A hint of satisfaction appeared on Xiang Yi's face as he looked at the changes on the panel.
As long as he had the generator, his escape would definitely go much more smoothly.
He wasn't worried about the generator malfunctioning at a critical moment; everything he had experienced deep in the mines was the ultimate proof of its reliability.
Xiang Yi admired his handiwork on the panel for a moment before reverting it to its original state, just in case He Dong needed to use it and discovered something was off.
Just as he was about to find another technical manual to read on the computer, a bell suddenly rang out in the workshop.
A brief cheer erupted, along with a wail from Mao Yu, but the workshop fell silent again almost immediately. The others had remembered Xiang Yi was still there.
'Looks like it's quitting time.'
Xiang Yi was about to pack up and leave too, but Mao Yu suddenly barked at him, "Hey, you. You're staying behind with me on duty."
"Huh?"
He had been sitting there half the day doing nothing and no one had said a word, but now he was being forced to stay for a shift. This was, without a doubt, Mao Yu singling him out.
He didn't like conflict, but if someone came looking for a fight, he certainly wasn't a pushover.
Moreover, He Dong had given him the Mind Pulse Generator, which meant no one else in this room knew how to fix it. If he clashed with them, it was hard to say what would happen in the long run, but at least in the short term, He Dong would definitely be on his side.
Having weighed the pros and cons, Xiang Yi stood up, preparing to have a nice little "chat" with Mao Yu.
But Zhang Lang suddenly stepped in. "He can't. Director He told me to take him to his quarters."
"Tch..."
Mao Yu grumbled under his breath, but there was nothing he could do. He shot Xiang Yi a glare and returned to his workstation, idly staring at his computer screen.
Zhang Lang's attitude toward Xiang Yi wasn't great either, but he still had to carry out the orders he was given.
He took Xiang Yi to the staff cafeteria on the middle level, then led him to what was nominally his dorm room, but in reality, was his cell.
It was another single room, and the conditions were even better than the temporary place he'd been staying in for the past two days.
And it seemed to be very close to the elevator leading to the prison's outermost level.
'Hard to say if that was a good thing or a bad thing.'
After eating dinner in the staff cafeteria, Xiang Yi went straight back to his dorm room.
Just as he'd expected, the doctor who had been coming by to treat his wounds for the past two days was already there.
"Good evening."
The doctor greeted him first. Xiang Yi nodded in reply and cooperated as the doctor changed his dressings in the dorm room.
Thinking about how the team leader with the broken foot was already walking around freely, while his own injuries were still far from healed, made him reflect on the vast difference one's status could make.
Xiang Yi suddenly noticed the doctor take out a syringe and a familiar-looking device. He couldn't help but ask, "Drawing blood again?"
"Yes."
Though Xiang Yi was confused, he still held out his arm and let the doctor draw blood.
The doctor didn't offer much of an explanation. He just methodically did his job, then left Xiang Yi a small, unlabeled vial.
"These are to help with the blood loss. One pill in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Rest well."
Xiang Yi took the vial and gave it a shake. From the sound, there seemed to be a dozen or so pills inside.
"Alright."
Xiang Yi accepted the medicine, feeling that the doctor was a little too concerned about him.
'Of course, it could have been on He Dong's orders. Who knows? Either way, he'd take any advantage he could get.'
Besides, the aftereffects of the high-intensity activities from the past two days still lingered. He was indeed getting tired more easily than before, though not enough to seriously impact his physical condition.
Xiang Yi felt he could still manage some activity.
'And of course, thoughts had to be put into practice.'
Not long after the doctor left, Xiang Yi, feeling he was still up for it, returned to the workshop.
The place was just as it was that afternoon, littered with so many tools that it was hard to find a place to set foot.
Mao Yu heard the door open and poked his head out from behind a pile of tools. When he saw it was Xiang Yi, his expression immediately fell. "What are you doing here?"
