The door to the house was locked tightly, with a cabinet pushed against it to block the entrance.
Nato sat beside his aunt Nasha on a chair, nervously staring at the door.
A short while ago, chaos had broken out on the streets. Thankfully, they had been close to home and managed to rush back safely.
They had no idea what was happening outside. The distress messages Nasha sent out were met with silence. Nato clutched his communicator, hesitated, and sent a message to the contact labeled “Teacher” asking about the situation.
Not long after, Mr. Su replied.
Nato read the message and looked up, stunned. “Teacher says… the people outside are losing control because they drank the Relief Society’s treatment drugs.”
Nasha’s face changed.
Nato continued, “Teacher also said that only people who drank a lot of the drugs are at risk of losing control.”
“Auntie, did you drink a lot?”
Nasha hesitated, then admitted sheepishly, “Quite… quite a bit.”
She couldn’t explain why, but the treatment drugs had a sweet flavor that made her want to drink more after every dose.
Luckily, over the past few days, she had been busy taking care of Nato as his guardian and hadn’t touched the drugs.
Nato froze, but then another message from Ji Mian came through. Reading it, he stammered, “Teacher said… if you haven’t lost control so far, you won’t lose control later either.”
Nasha exhaled in relief, though she remained puzzled. “The Relief Society is supposed to be good people. Why would they do something like this?”
Could someone have tampered with the treatment drugs?
Nato added, “Teacher says we shouldn’t trust the Relief Society.”
Nasha hesitated but eventually nodded. “Alright…”
Regardless of the reason, she felt lucky to have avoided this disaster.
But was it truly just luck?
Nasha began to reflect. She recalled a recent, inexplicable illness that had left her feeling unwell. It was only after Mr. Su treated her that she recovered.
Could it have been… because of that treatment?
Nasha’s thoughts were interrupted as she declared, “We’d better listen to Mr. Su and stay here until everything is over.”
Nato nodded in agreement.
—
After soothing yet another crazed individual, Ji Mian stood up, only to feel a wave of dizziness. He swayed slightly.
Chu Shiye’s expression shifted. “I’ll carry you.”
Ji Mian protested, “No, I—”
Before he could finish, Chu Shiye had already wrapped an arm around his waist, preparing to lift him.
Ji Mian: “?”
He quickly pressed down on Chu Shiye’s arm, refusing.
Being carried by this Alpha down the street would be far too embarrassing.
Chu Shiye, unsuccessful in his attempt, looked at Ji Mian with a hint of grievance.
Ji Mian: “…” Why does he look so wronged?
With a soft voice, Ji Mian reassured him, “I’m fine.”
Chu Shiye muttered gloomily, “Every time you say that, something’s wrong.”
Ji Mian blinked. “Really?”
“No matter what,” he insisted, “I’m fine.”
Chu Shiye continued to look at him, full of silent complaint.
Ji Mian: “…”
“Alright,” Ji Mian relented. He gently hooked his finger around Chu Shiye’s and said, “You can hold my hand instead. Will that do?”
Chu Shiye grasped Ji Mian’s fingers tightly and reluctantly nodded.
Ji Mian reached out to pat Chu Shiye’s head. “Good boy.”
Kane, watching from the side, was utterly dumbfounded and thoroughly shocked.
From then on, Ji Mian conserved his energy, choosing not to treat the crazed individuals they encountered. Instead, he and Chu Shiye restrained them and left others to send them to the guard post.
—
On the rooftop of a high-rise, the figures of the young man and the youth quickly disappeared from view.
Joshua’s subordinate hesitated, his voice trembling as he reported, “According to our investigation, he’s a teacher at the Interstellar School and isn’t a native of this planet. His identity is falsified.”
“He claims to be a healing-type ability user, but based on his performance, we suspect he’s either a combat-type or a combat-oriented support-type user.”
Joshua interrupted him calmly, “He’s neither combat-type nor support-type.”
