novelraw Chapter 181: State of the Mind Level
Chapter 181: State of the Mind Level
The hall was filled with a cold light, mingled with the bright glare of electric lamps hanging from the ceiling.
Stepping out from a narrow, cramped corridor choked with pipes, Lu Li and Tesla emerged into a spacious hall that immediately dispelled the oppressive atmosphere of the underground.
The windows set high in the walls were partly to thank for that.
Near the ceiling, a row of narrow, palm-width windows lined the walls. Grates covered them from the outside, and the light filtering through made them look like storm drains on a city street.
The feet of passersby flickered into view from the outside.
They were, in fact, storm drains.
“If you’d been paying attention to the waterfront a few months back, you might have noticed some construction going on in a section of the Snow Quarter for a while,” Tesla explained.
Lu Li tore his gaze away and surveyed the rest of the hall. “What happens when it rains?” he asked.
The concept of renovation, even a cosmetic touch-up, seemed foreign to the Investigators' headquarters. Rough, blue-gray cement was left exposed on the walls, and one wall lacked even that, showing only bare red brick.
The place truly did look like a repair shop.Then again, one could call such simplicity “minimalist.”
The left wall was lined with numerous identical wooden doors of indeterminate purpose. To the right was a lounge area, complete with a bar stocked with various drinks and a dozen dining tables, though only four people were seated.
The four young people, all sitting at separate tables, sized each other up while simultaneously watching Lu Li and Tesla enter.
“This is Belfast, after all,” Tesla said with a smile, removing his top hat. “Besides, there are drains between the grates and the windows. Not to worry—we are professional pipe fitters, you know.”
“Those are the other novices, here for the trial.” Tesla gestured for Lu Li to take a seat in the lounge area. “I need to speak with the other supervisors. I'll call for you when the trial begins.” Leaning on his cane, he turned and disappeared through one of the many doors on the right.
“I've brought him.”
Tesla hung his top hat on a rack by the entrance, closed the door behind him, and took an empty seat at a round table.
A silver candelabrum held several lit candles, their flames casting a faint, pleasant scent into the air. An expensive velvet carpet covered the floor of the lavishly decorated room, and its walls were paneled in dark oak. Heavy, crimson curtains were drawn across windows that overlooked nothing but a blank wall.
Ignoring what lay just beyond the door, the room felt more like the study of a wealthy nobleman.
Three other people were already seated at the table: a mature woman in a dark red dress and a black veil; a muscular man in coveralls; and a mysterious figure in a cloak, their face completely hidden by a deep hood.
Among those present, Tesla looked the most conventional.
“Well, shall we begin?” the woman asked, opening a tube of lipstick to touch up her already vibrant lips.
“Might as well,” the muscular man grumbled, his hands resting on his knees. The armchair seemed far too plush for his powerful frame.
“Hold on,” Tesla interjected. “Shouldn't the regional supervisor be the one to make that call? What do you say, Supervisor?”
He turned his gaze to the silent, cloaked figure.
“Your words might carry more weight if you hadn't slipped out before the bill came yesterday,” a surprisingly normal voice emerged from beneath the hood—neither hoarse nor sinister. “Ahem... Very well, the trial begins. The first stage is the Mind Level test. Tesla, please bring him in.”
Tesla nodded, rose, and walked to the door.
...
Tesla stepped out.
Under the watchful eyes of the other four novices, Lu Li walked over to the lounge area, ordered a glass of milk from the bartender, and silently took a seat in the farthest corner.
“Looks like he's one of us.”
“Who brought him?”
“He seems even more withdrawn than the other one.”
...
A hushed conversation rippled through the lounge area.
“Should I go say hello?”
“I wouldn't. He looks even colder than the other guy.”
“I could use a drink... No, wait, I can't drink right now.”
...
Lu Li neither heard their whispers nor paid them any mind. His gaze was fixed on the Alliance employee bringing him his glass of milk.
Just then, one of the doors on the right side of the hall swung open.
In the relatively quiet hall, any sound drew attention. All eyes turned to Tesla, who stood in the doorway. Addressing the lounge area, he said, “Lu Li, you can come over now.”
Lu Li had just taken the milk from the Alliance employee. He paused, glanced at the employee’s outstretched hand waiting to take the empty glass, then suddenly lifted the milk to his lips and drained it in a single gulp. He handed the glass back and walked toward Tesla.
The door closed behind him. In the now emptier hall, the whispering resumed.
“I was here first.”
“Maybe they're starting with the last one to arrive.”
“Or maybe he knows one of the supervisors. His name's Lu Li. Strange name.”
...
...
“This is Rachel, and this is Tristan,” Tesla introduced. “They are the supervisors for the Belfast Investigators. And the one hiding his face is Dilan, a regional supervisor for the Allen Peninsula.”
Lu Li’s gaze swept over the three of them, lingering for a moment on Rachel and her crimson lips, before he stated calmly, “Lu Li.”
Perhaps because taciturn individuals were not uncommon among Investigators, the trio paid little mind to Lu Li's brevity.
“Why are you staring at me?” Rachel asked, regarding Lu Li with clear interest. Through her veil, he could see her eyes were narrow, with a small beauty mark at the corner of one.
“It would be strange to stare at the others,” Lu Li replied.
“It seems I don't need to tell you to relax,” Tesla chuckled, moving to stand near Tristan.
“Since you've already passed two trials, we'll be skipping the psychological questions this time,” said Dilan, the cloaked figure.
His bandaged hand produced a black, forked branch, nearly half a meter long.
“Please, touch the Heartwood Branch. It will manifest your Mind Level.”
Lu Li reached for the branch on the table and touched it with his fingertips.
The illusion of the enormous fig tree appeared once more, even sharper and more realistic than before.
Lu Li realized he was closer to the tree this time.
Its immense canopy blotted out the sky like a vast umbrella, concealing the somber clouds above. An indescribable consciousness emanated from the great tree, enveloping Lu Li and calling his name.
For an instant, Lu Li felt as if he were becoming the tree itself. His body began to stiffen into wood, his skin turning rough and black like bark...
Rap.
A sharp pain across the back of his hand snapped Lu Li back to reality.
Tesla drew back his cane. “Don't let yourself sink too deep into the illusion,” he warned sternly. “You have a high aptitude for perceiving the supernatural, which means you are also easily assimilated.”
Snapping out of it, Lu Li withdrew his hand. “What do you mean, ‘assimilated’?”
“It means that you perceive them more easily, and they, in turn, perceive you more easily,” Dilan answered, speaking before Tesla could. “You could call it a milder version of the third stage of the Mind Level—the stage of Reality.”
Tesla, Rachel, and Tristan all turned their eyes to the table. The black branch was already displaying the result of Lu Li's third trial.