Beep... beep...
The scanner's yellow warning light flashed, projecting a red, linear beam onto Zhang Yuanqing's forehead.
The machine emitted an electronic voice:
[ Beep... beep... Commencing diagnosis. Condition: ]
Zhang Yuanqing held his breath, eagerly awaiting the answer from the omnipotent medical machine.
But the electronic voice suddenly stuttered, pausing for several seconds before resuming:
[ Beep... beep... Commencing diagnosis. Condition: ]
[ Beep... beep... Commencing diagnosis. Condition: ]
[ Beep... beep... Commencing diagnosis. Condition: ]
The voice repeated endlessly, cycling back to the beginning each time it was about to state the condition.
"Hmm?" The female doctor, still holding the scanner, glanced at the main console, then at the T-shaped device in her hand, her expression puzzled.
Zhang Yuanqing was even more bewildered, tinged with disappointment and anxiety. It felt like he'd arranged a heart-to-heart with his girlfriend at a hotel, only for her to announce, "My period just started."
Though he didn't actually have a girlfriend, that was the emotional equivalent.
"Is the machine broken?" Jiang Jingwei walked over to the cylindrical device and, without a second thought, kicked it twice with a loud thud.
"Jingwei, stop kicking it!" Li Dongze exclaimed, startled. This is a high-level Item, he thought, the Songhai Branch paid a fortune to the Musician Family for it.
Support-type Items weren't as durable as combat-type ones; damage was common.
"When the appliances at home malfunction, a few kicks usually fix them," Jingwei replied.
She kicked the machine twice more with a clang-clang. The female doctor, unable to bear it any longer, snapped, "You!"
[ Beep-beep. System rebooting. ]
The detector emitted an electronic tone, the screen went dark, then lit up again, initiating the reboot.
Jiang Jingwei grinned triumphantly. "See? A good beating fixed it."
Teng Yuan pushed up his glasses and said calmly, "Don't worry. If you break it, the Organization will reimburse you."
Li Dongze sighed helplessly.
Guan Ya glanced at Primordial Heavenly Venerable and smiled. "I'm more curious about what's wrong with your body."
Zhang Yuanqing forced a smile and quipped, "Maybe it's Scorpio Syndrome, or a fetish for shaping female human legs with black nylon stockings."
Was this just a coincidence? A malfunction at the exact wrong moment?
He glanced at his companions. Their expressions were utterly indifferent, likely dismissing it as a minor glitch.
Only Wang Tai's brow remained furrowed.
"Something's off," he muttered, scratching his head. He approached the detector, tapping and fiddling with it before opening the operating interface on the screen to examine it closely.
As a Scholar, Wang Tai was destined to become a future artificer, possessing exceptional expertise in Item research and craftsmanship.
After tinkering for a while, he declared, "It's not malfunctioning. Moreover, given this Item's tier, it shouldn't malfunction at all. You might not know this, but Musician-class Items are the most durable, and this one even has self-repair capabilities."
Hmm? Guan Ya and Li Dongze, both Scouts, frowned simultaneously and turned to Primordial, only to find him equally bewildered.
Just then, the detector rebooted. The Female Doctor announced, "I'm not sure what caused it, but it seems to be working now."
With that, she raised the scanner and aimed it at Zhang Yuanqing's forehead once more.
Seeing this, the others fell silent, observing quietly.
The scanner's yellow light illuminated, and the electronic voice chimed again:
[ Beep-beep, initiating diagnosis. Condition: beep-beep, please do not simultaneously... ]
The voice abruptly cut off.
"Still seems to be malfunctioning," the female doctor frowned, setting down the scanner. After a few seconds, she picked it up again and aimed it at Zhang Yuanqing's forehead.
The yellow light glowed, and the electronic voice resumed:
[ Beep-beep, no abnormalities detected. Your physical condition is excellent. Please maintain this state until the diagnosis is complete! ]
The female doctor exhaled in relief, smiling slightly. "No problems. Your health is excellent. Please continue to maintain it."
"Oh, oh!" Zhang Yuanqing stood up, glanced at his teammates, and grinned. "Looks like I'm in perfect health too!"
Guan Ya and Li Dongze exchanged knowing glances, their faces breaking into synchronized smiles.
Wang Tai's brow furrowed deeply. "Something's off. This Item has been acting strange all day, Doctor. May I stay and examine it?"
The female doctor's expression hardened. "Absolutely not. This Item is extremely valuable and not to be disassembled or studied without authorization."
"Alright," Wang Tai said, reluctantly giving up.
The group left the examination room, and Li Dongze led them toward the stairwell, explaining:
"The Deacons are waiting for us on the second floor, along with Centurion Fu. The next step is a mental state assessment. In previous years, there was only a mental evaluation, but this year they've added a lie detector."
He addressed these words to Primordial, the only newcomer in the group.
But Zhang Yuanqing couldn't focus on what he was saying. The detector's voice kept echoing in his mind:
The initial scan clearly indicated that it detected an illness in me. And since I do have an illness, there's no possibility of a malfunction.
But why didn't it specify the illness?
Was it unable to identify the illness, or was there another reason? As for the second scan, the key phrase is "Please do not simultaneously." This suggests that after the reboot, the detector had identified my problem and was about to provide a diagnosis.
