131: Chapter 131 Taking the Risk and Finding the Pearl

Participating in formal research would allow him to gain an excellent window to "observe" Su Qing and her research methods while being "observed" himself.

He could learn her academic definitions of "psychological resilience" and "abnormality resistance," what detection tools she used, and which physiological and psychological indicators she focused on.

This would help evaluate the depth of the official research's understanding of "abnormality" and the boundaries of the detection technology they might possess.

Of course, he had to be fully prepared to ensure that core secrets like his "Spiritual Sense" and physical optimization were not discovered by conventional detection methods; this in itself was a severe test of his own self-control.

Ling Ye did not hesitate too much and quickly replied to the message, stating, "Thank you, Teacher Su, for the recommendation; I am interested in the research and willing to participate," and asked for the specific time and office location for tomorrow afternoon.

The wording of his reply was polite and cooperative, carrying a hint of novelty and seriousness appropriate for his age regarding "participating in formal research."

Su Qing replied quickly, scheduling it for three o'clock the next afternoon at her independent office located in the "Center for Abnormal Psychology and Behavioral Analysis."

The next afternoon, Ling Ye arrived at the center on time.

The environment here was quieter and more professional than the tutoring center, with laboratories and offices hanging with various nameplates on both sides of the corridor.

Su Qing's office was not large but neat and orderly; one wall was a bookshelf, and the other was a workstation filled with various instruments and light screens, the air filled with a faint scent of disinfectant and the unique odor of electronic equipment.

Su Qing was wearing a White Coat today, looking even more professional.

She asked Ling Ye to sit in a comfortable chair while she sat behind her desk, the light screen in front of her displaying the research project introduction and informed consent form.

"Student Ling Ye, I am very glad you are willing to participate." Su Qing's tone was gentle, and she got straight to the point, "This research project mainly aims to explore the patterns of change in psychological resilience, neural adaptability, and certain basic physiological indicators in individuals who have experienced significant stress or traumatic events, attempting to identify factors that promote positive growth and protection.

Your situation—having experienced the long-term stress of your relatives' disappearance and the acute trauma of the Crystal-Armored Beast attack, yet showing an unexpectedly rapid recovery and positive adjustment—is a very valuable research case for us."

She turned the light screen toward Ling Ye, which showed a concise and clear research process: including an in-depth semi-structured interview (about 1-2 hours), recording EEG and some autonomic nervous function indicators (heart rate variability, etc.) in resting and task states (about 1 hour), and collecting a small amount of saliva sample for baseline analysis of stress hormones (such as cortisol).

The entire process will be conducted in two parts; today, we will start with the interview and some physiological tests.

All data will be anonymized, kept strictly confidential, and used only for academic research.

The process looked very formal, no different from ordinary psychology or cognitive neuroscience research.

Ling Ye browsed through it quickly, and after confirming that it did not involve invasive operations or unconventional testing, he signed the electronic informed consent form.

"Shall we begin?" Su Qing put away the consent form and started the recording equipment (after informing him and obtaining consent), "First, let's talk about your feelings, thoughts, and coping methods during the period after your parents went missing and before the Crystal-Armored Beast attack; you can be as detailed as possible..."

The interview began.

Su Qing's questions were skillful, delving into emotional and cognitive levels without making people feel offended or overly pressured.

Ling Ye was well-prepared. Using the perspective of "Ling Ye" and combining the original owner's memory fragments with his own understanding, he depicted a teenager's depression, loneliness, confusion about the future after a sudden major change, and the faint struggle deep within his heart that refused to give up.

He honestly admitted that he "had thought about giving up," mentioned the sporadic care from Neighbors like Uncle Chen in the community, and his attempts to relieve his distress by reading books and taking solitary walks.

These descriptions were realistic and delicate, fitting the psychological trajectory of an introverted and sensitive teenager.

