156: Morpheus's "Hall of Mirrors" and the "Monkey King and His Falsehood" dilemma

The failure of the "Abyssal Resonance" project did not extinguish the paranoid flame in Morpheus Li's heart; instead, it was like pouring oil on glowing coals, igniting an even fiercer and more twisted fire. The astonishing potential and tenacious resilience Excellence displayed during his resistance did not make him back down; rather, it greatly stimulated his desire for possession and conquest. He realized clearly that the physical defenses of "Homeland" and Excellence's own ability to resist were no longer what they used to be. Direct frontal assaults or low-frequency, slow infiltration strategies were not only ineffective but might expose him again, resulting in losses that outweighed the gains.

After gloomy and meticulous planning, a more insidious and vicious new plan—aimed at fundamentally disintegrating The Foundation of "Homeland"—was born: "Mirror Hall." The name of this plan vividly revealed its core tactic: to confuse the public and pass off the fake as the real. It no longer sought direct destruction or occupation; instead, it aimed to build a maze composed of countless twisted mirrors (false information), making it difficult for the outside world, and even people within "Homeland," to distinguish who was the real Excellence and who was a reflection, thereby shaking the cornerstone of trust.

Morpheus mobilized the remaining, still-powerful resource network of the "Prophet Foundation," shifting the focus of the attack from physical and technical levels entirely to information and psychological levels. His methods were endless, insidious, and cunning:

Large-scale fabrication of "black material" and "alternative narratives": The underground media channels and massive internet bot systems controlled by The Foundation began to operate efficiently, spreading all kinds of half-truth, highly inflammatory rumors.

Slander regarding human experimentation: Some documents and "victim testimonies" that appeared to be "internal revelations" began to circulate, claiming that the "Candle Dragon" base (a vague code name used by "Homeland" externally) was actually a black site conducting inhumane human modification and consciousness control experiments, and that Excellence was its most "successful" yet "tragic" experimental subject, stripped of free will and turned into a research tool. These rumors cleverly utilized Excellence's past experience with autism and the extraordinary nature of his abilities, making them sound quite "convincing."

Framing him as a double agent: Even more damaging was another narrative that quietly emerged, claiming that Excellence had actually been secretly turned by the "Prophet Foundation" long ago, and his protection by "Homeland" was just a carefully orchestrated drama. The goal was for him to act as a deep-cover double agent, stealing core secrets or detonating "Homeland" from within at a critical moment. This claim attempted to fundamentally deny the loyalty of Excellence and the legitimacy of "Homeland's" protection operations.

Forging historical traces: Most insidiously, The Foundation's intelligence technology department began to systematically forge the sporadic traces Excellence had left on the internet before being protected by "Homeland." They found geek forums and programming communities he might have logged into in his early years, carefully tampering with or fabricating posts and code snippets. These forged traces were imbued with a tone full of aggression, paranoid tendencies, or distinct technical characteristics of The Foundation, and then "leaked" at the "perfect" moment to specific intelligence analysis agencies or curious hackers. These "archaeological discoveries" seemed to provide "conclusive" "historical evidence" for the "double agent" theory.

The eerie transformation and precise imitation of "Echo": Meanwhile, "Echo," which had been silent for a while, became highly active again, but its behavioral pattern underwent an unsettling, refined transformation. It was no longer satisfied with just posting sensational, cutting-edge conjectures, but began to consciously and precisely imitate Excellence's recent behavioral characteristics and thinking patterns!

On a top-tier geek encryption forum, "Echo" would discuss technical problems in a tone that was a vivid imitation—slightly childish yet full of leaping logic—and even mentioned the unique concept of "Resonance Mapping" that belonged to Excellence, and "shared" the "Resonance Maps" it drew—these maps looked more "exquisite" and "mathematical" than those of Excellence, but they carried a cold, mechanical aura devoid of life.

Even more insidiously, in its exchanges, "Echo" would "inadvertently" reveal a sense of melancholy typical of a "trapped genius," implying that it was in an "isolated, closed research institution," under strict restrictions, and longing to communicate with "truly free, wise souls" in the outside world. This narrative cleverly echoed the rumors slandering "Homeland" for conducting human experiments, attempting to trigger outside "sympathy" for Excellence's situation and indignation toward "Homeland."

The viciousness of the "Mirror Hall" plan lay in its avoidance of the strong to attack the weak; it did not attack the solid physical defenses or technical barriers of "Homeland," but rather its legitimacy, moral high ground, and the psychological defenses between its internal members. Morpheus's goal was to create an arena of public opinion filled with suspicion and chaos:

Externally: To make the international academic community, intelligence circles, and even wider circles begin to question—is "Excellence" truly unique? Perhaps "Echo" is the more "advanced" existence? Is "Homeland" as evil as the rumors say? Is protecting Excellence just a front? Once this chain of suspicion is formed, it will greatly isolate "Homeland," weaken its external support, and may even trigger unnecessary international disputes.

Internally: Although "Homeland" has strict discipline, those indistinguishable "evidence" and "narratives," like tiny poisoned thorns, will inevitably seep in through various channels. Even the most loyal members, when repeatedly exposed to this information, might develop a trace of imperceptible wavering in their hearts? Will sympathy for Excellence turn into doubt about the organization's actions? This threat of eroding trust from within is far more lethal than a frontal attack from the outside.