But then it suddenly froze.
Please do not simultaneously what? What was it trying to say?
The more Zhang Yuanqing pondered, the heavier his thoughts grew, and the more he sensed something was amiss.
A series of questions flashed through his mind, ultimately tracing back to the root of the problem: How did this headache condition originate?
The headaches had struck suddenly one day when Zhang Yuanqing was still in high school. One evening, he was writhing in agony, blood gushing from his nose. His aunt and cousin rushed him to the hospital.
After a full day of tests, using every diagnostic tool available, the doctors declared him perfectly healthy, finding nothing wrong.
At the time, his family dismissed it as nothing serious, urging him to rest well. But when the attacks returned, growing increasingly severe, Zhang Yuanqing was hospitalized.
Hearing this, his mother finally relented, setting aside her work to devote a sliver of attention to her son. She took him to countless hospitals, yet none could pinpoint the cause. Then, one day, she returned from abroad with a miracle cure.
It's strange enough that they couldn't find the cause, Zhang Yuanqing thought. But even stranger is that Mom didn't take me abroad for tests, yet she brought back a miracle cure. Looking back, it's even more suspicious.
And what was even more baffling was that even Spirit Realm Items couldn't detect the cause!
Could this be an ordinary illness?
As Zhang Yuanqing pondered this, the group reached the second floor. Compared to the spacious lobby below, the area was much smaller. With over twenty examinees and an equal number of guards, the room felt cramped and crowded.
Wang Tai's expression immediately turned awkward, his demeanor stiff and guarded.
Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing's mind raced. He smiled and said, "Brother Wang Tai, I recall there's a restroom on the first floor. Shall we go relieve ourselves?"
Wang Tai nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, let's go."
The two descended the stairs to the first floor and entered the restroom. Zhang Yuanqing pushed open each stall to ensure it was empty before approaching the urinal. As he retrieved the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle, he casually remarked, "That detector is quite remarkable. Is it a Saint Stage Item?"
"Mm-hmm!" Wang Tai replied, focused on relieving himself.
Zhang Yuanqing pressed further, "Items of this caliber must possess self-awareness, right? My Rule Item certainly has its own thoughts."
"Oh, yes," Wang Tai confirmed. "It has self-awareness, existing in the form of artificial intelligence."
Damn it, it really is self-aware! Zhang Yuanqing thought, his emotions churning. So it changed its answer earlier, unwilling to reveal my condition.
After relieving themselves, the two returned to the second floor. During the long wait, Official Walkers completed their mental evaluations one by one. Most passed, but a small number were flagged for requiring mental counseling.
For instance, some Fire Masters were diagnosed with severe mania due to their excessively volatile tempers.
Some Wood Spirits, addicted to sexual activity, required psychological counseling and medication to suppress their hormonal imbalances.
A few Scouts were found to have voyeuristic tendencies.
Finally, it was the Second Team's turn. The team members' mental states were deeply concerning: Li Dongze suffered from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, Guan Ya had a crippling fear of germs and was prone to pessimism, and Jiang Jingwei was manic and easily angered.
Teng Yuan was pessimistic and withdrawn, showing signs of moderate depression.
Lastly, Wang Tai, diagnosed with moderate autism, emerged from the consultation room and turned to Zhang Yuanqing, who was sitting on the bench.
"Your turn," Wang Tai said.
Zhang Yuanqing immediately entered the consultation room and saw a middle-aged doctor in a white coat sitting behind a desk.
"Please, have a seat!" the doctor gestured to a chair with a smile. "You must be Primordial Heavenly Venerable. You certainly live up to your reputation as a handsome and promising young hero. My name is Sun, and I'm the Deacon of Chaomen District, a level 5 Saint-Stage Scout, and a Doctor of Psychology.
"I'm here to conduct a mental evaluation. I'll just ask you a few simple questions."
His smile was warm, his gaze deep and penetrating, as if he could see straight into one's heart.
A Deacon Level psychologist? Holy shit, this guy's way more perceptive than Guan Ya's Chief, Zhang Yuanqing thought as he sat down. "Alright," he said.
Doctor Sun chuckled. "Don't be nervous. I might ask some personal questions, but there are no cameras or microphones here. No one will know your answers except me, and I have my professional ethics. I won't reveal your secrets."
"Primordial Heavenly Venerable, 21 years old, Songhai native, wealthy family, owns a car, father's dead, never had a girlfriend, special talent: 20cm," Zhang Yuanqing said earnestly. "Please, by all means, expose all of that."
Doctor Sun paused, studying him intently. "You seem a bit tense, instinctively making jokes to lighten the mood. As I said, there's no need to be reserved. We're friends here."
Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath, realizing that jokes were pointless against a Saint Stage Scout. He straightened his posture and said seriously, "That was just a joke. Let's begin."
Doctor Sun nodded and asked:
"Do you usually enjoy watching action movies? I mean romantic action films. If so, what genres do you focus on—domestic or foreign? What age range of actors do you prefer? Do you fast-forward through scenes while watching? After finishing a film, do you reach for your girlfriend or a tissue?"
Zhang Yuanqing was stunned by the barrage of questions, thinking, Did you install surveillance cameras in my house or something?
How could you ask such precise questions? Every question hits the mark!