Translator: Strivon

  "My luck’s decent."

  Luo Nan looked over the paper man a few times, then he flipped to the back of his notebook and wedged the paper man between a couple of blank pages.

  Luo Nan had flipped past three similar cases in his notebook. With the addition of this one, there was now a total of four paper men hidden within the notebook. Some were a bit bigger. Some were a bit smaller. But they were all of the same material.

  These paper men were made when Luo Nan’s eye orifice overflowed. Luo Nan diverted the pressure to them to prevent an overload. Lightning had bombarded the heart lantern sixty times. Subtracting the first seven times when the lantern was extinguished, and considering the damage, Luo Nan had to divert the pressure a total of twenty-five times to restore basic equilibrium. However, only four paper men were completed successfully, leaving a success rate of only 16%. It was pitifully low.

  Although the result was this bad, Luo Nan still had to record it.

  Luo Nan opened his flexible e-ink screen and recorded the data. Basically, the paper men were Luo Nan’s homework for the week; he was going to turn them in to Papercut later to look over. He felt that these paper men were rather different than the articles he created in the beginning.

  At the very least, the way he ’cut’ them out was quite cool.

  Luo Nan put away his pen and blew away what ash remained sticking to his fingers. He blinked his eyes and felt that his eye sockets were a bit dry. He closed his eyes again to observe himself internally and saw that the luminescence of the heart lantern was rather weak. It was weaker than before it had received the strengthening from the external neuron.

  Luo Nan wasn’t surprised by this. He was still a novice when it came to activating his soul strength. He was far from being precise when applying it, and this time he had obviously pushed himself too hard and used too much of it. Luo Nan didn’t rush to recover what he had lost, for doing so would require him to transport his soul strength from the ’My heart’s a prison’ format. One mistake and the external neuron would come roaring. It truly wasn’t worth it.

  He allowed the vital energy of his body to naturally replenish and nourish. Although this took a long time, the process was stable and could be said to be flexible.

  Sitting in front, Xie Junping was in full spirits since mentioning the Blood Peony, the matter with Gear. "Tang Yi is such a powerful woman. Either we need an even more powerful person to subdue her, or we need to make sure that our meeting goes well…… Nanster, this is a good thing! We know she’s a beauty based on her nickname. Today’s the 25th. The price competition for Gear is the Monday after, the 30th. Time is of the essence and the mission is a tough one. We can’t tarry any longer!"

  Luo Nan kicked the seat in front of him to give Xie Junping a warning. Then he switched to a normal topic. "Is there any information on the starting bids for the two sides?"

  "Right now we don’t have anything definite. Only rumors."

  Xie Junping shrugged. "Sissy Du sure has it tough. By breaking the door as he storms from his figurative home, he’s burned quite a few bridges in the small network he has in the Mystic Arts Research Society. He just mentioned a little something about the financial backer behind the Mystic Arts Research Society, implying that the financial backer wants to work with the Construction Society."

  "Working with them? That can’t be."

  Luo Nan was rather surprised. Wasn’t the Order of Justice the ones behind the Mystic Arts Research Society? The Rainbow Fund was behind the Construction Society, which was the same as Quantum Corporation. What did it mean for these two organizations to work together?

  "Don’t things change quickly in capitalism? In any case, I heard the main thing is that there is a different main financial backer for the Mystic Arts Research Society in this bidding war. Before, it was a religious organization. Now, it’s a research fund. It’s quite famous. I mean, it’s famous in our circle. The LCRF……"

  "The Life Cycle Research Fund?"

  "Oh, you’ve heard of them before?" Xie Junping was quite surprised. He turned to look at Luo Nan. "I thought you don’t pay attention to such things."

  "I heard of them recently. Two days ago."

  Most of Luo Nan’s energy was focused on the heart lantern of the eyes orifice these past ten days. However, Luo Nan still continued with the training courses that the Society had arranged for him. A few of the courses were put on the back burner due to his interference ability issue, except for the practical courses from Crag Burst and Red Fox. He was mostly involved in the Soul Strength Activation Techniques course, and he persisted in learning its theories. Once in a while he would perform experiments and make adjustments. If he didn’t do all of this, the small paper men in his notebook would have never existed.

  Luo Nan reacted with lightning speed when Xie Junping talked about the Life Cycle Research Fund. This was because He Yueyin’s "Ins and Outs of the Psychic Wave Network’s World Order" and Bamboo Pole’s "Notes on the Major Characters of the World" both mentioned this institution.

  On the surface, this organization was established by several of the top rich. The main investment direction was the classic direction for extending human life expectancy. This was the most important investment fund in the field of biology, and they were major investors of several important biological laboratories.

  But there should be inseparably close relationships between the fund, the government, and the military. It was practically an open secret. The fund also should be working with the various powers of the inner world. Many important projects were there, and that included the Frost River Waterway Luo Nan was ever so familiar with.

  It was quite strange!

  Luo Nan leaned back against his seat and stared blankly at the sky. "The Life Fund, Quantum Corporation, and the Order from before…… They’re all interested in Gear. Why?"

  He spoke aloud to himself and wasn’t expecting an answer, so he never thought Xie Junping would catch up to his train of thought in an instant. "Sissy Du said that the structure of Gear is very suitable for performing mystical rituals. The Order Club that used to own Gear is also known as the Ritual Club. The fraternities and sororities of Acumen College often come here to hold ceremonies and rituals. They even do drugs, party, and the like. It’s said that the effects there are stronger than doing these things on the outside……"

  Xie Junping just spoke without thinking, but when he turned around to look at Luo Nan, he saw that Luo Nan was frowning. Xie Junping instantly shut up, but he couldn’t hold it in for too long.

