Gong Zheng was driving the enhanced car on Jade Avenue.

The summer heat persisted, but the inside of the car was quite cool.

Nowadays, the company's official vehicles were all equipped with the latest refrigeration boxes, which used specially made copper pipes to expel smoke outside, giving the car roof an additional small smokestack, reminiscent of a steam locomotive.

Zhou Yi and Yuan Xiao sat in the back seat.

The Angel of Death, with her young girl's appearance, gazed out of the window, somewhat lost in thought.

She gently pinched her fingers: "Healers are different from us Hunters; they are naturally inclined to treat the lives of others, able to repair those damaged, broken Consciousness."

"The chance of a Healer being born is extremely low. I sensed one in the Dead Sea and initially thought it was not real. Not until I saw him did I confirm it was true."

"The abilities of the Healer are of great assistance to those with damaged Consciousness but are a double-edged sword to the Healer themselves."

"Their ability is called 'Consciousness Puzzle,' which allows the broken Consciousness to find missing parts and patch them up. If they repair a Consciousness, they receive strong positive feedback from that Consciousness, enhancing this ability as well."

"However, this ability is like my 'Death Transformation' – it's a force that can change lives but comes at a price."

Yuan Xiao spoke with a grave voice, "His price is the nurturing of Dream Demons within him."

"To repair Consciousness, Healers need to immerse themselves into the worlds of various Consciousnesses. During the repair process, they get continuously attached to and eroded by a plethora of Consciousnesses, eventually forming bizarre monsters made of Consciousness Fragments, the Dream Demons."

"As repairs go on, Dream Demons become stronger and stronger. Initially, they will incorporate Consciousness Fragments into their bodies. Eventually, when fragments are no longer sufficient, the Dream Demon turns on the Healer, hollowing out their Consciousness before leaving."

"By that time, the Dream Demon has reached its final form; it will enter and hunt Consciousness Fragments in everyone's dreams."

Zhou Yi frowned, "Is there no way to eliminate the Dream Demon?"

"If the Dream Demon is killed, the Healer will die as well. In essence, the Dream Demon is an evolution of the 'Consciousness Puzzle' ability."

Zhou Yi couldn't help but find it troublesome.

Indeed, difficult to deal with.

"So, in the end, there are only two paths."

Yuan Xiao's expression gradually turned serious: "Most Healers are devoured by Dream Demons; only a very few can tame them."

"But after taming the Dream Demon, they will enter another side of the Conscious world, disappearing without a trace. However, this is already the best outcome."

Zhou Yi pondered in his heart.

No wonder the Angel of Death group is so rare; although they possess exceptional talents, their life trajectories are akin to the hardest level of hell.

Either wreak massive havoc before blowing up themselves or wander around healing until they vanish.

Neither is a good ending.

"So Chairman, your words gave me a reminder."

A glint flashed in Yuan Xiao's eyes: "Relying solely on ourselves, we can't break out of this cycle of death. However, if we can leverage other external forces or new technologies, perhaps there's a chance."

"It's like the company developing Alien flight technology. From the discovery of the Dead Sea Alien till now, they have always been land monsters with powerful terrestrial dominance. But now they can fly! This was deemed impossible in the past."

"Another is that Aliens were unable to communicate with the outside world, affirmed by years of experience and common knowledge, but now that has been broken, too. In United City, there is Alien communication, able to even remotely converse with other Aliens, and you as the Chairman can do the same."

"If the ancient Aliens can change their fate, we also have a chance."

She maintained a positive optimism.

Zhou Yi nodded, "Nothing is impossible."

Who would have thought in the era I lived in that the world would be destroyed by an inundation of light?

The car gradually came to a stop beside Mushroom Forest.

Zhou Yi and Yuan Xiao alighted from the vehicle.

"There's iced cola in the car's refrigeration box in the trunk, take it with you."

He reminded, "Sun Hao likes drinking that."

"Oh, okay."

The young girl lifted the whole refrigeration box with one hand.

Alright then.

Zhou Yi walked inside, and from a distance, he could hear a slightly raspy female voice.

"How many states are there in Heavenly Kingdom altogether, who can tell me?"

The Mechatronics teacher, Diamond, was lecturing.

Ahead was an open-air classroom, with the giant mushrooms around shading them from the sun, making it not too hot.

About a dozen Black Hand Mushrooms sat on stone benches, each with an enhanced controller on the tables in front of them, attentively listening to the teacher at the podium.

Behind the teacher was a projection screen, with the Chinese title "Heavenly Kingdom History" floating on it, followed by some very vivid illustrations.

"166, answer this."

The named Black Hand Mushroom stood up: "51 states!"

"That's right. Where is the capital?"

"Central State, Dawn City."

"Good, sit down."

The proud Black Hand Mushroom sat down, glancing around.

Zhou Yi saw Sun Hao sitting in the last row. Along with him, there were two other human workers, also listening attentively.

The class lasted for another twenty minutes before ending.

Zhou Yi went to gather information from Diamond, also giving the two Angels of Death a chance to be alone.

"Chairman, the Black Hand Mushrooms are smarter and more proactive than I anticipated, they are good kids and students."

The Mechatronics teacher's voice was light and joyful: "I really appreciate you providing us with the complete equipment, it's significant for them to understand the knowledge visually."

