Chapter 207

Three stranded commanders, after several days of imprisonment, had become somewhat disheveled. Several unrelated individuals in the prison had grown closer. When a squad arrived at their cell, the three almost simultaneously stood up and naturally formed a line.

Wu Zhong nodded respectfully to them, “Good afternoon, commanders.”

The calm and monotonous life in prison had made the commanders sensitive. Despite the seemingly friendly and respectful attitude, their expressions remained serious, showing no sign of relaxation.

Wu Zhong lowered his hand without saying more and tilted his chin back. A soldier behind him approached and opened the cell, pulling out custom-made handcuffs from his uniform pocket.

“Please put these on.”

The three commanders exchanged glances, sensing the danger in the request.

“I advise against futile struggle,” Wu Zhong said impassively. “You have no privileges here.”

Without their psychic abilities shielded, these three commanders were among the strongest in the entire alliance. But without those abilities, they were just ordinary people before these soldiers.

Reluctantly, the three put on the handcuffs.

The cuffs were heavy and immediately tightened around their wrists, causing varying degrees of discomfort on their faces.

Wu Zhong turned around. “Follow me.”

Once outside the prison, the three Level 9 psychic commanders realized their abilities had significantly weakened, flickering unpredictably. Undoubtedly, it was the effect of the cuffs they now wore.

They felt a wave of panic within.

During Tianshu’s last visit to see Charlie, he had hinted at Mo Yin’s plan to completely eliminate someone’s psychic abilities. This revelation had greatly shocked them and gave them time to react. Otherwise, they would have been horrified when they put on these cuffs today, which had the effect of isolating psychic abilities.

The afternoon in District Nine remained dim and lightless. Humanity had a long history of inhabiting the solar system. After psychic awakening, people began to evolve and fight. Some natural humans left the solar system for new galaxies and settled on habitable planets. This planet was not highly habitable; reportedly, its inhabitants were descendants of criminals, so they had little to demand.

Unfortunately, even among the descendants of criminals, there were distinctions in hierarchy. Those initially assigned to District Nine were all serious offenders.

Time passed, and the judges never informed anyone of what crimes they had committed, leaving them to live in perpetual uncertainty.

The three commanders were led into a black building, stripped of their psychic protection. Their bodies immediately felt unusually warm. Under the escort of several people, they arrived at a corner of the entire building, where the heat was particularly intense.

The door opened, and a rush of heat and pungent odor hit the three commanders, who instinctively shielded their faces with their arms.

Amidst an extremely harsh noise, the commanders slowly lowered their hands. The scene before them made all three widen their eyes involuntarily.

Massive robotic arms danced as if alive, working deftly. Sparks of red and black flashed among the interlocking arms, and sparks fell like fireworks. Others kept their distance, but a tall figure stood below, arms crossed, slightly tilting his head. This strange mechanical creature seemed to belong to him, its owner. His iconic snowy white hair looked soft yet icy.

Mo Yin turned his head slightly and said calmly, “You’re here?” His gaze focused on the corners of his eyes, giving the three an unsettling feeling, as if he were a different species, indifferent and capable of arbitrary slaughter.

“Hey,” Charlie greeted with a light laugh, breaking the silence among the three. “Actually, you don’t have to use these strange tools on us. We’re very willing to have a friendly conversation with you.” He was trying to appear calm, but he figured saying something was better than silence at this moment. He even joked, “I like your hairstyle today.”

Mo Yin’s expression remained unchanged. This not only unnerved Charlie, who spoke, but also made the other two commanders tense. They were trying their best to break free from the handcuffs, to concentrate their disrupted psychic abilities, and to regain their sense of security.

“Unlock their handcuffs.”

The order came, and the expressions of the three commanders couldn’t help but show shock.

“Yes.”

Wu Zhong turned and took out the keys, one by one unlocking the handcuffs from the three commanders.

The feeling of psychic energy replenishing their bodies was exhilarating. The three exchanged glances again, each seeing surprise in the other’s eyes.

Could negotiations really be starting?

Inside the commanders’ room, Tianshu was reading the books left by the commanders, carefully studying the annotations, trying to understand what kind of people they were.

He had thought they were merely cruel and cold, different from ordinary people in some ways, but he hadn’t expected them to be so cunning.

“You are the only one.”

The commander said this without any deliberate affectation as if stating a fact.

Tianshu almost believed him.

And he expected the commander to immediately retract his words, to say he was just teasing or testing him. Tianshu waited calmly, but the commander withdrew his gaze, refusing to discuss the matter further, leaving Tianshu to linger in doubt and confusion.

Tianshu certainly wasn’t foolish enough to take such words at face value.

What Mo Yin said and what he actually did were completely different things.

Tianshu was also adept at analyzing relationships between people. From Mo Yin’s attitude towards him, it was clear Mo Yin’s familiarity and intimacy were reserved for someone he had known for a long time. Tianshu was sure there was no connection between them. There couldn’t be any memory loss… could there? Could he possibly be missing a chunk of his memory?

Tianshu found himself self-doubting, then quickly furrowed his brow, thinking perhaps this was psychological warfare, that Mo Yin was intentionally trying to confuse him…

Tianshu set down the book with a sigh, his gaze finding little space to avoid in the narrow room, inevitably falling on the narrow single bed.

