Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Gu Mengmeng crossed her fingers and pondered for a moment. “I feel… Gillian might be the most likely candidate. After all, she had disappeared right after Cole was released. It is normal for her to help Cole as they used to be partners.”
Lea chuckled. “Cole kept her locked inside a secret room for so long that she already forgot how to turn back into human form. How could there still be any love lost between them?”
Gu Mengmeng shook her head. “There is a mental sickness called the Stockholm Syndrome in this world, where a victim starts to develop positive feelings and a sense of dependency towards their captor, and might even help him harm others.”
Lea and Elvis fell into deep thought, as if they could not really understand Gu Mengmeng’s words.
Gu Mengmeng continued. “To put it simply, Cole had imprisoned Gillian for a long period of time. Whenever he appeared before her, he would bring food and water, and would be Gillian’s only form of contact. During her long periods of darkness and solitude, she would start to look forward to Cole’s appearance. Whether he brought pain or torment, it would be her only way of feeling anything. As time passed, Gillian would feel increasingly dependent on Cole. Her desire to see him would become more pressing until it morphed into a twisted kind of love. The conclusion made by the expert who came up with the Stockholm Syndrome was this: A person could be domesticated.”
Elvis and Lea had both clenched their fists. Gu Mengmeng could even sense that their palms were drenched in sweat.
“What’s the matter?” Gu Mengmeng was befuddled.
Lea said, “I regret it now, it’s too horrifying.”
Gu Mengmeng asked, “What do you mean?”
Lea said, “What if my plan had gone haywire and Cole had kidnapped you, imprisoning you like he did with Gillian. Then…”
Gu Mengmeng chuckled. “You are afraid that I would succumb to the Stockholm Syndrome?”
Lea just felt uncomfortable all over when he thought of how Gu Mengmeng might end up with such a twisted love for Cole.
But Gu Mengmeng just laughed. “Firstly, he must be able to restrain me.”
Elvis and Lea were taken aback. Ah, they had forgotten that Gu Mengmeng now possessed the powers of the Beast King. How could Cole alone even hope to ever restrain her?
They understood the logic, but still couldn’t help worrying.
Gu Mengmeng exhaled and patted both Lea and Elvis. “We just need to be careful now that we know Cole has someone who can provide him with a high level Fox Seductive Fragrance. The more urgent task now is to gather the items that Cole wants, so that we can get the antidote for Chixuan.”
Elvis looked at Lea as he asked, “Do you think Cole will really hand over the antidote after we gathered all those items?”
Lea thought about it and shook his head. “Chixuan is the only bargaining chip he has to tie down Mengmeng. I don’t believe he will hand it over.”
“He will,” Gu Mengmeng said in a low voice. Taking a deep breath, she looked up with a solemn and calm expression. “That is because the five items he is asking for, will form part of the key to open the doors of space and time.”
Open the doors of space and time…
Those words jolted the hearts of Elvis and Lea painfully.
An all-encompassing fear mixed with unease entwined every single cell in their bodies and every single thought in their minds.
She would leave.
And return to her original world.
And they…
They would be helpless.
Elvis held Gu Mengmeng’s hand tightly. His fingers were trembling as he said in a raspy voice, “Even without Chixuan, we still have Hede, Jialue and Kanwu…”