The professor stared, speechless, his mouth agape. The young man continued:
"We certainly didn't think this was some kind of joke like fluorescent ink, so we quickly found professionals to analyze it."
"The conclusion is that although the handwriting emits pale blue visible light, it is fundamentally different from any type of radiation we know of, whether ionizing or non-ionizing."
The professor reached up and pushed up his glasses:
"Go on."
"So we consulted more professionals, and after combining everyone's deductions, we came up with two possibilities."
"One possibility is that during the process of playing this unknown game, your real body underwent some imperceptible change, leading to this residual radiation."
"Another possibility is that your physical body has no problems, and the change is in your consciousness, which we are very reluctant to call 'soul'."
The professor nodded in understanding, gradually accepting this premise that had created a rift in his worldview, and then asked:
"So, are you going to the hospital now to verify the first possibility?"
The young man nodded.
"Although our current technology may not be able to detect anything, we still want to prioritize your safety as much as possible."
"Those two writings just now?"
"It's about exploring the patterns of triggering."
The young man explained:
"Given that you haven't left any handwritten annotations at the research institute recently, the sampling we can perform is very limited."
"A psychologist said that despite your deliberate suppression of emotions and attempts to avoid personal feelings, she could still tell that you were emotionally unstable when you wrote that report."
"That's true."
The professor, recalling his memory of writing the report by hand that day, expressed his approval.
"The experiment in the game has yielded results, and the problem that had been bothering me has been solved. Perhaps I was indeed too excited."
He thought for a moment and then said:
"So, the tone you used just now was also to get me into a similar state?"
"Yes, that's why it's so offensive."
The professor smiled and waved:
"It's okay, but this method can only be used once."
"One visit is enough for now. Once you get to the hospital, you and the team leader can go for a medical check-up. I'll handle the handwriting issue."
"OK."
The professor unconsciously gripped the armrest inside the minivan.
"Is this new type of radiation you discovered harmful to the human body?"
The young man shook his head:
"It's impossible to say for sure at the moment, but based on your answer... at least there haven't been any observable effects yet, either for you or for your family."
"You also need to recall if you did anything in the game that was different from what others did; we will also pay attention to this possibility."
The heavy rain pattered against the glass, and the professor's gaze unconsciously swept across the rain outside.
Did I do anything different from others?
No, right?
While most players are undeniably eccentric, how could those things possibly affect reality?
unless...
Staring at the rain outside the window, the professor suddenly thought of something—something that only he had done, and which none of the other players he knew had done.
That is, after the upgrade, the special attribute points were added to the [ Psionic Energy Compatibility ] attribute.
While there are certainly more than one player who did this, he was indeed the only one among the players the professor knew.
[ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] put all his points into [ Animal Compatibility ] in order to Dragon Transformation, [ Dawn Ah ] chose [ Plant Compatibility ], and [ Backstabbing Expert ] put one point into both plants and animals.
The professor turned to look at the young man:
"I do recall something rather unusual, something that none of the players I know have done..."
After briefly describing the relevant concepts and procedures, the young man fell completely silent, and even the middle-aged man driving in front didn't know what to say.
After all, adding skill points is all too common in games. The professor's words felt as absurd as someone spending a lot of money in a web game and finding themselves stronger in real life.
In their vision, the professor might be irradiated by unknown minerals, bitten by magical creatures, or watched by mysterious beings... In short, it could be any method that appears in superhero movies, but it would never be a simple matter of adding points to a game character.
After processing the news, the middle-aged man asked the professor behind him:
"How about... having your two students cooperate with the test, and controlling the variables? This would allow us to further confirm the relationship between radiation and [ Psionic Energy Compatibility ] stat points."
"Sure, but how can we get them excited?"
The young man had an idea and immediately said:
"How about having them come to you in person to present their papers?"
They were already mentally prepared.
The middle-aged man in front sighed:
"Alright, then we'll have to use that trick."
"What?"
"Ah-ha, senior brother, the teacher is absent today!"
"So what?"
"So I'm planning to go back to my dorm and play a game of Spectre..."
"Don't even think about it. If you get found out, you're finished."
"That's true, but I've clearly completed my task. Wait, what's this message from the teacher?"
Lü Yang looked at the phone screen that had suddenly lit up.
"What's up?"
Li Yu also joined in, and the two of them crowded in front of the small phone screen. The younger student whispered the teacher's message:
"You and Li Yu each need to write a 200-word summary of the report..."
"Does it have to be handwritten? And I have to tell him when I'm done writing it? What the heck?"
The two exchanged a puzzled look and began extracting keywords from the group meeting report that was supposed to be held that afternoon.
Although the task was a bit odd, the teacher's reputation was still very reliable; he would never make them do anything strange.
Ten minutes later, the two looked at the papers in front of them and received a second message from the teacher:
"Bring your report and come to the hospital to see me."
"Ah?"
The confusion in their eyes turned to horror, Li Yu pointed in the direction of the laboratory:
"Go get your umbrella and coat, I'll go hail a taxi."
"Good."
Twenty minutes later, the two appeared at the hospital ward door, panting heavily.
The two, breathless, leaned against the doorframe and looked at their teacher on the hospital bed.
The teacher who was kind and gentle yesterday is... well, still kind and gentle, but now lying in bed. Yesterday she had a rosy complexion, but today... well, still rosy complexion.
The two of them felt something was wrong as they looked at each other, and they almost asked the teacher directly what the problem was.
At this moment, the young man in black closed the ward door behind the two, led them to a small table, gave them paper and pens, and then said earnestly:
You must listen carefully to what I'm about to say.
Lü Yang looked intently at the man in black, gripping the pen in his hand tightly:
"Did you see a mermaid?"