Revisiting Old Grounds

Chen Nan discovered the paradox within the AI System on himself, but at this moment, winning money was more important, so he put it aside for the time being.

Now, for him, being able to hear the pips on the dice was like seeing them with his own eyes, or even having short-term precognition. It was foolproof.

However, to avoid appearing abnormal, Chen Nan would deliberately lose a few times when betting on big or small. It was inconsequential, just for show.

His initial stake of one hundred had already grown to over three thousand by a little past midnight.

Jiang Lili busied herself by intermittently exchanging chips for cash, happily occupied and having long forgotten her earlier attempts to dissuade Chen Nan.

It's like being drunk without getting tipsy because you drink little; seeing lust without being tempted because you can't touch.

No matter how righteous one sounded before, they would immediately yield to money. Especially in this situation, it seemed no one could resist.

However, Chen Nan still had a certain degree of confidence. Seeing that it was almost one o'clock, he decided to stop gambling, cashed out all his chips, and went home with the two women to rest.

After returning, Chen Nan told Feng Wu that he would keep accounts, but her ten percent commission would be deferred. He would settle the total account when he had won enough money and stopped gambling, which would also allow her to save up.

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

His abilities and his self-control were things they deeply admired.

Therefore, despite his young age, they wouldn't argue with anything he said.

This is like saying, "The journey tests a horse's strength; time reveals a person's character."

After a few more days like this, Chen Nan was earning two to three thousand yuan daily, and had now won about thirty thousand yuan in Qingyang Coin.

One day, it was the weekend, and Jiang Lili didn't have to work. He told her, "I have a lifelong friend still in the orphanage. I didn't have money before, but now that I have some, I plan to go visit him."

Jiang Lili readily agreed and immediately went to prepare the vehicle. Feng Wu also joined, helping Chen Nan prepare gifts and other items. The three then drove up the mountain.

The orphanage had since been taken over by the government, and most of the staff had been replaced. Furthermore, the heat surrounding the Wang Clan incident had not diminished, so the orphanage was still a standard welfare institution.

Most of the orphans had been reunited with their scattered parents. Those who truly had no family to claim them still lived there, but their numbers had significantly decreased.

Their lives had become much better; no one abused them, their food, clothing, and living conditions were all good, and they could receive a true education. It was as if they had gone from hell to heaven overnight.

Chen Nan was aware of these developments, so he wasn't in a hurry to find Little Black Ox.

After driving to the orphanage and completing the admission procedures, Chen Nan and the two women entered the place of Chen Nan's hardship, a place he would never forget in his new life.

Not a single brick or tile here had changed significantly, but upon entering the courtyard, one felt a vibrant life force, unlike the oppressive and terrifying atmosphere before.

Chen Nan's arrival also alerted the current director, who, along with several staff members, immediately came out to greet him.

He only regretted the absence of reporters at that moment. Otherwise, using Chen Nan's visit to the orphanage as an opportunity, he could have gained some fame and appeared in the news and newspapers.

But these things had already been set in motion.

The government departments in Wu City had always possessed this fine tradition. We don't know where it began, but it's said that even the universe cannot trace its origin, yet it can be roughly judged that it will last for a long time.

This fine tradition involved subordinates of officials being equipped with cameras and video recorders.

This was to ensure that moments when officials, rarely seen doing actual work, could be brilliantly and extensively recorded.

For officials in remote departments, like this new director who was promoted in title but demoted in position, it was akin to an aging actress who longed for any opportunity to expose herself to the camera.

And today was naturally a great opportunity.

Unfortunately, Chen Nan was unsociable and didn't cooperate much with him.

Although the new director's warm welcome was met with indifference, he wasn't annoyed, as he had managed to get a photo with Chen Nan.

Following the media's strategy for gossip, a single blurry photo could be spun into a literary award-worthy masterpiece. Moreover, his photo was high-definition.

Having obtained what he needed, the new director no longer bothered Chen Nan. In other words, he had finished using Chen Nan and treated him as just another person, no longer needing to pay attention to him.

With his newfound freedom, Chen Nan found Little Black Ox.

His living environment was now much better, with a bright and clean dormitory that was very comfortable. Upon seeing Chen Nan, Little Black Ox gave him a big hug, tears and snot flying in his excitement.

