74 Emotional Crisis
Night had already fallen. Wu Qingchen held a wooden bowl, staring blankly at the clay pot perched over the hearth. The steam rising above it remained thin; it would be a long while yet before the water boiled.
Usually impatient while waiting for water to boil, Wu Qingchen—Los—now wore a faint smile.
Ten days!
Soon, he wouldn’t need to trek dozens of meters from his house for a sip of water that was only marginally safer! No more digging pits along the stream in search of softer soil to filter it! No more pestering people for a “special” wooden bucket! No more foraging across the hills for coarse-fibered leaves and branches to crush as filtering material! No more waiting an entire day for sediment to settle! No more lighting the hearth, setting up a rack, waiting forever for water to boil, then spending as much time waiting for it to cool!
Ten days!
He—soon—would return to Earth!
Soon, whenever he wanted a drink, he’d just twist open a cap, no need to worry about anything else!
As darkness deepened, Wu Qingchen carried his wooden bucket to the stream, standing atop a small platform carefully paved and raised with river stones.
He drew his hands from the collar of his outer robe, grabbed the fabric at the shoulder with one hand, and after a moment’s rustling, pulled out the inner robe; then, picking up the large cloth draped over the bucket’s edge, he reversed the process, stuffing it into the inner robe.
Another rustling, and Wu Qingchen shed his outer robe, revealing a bare little boy by the stream, wrapped only around certain parts that a harmonious society forbids describing.
Usually seething with frustration at these routines, Wu Qingchen—Los—now bore a faint smile.
Ten days!
Soon, he wouldn’t need to bathe or wash clothes under the cover of night, listening to wolves howl outside! No more special platforms to keep from slipping into the water! No more single-handed tricks to undress! No more remote-control underwear stunts! No more starring in R-rated films for an audience of seven billion! Most importantly, no more gingerly scrubbing the heap of garbage in his hands, careful not to shred it!
Ten days!
He—soon—would return to Earth!
He—soon—would wash clothes when he wanted, or simply toss them away and change for new ones if he didn’t!
Soon, whenever he wanted a bath, though he’d still be watched closely by at least seven or eight people, at least they’d all be men!
As midnight approached, Wu Qingchen climbed onto his bed, lay straight for a few seconds, turned over and lay again, then got up, shook the straw laid across the mattress, and rearranged a few prickly spots.
His expression was calm, free from the usual irritation at the nightly routines.
Ten days!
Soon, he wouldn’t have to get up mid-sleep to chase away fleas and bedbugs! No more snoring filling the room! No more waking to rooster crows before dawn—stars still hanging in the sky, heading out with a hoe for work!
He—soon—would go home!
Back to Earth!
Back—home!
Medieval World, Year 0001, February 11th, late at night.
Wu Qingchen climbed back onto his bed, crossed his hands over his chest, and slowly closed his eyes.
After a while, his breathing relaxed, and a joyful smile settled on his face.
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On the leftmost giant screen: the image of Wu Qingchen’s smiling sleep, frozen.
“Ladies and gentlemen, terrifying supernatural phenomena, enormous shocks to his values, a harsh survival environment, heavy psychological burdens, forty-one consecutive days of arduous labor in the medieval world, and a series of upheavals on Earth plus over a hundred hours of intensive training—Mr. Wu Qingchen’s psychological health is now at grave risk!”
“From here…” A laser pointer traced a path, circling Wu Qingchen’s smile in the center of the screen. “Compared with the other two sets of observation records, Mr. Wu Qingchen’s clinical signs of depression are now very apparent.”
The laser pointer shifted to the second, central giant screen: countless small screens, subdivided and neatly arranged with time and date as x and y axes, displaying Wu Qingchen’s emotional states over the forty-odd days—waking, brushing teeth, washing face, eating, going out, morning prayers, labor, conversation, bathing, sleep, each at different times and dates.
“Look here…” The laser pointed at the parameter chart at the bottom of the screen. “This observation set shows two clear trends…”
“Vertically, comparing the single day, from morning through noon to night, Wu Qingchen’s emotional swings follow a downward parabola…”
The laser traced the parabola: “As noon approaches, when labor intensifies, his emotions tend toward gloom and irritability; near morning, anticipating rising labor, his emotions tend toward anxiety; near evening, as labor is expected to decrease, his emotions incline toward relief…”
“Irritability, gloom, even anxiety and relief—these emotions all inflict strong negative impacts on the psyche. Coupled with intense physical labor and overwhelming stress, the incidence rate of anxiety and depression—especially severe cases—is extremely high!”
“Now, here, here, and here…”
The laser rapidly clicked several times, enlarging images of Wu Qingchen “heading out with farm tools,” “dragging them home,” “going out before dawn to gather herbs,” “returning home with a basket at midnight”—each lonely, weary, despondent figure magnified for the viewers.
“It’s clear that, even during lighter labor, Wu Qingchen’s emotions mostly skew negative…”
“Next, the horizontal comparison…”
The laser pointed at the second parameter chart below the central screen: “In each time segment, from his first day in the medieval world to the tenth day preparing to leave…”
“See here: whether waking, eating, working, or conversing… in almost every individual or social activity, Wu Qingchen’s emotional trend remains stable… Each day, his mood is more positive than the previous, forming an upward-sloping line at roughly seventeen degrees…”
“This demonstrates two things. First, the continuous upward angle shows Mr. Wu Qingchen’s strong aversion, weariness, and even hostility toward the medieval world’s harsh environment, complex labor, and overwhelming stress… With survival needs barely met, his sole priority is returning to Earth.”
“Second, the stable upward angle indicates that achievements in the medieval world—including accumulating wealth, earning respect, being needed and valued, and other means of happiness typical in modern society—have produced positive stimulation for Mr. Wu Qingchen…”