Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Black Mage Yang Sets off
On the morning of October 16, Earth time, a convoy of inconspicuous vehicles arrived at a research institute nestled in the surrounding mountains of G Province. After the handover to the institute's person-in-charge, a group of soldiers in training uniforms swiftly carried the patients on beds along with their life support equipment into the facility.
These patients in a vegetative state were sent from a care facility in G Province, accompanied by a number of medical staff. Once the patients were settled, the accompanying medical personnel were summoned to the institute's second conference room for a report briefing.
These medical staff had been notified at the last minute and forced to participate in this project by higher authorities. While traveling here, none of them could clearly say what their superiors wanted from them.
It was not only upon encountering the mysterious researchers within this facility that the medical staff suddenly realized and got excited—everyone here was an expert in the fields of neuroscience and neurology. Could there have been a significant breakthrough in the country regarding patients in vegetative states?!
The newly arrived medical staff assumed they would see some bulky medical equipment or new medication used on patients until they saw those bizarre motorcycle helmets…
In any case, when the medical staff witnessed these experts timely and punctually "fitting" the consciousness-impaired patients, categorized by the duration of their coma, with what seemed to be motorcycle helmets, their faces twitched.
"Um… Director Lu, what on earth is this?" The director of the care facility, a doctor with extensive clinical experience despite lacking in academic publications, couldn't help but cast an inquisitive gaze at Lu Yiyun, director of NeuroTech Center.
Lu Yiyun didn't waste time explaining too much and directly handed over a patient's medical record to the care facility's head and led him to see the patient.
"On October 16, ten in the morning, Gong Minglan, 19 years old, a survivor of a major car accident in K Province earlier this June, fell into a coma due to brain injuries and has been in a comatose state for 4 months and 8 days," explained Lu Yiyun to the care facility's head from behind the observation room window.
"After implementing a special treatment plan and tracking the relevant neural responses at the linguistic level, the patient's brain waves, while slight, have shown reactions to the names of relatives, hometown, school names, and even the names of classmates and teachers. Our assessment is that the patient's cognitive and sensory nerves have shown signs of recovery to a certain extent, and we predict a favorable prognosis for her conscious rehabilitation."
The care facility's director was unable to contain his excitement as he eagerly examined the patient's brain wave imaging records.
However, Lu Yiyun didn't show much relief; her brows remained furrowed. "We only have seven helmets available for treatment, and based on our observations so far, the shorter the duration of the coma, the better the results. Director Gu, please understand the constraints we're facing."
Director Gu didn't have a chance to say a word before Lu Yiyun interrupted him, leaving him momentarily stunned before he eked out a bitter smile.
What this meant was clear: the limited treatment methods could only be allocated to patients with the highest chances of recovery…
Director Gu had spent many years working on clinical treatment for vegetative state patients. Lu Yiyun could understand his frustration and handed him a thick file. "Patients with consciousness disorders exceeding a certain duration, even with the implementation of a special treatment plan, show no changes in their brain wave imaging. We have already tried our best."
One helmet was dismantled, one was "wasted" by Lu Yiyun's trying out the game, and one had been assigned to Ji Tang. The remaining seven helmets were solely used for clinical experiments with patients.
The expert team didn't give up on any patients that showed even the slightest brain wave response when a helmet was equipped. Experiments were conducted punctually, hoping that the subtle stimulations generated by the helmets would contribute to the patients' recovery. However, the expert team was indeed powerless when it came to patients who showed no response in their brain waves after a helmet was equipped.
A human's soul was something Earth humans had no way of seeing. Human exploration of the realm of consciousness and soul had been limited to studying the reactions of the human brain's neurons.
The expert team couldn't comprehend the component within the helmets that couldn't be dissembled nor the principles behind its functioning and why it could positively stimulate the brain waves of humans. Nevertheless, this didn't hinder the experts from finding ways to utilize this "special treatment" method and contribute to the field of human medicine.
In the whole of China, approximately a hundred thousand people fell into a comatose state each year due to traumatic brain injury, stroke, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, and other conditions. The urgent need for a means of treatment in this field went without saying.
Each patient that woke up signified a family receiving salvation.
Driven by this pressing need, not only did the expert task force fend off any collective scrutiny from within the country, but they also adopted the most conservative "non-interference" strategy themselves.
