13 Mink Street

Chapter 123: Want A Chip?

Little John’s fear was no act. The child was genuinely terrified, because he sensed a dreadful power slowly gathering inside of the office. It had not yet taken tangible form, but it felt inevitable.

He had only wanted to play a joke on Karon, a joke the child found very amusing. It was no different from a child playing around, using a toy water gun to splash someone’s clothes. They would laugh happily, except when a moment later, the other party raised a real gun at him.

The black gun barrel was already pressed to Little John’s forehead.

Throughout their conversation, he had demonstrated a maturity beyond his age, but how many real adults were able to remain calm when faced with such a direct threat of death? The boy’s strong perception granted him an exceptionally clear prediction, and he instinctively knelt before Karon and raised both hands. “Doctor Karon, I was wrong! I’m sorry! I was completely wrong. Please, please, please!”

The more arrogant his previous behavior, the more panicked he was at this moment. There was not even the slightest trace of composure, only his instincts to survive.

What Karon had been internally reciting was the invocation for the Spear of Punishment. At his current rank, that was the only offensive spell he had mastered. He could launch it to attack from a distance, causing an explosion.

Of course, the explosion was only one of the Art’s destructive effects. Quite simply, even after Allen Manor’s servants had filled in the area where Karon had practiced the Spear of Punishment with new soil and fresh turf, the affected circle had still been unable to support plant growth.

It was only because Karon was so highly regarded at Allen Manor that the family had allowed the destruction and tacitly accepted the bald patch on their evergreen estate.

It was possible that what Little John truly feared was not the explosion itself. If he was struck by the blast, he would die. If he was shot in a vital spot, he would die. Yet on the level of perception, it was the other aspects of the Spear of Punishment that truly incited fear in his brain.

At this moment, Karon sat behind his desk, wearing a white work coat. To Little John’s eyes, the man looked like a judge passing sentence on him.

The dreadful threat continued to intensify. Little John immediately pressed his palms together toward Karon. “Please, please, let me go! Let me go! I know I was wrong! Really, I know I was wrong...”

Karon stopped his internal chanting. The backlash of interrupting the Art caused his brain to feel as if it was being torn apart. The tearing sensation triggered spasms in his muscles, which forced Karon to lower his head and clench his teeth.

After a long time, he finally managed to overcome the intense discomfort and lift his head back up.

Sensing that the dreadful aura of death was gone, Little John collapsed on the floor. His delicate red hair was completely soaked with cold sweat, plastered against his scalp. He kept his mouth open, as if still trying to digest the lingering terror.

“Sit up properly,” Karon said.

Little John’s legs were weak. He tried several times to pick himself up, but failed each time. Still, he did not dare disobey Karon, which meant that he could only flail again and again like a mermaid stranded on shore.

Finally, he grabbed the chair with his hands to steady himself, and then climbed back onto it. He gathered his courage and turned to sit facing Karon. The boy’s hands rested on his knees. His head was lowered, and he only dared to catch the barest glimpse of Karon while looking upwards from his bowed head.

Karon reached out. Little John had drunk his ice water, so he could only pull the black tea over and drink that. One sip, two sips, three sips; he continued until it was finished.

In Little John’s eyes, Karon was using stalling in order to extend his mental pressure and torment, but the truth was that both people sitting across the desk from each other were uncomfortable at this moment.

When Karon had discovered that the sensations Little John had described earlier had started to appear on his body, he had not been certain whether it was due to psychological suggestion or if there was truly something unseen pressing close to him.

To be safe, he could only draw his sword. After all, he could accept suffering accidents, but he would never allow himself to suffer an accident without understanding why. The biggest problem was not that Karon had started with using his strongest Art, but that he did not even have an ordinary attack. While it would still be more convenient to keep a pistol in the desk drawer, he could not simply ask Piaget for such a thing. No matter how close Karon might be with his boss, it would be difficult for Piaget to understand such a request, and even harder to allow a doctor to keep a gun at ready while seeing patients. What might Karon be planning to do?

He would have to find a way to get one on his own. He did not know if Alaia might have those kids of connections as well.

“Raise your head.”

Little John obediently raised his head and even forced himself to show the innocent smile that suited a child his age. Karon recalled the words Little John had said earlier, “She is my mother, yes, but my mother is dead.”

After a moment, Karon said, “Your mother doesn’t exist at all.”

“No...”

There had never been any invisible woman feeding him water, and there had never been any woman sitting on Karon’s lap. Little John’s mother did not exist. Everything had been an illusion created by the boy himself. However, unlike schizophrenia or “seeing ghosts,” as the creator, he clearly knew that his mother did not exist. He simply used reverse thinking to construct her.

