Chapter 133: Intermediary (Part 2/2)
Translator: Strivon
The rumbling cry of falling water resounded next to his ears. The crushed ice of a flowing river hit his face with a cutting force like blades.
The pain was a small matter. Luo Nan strove to fix his pace, but he never had the chance to, as he went against the flow of the ever-changing Frost River Waterway. The high-speed ice floes of the cold waters enveloped him, and his feet could barely reach the ground. Despite this, he continued to move forward.
In the span of a few breaths, Luo Nan felt a pressure assault the dome of his head. Suddenly, he withdrew his head as hard rock sliced across the water's surface and dangerously cut across his scalp.
Above the layer of water was a layer of rock. There was not enough room for Luo Nan to have his head above water. He did not have time to take a deep breath just now. After he rolled for a distance, a grave chilliness had seeped into his body. He lost the sensation of his limbs and even worse, he felt a smothering in his chest. The ill consequences of lacking a reserve of oxygen had appeared in this moment. His brain was becoming stupid, and he unconsciously opened his nose and mouth, which allowed cold water to pour in.
"Gargle gargle..."
The icy water forcefully ran in from his nose. Even an iron-muscled man would find this sensation unbearable, let alone Luo Nan. Luo Nan struggled with his hands and legs a few times. His vision was a sheet of darkness. Then, a dark red glow covered his vision with only a halo in the center that emitted light. This was the standard sight of a near-death state, and it took a while to recover from.
In the corner of his peripheral vision throbbed a numeral digit to the count of ten. The guide, Nina, indicated with her soft voice.
"You have completed the stage's objective."
The immersion helmet’s power was cut off, which expelled Luo Nan consciousness from the Reality Interface. He felt the dense and sticky nutrient solution gush and flow around him. He was unable to channel and control his soul strength, so he was relying on such methods to force it back in place. Such methods were very rough.
Luo Nan muttered the twenty-word secret mantra of 'My heart’s a prison' to himself. He utilized his chanting and breathing techniques to maintain a tranquil state of mind. In the depths of his mind, the chains vibrated a few times, and his soul strength oscillated as well. Then, it ultimately stabilized. However, waves and waves of his soul strength continued to seep downward. It was like a small waterfall that rushed down from a short cliff. It formed a sort of pressure toward him.
"Excellent. Your state is more stable now." Bai Xinyan's voice entered his ears, which represented the end of today's treatment. "We can allow visitors earlier today... Terrific, right?"
She had clearly directed her later words toward someone other than Luo Nan.
The water level of the nutrient solution continued to drop at this time. Luo Nan reached out with his hands to take off his helmet, as the blood red glow of the setting sun seeped through the window. The glow diffused against the outer wall of the medical treatment pod and blended together with the nutrient solution. It created a dazzling glow to the eyes.
Luckily, Luo Nan did not really use his eyes much these days. He just naturally knew the changes outside. He used a hand to knock against the inner wall of the pod and sent a message using the HexaEar in his ear.
"Sister He. Good afternoon."
"Shouldn't it be Secretary He?" Bai Xinyan was flipping through the monitoring records, as she casually said these words.
No one acknowledged Bai Xinyan. He Yueyin wore a succinct and sharp business suit. She stood outside the medical treatment pod. Though Luo Nan likely could not see her clearly, she still did her habitual slight bow.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Luo."
There was still some time before the complete removal of the nutrient solution. He Yueyin used the HexaEar to ask Luo Nan for the details of his current state.
Luo Nan answered with 'yes's and 'well's. Some things could not really be understood and some things could not be told in a way that could be understood. It had already been a week since the matter at Frost River Reality. Luo Nan's original plan to go back to school and study died in its womb. His planned discharge from the hospital was likely canceled, as he re-entered a twenty-four-hour monitoring state. In addition, Bai Xinyan became personally responsible for him.
From the way that things were handled, the Society's judgment toward the state of Luo Nan's body was quite a negative one.
However, Luo Nan did not believe things were that bad... Unfortunately, saying such things were useless.
He Yueyin also discovered that it was useless to ask Luo Nan. In the end, she had to find a professional. She looked at Bai Xinyan, who used her hand to swipe down a flexible interface.
