ability," etc. These are reasons that cannot be objectively defined or that simply threaten the interests of the institution, and can also be grounds for electric shocks.

In short, the goal is to make patients stay longer, treat a fabricated illness, and have their families continue to pay expensive treatment fees.

The patients' will to resist can be controlled with electric shocks, and the families... Uncle Tang would "brainwash" them during the weekly review classes.

In such a place, "patients" don't even have access to things like cigarettes, alcohol, chocolate, or beverages. The food is as bland and cheap as possible, all in the name of cultivating a spirit of hard work and endurance.

This way, the implantation of the mechanical virus could proceed smoothly.

"Although I don't know what you're up to, I don't understand..." Shadow Weaver could tell that Zilin had finished what he wanted to say and was now just chatting. These vague statements... might not be trustworthy. So, she changed the topic, hoping to get more useful information. "... Since you have such resources, why not use a simpler and more direct method? Drugging, hiring mercenaries, or... doing it yourself." She looked at Zilin, her expression changing. "You must be an ability user too, and... much stronger than me."

At this point, she no longer doubted that, in terms of intelligence, combat ability, and other resources, Zilin was far superior to her, and she couldn't even imagine the gap between them.

"You flatter me, I'm just a mere 'paper-level' novice," Zilin lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. "And... I think we've talked enough. As a lady, staying in a man's room for too long is not proper."

"Whatever... putting on airs." Seeing that Zilin wasn't taking the bait and was even dismissing her, Shadow Weaver spat and put on a displeased expression. "Fine, I'll take your medicine, and I'll take the person tonight. Then, we'll have no further business with each other."

As she spoke, she turned into a black shadow and gradually merged into the darkness under the bed, disappearing...

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