Weapon System 31: Team (1)

"Who’s enjoying themselves?" asked the Five-Dimensional Mind Model.

"The monster’s having fun, and so am I! Hahaha..."

At that moment, the monster was smashed to the ground, its tongue lolling out, barely conscious—it seemed to have fainted.

"It will wake up soon. Now is the time to finish it off," the Five-Dimensional Mind Model urged.

"Alright!... But isn’t this a bit cruel?" Reading the state the monster was in, Zhang Mingjing felt a twinge of pity.

"It must die today, one way or another. This death may not be as gentle as euthanasia, but it’s still among the least painful options!"

With that, Zhang Mingjing directed the hammer to strike three more times. At last, the monster was dead.

But now, Zhang Mingjing found himself gasping for breath.

"Before its energy dissipates, use the drill-lightsaber to extract some energy from its flesh. That will help replenish the hammer’s reserves from today’s battle," the Five-Dimensional Mind Model said.

"Got it!" Though exhausted, Zhang Mingjing was still exhilarated. At a thought, most of the hammer’s energy returned to its many original forms, while the remainder transformed into a drill-lightsaber.

The drill-lightsaber bored into the monster’s mouth, then deeper into its flesh, drawing out energy until, all at once, it vanished as well—Zhang Mingjing had simply become too tired to control it, and the energy, once absorbed, dissipated.

Having eliminated the monster, Zhang Mingjing saw that the urban War God Warriors were heading out to support their counterparts in the suburbs.

He read the flow of the suburban battle and saw that the monsters were gradually losing ground, so he felt no need to rush to their aid. Besides, he was slumped like a heap of mud in the first-floor lobby of the building, completely spent and in no condition for another fight.

"I never expected this! Why am I so exhausted after using the hammer? It’s like a woman right after childbirth."

"You’ve never given birth, how would you know what that feels like?" The Five-Dimensional Mind Model chuckled.

"Don’t you remember? I once read a woman’s childbirth experience. It was so intense it terrified me!"

"Hahaha... I still recall how pale you turned back then, absolutely shaken. You really were a dramatic kid!"

"That was when my reading ability first awakened—I was curious about everything. It’s no wonder I did some foolish things."

"Indeed."

"Damn! Why am I so tired this time?"

"Once you synchronized with the hammer, it became like an extension of your body. Even if you’re only controlling it with your mind, it’s still a form of exertion. And with its weight and the need for high-speed movement to maintain attack power, the energy consumption is dozens of times higher than when you wield the lightsaber. No wonder you’re completely spent—such are the limits of a physical body!"

"So that’s it! But if more monsters appear in the future, how can I keep up physically? Shouldn’t you help optimize my body further, make me as enduring as a strongman?"

"After this period of combat, your stamina already surpasses that of most people by several times—you’re close to the physical limits of the material body. Further optimization won’t yield much improvement. I’ve done all I can. The limitations are built into the human version you were born with—unless you can, through inner cultivation, transcend three-dimensional space and drive a fundamental upgrade of your body."

"Transcending three-dimensional space? That’s far too difficult!... If only I could clone myself... or create a cloud storage for endurance."

"Cloning... cloud storage for endurance!" The Five-Dimensional Mind Model paused, thoughtful. "Perhaps that could work as a temporary solution."

At this moment, Catherine and Jamie didn’t head to the suburbs to support the others but stayed behind on purpose to survey the scene. When the other War God Warriors had left, they contacted Zhang Mingjing.

A sweet voice came through the Real Human System on Zhang Mingjing’s phone—Catherine said, "Master, you were amazing! I really admire you!"

"Master, me too! I admire you so much!" Jamie chimed in, deliberately sweet, though hearing such a tone from a young man in his early twenties was rather nauseating.

"Heh... It was nothing," Zhang Mingjing replied, still out of breath, unable even to muster the energy to be proud.

"Yay! Master, you sound exhausted. Are you alright?"

"Anyone would be, after swinging such a heavy hammer."

"Master, we’ll come find you!"

"No need. Wait for me there, I’ll come over soon."

"Yes, Master."

Once the call ended, the Five-Dimensional Mind Model spoke up immediately, "Looks like this monster-slaying game is getting more interesting."

"Uh... What do you mean?"

"You just mentioned cloning or building an endurance cloud storage, didn't you?"

"What?!" Zhang Mingjing looked alarmed. "I was only speaking off the cuff—I don’t want to be cloned!"

"Not cloning you—cloning your hammer combat system."

"What are you getting at?"

"Catherine and Jamie are both reliable. If they could fight alongside you, wouldn’t that be even better?"

"They already do!"

"I don’t mean this superficial ‘fighting side by side.’ As their Daoist master, you can’t just have them run routines, pass on intel, or distract monsters. Shouldn’t you teach them some ‘immortal techniques’?"

"What exactly are you proposing? The more I listen, the more confused I get."

"Their energy channels are all open and their energy flows unimpeded. If I optimize their bodies a bit more, I can fully unlock their potential—then their physical strength and stamina will far surpass ordinary people. Next, I can copy your hammer combat system, make a few tweaks, and implant it in their consciousness. That way, they can command hammers in battle with you."

"You’re not suggesting... that we pilot the hammer together, with me as captain and them as co-pilots?"

"That’s a perfect analogy!"

"Damn, you can do that?"

"Of course! Some cheats are team-based. But this is only a temporary fix, not the final solution. Once I develop your ultimate weapon system, these will all be obsolete."

"Oh!... But what’s the point of three people piloting the hammer together?"

"Idiot! If they fight with you, not only does it boost control, speed, and attack power of the hammer, it also shares the load. You’ll have their strength and stamina in addition to your own."

"Wow! By that logic, if we had ten strong people, I’d have ten times the strength and stamina. Wouldn’t that make our combat power godlike?"

"Exactly! Isn’t that like endurance cloud storage?"

"It’s exactly that! And extravagantly so!"

"Hahaha... So you’ll no longer be a solo fighter, but a true team combat system. The hammer’s potential can be explored even further."

…

In the Five-Dimensional Space, the elders had been observing Zhang Mingjing’s battles and were amazed by the Five-Dimensional Mind Model’s innovations. They never expected it could help Zhang Mingjing invent so many weapons and combat strategies.

"After energy cloud storage, now there’s endurance cloud storage—this is truly astonishing!" one elder exclaimed.

Elder A agreed, "Indeed. We always believed the material civilization was merely a projection of the energy civilization, but that was a rash and superficial conclusion. There’s much for us to learn from them!"

"Quite right," another elder said. "Recently, I’ve been practicing that meditation technique. I feel more clear-headed and energetic, and every unit of energy in my body is far more active than before. Meditation really does unleash a higher quality of life and inspiration."

"But think, while we discuss this, there’s a brutal battle raging below, with so many dead. Isn’t this a bit much?"

"It’s a bit much, certainly! But if we don’t talk about these things, it feels equally wrong!"

"Yes, it’s a contradiction. Quite a dilemma."

…

After his conversation with the Five-Dimensional Mind Model, Zhang Mingjing meditated for ten minutes, quickly recovering sixty to seventy percent of his strength. Still, he felt he’d truly rest only if he could lie down for a few hours, play some games, sip a drink or two.

The Five-Dimensional Mind Model saw through his thoughts and made a note to help him build better habits in the future.

At last, Zhang Mingjing stood up slowly, ready to meet Catherine and Jamie.