  "Even I feel a certain something while I’m there. I feel especially comfortable over there. I think faster, and I become keener and more alert. Plus, sometimes I don’t need to open my eyes, and I can see stuff…… I can see things completely! Nanster, what do you think? Am I unlocking some supernatural powers?"

  Luo Nan was dumbfounded and speechless. He didn’t know what to say.

  Xie Junping became spirited. "I didn’t feel it before, but I’ve been dealing with Sissy Du for the past few days. He’s really an interesting fellow. He has a lot of stuff hidden inside him, and the information I got from him was quite random but interesting. Right, are you two free on Sunday? Sissy Du says that there’s some Starry Sky Meet. They regularly hold them every Sunday at the Mystic Arts Saloon. Several people with powers attend them. It’s very interesting. Shall we go check it out?"

  "Uh, I don’t understand a thing about the mystic arts……" Xue Lei responded awkwardly.

  His worldview had broadened as he gained deeper and deeper understandings of the inner world. He was considering joining the Wilderness Explorers Society. How could he go to a place called the Mystic Arts Saloon? It sounded super sketchy.

  "Nanster?"

  "I’ve already made plans for Sunday. I need to send something off to be repaired." Luo Nan declined Xie Junping’s invitation as well. It was the truth; he really needed to go to the service center.

  Xie Junping was a bit disappointed. "Then forget it. I just wanted you all to get some new perspectives on things……” He sighed. “Oh, well."

  Xue Lei turned to look at Luo Nan. The meaning in his eyes was likely, "Does this brother know anything?"

  Luo Nan gave a slight shake of his head. Xie Junping knew that Luo Nan possessed some supernatural powers and rather revered him for it. Xie Junping was also a bit curious, and he constantly prodded Luo Nan with caution, but Luo Nan never took the initiative to talk about himself. After all, there were differences in their circles, and it was hard to explain some things without Xie Junping personally experiencing them. It would just make a mess of his emotions.

  But, on the other hand, Xie Junping was in his Format Pyramid. Xie Junping was one of Luo Nan’s believers. Even though Xie Junping was on the lowest apprentice level, the strict rules of the Format Pyramid weren’t likely influencing him.

  Luo Nan thought of his own sufferings and felt that he should carefully examine this situation when he gets the chance. To make sure his friend wasn’t suffering from any negative impacts.

  It wasn’t a good time right then to theorize about such matters. Luo Nan’s thoughts took a turn and he thought of something else. He faced Xue Lei and asked, "Did you bring it over?"

  The topic was changed far too quickly. Xue Lei was unable to react for a time. "What?"

  "The mechanical device inside the tai chi ball. It needs to be fixed!" Luo Nan was a bit fed up. "I told you two days ago. Bamboo Pole introduced me to an amazing repairer……"

  "Oh, I brought it, I brought it." Xue Lei tapped his skull and reached a hand in his pocket. He rummaged around and grasped nothing. This blockhead could only awkwardly laugh. "I stuffed it in my locker this morning and forgot to take it out. I can get it now if you want?"

  "Forget it. It’s okay to give it to me tomorrow."

  Though Xie Junping didn’t know what those two were talking about, he still glanced all around and said, "Aren’t the locker rooms in the South 2 Area? We’re in the South 1 Area. It’s not far. We might as well stop by. It’s better to exchange it now, just in case you forget tomorrow. Your memory hasn’t been good these days."

  "That’s fine."

  Luo Nan and Xue Lei concurred, but Luo Nan paused. Xie Junping mentioned something strange just now. "What did you say about my memory?"

  Xie Junping turned the cart as he shouted, "I said it long ago. The disciples of Gym Master Xiu are skilled and amazing. Bring me there so I can pay respects to him and learn some skills…… You two forgot all about it."

  Luo Nan and Xue Lei glanced at each other, having been reproached. They were both a bit embarrassed. It wasn’t that they forgot. The truth was, Xue Lei had mentioned it to Xiu Shenyu, but Xiu Shenyu refused. There was no leeway for discussion. Xiu Shenyu’s straightforward attitude made Luo Nan feel pride to have been accepted under his tutelage…… Yep, he really did feel that way.

  Why did Gym Master Xiu agree so easily to teach Luo Nan?

  The two ability users stammered responses as the electric cart parked outside the locker rooms. Xue Lei hurriedly got off the cart to get the object.

  Luo Nan and Xie Junping chatted, speaking one minute and being quiet the next. They were unable to go away from the topic of Gear. Halfway through their conversation, Luo Nan subconsciously opened his flexible e-ink screen. He used his status as a member of the Society to retrieve the architectural drawings and other data from the Internet. He looked at the creative design of the large and small gears biting into each other. The building possessed a powerful and rigorous unique beauty.

  Luo Nan really cared about this building.

  Luo Nan could understand if it was just the Rainbow Fund; after all, Yan Yongbo was their leader. That guy certainly wanted to seize back the laboratory to wash the accusations from his old man whose fame was built on theft.

  However, whether it was the Life Cycle Research Fund or the Order of Justice, they all displayed some interest toward Gear.

  Was it because of the effectiveness of ’mystic rituals’ over there?

  Luo Nan traced up the logical chain. What was his mother’s objective when she designed and built Gear? Was it as the data said? That Gear was her graduation work of pure art? Was it really that simple?

  Luo Nan looked at the image of a free-spirited girl in the data records and went into a daze. He was spellbound.

  This lasted until Xie Junping made a coy snap of his fingers. He raised his voice and said, "Hey, beautiful. This must be a fated encounter. Would you like a ride?"

  Luo Nan raised his head and saw someone walk out from the locker rooms. It wasn’t Xue Lei, but a woman with beauty far above the average, just as Xie Junping said.

  Hmm. She looked familiar.