Revisiting an Old Place

Chen Nan had discovered the paradox of the AI System within himself, but winning money was more important at the moment, so he set it aside for now.

Now, for him, hearing the dice's numbers was like seeing them with his own eyes—or even having brief precognition. He could not get it wrong.

However, so no one would think there was something wrong with him, Chen Nan would occasionally lose a few rounds when betting big or small. It was harmless, merely for appearances' sake.

His hundred Qingyang Coins in chips had turned into more than three thousand by a little after midnight.

Jiang Lili was responsible for periodically taking the chips to exchange for cash, and she was busier than ever. She had long since tossed all her earlier attempts to dissuade Chen Nan beyond the clouds.

One did not get drunk from drinking because one drank too little; one did not lose oneself before beauty because one could not lay a hand on it.

No matter how righteous and awe-inspiring one had sounded before, one would immediately bow before money. Especially in this situation—apparently, no one could resist it.

Still, Chen Nan had a measure of restraint. Seeing that it was nearly one o'clock, he stopped gambling, cashed out all the chips, and returned home with the two women to rest.

After returning, Chen Nan told Feng Wu to keep an account, but he would not give her share of the commission yet. Once he had won enough money and quit gambling, he would settle the full account with her. That way, she could save the money as well.

Although Chen Nan was only a ten-year-old child, at this very moment, he had completely conquered the two women.

His abilities, as well as his control over himself, were things they deeply admired.

Thus, despite his young age, they no longer argued with anything he said.

That was what they meant by: the road tested a horse's strength, and time revealed who truly could and could not measure up.

Several days passed like this. Chen Nan maintained daily winnings of two or three thousand yuan, and by now he had won around thirty thousand Qingyang Coins.

That day was the weekend, and Jiang Lili did not have to work. He told her, "I have a friend who has been through life and death with me. He's still at the Orphanage. I had no money before, but now that I have some, I want to go see him."

Naturally, Jiang Lili agreed and immediately went to prepare the car. Feng Wu came along as well, helping Chen Nan prepare gifts and other things. The three of them then drove up the mountain.

The Orphanage had now been taken over by the government, and the overwhelming majority of its staff had been replaced. Moreover, the uproar over the Wang Clan had not yet died down, so the Orphanage was now a proper welfare institution.

Most of the orphans had already been reclaimed by their separated parents. Those who truly had no family to claim them still lived there, but their numbers had been cut by more than half.

Their lives had become much better. No one abused them, their food, clothing, and necessities were all good, and they could even receive a genuine education. It was as though they had gone from hell to heaven in one stroke.

Chen Nan knew all of this, so he was in no rush to find Little Black Ox.

After driving to the Orphanage and completing the admission procedures, Chen Nan and the two women entered this place of suffering for him—a place he would never forget in this new life.

Nothing much had changed about its every brick and tile, but once they entered the courtyard, it gave off vigorous vitality. It was no longer as oppressive and terrifying as before.

Chen Nan's arrival also alarmed the current director. He immediately led several employees out to greet them.

It was only a pity there were no reporters present. Otherwise, he could have used Chen Nan's return visit to the Orphanage to earn himself some fame and show his face in the news and newspapers.

Yet such things had long since begun.

Wu City's government departments had always possessed this fine tradition. No one knew where it began, but it was said that even the universe could not trace its origin—though one could roughly conclude that it would flow on for generations without end.

And this fine tradition was that every official's subordinate came equipped with cameras and recording devices.

This was to ensure that whenever an official performed the rare sight of actual work, the moment could be splendidly recorded in thick, vivid strokes.

For officials in obscure departments, such as this newly appointed director who had been promoted openly but demoted in secret, they were like actresses past their prime, hating only that they could not find an opportunity to expose themselves before the camera.

Today, naturally, was a golden opportunity.

Unfortunately, Chen Nan was not one to appreciate the mood and did not cooperate much with him.

Although the new director had pressed a warm face against a cold backside, he was not angry. After all, he had gotten a photograph with Chen Nan.

According to the media's strategic guidelines for scandals, a single blurry photograph was enough to concoct a masterpiece worthy of a literary award. What was more, his photo was in high definition.

Having obtained what he needed, the new director no longer disturbed Chen Nan. Or rather, having used him, he simply turned Chen Nan into a passerby and saw no need to care about him anymore.

After gaining this freedom, Chen Nan went to find Little Black Ox.

His living conditions were much better now. The dormitory was bright and spotless, exceedingly comfortable. The instant he saw Chen Nan, he threw himself into a huge embrace, tears and snot flying everywhere in his excitement.