He caused the people around him to feel that his mother was still present by making them sense traces of her around. Then, from their reactions, Little John obtained the feeling of, “oh, my mother is still here.”

He was not deceiving himself; He was deceiving other people to create the atmosphere he wanted for himself. That was likely why his father, Mr. Tadel, had been in such a hurry to bring his son to the clinic two days in a row, as well as why he had arrived so much earlier than the scheduled appointment.

Little John must have used “his mother” to interact with his father many times. Perhaps the one who truly needed treatment was not Little John, but Mr. Tadel, who had recently been tormented by his son.

“Why do this?” Karon asked.

“There’s no deeper purpose. I wouldn’t dare lie to you. I just thought... it was fun.”

Karon rested his elbows on the desk and interlaced his fingers while looking at Little John. “You have the ability to materialize perception? No, some kind of control over ‘force.’ Psychokinesis?”

“I haven’t heard the terms you used before, but I feel that your description and understanding are correct.”

“How did you obtain this power?”

“The year after my mother died, I already had this ability, but this year, it has become easier and easier to control.”

“Do you have faith?” Karon asked.

“Father sometimes takes me to a convent, but I know he goes there to meet his lover.”

That meant that his family was not part of a church system, so could it be a family faith system? But that should also not be the case, because if it were a family faith system, Tadel would not be completely ignorant of his son’s abilities.

Even if Little John’s mother had cuckolded Mr. Tadel and conceived a child by a man with a family faith system, without a bloodline test, Little John would never have been able to awaken on his own.

Karon could not completely rule out the existence of outliers who were capable of awakening without a bloodline test, but regardless of whether it was a church system or a family system, there was still faith involved. It would not be like Little John, purely doing it for fun.

That left only one explanation: Little John had been corrupted. At the moment, he had already become a demonkin.

“When you use your power, which part of your body feels abnormal?” Karon asked.

Little John pointed to his chest, at his heart. “Does this count? Every time I use my power, it beats very fast, extremely fast.”

The heart? Karon could not be sure. If Pu’er, Kevin, or Alfred were present, they would likely be able to obtain more clues from Little John’s situation, because no matter how much Karon tried to compensate for with theory, experience and exposure were not things that could be increased quickly.

The office fell silent. Little John did not dare move recklessly and sat obediently. Karon also did not know what to say. He did not have the ability or the authority to arrange Little John’s future.

“You are not a special case in this world,” Karon said.

“Before I met you, I thought I was special. Now, I truly realize I’m not,” Little John agreed.

“Do you know what will happen if you continue to indulge your ability, and keep using it like this to play pranks? You will draw the attention of certain people, or certain groups and forces. If, as you say, your ability comes from your heart, then your heart will be the material they will be most interested in.”

Little John swallowed. Karon had a premonition that Little John’s special ability was likely on the same level as Alfred’s succubus eye, and his succubus eye was something even Rasma had wanted to collect. If not for Tiz’s sake, Alfred would have become a cyclops wearing an eye patch long ago.

This world was that pragmatic. Even the corpse of a priest could be recycled as material, let alone demonkin who ran around society unable to even hide themselves.

No, this boy did not even know he had become a demonkin.

“Your words shatter my pride,” Little John said. “So, I’m just that fool who likes to twist his body in a pigpen fence to show off his fat?”

“That metaphor is good. Doesn’t your family run a textile factory? Have you also invested in a pig farm?”

“I read quite a bit,” Little John said. “Of course, not as much as you.”

“Hide your ability well, if you want to live freely for longer,” Karon said.

“What about you? Aren’t you interested in my heart?” Little John asked.

Karon lifted his teacup and took a sip, not answering.

“You... why won’t you answer?”

“I was just following your train of thought and thinking; If your heart were given to me, how would I use it?” Karon said.

Little John smiled. “I can feel it. Your answer is very sincere, even though you just truly wanted to kill me. That should feel like a contradiction, but with you, it feels natural.”

“You are very talented. Even without that special ability, you are still very smart, and you will have a good future. Cherish it yourself.” Karon did not ask why this boy was willing to let his “mother” do such things to him. In truth, he had already been given the answer: because Little John’s mother did not exist. Earlier, he had simply been toying with Karon, deriving some sort of pleasure from Karon’s reactions.

This child was different from Judia, who was obsessive in a literal sense. Little John was more like a child holding a knife, thinking that it looked impressive without understanding what the knife could bring him.

“Thank you,” Little John said.

