Chapter 26: Expelling the Incarnation of the Mind-Stealer

“What exactly is going on, Jonathan?”
Joy asked anxiously, having finally found her second son only for him to end up like this. The repeated highs and lows were driving her mad.

“Mom, don’t worry. I have a way to save Will—he absolutely can be saved. But from now on, you must listen to me and not doubt me at all, alright?”
Lin Xiao spoke with confidence. The process of expelling the Mindflayer would be agonizing. If Joy couldn’t bear it, they would likely fail. He needed her consent.

Joy gazed deeply at Jonathan. In fact, she had sensed something was off with her eldest son days ago; she had attributed it to Will’s disappearance, thinking Jonathan was wracked with guilt. Now it seemed there was a deeper reason.

“Alright, I promise you. So long as Will can be saved, I’ll agree to anything you ask.”

Lin Xiao nodded firmly at her reply and told her to sit tight before driving toward Chief Hopper’s residence.

On the way, he briefly recounted the events, omitting his own identity and the system. He spoke only of the existence of the Reverse World, of Will being captured by its monsters, and of his own narrow escape.

Joy listened, bewildered, wondering if her eldest son had lost his mind—what Reverse World, what monsters? This was the real world, wasn’t it?

This was a world governed by science, by Newton, Galileo, and Einstein—not some realm of dungeons and dragons.

Though she had her doubts, Joy didn’t voice them. With her younger son unconscious, she couldn’t risk sending Jonathan to a mental hospital as well, or she’d have to check herself in for the sake of family unity—a reunion in the asylum.

Without realizing it, they arrived. As Chief Hopper’s longtime confidante, Joy recognized the place, and her heart eased. Jonathan wasn’t acting out but had come to see Hopper, which reassured her.

Unexpectedly, inside the house they found a crowd: all of Will’s friends, Barbara, and an unfamiliar short-haired girl who looked almost like a boy.

“Jonathan, what did your mentor say? Is there a way to cure Will?”
Mike hurried over, the group clustering around Will, who was still unconscious. The situation was clearly dire.

“Mentor?”
Joy looked at Lin Xiao in confusion, wondering when Jonathan had taken on a mentor, though she barely knew his photography hobby, so perhaps it was no surprise.

“I asked him. My mentor said, for a case like this—possessed by such a monster—the creature must be forced out. I mentioned the Mindflayer’s traits, and he said it should fear heat and light. If we use heat and light, we can drive out its avatar.”

Everyone suddenly understood. The Reverse World was cold and gloomy; such creatures would naturally prefer low temperatures and shun heat and light. It sounded scientific, not magical.

“Besides, my mentor gave us magical aid—a weapon. This staff was forged for Number Eleven.”

Lin Xiao pulled out the staff he had crafted the night before and handed it to Eleven, who had regained her spirits.

The young girl eagerly took the staff, caressing it lovingly. Then she raised it and waved her hand; instantly, every item in the cabin floated into the air.

More astonishingly, her nose did not bleed.

“Oh my God, am I dreaming?”
Joy screamed in fright, nearly dropping Will from her arms. Her worldview was shattering; the doors to a new reality were opening before her.

Lin Xiao chuckled, having expected this. Unlike the original story, Joy had never entered the Reverse World; despite encountering the Mindflayer before, her worldview remained firmly grounded in normalcy. She probably didn’t believe him—until now, when her perspective was being forcibly updated.

Eleven played gleefully with the staff, using it repeatedly, until finally she pointed it at the car outside.

An invisible force radiated forth, and the small car—three or four tons in weight—rose slowly into the air as if lifted by a giant unseen hand.

Staff of Sprouts special effect: Earth Cage—uses magical power to create a cage to trap targets.

“Oh my God, what’s happening? Can someone please explain?”
Joy exclaimed, clutching Will tightly and staring at Eleven in horror.

“Magic! It’s the power of magic, Mom. I actually have this kind of power too.”
Lin Xiao explained, producing the Interstellar Destroyer Axe and igniting it with magical flames, gazing calmly at Joy.

The group of friends looked at Eleven and Lin Xiao with envy. Such wondrous power—they wanted it too. Once Will was saved, they would ask to learn.

Joy gradually calmed. After all, terrifying monsters had appeared, and Will was possessed by something. Magic powers seemed almost reasonable by comparison.

Looking at the flaming axe in her son’s hand, she suddenly thought of something and asked:

“Jonathan, was it you who drove off the monster that night and set our house on fire?”

Lin Xiao felt embarrassed—Joy was sharp, having immediately made the connection. He nodded in admission.

Joy didn’t get angry. If Jonathan hadn’t repelled the monster that night, she herself might have disappeared. Now her family was intact—if only Will could be saved.

“A place with heat and light—I think I know somewhere that might fit.”

Chief Hopper spoke suddenly, and everyone looked at him. Lin Xiao remembered—in the original plot, Hopper suggested that place. The inertia of the story was at work.

“So what are we waiting for? Let’s go and wake Will up!”
Joy said urgently.

Chief Hopper agreed, telling them to bring his electric heaters. He led the way in his car, the group splitting into two vehicles. Passing through town, they bought several high-powered lamps.

Under Hopper’s guidance, they soon reached their destination: an abandoned cabin in the woods.

They entered, strapped Will to the bed, and followed Lin Xiao’s instructions. They turned on the heaters, lit the stove, and aimed the lamps at Will.

Everyone gathered around the bed, tense and anxious, remembering the Mindflayer from the previous night—the terrifying monster no one wanted to face again, but had no choice.

“Eleven, remember what I told you? As soon as the Mindflayer’s avatar emerges, use the staff to trap it. I’ll attack and finish it off. Understood?”
Lin Xiao looked at Eleven. He had devised a plan on the way; Eleven’s ability was crucial to prevent the avatar’s escape—it would decide victory or defeat.

Eleven nodded firmly and stepped outside, staff in hand, waiting for the Mindflayer’s avatar.

As the temperature rose, the unconscious Will suddenly awoke, screaming wildly and struggling violently, like a scene from The Exorcist.

“Quick, turn up the heat!”

Unlike the hesitant Jonathan of the original story, Lin Xiao ordered decisively. The friends cranked the heaters to maximum, and stoked the stove’s flames to their fiercest.

Will’s veins bulged, and layer upon layer of purplish tendrils swelled beneath his skin, terrifying to behold—like someone possessed by a demon.

No, he really was possessed by a monster.

PS: Thanks to Qingyi Drunk in Dust for the reward, and to all the readers for their daily votes. Since the author’s notes can no longer be posted, I seldom speak in the main text.