Conley had a boyfriend.
In those days, homosexuality was heresy, a crime, and a sign of mental illness.
The two could only be extremely careful, secretly seeing each other and silently loving.
On the path of scientific exploration, there are geniuses and perversions, righteous paths and crooked ones.
In the era when lobotomies were prevalent, a large portion of them were used on homosexuals. "Righteous people" dedicated themselves to "curing" homosexual "patients," and after lobotomies were gradually abandoned by the medical community, electroconvulsive therapy became the latest tool for "treating" homosexuals.
"He was reported, and when he went out, he suffered ridicule, insults, and even beatings," Conley wrote in his autobiography. "He could only stay at home. His front door was splattered with feces and swill, and the stairwell was covered in profanities written in red paint. They cursed him and demanded he commit suicide.
"...His telephone line was cut, and I, who was studying abroad, lost contact with him."
"...One day, several scholars came to his home, saying they could help him and relieve his troubles. They made him sign an agreement, asking him to voluntarily become a test subject for the research institute.
"The agreement had a confidentiality clause, but he still left me a secret letter, hidden in a compartment under a drawer in his desk—a place only he and I knew.
"I finally got leave and rushed back from abroad. I searched everywhere I could think of, but couldn't find him. I tried every possible way to inquire and learned that he had been taken away by those people.
"I thought he would leave me a message, so I found the secret letter in the compartment…but I couldn't enter the research institute as an outsider. It was a secret research base; I didn't know which department it belonged to, or what projects they were researching.
"I had to find him. I had a bad feeling, but I didn't want to believe it.
"...With my overseas medical doctorate certificate, I used every connection I could, and finally managed to enter the research institute.
"...I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"...This was an inhuman, anti-social, morally bankrupt, heinous, devilish experiment!"
"They bought babies from their parents at exorbitant prices and subjected them to inhumane experiments. They placed soft, cute, and harmless hamsters and rabbits in front of the babies, then banged on metal objects, making shrill, irritating sounds until the babies cried.
They wanted the babies to develop a fear of everything white, such as dogs, clothes, tissues, and even white beards. This experiment was repeated repeatedly, simply to understand how humans experience fear.
...In another laboratory, they conducted sensory deprivation experiments. The aim was to verify that psychological development depends on the environment, and that a person would suffer psychological loss if deprived of their environment.
Those poor test subjects, after being deprived of all their senses, gradually developed problems such as confused thinking, emotional agitation, and intellectual impairment. 40% of the subjects even experienced hallucinations, and some even committed suicide."
"...They were like the Black Sun Demon Army! They recruited lovers, couples, mothers and children, and conducted perverse experiments with electric current, using the guise of testing humanity to satisfy their morbid curiosity.
"...I didn't find him in Lab D. The test subjects told me that many people died during lobotomies. But they didn't know how the bodies were disposed of, but they had seen...a handsome young man, transformed from vibrant and stubborn into an emotionless walking corpse.
"...I don't know how I survived that time; I was immersed in immense grief and hatred. I wanted to burn this hellish place down, but a sliver of reason told me that only by exposing these devils' perverse acts to the world could I achieve the greatest revenge.
"I gritted my teeth and stayed here to gather evidence and obtain firsthand information.
"...However, my homosexuality was eventually exposed.
"They put me on the lobotomy operating table; fortunately, I was one of the few who remained normal after the surgery."
"So I was arranged to continue receiving electroconvulsive therapy.
"They wanted to change me, to make me ashamed of my homosexuality, but how could that be possible?
"There is no shortage of fearless heretics in any era. And I was willing to be a sacrifice for the 'otherworldly love' of this era.
"I have never been so brave, even as the electric current made my flesh and bones convulse in excruciating pain time and time again."
"Amidst the insults and trampling, my conviction grew stronger than ever. I swore, word by word, that I loved him. I mockingly told these 'righteous people': I am a homosexual, I will never back down, never fear, never change."
...
"Kang Lai's report was submitted to the relevant departments and newspapers," Mu Yiran's voice was low and deep, "However, the newspapers, under orders from above, suppressed the matter. The research institute was shut down, and most of the materials and files were destroyed.
"Kang Lai was still alive at that time. He wanted to find his lover's remains, but because the research institute was shut down, and he was under surveillance for his report, his freedom of movement was constantly restricted, fearing that he would expose the matter and cause an irreversible public outcry.
"Imprisoned, Kang Lai could only relieve his depression and sustain his will to live by painting. This painting, 'Anthropology,' was his last and only work.
"He poured all his emotions and regrets into this painting. What led to his death was that he was never able to find his lover's remains." Ke
Xun remained silent for a long time, his fingers gripping the cup, his eyes lowered as he gazed at his blurry reflection on the water. "
Where was the original site of the research institute?" he asked.
"The Square Box Art Museum," Mu Yiran replied.
"During the demolition, didn't they find any remains or anything like that?" Ke Xun looked up at him.
