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墨書 Inktalez
This mission was not assigned to us by A-Bao, but rather handed directly to us by the Vice Minister. One statement from the Vice Minister had left us puzzled, but after reviewing the documents, we finally understood what this case required from us. Yes, the Killer had already been apprehended, but this person was not the Killer.
"Multiple personalities," the Vice Minister said. "Cases of multiple personality murder are rare in our country. In my many years, this is the first time I've encountered such a situation. Moreover, the relationship involving the Victim is quite complex. This is also our country's first attempt at solving a case of this nature. During sentencing and determining culpability, any misstep could lead to unfairness."
We all frowned; just listening to the Vice Minister's explanation made us feel a bit dizzy. The Vice Minister continued, "Due to the lack of numerous cases, sentencing in such matters has always been controversial in our country. After decades of discussion, there has yet to be a conclusion. Given this particular case, many psychiatric experts, psychologists, and legal scholars will be present. It will ultimately depend on you."
As we walked back to our dormitory, the Vice Minister added, "Your task is to integrate and guide the Killer's inner sub-personalities or other personas. Let's assume a fact: if the Killer has two personalities, which we will call A Personality and B Personality, and if it was B Personality that committed the murder, would sentencing them be unfair to A Personality?"
"What difference does it make?" Yan Junde asked, completely confused as he had no understanding of this matter.
The Vice Minister smiled and said, "Well then, let Yang Xiaojuan explain it to you in detail. The success of this mission largely hinges on our forensic psychologist."
The four of us squeezed into one dorm room where Yang Xiaojuan addressed us: "First, I need to clarify a concept for you: the distinction between multiple personalities and schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder."
"What's the difference?" Yan Junde replied. "Isn't dissociative identity disorder just another term for schizophrenia?"
"There is a significant difference," Yang Xiaojuan explained. "Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by disturbances in perception, thought processes, emotions, and behavior. Common symptoms include hallucinations, primary delusions, emotional discordance, and often bizarre behaviors. It is a genuine mental illness."
Yang Xiaojuan looked at us before continuing: "Multiple personalities are now recognized as a psychological disorder known as dissociative identity disorder. It refers to an individual possessing two or more relatively independent identities or personalities that may or may not be aware of each other's existence. These identities are relatively independent and coexist."
Having spent considerable time with Juan Juan, I had some familiarity with these concepts; however, Mary and Yan Junde were still baffled. Juan Juan interjected to clarify: "To put it simply, if schizophrenia is like having one soul, then multiple personalities mean having multiple souls within one person."
"What we often see in psychiatric hospitals falls under schizophrenia. Given our country's large population base, many individuals suffer from this mental illness," Juan Juan continued. "However, multiple personalities are rare; they are often misdiagnosed as schizophrenia. Furthermore, not all individuals with multiple personalities pose a threat to society. One moment they might be a little girl; the next moment they could be an adult man or an elderly person on their deathbed."
I nodded and added, "Chen Qi-Zhen has lyrics that capture this well: 'Inside my heart lives a child, a dying old man, a rival in love, an injured party, a traitor, a fat man and a mute poet, a lecherous merchant and many unemployed drifters.'" As I spoke, I pointed at a number on the document: "Do you see this number? According to various psychologists' observations based on what is currently known, he possesses twenty different personalities."
"Twenty!" The few of them stared at the number on the document, unable to believe their eyes.
If a person harbors twenty souls within, how could they possibly live? How do these personalities coexist within a single body? This is indeed a question that ordinary people like us cannot fathom.
Juan Juan sighed and said, "The document states that this person is the child of a prostitute, with no knowledge of who their father is. When they were just beginning to understand the world, they often suffered brutal beatings from their stepfather. As they grew older, they witnessed the scene of their stepfather's son with their mother."
"This might be the reason for the formation of multiple personalities as a means to escape reality," Juan Juan continued. "From what we currently understand, the expert group has concluded that this person has at least five personalities that exhibit violent tendencies. Our mission is to use hypnosis to restore the scenes from that time and see if we can merge these multiple personalities down to a few or even one, which would aid in treatment or sentencing."
"What exactly do we need to do?" Yan Junde asked, confused.
Juan Juan replied, "At that time, we will all undergo hypnosis together. Have you seen 'Inception'?"
