119: Chapter 119 Unraveling the Mystery of the Gang

The morning classes passed in a subtle balance of "teaching" and "not learning." Ling Ye appeared to be listening, but in reality, most of his focus was directed toward operating the personal terminal hidden beneath his desk.

He set the terminal screen brightness to the minimum, activated anti-peeping mode and privacy barriers, and his fingers tapped and slid rapidly and silently across the virtual keyboard.

He first logged into the Third Colonial Academy's student society management System on the intranet. This System was open to all students and allowed them to query the basic information, bylaws, lists of key members (such as presidents, vice presidents, and other core cadres), faculty advisors, and public activity notices or achievement displays (if any) for all officially registered societies at the academy.

He first searched for the "News Society."

The results appeared quickly. "Third Colonial Academy News Society," established twenty-five years ago, is one of the academy's veteran societies. Current President: Qin Feng (Higher Division, fourth year). Vice President: Lin Wei (Higher Division, third year). Faculty Advisor: Zhang Qiming (Deputy Director of the Academy's Propaganda Department). The society's mission is to "report on campus developments, spread positive energy, and cultivate students' media literacy."

The public member list had over thirty people, but it only displayed names and their respective divisions and years, with no photos. Ling Ye scanned quickly and, toward the latter part of the list, found the name "Zhou Ming," followed by the notation "Intermediate Division, third year." This matched the name the boy he encountered in the morning gave himself, as well as his apparent age.

The News Society's recent public activities: two weeks ago, they held a "Campus News Writing Techniques Lecture"; one week ago, they released a summary of a survey report on "Academy Cafeteria Satisfaction"; three days ago, they announced the theme for the next issue of their society journal: "Final Exam Review and Psychological Adjustment." These all appeared to be normal campus society activities.

Ling Ye clicked into the News Society's public discussion section (which required member permissions or an access request) and found that most posts were about topic discussions, manuscript solicitations, and activity arrangements. The atmosphere was lively, and nothing seemed amiss. He attempted to apply for access to view historical activity photos as a guest, but the System prompted him with "Access restricted to members only."

Judging solely from the public information, the News Society seemed to have no issues whatsoever. "Zhou Ming" was indeed a registered member.

However, as Ling Ye browsed this information, his High-Dimensional Information Perception was constantly haunted by a faint sense of "discord." It wasn't that the information itself was problematic, but rather... it was too "normal," so normal that it felt like a meticulously maintained facade. Especially when considering the tracking skills, detection equipment, and the instantaneous reaction after his detection was interfered with that Zhou Ming displayed in the morning—skills clearly beyond those of an ordinary student reporter—this "normality" only made it appear more suspicious.

The News Society might just be an "outer shell" used by "Zhou Ming" to cover up his true activities. It was even possible that within the News Society, there existed an "inner core" group engaged in other activities, unknown to the ordinary members.

He noted down the names of the president, "Qin Feng," and the faculty advisor, "Zhang Qiming," to observe later.

Next, he searched for the "Anomaly Research Society."

Information on this society was much scarcer and updated less frequently. "Anomaly Research Society," registered five years ago. Current President: Lu Yun (Higher Division, fourth year). Vice President: Vacant. Faculty Advisor: Su Qing (Center for Abnormal Psychology and Behavioral Analysis).

Seeing that the faculty advisor was "Su Qing," Ling Ye's gaze sharpened. It was her, indeed! The seemingly gentle yet professional female doctor who had questioned him at the Security Department in the morning. This society was certainly not simple; it was directly affiliated with the institution responsible for "Abnormal Psychology and Behavioral Analysis." Its nature was likely more inclined toward "research" or even "surveillance" rather than being an ordinary student interest group.

The society's mission was described rather vaguely: "To explore unexplained phenomena with a scientific attitude and cultivate critical thinking and an empirical spirit." The public member list had only a mere seven or eight people, and "Zhou Ming" was not among them. Recent public activities were almost non-existent, with only a recruitment notice from a month ago that read: "Our society is recruiting long-term. Students with a strong interest in extraordinary phenomena, alien civilizations, unsolved mysteries, and who possess a certain level of scientific literacy and a spirit of exploration may send their resumes and a short essay on a related topic to the following email address..."

