Chapter 31: The Origin of the Subconscious Monster

An ordinary person cannot even cross 15 meters, yet Zhou Mo was actually able to dive 50 meters! This is simply not something a normal human being can achieve!

Ignoring Sun Yue’s winking and gesturing, Xia An took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and stop her mind from racing.

"First of all, there is definitely something wrong with Zhou Mo, but he has indeed lost his memories. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that he might have already been a Deep Diver before losing his memory. Asking him directly now probably won't yield any answers; it would be better to keep him stable and slowly coax the secrets out of him."

Xia An forced a very strained smile. "That indicates your talent is quite exceptional. However, you must not go around telling others about this. A normal person's initial diving distance is only 15 meters; you have far exceeded the range expected of a normal person."

Zhou Mo caught the warning and caution in Xia An's words and felt a slight jolt of surprise. He had already understated it by a factor of ten, and it was still considered that exaggerated? If he had known, he would have just said 10 meters...

Seeing the expression on Xia An's face, he knew this woman was likely letting her imagination run wild again, but Zhou Mo had long since grown accustomed to her suspicious attitude. In any case, she had no evidence, so what good would suspicion do her?

Zhou Mo shrugged indifferently. "Understood. But, Captain Xia, I would still like to ask: what exactly are subconscious monsters? Surely you don't mean they are just peculiar creatures hiding in our subconscious?"

Since he was about to become a detective, he reckoned he would inevitably have to clash with these subconscious monsters. He felt it was necessary to clarify what they actually were; at least based on the two encounters he'd had so far, these things seemed rather unreasonable. That giant bat at least held to the characteristics one would expect of a biological entity, but the hunting dog summoned by Zhang Shuo, with human hands for claws, had exceeded Zhou Mo's normal understanding.

Xia An forced herself to forget those questions and looked at Zhou Mo earnestly. "It is indeed time to give you a basic briefing. Subconscious monsters are not biological organisms, nor are they existences from another dimension."

"They are the malice and thoughts that have been lurking deep within the human heart since the dawn of self-awareness."

Zhou Mo frowned slightly, feeling that this description was a bit abstract. "Malice and thoughts?"

Xia An nodded. "Let's put it this way: the figures you saw in the Sea of the Subconscious are the experiences and skills passed down to us by our ancestors. The vast majority of these are instinctive reactions that have already formed muscle memory in our ancestors; this is just one type of subconscious content."

Xia An extended a slender finger and tapped her temple. "However, the vast majority of the subconscious is not physical reaction, but subconscious thought. Humans are extremely complex creatures, and this complexity is manifested in their ways of thinking."

"It is undeniable that humans often have malicious thoughts in their daily lives, but this malice is constrained by our subjective morality and is never acted upon. Especially in modern society, people are under great pressure, and this pressure breeds malice."

"And subconscious monsters are the materialized products of the malice that humans have been suppressing from the beginning of their existence to the present day."

Zhou Mo smacked his lips. "That actually sounds quite reasonable. Thinking about it, it makes sense; after all, the human subconscious doesn't distinguish between good and evil, and this stuff certainly doesn't care about morality."

Xia An looked at Zhou Mo with surprise. "I didn't expect your brain to be quite so sharp."

Zhou Mo gave a cheeky grin and rubbed his head. Of course, he had his "Brain-Bro" with him today.

Xia An continued, "However, even though the origin of subconscious monsters is scientific, there are unscientific aspects to them as well. For example, subconscious monsters can come into reality through humans."

"It is quite tragic, actually, because the vast majority of human malice is directed at their own kind. Under normal circumstances, ordinary humans cannot touch subconscious monsters, yet subconscious monsters can harm humans."

Xia An held up two fingers. "Subconscious monsters fall into two categories. The first is the 'malice aggregate' type, like the one you saw near that Zhang Shuo."

Xia An paused, and Zhou Mo looked curious. "Who is Zhang Shuo?"

Xia An chuckled. "The stalker who attacked you yesterday."

Zhou Mo nodded in "sudden realization" and asked curiously, "So it was him. Why was the Brain-Eating Demon so fast?"

Xia An’s face twitched. "Let's talk about that later. Back to subconscious monsters."

Though it was only a few sentences, sparks of tension seemed to fly between the two.

Xia An steered the conversation back. "The first type I mentioned is the most common kind you see; they have no physical form, but only Deep Divers can touch and harm them. However, there has almost never been a case like Zhang Shuo, who could manipulate a subconscious monster. The vast majority of them just attack aimlessly."

"The second type is more complex: subconscious monsters that attach themselves to humans, constantly inciting human malice and leading to crimes. Cases resulting from this are far more complicated."

Xia An had spoken so much in one breath that she felt thirsty. She sighed, picked up her glass, took a sip of juice, and shook her head. "This is the reason why the City Guard was established. But even that is not enough, which is why detectives and investigators exist—to help us share the burden of investigation."

"Nowadays, you could say that subconscious monsters are wreaking havoc everywhere. The best the authorities can do is 'cold-treat' the situation, packaging these incidents as urban legends to cover them up and prevent unnecessary chaos."

Zhou Mo nodded, rubbing his chin. "I see. That makes sense."

"Then, when will I join you to investigate Dr. Liu Tianyou’s research materials?"

Xia An pulled a file folder from behind her and handed it to Zhou Mo. "The research material case is a bit complex. Don't be in a rush to join that yet. These are three recent urban legends; there is a very high probability that subconscious monsters are behind them."

"You can investigate these three cases first to get your bearings. Remember, your only task is to determine whether these three incidents are related to subconscious monsters. Once you confirm it, notify us immediately."

"Once you are familiar with the process, I will let you join the case regarding Dr. Liu Tianyou."

Zhou Mo curiously opened the folder. Inside were three documents:
1. The Mothman of the Horror Art Exhibition.
2. The Long-Legged Stalker of the Night Run.
3. The Wailing Sounds in the Heyuan City News Studio.

Looking at the title of the third file, Zhou Mo, who had previously shown little interest, suddenly revealed a brilliant smile.

"No problem."

...

On the way home after a satisfying meal, Zhou Mo randomly chose a pet supply store.

"Hello, do you have any leashes?"

Although he was eager to investigate the incident at the news studio, there was something more important waiting for Zhou Mo right now.

He had to hurry home to walk his "Brain."