# 1514
Chapter 1514: Soul Damage
"What is 1+1?"
In the narrow room, An Qingyu looked at the serious doctor sitting across from her, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.
"Are you joking with me?" An Qingyu asked rhetorically.
"I'm sorry, Deputy Commander An. These are all necessary questions to test whether your thinking has been affected." The doctor smiled politely.
"...2."
"What is 19+18?"
An Qingyu frowned, thought for a moment, and answered: "37."
"What is 21 times 9?"
An Qingyu opened her mouth, as if to say something, but froze on the spot.
Her brow furrowed tighter and tighter, as if she were struggling hard to think about something, her face full of strain. After five seconds, she tentatively spoke:
"189."
Seeing this, the doctor didn't continue with arithmetic but directly switched to another question:
"Suppose there's a class, and the students stand in a line. Whether you count from the left or the right, you're in the fifteenth position. How many people are in this class?"
"There... there are... 30 people."
The doctor glanced at her deeply. "Pumpkin, grape, cucumber, corn, pea—which one is the most special?"
"Most special?" An Qingyu thought for a moment. "Corn."
"Why?"
"Because except for corn, everything else grows on vines."
"Suppose there's a codebook. 'Banana Apple Big Pear' means 'Wednesday secret attack,' 'Apple Sugarcane Peach' means 'Execute secret plan,' 'Orange Banana Tomato' means 'Wednesday's victory belongs to us.' What does the code 'Big Pear' mean?"
An Qingyu fell into deep thought...
The doctor nodded slightly, put away the documents in her hand, and pointed to the building blocks on the side. "It's alright. In a moment, I'll give you a pattern, and you recreate it with the blocks."
"...Okay."
...
Lin Qiye and the others watched An Qingyu assembling building blocks on the monitor, frozen like stone statues.
"This... how is this possible?" Cao Yuan said in confusion. "Those questions, even I could answer them... why can't Qingyu?"
"What's affected by the soul mutation isn't just his legs, but his brain as well." Dr. Zheng spoke slowly. "Based on our question screening, his perception of the world hasn't been affected, but his logical reasoning and computational abilities have been severely damaged. It should be an aftereffect of overload to his soul after performing some extremely large calculations. Of course, as long as he doesn't engage in complex calculations, daily life shouldn't be a problem... however, Deputy Commander An's Forbidden Ruins will likely be affected."
"Logical reasoning and calculation?" Lin Qiye murmured.
He knew that for the previous An Qingyu, this had been an absolute strength—calculating the space-time coordinates of Lin Qiye and the others was something even the Heavenly Lord couldn't do, but An Qingyu could do it... Now, he had degenerated to this state?
"I think Deputy Commander An should have realized this a long time ago." Dr. Zheng sighed. "When we first pushed him into the ward, he told me... that he couldn't understand the results of his own ability analysis anymore. Otherwise, we wouldn't have brought him for the thinking test so quickly."
Lin Qiye and the others stood frozen in place.
At this moment, Lin Qiye suddenly remembered the question An Qingyu had asked him on the way here...
Without logical computation abilities, [Unique Correct Answer] would be completely useless. He could no longer analyze anything, couldn't even actively use abilities he had already analyzed. Add to that the loss of sensation in both legs... such a person was practically no different from a disabled person.
"Is there really no way to cure this?" Jiang Er asked anxiously.
Dr. Zheng shook her head helplessly. "I'm sorry. With our current capabilities, we can't even see through the peculiarities of his soul... there's really no way to treat it. The soul is the foundation of a person—it's not that easy to repair."
Lin Qiye and the other two stood in place, looking at the figure on the monitor calmly assembling building blocks. The air fell into dead silence.
...
When Lin Qiye picked up An Qingyu and returned to the residence, it was already deep into the night.
Lin Qiye carried An Qingyu out of the car and walked straight toward the room. The cold wind brushed past both their heads. An Qingyu's complexion was several shades paler than before the examination.
"Qingyu, don't overthink it. Just get a good night's sleep tonight. Leave the rest to me and Cao Yuan." Lin Qiye walked while comforting him. "We'll find a way to cure you."
An Qingyu hummed softly and didn't say much.
Lin Qiye laid him on the bed, gave him a few more instructions, then turned and left. Jiang Er's black coffin automatically drifted in from outside the door, but after hesitating for a moment, it quietly drifted out again.
Half a minute later, Jiang Er in her spirit form passed through the wall and nestled beside An Qingyu.
"Where's your body?" An Qingyu asked.
"I... I put myself in the shed in the courtyard... it's too inauspicious."
An Qingyu was stunned, then smiled lightly. "What nonsense are you talking about? Haven't we been like this all this time? If carrying a coffin were unlucky, I would have died hundreds of times by now."
"I don't care. I just don't want to see myself tonight."
"..."
An Qingyu, seeing she couldn't be persuaded, could only lie down helplessly, staring blankly at the dim ceiling above. Jiang Er leaned against his side. The hazy moonlight passed through her ethereal body, as if coating the bedsheet with a layer of white frost.
"Qingyu..."
In the darkness, Jiang Er's voice suddenly sounded.
"Mm?"
"No matter what happens, I'll be by your side."
An Qingyu turned his head, looking at Jiang Er's pure and resolute eyes. His heart was somewhat dazed.
He reached out and gently patted Jiang Er's head, hummed in acknowledgment, and slowly closed his eyes...
...
Tap tap tap—
Brilliant sunlight shone through the windows onto the floor of the room. An Qingyu was awakened by gentle knocking, his eyes opening drowsily.
He couldn't remember how he had fallen asleep last night. He only knew that he had lain on the bed like a corpse, staring blankly into space. In the haze of consciousness, he seemed to have dreamed that dream again... that bizarre dream.
"Come in..." An Qingyu pushed himself up with both hands and sat up against the wall.
The door opened. In the bright living room, Cao Yuan pushed in a large black wheelchair, smiling as he entered An Qingyu's room.
"Qingyu, look what I got for you!" Cao Yuan patted the back of the wheelchair, speaking excitedly. "Night Watch Logistics Department's special combat wheelchair. Spirit power-driven, top speed of 250 kilometers per hour, with a backup power source in the rear. If your spirit power runs out, you can still run another two hours on electricity!
With this, even if you can't walk by yourself, you can sit in the wheelchair and chase down high-speed trains!
Last night I also had it modified. Don't think it's just this size, but it's very sturdy. Even carrying you and Jiang Er's coffin won't affect the speed at all. The seat won't slide off due to inertia during high-speed driving.
On top of that, it has three built-in parachutes, a thermal imaging targeting system, automatic ejection climbing ropes..."
Watching Cao Yuan standing before the wheelchair, chattering excitedly, An Qingyu was frozen on the spot.