The subordinate asked cautiously, “Then… is he a special kind of healer?”
Mental ability users were incredibly rare. While there were plenty of B-level users in other types of abilities, in the mental category, even a B-level user was an exception.
High-ranking mental ability users were typically well-documented individuals. It would be impossible not to find information about them. From the start, this “Su Lan” had been excluded from being a mental ability user.
But when the subordinate asked, Joshua merely smiled faintly.
“He is indeed… special,” Joshua remarked, his tone tinged with both admiration and regret.
“If only I had known earlier, I should have…”
—
After many delays, Ji Mian and Chu Shiye finally arrived at the guard post.
Fu Zeren had just returned with a team tasked with capturing the crazed individuals. The guard post and several surrounding buildings had been cleared out to detain the captured individuals.
However, the sheer number of crazed individuals far exceeded Fu Zeren’s expectations, leaving him secretly alarmed.
“Mr. Su,” he turned to Ji Mian, “are you really able to treat these people?”
Ji Mian replied calmly, “I’ll do my best.”
Fu Zeren bowed slightly, his tone reverent. “If you succeed, you’ll be the savior of this planet.”
Even so, the situation at the guard post was dire.
Though the crazed individuals had been restrained, they continued to struggle, behaving like frenzied, tireless beasts that sought every opportunity to attack.
If they couldn’t be cured, their fate would likely be death—executed by the guard post staff.
Yet many of these people had family and friends in the city.
The accumulated hatred from such events would be enough to destroy the planet.
This outcome had to be avoided. The true culprit behind the chaos needed to be found quickly so that the blame could be shifted in that direction.
Fu Zeren turned to his subordinates. “Detain the Relief Society’s leader, Joshua—”
“Bring all of them to me.”
A sharp voice abruptly interrupted. Everyone turned toward the sound.
A tall, thin man cloaked in a large cape had entered the guard post alone. His cold, sinister gaze fixed directly on Fu Zeren.
Fu Zeren was shocked. “City Lord? Why are you…”
“Did you not hear me?” City Lord Tansen interrupted rudely. “Bring all these people to me, now!”
He was referring to the crazed individuals detained at the guard post.
Fu Zeren was stunned. “These people were extremely difficult to capture and are hard to control. If we move them all to your location, something might go wrong on the way…”
“Stop making excuses!” Tansen snapped. “If something happens, it’ll be your incompetence to blame!”
Cold sweat formed on Fu Zeren’s forehead. “Then… could I at least detain Joshua for now? The Relief Society has significant involvement in this chaos…”
Tansen’s eyes narrowed, their dull surface devoid of any light. “I said, bring all these people to me. Did you not hear me?”
Fu Zeren’s heart sank. It was clear now—Tansen intended to protect Joshua.
If Joshua was shielded, who would take the blame?
…No one else but the guard team.
Fu Zeren’s hope drained as he stood frozen in place, unwilling to move even under the city lord’s mounting pressure.
As Tansen urged him again and again, Fu Zeren clenched his fists and, with a subtle motion, turned his head slightly to silently plead for help from Ji Mian.
Ji Mian had been observing Tansen all along.
During their last encounter, Tansen had been thoroughly cowed by him and Chu Shiye. Yet now, even with both of them standing there, Tansen seemed completely unaware of their presence.
If Tansen were a fearless person, this could be understood.
But…
Ji Mian’s gaze locked onto Tansen’s eyes.
Chu Shiye, too, was staring into Tansen’s eyes, and like Ji Mian, he realized something was off.
This man wasn’t right.
Those dull, lifeless eyes were devoid of any will, like the eyes of a puppet controlled by strings.
In a voice only Chu Shiye could hear, Ji Mian said, “On the Capital Planet, there’s a method to control people by implanting a mental control device in their eyes. Unless the eyeball is destroyed, it can’t be removed.”
Chu Shiye’s gaze flickered, though his thoughts lingered on the first part of Ji Mian’s words.
The Capital Planet.
