Who would study psychology if they didn't have some kind of problem?

Chapter 631 When were we discovered?!

Even before explaining the principles of "mass hysteria" to Li Lingling, Nan Zhuren had already felt a gaze upon him.

In the [Micro-expression Analysis - Intermediate], that gaze, and the micro-expression information projected onto the face by that gaze, were so sharp to Nan Zhuren that they were almost blinding.

[The upper eyelid is slightly raised, increasing the exposure of the whites of the eyes, while the lower eyelid is slightly taut—indicating high alertness.]

[The eyebrows converge towards the center and slightly downwards, while the orbicularis oculi muscle maintains a slight, continuous contraction—a sign of rejection and hostility.]

[The nostrils are slightly flared, and the breathing rhythm is erratic; the jawline is tense, and the masseter muscles are bulging—anger is rising, but being restrained.]

The source of these micro-expression messages was outside the sacrificial team, but also the place among the onlookers closest to the sacrificial team.

Nan Zhuren speculated that those were people who believed in the "Dragon King" but whose qualifications and prestige were not high enough to participate in the sacrificial ceremony.

Nan Zhuren repeatedly adjusted the direction of his body while talking to Li Lingling, which also made him aware of this implicit aggression. Nan Zhuren guessed that this aggression was probably because his actions when observing others were too blatant, which triggered this reaction.

So, taking advantage of his conversation with Li Lingling, he withdrew his scrutinizing gaze; but then adjusted his posture, multitasking so that his peripheral vision could encompass the person he was looking at, allowing him to examine them closely—

He was a young man who looked to be about twenty-one or twenty-two years old. To be honest, Nan Zhuren was a little surprised to see such a young face in the "Dragon King" team.

This should have been an age of youthful vigor, but the man's face was extremely pale, and his thin frame made his head appear enormous, like a malnourished garlic clove. He wore a dark coat that was clearly ill-fitting, with frayed cuffs, which only accentuated his emaciated appearance.

However, what was most striking was the young man's exposed skin—especially his neck and wrists—covered with large patches of skin lesions of varying sizes and indistinct borders. Some areas were an unhealthy red, while others were covered with fine, grayish-white scales, which, in the dim light, faintly reflected a strange luster similar to…damp scales.

Just now, when Nan Zhuren was observing the crowd, he mentioned to Li Lingling the terms "potentially infected individuals," "mildly infected individuals," and "moderately infected individuals."

This young man is the "severely infected person" that Nan Zhuren hasn't mentioned yet.

Besides, considering the way this young man is looking at Nan Zhuren now, Nan Zhuren feels that he has another identity—

"[A spiritual defender]..." Nan Zhuren sighed inwardly.

The current environment can actually be defined as a "closed group." In nature, it is very similar to the high school case of "Jiangdu No.1 Middle School" that Nan Zhuren previously handled.

However, in terms of degree, it is even more excessive.

This involves great danger, not only to members of the group, but also to anyone who attempts to influence the group.

Nan Zhuren even suspected that Professor Wu, who had almost been beaten up before, had encountered this group of people.

As Nan Zhuren pondered, the sacrificial ceremony drew to a close.

At the very center of the crowd, Old Man Chen burned the last few pieces of "paper money." The flames flickered, and ashes drifted in the air, blurring the faces of the crowd, which were either pious, fearful, or bewildered.

"Alai...what are you looking at?!"

A middle-aged man with half-gray hair in the sacrificial group shouted, and the young man who was looking at Nan Zhuren immediately trembled. Then, like a quail, he followed the middle-aged man to his side and said something.

Taking this opportunity, Nan Zhuren looked up and, as if she had just noticed the young man, asked Wang Lili beside her, "Who is that?"

“Oh…he’s probably only noticed because he’s so young, and so am I,” Wang Lili said matter-of-factly.

“We had been paying close attention to him before, but that was because his skin condition was particularly severe. We thought something had gone wrong at the resettlement site… But we later learned that he had been like this before the flood, it seems to be a matter of his constitution, such as a weak immune system.” Wang Lili, who is not a medical professional, spoke somewhat vaguely, “The villagers all call him ‘Alai’.”

"Oh, by the way, Professor Nan, some of your experts and teachers almost got beaten up when they came here before. He was the one who started it."

really.

