Chapter 42: Too Normal
Chapter 42: Too Normal
“Normal…”
Everyone in the entire office wore an odd expression after listening to the psychological expert’s analysis.
Seeing the reactions around her, the doctor sighed and explained, “After the Crimson Moon Incident erupted, everyone lives in Highwall City. Those suffocating surroundings and the despondent existence have inevitably caused everyone to develop some psychological issues… including myself, I must add. Yet, after half an hour consulting him, I found him remarkably normal.”
“So normal that it feels abnormal.”
After a slight pause, she continued, “Because I had already been cautioned by Professor Bai beforehand, I did not probe deeply into the explosion at the Red Moon Orphanage. I focused instead on his childhood life in the orphanage, and his studies and work experience afterwards. He cooperated fully in answering. Towards the end, I even asked directly about the… family members he mentioned…”
Here, she glanced towards Chen Jing, “He displayed no resistance to my questions. He discussed with me in detail the patterns and scenarios of his interactions with these family members, explored the boundaries between illusion and reality, and even earnestly deliberated with me the differences between dissociation and multiple personality disorder, along with the plausibility of these family members truly existing…”
“Frankly, I was nearly convinced he was one of my graduate students…”
“…”
Listening to the doctor, everything sounded increasingly normal, yet a sense of unease prickled everyone present.
An indescribable strangeness hung in the air.
“He can’t really be that normal, can he…”
After a moment, someone spoke up, “Could he have been lying?”
The doctor shook her head, “If he lied, he wouldn’t have fooled me.”
“Precisely because he wasn’t lying, it’s abnormal!”
She stopped briefly, letting out a soft breath before placing the session notes on the desk. She took off her glasses and rubbed the indentations on either side of her nose bridge, “I pressed on, trying to cover as much ground as possible. In the end, I discovered that aside from having somewhat blurred memories of certain parts, and the nature of his ‘described’ family being less than palatable to the average person…”
“This young man is optimistic, cheerful, proactive, and kind-hearted…”
She gave a small, bitter laugh, “I almost started doubting how someone like him could possibly be a Mental Aberrant.”
“Optimistic, cheerful, proactive, and kind-hearted…”
The office was silent for quite some time before Professor Chen – the bald man with glasses – finally spoke, “Just hearing you utter those words makes me feel there’s something off about him… How could a child raised after the Crimson Moon Incident possibly be so…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but everyone clearly understood what he implied.
The doctor in the white lab coat put her glasses back on, “I did broach this subject with him. I found one person profoundly influenced him: the former dean of the Red Moon Orphanage. From his description, one could glean that this was someone who managed to maintain clarity, rationality, and a personal moral compass throughout those insane, bewildering, and utterly chaotic times.”
“It was this person who sheltered him and other orphans within the orphanage’s walls, teaching them knowledge, telling them of life, work, dreams before the Crimson Moon Incident, exposing them to arts and literature. All this significantly shaped him.”
“…”
“A dean like that…”
Her words cast a solemn silence over the room.
They all knew how incredibly difficult it had been to maintain such composure during those post-Crimson Moon years…
Chen Jing broke the quiet, addressing the others, “And the rest of you professors? Any discoveries?”
“For him, these family members are real!”
A bald, elderly professor lifted the pen in his hand and stated, “I observed during the testing procedures that his gaze flickered away on multiple minor occasions. From micro-expressions, he appeared to be looking at someone who wasn’t there, even seeming to confer with that person. Although he was subtly trying to conceal these actions, one thing is certain: he genuinely believes such a person exists!”
“And this ties back to our earlier hypothesis!”
The bald professor twirled his pen, addressing the group, “Since he has three ‘family members’, and if the Spider-Type ability indeed stems from his ‘Little Sister’, it’s reasonable to suspect he possesses two other abilities as well…”
The psychologist gently raised her own pen at this point, adding, “I discussed this angle with him too. I extended his line of thought: if his Little Sister can ‘lend’ him one ability, could his other family members also grant him abilities?”
“And his answer was that he ‘wasn’t sure’…”
“Please note: he said he ‘wasn’t sure’; he did not deny it.”
“…”
The bald professor nodded thoughtfully, “Perhaps for him, he simply cannot readily access those other two abilities?”
Chen Jing, silent, gave a slight nod, making a mark on the document before her.
“Two additional abilities… it does sound rather incredible, but doesn’t necessarily defy logic!”
Another researcher, wearing a wig, chimed in at this moment, “Because his measured Psychic Magnitude was indeed exceptionally high!”
“Typically for Psychic Magnitude assessment, we apply the ‘Three-Fifths Projection Algorithm’!”
“It’s simply too dangerous forcing Mental Aberrants to fully unleash their psychic capabilities. Such stress testing vastly elevates their Risk of Loss of Control. Hence, Professor Bai pioneered this method: we have them exert only a carefully measured fraction of their telekinetic power. Then, based on the force manifested, we extrapolate to calculate a rough overall index estimation, projecting their actual Psychic Magnitude!”
“I initially prepared an apple for his test. However, for that specific assessment task, he chose not to cooperate.”
“…”
Hearing this, everyone in the office stopped their work, listening intently.
This researcher was in charge of the rough Psychic Magnitude index assessment. Everyone knew his test had failed.
Lu Xin hadn’t cooperated. Without cooperation, how could he possibly obtain a measurement?
“My wig was moved!”
Facing the collective gaze, the researcher declared solemnly, “It was perfectly straight when I left my place. After landing and before this meeting, I even went into the restroom and specifically adjusted it. Furthermore, given personal space norms, no one here would have come near my wig.”
“I maintained a distance of over five meters from him at all times afterwards.”
“Yet, at some point, using some method I was completely unaware of, he touched my wig!”
“Projecting based on this occurrence, his Psychic Magnitude must be at least… above four hundred!”
He paused for a moment, then added emphatically, “The four hundred is merely the lower boundary. The upper limit… is difficult to ascertain!”
Seeing the confusion on some colleagues’ faces, his expression grew rather animated.
“Think about it…”
He vigorously rubbed his wig, dislodging it slightly to reveal his own patch of baldness. His expression turned almost fervent, “After all, this wig is specially made! Fits incredibly tight! Normally, it requires a good yank to budge! And yet, he managed to shift it secretly… without me even noticing…”
“That feat is arguably harder than just moving an apple…”
“Possessing such power… does it imply he might effortlessly yank off my head… or perhaps crush it outright?”
As he spoke, he gestured towards his own skull, “Telekinetic Power powerful enough to splatter brains everywhere… just how potent would that be?”
“…”
The atmosphere grew distinctly still.
Everyone stared silently at the researcher’s animated state. The horrific image he described hung heavy in the air.
Only Chen Jing sat unmoved, letting out a soft sigh:
“If the explosion at the Red Moon Orphanage is proven to be linked to him, brains splattering everywhere might be the least of the issues!”
“The entire person splattering everywhere is a distinct possibility…”