Zhou Lin

November 25, half past six in the morning.

While queuing up for roll call, the warden naturally discovered that Xian Xiaoxiao and her roommate were missing.

They immediately notified Professor Tang and checked the surveillance video; judging from the surveillance video, no one came out of the dormitory after the lights were turned off.

Things are very strange, but the housemasters are not detectives, so they won't think too much about it. Anyway, now that the person is missing... just look for it.

In order to find the two escapees, the entire center, including the dormitory master, did not eat breakfast.

Starting at seven o'clock in the morning, the patients were ordered to stay in their rooms and were not allowed to go out, and all the doors to their dormitories were locked; while the dormitory supervisors launched a carpet-like search throughout the center, searching every dormitory. They were searched under the bed, under the desk in every office, and in every corner of every classroom.

But the result... obviously still didn't happen.

For Yingwei, it was too easy to take someone away at night. Even if they checked all the street surveillance cameras within a ten-mile radius, they could not be found.

This successful escape made Uncle Tang very unhappy.

After thoroughly confirming that the two people were no longer in the center, he did not immediately notify the parents of the escapees. Instead, he summoned all the patients into the large classroom used for evaluation classes, preparing to give them an "extra class" temporarily.

He wanted to tell the remaining patients - don't think that just because someone ran away, you can have that thought.

He wanted to find a few people who were close to Xian Xiaoxiao and pull them in for "treatment" on the grounds that they "did not discover their allies' escape intentions in time."

Or, it's okay to just find a few people...to find a few people that he usually doesn't like, or who want to be shocked at the last moment to come out and rectify it.

In short, he wanted to vent because this incident made him feel that his majesty had been challenged.

However, at ten o'clock in the morning, when all the patients were gathered together and Uncle Tang stood on the podium to give a lecture...a change happened.

The patients... the children suddenly started an organized riot.

In the years when the center first opened, there were incidents where three or five people formed a gang and then attempted to violently resist or escape. However, no matter how hard three or five teenagers fought, they could not be like a dozen or so tall middle-aged house wardens. opponents...so those children failed to succeed in the end.

After incidents like this happened several times, Uncle Tang came up with countermeasures. He continuously strengthened control and specifically added clauses that required "treatment" to nip similar incidents in their bud.

After years of adjustments, there have been no instances of more than four people collaborating to resist in the center for a long time.

Unexpectedly... Today, there was a "collective rebellion". The more than one hundred "patients" actually participated in the action, and they all behaved as if they were possessed. Everyone seemed very efficient and... Fearless, even if they were knocked down by the dormitory's fists, kicks or electric batons, they would immediately get up and rush forward again.

If I had to describe it, it would be more like an attack by zombies or robots than a human riot.

There is no doubt that this is the role of nanomechanical viruses...

The housemasters are not under control, because they usually have breaks and shifts, and even when they work, they don't eat every meal in the cafeteria.

But in such a situation, even if the housemasters are not controlled, their resistance will collapse at the moment - when they realize that the situation is out of control, their first reaction is naturally to run away. Originally, for them, being a housemaster was just a job, not a lifelong career, let alone loyalty... They didn't want to let anything happen to them for Professor Tang or this center.

It's a pity... all of this happened too fast; if someone had turned around and ran away as soon as the riot broke out, there might have been a chance to escape, but the housemasters failed to react like that... they ran away Of the four fastest, three were intercepted in the first-floor corridor leading to the building's main entrance, and one was caught trying to hide in the women's room.

In less than five minutes, from the first floor to the fourth floor, all the house wardens were pinned to the ground by the patients; their faces were all distorted with fear... They roared and screamed with all their strength. Struggling with all his strength, this is undoubtedly in vain. People controlled by mechanical viruses will never relax in this kind of wrestling, let alone be frightened by them.

"Why are you so scared?" After a moment, suddenly, all the patients... no matter where they were, all spoke at the same second and said the same sentence in unison.

This strange situation is as if more than a hundred voices are controlled by the same will... It is unbelievable, but it is actually happening.

"Is there some kind of instinct that is telling you that something more terrifying than death is about to happen to you?" A few seconds later, just like the previous sentence, the patients spoke in unison again, "Huh... But actually , nothing may happen, right?”

Meanwhile, outside the main building, in the parking lot.

Zi Lin had put on a casual suit that he got from somewhere, and walked towards the main building with leisurely steps.

At this moment, he was holding a walkie-talkie in his hand. The two sentences just now were spoken by him first into the walkie-talkie, and then "broadcast" through the mouths of each controlled person.

"Fear is just a choice. The root of your fear is not the objective situation that is happening, but the 'sin' in your heart.

"'Sins' are equal. When people hurt others, they are actually changing themselves.

"Those who are a little smarter can realize this; so when they plant the cause of sin, they will reflect and be in awe... Even if the retribution may not come, they will make themselves aware of it accordingly.

"As for you people... it's a bit ridiculous to react like this when you change from a perpetrator to a victim of violence, isn't it?