Nan Zhuren nodded to himself.

As he pondered, the sacrificial ceremony ended, and both the worshippers and the smaller crowd dispersed.

Nan Zhuren looked at Wang Lili and said, "It's kind of you to bring us all here. You can go ahead and do your work."

Wang Lili was a little flustered by Nan Zhuren's gratitude: "It's all what I should do... and besides, Teacher Nan."

She lowered her voice: "We also hope that you can resolve the problem here as soon as possible."

After saying that, the young social worker turned and left.

Li Lingling was processing Nan Zhuren's explanation of "mass hysteria" when, after a while, seeing that Nan Zhuren remained motionless, she couldn't help but ask, "What do we do next?"

She didn't get a response immediately, so she looked at Nan Zhuren, only to find that Nan Zhuren had returned to that state of unfocused eyes and cold sweat on her forehead.

[Micro-expression analysis - Intermediate] + [Flow state - Beginner]

After only a short while, Nan Zhuren could no longer hide his fatigue.

……

"Old Hei, be normal for once..."

On the other side, as the crowd dispersed, Professor Ji's group had to retreat further away.

Only Teacher Heiquan couldn't help himself and kept trying to get closer to Nan Zhuren, but he was pulled back by luck.

"Everyone's dispersed, but Nan Zhuren is still standing there, just frozen in place," a fellow disciple whispered. "He's probably lost, unsure of what to do next. Should we really continue following them?"

For researchers who need to collect data on-site, one of the biggest challenges in the current environment is "direction".

It's important to understand that for research methods like the interview method, which requires a significant amount of time, selecting interviewees in the early stages is crucial.

Generally, researchers often choose to recruit interviewees by issuing certain conditions, or by sending out questionnaires to screen candidates, or by directly obtaining demographic data from collaborating institutions to accurately select interviewees.

Interviews are often the second or third step, something that is done only after a certain amount of preparation has been made.

In such a completely unfamiliar environment, a person with a mental illness will feel as disoriented as a mouse in a maze.

"No, he'll find his direction!"

Teacher Heiquan was absolutely certain about this.

His fellow disciples expressed their incomprehension of this.

This guy with such dark circles under his eyes seems even more confident than Nan Zhuren himself.
Before his fellow disciples could speak, Nan Zhuren, who was not far away, made a move.

...His pupils refocused, and Nan Zhuren wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

“Let’s go,” Nan Zhuren said in a low voice. “The ‘Dragon King’ ritual is over. Now it’s ‘human’ time, and it’s also the beginning of our work.”

He did not choose to approach the old woman who was most emotional and deeply convinced, nor did he seek out the tall, thin man scratching his arm.

Nan Zhuren knew that for someone deeply infected, rashly coming into contact with them would be like a frightened bird, only making the situation worse.

Li Lingling didn't understand any of this; she only knew that following Nan Zhuren was the right thing to do.

Their first target was a young mother holding a baby who appeared uneasy but still had a sense of reality.

That "potential carrier" of the "mass hysteria".

Nan Zhuren adjusted her expression, making herself look more like a gentle, ordinary worker who cared about post-disaster life, and walked over naturally.

"Sister, the child is crying a lot, is he feeling unwell?" He asked gently, with just the right amount of concern.

The young mother looked up at Nan Zhuren and Li Lingling.

Li Lingling was still wearing her staff uniform, which also had a nurse's badge.

In the disaster area, staff members would come from time to time to inquire about the living conditions of the affected people. When the young mother saw Li Lingling with her, she assumed that Nan Zhuren was in the same situation.

She wasn't very wary and sighed with distress, "Sigh, I don't know what's wrong. She's been fussy since she woke up this morning and won't eat well when I try to breastfeed her."

Li Lingling stepped forward at the right time. She was a beginner in psychology, but the medical aspects were part of her job.

She said softly, "I'm a nurse, may I take a look? Are you cold, or is your stomach upset?"

The mother naturally offered her hand, and Li Lingling gently examined the child, diverting some of the mother's attention.

Nan Zhuren stood to the side, his gaze fixed steadily on his mother's face, his tone as gentle as if in casual conversation: "There are so many people at this resettlement site, it's easy for the child to have trouble adjusting. Are you doing well here? Is there anything you need?"

