“For an intruder like you, the patient’s subconscious naturally puts up a strong defense, exhibiting extreme hostility,” Yang Shengyu continued. “The patient’s subconscious defenses are exceptionally powerful, and their will is extraordinarily resolute. This kind of reverse influence, even going so far as to devour your self-awareness, is highly dangerous. It’s equivalent to a tester entering the patient’s subconscious without the protection of the ‘Hippocampus’ device.”
He looked gravely at Qi Min and added, “Back in the early days of Deep Blue, we had an incident where a staff member suffered brain death during a similar experimental mishap. It was a major accident that left a deep scar on the company.”
Yang Shengyu’s tone was heavy. “It’s too dangerous. Qi Min, you’re the best ‘Hippocampus’ tester we have, but even with your expertise, the difficulty of awakening this patient is simply too great. Honestly, although I feel sorry for the patient, I recommend that we abandon this treatment.”
“Abandon treatment?!”
A sharp voice suddenly interrupted, startling both Qi Min and Yang Shengyu.
Qi Min looked up to see that Hao Peng, who had been standing a few meters away earlier, had quietly crept over and was now looming right behind them, arms crossed and face dark with displeasure.
Yang Shengyu composed himself and quickly tried to explain. “This is just a temporary suggestion, Officer Hao. As you heard, the risks of re-entering the patient’s subconscious are enormous, even for our most skilled tester…”
Before he could finish, You Xianjie stormed back into the testing room after finishing his phone call.
Seeing the group huddled together, his expression turned sour as he interrupted, “Why haven’t you resumed treatment yet?! It’s already been an hour! Do you really need such a long break? If he’s not up to it, then replace him!”
His gaze swept across the group and landed on Lu Qianwen. “You! You look like you know what you’re doing. Why don’t you take over?”
Lu Qianwen maintained her polite smile despite the awkward situation. “Mr. You, I’m just a technician. My job is to calibrate the equipment; I don’t perform the actual testing. Qi Min is the best tester in our facility. If even he can’t succeed…”
Her words seemed to soften You Xianjie’s expression momentarily, but his frustration soon returned. “Then what are you waiting for?! If once doesn’t work, then try twice, three times! I don’t care how many attempts it takes! Even if you can’t wake up that cop, you must at least extract information about that damn murderer!”
He turned to Hao Peng and the others, his reddened eyes full of despair. “Do you know how long my son has been missing?!”
“Five days! Five whole days!”
“The police have nothing—no leads, no trace of that killer! Every single victim who’s fallen into that monster’s hands hasn’t survived beyond a week!”
“I don’t care what methods you use. You must find my son’s whereabouts by tomorrow! Otherwise… if my son dies, none of you will have an easy life either! I’ll call the press and expose your so-called cutting-edge technology for what it is! A scam, defrauding public funds and government aid under the guise of scientific research!”
“You!”
Qi Min frowned, his patience running thin, but Yang Shengyu remained calm and collected.
Hao Peng, however, glared sideways at You Xianjie with open annoyance before reluctantly acknowledging, “He’s right… We don’t have time. Captain Shang is the only one who’s directly encountered the suspect and might have seen his face. If we’re going to rescue the victim and catch the killer in such a short time, our only hope lies with him.”
“If we can’t get any leads by tomorrow, there will almost certainly be more victims. And if this killer escapes, capturing him in the future will only become harder.”
Yang Shengyu coughed twice and replied in an unhurried tone, “While Deep Blue has made significant advancements in subconscious research, these technologies are still experimental. Entering someone else’s subconscious poses significant risks, not only to the patient but also to the tester.”
“If you insist… Qi Min is young and has a promising future ahead of him. If someone must take this risk, I’m willing to go in his place. I’m older, nearly fifty, and I don’t value my personal safety as much…”
“Director…”
“Director Yang…”
Qi Min and Lu Qianwen spoke up simultaneously, their tones expressing a mix of concern and disagreement.
Hao Peng, on the other hand, seemed more surprised than worried. “Huh?! You’re only in your forties? I thought you were sixty!”
“…”
“…”
“…”
The room fell silent as everyone turned to stare at Hao Peng.
“…Um.”
Qi Min silently watched from the side, thinking, You’re one to talk! You’re in your thirties and already going gray!
Feeling the weight of everyone’s stares, Hao Peng coughed awkwardly and tried to defuse the tension by changing the subject.
“Ahem! How about this? I heard your conversation earlier… Isn’t this just an experiment? Let me try! Let me enter Captain Shang’s mind! We’ve been close friends since high school!”
“If I go in, Captain Shang will definitely recognize me! Not only can we extract information about the killer, but we might even wake him up! A win-win!”
Hao Peng clapped his hands as if the matter was settled.
You Xianjie’s frown eased slightly, and he nodded. “That could work! Officer Hao is a policeman, so his investigative skills are surely better than any of you researchers. With how hesitant you’ve all been, who knows when my son will be saved!”
Qi Min and Yang Shengyu exchanged a look but didn’t respond. Lu Qianwen maintained her polite smile, clearly refusing without explicitly saying so.
Hao Peng: “?”
After a moment of silence, Qi Min turned to Yang Shengyu. “Director, I’ll go back in. This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered a situation like this. As long as I’m careful and avoid dying in the subconscious world, I should be able to return safely.”