“Those who truly have a heart for healing and salvation will not be afraid, because those with firm beliefs... no matter what they do is objectively right or wrong, at least they have nothing to fear subjectively.

"You are afraid because you know exactly what you are doing.

"Since you are willing to make a living by persecuting others, why don't you be prepared to realize that one day you will be swallowed up by sin?"

At this point, he just walked to the corridor on the first floor and stood in front of a dormitory master.

"You...what do you want to do..." the housemaster asked him this question in a trembling voice.

Zi Lin looked at the other person condescendingly. His eyes were not looking at people, or even animals, but as if he was looking at something, a piece of... garbage.

After all, Zi Lin did not answer the other party. He just bent down and lightly tapped the other party's shoulder with his index finger. A second later... the body of the dormitory master instantly turned into a puddle of liquid.

"Ah! Ah -" the other two housemasters who saw this scene immediately screamed.

But Zi Lin's footsteps did not stop, and the patients who were holding down the dormitory were indifferent and carried out their mission like robots.

In this way, he went up one floor after another; along the way, he turned all the subdued house wardens into "corpse stew" with only their heads left, and finally... arrived at the fifth floor.

Although the electronic doors of the entire building are now fully open, the door on the fifth floor is still closed.

This section of the corridor where the dean's office and monitoring room are located uses a different system than the four floors downstairs. It also has an independent backup generator. Even if someone smashes the power supply box outside the building, the power here will still be available. Keep it going for a long time.

"Uncle Tang, you are quite clever." Zi Lin walked to the electronic door and stopped. He raised his head and said to the camera above the door, "When they found that something was wrong, everyone else subconsciously went upstairs. Run downstairs, but you are the only one running upstairs instead."

He spoke unhurriedly, appearing to be very calm: "You know very well that at your age, at this moment of 'everyone flies away when a disaster strikes', you will probably be squeezed to the back by the housemasters; to say the least, you will be pushed to the back." ...Even if they 'let the leader go first' and you successfully escape from the building, there is still a chance that you will be caught up by children on the street and then be beaten to death or maimed in a very short period of time... He paused and continued, "For the same reason, it is unrealistic to escape by car. Even if you successfully get into the car, you will be stuck in the car and unable to drive out of the parking lot. Let's put it this way...head for the exit." Escape is a dead end, the real way to survive is to hide in the safest place in the building, call the police quickly, and wait for the police to come and control the situation before coming out."

Every word of Zi Lin's words reached Professor Tang's ears clearly, because Professor Tang was in the monitoring room at the moment, looking at the monitoring screen with sweat on his face.

"You should already know that I am an esper by now, but you still don't know why the call can't be made, right?" Zi Lin continued, "Actually, you don't have to worry about that kind of thing, since the resources I have are strong enough. With more than a hundred people in this center under control, it is easy to block the communication signal of this building..."

When he said this, he paused for a while, giving Professor Tang some time to think.

"Uncle Tang, I know you are watching me in the monitoring room. I also know that there is a secret room in your office... You are now considering whether to come out of the monitoring room and hide in the secret room." Every word Zi Lin said was like a wall... These walls cut off Professor Tang's escape routes and choices one by one, gradually forcing him into a desperate situation, "I might as well say it straight...Open this door, right?" It's easy for me, and it's easy to open the door to your secret room. You know the situation in this center very well. As long as external communications are cut off, your chances of being rescued in a short time... I'm afraid it's very slim."

He licked his lips and showed a kind smile: "Now, I give you two choices... One, you open the door yourself and let me in; the other, I force the door open and come in.

"If you choose one, I will come in alone, without anyone, and all I have to do is talk to you, and after that, I will leave.

"But if you choose two..."

He did not finish his words, but paused again, and then added: "Oh, of course... I can understand what you are most worried about; you can rest assured, I can swear... I will never kill Yours. Even if you choose not to open the door now, I won't kill you."

After saying this, about twenty seconds later, the door... opened.

Zi Lin smiled and walked in slowly.

When he reached the middle of the corridor, Professor Tang timidly moved out of the monitoring room.

"You... hey hey hey..." When Zi Lin approached, Professor Tang wanted to say something, but as soon as he said a word, he was stabbed in the waist with an electric baton that Zi Lin suddenly took out. Son... the electricity continued until he fainted, then Zi Lin turned off the switch.

…………

Fifteen minutes later, Professor Tang woke up from a brief coma and found that he had been tied to the "treatment bed" in his secret room.

Zi Lin was standing on a table at this time, stretching out his arms and tinkering with something in the corner of the ceiling.

"You...you said...no..." Professor Tang said vaguely.

Zi Lin just finished his work there. He put away his hands, jumped down from the table lightly, and continued: "Yes, I said, 'I will never kill you.' Aren't you still alive now?"

Professor Tang took a breath and said again with his still numb tongue: "You said...I...if I open the door myself...just..."

