CHAPTER 288: CHAPTER 288: DEMON KING’S DESCENT, STORM RESTRAINT

"On the Resonance Effects of Synthetic Voices"

"Can Videos Convey Extraordinary Power? (For example, flavor)"

"How Do Flourishing Sakura Demons and Ghosts Perceive Us?"

"Analysis of the Status of Cultivators Who Achieve Breakthroughs While Watching ’Midnight Walker’"

Ren Suo was forced to wake up at noon—because both his phone and Wristband were shaking nonstop, urging him to hurry onto the internal network to address the urgent questions.

Ren Naiser was no longer the Ren Naiser of the past. When he released a video, it was like a stone stirring a thousand waves, creating a blizzard of activity. Research organizations worldwide would immediately dissect it for analysis. Even ordinary viewers would scrutinize the video’s content with the intensity of tackling a college entrance exam essay question.

By noon, the internal network suddenly exploded with news—a Cultivator had advanced from the second turn to the third turn after watching ’Midnight Walker’!

Ren Suo clicked in to check and discovered that the Cultivator was a military man, a member of the Yellow River Troops. He had begun his Cultivation in the early stages of the resurgence of Spiritual Energy, which was a year ago. He had ascended to the second turn even before the world’s Spiritual Energy had upgraded, just like Yu Kuangtu.

However, after ascending to the second turn, Yu Kuangtu had stopped to help with the affairs of the Tactical Bureau. Even when Dong Chengling had advanced to the third turn, he still remained at the second turn. While this could partly be because Dong Chengling truly had higher Talent and focused solely on Cultivation, it was also because Yu Kuangtu didn’t have time to cultivate.

As for this fellow from the Yellow River Troops, he existed as a national blade, likely spending even more time on Cultivation than Dong Chengling. His ability to reach the second turn even before the world’s Spiritual Energy upgraded clearly showed that Talent wasn’t his limiting factor.

In fact, according to the analysis report on the internal network, this Cultivator had been stuck at the peak of the Second Transformation for a long time. But being stuck at the peak of the Second Transformation wasn’t unique to him. It was a common phenomenon—just as common as being stuck at the peak of the First Transformation.

Ren Suo had long known that every stage of advancement for Cultivators required certain emotional and psychological readiness. However, the nation had not been able to figure out the specifics of this requirement. Some people got stuck; others passed through easily. The only general advice given was, "Eat well, live well, sleep soundly, and you will ascend more easily."

But this emotional readiness is definitely not some mystical concept. After all, Dong Chengling never delved into any philosophical or Buddhist scriptures, and yet she ascended easily.

I don’t care about that right now—my Qi Cyclone for the first turn is just a bit away from reaching its peak. I’ll worry about potential obstacles if I get stuck.

This Cultivator didn’t have any issues advancing to the second turn. But during his Second Transformation, a heavy blow struck: his grandmother, who had raised him alone after his parents died early, passed away from illness. Given the impact of such a loss, one could only imagine his grief.

Even though his grandmother passed away at the age of 87 and her death was peaceful, he was still deeply immersed in sorrow and couldn’t extricate himself. Although he returned to camp and cultivated diligently, he remained stuck at the peak of the Second Transformation for a long time. Every breakthrough attempt ended in failure.

He had an epiphany after watching the fifth video of ’Midnight Walker.’ This episode, featuring a Shenhai City story (from 13:12 to 17:56), showed a customer who had lost a loved one sharing his life experiences and eating fried cicadas. He watched it over a dozen times and suddenly felt something. He started cultivating right on the spot and quickly broke through to the third turn.

His breakthrough astounded the Yellow River Troops, and relevant materials promptly appeared on the internal network, sparking discussions about the principles behind this event.

Since Ren Suo got up late, the discussions with the most upvotes had already dominated the thread. "Without a doubt, this is the effect of resolving psychological issues by watching ’Midnight Walker,’ which influenced the emotional shift.

But Mr. Chen (the Cultivator) had not been without psychological counseling before. As a mainstay of the Yellow River Troops, he undoubtedly enjoyed the best treatment available. However, he still couldn’t find his way out of his predicament.

Mental illness was only given due medical attention at the beginning of this century. In our country, it has always been overlooked. Many patients with bipolar affective disorder, manic-depressive illness, and other mental disorders do not receive timely treatment. Most treatments only aim to alleviate symptoms and cannot cure the illness completely.

