Chapter 66: Mistake
As he spoke, the smile on Qiao Yu's face faded considerably.
"In this hospital, there are actually many people in the same situation as Zhang Yun."
"They're all tied to beds, isolated in single rooms, shut away day after day, year after year."
"And... although the Empire does have some High-Tier Mental Power Users capable of helping them, there are too few of them. People say they live comfortably, that they're protected well and have easy lives, but in reality they're incredibly busy. Especially because the people they deal with are mostly those whose Mental Contamination has truly reached S-rank..."
Nan Yu widened his eyes.
"Really? I thought that once Mental Contamination reached S-rank, there was no longer any way... Even High-Tier Mental Power Users seem to..."
Qiao Yu shrugged.
"I'm only repeating what I've heard. Apparently, S-rank Mental Contamination is divided into several levels. I don't know the exact classification, but I've heard that people in the earlier stages can still be saved. Once it reaches the later stages, they're completely beyond saving."
"I'm just repeating rumors, so I don't know much. But apparently..."
"As long as you become a High-Tier Mental Power User and are taken under the Empire's protection, you'll be sent for specialized training. At that point, you'll know everything."
Nan Yu suddenly understood.
No wonder he hadn't known any of this in his previous life, despite becoming a High-Tier Mental Power User.
The reason was simple.
In his previous life, all he wanted was to stay together with Bai Zhouyun.
Therefore, every time the Empire wanted to bring him away for closed training, he refused.
At the time, he possessed the Nianshen Grass and believed nothing else mattered.
Looking back now, he realized he had been too immature.
Taking a deep breath, Nan Yu said,
"I understand. Thank you. It's probably because knowing these things is useless for people below High-Tier, and might even encourage them to take unnecessary risks, which is why they're kept secret."
Qiao Yu shrugged.
"You're right. That's what I think too. But becoming a High-Tier Mental Power User isn't easy."
"Otherwise, our Empire wouldn't have only a few dozen of them. By the way, Nan Yu, are you confident in yourself?"
Nan Yu paused slightly.
"Of course I am. How could I not be? I think every Mental Power User dreams of becoming High-Tier."
As he finished speaking, he blinked at Qiao Yu knowingly.
Qiao Yu curled his lips.
"You're right. That's true."
Then he changed the subject.
"We're here. Look inside."
Through the specially-made glass in the door, Nan Yu saw the man lying inside.
His condition was exactly like Zhang Yun's when Nan Yu had first seen him.
"This person is also a soldier," Qiao Yu explained. "And he's a Major."
"He has no relatives or close friends. He's been lying in the hospital all this time without anyone visiting or taking care of him."
Nan Yu blinked.
"That shouldn't be possible. He's at least a Major. Haven't his subordinates come to see him?"
Qiao Yu's expression darkened.
"The teams under his command were completely wiped out during their mission. He was the only survivor."
"And he ended up like this."
"I don't know the details, but after he was brought back, the legion awarded him many honors. They even said that once he wakes up, they'll promote him to Lieutenant Colonel."
Nan Yu nodded.
"I see. They must have been carrying out an extremely dangerous mission. Although his troops were wiped out, the mission itself succeeded."
"But if you think about it carefully, there's really nothing to celebrate."
Qiao Yu sighed.
"Exactly."
"When I brought you here, I hesitated over whether we should really wake him up. After all..."
Nan Yu understood.
This Major had probably watched his subordinates die one by one.
Perhaps right before his eyes.
His spirit must have suffered tremendous trauma.
"Let's try first. It might not necessarily work."
Qiao Yu blinked.
"How could it not? Zhang Yun's condition was much worse than his, and you still cured him."
Nan Yu sighed.
"The Mental Sea differs from person to person. A better diagnosis doesn't necessarily mean an easier treatment."
"This person probably suffered tremendous emotional trauma before ending up like this. His mind is likely extremely unstable. In that case, even though his Mental Contamination is lighter, removing it will actually be much more difficult."
"There's such a thing?"
"Of course. Haven't you encountered cases like this before?"
They really hadn't.
Seeing his expression, Nan Yu immediately understood.
Which made sense.
They had never handled cases as severe as Zhang Yun's. Or rather, they had never personally treated patients at the edge of S-rank Mental Contamination.
Naturally, they wouldn't know the difference.
"I'll go in and take a look first."
"Sure."
Standing beside the bed, Nan Yu examined the unconscious man.
