SES Chapter 196 Part 2

On the handle, two letters were left blank: L.R.

Luo Ren stared at it for a long time. “Are you stupid? How can you tattoo something so violent—a knife or a sword—on your body?”

Mu Dai lowered her eyes, wearing an expression that said, It’s already done.

“And my name, too. If you get a new boyfriend in the future and he sees it, won’t he be furious?”

She knew he was teasing her and didn’t get angry. She lifted her chin, that same defiant do-whatever-you-want look.

Luo Ren laughed. After a pause, he said softly, “Lower your body a bit.”

She didn’t understand, but she leaned down slightly anyway. Luo Ren wrapped one arm around her and pressed his palm against her back. She wasn’t prepared—cried out softly and fell against him.

Her mind buzzed: He’s injured—I shouldn’t press on him.

Flustered, she quickly braced herself on the pillow. Before she could recover, warmth suddenly touched her collarbone.

Luo Ren was kissing her tattoo.

What was she supposed to do now?

Mu Dai’s face turned bright red. Standing up wasn’t right, staying wasn’t right either. She awkwardly supported herself, her collarbone tingling with warmth and electricity, tiny currents dancing across her skin.

Aoki was still watching, wasn’t he? Blushing, she sneaked a glance at the observation window. Aoki had already turned his back, arms folded, shoulders facing her direction—motionless as a mountain.

Her thoughts were a mess. Seriously, seriously, seriously…

Seriously what? Even she couldn’t say.

Dazed, she suddenly heard Luo Ren say softly, “I’m sorry, Mu Dai.”

Her body trembled. Her eyes slowly warmed. She looked down at him. “Sorry for what?”

“I know I didn’t do well this time. I dragged you into it.”

Mu Dai smiled. She reached out and gently traced his brows and eyes. “Luo Xiaodao, no one gets everything right every time. You led us—people who knew nothing—and took care of us all the way. Now you rest. Let us take care of you. That’s only fair.”

Without you, we’d never have made it this far. When you got tired, we all worked together to give you a push. How good is that? Everyone passes. Everyone… stays safe.

Luo Ren tired easily after just waking up. Mu Dai didn’t let him talk. She tucked in the blanket and chatted softly, telling him everything.

The sixth vicious slip had been secured. The water-shadow street performance was even more realistic than last time. That dog really could read—even fortune-tellers who’d seen everything found it amazing.

According to Senior Brother, Leopard seemed to be dead. Interpol had taken over and conducted a physical examination. His spine was shattered—he had no capacity for movement at all. They found it strange; earlier results had shown the same thing. How could someone destined to spend the rest of his life lying flat, waiting to die, have entered the country?

Luo Ren’s car had been retrieved too. “Owner” Uncle Zheng showed up, signed the papers, paid the fine, and got a thorough scolding.

Tasha had undergone several more rounds of psychological rehabilitation. The doctors regretfully said that because she was so young, the effects of the brainwashing couldn’t be erased. She still harbored an almost innate hostility toward Luo Ren.

Because of this, Mu Dai specifically called Dr. He Ruihua. After some thought, he said, “Even if Tasha recovers in the future, Luo Ren may still be like a shadow to her. It’s like how children fear monsters in the closet—even when they grow up, that fear lingers in the subconscious.”

It was a wound that didn’t bleed or scab. Malice had been implanted, entwined with the flesh to the death—unseen, untouchable, coexisting.

Mu Dai suspected the seventh vicious slip might be on Tasha. During this time, she asked Aoki to arrange a meeting. They tested Tasha with the blood of five people. Tasha sat on a small white stool in the rehab room, humming “Hey Diddle Diddle,” completely unresponsive to the blood smeared on her forehead…

As she spoke, Mu Dai suddenly realized something and stopped. “Luo Xiaodao, does it take too much effort to listen? We’re not in a hurry. I can tell you slowly later.”

He said softly, “How could we not be in a hurry? Twenty-four days. Seven times seven—more than halfway already.”

Mu Dai sighed quietly.

Back to facing the vicious slips again.

But the good news was—it was the last one.

As she was thinking this, Luo Ren suddenly spoke.

“Mu Dai, back then, the one who was brainwashed was one of your personalities—Little Pocket, right? How… did you do it?”

How did she do it?

Her thoughts drifted back to that brick building with the concrete floor, the high ventilation window, and the signal tower in the distance.

She’d seen Tasha attacking friend and foe alike, and from Leopard’s words, she’d sensed the ominous possibility that he might brainwash her too.

She couldn’t be controlled. And even if she was, she had to hold onto the switch that would let her come back.

“There was a ventilation window high up. Through it, you could see the signal tower. At night, the light blinked on and off at regular intervals.”

“I timed it. The interval was about three seconds.”

The most common tools for self-hypnosis or hypnotizing others are clocks—one second per tick. That signal tower ticked every three seconds. It was a natural clock, sent by fate, without the defining shape of a clock face.

That night, in the darkness, she stared at the blinking light endlessly.

“So the trigger you set to wake up from hypnosis… was my whistle?”

Yes. She’d thought about it for a long time.

Dr. He taught her that awakening cues could take many forms: a specific phrase, a stimulating scene, a unique sound.

All were too difficult to set. Too simple, and there’d be false triggers—bells ring everywhere; simple phrases could be spoken by Leopard or his men by accident. Too complex, and she might never wake up. And how would she convey the cue to Luo Ren so they could figure it out one day?

“You said it yourself—one of a kind. Eurys and Aoki could try forever and never learn it.”

Luo Ren’s whistle was the safest, most practical choice.

“And then? That’s the wake-up switch. But even if the primary personality wakes up, Little Pocket is still there—and she’s no longer the same Little Pocket. How did you ensure the primary personality could suppress her immediately? And how could you guarantee such a rapid switch?”

Last time, after Lian Shu’s scheme, the condition for the primary personality’s return was that all personalities shared one goal: protecting Mu Dai.

But this time was different. Little Pocket had effectively defected.

Mu Dai slowly sat up straighter. She pulled the chair closer, her chest rising and falling. She brushed back her hair and, unconsciously, licked her lips.

Her seriousness made Luo Ren uneasy.

“Dr. He once told me that when the primary personality has absolute dominance and there are no clearly deviated secondary personalities, control and guidance are possible. But when personalities turn on each other, harm one another, or endanger people around them, he recommends… eliminating them one by one.”

“Luo Ren, I couldn’t leave a personality inside me that obeyed Leopard completely and wanted you dead at all times. My mental state was stable because whether it was Little Pocket or Mu Dai No. 2, their inclinations aligned with my primary personality. But once Little Pocket stood on the opposite side, it was impossible to know whether she’d cause instability—or which personality would ultimately take control.”

“So?”

“So I performed a nested hypnosis… on myself.”

The primary personality was hypnotized, and at the same time, the secondary personality was hypnotized as well.

The primary personality stepped aside and entered dormancy. The awakening trigger was Luo Ren’s whistle.

The secondary personality took over—but before it fully awakened, it received a subconscious command. Its trigger was also Luo Ren’s whistle.

“What was that subconscious command?”

“…Suicide.”

In that instant, the room fell into a terrifying silence.