However, after Mr. Chen’s advancement, preliminary psychological analysis showed that his psychological issues had been thoroughly resolved, and his mindset was very healthy. It is expected that he will no longer encounter any psychological barriers in future advancements.

So, was the effect of the psychologist’s treatment not as good as him watching an episode of ’Midnight Walker’? I don’t think so. Although the content of the video matched Mr. Chen’s life experiences, what’s more important was the atmospheric effect of the video itself.

Sound and lighting effects. All sounds in ’Midnight Walker’—human voices, ambient noises, action sounds—are not normal; they are synthetic. But it is these very sounds that can greatly enhance the emotional resonance of the viewers.

Furthermore, concerning the food provided by the God of Cookery: after a frame-by-frame analysis, I discovered that its Light and Shadow exhibited special changes. During continuous playback, these changes are imperceptible to the human eye, but the visual information still enters the brain unhindered, naturally producing an effect.

My irresponsible speculation is this: the diners are also cured of their mental illnesses because they perceive these corresponding changes in Light and Shadow.

However, there’s a difference. Normal people watching ’Midnight Walker’ tend to become increasingly depressed. If they watch the entire series, their mood can worsen significantly. Yet, it also triggers a short burst of Sympathy in them.

Only patients with corresponding psychological issues, when they see segments featuring customers with similar experiences, might resonate with it. They may watch these parts repeatedly, finding them not depressing but, on the contrary, extremely healing.

Additionally, ’Midnight Walker’ is excellent. Five-Star recommendation."

This highly upvoted answer was quite clear and sounded very high-tech. If I hadn’t known I’d drugged the food, I might have actually believed I added special effects to it.

As for the truthfulness of the highly upvoted answer, I couldn’t be bothered to investigate further. After all, I already knew the outcome.

Due to the editing, ’Midnight Walker’ possesses a very strong emotional impact. The selected diners are all typical cases, without repetition, covering most types of men, women, old, and young worldwide who suffer from depressive tendencies and need psychological counseling.

Once the Researchers confirm that ’Midnight Walker’ poses no danger, the state will likely allow this ten-episode series to be broadcast on satellite TV. This will let more people watch and experience this healing masterpiece.

The state has undoubtedly recognized the danger of Half-Demons from the videos. However, this phenomenon ultimately stems from the contradiction between the people’s ever-growing material and cultural needs and lagging social production.Furthermore, a comprehensive system for young and elderly Cultivators needs to be established. For now, ’Midnight Walker’ only serves as a temporary cure.

Moreover, Ren Suo had also submitted his previous two answers—one speculating about Fairy Palace characters and the other about Flourishing Sakura Monsters—applying for Points feedback.

The groundwork I laid before is now ready for harvest.

After casually upvoting a few answers and drafting half a paper, Ren Suo went to Dong Chengling’s house for dinner.

It was still Gu Yueyan who opened the door for him. Gu Yueyan glanced at him, muttered, "Good afternoon," and went back to her room.

Having nothing better to do and noticing she hadn’t closed the door, Ren Suo walked to the doorway and exclaimed with surprise, "Are you moving back?"

"Yeah." Gu Yueyan stuffed her clothes back into her suitcase, pressed it down, zipped it shut, and dusted off her hands. "I’m moving back to the dorm this afternoon."

"You’re really not staying here anymore?" Ren Suo asked seriously.

Gu Yueyan’s heart skipped a beat, but she kept a normal expression. "Yeah."

"Will you still come here often?" Ren Suo asked again.

Is he reluctant to see me go? Gu Yueyan suppressed the flutter in her heart. Could the events of last night have propelled their relationship forward so suddenly? She nodded as if nothing were amiss. "I should... I might come over for lunch and dinner. I’ll be busy with my studies and Cultivation in the future."

Desire Resonance: "Retention."

Ren Suo paused. After a moment of deep thought, he said, "I hope you’ll come over more often."

Gu Yueyan felt her heart pounding chaotically.

"Right, if you don’t help Dong Chengling cook in the future, we’ll have to take turns washing dishes."

Gu Yueyan blinked and pressed her left chest.

That fluttering feeling? It just died. This wasn’t a heart skipping a beat; this was a full-blown coronary artery blockage!

"If I come, I’ll definitely help with cooking!" she said through gritted teeth.

"Dinner’s ready," Dong Chengling called out from the living room.

Watching Gu Yueyan leave in a huff, Ren Suo scratched his head and concentrated, listening to the voice of the Bond System.