The reason was simple. Even the most socially inept person could discern, based on the information and understanding the expert task force currently possessed about the "target," that this individual appeared capricious, unconventional, and acted in a way as if his mental age fluctuated between youth and advanced age. It was as if this extraordinary individual had the spirit of a young person yet possessed remarkable self-restraint, more enduring than that of a seasoned fugitive.
Most importantly, the "target" seemed to display minimal materialistic desires, even by ordinary standards.
Even three-year-old kids knew to feign crying to extort benefits from their parents, yet the "target," who possessed "black technology" far surpassing anything on Earth, refrained from engaging in any sort of profit-seeking, even persisting in a "game" that operated on a non-profit basis.
Taking these factors into consideration, the expert task force arrived at a unanimous analysis:
1: The actions of the "target" revolve around a "specific purpose" known only to himself and tailored to his own needs.
2: This "specific purpose" isn't in conflict with the expert task force's application of helmets in the medical field.
3: This "specific purpose" is highly important to the "target" to the extent that it makes the "target" disregard all external temptations.
This conclusion made the heads of everyone in the expert task force hurt and further muddled their understanding of the "target's" psyche. Even Professor Yin Zhengliang, an expert in criminal psychology at the Public Security University, was hesitant to declare confidently whether the "target" was a cunning and crafty villain or a clueless youngster with an empty mind…
In any case, regardless of what the "target's" motives were, the safest choice for the expert task force was to stabilize the situation as much as possible to ensure that the "target" remained within the country and at ease.
The expert task force would be required to maintain the current stable cooperation with this mysterious "target" while gradually exploring mutually acceptable methods and expanding the scope of collaboration. Within this overarching principle, the expert task force would strive to meet the reasonable demands of the "target" to the best of their ability.
Of course, in the event that the "target" plotted something sinister or revealed their true intentions… Well, the vast mountains of G Province were an ideal place to hide cutting-edge weapons, and several battalions of ground forces had already been deployed in the mountains surrounding An City for training exercises…
Yang Qiu was unaware that the small place he rented was under constant satellite surveillance, nor did he know that his regular coordinates had appeared in certain classified documents.
Nevertheless, Yang Qiu wouldn't care even if he knew all that. He was very satisfied with the strategies and policies specially developed by the experts toward and for him.
Moreover, he had never considered causing trouble on Earth—there was already such a vast stage in the other world, waiting for him to revel in.
While the scientific faction of the expert task force collaborated with clinical experts to study the principles and patterns of the "special treatment" on patients, Yang Qiu was leisurely seated in the Exile Town's Town Hall with a cup of fruit tea in hand, observing players that were in an underground passage.
Within the underground passage, a player had just failed the "Mental Trial" assessment. He crouched in the corner, clutching his head while cursing the game developers as his friends around him offered consolation.
Yang Qiu was rather unperturbed and looked toward the next challenger.
The player with the ID Phantom felt somewhat nervous after witnessing the failure of his fellow but still bravely entered the "test grounds," a huge fantasy-style magical array.
Roughly 30 seconds later, Phantom cursed out loud and withdrew, holding his head in frustration.
Yang Qiu had no expression as he shifted his attention to the next challenger, Ou Huang, who had already attempted the challenge multiple times without success.
Ou Huang was the first that had gained a "friendly" reputation with Yang Qiu.
Blossoming Strokes, Unceasing Entropy, and Win By Grinding (Jiang Wei) were the second batch.
The third batch included players like Phantom and Guileless Gale, who didn't level up as quickly as the previously mentioned players.
And until these two followers of Brother Lahong who had also made significant contributions during the [Birth of the Undead Race] breakthrough quest achieved enough reputation and started the job advancement quest, not one player from the first two batches had managed to complete the mage apprentice job advancement…
Ou Huang had posted numerous posts, crying and complaining, while Blossoming Strokes, Unceasing Entropy, and Win By Grinding angrily vented their frustrations on the forums and even called upon their friends to demand fairness for the advancement quest.
Among those complaining was Yang Qiu's older sister, Yang Ying… who criticized the game's horrible production and deceitful development team, which left Yang Qiu both amused and exasperated.
The truth was, Yang Qiu couldn't explain, nor could he lower the difficulty level.
The magic of this world was toxic. Even though the players only projected their souls through the imprint matrix and remained safe on Earth without being affected by the madness within the corruption of magic, they would inevitably face interference whenever they absorbed magic through meditation in this plane.
Since the players were only projecting their souls through avatars, the negative influences of magic were similar to feeling disgusted while watching a B-grade movie or getting scared while watching a horror film.