"Inception?" Mary couldn't help but exclaim. "Do we have such advanced equipment?"
Juan Juan chuckled and said, "Unfortunately, no. But you should remember the hypnosis case from Baili Village, right? The data you saved will come in handy. As you all know, under level five or six hypnosis, we will see illusions. Tomorrow, a Hypnosis Master will put all four of us, including Killer, into an environment."
"In this environment, we will encounter various people," Juan Juan said slowly while looking at the document. "But what we need to understand is that these various people are actually just one person—Killer. Through hypnosis, we might be able to destroy some of his violent personalities and guide his remaining non-violent or neutral personalities to merge."
Hearing this, Yan Junde shook his head and remarked with a sigh, "It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. I never expected we would receive such a mission."
"The Vice Minister mentioned earlier that this situation is unprecedented in our country," I said while looking at everyone. "Previously, research in psychology and mental health was quite limited. Now, our country is catching up in this field. If we succeed, it would be rare on a global scale."
Juan Juan nodded and said seriously, "That's right; using hypnosis in this way is still a first worldwide. I suspect our Special Investigation Team was chosen for this mission based on several considerations. First, without being modest, my expertise in psychology is the strongest among our three groups. Second, this mission carries significant uncertainty and potential danger."
Hearing those words, we all became serious. Yan Junde said, "Danger?"
"That's right." Juan Juan closed the folder and continued, "Danger. First of all, the instability inherent in Deep Hypnosis. You and Linzi have suffered quite a bit in that regard."
Indeed, back then, Dezi and I had nearly been choked to death by something that didn't even exist. If it hadn't been for Xiaocao's charm bag, Yan Junde and I would probably have already drunk Meng Po Soup and been reincarnated.
"That's the first point," Juan Juan continued. "The second point is that while we can destroy his personality, he could also destroy ours in return. Together, the four of us only have four personalities, while he has more than five times that many. Although his violent personalities are limited to five, the neutral ones may not necessarily help us, and the kind ones might not dare to assist us either. Moreover, this is just what we can see on the surface; we still don't know if there are more different types of personalities deep within him."
To be honest, this case is extremely rare on a global scale. We are about to fight against one person who is not really just one person in a hypnotized environment. Just thinking about it makes me marvel at the power of science; it compels one to give a thumbs up to scientific achievements.
A night passed without a word.
The next day, we arrived at the location. The Killer appeared to be a middle-aged man, around forty years old. He was quite thin, with countless knife scars on his wrists—according to the data, these were all self-inflicted. Some of his High Intelligence personalities had realized their existence alongside others and acknowledged the heinous crimes they had committed, which led him to voluntarily turn himself in.
The information indicated that this man had over twenty personalities, meaning he had many acquaintances. His connections spanned various industries and age groups—from bricklayers on construction sites to billionaires. There were volunteers from Nursing Homes and gang leaders from organized crime. He had relationships with courtesans from the Red-Light District as well as village girls.
No wonder the Vice Minister said this person's connections were very complicated; it was as if twenty people's social circles were concentrated into one individual.
When we met him, he presented himself as a charming young man named Feng Tang Song, approximately twenty-five years old—one of his High Intelligence personalities. The personality that turned himself in was not him, but he was aware of the existence of the other personalities. He said, "You’ve arrived; please take a seat."
He gave off an impression of being cultured and refined, like a quiet scholar.
"We're going to be hypnotized shortly," I said while watching the staff prepare for the session. "Is there anything you want to say?"
The staff secured us to a special device. We stood on this apparatus, able to move freely, yet always remaining in one position, which saved a lot of space. It looked like something out of a 3D game that would soon be released; I even suspected that the staff would place a gaming headset on our heads next.
Of course, that was not the case. In front of us was indeed a three-dimensional screen, seemingly designed for a Virtual Scene.
An elderly man who appeared to be an expert spoke, "After being Hypnotized, you will not be aware of reality; your memories will be sealed. In other words, you will feel that the virtual is reality and reality is virtual. Of course, when you reach a critical point where I believe you are in danger, I will awaken you."
We all nodded, and I continued to ask, "So there’s really nothing to say?"
Feng Tang Song replied, "I am an only child. When I was young, I often thought how wonderful it would be to chat with myself."
"Begin!"
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