When talking about the "Crystal-Armored Beast attack," he again emphasized the terror of the event itself and his own sense of powerlessness, but attributed his subsequent "rapid recovery" to "seeing the blurry shadows of my parents during the coma and near-death experience, feeling that I couldn't just let it go like this," and "seeing so many people caring and helping after waking up, feeling that I had to be worthy of this kindness."

This explanation combined "internal motivation" with "external support," which sounded reasonable and also aligned with certain theories of positive psychology.

Su Qing listened very attentively, occasionally asking for details and recording keywords on the light screen.

Her expression remained professional and calm throughout, but Ling Ye's High-Dimensional Information Perception (maintained extremely cautiously at the minimum level) vaguely sensed that when she heard "seeing parents' shadows during the coma" and "feeling that I had to be worthy of this kindness," a glimmer seemed to flash deep in her eyes; it didn't look like doubt, but more like a researcher's excitement of... "verification" or "recording interesting data."

The interview lasted about an hour and a half, covering multiple dimensions such as stressors, emotional reactions, cognitive adjustments, social support, and self-efficacy.

Ling Ye's performance could be called a "perfect sample," having both typical post-traumatic reactions and demonstrating positive transformation elements that fit the "psychological resilience" theoretical framework.

"Very good, thank you very much for your sharing; it is very valuable." Su Qing ended the interview, turned off the recording, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face, "Your self-awareness and expressive ability are very strong, which is very helpful for the research.

Next, we will perform some simple physiological indicator recording; just relax."

She signaled for Ling Ye to sit on a comfortable recliner with armrests nearby and took a portable wireless EEG cap and several patch-type sensors from the workstation.

The EEG cap looked like a standard research model, and the sensors were common monitoring equipment for heart rate, skin conductance, etc.

"This is standard research-grade EEG acquisition equipment; the precision is slightly higher than that used in hospital clinical settings, but the principle is the same, and it will not cause you any harm or discomfort.

The sensors are attached to your wrists and fingers to monitor heart rate and skin conductance responses.

We need to record your EEG and autonomic nervous activity while you are resting with eyes closed, relaxing with eyes open, and completing several simple cognitive tasks (such as mental arithmetic, remembering pictures).

The whole process will take about forty minutes." Su Qing explained while skillfully helping Ling Ye put on the equipment.

Ling Ye felt a slight chill in his heart.

EEG monitoring is a direct probe into the brain's electrophysiological activity; although conventional research cannot read thoughts, it can reflect the brain's active state, rhythms, and functional connectivity patterns when responding to tasks.

This was the part he needed to focus on guarding against.

He had to ensure that his EEG activity looked "normal" and could not reveal any abnormal patterns related to "Spiritual Sense," "Visualization," or the use of high-intensity Mental Energy.

He gathered his focus and calmed his breath; the moment the EEG cap was put on, he immediately and actively entered the deepest level of a "relaxed" state.

It was not sleep, nor was it meditation, but a state similar to "emptying the mind," where the cerebral cortex was broadly inhibited.

At the same time, he carefully controlled the flow of "Spiritual Sense" and "Qi," ensuring they were in the most dormant and restrained state, never triggering any extra bioelectricity or energy disturbances that could be captured by the equipment.

"Okay, let's first record five minutes of resting state with eyes closed. Close your eyes, try not to think about anything, and just relax naturally." Su Qing's voice sounded in his ears, soft and calm.

Ling Ye closed his eyes as instructed, his consciousness sinking into a state of emptiness and clarity.

He felt as if he could "sense" the faint touch of those electrode patches against his scalp, as well as the extremely subtle electromagnetic noise when the instrument started.

He was like an unyielding rock, letting the "current" of detection signals wash over him without a single ripple rising within himself.

Five minutes later, Su Qing instructed him to open his eyes and relax while looking at the blank wall in front.

Then, several simple cognitive tasks were performed: rapid mental arithmetic, remembering and recalling a set of shapes, and pressing a button when hearing a specific sound.

Ling Ye completed them with the reaction speed and accuracy of an ordinary teenager, neither outstanding nor making mistakes.

