Chapter 221: A Fragile Connection

Seeing the smile bloom on the girl’s face, Lu Xin felt a jolt.

It wasn’t desire mixed with lust, but something purer. A sudden feeling, as if witnessing the most beautiful sight in the world, triggered a primal, almost genetic human response. A subtle warmth spread through him, instantly lifting his spirits…

Lu Xin remained silent for several seconds, lost in that smile.

Then, he spoke softly into the channel, “She nodded. You can tell she really likes it.”

“…Good.”

Chen Jing’s reply was restrained, but Lu Xin could sense her excitement.

The faint sound of typing came through the channel, then Chen Jing posed the second question:

“Ask her if she likes helping us deal with the abnormal incidents we usually assign her?”

“…”

Lu Xin, having learned from the previous question, considered this one for a moment before turning to the girl and asking:

“Do the things other people ask you to do usually bother you?”

“…”

Doll clearly hesitated for a second, then looked straight at Lu Xin, nervously shaking her head.

“Not only does she not mind, she’s actually worried others might *think* she minds?”

Lu Xin read her answer and was about to relay it to Chen Jing, but a thought made him pause.

He suddenly realized Doll might not have understood the question as Chen Jing intended.

She likely interpreted it as *his* personal inquiry…

So, he mulled it over and tried again, “I don’t mean me. I mean other people. Like before, when something happened in our Second Satellite City, and they had you go help us handle it. Did things like that make you feel annoyed?”

“…”

The girl seemed to understand this time. She was quiet for a moment before giving a slight nod.

Lu Xin had his answer.

He reported back through the channel, “She responded, but it was very subtle.”

“I don’t know what kinds of things you usually have her handle, but it’s clear there’s at least a small part she dislikes. However, judging by how she expressed that dislike, it doesn’t seem like complete resistance either…”

“She probably just dislikes certain aspects of the work.”

“…”

Chen Jing noted it down, her tone suddenly serious. “I heard you ask twice just now.”

“Was it that the first time, Doll understood it as you asking personally?”

Lu Xin was momentarily stunned. “The leader is sharp…”

“And judging by her answer…”

Chen Jing pressed on, “Does that mean she’ll agree to anything *you* ask her?”

“Well…”

Lu Xin was a bit taken aback. After a moment, he answered honestly, “I’m not sure, but her reaction does seem more positive.”

“Understood.”

Chen Jing didn’t elaborate, just made a note and said, “Now for the third question.”

“Ask Doll if she has any other wishes?”

“…”

Hearing this question stirred a particular feeling in Lu Xin.

His mood lifted slightly.

If the first two questions were merely aimed at understanding the girl’s psychology for better utilization, then this third question suggested they genuinely cared about her well-being.

A faint smile touched his lips as he looked at Doll and asked gently, “Is your life usually just… here?”

“Is there anything you’ve always wanted to do?”

“Not something someone else told you to do, but something *you* want to do?”

“…”

Lu Xin asked the question earnestly, and Doll listened intently.

She seemed to try hard to understand. Then, a smile lit up her face as she turned towards the plastic blocks.

Lu Xin let out a breath. “What she wants to do is play with those little plastic building blocks.”

Chen Jing corrected, “They’re called Lego.”

“…”

Lu Xin thought to himself, *”Leaders really know everything.”

…

…

On the other end of the channel, Chen Jing’s voice went silent for a while, seemingly busy organizing the information and transmitting it back.

During the lull, Lu Xin could only continue watching the TV idly, picking up a small snack to eat.

Although these snacks were expensive and not really to his taste, they were… edible, at least.

…

“Good. These three questions have been recorded. They’ll be an important reference for taking care of Doll in the future.”

“And now, I need you to help me communicate the most crucial question to Doll.”

After a moment, Chen Jing’s voice returned. “Doll’s negative influence stems from her inability to retract her mental power. In other words, she’s an ability user, but her manifestation is identical to that of a pollution source.”

“Furthermore, her method of pollution is the most dangerous kind—visual pollution. This is the primary manifestation of her instability…”

Having explained, Chen Jing stated gravely, “Help us ask her: can she retract her mental power?”

“This question…”

Lu Xin was surprised but slowly posed the question, “Can you control your mental power?”

The girl, who had been fiddling with her Lego toys, turned around. Although she seemed to think about it seriously, her expression remained blank and confused.

…

…

“She can’t control her mental power?”

When Lu Xin relayed the answer, a stir went through the meeting room.