"A gain value hovering around -17 to -25. This is an acceptable interval. And like I said before, he is in a more stable state now."
The so-called gain value was also known as the effect value. This quantified the degree of harmonization between the body and soul. Overall, the effect value reflected whether the method, the structure, and the degree of mutual interference between the mental plane and material plane were good or not.
A positive value showed that there were positive gains, positive effects.
A negative value showed that there were negative effects.
A zero value showed no increase or decrease.
In this standard, the higher the gain value, the better. It was quite normal for a typical ability user in normal circumstances to have an increase or decrease of one or two points. Over ten points was a bit abnormal.
Luo Nan's gain value was negative, and it broke through twenty points. His case was certainly much more serious. However, a normal person would typically have his gain value avalanche when they reached this degree.
Luo Nan’s gain value could still fluctuate up and down. It showed that he was relatively stable.
"How stable is he?"
"As long as there aren't any particularly intensive fluctuations in his emotions, as long as he doesn't do any intense exercise, and as long as he takes great care, he can still live a normal life without any issues. Actually, there's no point in being overly cautious. Being active, resting, and maintaining a good mood is better than anything else. I mean, I can't really stop him if he finds a beauty to roll in the hay with. As long as he's happy, you know?"
Luo Nan had just opened the medical treatment pod and heard up to this point. He was speechless for a time. In any case, he and Bai Xinyan were in frequent contact over these past few days. They had a relatively good understanding of each other's personalities, so Luo Nan was a bit hardened to such things. He could only pretend that he had not heard anything, as he looked down to find clothes to wear.
He Yueyin looked to the side and glared at Bai Xinyan with an eye. Bai Xinyan's smile remained just as before.
Luo Nan had come in and out of the medical treatment pod over the course of the past few days. He had become accustomed to exposing his chest, back, thighs, and so on. The thickness of his figurative skin was growing. He put on the patient robes in the blink of an eye, which concluded today's session.
He knew of his own situation. Right now, Luo Nan's interest was mostly placed elsewhere. "How's the situation outside? The Order of Justice hasn't dispatched people over, right?"
He Yueyin did not answer. Instead, it was Bai Xinyan who freely spoke. "You're not even placing such importance on your own injuries. It looks like you're hoping that things are going to get big?"
"..."
So, Bai Xinyan simply took matters into her own hands and gave Luo Nan a lesson. "Look, Student Luo Nan. The battle at Frost River Reality. The scramble over some object. The number of casualties. You need to know that it’s all meaningless. Right now, everyone's focus is on the Martial Empress becoming an Extraordinary. Her might can counterbalance the Order of Justice's Archoblatum summoned holy entity. This is more critical than anything else!"
"Extraordinary..." Luo Nan recalled the final stage of the clash that night. Two powerful forces shook and throbbed back and forth in their fierce battle across space. Even if most of the battle occurred on the mental plane, the powers had occasionally gushed into the material plane and had smashed the Logic World into bits and pieces.
He only found out later on that the person who had intervened and covered An Weng's trail was the Archoblatum of the Order of Justice. The Archoblatum had borrowed the power of the Scales of Truth to do so. The other person who had intervened was Zhang Yingying's boss. She was a legendary woman known as the Martial Empress.
"It is impossible to overestimate the significance of an Extraordinary."
Bai Xinyan explained in deeper detail, "Within any one of the powers across the globe, the Extraordinaries are the symbols of power and law. In recent years, the three individuals, Ouyang Chen, the Martial Empress, You Lao, form the iron triangle of the Society. They are the foundation that stabilized the Society within Xia City. Of the three of them, two have become Extraordinaries, causing a sharp increase in the Society's influence in Xia City. The Society's power is certainly worthy of debate."
"On the other hand, Quantum Corporation made Los Angeles their own. It has become a capitalistic paradise, while the Order of Justice has made Edmonton a holy kingdom. But upon closer inspection, one power is a company that clearly chases after the maximization of gains. The other power is an order with clear-cut doctrines. What does the Society bring to the table? A way of life?... Or perhaps the Society borrows a shell that is used in a different direction."
Bai Xinyan paused slightly, and her pupils swiveled to face He Yueyin. "I heard that General He is interested in running for mayor of Xia City after retiring from the military, is that right?"