Jack Young was always cautious back in Jiping City—mostly because it was his turf, and if anything went wrong, he’d have nowhere to run. But in Chengdu, he could afford to loosen up a bit. There were ways to handle trouble. Especially after browsing the World Observation Bureau forums, he realized the Chosen Ones’ ecosystem wasn’t nearly as hostile as he’d imagined. He could finally relax a little.
Ethan Zhuo was an old acquaintance. They hadn’t talked much, but Jack had a gut feeling: this guy wasn’t bad. Of course, every psychologist has to radiate trustworthiness—it’s in the job description. But Jack’s instincts were sharper than most; he could tell the difference between surface-level friendliness and genuine, bone-deep refinement.
Since everything was so chill, Jack just spoke his mind—it felt way more comfortable that way.
Sure enough, after Ethan Zhuo got over his initial shock, he quickly regained his composure. Especially when you meet a fellow "Chosen One" who shares your secret—and that fellow happens to be an old friend with a pretty good reputation—well, excitement’s inevitable. The two walked and chatted; with Jack around, there was no way anyone would accidentally overhear anything they shouldn’t.
Ethan Zhuo’s story was wild—a textbook example of a classic lucky break. In mid-July, he was just chilling at home, and then—bam!—a treasure fell from the sky.
"I was just taking a nap at home. Closed my eyes in my bedroom, opened them—and I was in some bizarre place." Ethan didn’t get into the details. Anyway, after wandering around, he stumbled across a book. This book was something else—part ancient scroll, part sci-fi prop. It was an incomplete manuscript, missing both the beginning and the end, but packed with deep, mind-bending content. After one read-through, the strange book just disappeared.
The title on the header read—Unchanging Mind Technique.
"I only remembered about sixty percent of it, understood maybe twenty percent, and could actually use even less. Luckily, it was right up my alley—a treatise on psychology, clearly written by some genius in the field." According to Ethan, he didn’t learn any earth-shattering powers, but his hypnosis skills shot through the roof. "Ever since I studied that book, my understanding of mental powers changed completely. Sometimes, I can even sense these weird... how should I put it—Thought Waves."
"Thought Waves?" Jack pointed at a passing schoolgirl, curious: "So you’re saying you can finally peek into their minds to pick up girls? Congrats, congrats—you’ve officially completed your 'Gentleman-ization Reform.'"
"No way! You think people’s skulls are just for decoration?" Ethan instantly got the joke about 'Gentleman-ization Reform,' and to avoid being labeled a 'gentleman,' he quickly explained with a wry smile: "The human mind is complicated—even we can’t figure ourselves out, let alone someone else. Plus, everyone has a built-in mental defense line. Maybe the person who wrote that book could pull it off, but me? No way I’m stirring up trouble in someone’s head. The stronger their mind, the less I can do."
"So when you say Thought Waves, you mean..." Jack started to ask, but then something clicked in his mind. He looked suddenly enlightened, with a subtle expression of realization.
"Yeah, exactly what you’re thinking..." Ethan Zhuo shrugged, looking a bit helpless and mysterious. "I’m not gonna say it out loud—you know, that thing. Look over there—" The two were standing on a bridge shaped like an 'X.' Sophie Soo had once introduced this place as the 'Breakup Bridge.' Standing at the intersection, Ethan pointed north toward a scenic lakeside, the view stunning in the sunset glow.
But Ethan’s face took on the classic look of a horror-movie medium: "Every campus has its ghost stories. I used to laugh them off, but now I know they’re real. Right there, I sensed some weird Thought Waves. I just found out that strange things sometimes happen by this lake. If you’re superstitious, you’d call it 'ge wei'..." He actually didn’t dare say the word 'ghost,' his lips trembling as he switched to pinyin. Turns out, he was pretty spooked by this stuff.
"Your face is really selling the spooky vibe—trying to scare kids? It’s just 'Remnant Thought Form' or 'Obsession.'" Jack was totally unfazed; he never believed in ghosts, so he was fearless. Even now, knowing they exist, he wasn’t bothered. Besides, he’d run into this kind of thing before—the old guy in the Auric Relic, for example, was basically the same deal, wasn’t he?
"I can’t sense the Thought Waves you’re talking about, but I figure these things must have some unfinished business holding them together. Can you tell what your lake brothers and sisters want?" Jack gazed at the water, eyes clear. "If you can help them move on, why not do it? Let the dead rest in peace."
"Uh... I’ve never actually tried." Ethan scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. "The first time I heard them, it was like creepy wind howling—scared the heck out of me. Even when I got used to it, I never had the guts to listen closely. But you’re right—helping them resolve their obsessions should do the trick. It’s just unfinished last words, really, nothing to be afraid of. Hang on, I’ll give it a shot."