The two talked about many things, their conversation heated and lively.

Logically, Chen Nan possessed the mindset of an adult, and his current situation was no worse than before. Yet, he could still converse with Little Black Ox so happily, which greatly surprised Chen Nan.

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

After giving Little Black Ox gifts, Chen Nan also gave him a thousand-yuan card for pocket money. Chen Nan would regularly deposit money into the card, ensuring Little Black Ox would never be short of funds.

Little Black Ox was overjoyed. His simple, unadulterated happiness infected everyone present.

This made Chen Nan wonder: What truly constitutes great wisdom? He observed that those considered intelligent couldn't achieve the same happiness as Little Black Ox.

Is great wisdom often disguised as foolishness?

As the sky began to darken, Chen Nan finally left the orphanage. Little Black Ox stood at the entrance, watching them leave with reluctance.

On the road, the two women were very curious and asked, "What is your relationship with this silly boy that you treat him so well?"

Chen Nan smiled and replied, "Because he gave me half a bun."

The two women exchanged glances, completely puzzled.

Chen Nan looked out at the bleak scenery, his clear eyes reflecting some active thought.

After a moment of wandering thoughts, he remembered the matter of his AI System again.

Although the illogical aspects didn't really warrant serious consideration, he still couldn't let it go. After many days of thought, he had a vague answer.

The AI system had integrated into his central nervous system, becoming a part of his body. Therefore, it couldn't be viewed as a mere intelligent system anymore.

It had gained biological characteristics, the spirituality of a human brain, and thus, some matters couldn't be explained with purely scientific principles.

The human brain actually experiences phenomena that science cannot explain on a regular basis, especially when knowledge and reason haven't solidified the brain.

Chen Nan remembered that when his grandmother passed away, he dreamed at night that his grandmother was knocking on his window, smiling and waving goodbye.

At the time, his grandmother was staying at his aunt's house, more than thirty miles away from him.

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

There were many similar incidents, all unexplainable by science, yet people insisted on believing in science.

After integrating into his brain, this AI system had become part of his brain's electromagnetic field. How it would affect his own brain's electromagnetic field, and what reactions the latter would have with it, was something Chen Nan couldn't clearly explain.

However, Chen Nan could only assume that his previous doubts had arisen based on the aforementioned situation.

Through this phenomenon, Chen Nan also thought of many things.

For example, his transmigration must have been related to that lightning strike; a massive electric current that erased the original host's brain's electromagnetic field and then input his own electromagnetic field?

And his ability to control small animals might also be because his brain's electromagnetic field influenced theirs, leading to such control.

The reason Chen Nan thought this way was because this Kabudan Planet had extremely strong electromagnetic waves; their network could function entirely without physical lines!

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

This made Chen Nan wonder if those so-called Transcendent beings had any connection to these two factors?

Currently, Chen Nan could only roughly ascertain that electromagnetic fields could affect the nervous system of living beings.

If someone had been exposed to a high magnetic field, such as the gradient magnetic field of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) machine, especially in high magnetic fields of 3.0T or above, they would experience such sensations.

People would feel dizzy, and objects in their vision would seem to shake; this was the result of high magnetic fields acting on the human brain's electromagnetic field.

Because the human nervous system has a complete structural foundation that can resist a certain degree of electromagnetic influence, it is generally very safe in high magnetic fields like those in NMR.

But what about even higher magnetic fields? Like the extremely powerful current involved in his transmigration.

Summarizing this, Chen Nan considered that his abilities were likely influenced by two aspects: one scientific and one metaphysical.

The AI system was analogous to the scientific aspect, while his central nervous system was analogous to the metaphysical aspect.

Now that the two had combined, they produced different effects.

Chen Nan clearly remembered being very shocked when he encountered ancient civilizations, such as the explanation of "Qi" in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, which was remarkably close to quantum mechanics, and the worldview presented in Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching.

It was astonishing that people thousands of years ago could have such scientifically similar explanations. More importantly, those ancient people seemed to have had no instruments or mathematical formulas to assist them; they elucidated these principles solely through their own innate capabilities.

This sufficiently illustrated that science was not the only method for explaining universal phenomena.

Therefore, for him, even though the AI system originated from science, he couldn't solely focus on that. This should be his developmental path.