Nonetheless, it was still a form of negative influence. Therefore, before these players who desired to pursue the system of magic could acquire (implant) their class's skills through advancement, they needed to pass the test first.
The principle of the test was quite simple. Yang Qiu had created an illusionist's visual deception array in the underground passage (magic powder was provided by the Great Leaf Vines players cultivated while trying to farm his reputation). By inputting and circulating a certain amount of magic within the visual deception array, Yang Qiu turned it into a trial of his own making: "Randomized 100 Questions, Quick Selection Challenge," where questions refreshed extremely quickly and could be comparable to legitimate mental corruption.
When players activated "Basic Meditation" in the underground passage as per the quest requirements, mental contamination, present within the abundant magic, would mercilessly assault their sensory nerves while players were forced to instinctively answer the questions at lightning speed.
The questions were, of course, extremely simple. For example, in the 100 random questions assigned to Phantom, who had just failed, the first question was asking who the player should help when witnessing the scene of a burly man snatching a child's lollipop…
The second question: When thugs are openly committing arson, murder, and looting on the street, should one quickly notify the authorities or join them?
The third question: When an elderly person falls, should one offer assistance or gleefully rush over to stomp on them?
…And so on.
These were 100 simple questions that any elementary school student with a normal moral compass could easily handle. If an ordinary person from Earth were given this set of questions under different circumstances, they would very likely suspect the tester's sanity.
However, answering these 100 questions correctly under the intense pressure of mental contamination wasn't so easy. It required players to have a certain level of resilience and the ability to maintain clarity and rationality amid the high-pressure environment and strong mental interference.
So far, the player who had made the most progress in the challenge was Ou Huang. In the previous attempt, he successfully made it to the 81st question before falling at the 82nd. This time, even Yang Qiu had high expectations for the current attempt.
Only by standing within the illusory array would a player be able to see the "mental trial." Ou Huang remained calm and focused his mind as he endured the disturbing noise of mental contamination—in reality, players couldn't understand the language of the magical other world and could communicate with NPCs only because of their link within the imprint matrix, so the unintelligible murmurs sounded like strong noise that had influenced one's mental state greatly.
Completely focused, he rapidly answered the questions. 60 questions… 70 questions… 75 questions…
Blossoming Strokes, Unceasing Entropy, and Win By Grinding, who were at the side queuing up for their turn at the challenge, had their attention fixed on Ou Huang who had been standing steady within the array for over two and half minutes without failing.
The time limit for answering each simple multiple-choice question in the trial was two seconds. The time spent within the array was equivalent to answering at least half the questions correctly.
As Ou Huang persisted, Phantom and Guileless Gale, who had just failed, couldn't help but look over as well.
After three and a half minutes, Ou Huang's skeletal frame within the array trembled, making a crackling sound as his jawbone dropped to reveal a smile that, though eerie, was no longer surprising to the players…
"Big shot! Please guide us!" Blossoming Strokes and Unceasing Entropy immediately sucked up to him.
In the Town Hall, Yang Qiu, who was genuinely concerned that players would give up the spellcasting class, couldn't help revealing a relieved smile…
"Very good," Yang Qiu muttered, setting down his teacup and rising from his seat. He reached into one of the many spatial rings he wore and pulled out a little bag filled with magic powder, which was the fruit of players' hard labor, and sprinkled some powder around his chair.
Arrays used by illusionists were rather useful, just that he, as a practitioner of dark magic, needed to use magic powder if he wanted to cross over into other disciplines.
After setting up a miniature version of the illusory array, another "Yang Qiu" appeared on his chair.
By constructing specific light and shadow projections within the array and leaving a mind imprint inside, the caster could control the projection via the imprint. As long as there was no physical contact, the projection was indistinguishable from the real person.
This was why illusionists were so cunning; they could even create projections to replace themselves for extended periods, making it difficult for anyone seeking to assassinate them to locate their true whereabouts.
Leaving the projection to deal with the players, Yang Qiu put away the magic powder and activated an invisible barrier over himself. Then he left the Town Hall, summoned an undead horse—a different one from the gorgeous specimen he had previously released for the auction—and departed Exile Town.
He hadn't been riding through the wilderness for long before Ou Huang arrived at his projection to complete his quest while surrounded by the other players.
While on the move, Yang Qiu manipulated his own projection to engage in a lengthy conversation to compel Ou Huang to stand still and, at the same time, manually implanted the skill runes which could be "learned" by "Mage Apprentices" during their first job advancement into Ou Huang's character.