…So, Su Lan really came from the Capital Planet?
Although he had always suspected that Su Lan might be from a major planet, hearing the truth exceeded all his expectations.
The Capital Planet was said to be the most dazzling and glorious place, unmatched by any other planet in its grandeur. Compared to this dusty, rundown wasteland of a planet, the Capital Planet was like the purest cloud above, while this place was the filthiest mud below.
Chu Shiye lowered his eyes slightly, unsure of what he was feeling.
But one thought rang clear in his mind:
Su Lan probably wouldn’t stay on this planet.
No one could make him stay.
A faint sadness clouded Chu Shiye’s gaze, but it was fleeting—so brief that Ji Mian didn’t notice.
Ji Mian only sensed something odd and glanced up at Chu Shiye, whose expression was as calm as ever when their eyes met.
…Was it just his imagination?
Now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. Fu Zeren’s silent plea for help grew increasingly desperate, prompting Ji Mian to step forward.
But Chu Shiye gently stopped him.
“I’ll handle this.”
Without looking at Ji Mian, Chu Shiye walked directly between Fu Zeren and Tansen.
Fu Zeren immediately let out a sigh of relief and stepped back.
Tansen, tall and imposing, looked down at Chu Shiye, as if he truly didn’t remember the man who had left him traumatized. “Who the hell are you?”
Chu Shiye met Tansen’s eyes without flinching.
In his dark brown irises, a sharp golden light suddenly flared, as dazzling and piercing as the midday sun.
Mental Force Suppression!
—Something he had learned from Ji Mian.
To the others watching, it seemed as if Tansen let out a scream before his towering figure crumbled like a collapsing mountain. Trembling, he fell to the ground.
Chu Shiye unsheathed his short knife, grabbed Tansen by the hair, and lifted his head as though it were nothing more than a trivial object.
The knife glinted coldly before plunging into Tansen’s eye socket.
Blood splattered onto Chu Shiye’s face, but his expression remained unchanged.
When he withdrew the blade, the tip carried a grain-sized device.
Tansen’s mouth gaped open, letting out a guttural, throat-tearing scream. Clutching his left eye, he rolled on the ground, leaving smears of blood everywhere.
Chu Shiye turned around.
Every pair of eyes that met his was filled with fear and terror.
It was as though he wasn’t human but a demon—a monster.
…He was used to those looks. He had seen them since childhood.
But this time was different.
A pair of ink-black eyes gazed at him with warmth, amusement, and a hint of approval.
Ji Mian winked at him.
Impressive.
Chu Shiye froze, staring into those eyes, unable to move.
Fu Zeren was still in shock when Ji Mian said calmly, “Take him away and find a healer for him.”
Fu Zeren snapped out of it. “Y-Yes!”
The guards, who had plenty of healers, quickly moved to carry Tansen away.
Chu Shiye remained motionless, his gaze fixed on Ji Mian.
Ji Mian walked toward him, reaching out to wipe the blood from his face. But before he could, Chu Shiye swayed and collapsed onto him.
Ji Mian instinctively caught him. “What’s wrong?”
The Alpha slumped against him, heavy and unmoving, his face buried in Ji Mian’s shoulder as though exhausted.
After a moment, a muffled voice came from Chu Shiye: “…My head hurts.”
Ji Mian blinked. “Oh, it’s your first time using mental suppression. Does it feel uncomfortable?”
Chu Shiye kept his face buried in Ji Mian’s shoulder and replied softly, “Yes.”
Ji Mian’s heart twinged with sympathy.
This Alpha never complained about pain. For him to admit discomfort, it must be serious.
It was understandable—using mental power for the first time would take a toll.
With a gentle tone, Ji Mian offered, “How about I help you to a room so you can rest?”
But Chu Shiye didn’t move. He stayed draped over Ji Mian, his face still pressed into his shoulder.
Ji Mian: …Oh no, he can’t even move.
He must be feeling really unwell.
R : Lol what an actor
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