Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

Chapter 4 Now, we are comrades.
When Li Yelai saw the eerie light and shadow and the thick fog, he knew that he had once again entered the shadow's dream.

So I'm still alive? But this time it's different.

He was no longer bound and could move freely in his dreams.

At the same time, he did not see the dark figure.

But I did see the skinner who had had his skull ripped open.

He was resurrected in Li Yelai's dream, but now he screamed in terror as he was dragged into the thick fog by dark tentacles.

Then came the sounds of flesh being torn apart and bones breaking, echoing from the depths of the thick fog.

A few seconds later, a pitch-black tentacle emerged from the depths of the thick fog and slowly unfolded in front of Li Yelai.

The object inside was revealed: a snow-white mask.

Li Yelai was completely bewildered by what he saw and didn't quite understand what had happened.

Sacrifice?

For some reason, Li Yelai thought of this word.

Did he kill the Skinner himself, making the Skinner a sacrifice, and in return receive a gift from the Shadow? A blank mask? Or perhaps a faceplate?
Li Yelai did not accept the mask.

LOL, what price will they have to pay for taking the mask?
Having survived the danger, Li Yelai had absolutely no desire to touch the eerie shadowy figure anymore.

Seemingly sensing Li Yelai's thoughts, a soft hum came from the depths of the thick fog.

In the blink of an eye, Li Yelai left the dream.

When he opened his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling and realized he was lying in an unfamiliar hospital room.

"Oh, you're awake?" someone said beside the hospital bed.

She was a young girl wearing a hoodie and large-framed glasses. She had a quiet appearance and short hair that made her look very capable.

At this moment, she looked at Li Yelai with a smile: "The surgery was a success, you are now a girl."

Li Yelai was shocked to hear this; the price was far too high.

The square-faced, middle-aged man standing next to the girl, wearing a black trench coat and exuding a calm demeanor, sighed to her, "Don't scare him, he just encountered a skinner."

Then, the older young man turned to Li Yelai and said, "Don't worry, you are in good health now."

"Who are you?" Li Yelai sat up from the hospital bed and looked at the older young man: "The Guard Bureau? Or the City Defense Army?"

He vaguely remembered hearing sirens after he killed the skinner. They must have rescued him.

The older young man and the girl exchanged a glance, then slowly shook their heads and said, "No, but our duties are the same as the Guard Bureau and the City Defense Army—to protect the citizens of the giant city. You can think of us as an agency that specifically deals with incidents like the skinners."

'Relevant agencies?' Li Yelai recalled the words the Skinner had spoken to him before his death and tried to say, 'The official government of Giant City?'

"You could say that we are indeed official psionicists." The older young man extended his hand and smiled. "The full name of the organization is the Calamity Management Department. I am a Calamity Manager, Yang Chen."

The girl chimed in, "Calamity handler, codename Cheese."

Li Yelai got up from the bed, shook hands with Yang Chen and the girl respectively, and introduced himself: "My name is Li Yelai."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Yang Chen nodded and continued, "And thank you for eliminating the Skinner, the murderer in several recent cases. But because of his special abilities, he was very easy to hide, and we were unable to catch him. Thank you."

Li Yelai replied somewhat embarrassedly, "I was just trying to survive; I had no intention of doing anything heroic. Is Dr. Wang still alive?"

"It's a pity that Dr. Wang has been murdered." Yang Chen shook his head.

Li Yelai sighed inwardly; he and Dr. Wang were quite familiar with each other.

But at least I avenged him.
Li Yelai pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought of something and hesitated to speak.

"Feel free to ask me any questions," Yang Chen said.

"Um, I think I broke something in the previous battle."

"No problem, we'll take full responsibility for the losses." Yang Chen was slightly taken aback, but still smiled and said, "Not only that, you can also receive a bonus. Although it's not much."

"Another bonus?" Li Yelai's eyes lit up. "Then my own backpack, and the antiques inside, were also lost in the battle. Those were worth some money."

Antiques? Those inferior handicrafts were probably produced within the last ten years. How can they be considered antiques?

Yang Chen's expression was somewhat strange, while Cheese had a look that said, 'You didn't get enough of the benefits, did you?'

They thought Li Yelai would ask them questions about psychics, but they didn't expect him to ask this.

"Can I get reimbursed for that?" Li Yelai asked.

"Okay, okay," Yang Chen said with a wry smile.

“Listen to me, I know you still have many questions, and you can ask us anything,” Cheese said. For some reason, the girl's words gave Li Ye a strange sense of trust.

So, suppressing his other questions, he asked, "What exactly is a Skinner? Why does it call me one of its own? May I ask that?"

Yang Chen seemed to have anticipated this question, nodding and saying, "Of course, you're qualified to know these things. But first, do you know how the giant city was built?"

Li Yelai nodded. This was common sense, a history that every citizen of the giant city knew.

Seventy-one years ago, strange fog appeared in mountainous and forested areas around the world.

