Chapter 32: The S-Rank Dilemma

“If that’s the case, how could we possibly recruit someone like him?”

A tense silence descended upon the office, the atmosphere thick with pressure. After a long moment, the stern-faced Minister Shen was the first to abruptly stand up, declaring loudly, “We must immediately initiate comprehensive monitoring on him, even…”

“No!”

Professor Bai cut him off, stating, “My personal decision is to approve recruitment, and also approve guidance!”

“What?”

This time, it wasn’t just Minister Shen. Chen Jing and the others in the meeting clearly showed expressions of astonishment.

“This young man’s loss-of-control risk is indeed quite high, but it’s evident he’s been striving to maintain control!”

Professor Bai continued, “I’ve reviewed his file. In the ten years since the Red Moon Orphanage incident, he hasn’t shown any further signs of mutation. Instead, he studied diligently, worked, and consistently helped with the reconstruction of Red Moon Elementary School. I believe this demonstrates rare character. At the very least, it shows that although his psychic power is high, he has been making a constant effort to control himself. If we provide him with appropriate guidance and support, it’s highly likely we can help him maintain stability and lower his loss-of-control risk!”

Hearing this, Minister Shen subconsciously started, “But he…”

“Has schizophrenia, is that it?”

Professor Bai shook his head. “When a person’s psychic power reaches a level unimaginable to ordinary people, various abnormal states are bound to appear. From an ordinary person’s perspective, forget schizophrenia—the mere fact that he possesses mental alteration abilities is highly abnormal. They could even be directly labeled as mentally ill, or… lunatics!”

“But that shouldn’t be the basis for our judgment.”

“We should approach these changes with humility and awe, not with a sense of superiority and prejudice!”

“Compared to them, we are normal people!”

“But from another perspective, we are also ordinary people!”

…

Professor Bai’s words brought a moment of silence and hesitation to the meeting, the atmosphere somewhat stifling.

Not everyone could accept and face these changes as calmly as the professor.

“Of course, there’s an even more important reason!”

Professor Bai turned then, looking towards the plump, round-faced old man at the center of the conference table.

“I recently attended the Alliance Research Institute’s special conference. I discovered that in other High-wall Cities, as well as organizations like the Technology Church and Mining Companies, they have already identified S-rank Mentally Altered Persons. While specific intelligence is still unknown, you can imagine… what if these people fully master the abilities of these S-rank individuals? What if they’re no longer satisfied with merely handling their own city’s mental pollution incidents, but decide to use them for military purposes, setting their sights on other High-wall Cities? What will we use to defend ourselves?”

…

“S-rank Mentally Altered Persons…”

Professor Bai’s words caused looks of fear to appear on many faces.

The round-faced old man remained silent for a while before asking, “Doesn’t Doll have great potential?”

“Doll has great potential *among* the Altered with low loss-of-control risk!”

Professor Bai’s gaze seemed weary. “But many have already turned their attention to those with high loss-of-control risks!”

Minister Shen suddenly interjected, “What they’re doing is extremely dangerous!”

“But *not* doing it is equally dangerous!”

Professor Bai sighed softly. “Everyone else is doing it. If you don’t, you’ll fall behind!”

Everyone in the meeting room fell silent.

As people who had mostly experienced the hardships during the initial construction of the High-wall City, they all understood the price of falling behind.

After a period of silence, Minister Shen spoke, “I acknowledge Professor Bai’s points, but I still maintain that when dealing with someone with such high psychic power and such a significant loss-of-control risk, we must strengthen supervision. Furthermore, until his mental state is confirmed stable, he absolutely must not be allowed into the Main City. I need to be responsible for the millions of residents in the Main City!”

“I understand your concerns!”

Professor Bai chuckled. “But there’s no need to be so tense. I believe we can find a better way to handle this!”

“Professor Bai…”

Just as a slight silence fell over the group, the round-faced middle-aged man seated in the middle suddenly spoke with a smile:

“I have a question. If these Mentally Altered Persons have unstable mental states and high loss-of-control risks, and we can’t assess their risk through any means other than observation, how then do we determine if they are safe?”

Professor Bai turned back, paused for a moment, then smiled. “Sometimes, the criteria for judgment can seem rather ridiculous!”

“If we genuinely cannot determine if he is normal, yet we must consider utilizing his abilities…”

“Then we can only rely on standards that might sound somewhat laughable!”

“Such as…”

“Is this person’s heart fundamentally good? Does he yearn for what is right?”

…

Professor Bai’s words once again brought a brief silence to the office.

“Let’s decide on this matter later. Professor Bai, after you return, I hope we can have a proper chat!”

As the meeting drew to a close, the round-faced middle-aged man spoke with a smile, effectively concluding the session.

One by one, the shadows began to vanish from the conference room, but Professor Bai remained.

Chen Jing knew the professor had more to say to her, so she proactively gave her individual report. “Professor, regarding his unusual behavior while handling the Qing Shen pollution source incident, I’ve already detailed it in the first detection video I sent you. I still stand by my previous assessment: certain aspects of him do seem abnormal, but that doesn’t necessarily mean his loss-of-control risk is high.”

“From my initial contact with him, it was clear he’s just a very ordinary person.”

“He likes money, and… women. He’s also a bit mischievously cunning. But these are all expressions of human nature.”

After a pause, she added, “Of course, at that time, I didn’t know his psychic power… would be this high!”

…

“You make a very good point, and I trust your judgment!”

The old man in the white suit smiled. “However, strictly speaking, I don’t think the possibility of control versus loss of control is that important. You’ve dealt with them so much that you’ve been influenced. Those of us in this kind of research need to understand problems from different angles. For example, others think he’s dangerous because he has symptoms of schizophrenia, but from another perspective…”

“He’s been ‘split’ for so long without causing any problems. Doesn’t that precisely demonstrate his self-control?”

…

“That…”

Chen Jing was somewhat taken aback by Professor Bai’s words. After a pause, driven by the habit formed from years as his student, she immediately adopted the City Defense Department’s perspective to answer him, “Then, what if he could have remained stable, but loses control due to prolonged exposure to mental pollution incidents? Wouldn’t that become our responsibility?”

“Responsibility shouldn’t be understood that way!”

Professor Bai smiled. “Rather, guiding him to utilize his abilities without losing control, *that* is our responsibility!”

Seeing Chen Jing momentarily unable to respond, Professor Bai continued with a smile, “Besides, which of the recruits we bring in now doesn’t have issues? Doll’s autism, Gecko’s lechery, Drunkard’s delusions, even including your…”

“…Severe gambling addiction and extreme pink obsession?”

…

Hearing Professor Bai’s words, Chen Jing’s face turned red. She lifted her head and declared, “I’ve already corrected it!”

“You’ve merely forced yourself to hide it through powerful self-control!”

Professor Bai chuckled. “I just want to tell you to look at things more calmly and thoroughly. Don’t be easily influenced. Ultimately, we are researchers. We only believe in facts and data. Everything else is just ignorant speculation and nonsense…”

“Of course, this young man must still undergo more detailed testing before formal recruitment, let alone guidance!”

…

Chen Jing frowned. “Those people in the Main City will never feel safe letting him go there for testing!”

“No problem!”

Professor Bai smiled. “We can arrange for personnel to go over there and conduct the testing and evaluation in the Satellite City!”

Chen Jing looked surprised, then smiled. “Professor, you really have clout, managing to persuade those old stubborn fools to come all the way to the Satellite City.”

Then, with some concern, she asked, “When?”

Professor Bai smiled. “As soon as possible. Honestly, Special Pollution Source 041 gives me a bad feeling!”