With that, Ethan struck a heroic pose—right hand in his pocket, left hand on the railing, eyes locked on the peaceful lake, looking like he was deep in thought or in some mystical trance. A breeze stirred the water, his clothes fluttered, and he seemed almost ethereal—well, actually, he spent less time zoning out than it took to write that last sentence. Suddenly, his face changed wildly. He started yelling, "Eh?! What did you say?!" while flailing his hands like Supreme Treasure with flaming bones, jumping and shouting, shaking all over.
Two girls passing by exchanged a look and whispered at the same time, "Those two are totally confessing their love..."
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Jack’s face was covered in exasperation lines—he wanted to reach over and smack Ethan. He thundered, "Snap out of it!"
Heavenly Dragon Way Sound rang in Ethan’s ears, jolting his whole body. His eyes cleared up, but then his face collapsed in utter misery, swaying on his feet: "Bro, help me out! I’m doomed—something’s latched onto me!"
Ten minutes later, Jack was at a campus coffee shop—the same one he’d visited with Sophie Soo last time. Ethan sat across from him, completely shrouded in gloom.
"You need to lighten up. You’ve got this ability, so of course you’ll run into weird stuff. I’ve got other powers, so I get my own share of trouble—it’s just how it goes. Instead of moping, figure out how to fix it. If you pull this off, it’ll be a huge win for you, the lake spirits, and all the teachers and students here." Jack calmly reassured him.
"The problem is, I’ve got nothing! All I heard was a faint voice saying 'graduation, graduation,' and then this chill wrapped around me! You don’t get it—it’s so icy, it’s like a snake crawling over my skin! I swear it’s the legendary curse—if I don’t solve it in seven days, I’m done for!" Ethan clutched his cheeks like a character in a comedy anime, sweat pouring down, his whole face pale.
"Curse? Seven days? You’ve read too many ghost stories. You’re a psychologist, and you’ve got psychological issues yourself. If your clinic ever offers group discounts, I’ll be the first to leave a bad review." Jack, ever the spectator, didn’t think anything serious would happen to Ethan, so he sipped his tea and threw in a jab.
"Everyone’s got psychological issues—everyone’s got stuff they’re afraid to face." Back in his professional zone, Ethan regained his Master Wudang poise, speaking smoothly: "Some people fear mice, some fear women. Even knowing a cockroach can’t hurt you, lots of folks still freak out when they see one—that’s just human nature, and it’s my specialty. If it weren’t, you wouldn’t have come to me, right? Tell me I’m wrong."
Seeing him back in high-level mode, Jack felt a little relieved. If Ethan had stayed in full panic mode, he wouldn’t have trusted him to treat anyone. "I came to you because I lost my memory."
Going to a regular psychologist would be awkward—too many things you can’t say, so it’d never work. But Ethan was different: first, he was a fellow Chosen One; second, his skills were top-notch. Jack could speak freely.
Jack described his symptoms in detail (leaving out the twin-body stuff, of course). Ethan stroked his chin, thinking for ages, then shook his head: "Your situation’s complicated. First you’re sleepwalking, then you wake up weird. Something must happen between those states that scrambles your memory. Usually, only people with weak mental strength have this problem—but yours is off the charts. Plus, there’s time-space weirdness and the whole White Night Descends thing. I’ve never seen a case like this. I’ll just have to wing it."
Wing it? At least that means he’s got some ideas. If he was totally clueless, he wouldn’t even know where to start. Jack perked up: "So how do we fix it? What do I need to prepare? Should we find a quiet spot?"
"No worries—right here, right now." Ethan confidently sipped his coffee, flashing a big, self-assured grin. "It’s not about how long it takes. If I can’t solve it in one minute, then I’ll never solve it at my current level. One minute’s plenty."
Jack’s curiosity was piqued: "Show me your big move, then."
"Big move’s a stretch—it’s just hypnosis. And honestly, your mental strength is so high, all I’m really doing is guiding you to hypnotize yourself."
"Self-hypnosis?" Jack nodded. "If I need to meditate, that’s no problem. With the Heart Severing and Thought Cutting Technique, I can handle it—even risk it a bit, maybe reach a state of icy calm."
"Don’t worry, my user experience won’t be that bad." Ethan swirled his coffee, giving a mysterious smile and speaking softly: "Seen Inception? I don’t use drugs, anesthesia, or any outside tricks. Just one, two, three—" He swirled his coffee with each count, then set the cup down with a decisive smack.
Jack’s eyes glazed over for a second, then he slowly closed them.
Ethan smiled with confidence: "See? You’re already in the dream."