Chapter 157: Clues
After reading the basic profiles of the five men, Nan Yu and the others didn't find anything particularly suspicious. It was only after they examined the history between those five people and Zhou Ziyu that they were genuinely astonished.
The five of them all knew about each other's existence. Knowing the other four wasn't particularly strange—they all served at the same military base. Even if Zhou Ziyu wanted to date all five of them at once, there was no way he could have hidden it for long.
So after all five discovered the others existed, instead of fighting over him, they all declared that they would compete fairly. Then they began pursuing Zhou Ziyu together.
Nan Yu had no idea what it felt like to be pursued by five people at the same time in a military base that, compared to an entire planet, was relatively small.
However, according to what other people at the base had said, almost everyone believed Zhou Ziyu was putting on an act or deliberately playing hard to get. He always claimed he had no romantic feelings for any of them, yet he would accept certain gifts while refusing others.
The gifts he accepted weren't the expensive ones. What mattered was the sincerity behind them. For example, if someone personally cooked him a meal, Zhou Ziyu would accept it. But if they simply bought him food, he would always find an excuse to refuse it, such as saying he'd already eaten.
As a result, all five men came to believe that the only reason they hadn't won Zhou Ziyu over was because they hadn't devoted themselves enough or demonstrated enough sincerity. So each of them began trying even harder to prove the depth of their feelings.
Fortunately, they only competed during their free time and in relatively private places. Otherwise, they probably would have been publicly reprimanded long ago.
Still, no matter how discreet they tried to be, word inevitably spread over time. Many people had even witnessed the five of them confessing to Zhou Ziyu in person. Whenever they gave him gifts, they were almost always handmade.
Nan Yu looked through the records in surprise.
"Why is Zhou Ziyu so popular? Or rather... when exactly did these five people start liking him? Can we find that out?"
Lin Changyu nodded.
"Yes. We've already sent people to investigate. The results should be here shortly. Please wait a moment."
If Nan Yu's guess was correct, once that report arrived, the mystery would be solved.
He couldn't shake the feeling that the behavior of those five men was extremely strange, yet he couldn't quite pinpoint why.
Logically speaking, any Ability User who could join Yu Lanfeng's legion as an official member should have a fairly high opinion of themselves. They might not be arrogant enough to look down on others, but they certainly wouldn't think poorly of themselves.
So why would they lower themselves to compete with four other men over an ordinary Mental Power User in the same military base? And not only that, but pursue him so fanatically without caring what anyone else thought?
That was the part Nan Yu found so bizarre.
He suddenly turned toward Yu Lanfeng.
"Brother, if I were being pursued by you and four other Ability Users at the same time, what would you do?"
Yu Lanfeng glanced at him before answering calmly.
"I'd beat them until they didn't dare look at you again."
Nan Yu's eyes immediately lit up.
"Exactly!"
Yu Lanfeng frowned.
"Exactly what?"
Grinning, Nan Yu explained,
"I don't really understand how Ability Users think, so I fell into a blind spot just now. Look at this investigation report. It says they insisted on competing fairly and did all kinds of things... but there's one very important thing they never did."
Yu Lanfeng immediately understood.
"They never fought."
"That's right."
Nan Yu nodded.
"How could they not fight? No matter how you analyze it, that's incredibly strange. Brother, don't you think it's odd now?"
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
"It is. That's not how Ability Users behave."
Handmade gifts...
Personally cooking breakfast, lunch, even dinner...
Sewing cushions and pillows by hand...
It wasn't that there was anything wrong with doing those things.
Some people genuinely enjoyed cooking for themselves.
But these five men clearly weren't normal.
They were competing with each other to make food and deliver it to Zhou Ziyu.
As for whose food Zhou Ziyu ate?
Whoever arrived first won.
The unsettling part was that these five grown men behaved as though they were all young women pursuing the man they loved.
The problem was that they were all battle-hardened soldiers.
Perhaps one or two people might naturally act like that.
But all five?
That simply wasn't possible.
"So..."
Yu Lanfeng looked at him.
"So you suspect all of this abnormal behavior is the result of mind control?"
Nan Yu blinked.
"I'm still not certain. Let's wait until General Lin's report arrives. Maybe it'll reveal some clues."
Yu Lanfeng simply nodded.
Both of them subconsciously looked toward Lin Changyu.
Lin Changyu paused briefly before checking his communicator.
"Ten more minutes."
Nan Yu shrugged.
He didn't remember asking how much longer it would take.
Ten minutes wasn't long anyway.
Since there was still time, he continued reading the report, hoping he'd overlooked something important earlier.
Unfortunately, no matter how many times he reread it, he found nothing new.
Just as Nan Yu was about to give up, Lin Changyu finally received the new report.
