Chapter 84: The True Effect of the Drug

“What is your relationship with He Yu?” Xiao Yu raised his head and stared into the man’s eyes.

“He Yu?” Zhang Shi blinked and smiled, “She is my student. We have a good relationship. She helped me a lot with a psychology paper I published recently.”

Everything seemed normal, nothing suspicious. But why did he blink?

Xiao Yu frowned. 

Was it abnormal for people to blink?

What is the most common reaction of normal people when they were questioned by the police about someone familiar? Wouldn’t you wonder if something happened with that person? 

When people have questions in their minds, their eyes tend to shift unconsciously. Most people habitually blink when looking straight ahead or up and down, but rarely blink when looking sideways.

But… Zhang Shi wasn’t looking sideways.

Wasn’t it normal to blink when looking straight ahead? It was normal, but the issue was with his normal behavior.

Shouldn’t he be thinking about whether He Yu is in trouble? Shouldn’t his eyes be shifting? Why was he looking straight ahead and blinking normally?

Or did he already guess that the police would show up, would look for him, and ask about He Yu? Didn’t even think about it and just gave a direct answer?

Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes and asked again, “Is it just a simple teacher-student relationship?”

Seeing Xiao Yu’s habitual squint, Zhang Shi blinked again, his eyes shifting as he said, “Yes.”

‘What is he thinking,’ Xiao Yu’s mind was racing as he continued, “On January 14, you came here, right?”

“Here?” Zhang Shi nodded again. “Yes, at that time, I was working on a paper with He Yu. We studied for several hours, it seems.”

Lying… Xiao Yu smiled. Why was he so sure? Because of the smell. 

Xiao Yu had smelled two distinct scents in He Yu’s room. Whether faint or strong, both were mixed with the unmistakable scent of something that happens between men and women. 

Researching a paper on the bed?

This wasn’t evidence, and Xiao Yu couldn’t confront him with it. Knowing he was lying was enough. 

“Let’s go.” Xiao Yu looked directly at Zhang Shi. “Please come with us and cooperate in investigating a case.”

“Uh…” 

Zhang Shi’s expression finally wavered. It wasn’t panic, but a frown.

“Is it him?” Wang Dong asked Xiao Yu after their subordinates took Zhang Shi away.

“There’s suspicion, but it’s not certain,” Xiao Yu shook his head. “Let’s dig deeper.”

Just the fact that he lied meant they needed to investigate further. 

Soon, all the information about Zhang Shi was laid out in front of Xiao Yu.

“Psychology expert? Also a hypnosis expert?”

Looking at the personal details on the laptop, Xiao Yu thought for a moment and shook his head. No, to hypnotize He Yu to that extent, he must be a hypnosis master. On this point, Xiao Yu and the hypnosis expert brought in by National Security agreed.

Wasn’t it him? 

Then why did he know the police would show up and that they would question him?

Xiao Yu couldn’t figure it out.

The National Security Bureau launched an investigation into Zhang Shi. The conclusion was that he was not highly suspicious.

First of all, Zhang Shi mostly stayed at the school, except during the New Year holiday or the summer vacation when he returned to his hometown. He was an orphan and single. His so-called hometown was the orphanage where he grew up. He had been married once but divorced due to personality incompatibility. He had not sought another partner since. 

In recent years, most of Zhang Shi’s income had been donated to the orphanage. 

Xiao Yu was surprised. 

Was he really a good person?

The investigation revealed that many teachers and students had positive evaluations of Zhang Shi. He was described as gentle, down-to-earth, thrifty, kind, and possessing an extremely high teaching level. 

The five-hour interrogation conducted by National Security also ended with no doubts. Zhang Shi was released because there were no suspicious points.

***

In a laboratory.

The school had independently developed a drug for the treatment of mental illness. Xiao Yu glanced at the items inside. 

He Yu had mentioned that the laboratory was where she prepared the medicine. National Security also found some raw materials for preparing medicines inside. But this laboratory had no connection to Zhang Shi.

“Is my intuition wrong?” Xiao Yu frowned.

At this moment, he felt an urgency. 

“The other world is full of tricks, I need to return to Earth.”

‘Is he forcing me to become a monster again? No, he’s making me use my ultimate move.’

Xiao Yu let out a long breath. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were filled with numbness and coldness. His expression became indifferent, devoid of any emotional fluctuations.

He was simulating the criminal’s mind.

“If I am the mastermind behind the scenes, a hypnotist, and I’ve developed a drug, what would I do next?”

“Experiment!”

“Why not follow the formal experimental route? Because it wouldn’t work.”

“Based on He Yu’s oral formula, the drug test revealed that the main ingredients target the numbness of human pain nerves, the central nervous system of the brain, and the pain response. But the drug itself is too stimulating to the brain, causing hallucinations and making the central nervous system extremely excited… violent!”

“So, I want to test the drug illegally? Don’t I know that this is against the law?”

“I know, which is why I need someone else to conduct the experiment for me… He Yu?”

“But, if testing the drug is enough, why would I need to kill people? And in such an extremely cruel way?”

“No, killing isn’t the goal. I’m trying to… hide something? Cover up something? Or test something?”

“Does this method require the person using the drug to complete the experiment in a special way?”

“Is it, as He Yu mentioned, to turn this world into purgatory?”

“No, absolutely not. That was just a discarded pawn I deliberately set up. I intentionally had her say that. But one thing is certain: the drug is being refined again and again, becoming more perfect each time.”

“What is the effect? No pain? Immersed in fantasies? Bloodthirsty and violent? Or… devouring oneself?”

“No, none of these are the true effects. I deliberately made others see and think that way. I achieved it all through hypnosis and drugs. Even the traces of drugs left in the bodies of the deceased were intentionally left for others to find. In this way, the real effect of the drug can be hidden. But what effect?”

Xiao Yu suddenly raised his head, having a bold and absurd guess. 

It made him tremble as if an electric current was running through his body.

“Brother Wang!” Xiao Yu shouted.

“What’s wrong?” Wang Dong rushed in from outside the laboratory.

“Check the drug components left in the bodies of the last five victims, and also the drug components in Lu Jinyan’s body,” Xiao Yu said to Wang Dong, enunciating each word carefully. “You don’t need to test for anything else, just tell me if it can be addictive.”

What had he thought of? A new type of drug.