I will be stronger after the remake

The use of psychic energy to impose restrictions and prevent members from leaking organizational information is the reason why the four major cults have not been eradicated to this day.

Normally, prisoners are handed over to professional psychics who possess the ability to remove restrictions and are one level higher in rank. However, this process is time-consuming, and by the time important information is obtained and the person is captured, the prisoner is often already gone.

Tang Ping said jokingly, “This often happens in novels. Because the author doesn’t want to spoil the plot too early and bring out the mastermind too soon, they use a setting of ‘leaking secrets will cause self-destruction’ to fool the reader. The reader knows the author’s intention and is too lazy to investigate. After all, the rationality has to serve the plot. But in reality, this setting is worth investigating. The caster must set up some kind of triggering mechanism to prevent the caster from dying in a daze.”

"Generally speaking, there are two types. One is keywords. When a prisoner says or is about to say a keyword that has been set as taboo, the restriction will be triggered and the prisoner will die on the spot."

"Another approach is surveillance, where a restriction is triggered when a prisoner shows any intention to leak information."

Hu Ze chimed in, "From a unique perspective, judging from the situation of that ghost just now, it seems to be the first one. The key words are indeed easy to bypass; we just need to use a substitute."

Tang Ping shook his head and said, "No, I think if we have the ability to do it, we should use both methods at the same time, as a double insurance."

Fu Zhengyi frowned and said, "Keywords are easy to deal with, but how do we make the other party leak information without wanting to? Especially the method of forcing people to talk, like Yuan Ji's, has been proven to be ineffective, because the other party realizes that they are about to leak information, even if they do not leak information voluntarily, this awareness can trigger the restriction."

Tang Ping said, "First, don't ask them open-ended questions, only ask them true or false questions, and answer them with yes or no to avoid triggering keywords. Although this is less efficient, it is safer. Moreover, let the interrogation experts set a series of questions to narrow down the scope, and you will get the answer you want very quickly."

Everyone agreed on this point; anyone with a modicum of intelligence could think of it, and it wouldn't be difficult to implement.

"Then, we will use psychological suggestion on the prisoners so that they will definitely choose the wrong answer when they answer, and we will blur their subjective consciousness, making their thinking narrow and dull, so that they will not delve into the meaning behind a series of questions. In this way, in their perception, they will not have revealed the organization's secrets and will continue to oppose us firmly, so the restriction will not be triggered."

Tang Ping glanced at Tan Lili, still drawing inspiration from her psychic abilities, and used psychological suggestion to bypass the mental restrictions.

"It sounds...likely feasible," Hu Ze said, fulfilling his duty to continue the conversation. "But there's no guarantee it won't fail. If it does, what do you think would be the reason?"

Tang Ping said, "If you really want to find flaws, there are naturally many. For example, the caster may have anticipated this possibility and added a restriction that would be triggered by answering yes or no repeatedly. Or the caster may have been exceptionally skilled and set up a restriction with artificial intelligence that could bypass the host and make independent judgments."

“If there were only one prisoner, we would indeed be more cautious, but there are four now. Why not choose one to test? It is said that the world is a huge makeshift organization. Various large organizations may look impressive, but they are actually full of incompetent people and just getting by. Why don’t we take a gamble and see if the organizations behind these prisoners are exceptions?”

Hu Ze sneered, "The more complex the restriction, the greater the pressure on the recipient. Even if the caster is very careful, considers all possible situations, and plugs all loopholes, such a complicated restriction with many clauses is enough to cause great damage to a person's soul just by being applied."

"As for artificial intelligence, that's even more impossible. Adding artificial intelligence to psychic arts, what are you trying to do? Start an AI revolution in the psychic world? With that technology, why would you want to be a cult? Every country would be willing to build a team for him, hire him as an academician, give him fame, profit, and power. He wouldn't give up the opportunity to be remembered in history as a great sage, but instead chooses to secretly become a cult leader. What kind of dedication is that?"

