Chapter 389: The Crazed Programmer
Chen Shi said, “It looks like we need to start investigating from Shida Company.”
Gu You suggested, “I want to try hypnotizing Xiao Chong to see if we can counteract the brainwashing effect.”
“What’s the success rate?” Chen Shi asked.
“It’s worth a try,” Gu You replied.
She had Sun Zhen lie down. Given his trust in her, Sun Zhen quickly entered a hypnotic state after a few guiding words. Gu You spoke softly in his ear, “Try to say the word ‘Zhou’.”
In his hypnotized state, Sun Zhen shook his head vigorously. “I can’t say it! I can’t say it!”
“What do you feel when you think of this word? Fear? Anxiety?” she asked.
“Fear, it’s fear!” he responded.
“It seems that person must have tortured you. Don’t worry, you’re safe with us now. Try to think of the word in your mind. You might feel a bit scared, but it’s okay, I’m right here with you,” Gu You reassured him, holding his hand.
Sun Zhen, sweating profusely, struggled and stuttered, “Zh… zh… zh…”
With Gu You’s continuous encouragement, Sun Zhen finally managed to say, “Zhou! Zhou! Zhou!”
“That’s amazing, it actually worked!” KK exclaimed.
“This is just a small step,” Chen Shi noted. Zhou Xiao’s brainwashing had deeply associated this information with intense fear. Gu You was using systematic desensitization to gradually reduce his fear.
“Now, say the name ‘Zhou Tianan’,” Gu You instructed.
“Zhou… Zhou…” Sun Zhen suddenly sat up, eyes wide open, sweating heavily. “No, I can’t say it!”
“Is he waking up?” KK asked in surprise.
Gu You shook her head, “The brainwashing is too deep. It may require long-term treatment to completely remove this ‘patch’.”
Chen Shi proposed, “I have an idea. What if he sees Zhou Tianan in person? Would he remember everything in an instant?”
“Such a strong stimulus could also make him break down instantly,” Gu You cautioned.
Sun Zhen said, “I want to try. I want to do something to help you catch him.”
Chen Shi agreed, “Since we know his name, I’ll go to the station to find his photo. You all wait for me.”
An hour later, Chen Shi returned. “I found dozens of people named Zhou Tianan in the household registry database. We’ll try them one by one.”
“Wait,” Gu You said, looking at Sun Zhen. “Let’s put him back into a hypnotic state first. This time I’ll take him into a deep trance to give his mind a buffer.”
“I trust Gu You,” Sun Zhen said.
Gu You gave him a glass of water, and after drinking it, Sun Zhen lay down again. Following Gu You’s guidance, he quickly entered a hypnotic state. Gu You hypnotized him three times, each session deeper than the last. By now, Sun Zhen could only hear Gu You’s voice, entering a state similar to a dream.
“Open your eyes,” Gu You instructed.
Sun Zhen opened his eyes. KK commented, “That’s creepy, like a zombie.”
Gu You explained, “His consciousness is deeply hypnotized. Even with his eyes open, it’s like seeing through frosted glass… Chen, let’s begin.”
Chen Shi showed Sun Zhen the photos one by one, asking each time, “Is this him?”
Sun Zhen shook his head each time, his body language showing extreme tension, like someone playing Russian roulette with a revolver against their head.
When they reached a particular photo, Sun Zhen suddenly jerked and thrashed as if electrocuted. Gu You tried to calm him down, but he was too agitated. KK ran over and kissed Sun Zhen’s forehead hard.
Sun Zhen instantly relaxed, smiling peacefully.
Gu You looked at KK in surprise. KK grinned, “How was my move, Gu You?”
“No comment,” Gu You smiled. “Xiao Chong, when I count to three, you will wake up. One, two, three!”
Sun Zhen sat up, gasping for breath like a drowning man. He blushed, looking at Gu You, “Gu You, just now…”
“Yes, Gu You kissed you,” KK said, stirring up trouble.
Gu You didn’t know how to react. Given Sun Zhen’s fragile state, she decided not to correct KK.
Chen Shi held the photo up to Sun Zhen. “Xiao Chong, do you still feel afraid when you see this face?”
Sun Zhen stared at the photo for a few seconds, then shook his head and smiled shyly. “No, I just think about Gu You’s kiss and feel excited!”
“Pavlov’s dog,” KK commented.
“Shut up!” Sun Zhen threw a shoe at him.
“Ahem, back to the point. Who is he?” Chen Shi asked.
“Zhou Tianan!” Sun Zhen said firmly. “He was my colleague.”
“What happened in 2007? What’s his connection to Shida Company?”
“Give me another glass of water,” Sun Zhen said. After drinking and wiping his mouth, he continued, “I met Zhou Tianan online. We were kindred spirits. I was still in school; he was working at an IT company with a monthly salary of 10k yuan. To a nerd like me, he was a big deal. I called him ‘brother’. We often hung out. One year, we hacked the Japanese embassy’s website together.
“In 2007, he got a project to develop a virtual engine for a game. This engine was like the physical laws in a virtual world, determining how far a stone would fly when thrown, how fast things would fall, etc.”
“Got it, no need to explain,” KK interrupted.
Sun Zhen continued, “Back then, China was behind in this technology, almost non-existent. Zhou Tianan saw it as a challenge and took it on. The company paid him a year’s salary in advance and allowed him to work from home. He got me to help with some tasks and even paid me. This project was a huge undertaking. We worked tirelessly, often running into bugs. The more patches we added, the worse it got, driving us crazy.
“To cope with the stress, Zhou Tianan started using hallucinogens, indirectly I found out. I suspected he had a mental breakdown. Once he asked me online, ‘Sun Zhen, do you think our world might be a virtual game?’ He found materials on holographic theories and multi-dimensional hypotheses, believing the material world was just a virtual projection… I felt he was going insane and suggested he stop working so hard, but he was completely immersed.
“Maybe you can’t understand this feeling. Coding is different from writing novels. Novelists can make up stories on the fly, but a single bug in code can crash the entire program, undoing weeks or months of work. There are news stories of programmers committing suicide; this is why.”