They have no physical form and seem no different from ordinary fog, but no building or terrain can stop their advance.

It was called the Fog of Calamity by people at the time, or simply the Fog of Calamity.

In the areas covered by the disaster fog, humans mysteriously disappear. The other animals, however, remain completely unaffected.

Even fully armed, organized legions will leave no trace after the fog of disaster passes.

Faced with a sudden and dangerous threat to humanity, various countries have conducted corresponding research, but all have come up with nothing.

Neither the explosive airflow nor the thermal reaction could dispel the disaster fog.

Then, seventy years ago, the calamity officially struck.

Vast amounts of fog have appeared around the world, in wastelands, villages, and cities.

Wherever the calamity fog reached, it became a ghostly realm, leaving behind a deathly silence and desolation.

That year, it is said that 70% of the human population disappeared in the disaster fog.

Perhaps it was the strong sense of self-preservation in the entire human race that led to this, even in the most critical moments.

Humanity has finally mastered the means to defend against the disaster fog.

Meanwhile, each nation used its last strength to build massive cities to defend against the fog and preserve the flame of humanity.

In the very beginning, the world was in chaos as people fought to seize resources and defend against the disaster fog.

That period is also known as the Age of Chaos.

It wasn't until sixty years ago, when all the major cities were completed, that the world finally settled down.

This is the origin of the major cities, including Border City No. 3.

Humans remained within the giant city, carefully guarding against the disastrous fog.

Fortunately, the various calamities that had devoured countless humans have gradually stabilized, thanks to the protection of the giant city.

There have been no further instances of humans being swallowed by the disaster fog.

"That's right, this is common history for ordinary people."

Yang Chen responded, "But in reality, the world had already undergone a tremendous change at that moment. The disaster fog did stop moving, remaining stationary in certain areas. But that doesn't mean humanity is safe. The beings within the disaster fog continue to threaten humanity." Beings within the disaster fog? There's actually life within the disaster fog?

Li Yelai was somewhat taken aback; he had never known these things before.

"Nearly six billion people were swallowed by the fog of disaster, but not no one escaped it."

It was those humans who returned from the fog of disaster who brought with them the means to defend against it, thus prompting the establishment of the giant city.

However, there are also so-called native creatures within the calamity fog. They are powerful and mysterious, some even possessing extremely high intelligence. They can leave the calamity zone at any time, directly threatening the survival of humanity.

The giant city is less about defending against the approaching calamity fog and more about defending against these calamity creatures. Our Calamity Management Department is the defense department in this regard.” Yang Chen softly revealed the secrets of this world.

Li Yelai looked shocked and then asked, "And that skinner... was actually a creature that emerged from some kind of calamity fog?"

“No.” Yang Chen shook his head and explained, “From that period onwards, humanity also gained the power to resist calamities. That power originated from the same source as the calamities, namely, psychics.”

"Same origin?"

“That’s right. This power originates from a non-physical universe, which we call the Void or the Emptiness. The various calamities and fogs came to the physical world from the Void. And it was from that period that the probability of psionic beings being born among humans greatly increased. Some talented humans, after receiving certain stimuli, may awaken as psionic beings. For example, you, or the Skinner.” Yang Chen looked at Li Yelai with a somewhat complicated expression: “You won’t be able to access the rest yet, so I won’t go into details for now.”

Li Yelai nodded, processing the information in his mind.

I estimate that I am not a conventionally awakened psychic.

He became a so-called psionicist entirely because of a deal with the 'Shadow'.

What is the shadowy figure? What is its relationship with the calamity fog? Is it also a being from the 'Virtual Realm'?

If the authorities knew about the existence of the 'Shadow,' would they be in trouble because of it?

Li Yelai thought to himself and understood the purpose of Yang Chen and the others' visit.

In their eyes, he was now a psionicist and had come into their sights.

For insurance or regulatory reasons, the authorities will inevitably come to contact this "wild psionicist" whom the skinners call him.

I just don't know what they think of me?

So Li Yelai asked, "You said the probability of psionic beings being born among humans has increased, so why hide their existence? Wouldn't it be a good thing for humanity if there were more psionic beings among humans?"

Given the current calamities, wouldn't it be better to have more psionic beings among humanity?

"That's what I wanted to say: becoming a psionicist is both a blessing and a curse." Yang Chen shook his head in response: "After years of exploration and research, humanity has roughly grasped the information and power of psionicists. To become a psionicist, one must open one's own Soul Well, connect to the Void Realm, and while gaining power, one will also receive a curse!"

"A curse?" Li Yelai was taken aback.

“That’s right. Every psychic possesses abilities that are difficult for ordinary people to understand, and at the same time, they also bear a curse,” Yang Chen said. “The types of curses vary. Aren’t you troubled by your own curse?”

A curse? Li Yelai pondered for a moment before replying, "You mean my bad luck?"

