Chapter 2: Her Hypnotism
Mǐ Qiū rested her head on her hand and waited, yawning as she scrolled through articles on the StarNet about hypnotism techniques. The original owner had a habit of writing notes, which detailed her hypnosis records and every exhaustive step of the process.
The fiber-optic boat arrived.
Mǐ Qiū’s nose, however, alerted her even before she saw it. Her sense of smell was excellent, and the potent scent of male pheromones bursting forth had already begun to linger in the cabin, refusing to dissipate…
The reason Mǐ Qiū was so sensitive was that the liberal arts major she had chosen in university had a severely skewed male-to-female ratio.
She was still single and had never even experienced the simple act of holding hands with a romantic partner.
Mǐ Qiū composed herself, determined to welcome the men with whom she would be spending a period of amicable coexistence.
In the distance, she could make out their silhouettes: three tall figures, each approaching 1.9 meters, with broad shoulders and narrow waists.
The man leading the way off the boat was dressed in a blue-black military uniform with gold trim. The faint light of the night sky accentuated his handsome figure, and his white hair was particularly striking.
From what she understood, this man, named Zhù Shāngchén, had a spiritual body that was a white snow leopard. His eyes were a pale blue, but they held no expression as they looked at her. The moment he stepped onto the island, Mǐ Qiū extended a hand to him with a graceful smile.
“My name is Mǐ Qiū. I’m a Guide. Welcome.”
The man seemed not to have heard her, striding past without a flicker of acknowledgment. His long legs forced her to practically scurry to keep up. A long stride was truly an advantage, but it was clear her warmth had yet to melt his icy demeanor.
The red-haired man following closely behind responded in his stead. “Hi! Guide Mǐ Qiū, I read your file before we came. You’re a very skilled hypnotist.”
“You could say that,” Mǐ Qiū replied to the man who was speaking to her.
A golden glint flickered in the red-haired man’s eyes. He tilted his head to look at her and gave a faint smile. Dressed in a silver-gray windbreaker, he casually slung three large bags over his shoulder.
“It’s getting late. Could we trouble you to find a few rooms for us, Guide Mǐ Qiū?”
Mǐ Qiū had already prepared for this. She led the three men to their respective rooms, each one spacious. They must have been tired from the journey, so Mǐ Qiū turned on the hot water heaters so they could take a hot shower.
Now, Mǐ Qiū sat on a tall, red stool, finishing up the email she hadn’t had time to read earlier. The red-haired man was Shěn Qīnghuái, and his spiritual body was a golden wolf—a species of spiritual body that was exceedingly rare in the interstellar community. In this galaxy, it was a breed superior to all other wolves, and its pupils had a reddish-gold hue, which matched his perfectly.
Mǐ Qiū continued scrolling through the key information on the other two. Okay, she could now jot down in her light-brain’s notes that the Sentinels staying on the second floor were Zhù Shāngchén, Shěn Qīnghuái, and Hè Chí.
Just as she finished, a man’s voice called down from the second floor. It was Shěn Qīnghuái, his tone slightly muffled. “Guide Mǐ Qiū, there’s no hot water in my room?”
That was strange. She was sure she had opened the hot water valve. She had no choice but to go up and check. Her footsteps pattered up the stairs to the second floor. She knocked before entering.
Shěn Qīnghuái had taken off his windbreaker, and the form-fitting black t-shirt he wore underneath accentuated every muscle of his abdomen. When he stood up, Mǐ Qiū’s head only reached his chest. A slight glance upward was all it took to see his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Thankfully, they weren’t standing too close. She took a slow step back. Each room had its own private bathroom.
She went into the bathroom and saw that the red indicator light for the hot water was indeed off. Mǐ Qiū had to go back down to the first floor to check the main system, where she finally identified the cause.
“I’m so sorry, the water heater for this room is broken. You’ll just have to switch rooms. I checked the one next door, and the hot water is working fine.”
With the problem finally solved, Mǐ Qiū thought she needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. For no other reason than that most of them had already started showering, and it was inappropriate for her to stay, especially so late at night. Mǐ Qiū returned to her own cabin.
