Even Yuan Yuan was stunned.
Because this voice was not transmitted into their minds through the "Source Eyes" Spiritual Link.
A strand of "Chi Huo" was affixed to everyone’s Source Armor.
This was the "preparation" that Gu Shen had made before setting off. At that time, he did not understand this team yet. Due to the ominous premonition from the Hong Zhong incident, to ensure that there would be no scenes of "betrayal" during this mission, Gu Shen deliberately kept a trick up his sleeve.
This tiny strand of Chi Huo ensured that Gu Shen could "hear" everything he wanted to listen to, and also ensured that Gu Shen could intervene at any time since, wearing the "Golden Hoop" in this Old World, his combat power was significantly reduced.
In the latter half of the journey, the function of these Chi Huo completely changed.
Having recognized this team, the Chi Huo affixed to their Source Armor was used to "protect" the members and check whether their spiritual state was stable.
Even Yuan Yuan did not realize when this tiny spark had been affixed to his Source Armor.
"But this method, before implementing it..."
Gu Shen said softly, "I need to hypnotize everyone present."
He looked toward Old Mo.
Then looked toward Zhu Xiao.
"As for the reasons, I can’t explain. You only have the choice to trust me or not."
Amidst the storm’s roar, the previously silent Spiritual Link became noisy.
The eleven team members exchanged glances.
They knew very well what hypnosis meant...
For a Transcendent, falling into a "hypnotic" state meant being at the mercy of others. Once entrapped in the Spiritual dream, there were countless ways to live worse than to die.
Spiritual Transcendents could erase memories, warp wills, and even brainwash or alter beliefs.
If the one suggesting hypnosis was a veteran teammate with years of combat experience,
they wouldn’t have hesitated at all.
But... this young man was setting out for the first time.
Yuan Yuan asked gravely, "Can we trust you?"
Gu Shen responded calmly, "I will not do things like taking away the core after hypnotizing..."
Speaking of which, it was coincidental.
The current situation somewhat resembled the choice once faced by Hong Zhong’s team.
The Returning Hero who unhesitatingly drew his blade to kill a comrade and take away their energy might have cast a psychological shadow over every member of this small team.
"That’s not what I meant. You might have misunderstood,"
Yuan Yuan was somewhat at a loss.
What he just talked about trusting wasn’t about taking the core but... he really couldn’t think of any way to outrun the storm.
Hypnotizing eleven people, was quite a burden on the Caster himself.
Could Gu Shen’s spiritual power withstand it?
What trump card did he have that could possibly outrun the storm?
"What the captain meant was actually to ask about your specific confidence..."
The usually taciturn deputy captain Su He spoke at this moment, "If everyone accepts your hypnosis, what are your chances of bringing the team back to Gu Castle?"
Following his gaze, all the members looked toward Gu Shen.
In Yuan Yuan’s heart... even if there was only a ten percent chance, if only one or two could return to Gu Castle, it was still worth undertaking this risk.
The silence did not last long.
Gu Shen gave a conservatively estimated answer.
"Damn!" Mo Hongyi cursed, "Just hypnotize already! What are we waiting for, the strong winds are already burning our asses!"
Following that, he slapped away the stunned Zhu Xiao’s hand, glaring angrily, "What are you looking at, kid? Really planning to pull out my oxygen tube, huh?"
(PS: I promised to add more Chapters, so there will be another one tonight. If you can’t wait, feel free to sleep first.)