Hints at GL - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Aside from her father, Zhong Nan, Zhong Ning had never told anyone else about her prophetic abilities. Even with Su Yuan standing beside her, she still felt a sense of unease.

Did Su Yuan really believe her just like that? Even now, it felt surreal, but things had indeed progressed this way. Su Yuan not only believed her but had specifically sought out people to help.

Zhong Ning’s heart rate was a bit erratic. Many thoughts flashed through her mind, but ultimately, she couldn’t come up with any other solution.

Across such a vast distance, she couldn’t exactly call back home to ask Zhong Nan. Even if she did, she wouldn’t get any useful answers; it would do nothing but make him worry.

It seemed there was no other way.

Finally, Zhong Ning took a deep breath and repeated her dream in full.

Once the final fragment was described, everyone fell into silence.

Alex was the first to break it. He pushed his glasses up. “Alright, based on what you just said, I have four questions to ask you. Additionally, there is one point I want to discuss.”

“First, you said the beginning of your dream is in a subway station. You enter, but you see no signs or ticket machines. You keep walking until you exit the station and see a London that is completely deserted. Is that correct?”

Zhong Ning listened intently and frowned as she corrected him. “Saying ‘deserted’ isn’t quite accurate. I feel like it’s more like another world. Can you understand? Another London.”

Alex asked, puzzled: “Another London?”

Zhong Ning nodded, explaining hesitantly, “In other words, it’s like the opposite side of light and dark. Like a lifeless underworld. It’s not just that there are no people; there are no living creatures at all… It’s very oppressive.”

Alex frowned, tapping his notebook with his pen. “Alright, let’s set that issue aside for a moment. First, I want to ask: which subway station was it? Do you remember?”

Zhong Ning hadn’t expected him to ask that. She thought back carefully for a long time. “I’m sorry, because there were no signs anywhere, I’m really not sure.” She paused. “But it should be not far from Big Ben. I remember catching a glimpse of it. As for the specific street, I really… the fog was too thick.”

Alex nodded. “Fine. By the way, what is your visual acuity?”

Zhong Ning looked at him. “Around 4.5 (approx. 20/60).”

Alex noted it down seriously, then looked up to ask, “Second question: after you left the station, how long did it take you to reach that bar? How many minutes do you think you walked?”

Seeing Zhong Ning hesitate again, he quickly added, “I understand that your perception of time in a dream won’t be very accurate. Just give me a rough range.”

Zhong Ning thought for a bit. “Maybe 15 to 20 minutes.”

Alex nodded. “Good. Third question: could you see the name of the bar?”

Zhong Ning shook her head. “No.” She seemed to understand why Alex was asking, but the fact was—she had tried many times herself, but no matter what, she couldn’t see it clearly.

Alex asked again, “Okay, last question: when you discovered you could only see dead people through the camera, did you feel anything was wrong in that moment? I mean, did it feel like something that simply couldn’t happen?”

Zhong Ning still shook her head. “No. At the time, I only felt panic. I didn’t feel there was anything wrong with the logic of it.”

Alex exhaled and turned to look at Carl. “I’m finished with my questions. What do you think? Do you have the same feeling I do?”

Carl didn’t respond immediately, merely staring at Zhong Ning with a frown. “…”

Alex looked up at Su Yuan. “Anna, what do you think?”

Su Yuan’s fine brows knit slightly. She whispered, “I think it’s strange.”

Alex pushed up his glasses. Seeing that Zhong Ning still didn’t seem to understand, he explained earnestly, “Do you know where the problem lies? The problem is that this dream of yours doesn’t seem like a prophetic dream at all. In other words, it is an ‘unrealizable’ dream.”

“A prophetic dream should be something that can be completely replicated in reality.”

“But your dream is very strange. First, that completely silent ‘Underground London’ cannot possibly appear. Second, a camera that can show whether someone is dead or alive just by picking it up cannot exist in this world.”

Zhong Ning finally grasped his meaning. “I see what you mean. That’s why… I’ve been so confused these past few months.”

“I know this is a prophecy that transcends reality. Not only is it impossible to realize, but even stranger is that it has persisted for three months… In the past, they would last a week at most,” Zhong Ning’s voice was full of distress. “Can you imagine? Having the same dream for three months, waking up at exactly eight o’clock every day, yet having no idea when it will happen…”

Zhong Ning suddenly felt like none of them believed her, and her voice became slightly unsteady. “But this really isn’t just an ordinary dream. I haven’t—”

Alex quickly spoke in a gentle tone to soothe her. “Calm down. Since Su Yuan brought you here, I certainly won’t suspect you of lying. I didn’t mean that; I was just pointing out some suspicious points.”

He thought for a moment. “How about this? Tell us about things you’ve foreseen in the past. Start from the first time you discovered you had this ability.”

