It was unclear whether there was a second East District player among the therapists, so the tattooed big man and two companions stayed beside the strategist to protect him. As soon as the strategist said he was losing patience, Rebel Army members dragged someone out of the crowd, counted down for ten seconds, and killed him. Then they went to drag out another person.
The therapists huddled together, trembling. When they saw yet another person fall in front of them, someone finally buckled under the pressure and shouted, "I'll talk! I'll talk!"
The strategist raised a hand, signaling his men to stop.
The therapist who spoke was fairly composed. He said in an orderly manner, "You're investigating East District players too, so you must know they all have some psychological issues. Their problems are more severe than those of players in our Sub-district. You can tell by comparing them with Rebel Army players..."
"To be honest, we really don't know anything about the surgery you mentioned. We're just ordinary therapists, responsible only for helping players work through their emotional problems. We don't get involved in anything else, nor do we have the authority to."
"But after working with them for a long time, we've noticed some things." Before the strategist could lose his temper, the therapist hurriedly continued, "It's true that many East District players have undergone craniotomies. But implanting anti-interference devices also requires opening the skull, so that alone isn't proof. Still, we therapists can access our colleagues' records. We've found that players who've had several craniotomies are much more emotionally stable—and have a much wider range of emotions—than those who've had one operation or none at all."
"Wider range?" the strategist repeated.
"You've seen it yourselves. East District High-level Players are all exceptionally skilled in combat. To an