The boy’s unusually long, pitch-black blade shattered the alien’s psychic shield and plunged deep beneath its wing case.
The monstrous insect opened its terrifying maw, letting out a shrill cry of agony. Seizing the opportunity, Instructor Liu’s scythe sliced through the barbed mouthparts, freeing the trapped student. A fifth-year sentinel immediately rushed forward, caught the student, and carried him toward the evacuating group.
In the distance, the wail of sirens echoed from the direction of the road.
The alien’s compound eyes, glowing with an eerie green light, fixed intently on the human before it. Its wing cases suddenly flared open to their fullest extent, ignoring the fact that they had already been completely severed by Shen Huaiyun’s psychic blade. Its body began to swell.
“It’s going to self-destruct its psychic energy!”
Shen Huaiyun wouldn’t give it that chance. His eyes were locked only on that expanding mass of eerie green. He poured all his strength into the hilt of his blade. The sound of shattering grew louder in his ears as he channeled more psychic energy into the weapon. The blade instantly widened twofold, then he brought it down in a fierce slash, shattering the psychic core completely.
To the onlookers, it appeared as though the boy, wielding a pitch-black longsword several times larger than his own body, had cleaved the alien in two.
Thick, viscous green fluid splattered all over him, but he no longer had the energy to care.
A ringing in his ears intertwined with the violent pounding of his heart. The black blade dissipated, and he crashed heavily to the ground, curling up helplessly from the intense pain deep within his body.
Everyone rushed toward him. He felt the familiar, cool touch of tentacles reaching him first, though this time it felt different piercingly cold, bone-chilling.
His eyes closed completely. Shen Tangmo’s shouts ultimately failed to reach his ears.
When Shen Huaiyun opened his eyes again, he was met with the pale yellow ceiling of a hospital room.
The design, he recalled, had been proposed by some engineer before the hospital was built, arguing that pure white was too bleak and that a more visually soothing color should be used instead.
It really was easier on the eyes, he thought, finding a sliver of amusement in his misery.
However, this visual softness couldn’t penetrate the depths of his body the tension was gone, replaced by a vast emptiness and the sharp, stinging pain of something cold and jagged haphazardly embedded within him.
Is this what it feels like when a psychic landscape shatters?
He had overexerted himself this time. His brother and parents would surely be furious with him later, and he had no idea how to make it up to them.
Hm? What’s weighing down the blanket beside him?
Shen Huaiyun suspected he had been lying down for a long time; otherwise, why would turning his neck feel so laborious, like a rusty, misshapen Transformer toy?
Fortunately, the person pinning the blanket stood up on their own, helped him sit up, and even brought a pillow to prop behind his back.
Unfortunately, that person was his brother.
Shen Tangmo had dark circles under his eyes, and stubble lingered untidily on his chin. He stared silently at Shen Huaiyun, his gaze fixed on the younger boy’s eyes, which darted about guiltily.
His fingers curled, itching to punch this kid, but remembering the circumstances, he only sighed in the end.
“One piece of good news: the doctors finally managed to detect your psychic landscape this time.”
Hearing this, Shen Huaiyun widened his eyes. “What did they detect?”
“It seems you know perfectly well yourself.” Shen Tangmo let out an exasperated laugh, gritting his teeth. “The bad news is, what they detected were fragments of your psychic landscape.”
The doctor’s exact words had been: “I’ve never seen anyone shatter their own psychic landscape into pieces this small.”
Two days ago, when Shen Huaiyun was first transferred from the ICU to a regular ward, the doctor called Shen Tangmo and his parents, who had rushed back urgently, into her office.
“As you know, the mental landscape is primarily an organ for storing and utilizing psychic energy. However, his had never been detected before, likely because its location in the mental world is deeper than most, and it’s very small underdeveloped.”
The doctor tapped the test report with her finger. “But look at this line here. His psychic energy levels are higher than those of his peers, meaning his rank is relatively high, and his psychic energy has been developing normally.”