In front of Mo Yin, Tianshu showed no weakness. Yet, alone, his face flushed slightly.

Was he going mad?

In this situation, what was he still thinking about? Were these emotions even appropriate right now?

Tianshu’s expression darkened.

He still hadn’t come to terms with Mo Yin’s insane plan, nor had he figured out a response.

What he could be sure of was that at least two people shared similar values on certain matters.

As for Mo Yin claiming he was merely trying to please himself, Tianshu understood that what brought each person pleasure varied, always aligning with their values, even animals had their habits.

As Tianshu pondered who Mo Yin really was, he suddenly felt a surge of powerful psychic energy!

Tianshu immediately stood up, his gaze fixed on the north wall.

He wasn’t looking at the wall, of course. The surge of psychic energy came from the north and was very familiar.

There were no guards at the door, and Tianshu smoothly left the room. Mo Yin had told him he could only leave at his command, but the fact was there were no guards at the door. Mo Yin probably knew he wouldn’t defy his words, because Tianshu was a politician very skilled in the “art of compromise.”

Surprisingly, everything went smoothly without any interference.

Passers-by who saw Tianshu didn’t even spare him a second glance.

Empowered by psychic energy, Tianshu almost felt like he could fly.

Charlie’s psychic energy continued to erupt, a desperate lament nearing collapse.

“Boom—”

The pitch-black door was suddenly slammed open.

No one in the entire space turned around.

Tianshu barged in and immediately saw three figures held high by mechanical arms.

In the center was Charlie Yu, his entire body from shoulder to calf firmly held by the mechanical arms. The elegant robe worn by the commander was wrinkled, and Charlie’s face was more contorted than his clothes. Upon closer inspection, one could see a twisted psychic barrier between the mechanical arms and Charlie’s body.

“Commander—”

Tianshu shouted at the figure who shared his bed every night, under the mechanical arm, “What are you doing?!”

Mo Yin turned his head.

Tianshu’s expression, a mix of shock and anger, had completely lost its composure and disguise.

Very well, he had said he liked authenticity.

“I don’t think I need to report to you about what I do, right?” Mo Yin spoke with a faint smile on his face.

Charlie Yu’s psychic energy continued to emit a mournful cry.

In District Nine, there were no privacy laws concerning psychic energy. His current suffering was laid bare for all psychic-capable individuals to see. The other two commanders were also grappling with the bizarre weapon, though Charlie’s condition seemed worse off, likely due to an earlier attack he sustained upon entering District Nine, which had traumatized his psychic energy.

Watching the three commanders struggle in pain, Tianshu’s perception of Mo Yin’s cruelty became more concrete.

Mo Yin wasn’t joking; he truly saw them as experiments, and he was determined to extinguish everyone’s psychic energy.

His blood was heating up, his heart thudding in his chest. Should he issue a combat warning? Clearly, Mo Yin hadn’t perfected the weapon yet. Perhaps there was still time to stop him.

Tianshu’s hand hung down, fingers twitching slightly, as he stared at the figure nearby, a beautiful face radiating a chilling calmness that sent shivers down his spine.

The alarms in Zone One sounded.

Mo Yin’s eyes narrowed slightly, a deeper smile spreading across his face. “My dear, what have you done?”

Tianshu replied, “I think you already know. Weren’t you trying to force out my last resort?”

“Knowing it’s a trap, yet still jumping in,” Mo Yin said, lowering his gaze. “Truly a great friendship.”

The last word hung in the air as Mo Yin’s figure appeared before Tianshu like lightning. His movements were astonishingly swift as he grabbed Tianshu by the neck with one hand. Tianshu released his psychic energy, which clashed fiercely with Mo Yin’s released psychic energy.

A battle between two Level 9 psychics would cause massive destruction. Psychic materialization was not just defensive.

Major Wu signaled the other soldiers with a glance. They stepped back, making way for the commander to personally discipline his pet.

Mo Yin’s use of psychic energy had reached a point where he didn’t need to think. This was a basic ability for him as a “Seventh Generation Natural Human.” Tianshu, on the other hand, clearly hadn’t evolved to that extent.

The black psychic energy tightly constricted Tianshu’s neck. Mo Yin’s hair was disheveled, brushing against Tianshu’s cheek. He reached up, gripping Tianshu’s hair, locking eyes with him, and said softly, “There are no privileges in District Nine. I am fair. Even if I like you very much, that doesn’t exempt you.”

Tianshu had no room to process Mo Yin’s words. The cold psychic energy coiled around his neck like a python, tightening gradually, almost suffocating him.

Then, a sudden sensation of weightlessness hit him.

Tianshu felt himself “fly.”

The Commander of Zone One, thrown into the air by psychic force, was immediately caught by agile mechanical arms. The tentacle-like arms swiftly wrapped around the commander, stimulated by the psychic force of their creator, releasing energy pulses. Tianshu was almost instantly forced out of his own psychic barrier. As the dizziness from the eased suffocation set in, he struggled against this eerie weapon, his gaze shooting coldly downwards.

Mo Yin casually straightened his disheveled hair, then turned to Major Wu beside him. “Level One alert. Prepare for combat.”