“I want to control the ‘subconscious.'” Qi Xia said in a low voice. “I need to make Han Yimo stop thinking about certain things.”

Lin Qin pondered briefly before saying, “Qi Xia, close your eyes. Let me do an experiment with you.”

“Alright.” Qi Xia nodded and closed his eyes.

“Qi Xia, please don’t imagine a black cat.” Lin Qin said.

After hearing this, Qi Xia, with his eyes closed, silently furrowed his brow.

“Now, please don’t imagine that black cat looking at you.”

“Also don’t imagine it has a pair of brown, beautiful pupils.”

Qi Xia remained silent.

“Now, please don’t imagine that black cat slowly walking toward you.”

“I…” Qi Xia’s brow gradually relaxed as he quietly listened to Lin Qin’s narration.

“Also absolutely don’t imagine that black cat rubbing against your leg, as if it’s hungry.”

“You haven’t realized that black cat’s fur is very soft.”

“You also don’t know that it actually likes you very much.”

Seeing that Qi Xia’s expression had completely calmed down, Lin Qin slowly asked:

“So Qi Xia… look around. Where are you standing now?”

After hearing this, Qi Xia furrowed his brow slightly. Looking around, he found himself standing in his home.

“If you’re very tired, you can rest on the bed for a while.” Lin Qin said.

Qi Xia slowly turned around and discovered there was a bed behind him.

But he never slept on a bed.

He froze for a moment, then instantly opened his eyes.

The calm expression on his face vanished completely, replaced by coldness and despair.

“Lin Qin, were you hypnotizing me?”

“Not exactly hypnosis, just mental relaxation.” Lin Qin smiled and nodded. “Qi Xia, you look extremely tired, and your heart is very depressed. You won’t be able to hold on like this.”

“It’s not necessary.” Qi Xia shook his head. “Let’s discuss something more important.”

“Mm.” Lin Qin nodded. “Actually, I’ve already given you an example.”

“An example…?”

Lin Qin nodded. “Did you notice? Humans can’t understand ‘negative words.'”

Just as Lin Qin said, when she kept advising him ‘not to’ think about certain things, Qi Xia’s mind would construct them extraordinarily clearly.

“This is a very typical psychological phenomenon. People are very fond of persuading others by saying ‘don’t do something,’ such as ‘don’t tire yourself out’ or ‘don’t care too much about others’ opinions.’ In others’ ears, this becomes ‘you’re tired’ or ‘you care about others’ opinions,’ and the persuasion has the opposite effect.”

After hearing this, Qi Xia nodded with a melancholy expression. “So we can’t interfere with others’ thoughts?”

“To be honest, we can’t even control our own thoughts, so how can we interfere with others’?”

The problem was indeed thorny. The path through Han Yimo was difficult to break through. The key point might still lie with Officer Li.

Qi Xia could only ask again, “Then suppose I want to make a person’s subconscious believe something impossible—can this be done?”

After hearing this, Lin Qin blinked and asked, “Do you know an ‘Echoer’ that this auntie mentioned?”

“Yes.” Qi Xia nodded. “Officer Li.”

“Is he the one who can pull out cash?” Lin Qin asked again.

“More or less.”

“That’s also very difficult…” Lin Qin said. “The reason people are called ‘people’ is because we all have basic cognitive abilities. Moreover, when ordinary people aren’t certain whether they have cash in their pockets, their first thought is ‘I might have cash in my pocket’ rather than ‘I definitely have a stack of cash in my pocket.’ According to the auntie’s explanation, the first scenario would fail.”

Qi Xia nodded. “Then is there no way to influence him?”

“There are two methods we can try.” Lin Qin said. “The first is long-term brainwashing, similar to hypnosis. Although it would waste a lot of time, it would also make the person permanently believe their pocket contains cash. But this has drawbacks—it might affect the person’s normal logical thinking. He would believe his pocket couldn’t possibly contain anything other than cash.”

Qi Xia nodded again. “And the second?”

“The second is…” Lin Qin swallowed with difficulty and said, “make this person completely lose normal cognitive ability, falling into a state of mental confusion or disordered thinking… This way he would always believe in himself.”

“In other words, become a madman?” Qi Xia asked.

“Exactly.” Lin Qin nodded. “You’ll find that everyone in this world called a ‘madman’ is very pure, including the mentally ill. They have an extremely strong sense of conviction and will believe firmly in certain strange things.”

If viewed this way, weren’t the people of “Extreme Path” just a group of madmen?

Their probability of activating “Echo” was very high precisely because they were mad enough to be pure.

And Aunt Tong before them—she deeply believed in “Mother Goddess” and also didn’t seem quite normal.

But why would Lin Qin know so much?

“Lin Qin, you…”

Qi Xia had something to say, but after thinking for a while, he still didn’t speak.

Some words weren’t convenient to say publicly. Perhaps it would be better when the two were alone.

When the group came back to their senses, Aunt Tong had already finished explaining the concept of “Echo” and began talking about the trigger for “Echo.”

According to her explanation, “Echo” usually only needed a trigger during the “initial stage.” When a person experienced “Echo” multiple times, it meant they had completely gained “Mother Goddess’s” favor. At that point, they could actively emit “Echo” and thus obtain supreme abilities. Of course, some people’s “Echo” was too special—they would always need a trigger.

“Then how do you turn off ‘Echo’?” Qi Xia raised his hand to ask.

“Turn off?” Aunt Tong stared at Qi Xia. “Why would you turn it off? Who in this world would actively give up ‘Mother Goddess’s’ gift?”

“It’s possible that what your ‘Mother Goddess’ gives isn’t a gift but a curse.” Qi Xia said. “There will always be people who want to turn off their ‘Echo.'”

“Child, you can understand ‘Echo’ as a kind of sound wave. Only when it covers you can you hear it, but sound waves will dissipate.”

After hearing this, Qi Xia paused and asked, “Are you saying all ‘Echoes’ are temporary?”

“Exactly.” Aunt Tong nodded. “We never need to actively turn off ‘Echo.’ We just need to wait for it to slowly dissipate.”

Qi Xia glanced casually at Han Yimo.

He had been “echoing” for an entire day.

So… how long would his “Echo” last?

Could it be ten days?

Next, Aunt Tong began promoting the greatness of “Mother Goddess” again.

Because the “Echo” she displayed was too bizarre, several more people became convinced by her words.

For some reason, Qi Xia felt an even deeper despair in Aunt Tong’s proclamations.

When a world could only pray for a “God” to save itself, it proved that the “people” living in this world had completely run out of options.

Could they really escape from here?

Could he really demand Yu Nian’an back from the “God” of this place and embrace her again?

“I was just about to give her a better life…”

Qi Xia’s eyes grew desolate, his heart in extreme agony.

Aunt Tong continued speaking to everyone: “As long as we cast aside the ‘lingering thoughts’ in our hearts, we will certainly gain ‘Mother Goddess’s’ favor and ultimately obtain ‘Mother Goddess’s’ power!”

Qi Xia furrowed his brow, feeling very uncomfortable, and couldn’t help but ask, “Auntie, people usually say ‘cast aside stray thoughts,’ but why do you always say ‘cast aside lingering thoughts’?”

“Child, don’t you understand? ‘Lingering thoughts’ are ‘stray thoughts.'” Aunt Tong said slowly.