The others in the "Explorers" certainly didnāt have such thoughts.
However, to say they werenāt afraid at all would be a bit of a stretch.
After all, someone who is entirely poisonous and can manipulate minds at will might cause people to keep their distance.
But since she had already been open with everyone, it didnāt matter. None of the people present were ordinary.
"You didnāt dare to touch Qin Yunlong and his brother before, not even handshake. Is it because you yourself cannot control the release of this āmental toxinā?"
Wen Guixin opened her mouth, looked at Xu Xin, hesitated for a moment, and finally told the truth: "...Right now, I actually canāt help it, my whole body is full of this toxin, and I have no way to control its release or withdrawal."
Li Wenxi: "Sigh, doesnāt that mean you canāt interact with others..."
Ji Chaoyang: "Earlier, Qin Yunlong said you either donāt touch survivors from other areas or kill them in one strike. Is your ability confirmed to be effective on survivors too?"
"...Yes, it is effective," Wen Guixin replied, "As I have told you before, on the first day the protected zones connected, I encountered that survivor. The very one who invited me into the treehouse with malicious intentions, and he was the first survivor I met after coming to this world."
Xu Xin certainly remembered this incident. Wen Guixin was the first among them to acknowledge having killed someone, leaving a deep impression on him.
"That guy was speaking arrogantly and tried to get handsy with me, so I thought at the time, it was a good chance to experiment on him. I let him grab my hand and then... he was immediately infected."
Just holding a hand could infect a survivor?
"How long does the infection take? Is it long?" Xu Xin also asked.
In order to make others less afraid of her, Wen Guixin patiently explained: "For normal beasts, it only takes an instant of contact to infect them, while it takes about two seconds for mutated creatures. But for a survivor, after the person let go of my hand while screaming, he covered his head and struggled on the ground for over a minute before being completely eroded by the mental toxin, turning into an absolute puppet obeying commands."
Listening to her explanation, she said it took over a minute, but the actual time of contact was just that moment of holding hands...
She really is poisonous all over... Just a handshake resulted in infection, and itās not even her actively trying to infect people.
Even if she doesnāt want to infect people, if she accidentally touches someone...
Her power is more like that of a witch than an empress.
Itās fortunate everyone in this team is not ordinary, each with their own special abilities, so they are much more tolerant of unique powers; otherwise, they would definitely keep their distance from her.
One must admit, not having any vigilance would be a lie. A person who can control you just by contact would make anyone cautious, right?
Zhao Xiaochuan: "...Is this infection irreversible? What if itās an accidental contact..."
Wen Guixin quickly explained, "Itās reversible, it is reversible. I can create an antidote for the mental toxin! Even if fully infected, as long as you take the antidote before your life runs out, itās fine. Besides, Sister Xuefeiās pills might also work against my toxin, so you guys donāt need to be too afraid. Even if itās accidental contact, thereās an antidote!"
Saying so, she traded a piece of antidote to everyone present.
Xu Xin accepted the trade, and a water-blue crystal appeared in his hand.
[Tears of the Empress (Blue): Can clear the mental toxins in the body and relieve the Empressās mental control. The mental toxin causes immense damage to the mind and vitality, so itās best to take it before being fully infected.]
Li Wenxi: "Sister Guixin, is this really your tears?"
Wen Guixin: "Of course not, itās just the name. Itās actually made from blue-grade hemostatic herbs."
Qi Xuefei: "I see now. Yesterday, you asked me for so many blue-grade hemostatic herbs, turns out it was to make this antidote."
Wen Guixin: "Yesterday, didnāt we meet Qin Yunlong and them in reality? We needed to be prepared in advance, just in case of accidental contact... Hey, you all, I gave you the antidote to my ability, so you better not ostracize me!"
Wang Lei: "Whatās there to fear with an antidote? Itās stable, isnāt it? By the way, if youāre controlled, do you still have your consciousness?"
Wen Guixin: "Probably none, Iām not sure. I havenāt used this antidote on others before."
Qin Yunlong: "Haha, last night I was talking to Yun Hu, thinking you might have some form of male phobia, since you were being so cautious, avoiding contact with us."
Wen Guixin: "What! Thereās no way Iād be afraid of men!"
Qin Yunlong: "Rest assured everyone, although her powers are quite dangerous, thereās no problem interacting with her. No need to be afraid. She herself is very cautious, so as long as both sides are careful, itās all good."
Wen Guixin: "Wow, finally someone speaking up for me. Iām touched!"
Qin Yunlong: "If youāre touched, lend us a hand with the beast tide tomorrow then."
Wen Guixin: "Jeez, Iām just a tool person, huh."
Li Wenxi: "But Sister Guixin, itās so pitiful, not being able to touch others..."
Qi Xuefei: "The ability will definitely strengthen in the future, perhaps by then it can be controlled."
Wen Guixin: "Letās hope so..."
Seeing no one criticizing her ability, Wen Guixin breathed a slight sigh of relief.