Chapter 84: Hidden in the Void (Part 2/2)
Xie Junping had said last week that Luo Nan would have to run around and do some formalities after entering the club. Unfortunately, Luo Nan had spent an entire day sleeping on Saturday. After that, he had gone to the medical treatment center to keep his grandfather company on Sunday and on Monday, he went directly to the hospital. He had tossed all these matters aside but luckily Xie Junping had picked all of it back up.
Luo Nan was a bit embarrassed. He spoke a word of thanks before he lowered his head to sign the electronic documents.
Xie Junping was even at Luo Nan's side, explaining the purpose of every document. He later found out that Luo Nan didn't understand the contents at all and was just signing wholeheartedly. Luo Nan had displayed complete faith in Xie Junping, causing Xie Junping's heart to be at ease. Xie Junping simply started chatting.
Of course, the topic never left the subject of Gear.
"Junior Nan, you must despise the Construction Society right? I don't think that you need to worry too much. It looks like the Construction Society drew in the Rainbow Fund in an effort to win but the Mystic Arts Research Society aren't weaklings either. The people there have willfully leaped to action; they're bold enough to do anything! I have been looking into some rumors these past two days. They have quite the energy over there, all clamoring to wage war with the Construction Society... Compare things for a second. The Rainbow Fund is an investment company. In the end, don't they need to look at the profit from their investments?"
"What if the manager of the Rainbow Fund goes crazy?"
"Huh?"
Luo Nan stopped his digital pen for the first time. He raised his head to ask, "Over at Gear, outside of location and plans, aren't there some other resources in high quantities?"
"I've really never heard of this before. Why do you think so? At the moment, the premium bids of the two parties aren't that particularly serious."
Luo Nan didn't speak since he had received the following piece of information from Crag Burst. After the conflict at the restaurant last night, Yan Yongbo started to exert his power over the matter with Gear. He took it as official business and even gave the lawyer a deadline. It seemed like someone had pressured him to do so.
This was completely different from the private factor that he had guessed in the beginning.
Additionally, the Mystic Arts Research Society side of things had an extremely serious background. Luo Nan was at the Limestone Water Village Pub Friday night for an operation. During this time, he had discovered that this society actually had something to do with the Order of Justice.
Previously, Luo Nan was apathetic towards the strength of secret orders; he hadn't been directly affected by them. But this time, there was a small little Bloodflame Order. The strength that its Elder Mo Lun wielded had opened his eyes to the world.
Extrapolating from this, since the Order of Justice had a strength that far exceeded the Bloodflame Order, it would certainly be a serious colossus.
The bidding war between the Mystic Arts Research Society and the Construction Society seemed to have already broken away from the scope of school societies. The contest between their sponsors had entered a completely different realm.
He just wished he was over thinking it…
Naturally, the significance of Gear was priceless from Luo Nan's perspective. He was confident that his mother's designs possessed the moving force of a classic masterpiece.
But from the perspective of powers like the Quantum Corporation and the Order of Justice, where did the value of a building constructed in the wetlands lie?
Luo Nan was itching to get back to school and immediately get to the bottom of this.
It was now 5 o'clock, the end of the hospital's visiting time. It didn't matter whether it was Xie Junping or Luo Shuqing, they were all urged to leave. Finally, Luo Nan truly began his health pod treatment.
He didn't have dinner and he had to be loaded into the health pod completely naked. The most embarrassing thing was that Mr. Bai had personally come to supervise him. Luo Nan was seriously suspicious. This excessively cushy little old man had probably come to make fun of him.
"Don't be nervous. Aren't you wearing a ventilator? You can breathe you know. Just pretend you're soaking in a bathtub for a nap. Oh right, you just woke up. Do you want to play a game then?"
"There's even a game?" Luo Nan couldn't open his mouth because he was wearing the breathing device. He could only look over with wide eyes.
"Through the HexaEar."
Mr. Bai switched to the HexaEar's channel with a beaming smile, "Ouyang implemented quite a few games on the Psychic Wave Network platform and updates it on a timely manner. Games like Ten Days in the Wilderness are also quite popular. Don't you young-ins all love to play?