Fu Zhengyi hurriedly said, "Alright, alright, Director Hu, there's no need to say anything more. I appreciate your intention to protect your subordinates. I'm not deliberately picking a fight. I personally also prefer to try Tang Ping's method, but I still have one concern."

Tang Ping said, "Please speak."

"The key to your method lies in mind control, turning prisoners into idiots. After all, a normal person would realize something is wrong if they found themselves constantly giving wrong answers while the other party could ask the next question based on the correct answer. The Armed Forces Department does have psionicists who are good at this, but I'm worried that the restrictions they set up are exclusive and will be triggered directly when they discover that the host is being mentally interfered with."

“Your concerns are not unfounded, which is why I was talking about psychological suggestion, not mind control. The key is to control the degree of influence. I don’t think the restrictions on them are so sensitive that they don’t allow even the slightest mental influence. After all, my spirit is of the fox spirit type, which naturally has the effect of charm. Since they didn’t die on the spot when they saw me, it proves that the restrictions allow the host to be subject to a certain degree of mental interference.”

Hu Ze chimed in, "They heard my voice just now, but they didn't die on the spot. Old Fu, you're overthinking it."

One member of the Armed Forces Department also suggested, "If you just want to dull someone's thinking, you don't necessarily have to start with their mind. You can also interfere with their thinking by affecting their physiological state."

After a moment's thought, Fu Zhengyi decided, "Time waits for no one. We'll take a two-pronged approach, intervening both physiologically and psychologically, while being careful to control the degree of intervention."

Just as he was about to direct his subordinates to select a lucky prisoner for interrogation, Tang Ping added, "By the way, could you please send someone to check Yuan Ji's mental state?"

Fu Zhengyi was taken aback, but then he understood: "You think Yuan Ji was given a psychological suggestion?"

"Well, maybe I'm just overthinking it. I think her actions of pulling me into the Illusionary Realm were a bit deliberate."

Chapter 81 Add One Fan

"Have I been given a psychological suggestion?"

Yuan Ji pointed to himself, somewhat bewildered.

She carefully reviewed her actions from today and didn't see anything wrong with them; everything was in line with her personality and was the kind of reaction she would make.

Tang Ping explained, "It's not the kind of brute mental control, but rather subconscious guidance. For example, if you are already likely to do something, psychological suggestion can increase the probability of you doing it. Since this is what you are thinking, you won't feel any resistance, and it's difficult to notice anything unusual."

Although he spoke with skepticism, he was already certain in his heart, after all, he knew that one of the five people lying in ambush had the spirit of a "Dream Eater," who possessed the spiritual ability to use dreams to give psychological suggestions.

He might not have realized this unless he had worked his way back from the result to the cause.

“That makes sense. It also explains why the enemy would ambush here in advance. I originally guessed it was a precognitive ability, but now that I think about it, it’s more likely to be a mental ability.”

Fu Zhengyi agreed and, without wasting any time, decisively assigned, "Cen Qin, it's up to you."

The girl holding the flute nodded, walked over, and began to play melodious music for Yuan Ji. The music was so soothing that it made people feel relaxed. Yuan Ji even closed his eyes, seemingly lost in the music.

After a while, the flute music stopped, and Yuan Ji slowly opened his eyes, saying with a hint of annoyance, "I felt it. Something was expelled from my mind. It was a very weak psychological suggestion, but it was definitely there. I just can't remember when I fell for it."

Tang Ping comforted him, "There are all sorts of types of psychic energy. No one dares to say that their abilities are all-encompassing and without any blind spots. If a second-stage psychic can claim that they can defend against everything, wouldn't a third-stage psychic be invincible?"

Unfortunately, judging from Yuan Ji's expression, he didn't seem to have listened to much and was still blaming himself.

