Weapon System 4: What an Unexpected Turn (2)

The linear stream of information Zhang Mingjing was reading turned out to be everything currently happening in his own home! Yet, he found it thoroughly entertaining. He read that Xiao Nüxia and Zhang Yidao, initially too excited to sleep, each downed half a bottle of erguotou considering they had to serve two clients the next day, and finally drifted off. Their snores rose and fell in turn, as if they were competing to reach the finish line first.

Yuhua and Chengxian, too, fell asleep nestled together. Cockroaches wandered outside the cupboards, mosquitoes drummed their wings against the window, thirty million dust mites occupied the house, and even the humans and appliances seemed to be communicating in secret...

“I never realized how delightful and warm my home really is!” Zhang Mingjing chuckled.

But the truly unexpected happened—just as he finished reading his family’s information, a second linear stream appeared in his consciousness, then a third, a fourth... Within less than a minute, countless streams emerged, encompassing all the information in the small city. There was no way he could read them all, but it didn’t matter—his five-dimensional spatial cognition model had awakened a unique ability to decode information. Now, anything he wished to know about the world could be found within three-dimensional space.

“Everyone! There’s a word on Earth—‘defying the heavens.’ I wonder, does what happened to Zhang Mingjing tonight count as defying the heavens?” Elder A of the five-dimensional space exclaimed in awe.

“Absolutely, that’s a fair assessment,” the other elders agreed heartily.

“We must study this boy carefully. Why would the five-dimensional spatial cognition model deign to serve him?”

A sudden chuckle escaped one elder. “I know why!”

“Oh? Tell us!”

“Lifeforms in three-dimensional space have bodies unlike ours, and their cognitive models differ greatly from ours, but their personalities can sometimes mirror ours.”

“And the cognition model works primarily in harmony with a person’s inner nature.”

“Oh, I understand.” Elder A smiled. “Now I know why the Heavenly System ultimately chose this boy—not merely because his parameters fit, but because his personality resonates perfectly with that five-dimensional model, removing any obstacles to their flawless integration.”

“So that’s it.”

“Because they’re nearly seamlessly integrated, miracles can occur!”

“The odds are staggeringly low—one in a million, if not less—yet this boy encountered it.”

“Unbelievable! Truly unexpected.”

At this point, Zhang Mingjing began searching for information on how to make pet assistants. These were essentially artificial intelligences installed for pets, guiding them through the complexities of human society and managing their behavior.

According to current regulations, as long as a pet was equipped with an assistant, it could enter public places and even travel by high-speed rail or airplane. Zhang Mingjing had always wanted to get assistants for Yuhua and Chengxian, but they were so expensive—the cheapest cost eight or nine thousand yuan! Finally, he found the manufacturing information for a certain brand’s pet assistant. He absorbed the data almost instantly and thought, “I’ve accidentally become a hacker—this is unbelievably cool!”

He analyzed the data in a flash and couldn’t help but complain, “It’s so simple! I could 3D-print all the hardware, and as for the core chip, I could make it myself and even optimize it. The cost wouldn’t exceed three hundred yuan, yet they sell it for so much! The world is nearly ending, and these merchants are still chasing obscene profits. Why can’t they make it affordable so every animal can wear one and live freely?”

He finished his meditation, opened his eyes, and muttered in a daze, “What happened today... This isn’t just cheating at life—I’m becoming a super-being. Could it really be the blessing of an ancestor?”

He closed his eyes again, let his spirit retreat inward, and entered the border of meditation. Suddenly, his vision filled with a world of white.

This whiteness was actually light, yet it felt downy, like duck feathers.

“Where am I?” he asked.

“In the depths of your consciousness,” came a reply—the voice of Elder A, who seemed to be making an interdimensional long-distance call.

Hearing an elder’s voice, Zhang Mingjing immediately thought of his ancestral founder. Nervously and respectfully, he asked, “Are you my ancestor?”

“No.”

“Uh—!” Zhang Mingjing was surprised and continued, “Then who are you?”

“It’s a long story. Just think of me as an alien.”

“Whoa!... I’ll need a moment to process this.”

A minute later, Zhang Mingjing asked, “Wait! Why are you here?”