The two talked about many things, their conversation blazing with heat.

Logically speaking, Chen Nan had the mindset of an adult, and his circumstances were no longer what they had once been. Yet he could still chat so happily with him, which surprised Chen Nan greatly.

Perhaps this was the change brought about by an emotional foundation.

After giving Little Black Ox his gifts, Chen Nan also gave him a card loaded with one thousand yuan for spending money. Chen Nan would regularly transfer money into it, ensuring that Little Black Ox would never lack money to spend.

Little Black Ox was overjoyed. That simple, utterly untainted happiness infected every one of them.

It made Chen Nan wonder: what exactly was great wisdom? Among those supposedly clever people, he had not seen a single one who could be as happy as Little Black Ox.

Great wisdom appeared foolish?

Only when the sky began to darken did Chen Nan leave the Orphanage. Little Black Ox stood at the entrance, watching them depart with lingering reluctance.

On the road, both women were immensely curious. They asked, "What is your relationship with that silly boy? Why are you so good to him?"

Chen Nan smiled. "Because he gave me half a pancake."

The two women looked at each other, both thoroughly puzzled.

Chen Nan looked at the bleak scenery outside the window. Within his clear eyes, some unknown thoughts stirred restlessly.

After letting his mind wander for a while, he thought again of his AI System.

Although there was no real need to dwell on that inconsistency, he still could not let it go. After many days of thought, he had vaguely arrived at an answer.

The AI System had merged into his central nervous system and become part of his body. Therefore, it could no longer be viewed as a mere intelligent system.

It had gained biological qualities, the spiritual vitality of a human brain. Thus, certain matters could not be explained through absolute scientific principles.

The human brain often produced phenomena that science could not explain, especially before knowledge and rationality had hardened the brain into a fixed mold.

Chen Nan remembered that when his grandmother died, he had dreamed at night that she was knocking on the window, smiling and waving goodbye to him.

At the time, his grandmother had been staying at his aunt's home, over thirty li away from him.

Less than a few minutes after he woke from the dream, his parents' phone rang, and the bad news arrived...

There were countless similar occurrences—things science could not explain, yet people still insisted on saying they believed in science.

After merging into his brain, the AI System had become part of his brain's electromagnetic wave field. How it affected his original brainwave field, and what reaction the latter would have with it, was not something Chen Nan could explain clearly.

However, as for his earlier doubt, Chen Nan could only believe that it was a change that had occurred on the basis of the above.

And through this phenomenon, Chen Nan connected it to many other things.

For instance, his transmigration must have been related to that bolt of lightning. Had the massive current erased the original body's brainwave field, then implanted his own electromagnetic wave field?

And his ability to control small animals might also be because his brainwave field affected theirs, allowing such control to occur.

The reason Chen Nan thought in this direction was that Kabudan Planet possessed extremely strong electromagnetic waves. Their network could function entirely without physical lines!

Of course, besides electromagnetic waves, there was also nuclear radiation.

That made Chen Nan think of something. Could those so-called Transcendents have some connection to these two things?

At present, Chen Nan could only roughly determine that electromagnetic wave fields could affect the nervous systems of living beings.

If someone had ever entered an excessively high magnetic field, such as the gradient magnetic field inside an MRI machine—especially a high magnetic field of 3.0T or above—they would experience that sensation.

A person would feel dizzy, and the things before their eyes would seem to sway. This was the result of a high magnetic field acting upon the human brain's electromagnetic field.

Because the human nervous system possessed a complete structural foundation capable of resisting a certain degree of electromagnetic influence, it was generally very safe inside a high magnetic field like that of an MRI machine.

But what about an even stronger magnetic field? Like the powerful current that had sent him through time.

Summing it up, Chen Nan believed that his abilities were influenced by two aspects. One was scientific, while the other was metaphysical.

The AI System resembled the scientific aspect, while his central nervous system resembled the metaphysical one.

Now that the two had combined, they produced a different effect.

Chen Nan also clearly remembered how shocked he had been when he encountered ancient civilizations. For example, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon's explanation of qi was so close to quantum mechanics; Laozi's worldview in the Tao Te Ching and so on were equally astonishing.

People from thousands of years ago having such scientific-like theories was simply far too ahead of its time. More crucially, those ancient people seemed to have had no instruments, mathematical formulas, or anything of the sort to assist them. They had explained these principles through human power alone.

This was enough to show that science was not the only method for explaining the phenomena of the universe.

Therefore, although the AI System had come from science, he could not fixate solely upon that. This was the path his development ought to take.