Karon raised his head and glanced at the clock. “The consultation time is over.”

“Can I keep coming to see you?” Little John asked.

“Make an appointment”

“Alright.”

Little John rose from his chair and opened the office door. His father, Mr. Tadel, immediately came over. Little John started to cry and threw himself into his father’s arms. “Dad, Mom is really gone! She really left me! I don’t have a mom anymore! I don’t have a mom...”

“Child, you still have me. You still have me.” Father and son held each other as they both wept. Because they were right in front of the office door, the scene drew many eyes. When a consultation produced this kind of effect, it was as straightforward as sweating profusely after a cold.

“Thank you, doctor. I want to continue the appointments. When will the next time be—”

“Mr. Tadel, you can discuss that with the receptionist at the front desk; She’ll arrange a time for you,” Bertha said with a smile as she walked over.

“Alright, alright.” Mr. Tadel took his son and turned to leave.

Little John wiped his tears and looked back to wave at Karon. “Doctor Karon, goodbye.”

Karon waved back.

Bertha closed the office door and smiled. “Are you aware that the doctor who met with him yesterday curled up under the desk as they talked? He couldn’t even come to work today.”

“The child has strong emotions bottled up. It’s easy for him to affect people.” Karon gave a vague answer. He was worried that if he said too much in a leading manner, Bertha would think that Little John was a good seedling and would try to recruit him to her faith.

That would be true madness. Even believing in another orthodox church would be countless times better than joining the Church of Light and instantly becoming vermin.

Bertha did not ask further questions about Little John. Instead, she took out a thick envelope and placed it on Karon’s desk.

“The boss asked me to bring this to you. It will be deducted from your salary this month.”

“Alright.” Karon accepted the envelope. It contained money for buying a car, as well as his living expenses.

“The boss treats you so well, and you treat the boss with genuine care,” Bertha remarked with a hint of jealousy.

“We’re friends,” Karon said.

“Mm. A truly enviable friendship.” Bertha looked at Karon’s face, and once again saw in him the same presence the boss displayed when working. As a woman, she felt something reminiscent of the regret a man might feel when seeing two beautiful women together.

Such extravagance. Such waste.

Karon had no idea what Bertha was thinking, because he would never consider that Light vermin could have such a rich inner world.

“Am I done with work for now?” Karon asked.

“Of course. Your appointments for today are finished.”

“Alright.” Karon took off his work coat and packed his things. “See you tomorrow, Bertha.”

“That depends on whether you have an appointment tomorrow, but don’t worry. Your rate for consultations is very high.”

“Alright.”

Karon left the office. He did not go to greet Piaget, but instead walked straight out of the clinic. However, when he passed through the waiting room, his steps slowed slightly at the sight of a group of female security guards assembling to receive instructions.

Karon remembered Alfred saying that when he had sat in the waiting room last time, a female guard had repeatedly walk back and forth in front of him while using a low level detection Art to examine him again and again.

Karon looked back at the sign above the clinic’s entrance. So has Piaget’s clinic, to a large extent, already become a branch for the Church of Light vermin?

When he entered the elevator, he could see the Curtis Building across the street through the window. That was the location of the last gathering of the Church of Light that had been announced with a message delivered by a crow construct. It really was too convenient; daytime activity here, with secret nighttime activities across the street.

Hm? Wait a moment.

During the day, he worked in a nest of Light vermin, while he spent his nights living in an apartment vacated by another believer of the Church of Light. Last night, that previous owner had tried to have a chat with Karon. What did all of this make him?

He shook his head as the elevator descended. As soon as he stepped out of the building, he ran into a tall girl of about eighteen or nineteen. She wore leather boots and held a huge bag of chips, eating as she walked.

In that bag the two big spoonfuls of sauce were very obvious. The people of Veyn truly enjoyed their sauces. Any food, to them, was an accessory for dipping.

Karon stood at the roadside, ready to hail a taxi and go home. If nothing went wrong, tomorrow he would be able to drive his own car to and from work and the hospital.

That tall girl stood beside Karon, also waiting for a taxi. Her perfume smelled good; It was a warm scent. Her body was young, exuding both youth and vitality.

A taxi pulled over. The driver asked, “Sir, miss, are you together?”

Karon shook his head and took half a step back, gesturing for the girl to take the taxi first.

“Thank you.” She thanked him as she got into the taxi, then leaned forward and gave her destination to the driver. As the taxi was about to move forward, the girl suddenly leaned her head out of the window, a chip pinched between her fingers. She smiled at Karon and called out, “Want a chip?”