She let out a sigh of relief. As it turned out, Sentinels weren’t as terrifying as she had imagined when their spiritual bodies weren’t in turmoil. Everyone had been quite friendly so far, with kind eyes and gentle words.
At least she could get a good night’s sleep tonight. As for the hypnotic therapy, that could wait.
Mǐ Qiū passed the night peacefully. The sun rose as usual. The day before, she had input her desired ingredients and breakfast style into Xiao Měi. The robot was scheduled to start cooking at 9:15 in the morning, and after it finished, it would deliver the breakfast to each of their doors and double as an alarm clock to wake them up.
Thanks to Xiao Měi’s existence, Mǐ Qiū was spared a lot of trouble. By the time she got up, her food was already almost cold.
Mǐ Qiū ate her meal in her room, thinking that she couldn’t afford to be lazy today. This therapy was meant to be a long-term process, and it was, after all, the second most important job she had to do on the island.
She had a general understanding of the relevant hypnotic techniques. After holing up in her room for another three days, she had finally managed to master the basics.
The hypnosis sessions were scheduled for around ten o’clock at night. At this time, people tend to enter deep sleep, which would make them more cooperative and the process more efficient.
And so, at ten o’clock sharp, Mǐ Qiū entered Zhù Shāngchén’s room.
She had informed him of the scheduled treatment time in advance, so naturally, Zhù Shāngchén had no objections.
Mǐ Qiū prepared her hypnotic instrument. It had a pair of pink bunny ears that she wore on her head, while the other end had to be connected to his abdomen.
Mǐ Qiū said, “You need to lift your shirt a little.”
The man lifted his shirt. Mǐ Qiū gently attached the instrument’s clips to his abs. Zhù Shāngchén let out a low, deep hiss of pain as the sleep-inducing ointment applied to the tip of the clips took effect.
But getting him to sleep was only the first step. Mǐ Qiū tried using her method to open his spiritual sea. There, in that vast mental ocean, she saw his true self.
In the spiritual sea, the pure white snow leopard that was fighting against itself was covered in wounds. Blood still seeped from the scabbed-over gashes, and the injured leopard could only silently lick its own wounds. Mǐ Qiū tried to approach it slowly, but its sharp claws slashed her left hand.
A moment later, the snow leopard broke free from the chains binding it and lunged at her.
Mǐ Qiū had no time to dodge. She threw her arms around its waist from the side, and although it didn’t seem to do much, it did allow her to escape the worst of the attack.
Then, in a soft voice, she began to gently stroke its head. At the same time, her real hand slid up and down Zhù Shāngchén’s abdomen.
But her fingertips had already grown ice-cold. Now, she had to dive deeper into the most profound pain, to touch the source of his nightmare.
The two of them plunged into the dreamscape together.
She knew very well how difficult this night would be. If she could make it through, her hypnotism would be a complete success.
The dream was as real as life. The first fragmented scene emerged in her mind.
It was the birthplace of the inner demon deep within his heart.
Her body sank with the slightest movement. Alright, this was a wartime hiding spot—a haystack about two meters deep.
From above their heads came the whoosh of bullets being loaded and fired, streaking across the sky before exploding with a deafening boom right beside their ears!
Mǐ Qiū could no longer hesitate. She performed the soothing action required of her in that moment, lowering her lips and pressing them firmly against his.
The sensation was cool, tingling, and numbing. She had to make him remember this feeling, this warmth. The pain in his heart was only temporary. Mǐ Qiū remembered the basic method of soothing, but her application of it felt anything but natural.
But at least, at least she had tried. Even if it was difficult, there was no shame in having tried. She was clearly still incredibly green at this.
Her next move was to slide her hand toward the collar of his shirt and gently kiss his Adam’s apple. Zhù Shāngchén’s body grew feverishly hot, the tips of his ears turning crimson. Once that feeling of pleasure was experienced, it was very difficult to stop.
He seized Mǐ Qiū’s wrist, his initial movements restrained and slow. But then, with overwhelming and irrepressible desire, he crushed his lips against hers. Amidst the excruciating memories of war, he gradually found himself again, covering and enveloping the woman’s soft red lips, slowly prying past her clenched teeth…
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