Tang Ping could only change the subject and asked Cen Qin, "Excuse my impertinence, but why does Yuan Ji call you Qin Ji? Don't you use a xiao (vertical bamboo flute)?"

Cen Qin was a petite girl with long bangs that almost covered her eyes. She was startled when Tang Ping started talking to her.

Seeing that the other person seemed a little shy, Tang Ping quickly said, "I'm sorry, I startled you by talking to you so suddenly."

"It's my problem. We're all colleagues, it's normal to communicate."

Cen Qin quickly shook her head, but still dared not look Tang Ping in the eye. She lowered her head and said in a very soft voice, "I have been playing the guqin since I was a student, but the guqin is really inconvenient to carry around."

Yuan Ji, having shaken off his self-reproach, chimed in, "Qin Ji's spirit is of the Musician type. As long as it's a musical instrument, it's fine. There's no strict requirement that it has to be a certain type of instrument."

Cen Qin explained, "But it's best to use an instrument you're good at. The better you are at it, the stronger the effect of your spiritual energy. The xiao is my second best instrument."

Tang Pingzuo suddenly realized and said, "Oh, I see. I'm sorry to ask you such a question all of a sudden. I hope you don't mind."

Yuan Ji also rebuked, "Asking a woman about personal matters is indeed very impolite."

“It’s alright,” Cen Qin glanced at Yuan Ji furtively, “I know why.”

"What's the reason? Did you two know each other before?"

Yuan Ji's gaze lingered between the two men.

Before Tang Ping could answer, Cen Qin spoke first: "I know him, but he doesn't know me."

"Oh, what's going on? Did you have some kind of strange encounter?"

Even Yuan Ji couldn't resist the allure of gossip.

Cen Qin said, "Isn't he the male lead of 'The Invisible Guardian'? I wouldn't say everyone in China knows him now, but he's still worth two or three hundred million."

"That kind of understanding?" Yuan Ji instantly lost interest.

"Um... can I take a picture with you?" Cen Qin said shyly. "I've completed all the endings of 'The Invisible Guardian,' and my story completion rate is 100%. Your performance in it was truly outstanding."

I didn't put on any performance. There are only a few videos of me that move. It's true that I have good poses.

Tang Ping instantly realized that the other person was her fan.

He has also encountered fans with similar attitudes when he appeared on TV shows, who were too shy to talk to him but didn't want to miss the opportunity to get to know him.

Of course, there are many more fanatical fans who would shout "I love you" to themselves, but this is the first time a psionic fan has ever been seen.

"You flatter me. I only chose this shortcut because I knew my acting skills were not good."

Tang Ping has said this many times on the show, and her attitude is very correct. She uses this to remind herself not to be blinded by praise and to think that she has acting skills to make movies and TV series. That would only ruin her public image.

He doesn't need money, and even fame isn't the most important thing. The key to portraying Lingo is to make more people like him and be fascinated by him.

Fame and popularity are not the same thing. Even without citing those examples of fame through controversy, Zhang Ziyi is famous enough, and her acting skills are beyond doubt. Yet, even at the height of her popularity, she didn't have many fans.

Because Tang Ping proactively admitted that his acting skills were not good, his haters couldn't find any way to criticize him on that front. Moreover, he had only been famous for a short time, so it wasn't easy to find any dirt on him.

As for spreading rumors and slander, that tactic might work on ordinary celebrities, but he is a key state official, and major platforms have long since included him in their protection lists.

“No, you’re too modest,” Cen Qin said excitedly. “Before today, I did think so, but after seeing your analysis just now, and knowing that we were able to capture all the enemies today thanks to the plan you came up with on the spot, I am absolutely certain that you truly possess the wisdom of an undercover agent. Even if we go back to any turbulent era, you can still become an excellent underground party member.”

Well, it seems there's no point in me saying anything more.

Upon seeing the other person's expression, Tang Ping gave up the idea of ​​continuing to explain.

