Joanna was a little stunned, unsure how she had woken up.
When she heard Guo Xuyang's voice outside the door, she bit down hard on the poison pill in her molars.
She knew Guo Xuyang must have found something to come looking for her.
She didn't want to betray Guo Xuyang, but she couldn't disobey her master's orders.
She knew exactly what her master was capable of.
As Guo Xuyang rushed to the airport, she had secretly informed her master.
When the plane landed at the African airport, she sent her master a location.
Finally, she sent a message to her master: Arrived in São Paulo, Brazil.
If Guo Xuyang hadn't come knocking on her door at this time, she would have continued to feign ignorance.
But with Guo Xuyang's arrival, she knew there was no escaping, and all she could do was bite the poison pill.
She didn't dare to face Guo Xuyang's accusations, nor could she tell him her master's secrets.
There was no other way but to keep silent.
The best way to keep silent was to never be able to speak again.
She hadn't expected the pill to fail.
"In such a hurry to die?
If you have the courage to die, why can't you live properly?
Did being by my side cause you so much grievance?
You're not even afraid of death."
Hearing Guo Xuyang's seemingly teasing voice, Joanna knew she couldn't hide any longer.
Guo Xuyang was right, if you weren't afraid of death, what else was there to fear?
Death meant an end to everything; whether the outside world was good or bad, what did it have to do with her?
"I'm sorry. I've implicated everyone," Joanna said softly.
"There's no need for apologies. You had your difficulties. Tell me, and perhaps I can help."
"This, this..."
"Speak, who have you told all this to?"
As Guo Xuyang spoke, he subtly used his hypnotic ability.
He didn't want to listen to Joanna's nonsense.
This was a matter of life and death; knowing earlier meant preparing earlier.
"My master, he contacted me, hoping I could inform him of your situation in a timely manner."
"Did he not say anything else?"
"No."
"Why do you listen to him so much? Haven't I treated you well?"
"I'm sorry, Yangzi. I don't know why.
I've never betrayed my master.
And I wouldn't dare betray my master."
"How did he contact you? Why hadn't he contacted you before?"
"It's my fault. I contacted my master out of curiosity."
"Curiosity? Why?"
"Because, because..." Joanna seemed very conflicted, unable to answer readily.
"My head hurts, I can't remember why."
"Think carefully," Guo Xuyang said, releasing his senses.
He discovered that Joanna had been hypnotized, and some important information seemed to be encased in a membrane.
Whenever Joanna touched this information, she would suffer from a severe headache.
He suddenly thought of himself; he always seemed to touch a membrane but couldn't penetrate it.
Could he also have been hypnotized?
He shook his head, dismissing the thought.
Who could hypnotize him? Who could cast such a membrane upon him?
Guo Xuyang's mind stirred, his consciousness transforming into a sharp scalpel, gently slicing through the membrane that plagued Joanna.
At that moment, Joanna seemed to remember something, and then she began to tremble in disbelief.
Guo Xuyang directly invaded her consciousness, taking complete control of her, fearing she might become too agitated and fall unconscious.
It was then that he discovered what Joanna's so-called master had done, a deed that incensed both gods and men.
To obtain Joanna, her master, Weir Lan, had designed and murdered her parents.
If it were merely murder, Joanna wouldn't have become so agitated.
It was abuse, torture, and that person could not be called human.
His methods were too cruel, too bloody, causing Joanna to scream, demanding to kill the one who had tortured her parents to death.
Joanna was so stimulated that she fainted. When she woke up, she found herself rescued by her master.
Her master, Weir Lan, had secretly hypnotized her, sealing away that scene, preserving only the thought of revenge, and then systematically shaped her into a killing machine.
Little did he know that his plans would be thwarted before they could be executed. She met Guo Xuyang, and after being held in Guo Xuyang's mind for too long, Weir Lan completely lost track of Joanna.
Unfortunately, by sheer coincidence, Joanna discovered Yilianna's identity. At that time, she didn't know what she was thinking and told her master about it.
Many people had searched for Yilianna without success, but Joanna found her.
Therefore, Weir Lan instructed Joanna to live comfortably in Guo Xuyang's home, monitoring every move of Yilianna and Guo Xuyang.
If there were any special circumstances, they would contact her through special means.
This time, Guo Xuyang returned with three spacecraft. This incident was captured by spy satellites and alerted several countries.
Thus, someone posted a bounty online, offering ten billion US dollars for specific information about the spacecraft.
Before Lü Liang's wedding, Joanna overheard a conversation between Jiang Qixin and Guo Xuyang.
At that time, she didn't know what she was thinking; believing she could escape, she contacted her master about the situation.
Weir Lan instructed Joanna to maintain contact and then sold the information to several other countries.
This led to Guo Xuyang being pursued and intercepted.
Joanna's subsequent actions could be considered unconscious or coerced.
She had to contact Weir Lan promptly, gain her master's trust, and complete the tasks assigned by her master.
Guo Xuyang carefully removed these negative emotions from Joanna's mind, completely dismantling Weir Lan's hypnosis of Joanna.
Only then did Joanna slowly awaken.
"Yangzi, what happened to me? I feel so weak."
"It's nothing. You're just exhausted. Get some rest."
As Guo Xuyang spoke, he subtly hypnotized her, causing her to fall into a deep sleep.
"Captain Guo, what's going on?"
Tong Xin, standing nearby, was unaware of Guo Xuyang's actions.
"Joanna has been hypnotized."
"Ah, how can that be? Wasn't she living at home with her aunt and uncle?" Tong Xin was very surprised.
"That's indeed what it seems like, but this is a deep-level hypnosis that was implanted when she was very young."
"Are you saying she was trained as an assassin from childhood?"
"Something like that.
She experienced a great deal of trauma at a young age and was then hypnotized by someone with ulterior motives.
That's why she would do things she couldn't resist."
"Is this hypnosis that powerful? Why can't I do it?"
"Your hypnosis is obtained through special means."
Guo Xuyang did not expose Tong Xin's shortcomings.
"It can only be called second-rate, or even third-rate."