Chapter 352: Clear Connections! The Vicious Ghost's Truth

“Our initial investigation focused on narcotics, but the lab reports showed no connection to drugs.”

Poisonous mushrooms could also produce such effects.

But the effects of mushrooms don’t last long.

“But… certain substances have the same effects and side effects as drugs, and… they’re undetectable.”

“They’re even legal!”

At those words, a jolt went through Li Jianye, his pupils constricting.

Before he could ask for clarification, the manager, who had just left, returned.

He was now holding a few things in his hand.

Some… small metal canisters.

They were about the size and thickness of a thumb, completely silver, and looked a lot like capsules.

‘What is this stuff…?’

“Nitrous oxide.”

“It’s a gaseous anesthetic with a very wide range of applications. It’s commonly used for anesthesia by dentists because it’s convenient, fast, and effective.”

“Nitrous oxide is also an important material in race cars and rockets—they basically all require it.”

“It’s even used as a food additive.”

Xu Huo picked up one of the small metal canisters, holding it up to the light to examine it. ‘To think this stuff would show up again after all these years.’

“It’s used for making whipped cream, which is why they’re also known as ‘whipped cream chargers.'”

“But, as I said.”

“Its applications are very broad, which means it’s effective in certain… other fields, too.”

“And most people know the nickname for one of its other uses. This stuff is…”

As he spoke, Xu Huo paused, then uttered two words.

“Laughing gas.”

Laughing gas is nitrous oxide.

This stuff isn’t technically a narcotic, but it has the same effects.

It’s highly addictive and just as destructive to the body.

Inhaling a large amount at once can even be fatal.

And just like narcotics, this stuff…

“Long-term use can cause memory loss, numbness, disorientation, nerve damage, and an unsteady gait, among other issues.”

“And most importantly…”

“It can cause hallucinations.”

As Xu Huo slowly explained, Li Jianye was completely taken aback.

‘This stuff… doesn’t that just sound like a narcotic!?’

But as it happened, this stuff really wasn’t classified as a narcotic.

Of course, precisely because it isn’t classified as a narcotic…

“Standard drug testing procedures—blood tests, urinalysis, even residue analysis—none of them can detect it.”

“It can only be detected using specific methods.”

‘In his past life, laughing gas had arrived in the Eastern Country relatively late. It was discovered around 2015, though it was unknown when it first actually entered the country.’

‘From 2015 to 2017, it was at its most popular, circulating widely among people around eighteen years old.’

‘The police eventually caught on, and for public safety, forces across the country launched a massive crackdown on the substance.’

‘Yeah, the Eastern Country police had stamped it out in a short time, restricting its sale mostly to special areas like bars rather than allowing it to circulate widely.’

‘The stuff was cheap, too—a box only cost ten or twenty bucks.’

“Tsk, you must be getting this stuff from overseas.”

“No wonder you have so many repeat customers. This stuff must be a bestseller.”

Xu Huo clicked his tongue. He hadn’t expected to see this stuff being sold in this world as early as ’04.

‘After this case is over, I’ll have to give the narcotics division a heads-up. There are too many of these kinds of substances overseas, all sorts of them. It would be hell for them to have to discover it on their own without a tip. Over there, they even use painkillers as substitutes for narcotics…’

The manager’s lips twitched. He held his tongue for a long moment before finally speaking.

“This… this isn’t a narcotic.”

‘And the law doesn’t forbid it.’

‘After all, it didn’t appear on a large scale until 2015. The ban on private sales also happened around then. Right now, the Eastern Country is still in the dark. It’s a legal gray area, but that doesn’t mean the police can’t arrest you for it.’

“Heh. Take him away.”

Xu Huo’s expression changed, suddenly becoming void of emotion and incomparably cold.

‘Laughing gas. It’s cheap and not legally classified as a narcotic, but that doesn’t mean it causes any less trouble! Why? Because back then, its target market was young people… There were countless cases of kids being victimized, forced into prostitution at a young age, or even being driven to suicide!’

When the manager heard he was being taken away, he instantly panicked. The bar’s security guards behind him made a move to step forward.

But one glare from the ferocious face of Sun Jian, who stood nearly two meters tall, and the group immediately backed down.

Sun Jian moved in and restrained the man.

The three officers walked the manager right out the front door. No one dared to get in their way.

Xu Huo stood on the roadside, watching as Sun Jian shoved the man into the back seat of their car.

After a moment of thought, Li Jianye’s brow furrowed once more.

“This stuff… um, laughing gas… does it cause the same hallucinations for everyone?”

“Of course not. They’re hallucinations, how could they possibly be the same?” Xu Huo shook his head.

“Then what about Wang Wei and the other three…?” Li Jianye asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“That’s where another psychological phenomenon comes into play.”

Xu Huo shook his head and began to explain slowly.

“Mass hysteria!”

“A ‘contagious mental illness!'”

‘The flu can be contagious.’

‘Viruses can be contagious.’

‘But can the mind be contagious?’

‘Can something as intangible as the mind be transmitted from person to person!?’

‘It can!’

“For example.”

“When a couple raises a child, the child’s personality tends to reflect their own. Doesn’t that resemble a form of psychological contagion?”

“Of course, mass hysteria is different.”

Xu Huo began to explain.

“It is a truly communicable mental illness.”

“When a group of people are in the same environment, and one of them is the first to exhibit certain symptoms, claiming they’re caused by that environment…”