"Yes, I am keeping my promise." Zi Lin said, "Look, I came in alone, right? And I am indeed planning to talk to you, and I will leave after the talk."

"Then... why are you tying me up?" When Professor Tang said the third sentence, he could finally finish the sentence.

"Ha..." Zi Lin smiled, "Of course it's for your safety." As he said this, he pushed the "treatment device" next to the bed and started to put it on Professor Tang. wiring.

"You! What are you going to do!" Professor Tang screamed in shock when he saw this move.

"Because you may not be willing to say what I want to talk to you. Even if you say it reluctantly... it may be adulterated. Therefore, it is best to use this machine to assist our conversation... This way we can ensure that you know what you know." Tell me everything, and everything you say is true." Zi Lin continued.

"You dishonest bastard... uh uh uh..." Professor Tang was about to curse, but his words were interrupted by the severe pain caused by a burst of electric shock.

"Hmm... Is this the frequency you usually use to 'treat' people..." After finishing the wave of electricity, Zi Lin said in a very relaxed tone, "I have to say, you guys are just not good enough... It's obviously an instrument with quite a lot of functions, but it's so rough to use, so let me teach you how big the gap is between Van Gogh and the open art classes at third-rate community colleges."

"Haah...haah...you...do you know who my backer is?" Professor Tang gasped and glared at Zi Lindao fiercely.

"Haha... you know how to answer it quickly..." Zi Lin chuckled twice, "Don't worry, I have a lot of questions to ask, let's do them one by one." When he said this, he had already spoken quickly. Various indices on the treatment device have been adjusted.

This attitude made Professor Tang furious: "Let me tell you, I don't care who you are, you can't afford to offend the forces behind me. If you dare to mess with me again... ugh - uh uh uh... ah ah ah……"

Another burst of electricity interrupted his threats.

The effect this time was naturally different from the last time. The intensity, wave type, phase, frequency, etc. were all adjusted... It caused a burning sensation in Uncle Tang's lungs.

"Hmm... Not bad, the readings are quite accurate." After finishing this wave of electricity, Zi Lin muttered, it seems... His wave is just a test, "It's time to officially come..." With that, he added Picked up a vise from the table, cut off the ends of several wires on the therapeutic device, then "clamped" several pieces of metal into the shape of a clamp, and then... began to untie Professor Tang's clothes, " Which question should I start with... Well... let's ask a simple one first..." He paused maliciously, waited for a few seconds, and asked with a smile, "Do you think... this is... What about 'Talk'... or are you trying to 'trick you'?"

…………

November 25, evening, 18:15.

The "conversation" between Zi Lin and Professor Tang has come to an end.

Zi Lin was convinced that he had asked everything he wanted to ask, and even knew a lot of things he didn't want to know.

However, he was still not in a good mood.

Because... "Faceless" ran away, and ran away under his nose.

Zi Lin's companions had sent news in the afternoon. After inspection, among the "patients" controlled by the nanomachine virus, there was no Wumian... which could rule out the possibility that he was pretending to be controlled and mixing in the crowd.

Next, among the dead house wardens, there must be no Wu Mian, because it is impossible for Wu Mian to be suppressed by a few ordinary people.

As for Professor Tang... If Zi Lin asked this day, he would have been betrayed long ago.

As for Xian Xiaoxiao and Yingwei who escaped the night before, they are both ability users. Faceless can only disguise their appearance, but their abilities cannot be imitated, so it is impossible.

So, who else?

After thinking about it, Zi Lin found that... there was a missing man who looked after the gate.

Yes, the answer is that simple but makes sense.

Why did Zi Lin observe the center for several days but didn't find anyone suspicious? Because I don’t work in the center at all, I just stay in the concierge every day...

Since he ate the lunch box he brought, Wu Mian didn't know about the nanomachine virus; and since the door of the center was closed at night and the concierge didn't have to work night shift, he didn't have the chance to bump into Yingwei and Xian Xiao. Small escape.

But before the incident happened this morning, Wu Mian obviously noticed something strange. It was probably Zilin's accomplices who were responsible for supporting outside who were exposed... So Wu Mian changed his appearance like a passerby and ran away while strolling. .

"Sigh...he ran away. I don't know how he will be ridiculed by 'that guy' when I go back..." Zi Lin was thinking about this when he ended the "conversation" with Uncle Tang.

However, he is not the kind of person who dwells too much on the past. Even if one of the two things he came to do this time failed, he would still finish the other thing properly.

Before leaving the secret room, Zi Lin first looked back at Professor Tang, who was still unconscious. Then, he walked to the middle of the room, raised his head, looked at the ultra-miniature camera he had installed in the corner of the ceiling that morning, and said a few words. .

After that, he walked out and... left the door of the secret room open.

Soon after, the communication blockade on the building was lifted, and the local police received an alarm call almost at the same time.

…………

Late, 18:36,

A police motorcycle arrived at the door of the "Sunshine Youth Behavior Correction Center"...