Chapter 342: The Sealed Mind

In a small rental room in Long’an City, a computer and the man sitting in front of it had been working for ten hours straight. The desk was cluttered with empty energy drink cans and leftover takeout boxes.

Sun Zhen rubbed his eyes. The screen was filled with dense lines of code as he worked to fix a bug, a task that had consumed five hours.

A sharp cry from a child upstairs pierced the air like a needle, followed by a woman’s loud voice, “Stop bullying your brother and give him back his snacks!”

Sun Zhen’s nostrils flared with annoyance. It was only 10 AM, and the noise made it impossible to work.

Grabbing a mop, he jabbed it at the ceiling, but the noise continued unabated. Plaster dust fell onto his prematurely balding head.

Sun Zhen threw down the mop and paced around, gathering the courage to go upstairs and complain. When he opened his door, he saw two men checking the apartment numbers. “Is Xiaochong living here?” one asked. “It should be,” the other replied.

Hearing the familiar name, Sun Zhen asked in surprise, “Who are you looking for?”

“Xiaochong?” KK smiled.

“You’ve got the wrong person,” Sun Zhen frowned, preparing to close the door.

At that moment, a well-dressed woman with short hair came up, complaining, “You didn’t wait for me. Climbing stairs in high heels is exhausting!”

Sun Zhen’s mouth opened slightly. “Come in,” he said.

“Here, have some tea.” Sun Zhen handed a cup of coffee to Gu You, who nodded in thanks.

“And where’s ours? Obvious gender discrimination,” KK remarked.

“What do you want?” Sun Zhen sat down. “I’m busy.”

“You’re Xiaochong, right?” Chen Shi said.

Since they were already inside, Sun Zhen couldn’t deny it. “Yes.”

After listening to Chen Shi, Sun Zhen was shocked, looking at the three of them, “You really are KK, Iron Snail, and… Grandpa Ge?”

“None other,” Chen Shi confirmed.

“I need to think about it. As a freelance programmer, I’m very busy.”

“This can’t wait. We need your hacking skills. No one in the group is better than you,” Gu You said.

Looking at Gu You’s fair, clean face, Sun Zhen blushed. “I can help, but…”

KK suddenly pulled something out, “Whoa, what’s this? Is it for… you know, back there? Programmers sure know how to have fun!”

“Shut up!” Sun Zhen snapped, snatching the item back and shoving it into a drawer.

KK casually took Sun Zhen’s phone from his pocket and examined it, “Wow, the latest iPhone. Did you sell a kidney for this?”

“Put that down.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Chen Shi scolded.

“I wasn’t stealing, just showing off my skills!” KK raised his eyebrows.

Sun Zhen was furious. After calming down, Chen Shi asked, “Regardless of whether you help us, do you know Zhou Xiao’s real identity?”

“I do.”

Chen Shi was overjoyed, “What’s his real name?”

“His name is… is… is…” Sun Zhen stuttered, unable to say the word.

The three exchanged surprised glances. Chen Shi asked, “Did you attend the Lorraine Villa gathering?”

“Yes.”

“What happened there?”

“My mind is blank.”

“Amnesia?” Chen Shi asked.

Gu You seemed to understand something, “Xiaochong, say ‘surrounding,’ ‘Wednesday,’ ‘circumference.'”

“Th… th… th…” Sun Zhen stammered again, unable to form the words.

“He’s been brainwashed. He can’t say anything related to ‘Zhou,'” Gu You explained.

“Easy!” KK clapped. “Just write it down.”

“You think you’re smart?” Sun Zhen glared at him. “I can’t even form the word on paper. I avoid saying it altogether. When I try to say it, my mind goes blank.”

“What if you say ‘that person’ instead?” Chen Shi suggested.

Sun Zhen shook his head, “That won’t work either. Language carries thought. If I say ‘that person,’ I think of his name, and my mind freezes. I can’t think, write, or speak anything related to that word.”

“Is such a thing possible?” Chen Shi asked Gu You in surprise.

“It is, but the methods are highly inhumane and involve certain psychoactive drugs,” Gu You replied.

“My brain has been patched. When I think about him, it skips over automatically,” Sun Zhen pointed to his temple.

KK suddenly laughed, “Good thing your surname isn’t Zhou, or you wouldn’t even know your own name.”

“Why didn’t he kill you? Was he sparing talent?” Chen Shi asked.

“Yeah…” Sun Zhen frowned, trying to recall without triggering the mental block. “He and I share the same profession. That’s all I can offer right now.”

“I think he could be valuable. I’ll try to reverse the brainwashing and restore his memory,” Gu You said.

Sun Zhen suddenly stood up, “Great, I’ll join you. This patch in my brain has caused me so much trouble. My girlfriend left me because of it. If you can help, that would be wonderful.”

“What’s your girlfriend’s name?” KK asked.

“Her name is… is… is…” Sun Zhen stammered again.

KK laughed so hard he nearly fell over, “I get it now. The breakup must have been like, ‘You don’t even remember my name, you jerk!'”

“If he mocks me one more time, I’m out,” Sun Zhen said seriously.

“Shut your mouth!” Chen Shi told KK.

KK mimed zipping his lips.

Sun Zhen, having worked all night, planned to sleep. He said they would meet in the evening, and Chen Shi agreed, “Let’s meet at 8 PM. I’ll send you the address.”

KK, looking serious, said, “Today is Wednesday. Can we finish by the end of the week? Are there any landmarks around?”

Sun Zhen made a gesture and mouthed, “Fuck you!”

Chen Shi spent the day furnishing the rental with sofas, a water dispenser, a coffee machine, and an old laptop from home. By 8 PM, he was there early. Gu You arrived second, carrying a signal detector, “I removed all the bugs you planted in my home. Installing them in a single woman’s home, shame on you!”

“Sorry,” Chen Shi said with a grin, showing no remorse.

Gu You scanned the place for suspicious devices. When she lifted a cardboard box, she found Tao Yueyue squatting underneath…