Yuan Ji was startled, as if he were seeing his friend for the first time. He asked in a strange tone, "Qin Ji, didn't you say before that fans are a group of spiritual pilgrims in modern society? Because they are spiritually empty and have no beliefs to uphold, they place their beliefs on others. And because they are ignorant and empty-headed, they use appearance and fame as the standard of evaluation."

Cen Qin disagreed: "I just hate those slick, superficial celebrities who only know how to pose and act pretentious, and the fans who idolize such celebrities. But if someone idolizes Zhou Shuren, Jiao Yulu, or Yuan Longping, how could I look down on them?"

Tang Ping panicked a little: "No, no, no, using these people as examples is too exaggerated."

Fortunately, Cen Qin didn't include him in the list, otherwise he would have been mortified.

“That’s not what I meant,” Cen Qin quickly explained. “What I meant was that you are different from those celebrities. You have substance, knowledge, and achievements. You’re more like a celebrity who has made achievements in a certain field, except that you’re a bit more handsome.”

By the end, she was blushing.

After listening, Yuan Ji said to Tang Ping with emotion, "In the past, when I called you a big star, it was just as a joke. Now, I really feel that you have become a star."

Chapter 82 Psionicists: No Coincidence

Tang Ping's method proved effective, and an hour later, the Armed Forces Department received a fresh and important intelligence report.

The five attackers were not from the Guiling Cult or the Spiritual Evolution Research Society, as everyone subconsciously assumed, but from the New Territories Alliance—Tang Ping wanted to shout, "I knew it all along!"

The reason for attacking Tang Ping was not to target him, nor even to him personally. It was purely to frame the Guiling Cult and the Spiritual Evolution Research Association, to sow discord between China and these two organizations, and thus divert the attention of the Chinese spiritual community.

Their original plan was to kidnap Tang Ping, pretend to negotiate, demand the release of previously arrested Guiling Sect members, deliberately cause trouble during the negotiations, claim that the Chinese side was not sincere, and then kill Tang Ping live on air.

They even considered that the negotiators might have the ability to detect lies, so they standardized their rhetoric, never claiming to be members of the Guiling Cult, but only wearing the clothes of Guiling Cult cadres, leaving the Guiling Cult emblem on site, and constantly referring to "the Great Primordial Spirit," in order to mislead the Chinese side's judgment.

Killing Tang Ping was just the first step. There will be a series of actions to follow, including continuing to impersonate Guiling Cult members to launch terrorist attacks in China, leaking Guiling Cult intelligence to the Chinese psychic community, and impersonating Chinese official psychics to carry out transnational extermination of Guiling Cult branches, etc.

As for why they did this, the five attackers were not of high enough rank to be qualified to know core intelligence. However, the intelligence analyst of the Armed Forces Branch believed that it was very likely that the New Territories Alliance was planning some kind of operation in China, so they wanted to frame them and escalate the conflict between the two sides, so that the Chinese psychic community would not have time to pay attention to them.

This analysis report has been submitted to the Department of Psychic Powers, and the top leadership attaches great importance to it. While convening a meeting of leaders, they have also ordered a general curfew to be imposed and to thoroughly investigate any suspected cult activities. The focus is on any follow-up actions that the New Territories Alliance has not yet taken, and they must strike hard before the Alliance withdraws its personnel.

"You've done a great job again!"

Hu Ze's eyes shone as he looked at Tang Ping. This was no ordinary lucky general; she was practically a god of fortune!

He was getting credit for it so much that he felt a little embarrassed.

If Tang Ping's spirit hadn't been a demon rather than a deity, he would have already set up a memorial tablet at home and offered incense.

"So, they never intended to spare my life, and I was targeted simply because I was unlucky?"

Tang Ping didn't care about credit; she cared more about the event itself.

Cen Qin thought for a moment and said tactfully, "There is a reason; it wasn't randomly chosen for you."

"Thank you, but I'm not comforted at all."

