Chapter 24 - The Fruit of Wisdom (2)

Zhang Xun felt something sour and soft soaking in his chest. He looked at the necklace in his hand and tried his best to keep his expression calm.

Heaven knows how much he didn't want to lose his cool.

This was the best gift he had received since Alloy. He took a deep breath, barely suppressing his excitement and said to Adam in the smoothest tone he could, "You brought back that mini-computer secretly?"

"Ah, yes, sorry. But rest assured, all the network interfaces of this mini-computer are broken. I made a data cable myself to complete the transmission, so I had no chance to do anything illegal with it. Pan can testify for me, it was watching me the whole time."

At this time, Pan suddenly said, "Apologies, Zhang Xun. Because it was a low-risk violation, I originally planned to wait until you wake up tomorrow morning and then tell you about Adam bringing back the mini-computer in secret."

"It's okay, I checked it at the processing plant, I know that mini-computer is no more than a toy." Zhang Xun said absentmindedly, his eyes still looking at the thing in his hands. He wasn't even sure what he was saying, "But you can't bring anything back in the future."

"Okay." Adam took the mini-computer out of his trousers pocket and handed it to Zhang Xun, "I promise I won't do it again."

Zhang Xun reached out with his hand mechanically, but instead of taking the mini machine, he held Adam's hand, gripping it very hard.

Adam raised his eyes and met Zhang Xun's.

"Don't be afraid, I won't let anything happen to you." Zhang Xun said to Adam word by word, with a firm tone, as if nothing could change this promise, "I'm your mechanic, now and in the future."

............................................................

The door of the Lab opened slowly. Zhang Xun appeared in the dim light behind the door.

The light of dawn shone down from the doorway, illuminating his clean face and a pair of still-water eyes. He was wearing a neat, high-necked shirt, an ironed, camel-colour, dark-patterned suit vest, and a mechanic's uniform jacket of the same colour. His single-sided microscopic mirror was pinned to his jacket pocket, leaving a metal chain hanging from the outside. The necklace Adam gave him was inside his clothes, clinging to his chest.

His whole person seems to be one with the Lab behind him, which was filled with metallic lustre and looks like a huge, spliced ​​castle. That metallic appearance exuded a sense of being behind the times, but the most advanced technology of Lost Paradise was wrapped under that old facade.

Julio Fernandez exaggeratedly took three steps back when he saw him, and said in shock, "Where did this international superstar come from?!"

Zhang Xun glanced at him lazily, "Don't make trouble, today is a big day."

The mechanics and researchers who passed by him knew that the one month acclimation time limit was up, and today was the day for Adam's psychological evaluation, so he had to face the upcoming test in the best condition.

If Adam didn't pass, he had his plan B.

Last night, Hans Guzberg, one of the most authoritative psychiatrists in Lost Paradise, had dinner with a few colleagues at the Italian restaurant in Third District then returned to his detached, uptown villa in the Third District. With the lack of land in Lost Paradise, a small, three-story building would often crowd in four hundred people. Only the elites had the privilege of living in a single-family building.

After Dr. Guzberg entered the house, his partner, Mr. Sperling, took his hat and chatted with him about trivial things that had happened at the school where the latter taught. When Dr. Guzberg made himself a cup of hot tea after the meal, as per his daily habit, Mr. Sperling remembered a letter from the Psychological Assessment Society delivered by the courier during the day.

Without doubting him, Dr. Guzberg took the letter into the study, neatly cut the edge of the envelope with a letter opener and a few photos fell out and fluttered onto his desk.

Dr. Guzberg's mouth was slightly open and his body was stiff, unable to move.

The several Chief Directors of the Psychological Association had different areas of expertise. Dr. Guzberg specialised in topics such as involuntary consciousness, sleep and hypnosis. With the help of a series of new equipment and medicines, his hypnotism was so masterful that even the most vigilant and self-conscious individuals could be influenced.