He immediately forwarded it to both of them.
Nan Yu opened it first.
The report compared the dates when Zhou Ziyu arrived at the military base with the dates when the five soldiers were stationed there.
The comparison made one thing immediately obvious.
Zhou Ziyu had arrived the latest.
As soon as he was assigned to the base, he joined the Mental Power User team and diligently carried out his duties there.
Meanwhile, the five soldiers continued their normal routines.
Whenever their Mental Contamination became unstable, they visited the medical department to receive purification treatment from the Mental Power Users.
According to the records, during the beginning everything was perfectly normal.
They visited for treatment at the same frequency as before.
There was no sign of them privately seeking out Zhou Ziyu.
However, around three months after Zhou Ziyu arrived at the base, things gradually began to change.
No one knew exactly when it started, but people eventually noticed that all five soldiers had begun interacting with Zhou Ziyu.
Nan Yu immediately cross-referenced the dates with the records of one-on-one treatments.
Sure enough...
He found the clues.
If Zhou Ziyu really wanted to manipulate those five men into falling in love with him, there was no way he could have tampered with them during private meetings.
After all, they barely knew each other.
There was no reason for those five soldiers to privately seek treatment from Zhou Ziyu.
That meant the first opportunity to tamper with them had to be during the officially recorded treatment sessions.
Nan Yu carefully checked every patient Zhou Ziyu had treated, along with each person's treatment history afterward.
Three months after Zhou Ziyu arrived at the base, over the course of two consecutive days...
Zhou Ziyu had personally treated all five soldiers.
From that point onward, those five began viewing Zhou Ziyu differently.
Not only did they continue seeing him for treatment, but they also started pursuing him outside of work.
Even after learning there were four other rivals, none of them thought anything was strange.
Instead, they became even more motivated.
Nan Yu pointed out each suspicious detail one by one.
Yu Lanfeng nodded thoughtfully.
"It makes sense. Since he could control Han Lu, controlling these five wouldn't be difficult. Can you fix it?"
"Yes."
Nan Yu nodded.
"I'll need to meet each of them individually and examine their Mental Seas. Of course... I'll have to trouble General Lin to arrange it."
Anything that might help Han Lu was something Lin Changyu would accomplish with maximum efficiency.
Within ten minutes, he informed them that all five soldiers had arrived.
Nan Yu stood and walked outside.
Yu Lanfeng followed.
Soon they reached the waiting area.
The five soldiers had been separated into five different lounges.
Nan Yu only needed to enter each room one by one to confirm his suspicions.
Lin Changyu opened the first door.
Nan Yu walked inside.
Yu Lanfeng remained at the doorway before stepping in and closing the door behind him.
The soldier had merely followed orders to report there.
He never expected to meet the Marshal himself.
He immediately stood and saluted.
"Marshal!"
Yu Lanfeng narrowed his eyes.
"Sit down. We'll be examining your Mental Sea and asking you a few questions. Don't hide anything."
"Understood, Marshal! I'll answer everything truthfully!"
Nan Yu and Yu Lanfeng sat across from him.
Nan Yu began.
"When did you first meet Zhou Ziyu?"
"Huh? What... what does that have to do with Ziyu? Ah, right... I met him about three months after he arrived at the military base. It's already been several years."
"When did you start developing feelings for him? Be as specific as possible."
The soldier thought for a long moment.
He looked as though he wanted to answer, but eventually shook his head in confusion.
"I'm sorry. I can't pinpoint the exact time. Around those three months... I just started feeling like he was somehow different. Then I gradually fell for him. If those other people hadn't gotten in the way, I'd already have won him over."
Yu Lanfeng suddenly asked,
"Do you honestly think it's normal for a grown man who fights on the front lines alongside his fellow soldiers to make heart-shaped breakfasts, lunches, and dinners every day, hand-sew cushions and pillows, and do all kinds of things just to please Zhou ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) Ziyu?"
The man froze.
"I..."
Nan Yu immediately smiled.
"Ah, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just asking casually. Your situation is very different from the other soldiers I know, so I got curious. If it's inconvenient to answer, then forget I asked."
"After all... everyone has their own hobbies. We can't say soldiers aren't allowed to enjoy those things. What I said just now was too one-sided. Sorry. I wasn't looking down on your interests. Let's just forget it and move on to the next question."
Although Nan Yu repeatedly insisted he hadn't meant anything by it, his words practically implied that sewing cushions and making decorative meals was the man's hobby, making him sound almost effeminate.
The soldier obviously picked up on that implication.
He looked rather unhappy.
But what bothered him even more was that...
He genuinely felt there was nothing wrong with what he'd done.
Yet when he thought back, he hadn't always been like this.
When had it started?
Right...