The recruitment requirements were not low, and requiring a short essay made it seem quite "academic."

Ling Ye attempted to access its discussion section but was immediately rejected, with a prompt stating: "This society is set to private; access is restricted to members only."

He then performed a fuzzy search on the academy forums and public databases using "Anomaly Research Society" as a keyword. The results were sparse, with only a few posts from a long time ago where former members complained that society activities were "too theoretical and lacked field research," or that "the faculty advisor is too strict; it feels like working on a research project rather than a society activity."

Taken together, the "Anomaly Research Society" was more likely a "research/observation group" disguised as a student society, directly guided by Dr. Su Qing, and possessing a certain official or semi-official background. Their target was likely various "abnormal" events or individuals appearing within the academy or even Dawn City. He had entered their sights due to the "Crystal-Armored Beast attack" and his possible "rapid recovery." If Zhou Ming was one of their people, using the News Society identity as a cover to conduct initial contact and screening would make sense.

But there was a contradiction here: if the "Anomaly Research Society" was a "formal" investigative organization led by Dr. Su Qing, why didn't they contact him through more official channels (such as the Security Department or by having Su Qing come forward directly)? Instead, they sent a student to conduct private probing using a disguised identity and detection equipment. Was it due to insufficient evidence, or was it because their "research" itself required a certain degree of covertness, or even... was its nature not entirely "official"?

Or perhaps, Zhou Ming did not belong to the "Anomaly Research Society" at all, but was affiliated with another force interested in the "abnormal," such as the party related to "Deep Space Frontier Capital" behind the surveillance vehicle in the Old Factory District?

Information was still insufficient, but the outline was clearer: within the academy, there were at least two (or more) forces interested in the "abnormal"—the "research faction," represented by Dr. Su Qing and the "Anomaly Research Society," possibly with academy or official backing; and "Zhou Ming" (who might represent the News Society's inner core or another force), whose identity was unknown but whose actions were bolder and more direct, using technological means for exploration.

And he, due to his geographical location (near the Old Factory District) and his own experiences (Crystal-Armored Beast attack, rapid recovery), had already entered the observation range of both these forces simultaneously.

He needed to take more initiative to control the situation, rather than passively waiting for the next probe.

Ling Ye closed the society query page and turned to search for public information on the president, "Qin Feng," and the faculty advisor, "Zhang Qiming." Qin Feng was one of the academy's prominent figures, with excellent grades, active in multiple societies, and a positive public image. Teacher Zhang Qiming was a senior staff member of the Propaganda Department with a clear work history, and no obvious connection to the field of the "abnormal" was found.

He also tried to search for more information on "Zhou Ming," but apart from the News Society member list, there were almost no other public traces. No grades, no other activities participated in, not even a single clear photograph. In the highly transparent internal network of the academy, this seemed somewhat deliberate.

This person was very well hidden.

The lunch break bell rang, interrupting Ling Ye's thoughts. He followed the flow of people out of the classroom, bought the cheapest nutrient solution at the academy convenience store, and drank it while walking, his mind still racing with thoughts.

The afternoon was for psychological counseling. Dr. Su Qing was the faculty advisor of the "Anomaly Research Society." Would she conduct the afternoon counseling session herself? If so, that would be a good opportunity to observe or even probe her at close range. He needed to be mentally prepared.

But before that, there was one more thing he wanted to do.

He went to the academy library and used the public query terminal again. This time, the keywords he searched for were: "portable bio-field/energy field detection equipment, civilian/student-accessible models."

He wanted to know what the origin of the detection equipment Zhou Ming used in the morning—disguised as a voice recorder—might be, as well as its general detection principle and accuracy range. This would help him evaluate the opponent's technical level and whether his success in interfering with it using Mental Energy was accidental or inevitable.

