Weapon System 30: Hammer (2)

“Out of energy storage units?!”

“Yes! We’ve used everything within a forty-kilometer radius. Any farther and the energy transfer would be inefficient, only increasing losses.”

“I see.”

“The monster is approaching fast. We have to return to the city at once. I need to help you optimize your body, and also create a hammer template. This template will take more time, and…”

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure you’ll be able to control it with your mind.”

“Heh! It won’t be too heavy, right?”

“If it’s not heavy, how will it kill such a formidable monster?”

“That’s true!” Zhang Mingjing replied, already speeding back by car. In about fifteen minutes, he reached the vicinity of the city’s sports complex, then entered a building, and in the lobby, sat cross-legged and entered the defined realm.

In this meditative state, the five-dimensional spatial cognitive model operated at peak efficiency, simultaneously optimizing his body and beginning to design the hammer template.

This time, the process was indeed time-consuming. A full half hour passed before the hammer template was completed.

“Now you have three weapons, each suited for different tasks.”

“Yes! I can’t wait to try the hammer.”

“Then give it a go!”

With that, Zhang Mingjing opened his eyes, extended his right hand, and focused his mind on his palm.

Within a second, a thread of energy emerged from his body, from Katherine and the other battle god warriors, from the real person’s system, from the bodies of those who had transcended and ascended, from many trees, from stones, and so on, all streaming toward his right palm.

In less than a second, a glowing golden hammer began to take shape, energy still pouring in. In another moment, it had grown to a meter in length.

Zhang Mingjing felt it must be incredibly heavy. As soon as he thought this, his consciousness couldn’t lift it, and the energy instantly dispersed back into their original sources.

“Damn! It’s ridiculously heavy. I sensed it was already eight hundred kilograms, and the handle’s only a meter long.”

“If it weren’t extraordinary, what would it be?”

“Can a one-meter hammer kill the monster?”

“It can crush a few of its toes! You must unleash its full potential to kill the monster within ten blows.”

“If all its potential is unleashed, how big would it be?”

“Six meters tall, three tons in weight.”

“Uh… three tons!” Zhang Mingjing’s confidence collapsed, and he complained, “How could I lift three tons with my mind? I’d never believe it!”

“If you’re that useless, then let it kill you!”

Zhang Mingjing felt a bit embarrassed.

“How did you control the two flying swords before? Did you lift them with your mind?”

“No!” Zhang Mingjing suddenly realized, delighted. “Man and sword as one—my consciousness and the swords maintained an entangled relationship.”

“So now, become ‘one with the hammer.’ This hammer, like the lightsaber, is alive. Its encoding contains your consciousness, so it can entangle with you.”

“But just now, I felt entangled with it. Why did I suddenly lose connection?”

“That’s because you saw it grow larger and assumed the bigger it got, the heavier it would be, which made you feel more incapable. That’s a sense of distance. Such thoughts break the entanglement between you and the hammer, so you must understand what it means to be ‘one with the hammer.’”

“…If I can regard it as part of myself, at least as an extension of my body, then there’s no distinction between us.”

“Exactly! The monster is almost here. Hurry and synchronize with it!”

“Understood!” At this, Zhang Mingjing crossed his legs, placed his hands at his lower abdomen, and entered the defined realm again.

His consciousness fixed on the hammer, and energy from his body, Katherine and the other battle god warriors, the real person’s system, the transcended and ascended bodies, many trees, stones, and more surged up to the crown of his head, instantly coalescing into a golden hammer.

Energy continued to gather from all directions, and the hammer grew larger—within a second, it was already one and a half meters.

This time, Zhang Mingjing remained perfectly still, not even a furrow on his brow. The hammer suspended above him continued to grow, soon threatening to touch the lobby’s ceiling.

At that moment, the hammer suddenly shrank, though energy kept flowing into it. He had used his mind to shrink the hammer, making it easier to maneuver, though its weight only increased… His consciousness and the hammer were now fully integrated.