Zhou Yi asked, "Don't we have a dedicated classroom?"

He had recently constructed a row of buildings in Jade City, specifically to be used as the school for Mushroom Forest.

"The classrooms are nice, just that the kids here don't like them."

Diamond said, "They are born from nature and prefer to be in the natural environment outdoors. So I generally teach outside. The open-air classroom itself also makes them more relaxed and willing to come and listen to the lessons. Anyone interested can join at any time."

"I see."

Zhou Yi said, "How are the students progressing with their studies?"

"I have 23 students who regularly participate in my public classes. They have attended all the courses so far, and their progress is the fastest. Besides them, some company employees also come to listen and learn."

The electromechanical teacher explained, "The easiest subject for the students is history because it consists of events that inherently have a compelling and fluctuating influence. Many students perform very well in history exams."

"Language courses are much more difficult."

"Because I teach traditional electromechanical programming languages, it's somewhat difficult for non-electromechanical life forms to understand. However, there are a few students who are doing very well, keeping up with the pace. Black Hand Mushroom 102, Chen Ji, and Bei Ta are the best learners."

"I've recommended those three to Minister 703. They are now studying with me while also serving as assistants in the Program Department, applying their knowledge in practice.

Zhou Yi said with a smile, "You've worked hard."

Diamond responded, "The greatest achievement for a teacher is to see their students study and grow well and make their own contributions to the progress of society and the world. I really like the current work environment and this group of students."

Only then did Zhou Yi formally ask, "And... how is Sun Hao doing with his studies?"

"He has been studying seriously."

Diamond paused, "Sun Hao is very interested in history, but his grades in programming languages are not ideal. Overall, he seems to have difficulty with numbers and calculations, I would even say he struggles."

"In the most recent test, Sun Hao scored 65 out of 100 in history, but only 5 in the electromechanical language."

Zhou Yi's heart sank abruptly.

In terms of studies, it's really the same as Yuan Xiao.

It runs in the family.

"However, different students have different interests. Sun Hao is interested in medical treatment. At Maria Hospital, he is learning quickly and has already started helping some patients with consciousness treatments."

"Although he finds some areas very challenging, Sun Hao has persevered in trying to understand a lot of knowledge. With this perseverance and self-discipline, I believe he will definitely become a good doctor."

Zhou Yi let out a sigh of relief.

Now he could relate to the feelings of parents who go to talk to teachers about their children.

Initially anxious, then full of ups and downs, followed by a sense of impending doom... and finally a bit of comfort from the teacher at the end.

Zhou Yi looked back and was startled.

Yuan Xiao and Sun Hao sat opposite each other in silence; they looked like complete strangers, maintaining their distance.

It seems there's been an awkward silence for quite a while.

Zhou Yi went over to break the ice, "Sun Hao, how have you been feeling lately? I heard from the teacher that you're learning fast at the hospital."

Facing Zhou Yi, the boy in the black robe seemed much more relaxed, "Father, I have no talent for programming languages. At the hospital, I've received approval from Dean Da Vinci, and now I am Dr. Feng Ying's assistant."

"Dr. Feng conducts rehabilitation for some patients, and I also perform checks and repairs on their consciousness."

"Treating these patients, whether they are Bone Men or ordinary humans, makes me feel very confident."

"If you like it, that's good."

Zhou Yi nodded, "Yuan Xiao told me about the Dream Demon that's developing inside you... How do you feel about it now?"

"Are you talking about this?"

Sun Hao stretched out his hand, and a small Shadow Monster, about the size of a tennis ball, slowly materialized in it.

It had a horn on each side of its head, a pair of hollow white eyes, somewhat resembling an owl with its wings folded.

"It hasn't harmed me for now."

The young man continued, "It consumes the harmful parts of the Consciousness Fragments, usually the painful and desperate parts. This allows the Consciousness to be stitched up, preventing continuous tearing and breaking."

The Shadow Monster looked around curiously from his hand, appearing like a small pet.

Zhou Yi's [Alert] could not detect any white light emitting from it, indicating that it indeed wasn't an independent life form.

"You need to learn to control it, otherwise, it will consume you."

Finally, Yuan Xiao spoke up.

Sun Hao said, "Thank you for the reminder, I will be careful."

The response was very polite.

The attitude was clear, they were not close.

Eventually, Yuan Xiao handed over a Coke from the refrigeration box to him, which Sun Hao then shared with the other Black Hand Mushroom classmates.

...

On the return trip in the car.

Yuan Xiao looked out the window and spoke softly, "Sun Hao is much better than Nian Gao. He's more patient and polite, not impulsive, and it's good that he met you."

"Chairman, thank you, thanks to you all."

"I'll work hard for the company."

She was dead serious.

Zhou Yi internally felt very satisfied; sincerity truly is the ultimate trump card.

"By the way."

Yuan Xiao suddenly said, "I have an idea, Chairman, now that Sun Hao recognizes you as his father, if we get married in the human way, wouldn't he immediately start calling me mother? It's the fastest method! Could you perhaps, for my sake, marry me..."

Zhou Yi's smile froze.

"Don't resort to such crooked ways! Where did you learn that?"

"From the stories of the era of the gods, about stepmothers becoming real mothers..."

"Don't learn that part!"

"Oh."

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