At this moment, Cheese said, "It's still unclear, but in order to get you to the hospital, three ambulances mysteriously broke down after you got in. In the end, our colleagues had to carry you into the hospital. Anyway, your curse makes it hard for you to ride in a car."

"Is that so?" Li Yelai asked, somewhat surprised. "Do I need to pay compensation?"

“No need!” Cheese replied, facepalming.

Is bad luck actually a curse we create for ourselves?
But why did it appear before I became a psionicist?

"Because it would incur a curse, you concealed the existence of psionicists?"

Yang Chen continued, "The curse is only one aspect; more importantly, every psychic is at risk of being corrupted."

"distortion?"

"That's right, the power of psionicists comes from the Void Realm connected to the Well of Souls. And the Void Realm is not a safe place."

Humanity gains power from it, but the price isn't just a curse. Many psionicists are affected by the Void Realm, becoming twisted. Some undergo drastic personality changes, becoming increasingly cruel and bloodthirsty. Others pursue desire and pleasure, willing to do anything for it. Still others are simply physically twisted into monsters.” Yang Chen paused and said, “And the Skinner was a wild psionicist whose body was twisted upon his first awakening. We call twisted psionicists the Sufferers.”

After processing his understanding, Li Yelai said in surprise, "Becoming a psionicist isn't entirely a good thing. Although you gain some wondrous powers, you're also subject to curses that affect your life, and there's the risk of being twisted and mutated into a victim!"

At the same time, he also understood why the authorities were hiding the existence of psionicists.

If we stop regulating them, a large number of psychics will appear in society, and they will all be walking, walking, mobile bombs!

One skinner has caused several murders; imagine if there were ten, twenty, hundreds, or even more! The entire border town would probably be destroyed!

No wonder the Skinner said wild psionicists are natural allies. They are all psionicists who don't want to be regulated or discovered by the authorities.

From the official perspective, those psychics are all potential dangers. The two sides are naturally opposed.

This made Li Yelai's face somewhat gloomy. Now that he had also become a psionicist, he also faced the risk of potential distortion.

Shadow, Shadow, you've ruined me! Couldn't you just punch the Skinner to death instead of making me a psionicist?

Li Yelai inwardly complained about the shadowy figure.

Seemingly sensing Li Yelai's concerns, Yang Chen said, "But you don't need to worry. The authorities have safety measures in place. While distortion cannot be completely avoided, the probability is greatly reduced. And under normal circumstances, psionicists won't distort for no reason. Unless you try to awaken again."

Li Yelai nodded: "Then I understand. Whether I like it or not, I am now a psychic. From now on, I will need to be under your supervision."

“Yes, we will try our best not to disturb your life. But if you become twisted, we will kill you immediately,” Yang Chen said calmly, his tone firm and unyielding.

"If this really happens, you must act quickly and save my sister. She's my only family now," Li Yelai said solemnly.

Yang Chen looked at Li Yelai, and finally nodded solemnly: "I will!"

Li Yelai didn't want his twisted nature to cause any danger to others, especially Li Yunyan.

Thinking of his younger sister, Li Yelai suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

If my bad luck is a curse, then is my sister's strange shyness also a curse?
Li Yunyan might also be a psychic!
At this moment, Yang Chen took out a document from behind his back: "Of course, you have a second option."

Join us and protect the great city!

Li Yelai took the documents in front of him, somewhat bewildered: "Join you?"

"That's right. In many cases, only psionicists can fight against other psionicists. Therefore, official psionicists are on the front line against calamities and suffering."

Yang Chen looked at Li Ye and said, "You can think it over carefully. Becoming an official psychic has excellent benefits and treatment. You will also receive support from the Guard Bureau and the City Defense Army when carrying out missions. However, once you become an official psychic, you will face dangerous anomalies and victims. You may even have to confront the calamity itself!"

Li Ye glanced at the document titled 'Application Form for Disaster Management Department of Border City No. 3'.

The salary and benefits are indeed very good, even for a newly awakened psychic.

You can earn over 5,000 Giant City Coins per month, and this number increases with each awakening. There are also bonuses for handling certain anomalies or victims.

You should know that Li Yelai works at an antique shop and only earns a thousand Giant City coins a month.

Selling antiques occasionally, even with commission, doesn't exceed 1,500.

This means I've now been directly integrated into the city's system.

As for the rest, psionic skills training and psionic weapon supply...
Li Yelai wasn't particularly interested; the salary alone was enough to tempt him.

But he still hesitated.

He wasn't a brave person; he just wanted a peaceful life. Becoming a psionicist was purely accidental, and he wasn't going to take any risks for it.
But thinking of his sister's possible curse, Li Yelai hesitated and asked, "If I join the official ranks, can I obtain a method to suppress the curse?"

“Of course.” Yang Chen nodded. “We will provide as much help as possible. But not all curses can be resolved.”

“That’s enough.” Li Yelai extended his right hand and shook hands with Yang Chen again.

Yang Chen chuckled: "Then, we're comrades!"

(End of this chapter)