He wasn't bad-looking.
But compared to many others, he wasn't particularly handsome.
Then again, as a soldier, appearance wasn't important.
Marshal Yu was the exception.
Not only was he overwhelmingly powerful and possessed unmatched status, but his appearance was exceptional as well.
He was a special case and couldn't be used for comparison.
Nan Yu had already decided that he absolutely couldn't reveal his ability to project his mental power.
Although his use of mental power had indeed improved compared to before, the difference couldn't appear too large.
Otherwise, people wouldn't believe he'd made such rapid progress.
Instead, they'd suspect he'd been hiding his true abilities all along.
Placing both hands beside the Major's head, Nan Yu slowly sent his mental power into the man's Mental Sea.
What he found was completely different from what he expected.
He had thought it would resemble a raging storm.
Instead, it was perfectly calm.
But Nan Yu knew exactly what kind of terrifying storm hid beneath that tranquil surface.
The calmer the Mental Sea appeared, the more dangerous it actually was.
After cautiously investigating, Nan Yu discovered something terrible.
He immediately withdrew his mental power.
His expression became extremely ugly.
Looking at Qiao Yu, he asked,
"When was the last time you checked his Mental Sea?"
Qiao Yu paused.
"What's wrong? The latest equipment has been monitoring him continuously. There haven't been any warnings, so we haven't been checking often. I think the last manual inspection was over half a month ago."
"Did something happen?"
Nan Yu answered quietly,
"It's hard to explain. Take a look yourself."
Qiao Yu examined the patient with some doubt.
However, when he withdrew his mental power, his expression changed completely.
His face was filled with shock and disbelief.
"This..."
"This is already..."
That's right.
On the surface, the Major's Mental Sea was calm.
But the Mental Contamination inside had already begun slowly merging with the Mental Sea itself.
Once they completely fused, there would truly be no saving him.
Perhaps a High-Tier Mental Power User could still save him.
After all, the fusion of Mental Contamination and the Mental Sea signified true S-rank Mental Contamination.
If a High-Tier Mental Power User came, perhaps there was still hope.
Unfortunately, the locations of all High-Tier Mental Power Users in the Empire were top-level secrets.
Revealing them was considered treason.
Nan Yu fell into deep thought.
If he went all out, it would probably take half a month, but he could slowly bring this man back.
The problem was—
Doing so would expose him.
"What do we do now? Call the director. We can't handle this."
Qiao Yu lowered his head.
"You're right."
"What's wrong?"
"This patient is one of the ones I'm responsible for."
"Now that something's happened, it's my fault. Even if the machines don't raise alarms, I'm supposed to inspect them every three to five days, but..."
"You got lazy?"
Qiao Yu's eyes widened.
"No! I didn't!"
"It's just that things have been too busy these past few months. The frontlines are extremely active, and more patients are arriving than before. I got too busy and forgot."
"If we don't have enough time, we can ask the hospital to assign someone else to do the inspections. But I simply forgot."
Nan Yu nodded.
"I see. Then are you going to confess?"
Qiao Yu sighed heavily.
"What else can I do?"
"Will there be punishment?"
He shook his head.
"Not exactly."
"But my salary will be deducted. Not for ten days or half a month. Half a year's wages will disappear at once."
"Are you short on money?"
"It's not about money!"
"It's about losing face!"
"And from now on, I have one more person I'll never stop feeling guilty toward."
"If I'd discovered this earlier, things wouldn't have become like this. Even if the outcome eventually remained the same, I delayed the best treatment opportunity because of my mistake. That's a fact."
Nan Yu didn't argue.
This was indeed negligence.
A mistake had to be paid for.
And because of that mistake, the man lying in bed might spend the rest of his life like this.
Qiao Yu informed the hospital staff.
Only after everyone arrived and examined the patient did Nan Yu slowly regain his composure.
He definitely pitied the Major.
Because...
He could save him.
But was it really alright to let someone die simply to conceal his own strength?
His conscience wouldn't allow it.
Yet this morning, he'd just made up his mind to hide his abilities.
And now, by afternoon, he was already prepared to break that resolve.
Was that really alright?
His heart was tangled with conflicting thoughts.
Then he suddenly remembered something.
His greatest backing could be considered Yu Lanfeng.
With Yu Lanfeng protecting him, so what if his strength was exposed?
As long as he concealed the most important secret—
His ability to project mental power—
Everything else would be fine.