Ever since he began pursuing Zhou Ziyu.
Still, he didn't think there was anything strange about it.
After all, delivering homemade meals hadn't even been his own idea first.
He had only learned to cook in order to pursue Zhou Ziyu.
It wasn't because he actually liked cooking.
So he wasn't...
He wasn't...
"I just like making these things for Zhou Ziyu! He likes eating the food I cook myself!"
The words suddenly burst out of his mouth.
He shouted them so loudly that even Nan Yu jumped in surprise.
Staring at him blankly, Nan Yu quietly replied,
"I understand. You don't have to shout. You already answered the question."
Unexpectedly, the soldier himself seemed shocked by what he'd just said.
His entire body stiffened.
Moments later, he suddenly clutched his head with both hands.
His expression gradually twisted in pain.
Nan Yu exchanged a glance with Yu Lanfeng.
Yu Lanfeng immediately stood, restrained him by force, carried him onto the prepared medical bed nearby, and secured him in place.
Only then did Nan Yu step forward to examine him.
Watching the man's increasingly agonized expression, Nan Yu stopped wasting time.
His mental power immediately entered the soldier's Mental Sea.
It didn't take long before he discovered complete chaos inside.
The culprit...
Was the foreign mental power surging violently within it.
This foreign mental power didn't damage the man's Mental Sea.
After all, it was still mental power, not Mental Contamination.
Even machines would merely detect a slight increase in his mental power.
They would never identify the true abnormality.
Nan Yu had previously come into contact with Zhou Ziyu's mental power.
He remembered it perfectly.
Now he was one hundred percent certain.
The foreign power raging inside this man's Mental Sea...
Belonged to Zhou Ziyu.
Zhou Ziyu truly was frightening.
He had actually succeeded.
Using his own mental power, he could subtly influence another person's judgment, making them fall in love with him and willingly change themselves completely for his sake.
Nan Yu withdrew his mental power.
"Brother. General Lin. We can't delay any longer."
"Take him to the medical department immediately and prepare a specialized mental power containment device. I'm going to extract Zhou Ziyu's mental power from his Mental Sea, and that alone will become extremely powerful evidence."
By the time they arrived at the medical department, everything had already been prepared.
Nan Yu immediately got to work.
Little by little, he carefully separated Zhou Ziyu's mental power from the man's Mental Sea.
He wrapped each fragment inside spheres formed from his own mental power to keep them from escaping.
About an hour later, the man's complexion had visibly improved.
More than half of Zhou Ziyu's mental power had already been removed.
Another thirty minutes should finish the process.
Honestly...
Separating foreign mental power from someone else's Mental Sea was exhausting.
The effort Nan Yu had expended over the past hour was equivalent to purifying the Mental Contamination of an S-rank Ability User.
Fortunately, Nan Yu still had some energy left.
He managed to persist until every last trace had been extracted.
Afterward, he sealed all of Zhou Ziyu's mental power inside the containment device Lin Changyu had prepared.
Nan Yu handed the device to Yu Lanfeng.
Yu Lanfeng casually placed it on a nearby table before supporting Nan Yu and helping him sit down to rest.
Nan Yu whispered,
"I'm fine. A little sleep will be enough."
"I know you're fine."
Yu Lanfeng looked at him steadily.
"But you're exhausted. Go rest now."
Nan Yu hesitated.
"There are still four more people waiting. How about I examine them first? Just the examinations won't consume much mental power."
Yu Lanfeng firmly shook his head.
"No. You're going to rest now."
Nan Yu shrank his neck.
"...Alright, I know."
"I'll go rest. Oh, and tighten the surveillance around Zhou Ziyu. His mental power is very strong. Don't let anyone get close to him. Even delivering food should be done by robots."
Lin Changyu nodded.
"No problem."
Nan Yu continued,
"The amount of Zhou Ziyu's mental power inside that man's Mental Sea is enormous. There's no way it accumulated after only one or two treatments. Ever since it began, Zhou Ziyu must have deliberately left a tiny portion of his mental power behind every single time he treated him. That's the only way it could eventually reach this level."
Lin Changyu finally understood.
"So that's how it worked?"
Nan Yu nodded.
"In any case, General Lin, keep the other four under close watch. Their Mental Seas contain just as much of Zhou Ziyu's mental power. If he wants to influence their thoughts or actions, it'll be incredibly easy."
"So..."
"They're very likely to do something irrational in a short period of time."
"Please stop them immediately if that happens."
Nan Yu left with Yu Lanfeng.
After returning to their room, Nan Yu continued,
"There's so much of Zhou Ziyu's mental power inside them that he might not even need to consciously control them anymore. As long as they worry about Zhou Ziyu, that mental power will automatically influence their thoughts and drive them to rescue him."
