Cthulhu Panel: One organ mutates every day

6:50 a.m.

Wayne was awakened by the wind-up alarm clock. He turned it off, sat up, still sleepy.

[Breathing Lv.1 - Empty Breath] Progress 1.12%

He felt a slight swelling in his chest cavity, as if he could feel the extra sac inside, so he tried to use the sac in his chest cavity to inhale.

Simply by gently inhaling through the foreign capsule, all the air within several meters around the body is compressed, rushing into the nasal cavity and entering the respiratory tract, and finally being enveloped by the foreign capsule.

The moment you inhale, all the noise around you disappears, and you fall into absolute silence, with only your heartbeat remaining. This means that an instantaneous absolute vacuum has been formed around you and even half of the room.

Then, under the influence of air pressure, the outside air was rapidly squeezed into the vacuum around him, creating a gust of wind that made Wayne's black hair fly wildly and caused his eardrums to ache.

Then, Wayne began to exhale slowly through the foreign sac.

As he exhaled the previously compressed air, a wave of air surged from his nose and mouth, spreading rapidly and causing furniture and cups in the room to tilt and fall over, curtains to flutter high, and even windowpanes to tremble.

"I think I've figured out the current breathing mechanism, but I'm still a bit unfamiliar with it. I'll need to practice more in the future to see if I can master it more skillfully."

After making a quick mental summary, Wayne got dressed and got out of bed.

After getting up, he went into the hotel's luxurious private bathroom, turned on the brass water valve, scooped up water to wash his face, quickly finished washing up, and tidied his appearance in front of the brass-framed mirror.

The boy in the mirror had deep-set eyes and slightly sunken eye sockets. His light blue pupils were calm and sharp, and his facial features were well-defined. His short, jet-black hair was neat and tidy, which softened his arrogance.

"I didn't expect that I would be so handsome. If I had to say, I look a bit like an 18-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio."

Wayne smiled at himself in the mirror, smoothed out the wrinkles on his clothes, grabbed his keys, and left the room.

Reaching the end of the corridor, push open the oak partition door to reveal a brass cage-like elevator embedded in the building shaft.

Upon seeing this, the operator stepped forward and opened the gate. After Wein entered in an orderly manner, the lever was pushed to slowly lower the car.

The Ritz restaurant is located on the 8th floor of the Ritz Hotel.

Wayne descended from the 30th floor to the 8th floor and arrived at the Ritz Restaurant.

The high dome ceiling is paired with a crystal chandelier, and the long solid wood dining table is glossy and warm, with guests coming and going.

The table was set with warm oatmeal porridge, freshly baked whole wheat toast, caramelized bacon, soft-boiled fried egg, seasonal fruit slices, and handmade fermented yogurt.

The drinks are freshly brewed black coffee, warm milk, and light red tea.

After getting his food, Wayne sat down at the table by the window and, while enjoying his meal, looked up at the scenery outside.

In the morning light, there are rows of skyscrapers, and further away, the surface of Lake Mi'an is shrouded in a hazy mist.

"The breakfast setup is pretty standard, and the taste is good too. It's a pity I haven't added anything to the 'Eat' section yet."

"Since the food is so good, let's give [Eat] some extra next time."

Wayne wiped his mouth with a tissue, put away the cutlery, and gently placed it back in the table storage area.

During this time, he noticed several middle-aged men walking hurriedly, with thin calluses on the base of their hands. Since they were at the hotel where the Special Bureau was located, they must also be personnel from the Special Bureau.

It's unclear which department it is; perhaps it's the "Fifth Special Operations Department," which is specifically responsible for suppressing anomalies.

After breakfast, Wayne went to the 32nd floor of the Ritz Hotel.

This is the top floor of the hotel, which is also one of the office areas of the Special Administration Bureau.

The hallway's decor is less luxurious and more solemn.

As soon as Wayne stepped out of the elevator, he saw Ethan waiting for him.

"It's alright, not too late. I was just about to knock on your door," Ethan said.

Wayne pretended to be full: "It's not early, but it's the first day of breakfast, so we should enjoy it properly. The food is pretty good."

"Let's go, the reviewers just arrived and have already received your materials." Ethan led Wayne toward an office at the end of the hall.

A small sign hangs above the office: "Review Room".

Ethan gestured, "Go straight in, I'll wait for you outside."

Wayne glanced at Ethan, then without further hesitation, pushed open the door, went inside, and closed it again.

This is a small room with only one small window.

As soon as Wayne walked in, he saw a chair in front of him, and further ahead was the judges' table.

Three people were sitting behind the table: two men and one woman, all of whom were middle-aged.

They were expressionless, with cold eyes that seemed to see right through everything.

A camera was placed in the corner, and a light fixture hung from the ceiling above the chair.

"Wayne Weber, please have a seat," said the man in the middle. His face looked as if it had lost all its collagen, with deep tear troughs and nasolabial folds. The woman on the right wore glasses, had a long face, and small eyes. The man on the left had an ordinary square face, unrecognizable on the street.

