Hitzfeld almost screamed.
Doesn't that mean it's dangerous to do so?
Think about it, if Xia Yibing loses control one day, will she become a nightmare, a monster?
That is... the 'prototype of God' described in "The Origin of the Evil God"?
For some reason, words like "magical girl" flashed through Hitzfeld's mind.
"Have some faith in her."
Seeing that the girl became a little depressed, Ethan couldn't help but reach out and stroke her head twice.
"She is an adult. If she realizes that she has a problem, she will definitely not hide it. Moreover, we have regular psychological tests internally. If a supernatural agent at the current spirit level fails the test, she will be restricted in her actions and will not be able to use her power for a long time. She will also have to receive our psychological treatment."
Oh……
Hitzfeld felt a little relieved.
Indeed, that was knowledge passed down through generations. Shadow Lions were professionals, and there was no way they would not take precautions.
But she thought of the real case she saw in "The Origin of Evil God".
"Ethan."
"Ok?"
"Since such a mechanism has appeared, it means that someone at the current spiritual level has lost control before, right?"
"…Indeed."
"Then they later..."
"There is no later!"
Ethan interrupted her:
"The 'Corrupters' are part of the Church of the Eclipse, but they are far more dangerous than ordinary church members!"
Are they called the Corruptors?
As far as Hitzfeld could remember, this was the first time she had seen Ethan display such a rigid expression.
"No matter what those cultists want to do, they at least have thoughts and can talk and communicate! But you should never dream of communicating with a 'corruptor' or snooping into its thoughts, because they are the fruits of the abyss of despair that is completely rotten. They have no mind, no thoughts of their own, and their only instinct is to eat! Eating!"
"If you encounter a corrupter, I want you to stay away from it as soon as possible, or find a way to ask for help. Never try to use your wisdom to solve the problem... Do you understand?"
Hitzfeld nodded blankly.
"very good."
Ethan smiled again and took out his pocket watch to check the time.
"The review is at 10:50 this morning. There's still time. I can show you around..."
Chapter 8: So-called Professionalism
Hitzfeld was a little absent-minded as Ethan took him around and browsed the commercial streets around the pier.
She ignored the trinkets displayed in the shops and stalls, as well as the occasional stunning glances. She was thinking about the difference between the Corruptor and the Nightmare.
From what Ethan said, the Corrupters have no reason and only know how to eat... Isn't this the same as Nightmare?
Why do both Ethan and the book emphasize that they are different, and seem to be very different?
A palm-sized doll was brought before his eyes.
Hitzfeld came to his senses and politely declined Ethan's kindness.
Ethan treated her well, but he seemed to have no idea how to get along with women of his age.
In the early days of their acquaintance, Ethan's attitude towards Hitzfeld made her feel most comfortable. But when the two became familiar with each other, she was very unhappy to find that he always liked to stroke her head.
It seemed that she was treated as a child, a junior, which made her feel somewhat disrespected.
She had inquired about it, and found out that in Changxia - at least in Sarah, no matter whether a man or a woman was 17 years old, they were officially considered adults and could get married after drinking.
It is undoubtedly a little early to look at it from the perspective of earthlings, but the historical background is different, so this cannot be generalized.
The average life expectancy on Earth is much higher than here. In ancient times on Earth, people could get married and have children at the age of 16. The shorter the lifespan, the earlier the adulthood date was set. This is normal.
Fortunately, time was tight, and at almost 10:30, Ethan finally said that he would take the girl to the "trial location."
"There is actually——"
Hitzfeld looked at the underground tunnel in front of him in shock.
"The underground train!" Ethan proudly introduced it to her, "It's a major feature of Wayne Harbor! It's only available here, and you won't see it in other cities!"
"Should we take the subway?"
Hitzfeld asked, looking around.
It was called a subway station, but it was much gloomier than the subway stations she knew.
The ground is gray and black, the lighting is insufficient, the walls and load-bearing columns can only serve as partitions and supports, ragged homeless people lie in the shadows of some corners, and sometimes you can smell the disgusting peculiar smell of excrement.
"No, this is just the only way to go."
Ethan took the girl to the platform, jumped off the track while no one else was paying attention, jogged for more than 20 meters, and found an abandoned iron telephone booth squeezed in the crack of the wall.
Hitzfeld stared at the outer shell of the phone booth and saw a map of the city's subway lines posted on it.
If the actual subway lines do not change, then Wayne Port has a total of five subway lines, enough to connect several major areas of the city.
"Come here, Hitzfeld."
Ethan called and dragged Hitzfeld into the phone booth.
"Phone booth, yeah..." She heard Ethan muttering, "The telephone, this expensive piece of crap should never have been invented."
This is just a complaint, right?