’Negative emotions from Gu Yueyan, +233’

’Negative emotions from Chen Meijing, +2’

’From...’

Ren Suo turned off the voice prompt. Does being closer to someone mean I receive more negative emotions from them?But how had I offended Gu Yueyan? Wasn’t I just saying what the Desire Resonance indicated?

This negative emotion prompt was a Bond Ability granted by Qiao Muyi.

In the early hours of the morning, Ren Suo had quickly established Bonds with the other four Awakeners to use their connection to pull his soul back to his True Form. Therefore, after returning to his body, Dong Chengling’s Bond Level remained unchanged. However, Gu Yueyan’s Bond had upgraded, and he had also formed new Bonds with Lin Xianyu and Qiao Muyi.

’Gu Yueyan, Level 2 Bond, Bond Ability "Wax and Wane": Fires a damaging Moonlight beam, consuming one’s own Energy.’

The description hadn’t changed. However, when Ren Suo tried it, he found his control over Moonlight had increased, and the Spiritual Energy consumption had slightly decreased.

’Lin Xianyu, Level 1 Bond, Bond Ability "Storm Restraint": Wraps the arm in a damaging Whirlwind, consuming one’s own Energy.’

After trying it, Ren Suo understood why Lin Xianyu’s arms were always injured. This move formed an extremely fast Whirlwind around the arm, instantly tearing Ren Suo’s clothes.

He snuck into the back mountains and used this technique on a large tree from five meters away. He found that even if the Whirlwind dispersed midway, it still managed to score multiple cracks on the tree.

If one’s power was strong enough, this storm could probably topple a large tree!

Yet, the most peculiar Bond was with Qiao Muyi:

’Qiao Muyi, Level 1 Bond, Bond Ability "Demon King’s Descent": Can obtain negative emotions.’

That was it.

So, what good was it to gain negative emotions? For now, none.Perhaps my Bond Level with Qiao Muyi isn’t high enough. Or maybe I need to harvest a certain amount of negative emotions before new functions are revealed.But it’s likely that the ability to utilize negative emotions will only unlock when the Bond Level increases. So...

At best, for now, I can only use this ability with "Desire Resonance" to see if my words make others happy or unhappy.If others were unhappy... Well, I wouldn’t change.

After all, I hardly interact with anyone normally. I only chat with friends and have few opportunities to harvest negative emotions. So, I don’t have high expectations for this Bond.Compared to the Mini-World Game Console, this Bond Ability isn’t tempting enough to lure me away from my warm and comfortable home.

However, for some unknown reason, notifications about harvested negative emotions kept popping up, usually just for a few points each time. Fortunately, this notification could be temporarily disabled. Otherwise, it would drive him nuts.

He thought about it. The negative emotions harvested from ’Ren Naiser’s’ videos were probably being attributed to him; otherwise, this situation was inexplicable.The national Researchers did say that because the emotional rendering is so strong, normal people watching ’Midnight Walker’ get extremely depressed. These negative emotions must be accumulating on me.

During the meal, Gu Yueyan asked, "Sister Qiao won’t be in trouble, will she?"

"Don’t worry, we didn’t appear in that episode in Lianjiang," Ren Suo reassured her. "But she must be very busy now."

"Why?"

"Looking for people," Ren Suo replied. "The God of Cookery turned up in Lianjiang, and now the Tactical Bureau is searching for customers who appeared in the video."

Ren Suo actually knew this from the internal network, as many psychological profilers were studying the customers who had appeared in Shenhai, Lianjiang, and Ben Gang.

"Can they find them?" Dong Chengling asked curiously.

"Most likely not. There are no vocal or facial characteristics of the customers, just knowledge of their general life experiences and some private details. Everyone stumbles in life; countless people share similar experiences. Unless someone is very close to them, it would be hard to make the connection," Ren Suo explained.

When I saw the first-person perspective in the video and heard the customers’ synthesized voices, I guessed this would happen.Unexpectedly, this approach not only greatly enhanced emotional rendering and immersion but also conveniently protected the customers’ privacy.After all, these customers were just unfortunate souls who were on the brink of wrongdoing but turned back at the last moment. As for those who had already crossed the line, they either faced a rude awakening and turned themselves in, or they ate their fill and then went to confess.

After dinner, Ren Suo went home, turned on the Mini-World Game Console, and entered ’Midnight Walker’.

The video upload signaled the Perfect ending to the game ’Midnight Walker’.

Now, the Collector function was finally unlocked!