"..."
"Hm, wait, don't jump to conclusions!"
Mr. Bai tapped against his forehead, "I've heard that you can already use the Computing Level of the HexaEar?"
"Yes, it is as you say."
"This is a typical symptom of an imbalance between the body and the soul and I can see that you've even learned to send your soul out on your own. You'll find it hard to stop at the imperfect fourth level, the Simulator. What if you get addicted to playing and your soul strength increases further? Your troubles will become enormous!"
"Simulator?"
"It's similar to virtual reality. From the basic interactive applications, to the automatic collection and operation of energy and information within the HexaEar, one is cast free from the limits of the fleshly body and becomes able to manifest their Self-Logic on the Psychic Wave Network.
Luo Nan blinked his eyes and concluded with, "So it's the out-of-body state?"
Mr. Bai raised his eyebrows, "That's right. The brains of little guys really are fast. This is none other than the out-of-body state, also known as soul roaming. Your energy is protected while you're on the Psychic Wave Network, reducing the dangers of one's first out-of-body experience to the minimum. You can try it in the future, but for now, you absolutely can't! Not only should you refrain from playing games, you should also refrain from entering the out-of-body state. There's also meditation... Oh right, Can you meditate?"
"I can do a bit of visualization. Isn't that pretty much the same?"
"It's all the same. The use of all methods that can increase your soul strength is prohibited. Visualization is no longer purely a thought-based game at your current level. There will be a moment where you gather and operate energy and information. In doing, you will bring enormous pressure to your fleshly body... A true and complete imbalance... By then, you will die a welcomed death."
This one talk by Mr. Bai knocked Luo Nan back to the coldness of reality. He could only force a bitter smile for the time being.
These were the facts. If he hadn't learned the makeshift plan and later gained the Dynamo Core, then Luo Nan would certainly be as good as dead right now. The Dynamo Core was important because it allowed him to entrust his soul within it and eliminated the pressure.
Mr. Bai continued with the intimidation of a tiger to make Luo Nan understand the severity of the matter, but after awhile he gave Luo Nan a resolution. "Since you can't play games, just go and chat with someone. This old man isn't going to keep you company, so just go find anyone else. Crag Burst likes to chat and it looks likes the Secretary treats you quite well. Additionally, she's a beautiful woman..."
Luo Nan rolled his eyes before the nutrient solution could cover his head.
"Mm, oh right. I'll go find Ouyang to grant your privileges. Children have always been unreliable." The old mister was as good as his word. He patted his butt and left.
"..."
Luo Nan really admired this old grandfather, but to be messed with like this really made him relax quite a bit. The nutrient solution hadn't reached his head, so he didn’t feel uncomfortable.
But soon, Luo Nan would have to face reality.
He really couldn't sleep. There were too many things on his mind, yet he couldn't grasp the main points. His mind was quite messy and he even felt that his cranial nerves were especially excited—it was very exhausting.
Was he really going to go chat?
Helplessly, Luo Nan flipped through his friend's list within the HexaEar. On the list were just He Yueyin, Crag Burst, Octopus, Zhang Yingying, Mr. Bai, and so on. Just these few people.
Who should he choose?
Right when Luo Nan was tangled in this thoughts, someone took the initiative to chat with him. A greenish-gray octopus head popped up.
"Bro Octopus?"
"My junior, have you entered the health pod yet?"
"Yes, I'm inside already."
Luo Nan had already made contact with Octopus before entering treatment. They had negotiated over the matter of the nutrient solution drug concoctions. As a professional, Octopus had given Luo Nan several useful suggestions. He wanted Luo Nan to get in contact with a suitable pharmaceutical chemist.
Octopus' scope within the realm of professionals did not end with Xia City but included the entire world. He offered to contact Doctor Clay of Los Angeles, USA, for the sake of recommending Luo Nan an authority in the field of neuroregeneration.
There was already an outcome at this time, "Junior, there's new information..."