Throughout the entire physiological recording process, Su Qing spent most of her time in front of the workstation, staring at the real-time scrolling EEG, spectral analysis, and various physiological parameter curves on the light screen, her expression focused, occasionally frowning slightly or marking a data segment with an electronic pen.

Ling Ye could not see the screen, but he could feel that Su Qing's attention seemed to be particularly focused on certain frequency bands of the EEG (such as alpha waves, theta waves, and connectivity in specific frequency bands related to attention and memory), as well as certain indicators of heart rate variability.

This aligned with the focus of "psychological resilience" and "post-traumatic stress" research on "emotional regulation ability" and "autonomic nervous balance."

Forty minutes later, the recording ended.

Su Qing helped Ling Ye take off the equipment and collected a small amount of saliva sample.

"Alright, that's all for today's part. It went very smoothly; thank you for your cooperation, Ling Ye." Su Qing put the sample into a cryo-box, her tone a bit lighter, "Your data is very clear; whether it's the interview or the physiological recording, it shows that you are currently in a relatively stable and positive state, which is a good sign for your recovery.

There may be one or two simple follow-up tests later in the research, and I will contact you again."

"You're welcome, Teacher Su. I'm just glad I could help." Ling Ye stood up and stretched his slightly stiff neck.

"Also," Su Qing suddenly remembered something, took a thin, simply bound booklet from the drawer, and handed it to Ling Ye, "This is a 'Simple Guide to Physical and Mental Adjustment in Stressful Situations' compiled by the center; it contains some evidence-based relaxation techniques, mindfulness exercises, and cognitive adjustment methods.

You can take a look; it might be helpful for maintaining your state."

Ling Ye took the booklet and glanced at the table of contents; they were indeed some very basic psychological self-help techniques. "Thank you, Teacher Su."

"Mhm, go back and get some good rest. Be careful on the way."

Leaving the analysis center and walking on the road back to the apartment, Ling Ye finally let out a slow sigh of relief.

The detection process just now, while seemingly calm, was actually dangerous.

He had almost mobilized all his mental focus to control his own bioelectric activity and life field manifestation, ensuring they completely matched the pattern expected of a "recovering, ordinary post-traumatic teenager."

This was a huge test of his mental control.

But the gains were also huge.

First, he confirmed that Su Qing's current "research" on him was indeed limited to the relatively formal scope of psychology/cognitive neuroscience, with the goal of exploring the physiological and psychological foundations of "psychological resilience."

The equipment and methods she used also belonged to mainstream research tools.

This temporarily ruled out the possibility of her using some unknown, "abnormal" detection method to scan him.

Secondly, by observing the data points Su Qing focused on, he gained a certain understanding of the Federal academic community's cognition regarding "psychological resilience" and "stress response."

This might be beneficial for his subsequent camouflage of his own state, or even for reverse-utilizing these theories to provide reasonable explanations for some of his "abnormal manifestations."

Finally, the "Guide" Su Qing gave him, although basic in content, was also a release of goodwill, indicating that at least at the current stage, her attitude toward her "research" on him was positive, even having a sense of "cultivation" or "guidance."

However, he did not completely relax in his heart.

Zhou Ming's existence, the increasingly obvious unusual movements in the Old Factory District, and the shadow of "Deep Space Frontier Capital" all signaled that a larger storm might be brewing.

What role Su Qing and the "official research" forces she represented would play in this storm remained an unknown.

Returning to the apartment, Ling Ye did not immediately start his evening Cultivate.

He first quickly browsed through the "Guide," and after confirming there was no hidden information or abnormalities, he put it aside.

Then, he sat at his desk and began to review all the details of the day, especially those moments when Su Qing frowned slightly and made marks while recording physiological data.

What did she see in the data? Was it the expected "psychological resilience" characteristics, or... some tiny "abnormalities" she couldn't explain?

He needed more information, and he also needed to improve himself faster.

Outside the window, the setting sun was going down, dyeing the horizon a dark red.

Ling Ye knew that the brief period of calm might be about to end.

And the next storm could come from any direction.