“Excellent!” praised the five-dimensional spatial cognitive model.

Just then, the real person’s system on his phone spoke, “The monster has entered West Lake. In a minute, it will emerge and head straight for the sports complex.”

Almost simultaneously, Katherine called, “Master, the monster is here.”

“Understood! You and Jemily go ahead. I’ll join you soon.”

“Yes!”

“Can I fight now?” Zhang Mingjing asked the cognitive model.

“No! If you go now, your hammer will be knocked away before you can hit the monster’s head. Let them hold the line—use this time to master the hammer.”

“Alright!” Zhang Mingjing immediately sent the hammer, by mental command, to a forest twenty kilometers away.

He directed the hammer to fly swiftly between trees, but it would either smash trunks with its head or topple them with its handle. In ten minutes, he had made dozens of passes, felling hundreds of trees.

“Your control isn’t precise enough. You’d miss the monster and cause collateral damage,” remarked the cognitive model. “Keep practicing!”

“Okay!” Zhang Mingjing had the hammer run through the forest several more times, spending another ten minutes. He improved greatly, though he still knocked down about twenty trees.

By then, the battle god warriors had been fighting the monster for nearly twenty minutes. One monster was inside the city, one outside, and the warriors were clearly exhausted.

“Master! Where are you? We can barely hold on!” Katherine and Jemily pleaded, anxious.

“What should I do?” Zhang Mingjing asked the cognitive model.

“Recall the hammer and attack the monster. Hopefully, you’ll hit the target.”

“I’ll do my best!” Zhang Mingjing replied, worried about missing, and instructed Katherine and Jemily, “I’ve conjured a big hammer to smash the monster. Its aim is a bit off, so you and the other warriors should keep your distance.”

No sooner had he spoken than the hammer arrived two hundred meters above the monster. A golden light crashed down, fierce as thunder—unfortunately, it missed, striking the ground near the sports complex. Cement debris and dust billowed out.

“Everyone fall back!” Katherine and Jemily shouted, leading the other warriors to retreat fifty or sixty meters.

Zhang Mingjing’s first blow missed by over ten meters; he felt quite embarrassed.

He immediately prepared the second strike, sending the hammer straight up, then down—boom!—but again it struck the earth.

The warriors watching were stunned.

Katherine and Jemily, however, admired their young master more than ever.

After missing twice, Zhang Mingjing sighed deeply. He remembered how he once directed lightsabers to strike precisely, so why was this hammer so wayward now?

“The hammer, like the lightsaber, is your will. You’re too nervous; your tension makes the hammer tense, and that causes mistakes,” the cognitive model reminded him.

Zhang Mingjing took the advice and launched a third strike. This time was much better: though he missed the monster’s head, he hit its back. The monster roared in pain, its whole body trembling.

After three blows, Zhang Mingjing adapted to the rhythm and steadied his nerves, then swung the fourth strike.

This time, he hit the monster’s head squarely, leaving it not only in pain but dazed.

He followed quickly with a fifth blow—another hit; then the sixth—also a solid strike.

The battered monster had had enough and began digging rapidly.

“Its head is buried now. What should I do?” Zhang Mingjing asked the cognitive model.

“Is your hammer just for show? Smash it out!”

“Oh!” Zhang Mingjing sent the hammer a kilometer into the sky, then brought down a golden light. A thunderous crash resounded in the sports complex; dust soared so high it threatened to become smog, and the ground sank into a pit twenty meters across and six or seven meters deep. Half the monster’s body was trapped below, yet it stubbornly tried to dig deeper.

Zhang Mingjing sent the hammer skyward again, and another golden light slammed down, deepening the pit.

Finally, the monster could take no more and withdrew its body. The instant its head emerged, Zhang Mingjing’s hammer dove from the sky and struck it squarely.

“Fantastic!” Zhang Mingjing couldn’t help but cry out.