“It’s like this,” the doctor drew an inflated rectangle. “His mental landscape, thanks to the therapeutic psychic assistance from a guide, had been maintaining a precarious balance constantly on the verge of bursting but held together. Until this time, it finally ruptured.”
“Moreover, he later forced himself to use even more psychic energy, causing a second rupture. Now, whenever we enter his mental world, all we detect are fragments.”
Shen Yue’an asked anxiously, “Then how should his condition be treated?”
The doctor pointed at Shen Tangmo. “If he does it, it’ll be the fastest. His rank is high. The highest we have in our hospital is only B-rank, so the treatment effect wouldn’t be as good as his. It might take two or three years to recover.”
Yuan Qing’an frowned. “But Tangmo just differentiated recently. His endurance might not be enough.”
“If I do it, how long will it take for him to recover?” Shen Tangmo interrupted.
The doctor extended a psychic tendril to touch his wrist, observed for a moment, then withdrew it. “If treated for one hour every day, his mental landscape could be repaired within a year.”
“Leave it to me.” Shen Tangmo turned to look at his parents, his expression more determined than ever before.
Yuan Qing’an had originally intended to treat Huaiyun herself, but faced with Shen Tangmo like this, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
For the next two days, Shen Tangmo stayed in the hospital room. The doctor recommended one hour of treatment per day, but he pushed himself to his limit, spending three hours each day repairing Shen Huaiyun’s mental landscape. The rest of his time was spent reviewing materials and online courses sent by Mentor Lin.
After delivering meals, Shen Yue’an pulled her husband to the doorway and whispered, “You know, I’m starting to feel like if our cabbage ends up being ‘nibbled’ by another cabbage from our own garden in the future, it might not be so unacceptable.”
Yuan Qing’an: “…”
He glanced at Shen Tangmo in the room, quietly reading materials and occasionally turning to check on Shen Huaiyun, then turned back. “Hmm. But isn’t it a bit too early for that now?”
“I’m talking about the future, the future!”
Upon receiving news of Shen Huaiyun’s awakening, his parents rushed over. The whole family accompanied him through a series of examinations, finally receiving the conclusion: “Discharge is permitted for recuperation at home.”
The doctor cautioned, “After this repair of his mental landscape, it should develop normally. However, if any signs of developmental stagnation appear, be sure to come to the hospital immediately!”
The entire family nodded in unison, their synchronization surprising even the doctor.
Teacher Liu had also mostly recovered from his injuries. Upon hearing about Shen Huaiyun’s discharge, he brought a fruit basket to visit. “How old are you? Your task right now is to grow up properly! Leave the business of killing aberrant species to us adults!”
He had been truly terrified back then, fearing he had failed to protect the two students. Fortunately, the student who had been pinned was now doing well, resting quietly while his bones healed, and the student who had been unconscious at the time had already been discharged from the hospital. His anxious heart finally settled.
“But you’ve got guts,” Teacher Liu said approvingly, patting his shoulder. “Ning Yanfeng really has a good eye, choosing you as his student. Ah, such promising talent I really want to snatch you away.”
“You old Liu!” Ning Yanfeng happened to walk in just then, hearing every word clearly. “I haven’t even settled accounts with you yet, and you’re already trying to poach my student! Get out of here!”
The supplements he had brought had already been forcibly shoved into Shen Tangmo after several rounds of polite refusals. Now, he only carried a large gift box, which he placed in his student’s arms. “This is specially approved consider it compensation from the academy and a reward from me. Open it and take a look.”
Shen Huaiyun exchanged a glance with his parents at the door. Seeing them nod, he untied the clumsily tied bow clearly his mentor’s handiwork and lifted the lid.
Resting on a bed of blue raffia grass lay a white helmet, the very neural-link helmet he was familiar with.
Ning Yanfeng was so proud he seemed about to puff out his beard. “This uses our team’s latest technology. No other machines are needed all systems are integrated into it. From now on, you can use it for training at home, and it’ll last you eight to ten years without any issues!”
