Carmen's Lingering Fear, the Simple Signal Detector, and Yu Yuan's Persecution Complex

"Commander Carmen, the defenses are ready..."

"Good. Have the men check them again. I'll be over in a bit..."

Carmen dismissed the thug with a smile and returned to his room.

The moment he closed the door, the composure he had forced himself to maintain crumbled.

He leaned against the door, breathing hard, his eyes full of fear.

He had come so close to dying.

He could tell that if he had said even one wrong thing, Hogg really would have attacked.

Even after leaving Hogg's office, Carmen had not dared to let his guard down.

He kept feeling as though an unseen pair of eyes was watching him from behind, waiting for him to reveal a weakness or... let his disguise slip.

Yu Yuan had remained within Carmen's mind. Since Carmen left Hogg's office, Yu Yuan had not said a word.

He knew all too well how dangerous the situation had been. He could not risk distracting Carmen.

The slightest misstep, even a hint of unusual behavior from Carmen, might have caught Hogg's attention.

Now that he felt Carmen's emotions spilling out, Yu Yuan knew they were safe for the moment.

Even so, he stayed silent.

He waited while Carmen let out his pent-up tension and brought his thoughts and emotions back under control...

A long while passed...

Carmen's breathing finally steadied. After several deep breaths, he moved away from the door and sat down.

Click—

He lit a cigarette.

Warm smoke filled his mouth, then his lungs. The nicotine prompted his brain to release dopamine, swiftly soothing his nerves.

"We should be all right now. Hogg believes me for the moment," Carmen said in his mind.

"It seems the deaths of Old Ke and the other three, including Cold Crow, really shook Hogg. He feels threatened."

Yu Yuan's