The equipment alone made it clear that S-Class males had no human rights here.
This feeling crested the moment she saw the S-Class male being escorted in by a military officer.
His hands and feet were in shackles, and his mouth was covered by a device that looked like a bite guard.
He didn't look like a patient at all—more like a vicious criminal.
"Don't be afraid, dear. This way, they can't hurt us."
"That's right. The restraints on his body are all rigged to deliver an electric shock," the escorting officer added.
Seeing their misunderstanding, Lu Xiao didn't bother to explain that she wasn't afraid.
She watched the officer place the man in a chair and wrap more chains around his body. The man remained silent throughout, his eyelids lowered and his expression numb, as if he had completely lost all hope for the future.
Just when Lu Xiao thought they were finished, the officer opened the front of the man's bite guard, inserted a tube from the attached helmet, and commanded, "Open your mouth!"
Lu Xiao frowned and glanced at Teacher Sherry, but the other woman's expression was unchanged, as if this was completely routine.
"Teacher, do you have his file? I'd like to take a look."
At her words, Shirley turned the light screen toward her. "Here it is. Codename 3355. Admitted to the S-Class Shelter three years ago. Currently at the mid-rank of the S-Class Early Stage. Has lost control twice, was pacified by electric shock. Current status: stable."
Lu Xiao noticed that his file only listed a number, not a name.
"Why doesn't he have a name?"
"After entering the S-Class Shelter, they are only given numbers. It makes management more efficient."
After Teacher Sherry finished speaking, the escorting officer spoke up. "Confirmation complete."
"Alright, you can leave. I'll call you if I need you."
Shirley waved a hand at the officer, dismissing him.
Once the officer was gone, Shirley spoke. "3355, please state how you are feeling now."
Lu Xiao looked up at the man chained to the chair. With the helmet on, he seemed to be sealed in a stuffy enclosure. It was hard to imagine how he was supposed to speak.
But clearly, Teacher Sherry wasn't worried. After a moment, Lu Xiao heard a hoarse, muffled voice say, "I'm fine."
"If you were fine, you wouldn't be here. Have you experienced any hallucinations? Answer truthfully. If you don't want to get shocked, you'd better not lie."
'This doesn't seem like therapy at all,' Lu Xiao thought. 'It's more like an interrogation.'
'If the prisoner doesn't cooperate, they resort to punishment.'
'Can this really be considered treatment?'
'She was suddenly beginning to understand what Ares had meant when he said that no male who entered the S-Class Shelter ever recovered. Was this kind of treatment really designed to heal anyone?'
While Lu Xiao was lost in these thoughts, 3355's voice sounded again. "I've had them, but I don't remember."
"Have you had any sexual fantasies recently?"
Hearing this, Lu Xiao's brow furrowed even more deeply. 'What kind of question is that?'
'Why would she even ask that?'
"Teacher Sherry, what is the purpose of this question?"
"Research shows that S-Class males need to have their desires suppressed. It's beneficial to their treatment."
"They need to suppress their emotions?" Lu Xiao couldn't understand. 'Is this really treatment?'
'The status of males is already so low. When they get sick, they aren't soothed but are suppressed even further?'
'The thought alone was suffocating.'
"The reason they become S-Class is that they think too much and have too much desire. If they learn to control themselves properly, their condition can be alleviated," Teacher Sherry said, her tone making it sound perfectly obvious.
She clearly saw nothing wrong with this.
Lu Xiao did her best to compose herself. "Are you going to perform Spiritual Soothing on him?"
"That won't be necessary. His condition is relatively stable, and the system evaluation is 'good.' We don't need to do Spiritual Soothing every time. You're still young, so you might not understand, but performing Spiritual Soothing is very draining for us as well."
Lu Xiao gave a small, wry laugh. 'Spiritual Soothing is draining, so you just... don't do it?'
'She'd never seen a treatment method like this before.'
'This man was brought here, bound without a shred of dignity, and for what?'
"I looked at his previous reports. He's been here for three years and has only received Spiritual Soothing once. Every assessment says his condition is 'stable,' but this 'stability' has seen him progress from the Early Stage to Intermediate. He's even about to reach the Advanced level and enter the Mid-stage. Is this treatment method really working for him?"
"How can you say it's not working? You're only looking at his case. Compared to the others, his situation is actually quite good. The progression of his condition is very slow—it took him three years just to reach Intermediate. Do you have any idea how many reach the peak stage shortly after arriving?"
Shirley thought Lu Xiao was still too young and inexperienced.
But Lu Xiao was stunned by her words. 'What kind of logic is that? Don't compare him to those who are better, only to those who are worse?'
'What kind of reasoning was that?'
'As long as it's not completely awful, it's considered good.'
Lu Xiao felt the only reason she hadn't had a heart attack was that she was young and healthy.
But she also knew this wasn't Teacher Sherry's fault alone. It was just the way this world worked.
She took a deep breath and said with a smile, "If you're not going to perform Spiritual Soothing, could we at least take off his helmet? It's making me a little uncomfortable to look at."
"Of course. If you're uncomfortable, I can just have someone from outside come in and take it off for him."
"Can I do it? I want to try." As she spoke, Lu Xiao stood up to walk over, but Teacher Sherry grabbed her arm, staring at her in disbelief. "Are you insane?"
"Didn't you say he's stable right now? I trust your judgment, Teacher Sherry. Besides, he's covered in other restraints. I won't get hurt, don't worry." Lu Xiao pulled free from Teacher Sherry's hand, walked over, and moved behind the man to unfasten the helmet.
The moment the helmet came off, 3355 retched, clearly uncomfortable. The tube that had been forced into his mouth had obviously not been pleasant.
The physiological reaction made the rims of his eyes turn red, and he looked to be in extreme discomfort.
"Are you okay? Do you need some water?"
The moment the two words "I'm fine..." left his lips, 3355 froze. He stared in disbelief at the young female standing not far from him, his previously dull eyes suddenly coming alive.
'Was he hallucinating? Why else would he hear a female ask him, "Are you okay?"'
Seeing him in a daze, Lu Xiao smiled. "Would drinking some water make you feel a little better?"
As she said this, Lu Xiao was already turning to the officer outside. "Excuse me, could you please get me a glass of orange juice?"
The officer at the door seemed taken aback by Lu Xiao's politeness. After a stunned moment, he quickly lowered his eyes and nodded respectfully. "Right away."
"Okay, thank you."