Lu Xin’s voice echoing directly into the room and the words appearing on the screen cast a heavy silence.

This issue was clearly everyone’s biggest concern.

Just then, however, Professor Chen spoke slowly, “Perhaps it’s not a question of whether she *can* control it.”

Gathering his thoughts, he continued, “Doll simply doesn’t understand the question. Due to her limited interaction with people throughout her development, and others being unable to teach her, she can’t grasp such complex concepts.”

“For her, this dispersion of mental power is simply her normal state.”

“Like us subconsciously stretching our bodies, or perhaps more accurately, like learning to walk upright.”

“Therefore, even if the Mr. Lone Soldier can communicate with her, he can’t make her understand the concept of retracting mental power.”

“…”

As the people in the meeting room pondered this answer…

Mr. Su, seated at the head of the table, asked with concern, “So, does that mean there’s still hope of eliminating her negative influence?”

“Yes.”

Professor Chen nodded firmly. “This initial contact can be considered highly successful.”

“At the very least, we’ve proven the Mr. Lone Soldier can indeed communicate with Doll. And from this initial communication, we’ve learned that Doll is a little girl with her own likes, dislikes, and feelings. She’s just somewhat withdrawn… somewhat poor at expressing herself.”

A heartfelt smile appeared on his face as he concluded, “She is… human, just like us.”

Everyone understood that Professor Chen was reluctant even to use the word “withdrawn” in relation to Doll.

He was usually in charge of the Doll project, hence his deep affection for her.

And this was likely the most normal kind of affection, aside from those who had direct contact with Doll.

He cared for Doll as if she were his own granddaughter.

Mr. Su listened thoughtfully. “Then how do you plan to achieve the final goal?”

“The Mr. Lone Soldier’s help is crucial.”

Professor Chen pondered for a moment. “As Doll grows older, her psychic magnitude increases, nearing the limits of our control. Therefore, our immediate priority is to teach her how to control her mental power. Theoretically, if she can contain the mental power she unconsciously emits, she should be able to live like a normal girl…”

Realizing he might have said too much, he sighed softly and got to the point:

“Teaching her to retract her mental power requires our guidance and her cooperation. Thus, the appearance of the Mr. Lone Soldier is a very fortunate development. His ability to communicate with Doll means he can guide her learning process.”

“With our cooperation, there’s hope she can learn self-control, reducing the risk of losing control.”

“This way, Doll’s second stage…”

“…”

Minister Shen couldn’t help but interrupt, “But having the Mr. Lone Soldier guide her—doesn’t that mean he’ll have to learn everything about Doll?”

“Doll’s secrets are Qinggang’s highest S-level classified information!”

“…”

Facing Minister Shen’s concern, the occult expert shook his head. “What does it matter?”

“Isn’t the Mr. Lone Soldier A-level too?”

“They’re roughly the same…”

“…”

Minister Shen looked furious enough to shoot fire from his eyes. “Is that how security clearance levels work?”

“There’s no secrecy between identical clearance levels?”

“…”

“Alright, alright, calm down.”

Professor Bai smoothly interjected with a smile, “The Mr. Lone Soldier is currently a Level 3 Special Talent. Strictly speaking, he doesn’t have the clearance for Doll’s secrets. But his clearance can be raised as a special operations member. Besides, setting aside various concerns lacking data support, the Mr. Lone Soldier has consistently shown excellent performance data regarding mission completion…”

“Isn’t that enough for us to trust him?”

“…”

Minister Shen frowned. Whenever the experts and professors spoke up, he never won the argument.

Mr. Su at the head of the conference table slowly inquired, “How long will that take?”

Professor Chen relaxed slightly. “That depends on the process; it’s hard to estimate right now. All we can observe currently is that every sign is better than we anticipated. Gentlemen, fright turning into a pleasant surprise—isn’t that enough?”

“Heh heh…”

Relieved and happy laughter filled the meeting room, like survivors after a disaster.

Mr. Su chuckled along before saying, “Submit a complete application later. We’ll review it.”

Professor Chen nodded.

Just then, however, Chen Jing’s voice came through the open speakerphone, “What about the Mr. Lone Soldier?”

“Let him stay with her for now!”

Professor Chen snapped his fingers with a smile.

“Based on the contact so far, he’s truly the best candidate to lead Doll’s nanny team…”

“Getting to accompany such a pretty girl like Doll, he must be thrilled, right?”

“…Any normal person would be thrilled!”