"And as time passes, that influence will only grow stronger until they believe those thoughts are entirely their own."
"When that happens, they'll make mistakes against their own will."
"If they're expelled from the legion because of that... it'd be such a waste."
"They're all outstanding soldiers."
Anyone who could pass the legion's selection and steadily serve here for so many years had to be exceptional.
To see soldiers like that ruined by a single spy...
It genuinely pained Nan Yu.
After all...
Half of this legion belonged to him now.
Anyone harming the legion was practically picking a fight with him.
Yu Lanfeng smiled faintly.
"Don't worry."
"The other four will be watched closely."
"So..."
"You'll rest now?"
Meeting Yu Lanfeng's unwavering gaze, Nan Yu suddenly felt guilty.
Ever since coming to the border with Yu Lanfeng, he had repeatedly done things behind his back.
Sneaking off to handle dangerous matters himself.
Trying to prove his own abilities.
Even though...
He never actually needed to prove anything.
He was already incredibly capable.
Not in terms of combat strength, of course.
Nan Yu took a deep breath, changed into his pajamas, climbed into bed, then looked at Yu Lanfeng, who was still staring directly at him.
"Alright, alright."
"I'm going to sleep."
"You don't have to keep watching me like that."
Only after saying it did Nan Yu suddenly realize...
Yu Lanfeng's gaze seemed different from before.
His heart skipped a beat.
He obediently pulled the blanket over himself, stopped talking, closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep.
A moment later, Yu Lanfeng quietly spoke.
"Xiaoyu."
"It doesn't seem like there are many years left until you reach adulthood."
Nan Yu's eyes flew open as he stared at him.
Listen to that!
Just listen!
What kind of thing was that to say?
"So?"
Yu Lanfeng answered calmly,
"So... if you still refuse to sleep..."
"I'll sleep with you."
Nan Yu raised an eyebrow.
"Then sleep with me."
"I'm still underage anyway."
"What exactly can you do to me?"
...
Then Nan Yu paid the price.
About an hour later, Yu Lanfeng left the room with complete satisfaction.
Nan Yu remained behind, finally going to sleep.
Covering his slightly swollen lips, he silently condemned Yu Lanfeng in his heart.
After all, he was still underage.
Even if Yu Lanfeng got angry, there wasn't much he could actually do.
But...
Kissing him a few times was still perfectly possible.
Nan Yu buried his bright red face beneath the blanket and let out a soft snort, expressing his dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately...
Yu Lanfeng had already left and couldn't hear it anymore.
Feeling both embarrassed and indignant, Nan Yu took out his Nianshen Grass.
Holding it gently, he slowly connected his mental power with it.
Only then did he gradually drift into sleep.
He slept for a full five hours.
By the time he woke up, it was already late at night.
"Brother?"
Still half asleep, he opened his eyes and vaguely saw someone sitting in the chair beside the bed.
The figure immediately stood and walked over.
Nan Yu sat up.
The Nianshen Grass was still in his hand.
He subconsciously glanced down.
Maybe it was just his imagination...
But he felt like it had grown a little.
"Brother, look at my treasure."
"Hasn't it grown a little?"
Yu Lanfeng lowered his head and examined the Nianshen Grass before nodding.
"It has."
"But it's still very small."
Nan Yu beamed.
"Exactly!"
"Nianshen Grass grows incredibly slowly."
"The fact that it's already grown a little in such a short time is amazing."
"Don't underestimate that tiny bit of growth."
"You've seen the other Nianshen Grass plants."
"They've been discovered for so many years."
"How much have they grown?"
Yu Lanfeng thought back carefully.
It seemed...
Not at all.
"Why is that?"
Nan Yu smiled.
"Well... I'm not entirely sure."
"But it definitely has something to do with the purity of the Mental Power User's mental power, how long they communicate with it, and other similar factors."
"After all, it's Nianshen Grass."
"Its growth is naturally tied to mental power."
Yu Lanfeng asked,
"Since it's grown a little, does that mean it can benefit you even more now?"
Nan Yu nodded happily.
"Of course."
"For example, this time I only slept five hours to recover my mental power."
"But how long did I used to sleep?"
Yu Lanfeng remembered clearly.
"Ten hours at most."
"Eight hours at the least."
Nan Yu smiled.
"Exactly."
"From now on, whenever I exhaust my mental power, my recovery time will be much shorter."
"And that also means..."
"I'm one step closer to becoming a High-Tier Mental Power User."
"I can already feel it."
"I'm definitely going to reach High-Tier before next New Year's."
Yu Lanfeng silently calculated the time.
"After next New Year's..."
"You'll be an adult."
The excitement on Nan Yu's face instantly froze.