There were quite a few search results. Such equipment has widespread civilian and scientific research uses in the Federation, such as environmental monitoring, mineral exploration, medical assistance, and even some fringe research related to "Psionics." Prices ranged from cheap to exorbitant, and accuracy and functionality varied greatly. The device Zhou Ming used was likely a portable, covert piece of equipment capable of quick, one-off, or low-intensity continuous scanning, likely possessing some degree of vital sign monitoring, basic energy reading, and... information disturbance sensing capabilities.

One product, the "Message Crow Type III Multi-function Environmental Recorder," caught Ling Ye's attention. It was described as the "best partner for journalists, explorers, and research assistants," integrating high-definition audio recording, video recording, and environmental parameter (temperature, humidity, air pressure, background radiation) monitoring. It also had an optional, expensive "expansion module"—the "Sensitive Induction Probe," which claimed to be able to detect "weak abnormal energy fluctuations and non-standard biological signals."

The appearance of the "Message Crow Type III" was somewhat similar to the "voice recorder" Zhou Ming held in the morning. Moreover, it was reasonable for News Society members to be equipped with such devices under the guise of "conducting interviews."

If Zhou Ming was using this device, its detection capability had certain limits, primarily targeting physical energy fields and biological signals. The "barrier" Ling Ye formed using his Mental Energy was, in essence, a highly condensed, ordered "collection of information/will." Unlike conventional energy fields, it likely exceeded the recognition range of this civilian expansion module, resulting in scanning failure or data corruption.

This made sense. But Ling Ye dared not be completely at ease; what if the opponent was using more advanced equipment, or even equipment obtained through non-public channels?

He also searched for public discussions and fringe science articles regarding "Mental Energy interference with electronic equipment." The mainstream view held that unenhanced ordinary human Mental Energy could almost never produce observable effects on steadily operating electronic equipment. Only a very small number of "Psionics" or individuals who had undergone special enhancement or were in states of extreme emotion could possibly cause weak interference with sensitive equipment, and it was extremely unstable and difficult to reproduce.

This further confirmed his guess: Zhou Ming (and the people behind him) likely attributed his interference in the morning to equipment malfunction, accidental factors, or the possibility that "Ling Ye" possessed some weak trait that was difficult to capture with existing equipment but was not "Psionic." This could buy him some time, but it would also make the other party even more curious.

Having learned enough, Ling Ye cleared his query history and left the library.

The afternoon sun was somewhat scorching. He checked the time; there was less than an hour until his psychological counseling appointment.

He decided to go to the vicinity of the counseling center first to familiarize himself with the environment.

The psychological counseling center was located in the relatively quiet D District of the academy. It was an independent, two-story building with exterior walls painted a soft light blue, surrounded by lush, tree-lined greenery. The entrance was very quiet at this time, with no one coming or going.

Ling Ye did not approach; he only observed the building's exterior, entrances and exits, and possible locations for surveillance cameras from a distance. Then, he walked to a bench on a nearby shaded path, sat down, closed his eyes, and entered into a brief meditation again to calm his mind and prepare for the "confrontation" he might face in the afternoon.

Regardless of whether a regular psychology teacher or Dr. Su Qing herself came, he needed to respond in the state that "Ling Ye" should have—a youth striving to recover from trauma, somewhat withdrawn but willing to cooperate, feeling lost about the future but also harboring a trace of unwillingness to give up.

He needed to obtain information from this counseling session regarding the academy's official stance on the "abnormal," Dr. Su Qing's personal style, and... perhaps an opportunity to indirectly glean information related to the "Anomaly Research Society" or "Zhou Ming."

Of course, this was on the premise that the other party was willing to disclose information, or that he could "perceive" something from their words and reactions.

Time ticked by, minute by minute.

When the clock pointed to five minutes before the appointment time, Ling Ye opened his eyes, his gaze calm.

He stood up, adjusted his uniform, and walked toward the light blue building.