Chapter 24

Eliza was resting in her chair. The meeting of the station’s psychologists responsible for the younger generation had just ended. The children Eliza worked with were considered troubled and fell into the at-risk group. But even among these troubled kids, Anji… well, stood out drastically.

He was an adult, yet a child. Already working, yet living in an orphanage. Capable of speech, yet deliberately refusing to communicate. Humans are wired to need interaction for their development.

Anji’s craving for pain and self-harm was explainable—but horrifying. The last two weeks of footage from Chrysalis sent chills even through Eliza. The monotonous scenery and grim scenes within that wall of fog…

And then she saw what she had missed before. Anji didn’t display the full spectrum of emotions—only the basic, negative ones. Anger, fear, irritation… but never joy, love, remorse, or contempt. If her hunch was right, the boy had a psychological disorder—though it didn’t explain his refusal to speak. A full diagnostic test could confirm it. Early intervention could still help, as long as he didn’t grow into a psychopath.