Shortly after, Zhou Tianming arrived near Lacus's doorway with a Mental Blocking Helmet tucked under his arm.
"White Rabbit, continuously monitor Mindpower reserves and depletion rate."
"Understood."
He stepped closer to the door.
White Rabbit gave no alerts, indicating no abnormalities.
Zhou Tianming sighed in relief and pressed the intercom button beside the door. "Lacus, I need you to close your eyes or block our line of sight with something between us."
"Okay." After a moment, "I'm ready."
The door slid open, revealing Lacus holding White Rabbit's large head in front of her face like a rabbit hood.
Entering the room, Zhou Tianming raised the helmet above his head. "White Rabbit?"
"No abnormalities."
He turned to Lacus. "Alright, look into my eyes!"
Lacus lowered the rabbit head slightly, her gray eyes meeting Zhou Tianming's gaze. Her eyes flickered briefly when she noticed the bandage on his right hand.
They maintained eye contact for several seconds without any alerts from White Rabbit, finally putting Zhou Tianming at ease.
Lowering the helmet, he said, "It's safe now."
Clutching White Rabbit to her chest, Lacus adopted a serious expression. "Then, Brother Tianming, can you tell me what's really going on?"
Zhou Tianming omitted details about enemies and Coordinators, explaining everything else to Lacus.
Her mouth fell open in astonishment, but after studying Zhou Tianming's earnest expression for a long moment, she finally nodded. "It sounds incredible, but I believe you wouldn't lie to me, Brother Tianming."
Zhou Tianming felt slightly guilty but maintained his composed demeanor. "Right, I wouldn't lie to you."
Lacus smiled, then suddenly paused, her gray eyes fixed intently on Zhou Tianming's face.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She shook her head with a smile.
"Since everything's fine, we should head back quickly before Mother and the others start worrying."
With that, Zhou Tianming turned and left the room.
Lacus stared intently at his retreating back, whispering softly, "I felt it... you were lying, Brother..."
After repeatedly confirming no abnormalities around the Bridge, Zhou Tianming piloted the Black Tortoise back to base.
The full-speed operation had taken them quite far, and they only returned to Mendel's vicinity around 4 PM.
The Black Tortoise's approach naturally drew attention, with numerous Junk Dealers coming to greet them, making Zhou Tianming feel like a panda on display.
Initially trying to appear approachable, he eventually found his facial muscles stiffening, losing sensation of his own expressions.
Zhou Tianming decided to adopt a deadpan persona from now on - this wasn't a job ordinary people could handle.
Disconnecting the final communication, he rubbed his cheeks with both hands.
Swish
The sound of the hatch opening made him turn to look.
Lacus stumbled in, her face pale and drenched in sweat, kneeling unsteadily on the floor. Her delicate features were contorted as she clutched her head.
Startled, Zhou Tianming rushed over to support her.
"What happened?"
"My head hurts terribly..." Lacus gritted her teeth, struggling to speak through the pain. "There's a buzzing in my ears, and these... rustling sounds forcing their way in." Her brow furrowed.
A side effect?
So this massive amount of Mental Power was indeed affecting her, but why now?
"When did you start feeling unwell?"
Zhou Tianming helped Lacus up and guided her to a nearby seat.
Still clutching her head, Lacus had pink bangs plastered to her forehead with cold sweat. "Just moments ago. It felt like something suddenly drilled into my mind." Just now?
Nothing particularly unusual seemed to have occurred.
Seeing Lacus in agony, Zhou Tianming set aside the cause for now and focused on solutions.
The answer wasn't hard to find—any Mindpower-related issue could be crudely resolved with the Mental Blocking Helmet, designed specifically to sever such influences.
"Hang in there." Zhou Tianming returned to the captain's chair.
He opened the storage compartment beneath it and retrieved a helmet.
He'd originally dismissed this low-tech, brute-force device, but after previous incidents, he kept one nearby just in case.
After fitting the helmet onto Lacus, he asked concernedly, "How is it? Any effect? If not, tell me immediately so I can try something else."
Lacus took several deep breaths, her complexion gradually stabilizing. "The rustling sounds are gone, though there's still some tinnitus."
Zhou Tianming exhaled in relief. "Good, it's working."
"Rest for now. Later we'll need to identify the source of the problem. Can you hold on?"
"Yes." Lacus nodded.
"Good girl."
Blushing, she murmured, "I'm not a child anymore."
"Youth is wasted on the young. Growing up brings its own pains."
Zhou Tianming poked the helmet and gave it a firm push.
Lacus swayed backward, steadying the helmet with both hands while her gray eyes fixed deeply on Zhou Tianming.
"White Rabbit, compile a timeline of events following Lacus's onset of symptoms."
Zhou Tianming sat beside Lacus, waiting as White Rabbit organized the data.
Seconds later, a chronological list appeared on the translucent screen before them.
Together, they began reviewing the timeline.
Zhou Tianming noticed Lacus's symptoms intensified as the Black Tortoise approached Mendel.
Mendel itself was just an ordinary satellite—it couldn't be the issue.
Eliminating that left only one variable: people.
The population around the Black Tortoise had increased near Mendel.
Considering Lacus's innate talent as a Coordinator, Zhou Tianming reached a conclusion—Mental Power resonance had activated her ability.
"Could you make out those rustling sounds clearly?"
Lacus tilted her head in thought, the oversized helmet sliding slightly until she readjusted it. "It sounded like multiple voices overlapping, but I couldn't distinguish the words."
Confirmed. She was passively reading Coordinators' thoughts.
Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.
I'm a Coordinator too. Could it be...
Zhou Tianming's face twitched as he forced an awkward smile. "Lacus, do you sense anything unusual about me?"
Lacus maintained her perfectly polite smile. "No."
"Really?"
"Really." Lacus blinked her moist gray eyes. "Is there something Brother Tian Ming doesn't want me to know?"
"Of course not!" he declared with exaggerated seriousness.
Lacus gazed quietly at Zhou Tianming. After a long moment of eye contact, she smiled sweetly. "I believe you, Brother Tian Ming."
His heart ached!
Was this the pain of deceiving a young girl?
Overwhelmed with guilt, Zhou Tianming quickly changed the subject. "I basically understand your situation now, but it's not really my place to explain. You should ask Sister Ogsha directly when we return."
Lacus paused, her smile fading. "Has Mother been hiding those things from me?"
Such a clever child.
He nodded. "Most likely. This concerns your family matters, so it wouldn't be proper for me to tell you."
"Alright." Lacus nodded. "I'll ask Mother directly when we return."
"Keep the helmet on for now. Don't remove it until I have the Black Tortoise reach an uninhabited area."
Zhou Tianming instructed, "I'll work on a solution as quickly as possible these next two days."
"Mm."
Soon, the Black Tortoise, which had been approaching Mendel, turned and departed.
As expected, Zhou Hanxiang questioned him about it, but since this involved Lacus's family privacy, Zhou Tianming only mentioned some minor issues without detailed explanation. Lacus naturally contacted Ogsha as well, but only reported her safety without inquiring about the matter.
Zhou Tianming found time to visit Ray. The little fellow remained stubbornly unwilling to apologize.
Infuriated, Zhou Tianming raised his hand, tempted to administer more "Personality Correction Palm" slaps. But seeing the boy's heavily swollen cheek, his heart softened. "Stay put and behave!" After applying medicine to Ray's injuries, Zhou Tianming pointed at his nose. "Think carefully about why I hit you!"
"Brother~" Ray leaned closer.
Zhou Tianming glared.
The boy shrunk back and returned to sitting on the edge of the bed.