The intelligence and security departments of "Homeland," like the most sensitive radar, captured this murky undercurrent of information surging from all directions at the first opportunity. After listening to the emergency report, Wang Jianguo felt deeply that the severity of the situation far exceeded the past. This diffuse, asymmetric attack was like dealing with a plague in the information world, and traditional defensive means had limited effect. He immediately ordered the activation of the highest-level information countermeasure and psychological stability plan, using multiple approaches:

Comprehensive cleaning and tracing: A professional cyber warfare team was on call 24 hours a day, using all technical means and ally relationships, like a Scavenger, to delete, block, and clarify those large-scale false pieces of information in the dark rivers and open channels of the internet as much as possible. At the same time, an elite intelligence tracking team was doing its best to trace the ultimate source and transmission path of the rumors. Although Morpheus was hidden very deeply, they had to try their best to compress his activity space and collect evidence of his attack patterns.

Proactive voicing and narrative shaping: They could not just passively take the hits. Through carefully selected, reputable third-party media and academic partners, they strategically released positive information that had undergone strict desensitization. The content focused on showing that Excellence received proper medical care, good education, and a caring growth environment in "Homeland," emphasizing his physical and mental health and positive state (for example, releasing some blurred reports about Excellence participating in environmental activities or making creative hand-crafted items, without showing his face or involving confidential backgrounds) to hedge against negative narratives, compete for the right to speak, and send a glimmer of truth to the outside world.

Internal purging and ideological consolidation: An internal confidentiality meeting was immediately convened to inform core key members of the basic situation of the external public opinion attack (omitting the most vicious details), emphasizing the complexity of the struggle and the baseness of the enemy's methods. They further strengthened confidentiality discipline education and ideological trend screening for all personnel, fortifying psychological defenses to ensure internal unity and stability, and preventing trust from being eroded. They openly criticized the rumors and unified their stance, leaving no room for any bad information attempting to infiltrate to take root.

Technical screening and the sword hanging high: Evelyn led the organization of an expert group composed of psychologists, linguists, cryptographers, and physicists to conduct the most refined technical analysis of all content released by "Echo." The goal was to find the inevitable flaws in its imitation behavior—such as the algorithmic traces hidden in its "Resonance Mapping," the mechanical feeling in its linguistic patterns that did not conform to human emotional curves, and the "fingerprints" belonging to The Foundation's specific technical paths that were inadvertently revealed. These analysis results were strictly kept confidential, serving as "ammunition" for public technical exposure and counter-attacking "Echo's" credibility at critical moments.

Among all the response strategies, the most core and difficult part was how to treat Excellence himself, who was at the center of the storm. Wang Jianguo, Su Mu, and Evelyn held a cautious and painful discussion. Finally, they unanimously decided: to temporarily hide these vicious slanders and attacks from Excellence.

The reason was clear: Excellence's mind was still growing, simple and sensitive. This information, full of malice and twisted facts, was like poison in the spiritual world. Once he knew about it, it could cause him immeasurable psychological trauma. He would be confused, angry, self-doubting, and it might even affect the precious trust relationship he had with "Homeland," with Su Mu, and with Evelyn. This would undoubtedly severely interfere with his hard-won peaceful life and the rhythm of his ability growth.

Thus, an invisible "information filter" was quietly formed within "Homeland." Su Mu and Evelyn took on the heavy responsibility of being spiritual guardians, carefully filtering out all information that might touch upon external rumors, creating a relatively pure "ivory tower" for Excellence. Their guardianship duties henceforth added a heavier layer: not only to protect his physical safety but also to shield him from the cold arrows and venom from the outside world, guarding that spiritual Homeland within him that had not yet been polluted.

Ignorant happiness and heavy watching.

Therefore, Excellence still lived in that world full of curiosity, exploration, and warm daily routines. He was completely unaware of the large-scale public opinion offensive and defensive war unfolding around him. He still excitedly carried out his ability micro-manipulation training, cheering for every tiny progress; he was still obsessed with his "hand-crafted" great cause, trying to build more magical devices; he would still pester Su Mu for snacks and ask Evelyn all sorts of wild and imaginative questions.

Once, while in the corridor, Excellence accidentally heard two researchers whispering about something like "recent internet rumors are rampant," and he curiously leaned over and asked Su Mu: "Squad Leader, what is a 'rumor'? Is it something delicious? Or is it a new game?"

Su Mu's heart tightened suddenly, as if pricked by a needle, but a relaxed and natural smile appeared on her face instantly. She reached out and ruffled Excellence's hair, saying in a slightly chiding tone: "Little silly, rumors are just things that irresponsible people, out of boredom or bad intentions, talk nonsense about on the internet. They are like trash, not fun at all, and you don't need to pay attention to them."

Excellence nodded, half-understanding, and said "Oh," his attention quickly drawn away by a strange little bird flying outside the window, and he hopped away to watch it.

Watching his carefree and energetic back, Su Mu and Evelyn glanced at each other from a distance. Both saw the deeply hidden worry and unquestionable determination in each other's eyes. They knew that a storm attempting to confuse black and white was blowing in the outside world, and they must become the strongest barrier to protect this "ivory tower." They must never let that malice and filth stain this little star who was struggling to accumulate light and was essentially so pure and kind.

The "Mirror Hall" plan might be able to create countless twisted reflections and confusing illusions, but Su Mu and Evelyn firmly believed that the warmth and power contained in the truth, like real sunlight, would eventually have the ability to pierce through the heavy fog and illuminate the truth. This war to protect the purity of the soul was just as important as the information offensive and defensive war outside, and they were determined to win it.