Touch of Mind

After the incident of stealing knowledge, Du Ke gradually lost interest in working at the modification factory. He wouldn't come over unless absolutely necessary.

He only forced himself to get into the mood to earn some quick cash to make a living.

Most of his energy was focused on his research after work. When he encountered operational difficulties, he would seek advice from researchers he was familiar with.

"Engineer Li, have a cigarette," Du Ke took out a Zhonghua cigarette and offered it to a researcher surnamed Li at the Luzhou Institute of Material Science. As the other man accepted the cigarette, Du Ke handed him the entire pack. "I've been doing some research on my own lately and ran into some trouble. I was hoping you could help me."

"Young Du, you're too kind," Engineer Li, a veteran smoker,'s eyes lit up at the sight of Zhonghua cigarettes. He then smiled and said, "Tell me what trouble you're in. I'll help if I can."

The unspoken meaning was that he could help with small favors, but bigger ones would depend on the sincerity of the offer.

Du Ke didn't beat around the bush. "It's like this, I want to analyze the molecular formula of a compound, so I'd like to borrow your laboratory's complete set of elemental analysis equipment... I know your lab's instruments aren't open to the public, but I'll cover the maintenance fees. Whatever the cost, I'll pay it all, not a penny less."

The so-called maintenance fee was a kickback for Engineer Li and the other researchers in the lab. This was a tacitly accepted form of gray income.

Engineer Li nodded. "It's not dangerous, is it?"

"No, it's not dangerous. I can do experiments at home. It's just a common compound. Burning and weighing it is fine. I just can't figure out the specific elemental composition."

"Alright, then. Did you bring your stuff? The instruments don't have any tasks scheduled for the next couple of days, so I can arrange it for you."

"Okay, thank you, Engineer Li. I'll treat you to dinner tonight."

Du Ke had used the laboratory's elemental analyzer before. Due to its large size, he couldn't replicate it, so he had to come here to use it. After spending several days and paying nearly 150,000 yuan in maintenance fees, he finally analyzed one of the compounds in the Long-Haired Bomb's Cell Chain.

"I feel like I'm one step closer to the Long-Haired Battery," Du Ke smiled faintly at his reflection in the mirror. He wasn't sure if it was due to cultivating Mind Power, but he felt he was becoming more handsome.

As the saying goes, one's appearance reflects their inner state. The stronger one's Mind Power, the more handsome they become.

He sat cross-legged on the sofa, with soothing music playing from the home theater speakers. Du Ke closed his eyes, countless pieces of knowledge flashing through his mind, gradually transforming into Mind Power and stored within his Mind Armor. Through this persistent cultivation, his grasp of Mind Power grew stronger.

"According to the classification of the Mind God Race, Mind Power also has different levels. I'm currently still at the lowest level, Level 1, which can be called the Window of Mind."

"Mind Power opens a window for me, allowing me to see the world. This stage is mainly for recording, observing, and learning. Among the Mind God Race, newborn infants are in the Window of Mind stage."

"And my abilities to replicate and materialize are both attached to the Mind Armor."

"However."

"With the vast knowledge from two worlds, my cultivation of Mind Power has advanced by leaps and bounds. I am now about to break through to Level 2."

Sparks of thought ignited. Three days later, during another cultivation session, Du Ke suddenly opened his eyes, countless stars reflected within them.

It felt as if the entire universe was within the range of his mental perception.

"Level 2. This stage can perhaps be called the Touch of Mind." He closed his eyes again, radiating his Mind Power outwards, like countless tentacles extending outwards until they reached the gate of the villa before sensing their limit and being unable to extend further.

He walked out of the villa and stood at the corner of the adjacent villa's wall, continuing to use the Touch of Mind.

At this moment, countless tentacles formed by Mind Power penetrated the wall and entered the villa's room. Then, he "saw" someone.

He couldn't see the person's appearance clearly. The tentacles of Mind Power only sensed her presence – a woman. Du Ke often saw this woman when he went out. She was very young, appearing to be in her early twenties. Her man was a wealthy, obese tycoon who drove a Bentley Bentayga. The tycoon visited at most twice a week, making Du Ke suspect she was being kept.

At this moment.

The woman seemed to be completely encased in a spiky shell, and the tentacles of Mind Power couldn't penetrate this shell for a while. They could only quietly search for gaps.

After a full quarter of an hour, the spiky shell finally revealed a gap, and the tentacles of Mind Power extended inside.

Inside were countless thoughts. Du Ke could only vaguely discern a few emotions: "comfortable," "lonely and empty," "contented," "a bit bored," "want to buy a handbag," "that handsome guy from yesterday was good." These thoughts rushed at him like a chaotic mix, almost suffocating him.

The Touch of Mind state also quickly dissipated.

"Damn, is this the Touch of Mind? It's like mind-reading!" Du Ke steadied his breathing. "But it only reads scattered thoughts, not complete ones. And this woman has too many distracting thoughts; the impact on me was too great... I shouldn't use the Touch of Mind unless absolutely necessary."

After all, he was just a human from Earth, not a true Mind God Race member. He couldn't use Mind Power to develop civilizations.

The habitat of the Mind God Race, the Ocean of Mind, was formed by countless thoughts coalescing. A small ripple there could easily shatter a human's mind, but the Mind God Race could swim freely within it. Du Ke couldn't compare. He felt it was better to just use his Mind Armor to travel to fantasy worlds and gain benefits.

A month had passed in the blink of an eye. It was now January, not far from the New Year.

Research on the Long-Haired Bomb was still ongoing, but Du Ke decided to pause. He contacted an associate professor from Huaxia University of Science and Technology, asking the professor to explain the principles of batteries to him and to take him to a battery factory where the professor was a visiting consultant to see how batteries were produced step by step.

Luzhou Guosheng Battery Technology Co., Ltd. was the destination. It was an enterprise that researched, designed, produced, and sold new energy battery systems, specializing in lithium-ion battery packs.

That's what it was said to be.

However, after visiting with the Xiake University professor, Du Ke discovered it was merely an assembly plant. They assembled battery packs for other battery companies and had no independent research capabilities. But at least, through the specific steps of battery assembly and the professor's explanations, Du Ke gained a deeper understanding of batteries.

Leaving Guosheng Battery, Du Ke and the professor did not eat at the company cafeteria and went straight to the parking lot.

Du Ke pressed the car key, and the headlights of a red BYD Han lit up. Du Ke and the professor got in, with Du Ke taking the driver's seat.

"Young Du, how did you feel about visiting Guosheng Battery today?" the professor asked.

"Professor Tao, I feel this company is a bit of a misnomer; it's just a contract manufacturer," Du Ke said honestly. His relationship with Professor Tao was also transactional, so there was no need to be secretive.

Professor Tao chuckled. "Exactly, it's just a contract manufacturer. Luzhou has many supporting enterprises, raw material costs are low, and contract manufacturing orders are good. Unfortunately, Guosheng is a subsidiary of Guoxuan Group. The group is always busy with real estate and isn't interested in investing in high technology, so Guosheng has no ambition for research and development."

After speaking.

Professor Tao sighed, perhaps out of frustration. But this was also the reality in most industries. If one could earn money by contract manufacturing, who would bother researching new technologies? As a professor at Xiake University, Professor Tao had ambitions to achieve great things but could only earn some "dirty money" from Du Ke now.

After all, everyone had to make a living.