Enforcer Manual
Chapter 392: Has this world always been this cold?_1

Chapter 392: Chapter 392: Has this world always been this cold?_1

Sister Fengling’s "Guardian Spirit" was the most sensitive to psychic abilities of all the creatures Song Lan had encountered, and it possessed a natural intuition for spiritual energy, so he felt it was necessary to meet with it privately.

Looking at its mouth full of sharp teeth and those oppressive crimson eyes gave him serious doubts that this "Guardian Spirit" might suddenly bite someone.

But to avoid any accidents in their upcoming interaction, this meeting was imperative.

The situation made Song Lan think of the phrase "Smile in the face of danger." As a purely administrative staff member, he was facing such a terrifying monster; he truly had paid too much for the Bug Swarm.

When Song Lan asked his question, the "Guardian Spirit" fell silent for a long time before finally lifting its arm, which was even larger than Song Lan himself, and pressed its fingertip to the ground, scraping it and producing a teeth-gritting sound.

This made him realize that he might have made a huge mistake.

The "Guardian Spirit" did not have the ability to communicate verbally, which meant it could only express its thoughts and feelings through writing. However, its writing speed was very slow, and due to its size, the marks it left were too obvious. Song Lan seriously doubted that the entire rooftop would be sufficient for it to write.

"I happen to know a more effective way to communicate," he said.

Song Lan interrupted the "Guardian Spirit" as it slowly scratched out letters, raising his arm and extending his right hand, which was covered by protective gear. The Devourer had once shown him a way to communicate that touched the soul more deeply—spiritual energy was more efficient than any language. It could eliminate all discrepancies in understanding and convey thoughts to the other person with absolute clarity.

"But this requires your cooperation," he said.

Looking at the hand Song Lan offered, the "Guardian Spirit" hesitated for a long while before abandoning the idea of writing a lengthy treatise on the ground and placed its finger on Song Lan’s palm.

Before the torrent of complicated thoughts could surge to the forefront of his mind, Song Lan first felt a bone-chilling cold.

It was like walking through a blizzard in just a single layer of clothing, though he had never had such an experience, his mind instantly conjured up this idea.

No external environment could dispel this cold; even in the blazing sun, it was as if the Sun itself had been rendered in cold hues.

Thick blankets had no effect, and medical staff, covered in protective suits and masks, bustled around him, tinkering with instruments he couldn’t name.

Song Lan remembered when he established a connection with the Devourer, he witnessed its growth from a small lump of flesh. Although the world was bizarre beyond measure, he had become a part of the process of evolution, witnessing the world as it rolled forward. Yet in this world, time seemed to be at a standstill.

The cold seemed to dominate this world forever.

No matter how many doctors changed shifts at his bedside or how many visitors came, or how many medications he took, in the end, the world always returned to the starting point.

However, the unidentified excess drugs at least brought about some change to a certain extent.

For instance, he had to hide his arms under the blanket because his nails had sharpened into weapons, and white scales had sprouted across the skin on the backs of his hands.

These changes frightened many people.

Visitors became fewer and the intervals between their visits longer. Even when they did come, they didn’t linger long in the ward. Each visitor, as if fulfilling a routine obligation, would ask the doctor about the condition, cast a distant glance at him, and then leave the ward relieved, as though they had completed a task.

This was consistent with the symptoms of Polick Psychic Syndrome.

Before meeting with the "Guardian Spirit," Song Lan had already obtained detailed information about this syndrome from Medea, a specialist in the field of biology and no stranger to the disease.

But all his knowledge was only on an intellectual level; Medea never mentioned that, in the eyes of the patients, this world was always encased in ice.

"Can you see?" came a youthful voice in his mind, distinctly at odds with the image of the "Guardian Spirit."

Song Lan was not surprised by this; he was meant to hear such a voice.

Because everything he saw now happened before Fengling was ten years old, and the year Fengling turned ten marked the end of this world.

"Yes."

"Has this world always been this cold, or is it just now?" the voice asked carefreely, like a curious child questioning the world.

"It’s always been that way."

"That mustn’t have been easy."

Song Lan’s gaze followed that of the "Guardian Spirit," shifting to something else in the room, which was a withered bouquet on a bedside table and a rather expensive-looking long sword.

Coiled upon the scabbard was a lifelike dragon, the most conspicuous item Song Lan found in the room.

The voice boasted to him like a child showing off a treasure, perhaps because besides him, no one else could come here, "I’ll tell you a secret, this was given to me by Sister Fengling, she never allowed anyone to touch this sword before."

"Does she visit you often?"

"She used to visit often."

"And later?"

"Later, my family wouldn’t let her come, but sometimes she would sneak out to play with me."

Their conversation was surprisingly harmonious. Song Lan thought he would witness a more gruesome scene, but instead, he felt like he was in a hospital, sitting in front of a little girl’s bed, listening to her tell extraordinary stories about her friends.

In this world, he was someone who knew the direction the "plot" would take next.

"What kind of person is she?"

"She’s really nice to me. Whenever she comes to play with me, she always brings me tasty treats. She’s much more capable than the others, always managing to evade the guards at home and sneak into the kitchen!"

"But one time, when she took you to the kitchen at night, you got a stomachache for a week because you ate spoiled goose liver."

Song Lan remembered the story Fengling mentioned when they hosted her at their banquet.

She always remembered sneaking into the kitchen as a child, which was why she instantly recognized the four-day-old pan-seared goose liver served by Mo Ling.

The odd thing was that this event had deeply rooted itself in her memory, yet the details were mistaken.

The answer from the "Guardian Spirit" seemed to explain it all, "The doctor said I can’t eat spoiled food, Sister Fengling was grounded for a week."

It appeared in some of Fengling’s memories, she and the "Guardian Spirit" had become one and the same.

Had the company altered her memories?

Song Lan quickly dismissed the thought, as he and Medea had discussed this possibility; given Fengling’s resistance to drug side effects, it was highly unlikely she’d have hallucinations under their influence.

Not having any cybernetic enhancements eliminated the possibility of hacking as a means of intrusion.

As for Psychics...

What Psychic could twist her mind in the presence of her "Guardian Spirit"?

So Song Lan thought of the only answer.

The one who could strip all the memories from Fengling’s mind wasn’t the company, but even so, Fengling still sensed something was amiss.

"Right, she always lies to me!"

The voice suddenly thought of something and spoke in a petulant tone.

"What has she lied to you about?"

"A lot, like..."

The child fell silent for a moment, as if mentally tallying up Fengling’s various "crimes." Soon, she remembered the most recent occasion Fengling had lied to her.

"Like, she said fire is hot!"