“I’m here to help Earthlings save the sun.”

“Oh!... But if you’re saving the sun, why enter my mind?”

“This is our channel for communication.”

“In my mind?... That’s wild!”

“We selected you and implanted a five-dimensional spatial cognition model, which is why you’ve shown certain abilities. We want you to help us save the sun.”

“So my superpowers aren’t from my ancestor!... And you didn’t even ask before giving me these abilities, now you want my help—it feels a bit...”

“If you don’t want them, I can take them back now.”

“No, no, no! I want them.”

“Heh, then it’s settled!”

“Alright... So, what do you need me to do?”

“When I need you, I’ll let you know.”

“Okay... Anything else?”

“No.”

“Well... it’s late, and I have school in the morning. I’d like to get some sleep.”

“Of course. But please keep today’s events secret.”

“Naturally!... Uh, how do I end this call?”

“Just wish it.”

“Oh!”

Zhang Mingjing left the meditative realm and opened his eyes, wearing the same blank look. Yet he remained calm, thinking, “At last, I understand the cause and effect. Not only can I help save the Earth, but I also get superpowers—a perfect win-win!”

The next morning, Zhang Mingjing woke to the sounds of Zhang Yidao and Xiao Nüxia waging both verbal and physical battles with pillows and brooms.

“Looks like the struggle for power has begun,” Zhang Mingjing quipped. He got out of bed, opened the door, and let Yuhua and Chengxian in.

Every time Zhang Yidao and Xiao Nüxia fought, his chaotic room became a sanctuary for the two pets to escape the turmoil. Even Zhenren, who had only been in the house for ten days, had already learned—after collecting just a bit of behavioral data—that it was best to keep silent at such moments, lest disaster befall it.

Zhang Mingjing joked that it was the most hypocritical machine.

As for Zhang Mingjing himself, having grown up listening to their arguments, he long since surpassed the stage of being startled. By now, he was utterly indifferent, seeing but not seeing.

He knew breakfast served as a ceasefire agreement; before then, the quarrel would always stop.

Sure enough, when breakfast came, Zhang Yidao and Xiao Nüxia fell silent.

“So, has the coup d’etat at home reached a conclusion?” Zhang Mingjing teased.

With lingering indignation, Zhang Yidao replied, “The revolution has not yet succeeded—overthrowing tyranny still requires blood and sacrifice.”

Zhang Mingjing glanced at Xiao Nüxia, who smiled serenely and said, “My position as elder sister is not so easily shaken.”

Suddenly, Xiao Nüxia pulled out twenty thousand yuan and slammed it on the table before Zhang Mingjing.

“What’s this meant to be?” Zhang Mingjing immediately sensed something wonderful.

“Take it and buy pet assistants for Yuhua and Chengxian,” Zhang Yidao said. “Xiao Nüxia and I discussed it last night.”

Zhang Mingjing thought, “I only need three hundred yuan now—what would I do with so much? But... a gift given freely is a gift to keep! My days of triumph have truly begun.”

He swept the money into his hand.

“Hey! I thought you’d be more excited. Why are you so calm? It’s unnerving!” Zhang Yidao complained.

“He’s cultivated now. Acting inexperienced would be terribly, terribly uncool,” Xiao Nüxia said, handing Zhang Mingjing a piece of egg.

“Heh heh heh...” Zhang Yidao laughed, but then his face turned serious. In a stern voice, he warned, “Let me remind you—never show your abilities in public. The consequences could be dire.”

“Understood!” Zhang Mingjing replied, thinking, “It’s not just outsiders I have to hide from—even you two mustn’t know. I’ve already promised the alien.”

Clutching the twenty thousand yuan and suppressing his excitement, Zhang Mingjing hurried through his breakfast, preparing to leave for school.

“Wait!” Zhang Yidao suddenly called out. “From today, you are the inheritor of our Laoshan Daoist arts. From now on, whenever you leave or return home, you must burn incense and kowtow to the ancestral founder.”

“Uh—seriously?” Zhang Mingjing had no choice but to comply. In their household hierarchy, Xiao Nüxia oppressed Zhang Yidao, Zhang Yidao oppressed him, but he never feared Xiao Nüxia.