They each held a pen, and in front of them was a stack of documents, like review questionnaires.

[Perception Lv.1 - Observation of the Microscopic] Progress 6.6%

Wayne sat down in that chair, feeling an invisible pressure as he was directly exposed to the cameras and spotlights.

"A stress assessment? Interesting."

"My perception progress has increased significantly; these three people are probably not simple."

The man in the middle spoke, his voice devoid of emotion: "I'm going to ask you some questions. You only need to answer one of three questions: A. Yes, B. Somewhere between yes and no, C. No. You only have five seconds to answer. Whether you answer or not, I will move on to the next question after five seconds."

Upon hearing this, Wayne understood what was going to happen: a psychological assessment and personality test.

Perhaps it follows the model of the Cattell 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire, which uses answers to score and then uses the scores to determine personality type.

Or perhaps it is a more professional and precise assessment.

"Are there demons in the world?" the middle man asked.

5 seconds, 4 seconds, 3 seconds... Wayne remained silent.

What is the definition of a demon?

Does it refer to a demon in a metaphorical sense? Or a demon in a religious sense?

Wayne knew that his own understanding of the problem was also part of the evaluation.

Because personality theory suggests that questionnaires can reflect the respondent's consciousness and self-attribution motivational system. What the respondent thinks after hearing the questions determines how they answer, which precisely reflects their personality traits.

This is a common assessment method used in intelligence agencies.

But what Wayne was thinking about was a demon from outer space... a demon that is beyond the comprehension of current science, does such a thing exist?

Just kidding, as a fan of the Cthulhu Mythos, Wayne made a quick decision:

"Yes."

As soon as Wayne answered, the three judges began writing on the document.

Generally speaking, there is no standard answer to this type of question. If the answer matches the standard, you get 2 points; otherwise, you get 0 points; and if the answer is somewhere in between, you get 1 point.

They might also assess the time the respondent hesitated and their facial expressions.

The middle-aged man then asked, "Does the death of a stranger make you sadder than the death of a dog?"

This question can have different answers depending on the context.

Wayne's first thought was the extreme scenario: what if the person was a murderer and the dog was a good friend?

Why didn't you think of a good person versus a vicious dog?

Does this mean my thinking is inherently extreme, or that I don't believe humans are superior to dogs?

He even subconsciously believes that humans are no more noble than any other creature, and that in the face of the unknown, humans are no different from dogs in the face of humans.

Well, that's very much a legendary investigator.

Wayne replied, "Yes and no."

Do you want to go to heaven after you die?

"no."

Do you think crazy people are disgusting?

"Yes and no."

No matter how Wayne answered, whether she frowned in thought or blurted it out, the three judges remained expressionless and showed no emotional change.

Do you believe the past is all true?

Wayne's thoughts stalled again. In an instant, many things came to mind: the "Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Monarch's Secret Scripture," the double-slit experiment in quantum mechanics, the unknown from deep space in the Cthulhu Mythos...

"Yes and no."

Is knowledge the greatest power?

Wayne paused for two seconds: "No."

Do you crave power?

"Yes."

"Do you care about the mysteries of life, the limits of science, and the truth of the universe?"

"Yes."

"Would you go to any lengths to find out these answers?"

Wayne fell silent again.

Reckless abandon? Humans are insignificant in the face of the unknown; even reckless abandon is merely a moth drawn to a flame. But what if there truly were a chance to know the answers to everything…

"Yes and no."

Wayne knew that human strength has its limits. If he stubbornly insisted on his own opinions and sacrificed too much, would the final answer be more satisfying than a stable life?

Do you believe in family ties?

"Yes."

Do you believe in friendship?

"Yes."

Do you believe in love?

"Yes."

Do you believe there is a higher truth beyond humanity?

Wayne answered decisively, "Yes."

Do you believe that kind of truth can transcend family ties, friendship, and love?

Wayne felt a little depressed: "Yes and no."

One question after another rang out in the review room, and Wayne answered them within 5 seconds. The further he went, the more his thought patterns emerged, and he even realized that he might not be the perfect legendary investigator in the novel.

This is an unusual personality test, unlike any scale we've seen before. This personality test seems to measure his comprehensive understanding of humanity, the outside world, matter, spirit, right and wrong, thus determining his personality type.

I wonder what kind of personalities exist within the Special Affairs Bureau.

Similar questions continued for more than half an hour, and Wayne felt he had probably answered more than 300 questions.

Do you consider yourself important?

"Yes and no."

The man in the middle nodded slightly: "That's enough, the questionnaire is over."

The square-faced man next to him continued:

"Next, I will say a word, and you have to use that word to say a sentence within 2 seconds."

Wayne nodded. This was the projective test, which would reflect the characteristic patterns of the subconscious.

It takes 2 seconds to form a sentence using words, which is even shorter than the time to form words using letters, leaving almost no time for thinking.

The square-faced man spoke:

"That's how it begins. Great."

Wayne blurted out, "That's a great being."