Experiment Success

After Guan Tong returned to his room at the Limei Hotel from the Public Security Bureau, he couldn't stop thinking about the case.

Thinking back now, he still felt a chill. If he had been tricked into opening the door, with one party calculating and the other caught off guard, he would most likely have been ambushed by those two youths.

If he had detected their malice and confronted them directly, it was debatable whether he could have won against two opponents.

Previously, Guan Tong held out little hope, as two fists are no match for four hands. But ever since he consumed that bottle of [Gene Optimization Fluid] he obtained from a Glory-tier box, not only did his Mind Power Cap increase instantly, but as time passed, he felt his physical condition improving subtly in all aspects.

Although there were no detailed data tests, Guan Tong could feel that he was faster, had better stamina, and his strength had increased.

He couldn't tell if this change was due to the [Gene Optimization Fluid] or the increase in his Mind Power Cap, but it was a good thing, and there was no need to dwell on it.

Guan Tong felt that with his enhanced body, he might be able to handle two opponents bare-handed. However, it would be different if they were armed or used Mind Power Artifacts.

He had seen some people online publicly showing off their Mind Power Artifacts.

One boxing coach's Mind Power Artifact was a pair of boxing gloves. When worn, they could significantly boost his strength by consuming Mind Power. A full-power punch could even shatter a solid stone!

That boxing coach had even posted a video online of himself wearing the gloves and smashing a stone, with many comments expressing envy.

This was precisely what Guan Tong was worried about.

If the criminals suspected of kidnapping possessed offensive Mind Power Artifacts, their combat power would undoubtedly increase. With a surprise attack, they could achieve excellent results.

This was why Guan Tong began experimenting with adding characters to the [Wordless Book]. He wanted to develop the offensive properties of his own Mind Power Artifact, not to harm others, but simply to have the strength to defend himself when facing danger.

"Besides, what do they want with high Mind Power Users?"

Guan Tong couldn't figure it out.

Mind Power couldn't be transferred to others, and Ascension Coins couldn't be traded through specific items yet. Even if they captured people, they wouldn't gain much. Were they forcing them to work?

But with such a crude method of capture, the victims would hardly be willing to work for them.

Moreover, doing so would quickly attract the attention of the Public Security Bureau.

With the significant population decline in the country, every individual was precious. High Mind Power Users were particularly supported, and capturing them was equivalent to going against the authorities, who would undoubtedly retaliate fiercely.

Guan Tong's case was an example: those two individuals knocked on doors last night, and their bodies were found today. Such efficiency showed how seriously the Public Security Bureau took the case.

"To be safe, I should be more careful these days," Guan Tong thought. "Also, I can't easily reveal that my Mind Power Cap exceeds 80, or I might attract unwanted attention from those with ulterior motives."

For the next few days, Guan Tong stayed in room 306 of the Limei Hotel, never leaving his room.

The authorities had sent him an application for free housing, but he hadn't filled it out.

Like many others in the hotel, he found staying there quite pleasant. Large hotels like this had amenities such as bars, gyms, laundry rooms, and even swimming pools, with everything needed for a comfortable life, maintained by rotating staff.

Others might choose to stay here partly out of fear of loneliness. At least here, a large group of people could gather in the lobby every morning, encourage each other, and maintain their sanity.

As for Guan Tong, his reasons were more about safety. With many people around and familiar with each other in the hotel, they could resist danger together. Moreover, it was close to the Public Security Bureau, so police officers could arrive within minutes of a call.

During this time, he repeated the process of adding characters, recovering Mind Power, and adding characters. Occasionally, Xu Xiaotian, who lived in room 305 next door, would chat with him and invite him out, but he mostly refused.

He also took the opportunity to warn Xu Xiaotian that there were suspected criminal gangs in Yunhua kidnapping high Mind Power Users, advising him to be careful when he went out and not to reveal his Mind Power value casually.

Five days passed, and after Guan Tong used up another Food Box, he finally completed the last stroke of adding characters.

"Ti..."

Guan Tong dipped his brush and wrote the final small "one" stroke of the character "body," thus completing the addition of characters.

The original two characters "关瞳" (Guan Tong) on the first page had now become four characters: "实体关瞳" (Shítǐ Guān Tóng).

Would there be a change?

Guan Tong was both expectant and nervous. He waited for a few seconds and found that the four characters did not float out as they had before.

He thought for a moment, injected his Mind Power, and, as before, let the Shadow detach from the book and enter reality.

"Shadow, come out."

Whoosh--!

The black shadow, identical in size to Guan Tong, emerged from the book and stood before him.

Seeing the shadow, Guan Tong's eyes instantly lit up with surprise.

"It succeeded!"

The previous shadow was completely hollow in the middle, with only an outline.

However, the shadow standing before him at this moment was completely filled with darkness, as if a pure black Guan Tong was standing in front of him!

Guan Tong raised his right hand, and under his mental command, the shadow opposite raised its left hand.

As the black and white hands clasped together, Guan Tong's heart raced with excitement.

"The shadow has truly gained substance!"

To be honest, Guan Tong hadn't had much confidence before. He had only tried adding characters to the first page on a whim. He hadn't expected it to actually succeed; it was almost unbelievable.

"With the shadow having substance, everything is different!"

A shadow with substance could be said to have numerous new uses.

Most importantly, it represented the ability to interfere with the real world and interact with the physical world.

This way, when facing danger, Guan Tong could summon the shadow and use his mind to control it to fight for him.

It's just that...

Amidst his excitement, Guan Tong glanced at his Personal Terminal's status panel, and the smile on his face turned slightly bitter.

"Does a solidified Shadow consume so much Mind Power...?"

Looking at his rapidly decreasing Mind Power value, Guan Tong felt helpless but knew it was inevitable. The deeper the development of a Mind Power Artifact, the greater its Mind Power consumption would be.

He calculated that the non-solidified Shadow, with his current Mind Power Cap of 118 points, could be maintained for about 8 minutes.

Now, after the Shadow's solidification, the duration was significantly reduced. With 118 points of Mind Power, he estimated it could only be maintained for less than 2 minutes, consuming roughly 1 point of Mind Power for every second it existed.

"The maintenance time is less than two minutes. Although it's very short, a few seconds might be enough to solve a problem at a critical moment... However, to use it for extended periods and further develop the Shadow's abilities, I need to increase my Mind Power Cap."