Zhong Ning leaned back in her chair. As she tried to remember carefully, her head suddenly throbbed with pain. “…”

“Are you okay?” Alex asked, worried.

“Zhong Ning?” Su Yuan walked over to her, resting a hand gently on her back.

Zhong Ning didn’t know what had just happened to her. It was as if hearing the phrase “the first time” made her feel dazed. She steadied her mind, and her mental state slowly recovered.

“I’m fine… maybe I just haven’t rested well,” she explained with a faint smile, rubbing her forehead. “Let’s go back to your question.”

“When I was six years old, I foresaw a neighbor being robbed and the police coming to inspect his house. The next day, that exact scene played out, down to the last detail—even the expression on the neighbor’s wife’s face and the words she spoke were identical.”

Having reached this point, Zhong Ning finally regained her composure.

“I know what you want to ask. I can tell you frankly that my previous prophecies were not like this one.”

“I also know you’re actually a bit skeptical of me, but I can’t prove anything to you right now. To be honest, I haven’t seen anything else for several months.”

Of course, she instinctively skipped over the part about Su Yuan kissing Ruan Mu.

Just then, a cold British accent suddenly rang out. Carl looked at Zhong Ning expressionlessly. “I, for one, don’t believe this dream is unrealizable.”

His unexpected interruption startled everyone.

“What do you mean?” Alex asked, frowning.

Carl’s indifferent gaze swept across the room. “It’s very simple. As long as there are other ‘supers’ present, it can be realized.”

Alex fell into deep thought. “…”

Carl’s words were like a sudden enlightenment. Indeed, since they had already accepted the existence of superpowers, there should logically be no dream that couldn’t be realized. It was just that… this made the matter suddenly very complex.

Alex tapped the table as he spoke. “Yes, exactly. Unless there are other supers on the scene.”

“Let me think. So… if this hypothesis holds, then the supers present would be people Zhong Ning knows. That’s why she didn’t find it strange; she only felt terror,”

Alex seemed to understand something all at once, slowing his speech. “Zhong Ning knows them and knows what their respective abilities are. Therefore, she only felt shock.”

“No, to be precise, it should be people Zhong Ning doesn’t know now, but will know in the future.”

Carl looked at Zhong Ning coldly, continuing slowly, “I believe what you’re saying is true, but just telling us about it now is useless.” He paused, leaning back with his hands clasped. “Who is present and what their identities are—that is the key to solving the problem.”

“First, you must clarify three things: Time, Location, and People.”

“Once you’ve identified that information, look for deeper factors: why this event happens, why you are there, and finally, draw a conclusion on what you can do to avoid this disaster.”

His words clearly sent everyone into a thoughtful silence.

Su Yuan suddenly responded in a low voice, “Yes, I think Carl is right.” She leaned closer to Zhong Ning, her hand resting lightly on Zhong Ning’s shoulder. “Can you see the faces of those people?”

Zhong Ning looked up at that gentle face, feeling a bit disappointed in herself. “I’m sorry, I can’t see them clearly.”

She added hesitantly, “Actually, I couldn’t see your face clearly at first either. It was only because you spoke to me countless times in the dream that later, after I met you in person, I was able to see your face in the dream.”

“This problem isn’t hard to solve either,” Carl said suddenly.

He glanced at Alex beside him, giving a cold reminder. “Alex, you know what I mean.”

Alex locked eyes with him for a moment, and both said a word simultaneously: “Hypnosis!”

Hypnosis?

Zhong Ning was a bit surprised. “Hypnosis… can that solve the problem?”

Alex explained to Zhong Ning earnestly, “It can. Carl used to be troubled by his own ability and didn’t want to appear different from others, so he also did some psychological de-stressing.”

He paused, spreading his hands. “Although your situation is different from his, you both belong to the type that requires psychological suggestion.”

Zhong Ning repeated his words, “Requires… psychological suggestion?”

Alex nodded. “For example, at the beginning, you couldn’t see Anna’s face, right? But once you met her in person, that became a massive psychological suggestion. That’s why you could see her clearly in the prophetic dream afterward.”

“By the same logic, it’s not that you don’t know the information. In fact, your subconscious knows the location and the people perfectly well. Hypnosis can dig out more of those details.”

Zhong Ning seemed to understand. It was the same as that time in Su Yuan’s villa—at first, she couldn’t see the location clearly, but later it gradually became clear. As the amount of information around her increased, her prophetic ability would slowly strengthen.

“Alex, do you have any suitable candidates to recommend?” Su Yuan asked softly.

“Hmm… based on academic ability and Zhong Ning’s own background,” Alex crossed his arms, thinking for a long time. “Personally, I suggest you go find Jacky.”

“Jacky?” It was an unfamiliar name.

“Jacky is a Chinese professor in our Psychology department. You can communicate with him in your native language, which might be more effective.”

“Alright, I’ll take her to see Jacky.” Su Yuan agreed immediately.