And that was why the final step for every job advancement, regardless of the chosen profession, was to "receive the Undead Race Resurrection Master's blessing."
Yang Qiu juggled managing the players while journeying, and approximately ten hours later, he crossed the western part of the Taranthan Wasteland and arrived at the Duchy of Shiga.
For his selection of "civilian NPCs," Yang Qiu preferred people of the Duchy of Shiga, who worshiped the Goddess of Prosperity, over those of the Rhine Kingdom, who believed in Lady Gold Coin.
In this world, the worship of gods had a significant influence on believers. Compared to the morally bankrupt Rhine Kingdom, the reputation of the Duchy of Shiga's citizens was far superior.
Of course, the primary reason the Goddess of Prosperity had such a positive reputation was because she preferred to remain within her own jurisdiction and never sent envoys roaming everywhere.
Were the Goddess of Prosperity's faith as active as the Lady Gold Coin, whose evangelism activities covered a considerable area and frequently clashed with other faiths, that reputation wouldn't be that favorable.
The Duchy of Shiga was mainly inhabited by people of agriculture, but it also had a well-developed handicraft and low-end manufacturing industry. It was a land that merchant caravans from neighboring countries would always go to, and during summer, the border towns of the Duchy of Shiga were always bustling with activity.
However, this referred to the border towns near the fringes of the Sorensen Mountains and in other directions. As for the side facing the Taranthan, there were hardly any decent cities or towns along the entire border…
The bustling town of Camore, located in the eastern region of the Duchy of Shiga, was home to nearly all the small and medium-sized landowners (rural nobility) within a hundred miles, as well as the servants and maidservants who served these rural aristocrats.
Yang Qiu sent his mount away a short distance from town and maintained the barrier around him as he calmly passed through the town gates, right in front of the watchmen patrolling outside Camore.
Due to the relatively high concentration of "upper-class individuals'' here, Camore had developed a remarkably good and civilized atmosphere. Lively laughter of young girls could be heard from the passing carriages on the main road, and most pedestrians strolling by displayed a relaxed demeanor, polite conversation, and respectable attire; women in long skirts that reached their ankles were abundant.
The streets were clean and tidy, with hardly any visible litter, and the shops facing the street boldly displayed their high-quality goods behind glass windows, which an ordinary person would need to save for several months to afford.
If Yang Qiu hadn't passed through several villages where the farmers were barely clothed on his way here, he would have believed that the residents of Camore represented the country's image.
As he turned into the back alleys, within two minutes, there were no longer gentlemen dressed appropriately or ladies in long skirts to be seen.
The narrow, winding alleys resembled a labyrinth, flanked by tightly packed low houses. Foul-smelling wastewater filled the depressions on the stone-paved ground, and the patched skirts of the women sitting under the eaves of their houses barely reached their knees.
Continuing further for a few more minutes, the road lost its cobblestones, and only muddy ground filled with various potholes formed by rainwater and constant trampling remained. Red brick houses became scarce, with wooden shanties for most of the residences.
Long clotheslines made of wooden stakes and ropes stretched across the rooftops of all the wooden shanties and open spaces near the riverbank, displaying clothes of varying lengths.
The weaving industry was the livelihood of the non-"upper-class" residents of Camore.
The climate in Camore was similar to that of Taranthan. It had a hot summer, abundant sunlight, and significant temperature differences between day and night, making it perfect for cotton cultivation.
In order to cultivate cotton more efficiently, the landowners of Camore had long formed strategic alliances and employed various means to seize the land of free citizens or turn them from farmers into cotton growers.
However, large-scale cotton cultivation did not require so many farmers, at least not during the non-harvesting period. The aristocrats had no need to support these individuals who were known for their hearty appetites and high fertility. Consequently, these farmers, who had once believed in the doctrine of the Goddess of Prosperity and had diligently worked the land for centuries, underwent a transformation. They became residents of the town, transformed into "independent weavers."
"…This place hasn't really changed much," Yang Qiu muttered with a shake of his head as he stood before the area where the "independent weavers" resided. Over a hundred years ago, he had passed through this very place.
Compared to the backbreaking life of toiling in the cotton fields during harvest season for the aristocrats and weaving cotton fabrics under the supervision of estate stewards, life as a craftsman was undoubtedly a bit easier.
But whether it could truly be called freedom… That would depend on one's perspective.
