Solution?

While Lin Xiao was presenting the vase to his mother and enjoying a fleeting moment of peace, Li Jing was at Li Na's house, sitting across from the sobbing girl.

"Zhang Wei is in a coma," Li Jing had told Li Na, the news hitting her like a ton of bricks.

Li Na had immediately broken down, her tears flowing freely as she struggled to process the information.

Li Jing watched her for a moment, assessing the situation.

As Li Na continued to cry, Li Jing's mind raced. She needed answers, and she needed them fast.

Officially, it was illegal to use powers on regular people without their consent, but she was a major in the military.

The stakes were high, and she was confident that any repercussions would be minimal for someone of her rank.

Steeling herself, Li Jing leaned forward and gently placed a hand on Li Na's shoulder. "Li Na, I need you to calm down," she said softly, her voice carrying a hint of the power she was about to unleash. "I need to see if there's anything in your memories that might help us understand what happened to Zhang Wei."

Li Na looked up at her, her tear-streaked face filled with confusion and fear. "What... what do you mean?"

"I'm going to look into your memories," Li Jing explained, her voice soothing but firm. "It won't hurt, I promise."

Before Li Na could protest, Li Jing closed her eyes and concentrated. A faint glow emanated from her hand, and Li Na's eyes glazed over as the power took hold. Li Jing delved into Li Na's mind, sifting through her recent memories with practiced ease.

Images and thoughts flashed by, a whirlwind of emotions and events. Li Na's conversations with Zhang Wei, her interactions with Lin Xiao, and her own private thoughts and fears.

Li Jing scanned for anything that might hint at why Zhang Wei had been targeted, why his memory had been altered so drastically.

In the midst of the memories, Li Jing found snippets of conversations about Lin Xiao. She saw glimpses of their interactions at school and overheard bits of their discussions about the mysterious events and the kidnappings.

There was no direct evidence linking Lin Xiao or Wang Lei to the incident, but there was enough to raise her suspicions further.

Satisfied that she had gleaned all she could, Li Jing withdrew from Li Na's mind. The girl blinked, disoriented, as the glow faded from Li Jing's hand.

"I'm sorry, Li Na," Li Jing said, her tone gentle but authoritative. "I needed to see if there was anything that could help us understand what happened to Zhang Wei. Thank you for cooperating."

Li Jing then focused on erasing the traces of her intrusion.

She manipulated Li Na's memories, carefully removing any recollection of their encounter and the use of her powers. When she was done, Li Na's emotional state seemed unchanged, her tear-streaked face still reflecting the raw pain of the news.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Li Na," Li Jing said, her tone now purely professional. "Take care."

Back in her car, Li Jing made a quick call to Colonel Wang Yong. "Colonel, I checked on Li Na. She doesn't seem to know anything suspicious, but I erased her memory of my visit just to be safe."

Wang Yong's voice crackled over the line. "Good work, Major. I just got a call from one of our police officers who is supposed to keep an eye on Lin Xiao. He said Lin Xiao went out for an hour but didn't do anything suspicious."

Li Jing frowned. "He didn't meet anyone or make any unusual stops?"

"No, he just went to the market, bought a gift for his mother, and returned home. The officer said it was all very routine, nothing that would indicate he's involved in anything shady."

"That's odd," Li Jing mused. "Why do you think he went out?"

"Maybe he was just trying to appear normal," Wang Yong suggested. "Or perhaps he really had no ulterior motive. We can't rule anything out just yet."

Li Jing sighed. "This case is getting more convoluted by the minute. Do you want me to continue surveillance on Lin Xiao?"

"Yes," Wang Yong confirmed. "We need to keep all our bases covered. Make sure he doesn't suspect anything," 

"Understood, Colonel," Li Jing replied. She hung up and leaned back in her seat, her mind racing with thoughts.

Just as Li Jing hung up the call with Colonel Wang Yong, her phone rang again. It was an officer who had been assigned to keep an eye on Wang Lei.

"Major Li, this is Officer Chen. We have a situation. Wang Lei has run away from home, and I'm currently trailing him."

Li Jing's expression hardened. "What's his location?"

"He's heading towards the old industrial area," Officer Chen reported.

"Keep a close watch on him, but don't let him know you're there. We're on our way." Li Jing ended the call and quickly instructed her driver, "Head to the old industrial area, now. And step on it."

As the car sped through the streets, Li Jing muttered to herself, frustration evident in her voice, "I should have just used my powers on him. This wouldn't be happening if I had."

...

Lin Xiao sat on his bed, mulling over potential solutions to help Zhang Wei. The guilt gnawed at him and it was driving him to find a way to make things right.

Suddenly, an idea struck him: he could use Lil' Blackie's power again to accelerate Zhang Wei's brain aging. Although it wouldn't restore his memories, it might wake him up and speed up his recovery.

"I have to do this," he muttered to himself. "I can't leave Zhang Wei like this."

He decided to take both of his cats with him this time, just in case.

With Xiao Bai's teleportation ability, he hoped to avoid being spotted by any potential watchers.

"Alright, Xiao Bai, Lil' Blackie, let's go," Lin Xiao whispered, focusing his thoughts.

In an instant, they teleported, but Lin Xiao immediately felt a significant drain on his mana. He glanced at his status window, noticing that his mana had dropped by 10 points instead of the usual 1.

Alarmed, he quickly asked the system for an explanation.

"System, why did teleportation cost 10 mana instead of 1?"

The system responded in its usual mechanical tone

[Teleportation requires 10 mana to operate. Since you initially had insufficient mana, the system provided a trial period where every spell cost only 1 mana. The trial period has now ended]

Lin Xiao was speechless. "So, I was running on borrowed time with my powers... Great."

His mind raced. He had to conserve his remaining mana carefully.