“If worst comes to worst, you can inject me with Afenmintes to force a disconnect.”
“But…”
Yang Shengyu seemed like he had more to say, but Qi Min cut him off with a wave of his hand. “When I first joined Deep Blue, the second-generation Hippocampus hadn’t even been developed. The first-generation barely activated memories—it could only create a small ‘safe house’ in someone’s subconscious. Even under those conditions, I and most of the other testers could successfully exit the subconscious.”
He continued, “Besides, this time the Hippocampus wasn’t completely ineffective. Much of the hospital imagery in the subconscious world came from my own experiences working in hospitals, which was helpful in navigating and eventually exiting the patient’s subconscious.”
Lu Qianwen chimed in cheerfully, “Director Yang, don’t worry! Qi Min is our most experienced tester. He’s way better than you when it comes to navigating the subconscious world. Even if something happened to you, Qi Min would still probably make it out just fine.”
Qi Min: “…”
Yang Shengyu: “…”
If you don’t know how to speak, maybe don’t.
Clearing his throat, Yang Shengyu sighed and relented. “Fine. But if anything goes wrong, we’ll immediately inject the escape serum. After that, you won’t be allowed to re-enter the patient’s subconscious.”
Qi Min nodded and turned to the eager observers behind the glass wall, Hao Peng and You Xianjie. “Gentlemen, if you please.”
After lying down on the testing platform, Lu Qianwen reconnected the nanothreads to both him and Shang Jingshui. Hao Peng and You Xianjie were ushered out but remained glued to the observation glass, watching with intense focus.
Qi Min donned the Hippocampus device, his body enveloped by the faint glow of the intricate, web-like threads, like a cocoon holding him in suspension.
Once the connections were secure and the devices calibrated, Lu Qianwen pressed the activation button on the ceiling control panel. Qi Min instinctively looked up as the process began.
“It is now 10:38 AM on September 11, 2022. Tester Qi Min, Subject Shang Jingshui. Second entry begins now.”
As Lu Qianwen’s announcement ended, the lights in the testing room dimmed, and the ceiling panels slid apart, revealing an enormous abstract pattern glowing faintly above.
The pattern pulsed and morphed as Qi Min stared at it, twisting into the shape of a massive jellyfish.
The jellyfish came alive.
It floated off the ceiling and began to swim through the dimly lit room, as though they were underwater. Its long, tendril-like filaments unfurled like petals in a delicate dance, constantly shifting into new forms.
Below the dome-like body, polyps pulsed rhythmically, and the translucent bell shimmered like gelatin, releasing tiny, glowing particles that drifted downward.
It grew larger and larger, drawing closer and closer.
Beneath the dome of the jellyfish, a faintly smiling human face appeared, its eyes closed.
The jellyfish’s tendrils wrapped tightly around Qi Min, paralyzing him with a tingling numbness.
A cascade of light, like the aurora, descended into the deep.
Engulfed by the jellyfish, Qi Min was pulled downward, sinking deeper and deeper into the ocean toward an isolated island submerged in the abyss…
The floor-level cabinet was a chaotic mess: blush-pink pointed heels, black leather flats, and white sneakers were haphazardly piled together.
Above it hung a collection of clothes—pale green dresses with ruffled hems, long lace gowns, a cozy knitted cardigan with a Mickey Mouse brooch, and a pale pink winter coat.
Qi Min stopped rummaging through the wardrobe, staring at the riot of colorful garments before silently closing it.
Standing in his underwear, fresh out of the shower, Qi Min was lost in thought.
This was a small studio apartment with a bathroom, its worn walls covered in scratches and odd graffiti.
The bedroom was square-shaped, dominated by a large bed shoved against one wall near the entrance.
In the corner near the bathroom was a recessed alcove that housed a double-door wooden wardrobe.
A mirror, about 1.5 meters long, was taped to the right door of the wardrobe.
Qi Min scratched the edge of the mirror, confirming it wasn’t built into the door but rather stuck on later.
A desk cluttered with books sat in front of the wardrobe, its wall-mounted air conditioner humming faintly above.
Between the desk and the wardrobe was the bathroom door, directly opposite the apartment’s entrance.
The bathroom door was left open, revealing the toilet directly in line with the front door—a less-than-ideal layout that Qi Min found oddly unnerving.
To the right of the toilet was a sink and mirror, with a dark blue towel hanging from a rod nearby.
The sink held an orange plastic toothbrush cup with a toothbrush and toothpaste sticking out of it, and farther back, a bar of soap.
Through the mirror, Qi Min could see the showerhead mounted on the opposite wall.
A plastic basin sat on the bathroom floor, filled with freshly discarded clothes.
The bathroom, though cramped, was much cleaner than the dingy bedroom, thanks to its newer tiles.
Notably, the entire apartment had no windows.
The Author has something to say:
Qi Min: As long as I don’t die in the subconscious world, I can get out safely.
Qi Min (opens wardrobe, closes wardrobe): …I choose death.
A new chapter begins: The Voyeur, also known as Me and My Creepy Neighbor.
Things are about to get eerie in this world. The second half of the story delves deeper into darker and more surreal subconscious landscapes. Everyone was polite during the first meeting, but now… let’s lose ourselves in the chaos!
