Shannon and Nightingale exchanged a glance and each grabbed one of Deanna's arms, asking again, "Missus, what's wrong?"
However, Deanna still didn't respond and continued walking forward, ignoring their attempts to stop her.
Shannon and Nightingale were afraid to use too much force, worried they might hurt Deanna.
As they saw the edge approaching and Deanna still not stopping, their hearts tightened with fear.
Moreover, Deanna hadn't spoken a word along the way, making them suspect one thing.
The missus might have been hypnotized!
Almost as soon as this thought occurred to them, they exchanged another glance.
"I'll knock her out, you notify the boss."
Shannon said seriously, raising her hand to act, but Nightingale stopped her at the crucial moment.
Nightingale grabbed Shannon's hand and said coldly, "We can't knock her out. I've read that if a hypnotized person is interrupted by external force, it could cause neurological damage, and in severe cases, mental breakdown."
Hearing this, Shannon's face changed dramatically. "It's that serious?!"
"What did you think?"
Nightingale released Shannon's hand and looked at Deanna, who was still struggling to head towards the rooftop.
Seeing this, she couldn't help but speculate boldly, "She must have been given a command to jump. The only way to break the suggestion is to let her complete the jump."
Hearing this, Shannon was terrified.
"What did you say?"
"I said, go contact the fire rescue immediately and notify your boss!"
Nightingale quickly made arrangements.
Shannon knew there was no time to hesitate. She nodded, "Got it. I'll leave the missus to you."
With that, she released Deanna and stepped aside to make a call.
She first called the fire department and then contacted her boss.
"Boss, the missus has been hypnotized and is about to jump off the rooftop of the research institute!"
"Jump off?!"
On the other end of the line, Lance stood up from his desk in shock, his face extremely grim. "I'm coming over now. Knock Deanna out; don't let anything happen to her!"
With that, he hung up the phone, grabbed his car keys from the desk, and strode out.
Shannon was left stunned. She hadn't finished explaining. If the boss arrived and saw Deanna jumping, would she be sent to Africa for mining?
She wanted to call back to explain but it was too late. Firefighters had already arrived at the stairwell and she needed to brief them on the situation.
The firefighters saw what was happening upstairs and frowned. "Who called in? Who's jumping?"
"I did. Our missus is going to jump."
Shannon hurriedly stepped forward and pointed at Deanna.
Hearing this, the firefighters looked at Deanna being restrained and were puzzled. "You've already got her under control. Why do you need us?"
"It's not like that. Our missus has been hypnotized with a suggestion to jump. We managed to stop her in time but she needs to complete the jump to break the suggestion."
Shannon quickly explained the situation in brief terms.
Finally, she made a serious request, "Please have your team place safety mats downstairs."
"I understand."
Although the firefighter didn't fully grasp why a hypnotized person had to follow through with their command, he nodded in agreement.
A few minutes later, he received confirmation from his colleagues downstairs and told Shannon, "Everything is set up below. You can let her go now."
Shannon and Nightingale exchanged a glance and simultaneously released their grip.
Without their restraint, Deanna stopped struggling and walked towards the edge of the rooftop again.
Even so, Shannon and Nightingale were still uneasy.
Nightingale said to Shannon, "I'll go down and assist the firefighters to prevent any accidents. You keep an eye on the missus here."
"Alright. Make sure you catch her!"
Shannon urged nervously; otherwise, she really might be sent to Africa by her boss.
Lance knew none of this.
He drove as fast as he could towards the research institute.
What normally took over twenty minutes was reduced to less than fifteen minutes by his driving.
Even so, he was still a step too late.
As soon as he got out of the car, he saw Deanna standing at the edge of the rooftop and then leaning forward.
"No-"
Lance screamed hoarsely, his eyes wide with horror as he watched her fall. He used all his strength to run forward.
At that moment, he had only one thought: no matter what, he couldn't let anything happen to Deanna.
But reality was cruel.
Before Lance could reach downstairs, Deanna had already fallen.
With a loud crash, exclamations erupted around him.
Hearing these sounds, Lance trembled with fear, his eyes turning red.