It could only be said that compared to the exploitative methods in Old Europe, where most workers became corpses within three years of being forced to work in factories, the "independent weavers" of Camore had it somewhat better.
"Anyway… I best find some useful people first."
Yang Qiu surveyed his surroundings, selected his target, and made a beeline…
Within these slums, under a taller building with a signboard of a wine cup, several thuggish-looking men were crouching before the steps, gambling with dice.
Yang Qiu bypassed this group, stepped on the stairs, and entered the establishment.
It was evident that this larger wooden construct was no ordinary tavern. Apart from the counter, tables, and barrels lining the walls, there was also a crowded gambling table.
Gamblers were a rowdy bunch and could perhaps even be considered more raucous than OtherWorld players. Yang Qiu observed on the first floor for a bit before taking the stairs and heading to the second floor.
There were numerous private rooms on the second floor, with the shouts of gamblers from some, while unrestrained laughter and banter between men and women came from others.
Yang Qiu listened at the door of each room as he passed by. When he reached a certain room, he heard the voice of a man trying his best to suppress his anger.
He stopped, pushed the door open, and entered, then casually closed the door behind him.
The room was filled with people. Several middle-aged men, dressed as decently as pedestrians on the street, sat behind a coffee table adorned with bottles and cups. There were also several bodyguards standing nonchalantly in the corners of the room.
The sudden opening and closing of the door silenced everyone in the room.
One of the bodyguards near the door approached in confusion, checked the corridor outside, locked the door from the inside, and then shook his head to indicate to his boss that there weren't any suspicious individuals.
Thus, the several seemingly respectable middle-aged men sitting on the sofa resumed their conversation. Yang Qiu patiently stood by, quietly listening for about ten minutes.
Then… he suddenly revealed himself, grabbed one of the flushed and slightly handsome middle-aged men, and forcefully slammed the latter's face into the coffee table.
"Who?!"
"Stop!"
The others on the sofa were equally shocked and flinched reactively. Their grunts, though, didn't hesitate and rushed forward to subdue Yang Qiu.
Yang Qiu ignored them and enveloped the entire room with a spatial barrier, restricting the movement of everyone within. Then he drew out a metal rod and meticulously shattered all the bones beneath the elbow of the man whose hair he was grabbing.
Amid the stunned gazes of everyone in the room, Yang Qiu supported the man who had passed out from the pain and gently laid him flat on the sofa. Only then did he straighten his posture and nod politely at the stupefied crowd. "Good day, gentlemen."
A chubby man who bore some resemblance to the man that had just been crippled really wanted to raise a finger to accuse Yang Qiu of his brutality. However, he couldn't bring himself to do so; instead, he glanced at his cousin and said in a trembling voice, "W-who are you? Why did you attack my brother?!"
"It's our first time meeting, so everyone may address me as Yang," Yang Qiu gave a slight nod at the chubby man.
"I'm asking you why you attacked my brother!" The chubby man was so furious that even his excess fat jiggled like jelly.
"Naturally, it's because of this gentleman's accusation," Yang Qiu raised his hand and pointed at another well-dressed man. "This gentleman accuses your brother of deceiving their underage sister and making her pregnant. Isn't that the reason why everyone has gathered to discuss this matter?"
The gentlemen and bodyguards present strained their eyes in astonishment, looking at the man whom Yang Qiu had pointed out.
That fella being pointed out also wore an inexplicable expression on his face. Although he found great satisfaction in seeing the other guy being beaten, he genuinely didn't know Yang Qiu.
Yang Qiu had no intention of forming any relationship with this man either. He calmly stated, "I don't know this gentleman, nor do I know anyone among you all. However, my personal principle is that any scum who lays a hand on a young boy or girl, once encountered by me, deserves to have their hands or legs broken, depending on the severity of their actions, to ensure that such a person finds it difficult to commit such a crime again."
Everyone. "???"
"Usually, I would choose to act in front of the immediate family members of the offender to ensure a sufficient deterrent effect. But it's been too long since I last did something like that, so I was a bit impulsive," Yang Qiu added.
"Ahhh!" The chubby man who was from a family with some influence in the lower, middle echelons of Camor suddenly exclaimed in shock, "Y-you… Could you be the notorious Nightmare Butcher who once publicly broke the hands and feet of Sir Hans in his manor?!"
Yang Qiu's face immediately darkened. "Watch what you say. I have never acknowledged that stupid title."