The boy’s eyes lit up as he turned the helmet over and over, eager to pull out the manual and study it in detail. But with the teachers still present, he couldn’t just ignore them. He suppressed his excitement, though he clung tightly to the helmet as if afraid someone might snatch it away. “Thank you, Teacher!”
“Hmph,” Ning Yanfeng shot a sidelong glance at Teacher Liu. “You can go study now. I’m leaving first. Oh, and take good care of your injuries don’t rush to use it! Shen Tangmo, keep an eye on him!”
“Understood, Professor Ning. Take care on your way out.”
Teacher Liu chatted with Shen’s parents for a few moments before leaving as well. Shen Yue’an and Yuan Qing’an had to return to the watchtower tomorrow as their annual leave was ending, so they whisked Shen Huaiyun along with the helmet and manual off to the master bedroom for a late-night chat, leaving Shen Tangmo to sleep alone tonight.
Shen Tangmo looked around the room, which felt unfamiliar without the presence of another person. Emptiness and lingering fear finally broke through his surface calm.
Back at the training base, when he saw the boy collapse unconscious in that filthy place, his mental tendrils had surged forward like mad to lift him up, and he himself had followed close behind.
Those few minutes of memory felt almost surreal. His body had still been moving picking up Shen Huaiyun and rushing him to the ambulance that had just arrived but his mind had been completely blank.
It wasn’t until he watched the boy being wheeled into the ambulance that he belatedly realized: overwhelming fear had crushed all other thoughts.
He was afraid Shen Huaiyun would die, afraid they would be separated by life and death, afraid that the rest of his life would be spent with only a cold tombstone for company.
No matter how long his life might be, Shen Huaiyun had to be a part of it.
He took a deep breath.
Better not dwell on those thoughts. Huaiyun was alive and well now.
His parents had gone to the school earlier to collect all their belongings from the dormitory. After all, Huaiyun’s treatment would last a year, and the school had approved his request to recuperate and study at home. As for Shen Tangmo, to care for his younger brother, he would end his boarding school life from now on and begin commuting instead.
To distract himself, Shen Tangmo began tidying up the boxes that had remained unpacked since they were moved in.
Clothes were put away in the wardrobe, books arranged on the desk, and decorative items placed on the shelves according to Huaiyun’s preferences.
Outside the window, the city lights gradually dimmed. Most of the items had been sorted, leaving only a thick, dark blue notebook.
Was this Huaiyun’s? Was it an empty notebook or a journal?
To decide where to place it, Shen Tangmo opened the first page.
“Dream on 3.26”
“Many broken things, and a bloody cat.”
?!
Shen Tangmo suddenly realized this was Shen Huaiyun’s notebook for recording his dreams. He snapped it shut without reading further and gently placed it on the corner of Shen Huaiyun’s desk.
But the brief description, written in childish handwriting, lingered in his mind.
He could almost picture the scene: the floor littered with shattered fragments of unknown objects, and at the center of his vision, a small cat lying lifeless and bloodied.
No wonder Huaiyun had refused the suggestion of keeping a cat back then.
Was this the image that haunted his mind during those sleepless nights?
He felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest, as if gripped by sharp claws.
He thought back to the frustration and helplessness he had felt while sitting outside the emergency operating room, powerless to do anything.
He had vowed to find out what was wrong with Huaiyun, to protect him, yet in the end, he had achieved nothing it was Huaiyun who had ended up protecting him instead.
And he could only watch, useless, as his younger brother lay pale and motionless on the hospital bed, unable to do a thing.
His chest tightened until it was hard to breathe.
He lay down on the side of the bed where Shen Huaiyun usually slept, as if this could somehow fulfill his longing to hold him. He hadn’t told anyone that when he learned he was the fastest option to cure Huaiyun, it was the first time in his life he had ever felt grateful for his own talent.
He absolutely had to cure Shen Huaiyun, he thought.
It was the only thing he could do for him now.