Hitzfeld raised his eyebrows.
In an emergency, a telephone would certainly be much more useful than a telegraph. Of course, telephone charges were not cheap in the early days, and she doubted that Ethan could afford one.
As she stared, Ethan roughly picked up a broken microphone, brought it close, and uttered a meaningless and confusing syllable.
"boom!"
The phone booth vibrated.
"This……"
Before Hitzfeld could raise any doubts, the object quickly sank into the ground. Three seconds later, it came up again, and there was no one inside.
Further underground, Hitzfeld and Ethan were in a semi-abandoned elevator compartment. There was a rusty metal plate on the ceiling behind them, which she guessed was the base of the telephone booth.
Outside the cubicle, she saw a row of eight elevators. From time to time, people in formal suits and ties came in and out of the iron fence, and the entire corridor was filled with a tense but orderly office scene.
So, I finally got a glimpse of Shadow Lion - officially, some branches of the "Sara Strategic Homeland Security Agency".
She said to herself in her heart.
"We'll have to go to the Pollution Inspection Department to handle your problem," Ethan said. "They'll have to do some inspections on you first, and then we'll take the inspection results to the Internal Audit Department for review."
"examine?"
"Don't worry, it should just be a little blood draw at most."
Hitzfeld fell silent.
She knew this was inevitable - after all, her blood had played such a magical role in ending the second golem curse? Although there was very little red ink left that could react with her blood, there was no guarantee that her blood would have other effects.
Ethan said "Follow me closely" and started moving forward. People greeted him from time to time on the road, and he nodded politely in response.
"Good morning Ethan."
"Hello, Gummobi."
"Hello Ethan, are you back from Blackwood?"
"Come and take care of some things."
"Oh, yeah, I saw Xia just now. I remember that you guys are going to handle the review process for the second Golem Curse case..."
"She's here already, that's great."
"But Ethan—"
Hitzfeld saw a black man with exaggerated curly hair, like a head of instant noodles, approach Ethan and said to him in a very low voice: "Be careful of Tariq, he may find a chance to impeach you."
"Thank you, I'll keep an eye on it."
"That's good, my friend...that's good..."
The dark-skinned man smiled with relief and his mood became depressed.
"I heard about Mu Ke's incident. It's such a pity..."
"Yes, we are all very sorry..."
"But there is good news. Red-haired Chris has launched a new set of physical therapy packages. I heard that they have made a breakthrough in technology and can now allow us to have sex with women in our dreams."
"Uh……"
Ethan glanced at Hitzfeld and, as expected, noticed that she was frowning.
"Grim, I don't want to--"
"Then wait until you are done."
The man stroked Ethan's shoulders hard.
"Don't worry. With Mu Ke's example, I will never ignore my good friends' mental health again, especially you, Ethan. I haven't seen you like any lady in all these years... I think you need a long course of treatment to relieve your loneliness."
"Wait, I'm not—"
"Don't be embarrassed!" The other party showed an expression of "I understand".
"We have already discussed it. You don't have to pay this time!"
"Let's go! Waiting for your news!"
"..."
"..."
Hitzfeld counted for almost 20 seconds before Ethan was freed from the petrification and stammered to explain to her.
"His name is Grim Alex. He is one of my friends."
"He has severe amnesia. I greeted him yesterday, but his memory just now clearly switched to two months ago."
"He occasionally... no, he often likes to talk nonsense, so don't believe what he says..."
"I understand, Ethan."
Hitzfeld coughed and tried to look serious.
“But I think as a professional you have to balance your own mental health.”
Chapter 9 Physical Examination
On the way to the Pollution Inspection Department, after Ethan's strenuous explanation, Hitzfeld finally understood what the treatment Mr. Alex was talking about was.
Shadow Lion is not the only secret department in this country. During the development of Sara Kingdom over the years, many secret departments have intertwined and formed a huge network underground.
It will definitely not be as big as a "dungeon", but there will be some commercial streets, social areas, gyms or other businesses open to them separately.
Dream therapy is one of them. According to Ethan, this is a unique technology mastered by Shadow Lion, which can help people relieve stress by shaping beautiful dreams.
When stress is relieved, the chances of having nightmares will decrease.
The fewer nightmares you have, the less chances of nightmares happening and the less chances of being corrupted, which can be considered a preventive mechanism for dealing with crises.
But apparently "Red Chris" - the name of the shop - went too far in this direction, and they came up with some unorthodox special treatments.
Their current treatment menu looks like this:
Cover dreams; weave new dreams to cover some painful memories that you don’t want to recall.
Revenge dreams allow people to vent their hatred in dreams, deduce their own lives after revenge, and feel the confusion and emptiness in advance.