Without so much as a glance at Mao Yu, Xiang Yi completely ignored him, walked back to his workstation, and pulled the Mind Pulse Generator out from under the desk.
"You..."
Mao Yu was thoroughly irked by Xiang Yi's reaction. He had just stepped away from his workstation when he saw Xiang Yi carefully calibrating the generator.
Remembering this was a task from He Dong, Mao Yu didn't dare disturb him. He was afraid that if something went wrong, Xiang Yi would pin the blame on him. All he could do was swallow his anger and sit back down.
"Heh."
Xiang Yi chuckled softly and used his Spiritual Energy to once again set the Mind Pulse Generator's target to 'human'.
He hadn't come back just to mess with Mao Yu out of boredom, of course. Mao Yu wasn't worth that kind of special attention.
It just so happened that his device needed a test subject.
Xiang Yi adjusted the generator's output, setting it to its lowest level. At the same time, he reduced the range of the Psychic Pulse's effect to the ten meters around him.
'He had actually wanted to do this during the day, but there had been too many people. Not like now, with only one other person.'
The device might be reliable, but Xiang Yi still didn't know its actual effect on people. He had to confirm it for himself.
Xiang Yi flipped the generator's switch.
He felt a faint tickle in his brain, a slight itch, but the sensation vanished in an instant.
Just as Xiang Yi began to wonder if the device was broken, a noise came from Mao Yu's corner.
He seemed to have become agitated. A moment ago he had been reading calmly on his computer, but now he couldn't seem to settle down, constantly making fidgety noises.
The Psychic Pulse on its lowest setting seemed to be working; its effect just took hold slowly and continuously.
'Interesting.'
He adjusted the generator to the middle of its three settings.
"Tsk..."
The moment Xiang Yi changed the setting, Mao Yu clicked his tongue in frustration.
He started rubbing the bridge of his nose, repeatedly opening a book on his computer only to close it after a few lines. He couldn't sit still, his entire body radiating extreme anxiety.
When he switched to the middle setting, Xiang Yi finally felt a bit of agitation himself.
'It seems Spiritual Ability Users have a higher resistance to this kind of Psychic Pulse than ordinary people.'
Xiang Yi turned the generator to the highest setting.
A messy clatter of tools falling to the floor immediately came from Mao Yu's direction.
He clutched his head as he staggered to his feet, his face flushed and the veins on his forehead bulging.
He wanted to leave the workshop but couldn't find the exit; his mind seemed to be clouding over.
And Xiang Yi himself once again felt the same anxiety he had experienced back in the mines.
'Looks like the next setting, the overload level, could probably knock a normal person out cold.'
'So this was the power of a Psychic Pulse from a Level 1 Spiritual Fluctuation. It was hard to imagine the effects of a pulse from a Level 2, or even higher, fluctuation.'
Having completed the test, Xiang Yi didn't continue to torture Mao Yu and turned off the generator.
Mao Yu plopped back down into his chair, his consciousness gradually returning.
As he realized what had just happened, he suddenly lunged forward, blocking Xiang Yi's path. He pointed a finger at him and stammered, "You... did you do this..."
Xiang Yi nudged the generator aside and, with a look of utter ignorance, said, "What?"
"What did you do with that device!"
"What are you talking about?"
"It must have been you! You used that device to make me..."
SLAM—
Xiang Yi slammed his hand on the desk, cutting him off. "Don't jump to conclusions. Me? Messing with you using this device? Where's your proof? I'm right next to it, so how come I'm fine?"
"You think I specially modified an area-of-effect device just to target you? Use your head."
Mao Yu thought it over and realized that seemed to be true.
His mentor had told him this device had an area of effect. If he'd been affected, then Xiang Yi, who was even closer, should have been affected more severely. But Xiang Yi looked completely fine, just like usual.
'Could it be that I've just been too tired lately? Maybe I should go to the hospital tomorrow and get it checked out?'
Mao Yu stared at Xiang Yi for a while, his expression extremely conflicted, but in the end, he turned and went back.