"Then, Dr. Edison, why don't you be the prisoner for a while," Vill-V said. "Come in and experience what it's like."
"Hmph!" Edison lifted his chin disdainfully and strode forward with composed steps, entering the so-called "prison" Vill-V spoke of.
Click!
Vill-V raised a camera and pressed the shutter. The flash flared, leaving Dr. Edison briefly blinded.
A faint smile curved at Vill-V's lips. "As a prisoner, naturally you need a mugshot. Very reasonable, right?"
"Alright. You're a prisoner now, Dr. Edison."
If Dr. Edison had been a beautiful girl, Vill-V might have teased him with something like "You're my prisoner now." But a man... better forget it.
Edison burned with irritation at Vill-V's mockery. He turned and headed toward the transport vessel on the beach for a drink of water.
Very quickly, he realized something was wrong. When he tried to leave, he found himself utterly unable to do so, as though an invisible wall stood before him.
No, there truly was a wall.
A towering wall he could not pass.
And deep inside, Edison knew that no matter what method he used, he would not be able to get out.
"Psychological suggestion? Or hypnosis?"
Vill-V casually spun the camera in her hand, watching Dr. Edison with evident amusement. "Who still plays around with psychological suggestion these days... try my Thought Imprint instead."
The technology of "Thought Imprint" had long been perfected in her previous life. As a forbidden technology, it had only ever been used by the military.
Vill-V did not possess the complete Thought Imprint technology, but as a scientist who had transitioned from military to civilian research, she retained relevant technical knowledge. During her experiments at Chicago Prison, she refined and reconstructed the technique.
Now, with a device no larger than a camera, she could send someone to "prison" anytime, anywhere.
Of course, this Thought Imprint was no longer the crude iron brand of four hundred years ago. It allowed fine-tuned adjustments in many details and required no manual psychological cues. One might even call it a gentleman's essential hypnosis tool.
"You bastard! Let me out! Open the door, I want out!"
Edison shouted at the empty air, as though a wall truly stood there in his perception.
Seeing the inspection personnel pass freely in and out without obstruction, he immediately grabbed one of them and ordered him to take him out.
Yet when they reached the beach, terror flooded Edison's face. He instantly changed his mind.
"If I go out, I'll die... I don't want to go out, I don't want to go out! Let go of me!"
Edison wrenched free from the inspector's grip and fled back onto the island.
"Hahaha, Dr. Edison, you really are humorous," the inspector said with a polite smile.
As professional engineering inspectors of MOTH, they had already thoroughly surveyed the entire island. Aside from a few minor items installed under upper management's orders, there were no mechanisms or traps, nor any special magnetic fields.
Wind, lighting, plants, animals—everything met normal standards. There were no structures or imagery capable of inducing psychological suggestion.
This was nothing more than an ordinary small island. They could enter if they wished and leave if they wished. What obstruction could there possibly be?
Dr. Edison's performance art was likely just a jab at Vill-V, the chief designer, flaunting his complete victory.
Gradually, Edison understood the situation. After repeated attempts, he finally confirmed that he truly could not leave this island.
A swirl of emotions churned within him. He could only growl toward Vill-V, "Vill-V! What exactly did you do? Let me out!"
Sitting leisurely on a seaside reef, Vill-V responded calmly, "Mm-hm~ Then let's talk about... the wager agreement?"
"In your dreams! There is no prison here at all! And if we're going to talk about agreements, you should lock yourself in first!" Edison stubbornly retorted.
With a flick of her fingers, Vill-V produced several developed photographs from the camera. They showed selfies she had taken around the world.
"These were taken with The Deep End's camera as well."
With the Thought Imprint function turned off, it was merely an ordinary camera.
Vill-V spread her arms wide. "Who says The Deep End built on P-21 Island has to be limited to the island's size? The prison I'm in spans the entire world."
She then pressed a hand lightly to her chest and feigned a sigh. "The so-called deepest place lies within the human heart. One may possess immense power capable of shattering any physical prison, yet still fail to escape one's own mind. That is The Deep End—a prison built within the heart."
"Every person carries their own prison inside. Tell me, isn't that romantic?"
Vill-V resumed her playful expression, and the sight made Edison grind his teeth. "I don't have time to ponder prison philosophy with you! I refuse to acknowledge this as a prison. The engineering inspection report will definitely mark it as unqualified!"
Clearly, Edison had not accepted the fact that he had lost the wager. Victory had been firmly within his grasp. How could he simply hand it over because of Vill-V's inexplicable trick?
This psychological suggestion must have a time limit. As long as he stayed long enough, the victor would still be him.
Vill-V, that fraudster, must be using psychological suggestion to fool him—making him believe he truly could not leave this so-called "Deepest Place."
There were plenty of psychological counselors within MOTH. Once he summoned one over, the suggestion would be lifted immediately.
Vill-V shrugged. "As long as it can hold a prisoner, it's a good prison. Its form doesn't matter."
"Very well. If you insist there's no prison here, then so be it."
With a light hop, Vill-V jumped down from the reef. "I still have to attend Elysia's ball this afternoon. I'm off. Bye-bye~"
With that, she boarded an Engineering Department helicopter and departed. MOTH truly was wealthy— even a prison designer traveled by private aircraft.
Come to think of it, only Dr. Mobius no longer had a private plane. Ever since her aircraft had been crashed by Siegfried, she could only apply for scheduled flights.
And who knew how long it would take MOTH to approve her request? After all, Mobius had no intention of diverting laboratory funds toward a private jet.
"Hey! Hey! Dr. Newton, Dr. Newton!" Edison still wanted to speak with Dr. Newton, but she paid no attention to his calls. Instead, she was gleefully catching moon snails buried in the sand on the beach.
"Mei! Look, there's a breathing hole here. There's definitely a big one inside!"
"This crab isn't even burying itself properly. A seabird might snatch it away. That's too dangerous—we should help it."
"Oh no, little moon snails, the tide's coming in. I'll save you!"
Dr. Newton rescued crab after crab and moon snail after moon snail into a bucket.
Dr. Mei followed beside her, persuading razor clams with salt while explaining tidal force theory along the way.
Although Dr. Mei wore a helpless expression, she seemed to be enjoying herself. After all, she had never combed the shore for seafood before.
It was clear that Edison could not count on either Dr. Newton or Dr. Mei.
As dusk gradually fell, Dr. Newton grew tired from playing and boarded the transport vessel back to MOTH together with Dr. Mei.
The other Engineering Department soldiers and inspection personnel had no intention of staying behind with Dr. Edison either.
They were all eager to clock out. What decent person willingly worked overtime?
But today, Dr. Edison clearly had no intention of being a decent person.
He would remain on this desolate island, working overtime to verify the reliability of Vill-V's The Deep End.
What a reliable minister indeed.