"They found a list," Mu Yiran calmly returned his gaze, "listing all the deceased test subjects, their burial locations, and the storage numbers for the urns."
"Where are the urns now?" Ke Xun asked.
Mu Yiran stood up and said calmly, "I'll go handle the formalities tomorrow. While I was in the painting, I promised Kang Lai that their graves would be combined."
"I'll go with you." "Ke Xun said.
Mu Yiran didn't object, because even without this guy, he could have gotten there by himself.
Mu Yiran took a step to leave, when he suddenly heard Ke Xun stand up from the sofa behind him. He took two steps behind him and hugged him from behind.
"The road ahead for people like us is actually quite difficult for most of us," Ke Xun's voice came softly from behind his shoulder.
Mu Yiran didn't move.
"So, if you're not willing to lower your barriers against me, I won't force you." Ke Xun said, then suddenly released his arms. "If keeping your distance can protect you, then I," he said, backing away until he reached the French windows. Mu Yiran turned around and saw him backlit, flashing him a big smile. "I'm willing to stand at this distance behind you and protect you properly."
Mu Yiran looked at him, the light behind him bathing him, making him look warmed by the sunlight.
Mu Yiran stared at him for a long time, then suddenly strode over to him, walking slowly and deliberately.
"Ke Xun," his cool voice held a subtle magnetism, "you really are," he said, raising his hand and pinching Ke Xun's chin with his long fingers, "talking too much."
Ke Xun's eyes widened as he was pressed against the windowpane.
A knock on the door sounded just in time to disturb him. Mu Yiran released his hand, buttoning his cuffs as he turned to open the door.
Wei Dong and Qin Ci entered, both looking like they had just finished a nap and shower, their dampness carrying a hint of weariness.
"Is Ke'er awake?" Wei Dong glanced at the bed as he entered. "Huh, where is he?" He looked around, glancing at the person pressed against the French windows, and asked Mu Yiran, "Is this your friend?"
Your friend. Mu Yiran glanced at Wei Dong, ignored him, and turned to answer his phone call.
Qin Ci stared blankly at Ke Xun for a moment, then finally reacted: "...Ke Xun looks like a completely different person in this outfit, I didn't even recognize him."
Wei Dong was startled: "Holy crap! Ke'er, is that you?! Holy crap! What are you doing! Are you possessed?! What the hell are you wearing! Are you trying to switch to an office seduction style?"
"...Shut up." Ke Xun tore himself off the French windows, his fingers tracing the lingering scent of Mu Yiran on his chin, still somewhat dazed, "Um...are you hungry? Let's go eat."
"Okay, okay," Wei Dong rubbed his stomach, "I've never eaten at such a high-class hotel before, I haven't eaten all day, hurry up, hurry up."
Ke Xun walked up to Mu Yiran on a cloud, looking at him blankly: "You treat."
"I'll treat." Mu Yiran also looked at him, his lips slightly moving, "What do you want to eat?"
Ke Xun was even more confused, and didn't speak for a long time.
"What's wrong?" Mu Yiran continued to look at him leisurely while buttoning the second button of her collar. "Weren't you quite talkative?"
"...Ah." Ke Xun scratched his head.
It wasn't that our army was too confused, but that the enemy's offensive was too strong...
He went to the two rooms next door to wake up Li Yaqing, who was still sleeping, and Zhu Haowen, who had just finished showering. After coming out of the painting, Qi Qiang and Huang Pi had disappeared without a
trace, and Qin Ci wasn't kind enough to chase after them to give them instructions on what to do after leaving the painting. Although Zhu Haowen was almost stabbed in the brain by a surgical spike in the painting, these minor injuries were weakened or even almost invisible after leaving the painting, so he recovered most of his strength after a nap and sat down with everyone in the hotel restaurant.
Qin Ci explained the follow-up precautions to Li Yaqing, and Ke Xun also arranged a time and place with her. He also asked her to take him to Zhang Hanrui's house to give Zhang Hanrui's phone to her parents.
During the meal, Ke Xun remembered something and asked Zhu Haowen, "There's a letter you wrote to me in your drawer. What did it say?"
Zhu Haowen picked up some food for himself, his face expressionless. "Some things I need to entrust with my affairs
after I'm gone. You're probably the only one I can rely on." "Then why write a letter? Just tell me now. I remember it. If necessary, I'll send you a WeChat message," Ke Xun said.
Zhu Haowen looked down at the tips of his chopsticks. "Without a letter, Kang Lai will never be able to reunite with the person he loves. Memories fade, cell phones break, electronic information may disappear, but letters can probably stay in this world longer."
Author's Note:
The four experiments described in the text all actually existed in history. Of course, the details and processes of the experiments in the text have been exaggerated and sensationalized, but the cruelty and perversion of the experiments themselves are perhaps far less chilling than those that actually occurred in reality.
Human studies is the study of humankind, and it is perhaps the most difficult discipline in the world. After all, human nature is complex and will always refresh our understanding and values in different fields and at different stages.