Chapter 197
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Chapter 197: This is a Bit Too Anthropomorphic
Oh? Quite clever.
Lin Qingliu stood behind the Shadow Master, observing the tall man, and sensed a hint of slickness that contrasted with his outward appearance.
It seemed he was too eager to advance.
Seeing someone had already acted as his mouthpiece, Lin Qingliu said no more and directly closed the door to the examination room to continue the "treatment."
The stacks of books had been neatly arranged beside the table. Lin Qingliu approached the Dummy, placing one hand on its forehead while pointing the other hand at one of the stacks of books.
Suddenly, a whirlwind sprang up in the tightly sealed room. The wind began to accelerate and swirl in the narrow space, tearing the stack of books around Lin Qingliu into pieces.
Gathering in the wind, the pages turned into strips and started overlapping and entangling.
A particularly fast-flying sheet of paper cut through Lin Qingliu’s finger, and his blood began to trickle out.
This was not the first time he used his blood as a medium for his abilities. Blood and flesh, as components of Lin Qingliu’s physical being, could act as a foundation to extend parts of his other abilities.
Soon, the fluttering pages decreased, and beside Lin Qingliu, a three-dimensional paper figure that closely resembled a human gradually emerged.
First came the skeleton, then the simulation of muscles and skin, and finally, a smooth face began to take shape, gradually forming an identical likeness to the one lying down.
The small whirlwind quickly subsided, and before Lin Qingliu stood a young man.
This young man had a well-proportioned figure, his arms slightly thicker than average, showing signs of having exercised.
His hair naturally fell to just above his eyebrows, as if divided by an invisible force.
His facial features were soft, and although he looked to be in his twenties, he exuded a sense of calm and reliability.
At this moment, the entirely paper-made man smiled warmly and extended his palm toward Lin Qingliu:
“Hello, Dr. Lin. I am the superpowered ‘Nian.’ It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Lin Qingliu shook his left hand with him, gauging his control distance and precision, realizing his ability still had much room for improvement.
Indeed, the handshake and small talk were entirely him multitasking. This combination of abilities appeared very powerful, but Lin Qingliu felt it had its limitations.
This ability to create replicas not only required high-quality materials and thorough preparation but also couldn’t be controlled with great precision.
As for speaking and acting, that was entirely under Lin Qingliu’s control. He was not worried about character or memory glitches since he had already read the memories of the first generation Dummy and could imitate effectively.
Moreover, the second-generation Dummy was made of paper and could not last more than two days, or forty-eight hours.
And importantly, they absolutely could not take a bath!
Fortunately, these five individuals were set to receive awards the next day, and as long as they appeared during the ceremony, what happened afterward would no longer concern Lin Qingliu.
During the handshake, Lin Qingliu distinctly felt the heaviness of the Dummy’s hand.
This was merely a flaw in controlling a single Dummy; if he controlled three or more, one might spot the flaws just by watching.
But Lin Qingliu was not without methods. After careful consideration, he became increasingly convinced that his plan was feasible.
Five minutes later, the door to the examination room opened, and “Nian” emerged with a smile.
“How do you feel, brother?”
The first to ask was the Shadow Master, who had clearly been waiting at the door for some time.
The others, either due to their status or because they hadn’t had time to react, or perhaps because they weren’t human at all, did not speak up at all.
“Feeling great! Dr. Lin’s deep sleep therapy truly lives up to its reputation.”
“Oh? Deep sleep therapy?”
The Shadow Master raised his eyebrows, looking as if he had never encountered such a thing before.
“Yes.”
The second-generation Dummy, Nian, glanced around and began to promote the therapy under Lin Qingliu’s direction:
“I heard during my break that among the external psychologists at headquarters, there’s a young team leader who can hypnotize patients with heavy mental burdens, allowing them to experience deep relaxation for a while.
“I just tried it, and wow, it feels amazing! Everyone should find a chance to try it too!”
The Shadow Master’s face twitched inexplicably. Though he was also a team leader among the second batch of superheroes ranked six to ten, he wasn’t particularly close to Nian before.
His brow furrowed slightly, as he felt that this guy hadn’t displayed such a comedic flair in the past…
Could this be his true nature? Was his previous aloof and reserved demeanor just a facade, or perhaps a defense mechanism under pressure?
Multiple thoughts raced through the Shadow Master’s mind in a matter of seconds.
Across from Nian, the first-generation Dummies, Flowing Sand and Gecko, also sensed something was off.
There seemed to be a lack of a certain quality in him—a quality that belonged to the Supreme Will, deep and reserved (and perhaps lacking in intellect).
But they couldn’t quite put their finger on what was wrong. Still, with everyone watching, the show had to go on.
The two stood up together, politely nudging each other to decide who would go first.
Flowing Sand pushed the door open, while Nian casually took a seat in his original spot.
Gecko subtly shifted his body, as if wanting to lean closer to his good Captain, but no one seemed to notice.
He wanted to synchronize with Nian about what had just happened in the examination room through touch.
For them, fragments of the Supreme Will, physical contact allowed for a massive transfer of information; what one knew, they all knew.
But unexpectedly, Nian shifted in the opposite direction, and the movement was so obvious that it even caught the Shadow Master’s attention.
Just as Gecko wondered why Nian wasn’t synchronizing information with him, Nian tilted his head, silently mouthing words out of the Shadow Master’s line of sight.
Gecko quickly read Nian’s lips:
“Someone’s watching.”
He suddenly understood, realizing that his behavior had changed after merging with the true Gecko persona; he was no longer as rational and cautious as before.
Nian’s personality, blended from the fragment of soul, was clearly more advanced, capable of providing greater assistance, unlike the fool he had merged with, who lacked intelligence.
Two meters away, the Shadow Master, relying on his extraordinary senses, caught every subtle movement between the two.
His expression tightened once more, a wave of discomfort washing over him.
A silent scream echoed in his heart:
“Those two… they can’t really be in *that* kind of relationship, can they?”