“What’s so good about it?” the young mother complained, her attention drawn to the tent. “The tent is drafty at night and noisy during the day, so the baby can’t sleep well. As for the food… it’s barely enough to eat.”

A furrowed brow, changing with the way the words are spoken, is a genuine reaction.

"Sigh... Leader." This is how disaster victims generally address people whose identities they don't know. "I know you're busy... Everyone is grateful to you for saving our lives, but... sigh."

She sighed.

"You just said it was noisy during the day, was it because of—over there?" Nan Zhuren smoothly steered the conversation toward the sacrificial ceremony that had just taken place. "I saw it was very lively over there just now, and I have indeed heard people complaining about this situation recently—what are they doing?"

Seeing that Nan Zhuren looked ready to get things done—and Nan Zhuren was indeed getting things done—the young mother immediately straightened up.

She glanced at the crowd that hadn't completely dispersed and lowered her voice: "What else can we do but worship the Dragon King? Uncle Chen led the way, asking the Dragon King to calm down and stop bringing disaster."

[His gaze swept quickly across my face, trying to observe my reaction?]

[The shoulders pulling inward—this indicates caution, unease, or even fear of the topic.]

"The Dragon King—does everyone really believe in this?" Nan Zhuren continued in a casual tone.

"Well... how should I put it... sigh, with such a big incident, no one is sure what to do..." the young mother said with a complicated tone. "The older generation all believe in this. As for us younger folks, it's hard to say... but they talk about it so vividly, like scales growing on their bodies, being strangled by dragon ribbons... it's kind of creepy to hear."

As she spoke, she subconsciously touched her neck.

The pupils dilated slightly for a moment.

[It's fear... a genuine fear of the described symptoms, which has been influenced by group suggestion.]

“That sounds pretty scary,” Nan Zhuren said, expressing her understanding before naturally steering the conversation back to practical concerns.

Simply gathering information wasn't enough, so Nan Zhuren habitually offered some psychological guidance, reinforcing the mother's sense of reality: "Sister, how about yourself? Aside from the child being fussy, how have you been feeling these past few days? Have you been sleeping well? Are you feeling anxious?"

This question seemed to touch a nerve with the young woman. Her eyes reddened slightly: "How can I not panic? Our house collapsed, and all the crops in the fields were destroyed. How are we going to live from now on? When I close my eyes at night, I see the flood scene all the time. I can't sleep soundly at all."

[His gaze lost focus, staring into emptiness—it was a memory, and an [intrusive memory].]

[Her voice was also trembling...]

Nan Zhuren listened attentively, nodding occasionally to offer emotional support: "Yes, the flood was huge, and everyone had a tough time. It's normal to feel scared and worried about the future. The important thing is to take care of the present, make sure the children are well taken care of, and don't let your own health collapse."

He said softly, "If you can't sleep well at night, or if you feel suffocated, you can try talking to someone like us, or a medical worker like Nurse Li. Don't keep it all bottled up inside."

Instead of trying to correct her views on the "Dragon King," Nan Zhuren focused on empathizing with her anxieties about reality and providing practical support.

For this mother, the core issue lies in the post-traumatic stress and survival anxiety of reality. Her fear of the "Dragon King" symptoms stems more from environmental cues and her own insecurity.

Strengthening her reality support system will help her resist the onslaught of hysteria.

Li Lingling had already finished checking the child's condition and was quietly listening to Nan Zhuren's words of comfort.

After leaving the young mother, Nan Zhuren's next target was the tall, thin man scratching his arm.

This time he chose a more indirect approach.

He saw the man walk to the side alone, take a crumpled cigarette case out of his pocket, find it was empty, and crush it in frustration.

Tobacco is clearly not among the disaster relief supplies. The cigarettes at the resettlement sites are mostly ones that the disaster victims brought with them when they fled—not specifically brought, but just things that smokers casually carry in their pockets.

Nan Zhuren thought for a moment, then suddenly turned in one direction—

"Hey, teachers...yes, you two—"

……

Not far away, Teacher Heiquan and his fellow students were all stunned.

They discovered that Nan Zhuren's eyes were looking at them—they were even meeting!
"Huh? Us?" The teacher with the black circle pointed to herself.

When were they discovered?
(End of this chapter)