Jing Shu only remembered when she saw Yang Yang slam his fist into the wall, the dull vibration rattling the bare floorboards of the empty unit. The fake wall in the underground passage, the false mirror in the castle. Every single one had a door made to look identical to the surroundings, with a new space built behind it. Habits reveal a person. Just like how she, as a foodie, could never change what was in her bones.
No matter how smart Lin Yi was, he lacked any sense of security, his mind always searching for an escape or a corner to occupy. Wherever he went, he would hide himself in a place no one could find. It had already become a reflex, a second nature born of paranoia.
Which meant he was still inside this apartment, concealed in a secret room he had modified himself with meticulous care.
From the outside, no one would notice the subtle shift in the layout. Even a careful look might not reveal the hidden seam. The whole apartment was empty; there was nothing but bare walls and the faint scent of dust. Who would imagine that someone had built a hidden chamber in a standard shared building?
She began knocking inch by inch, her knuckles striking the plaster with a rhythmic thud. A full round produced nothing but solid sounds that echoed through the rooms. Yang Yang still didn't understand what she was doing, and she couldn't explain. If she explained, she would expose her own secrets. Like how had she opened the false door in the underground passage? With smart people, it's better to say less.
She knocked again, moving her hand up and down, left and right, not even sparing the wall of the built in cloakroom. Sure enough, one section rang with a crisper sound.
It wasn't hollow, but it sounded different from the rest of the reinforced structure.
"What a perfect hiding place. The police would likely never check this spot."
Yang Yang and Jing Shu looked at each other. She saw an odd expression on his face, as if he were staring at a monste.
"Now we just open it." Jing Shu clenched her fist until her knuckles crackled, the sound sharp in the quiet apartment. Maybe she should grab a sledgehammer and smash it down.
Right then, the invisible door swung open with a soft click. Lin Yi stepped out, a not quite smile on his face that didn't reach his cold eyes. He clapped lightly, the rhythmic sound sharp in the empty room. "Looks like I underestimated you. Next time I make a door, it will be troublesome, but I should use identical materials so it will be harder to spot."
Her sharp eyes took in the interior of the hidden room. The space was under four square meters, yet fully equipped: food, water, even a power line snaking across the floor. A cabinet bed offered a place to sleep. He could survive here for a month without issue, hidden right under their noses.
"You think you can still get away?" Jing Shu's laugh was cold, her voice echoing in the bare living room. Outside, hundreds of officers were hunting him. All Yang Yang had to do was shout and everyone would rush in. Even explosives wouldn't save him now.
"Get away? Why would I run?" Lin Yi slid his hands into his pockets and shrugged, relaxed as ever, his lips tipped in that sunny little smile.
So calm. So assured.
He had to be holding a trump card, some hidden advantage they hadn't seen yet.
"Yang Yang, call them in."
Villains always stalled with arrogant speeches. Jing Shu wouldn't give him time to reach out for help.
Lin Yi tilted his head, his long fingers rubbing rhythmically against his pants. He spoke lightly, his voice smooth and melodic as if he were negotiating a simple business deal. "How about this, Officer Yang. Let me go just this once. Pretend you never saw me today. Let me stay inside for a few more comfortable days."
Jing Shu snorted, her breath hot in the still air. The nerve of him. As if Yang Yang would ever agree to such a blatant bribe.
Then her jaw nearly hit the floor.
After a moment of hesitation, Yang Yang actually said, "Alright, I will let you go this once."
Jing Shu stared at him, her pulse leaping with confusion. "What was happening?"
Lin Yi walked toward her one step at a time, his boots clicking on the floor. His fingers rubbed faster, the motion almost blurring. Watching those long, elegant fingers, she felt a thread of drowsiness creep in, a thick fog settling over her consciousness.
"What do you say, Jing Shu? You must be tired after a long day. You should go home and enjoy that lavish dinner your grandma prepared. Your cousin is waiting to hear all about your adventures. You're basking in the family's admiring eyes. You enjoy this warmth. You need to talk and let it all out."
For a heartbeat, she almost agreed, her eyelids growing heavy.
"I almost believed your nonsense." Her mind jolted, a sudden surge of mental energy breaking the spell. She activated the newest feature of her Rubik's Cube Space. Illusion. In an instant, she snapped free of the haze, her vision clearing.
Surprise flickered across Lin Yi's face, his eyes widening for a fraction of a second.
"So this hidden trump card is your ability? You can make people obey what you say." Jing Shu's lips curled in a cold sneer. If that was true, everything finally made sense.
But could such a power really exist?
"You're the second person who hasn't fallen to my hypnosis," Lin Yi said with a hint of regret, his voice dropping an octave. "It isn't some grand ability. I'm simply the only hypnotist in the world who can reach Level 7. In our field, hypnosis is usually divided into six levels."
That was like a billionaire saying money didn't interest him.
Jing Shu's eyes widened, her mind racing. Hypnosis? So that was it. A hypnotist offers suggestions. In a hypnotic state, a person may experience changes in perception, thought, memory, and behavior.
Temporary paralysis, hallucinations, selective amnesia, and automatic responses to the hypnotist's cues.
Compared with the Rubik's Cube Space's illusions, his ability was a tier higher in some ways. They're not strictly comparable. Lin Yi used voice and gesture to induce hypnosis, then sent people to do things they wouldn't even remember doing.
His hypnosis endured and targeted specific objectives. It wouldn't stop until the goal was achieved. Her ability required the target to be within the Rubik's Cube Space's range.
Even so, her illusions were powerful, almost like cheat codes. She could use the space to seed suggestions directly, without relying on hands or voice. If it failed once, she could keep nudging, again and again, until it worked.
"So that's why Grandma Jing and Zijin said they saw you drive away. You used their mouths to deliver the message that you had already left, making all of us believe you had escaped.
Oh, and you had your subordinate Ling Qi perform a suicide detonation with the detonator. That's hypnosis too?
Last year, you also used hypnosis to slip out from under their guard. You used hypnosis to dig all of Uncle Gou's secrets out, didn't you?"
Lin Yi began to applaud, the rhythmic sound echoing in the bare apartment. "But I didn't hypnotize Ling Qi. She was willing."