Tang Ping waved his hand, sighed, and then forced himself to say, "Looking on the bright side, after this incident, the New Realm Alliance's purpose has been exposed, and there is no point in continuing to attack me. If the upper echelons of the Guiling Sect have any brains, they certainly won't want to be used as a target to divert attention, and they won't kidnap me anymore. In the end, I am not really valuable to them as a person. What they value are the other identity factors attached to me."

Having been bitten by a snake once, Yuan Ji quickly reminded him, "We can't be careless. You're using normal human logic to speculate, but cult members' cognition is different from that of ordinary people. They may not follow rational logic. Perhaps the New Territories Alliance feels that this operation was ruined by you and that they've lost face. Even if there's no benefit to them, they'll still retaliate against you. It's also possible that the Guiling Sect and the New Territories Alliance are in cahoots and have secretly made peace. In any case, we can't let our guard down!"

Hu Ze also put on a stern face and said, "You're right. We can't be careless about safety. We must pay it the utmost attention and not tolerate any negligence. Wasn't today's incident because we thought they wouldn't retaliate immediately? Who can guarantee that another accident won't happen?"

If his spirit were not lacking in combat skills, he would have wanted to protect him closely.

Tang Ping laughed and said, "Don't worry, I personally value my life very much. What I was just doing was a habitual analysis."

Yuan Ji, however, remained unconvinced and said seriously, "I will not make the same mistake again, and I will definitely protect you."

Hu Ze chimed in, "I'll also request more manpower. This time, we were saved from danger thanks to your wit, but what about next time? If we rely on the protected individuals to resolve dangers again, our Psychic Energy Management Bureau will lose all face!"

Being valued is not a bad thing, especially when it concerns one's own safety. Tang Ping did not try to persuade him further, but simply said, "No matter what, we should still celebrate today for our meritorious service."

Hu Ze said, "I don't object to that. It's about balancing work and rest."

Cen Qin timidly suggested, "How about I play a tune for everyone?"

Tang Ping said, "Won't that be too much trouble?"

"No, I don't have anything to do right now. The director's task for me is to take good care of the security department."

Hu Ze snorted twice: "He really should treat us well. We gave him a great credit for nothing, uncovering the New Territories Alliance's conspiracy. Now the entire Armed Forces Department must be grinning from ear to ear."

Normally, Yuan Ji would have sarcastically remarked, "Look in the mirror before you say that," but at this moment, she simply observed her surroundings with a serious expression, her brows furrowed, as if she were a royal guard protecting the emperor.

Cen Qin asked, "What kind of music would you like to hear? Something that makes you happy and cheerful, or something that makes you excited and thrilled?"

Tang Ping glanced at Yuan Ji and said, "The previous song was quite good. After a fierce battle, you should calm down and relax. You can't stay tense all the time, or you'll get tired easily."

"I understand, then let's play 'Partridge Flying'."

Cen Qin put the xiao (a type of vertical bamboo flute) to her lips and played a soothing and melodious tune, which had a leisurely and carefree charm.

Whether it was the effect of psychic energy or Cen Qin's own extraordinary skill, as Tang Ping listened, the image of partridges flying freely in the sky actually appeared in his mind. His heart became unusually calm, as if he had forgotten all his troubles, and his thoughts also took flight with the wind.

Hu Ze closed his eyes and fully enjoyed the beauty of the music.

Yuan Ji's brows gradually relaxed, as if he realized that there was no possibility of an enemy attacking now. He knew that keeping his nerves on edge would not be good for long-term protection, so he relaxed as well.

After playing "Partridge Flying," Cen Qin switched to a piece called "Willow Swaying in the Gold," a lighter and more lively melody that didn't feel abrupt.

Tang Ping pictured a willow tree swaying gracefully in the breeze, as if she herself had become the willow tree, experiencing that vibrant, relaxed, and joyful feeling, which brightened her mood.