# Chapter 153: Distracting Thoughts
"I want to control the 'subconscious'." Qi Xia said in a low voice. "I need to make Han Yimo not think about certain things."
Lin Qin thought for a moment, then said, "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.
Upon hearing this, Qi Xia silently furrowed his brows with his eyes closed.
"Now, please don't imagine that black cat looking at you."
"And don't imagine that it has beautiful brown pupils."
Qi Xia remained silent.
"Now, please don't imagine that black cat slowly walking toward you."
"I..." Qi Xia's brows gradually relaxed as he quietly listened to Lin Qin's narration.
"And absolutely don't imagine that black cat rubbing against your leg, as if it's hungry."
"You haven't realized that the 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 began to ask:
"So, Qi Xia... look around. Where are you standing now?"
Qi Xia frowned slightly upon hearing this. He looked around and found himself standing at home.
"If you're very tired, you can rest on the bed for a while." Lin Qin said.
Qi Xia slowly turned around and saw a bed behind him.
But he never slept on the 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, are you hypnotizing me?"
"It's not really hypnosis, just mental relaxation." Lin Qin nodded with a smile. "Qi Xia, you look very tired, and your heart is very suppressed. You won't be able to hold on like this."
"No need." Qi Xia shook his head. "Let's discuss something more important."
"Alright." Lin Qin nodded. "Actually, I've already given you an example."
"An example...?"
Lin Qin nodded: "Did you notice? Humans can't understand 'negatives'."
Just as Lin Qin said, when she kept advising him 'not' to think about certain things, Qi Xia's mind would shape it with exceptional clarity.
"This is a very typical psychological phenomenon. People are very willing to persuade others by saying 'Don't do something', like 'Don't be too tired' or 'Don't care too much about what others think'. To the listener, it becomes 'You're very tired' and 'You care too much about what others think', and the persuasive effect backfires."
Qi Xia nodded upon hearing this, his face filled with melancholy. "So we can't interfere with other people's thoughts?"
"To be honest, we can't even control our own thoughts, so how can we interfere with others'?"
The problem was indeed tricky. The path through Han Yimo was hard to break through. The key point might still lie with Officer Li.
Qi Xia could only ask again: "What if I want to make someone's subconscious believe something impossible? Can that be done?"
Lin Qin blinked upon hearing this and asked, "Do you know the 'Echoer' that this auntie mentioned?"
"Yes." Qi Xia nodded. "Officer Li."
"He's the one who can pull out banknotes?" Lin Qin asked again.
"Something like that."
"That's still difficult..." Lin Qin said. "People are called 'people' because we all have basic cognitive abilities. Moreover, when an ordinary person is unsure whether they have cash in their pocket, their first thought is 'There might be banknotes in my pocket', not 'There must be a stack of banknotes in my pocket'. According to what the auntie said, the first situation would fail."
Qi Xia nodded: "So there's no way to influence him?"
"There are two methods you 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 other person forever believe that there are banknotes in their pocket. But this also has a drawback—it might affect the person's normal logical thinking. They would think that nothing else could possibly exist in their pocket besides banknotes."
Qi Xia nodded again. "And the second?"
"The second is..." Lin Qin swallowed with difficulty and said, "Make this person completely lose normal cognitive abilities, fall into a state of confusion or delirium... In this state, they would always believe in themselves."
"In other words, turn them into a lunatic?" Qi Xia asked.
"Exactly." Lin Qin nodded. "You'll find that everyone in this world who is called a 'madman' is very pure, including psychiatric patients. Their sense of conviction is extremely strong, and they will firmly believe in some strange things."
If that was the case, weren't the people of 'Jidao' precisely a bunch of lunatics?
The reason they had a high probability of activating 'Echo' was precisely because they were mad enough, pure enough.
And the Aunt Tong before them, who deeply believed in the 'Mother Goddess', also didn't seem quite normal.
But how did Lin Qin know so much?
"Lin Qin, you..."
Qi Xia had something to say, but after thinking for a while, he didn't say it.
Some things weren't convenient to say in public; perhaps it would be better to say them when the two of them were alone.
When everyone came back to their senses, Aunt Tong had already finished explaining the concept of 'Echo' and began talking about the triggers for 'Echo'.
According to her, 'Echo' usually only needed a trigger during the 'initial stage'. When a person experienced 'Echo' multiple times, it meant they had fully gained the favor of the 'Mother Goddess', and they could then actively initiate 'Echo', thereby obtaining supreme power. Of course, some people's 'Echo' was too special, and they would always need a trigger.
"Then how do you turn off the 'Echo'?" Qi Xia raised his hand and asked.
"Turn it off?" Aunt Tong stared at Qi Xia. "Why would you want to turn it off? Who in this world would voluntarily give up the 'Mother Goddess's' gift?"
"Maybe your 'Mother Goddess' isn't giving a gift, but a curse." Qi Xia said. "There will always be people who want to turn off their 'Echo'."
"Child, you can think of 'Echo' as a sound wave. When it covers you, you can hear it, but sound waves will dissipate."
Qi Xia paused upon hearing this and asked, "You mean 'Echo' is always temporary?"
"Correct." Aunt Tong nodded. "We never need to actively turn off 'Echo'. We just need to wait for it to slowly fade away."
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 to preach the greatness of the 'Mother Goddess'.
Because the 'Echo' she displayed was too bizarre, several more people became convinced by her words.
For some reason, Qi Xia felt a deeper despair in Aunt Tong's preaching.
When a world can only pray to a 'god' to save itself, it proves that the 'people' living in this world have completely run out of options.
Could they really escape from here?
Could he really ask the 'god' here to return Yu Nian'an to him, and then embrace her again?
"I was just about to give her a better life..."
Qi Xia's eyes became desolate, and his heart was filled with extreme pain.
Aunt Tong continued speaking to the crowd: "As long as we eliminate the 'lingering thoughts' in our hearts, we will surely gain the favor of the 'Mother Goddess' and ultimately obtain her power!"
Qi Xia frowned, feeling very uncomfortable, and couldn't help asking, "Auntie, people usually say 'eliminate distracting thoughts', but why do you always say 'eliminate lingering thoughts'?"
"Child, don't you understand? 'Lingering thoughts' are 'distracting thoughts'." Aunt Tong said slowly.