When in a state of hypnosis, people won't remember anything they've done, or anything that was done to them. When you have complete control over a person, when you can treat them like lab rats and do experiments on them that the Ethics Department would never allow, when they obey orders no matter what you ask them to do, and they would have no memories of any of this... human greed and cruelty could easily leak out.

Those photos were taken very recently, one just yesterday, in which he had used "hypnotherapy" on a German General whom he grew up with as an ostensible friend, but whom he actually hated and envied. The usually bright and neat General was almost unrecognisable in the photo...

That photo would make anyone gasp if they saw it.

If any of these photos were leaked out, Guzberg's usual stern, serious, and even feudal image would collapse, his doctor's licence would be revoked and he might even be trialled in court and sent to prison, or even more likely to be exiled from Lost Paradise.

He would be ruined.

The doctor slumped on the chair and took out a piece of paper from the envelope with trembling hands...

Not only Guzberg, but Captain Sistine had also received a letter... There was no doubt that these letters had been sent by Zhang Xun.

He knew he was playing with fire. While having this information in his hands could allow him to control these people, it also exposed the skills and abilities he possessed.

But he had to take a risk. He may have had doubts before, but ever since that night two days ago, all his doubts had gone out the window.

He created Adam and he would never give up the mechanic's seat to anyone else.

He had to admit that the information his bugs had brought back had shocked him. It turned out that people have so many faces, and the difference between them was so big that it can even be described as completely different. But these people could switch between so many sides and it was even difficult to determine which side was the real one.

His understanding of human beings may not be as comprehensive as Adam's...

Zhang Xun's request to them was very simple, he told them that he had something in his hands that could destroy them and told them not to make things difficult for him and Adam, and at the same time... warned them to stop any delusional ideas of attempting anything outrageous.

It was true that Zhang Xun didn't like these tactics. It was too similar to Eden's way of doing things, to peep at people's most dirty secrets and exploit them... But he also wasn't a pushover who would let those who were inexplicably targeting them do whatever they want.

Several cars came rolling in through the dust. One was a dark green jeep from the military, the other was a black, antique, Mercedes-Benz, and there was also an ordinary car with a few escorts on motorcycles.

Sistine got out of the car, his expression still gloomy but there was a subtle lack of arrogance. Guzberg was a better performer. If Zhang Xun wasn't in the know, he would never have guessed that the other party was being threatened. The third scholar was there to test Zhang Xun, so Zhang Xun wasn't too worried about dealing with him.

Zhang Xun smiled gracefully and calmly at the people who came and shook hands with each of them in turn, "Welcome."

Sistine looked at him as if he wanted to rip his head off.

Zhang Xun honestly quite liked the feeling that others couldn't beat him to death when they were unhappy with him.

Several soldiers who had followed Sistine, together pushed the one-man-high cylindrical machine into the Lab. Adam was waiting for them in the room. Since his brain was largely mechanical, his short-term memory couldn't be erased simply with drugs and hypnosis. They needed Zhang Xun to manually set the memory recovery node.

Under the eyes of several mechanic witnesses, Zhang Xun carefully cut the seam of Adam's scalp, opened the skull, connected several circuits to the mechanical brain and set up a short-term memory recovery and storage program through the computer. He set the node in the precise place and locked the memory for two days before. After connecting all the lines, Zhang Xun had to leave with the psychiatrist. Before leaving, he glanced at Adam, his eyes were deep but quiet, like a mountain at the bottom of the ocean.

Adam also smiled back at him, smiling unreservedly.

Everything would be fine.

Zhang Xun's psychological evaluation would be carried out in the observation room next door. The psychiatrist's name was Patty, who was a rarity in the Psychological Association as he had a reserved temperament and didn't like to associate with other professors or doctors. When Zhang Xun went to the New Yale University in the Third District to seek advice from the Vice President of the Psychological Association about the emotional reactions that Adam might have after the descent, he had seen this silent man in his forties. At that time, Patty was sitting alone in the university cafeteria eating a simple bento, like a silent shadow. If he hadn't seen the chief badge of the Psychological Association on his chest, he would have thought that he might be an ordinary lecturer or cleaning staff.

"How do you want to test me?" Zhang Xun asked politely after the two took their seats in the armchairs facing each other. He had also sent out bugs to monitor this Patty, but apparently this man lived a rare, consistent, ascetic-like routine... He would wake up at the same time every day, go to bed at the same time, and read two hours of books before going to bed. He had seven sets of clothes in total, just from Monday to Sunday. Every week, he would wash his clothes on Sunday nights, have a glass of gin on Wednesday nights and go to a restaurant for a roast chicken on Tuesday nights.

This made him awestruck...

Patty took out a dozen psychological test questions from his briefcase and put them in front of Zhang Xun, "I can give you these questions, and I know you will definitely pass, because Commander Zhang's son can't be a dangerous person. You and I both know this is a waste of time."

Zhang Xun raised his eyebrows slightly, he didn't expect that the first sentence the other party would say to him would be something like this.

Patty looked up, his gaze behind the lenses was elusive.

Zhang Xun sat up slightly and met the other person's scrutinising eyes without flinching, "But the Round Table requires you to test me. Zhang Shuo is my father, but that doesn't give me any privileges."

"No privileges?" Patty shook his head with a low laugh, "No, privilege will always exist, as long as there are people, there is class, and there is privilege."

Zhang Xun tilted his head slightly, looking at the scholar who was older than him, "As a person born in an unprivileged family, do you know this very well?"

Zhang Xun had investigated the backgrounds of all those who would be participating in the psychological assessment, and he knew that Patty's father had escaped from Southeast Asia to Lost Paradise. Even now, there was still a small number of men under strict surveillance in the ordinary world. A considerable number of those men were good-looking and were kept like some kind of rare animal. Their mistresses would dress them up in exquisite clothes and jewellery and show them off to each other, just like they do with their new cars, famous dogs, and mansions and these men would try their best to please their mistresses. They would spend a lot of time every day exercising, maintaining their appearance, studying what their mistress likes and dislikes, and even using all kinds of secret methods to compete for their mistress' favour to survive.

Patty's father was one of these "boyfriends", and Patty was the product of his affair with a housekeeper. After the incident, in order to avoid being sent to a "sanatorium" by the angry mistress, he fled to Lost Paradise with Patty, who was a baby at the time.

In Lost Paradise, there weren't many men born from women, and the increasingly extreme hatred of women and artificial intelligence had also caused these individual children of natural birth to be discriminated against and bullied to a considerable extent. It was conceivable that Patty, who came to Lost Paradise, didn't feel at home here. On the contrary, his experience growing up was full of ups and downs.

But even so, he still climbed to where he was now by relying on his ingenuity.

Patty wasn't offended or angered and he looked at Zhang Xun very calmly. Those eyes seemed to be able to see all the electrical activity in his cerebral cortex through his skull.

For the first time, Zhang Xun felt that he had met an opponent.

A true opponent.

But Patty didn't say anything more and pushed the test paper to him.

Zhang Xun breathed a sigh of relief and immediately picked up the pen and began to fill it in. He was all too familiar with this kind of psychological evaluation. In order to participate in the god descent program, he had to perform a psychological evaluation like this once a month. Although the questions would be different every time, he had long known the hidden purpose behind these exam questions and knew how to give the most standard answer.

Two hours later, he completed the test paper. Patty picked up another psychological questionnaire and asked him a few questions orally, to which Zhang Xun responded fluently. Patty quickly recorded on his own form and then sealed all the test papers and record forms.

"Your psychological assessment is completed." Patty said, standing up, "but Adam's test may take a while longer to finish."

"Thank you." Zhang Xun smiled decently and amiably, and took the initiative to reach out to him to shake hands, "I'm looking forward to discussing more with you."

Patty shook his hand. At the moment of letting go, Patty suddenly smiled oddly and said, "In today's world, information is power. The more information a person has, the more power they have, and the sooner it is seen as a threat. A wise person should know how to hide his power."

After speaking, he turned around and left regardless of Zhang Xun's reaction.