Touch of Mind

Ever since the incident of secretly learning, Du Ke had gradually lost his enthusiasm for working at the modification plant. Unless necessary, he rarely went there anymore.

The only reason he forced himself to keep going was to earn a little lousy money for food.

He devoted most of his energy to research after work. Whenever he encountered operational difficulties, he consulted researchers he knew well.

"Engineer Li, have a Huazi cigarette." Du Ke took out a Zhonghua cigarette and handed it to a researcher surnamed Li from the Luzhou Institute of Material Science. As the other man accepted it, Du Ke slipped the whole pack of Zhonghua cigarettes over as well. "I've been doing a little research of my own lately and ran into some trouble. I'd like to ask for your help."

"You're being too polite, Little Du." Engineer Li was a heavy smoker, and his eyes lit up at the sight of the Zhonghua cigarettes. He immediately smiled. "Tell me what trouble you're having. If I can help, I definitely will."

The unspoken meaning was that he could help with small matters, but for anything major, it would depend on Du Ke's sincerity.

Du Ke did not 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 full set of elemental analysis equipment... I know your lab's instruments aren't open to outsiders. I'll cover the maintenance costs—whatever the amount, I won't short you a cent."

The so-called maintenance fee was simply a kickback for Engineer Li and several other researchers in the lab. It was a gray income everyone tacitly accepted.

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

"Not dangerous. I can even run the experiment at home. It's just an ordinary compound; combustion and weighing are no problem. I just can't figure out the compound's exact elemental composition."

"Fine. Did you bring the material? The instruments have no assignments these next couple of days, so I'll arrange it for you."

"Alright. Thank you, Engineer Li. Dinner's on me tonight."

Du Ke had used the laboratory's elemental analyzers before. They were too large to replicate, so he could only come here to use them. After several days of work and nearly 150,000 yuan in maintenance fees, he finally analyzed one of the compounds in the Long-Haired Bomb's Cell Chain.

"It feels like I'm one step closer to the Long-Haired Battery." Du Ke smiled faintly at the mirror. Perhaps it was because he cultivated Mind Power, but he felt as though he was becoming more handsome by the day.

As the saying went, one's appearance reflected one's heart. The stronger his Mind Power became, the more handsome he became.

Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, with soothing music playing through the home theater speakers, Du Ke kept his eyes tightly shut. Countless pieces of knowledge flickered through his mind, slowly transforming into Mind Power and storing themselves within the Mind Armor. Through this relentless cultivation, his control over Mind Power grew stronger and stronger.

"According to the Mind God Race's classification, Mind Power also has levels. I'm still at the lowest, Level 1. This stage can be called the Window of Mind."

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

"And my abilities to replicate and materialize things are all provided by the Mind Armor."

"However."

"With the vast knowledge of two worlds supporting me, my Mind Power cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds. Now, I'm about to break through to Level 2."

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

It was as though the entire universe lay within the reach of his mind.

"Level 2. This stage can perhaps be called Touch of Mind." He closed his eyes again and radiated his Mind Power outward, as though extending countless feelers in every direction. Only when they reached beyond the villa's gate did he sense his limit; they could not extend any farther.

He walked out of the villa, stood by the corner of the neighboring villa's wall, and continued using Touch of Mind.

At that moment, countless feelers formed from Mind Power passed through the wall and entered the villa. Then, he "saw" someone.

He could not see the person clearly. The feelers of Mind Power only sensed her existence—a woman. Du Ke often saw this woman when he went out. She was very young, seemingly in her twenties. Her man was a fat, wealthy businessman who drove a Bentley Bentayga. The businessman came at most twice a week, making Du Ke strongly suspect that she was being kept.

At this moment.

The woman seemed to be wrapped from head to toe in a spiked shell. The feelers of Mind Power could not penetrate the shell for the time being and could only quietly search for a gap.

After a full quarter of an hour, the spiked shell finally revealed a crack, and the feelers of Mind Power extended inside along it.

Inside were countless thoughts. Du Ke could barely distinguish only a few emotions: "Comfortable," "Lonely and empty," "Content," "A little bored," "Want to buy handbags," "That handsome guy yesterday was pretty good." These thoughts surged over him like a hodgepodge, nearly suffocating Du Ke under their pressure.

The Touch of Mind state was swiftly released as well.

"Damn, so this is Touch of Mind? It's like mind-reading!" Du Ke steadied his breathing. "But it only reads scattered fragments of thought, not complete thoughts. And that woman had way too many stray thoughts; the impact on me was too great... Unless it's absolutely necessary, I'd better not use Touch of Mind."

After all, he was merely a human from Earth, not a true member of the Mind God Race. He could not use Mind Power to propagate civilization.

The Ocean of Mind, the Mind God Race's habitat, was formed by the convergence of countless thoughts. Even a small wave could easily shatter an Earthling's mind, yet the Mind God Race could swim freely within it. Du Ke could not compare to them. He felt that he should simply make good use of the Mind Armor to travel through the Fantasy World and reap benefits.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. It was now January, and the New Year was not far away.

Research on the Long-Haired Bomb continued, but Du Ke was preparing to pause it for a while. He contacted an Associate Professor from Huaxia University of Science and Technology and asked him to explain the principles of batteries, then take him to a battery factory where the professor served as a consultant so he could see how batteries were produced step by step.

Luzhou Guosheng Battery Technology Co., Ltd. was their destination. It was a company that developed, designed, manufactured, and sold New Energy battery systems, specializing in lithium-ion battery packs.

That was what it claimed, anyway.

But after touring the place with the Xiake University professor, Du Ke discovered that it was merely an assembly plant. It assembled battery packs for other battery companies and had no research and development capability of its own. Still, by observing the specific steps of battery assembly and combining them with the professor's explanations, Du Ke gained a deeper understanding of batteries.

After leaving Guosheng Battery, Du Ke and the professor did not eat at the company cafeteria and instead headed straight to the parking lot.

He pressed the car key, and the lights of a red BYD Han came on. Du Ke and the professor got in together, with Du Ke taking the driver's seat.

"Little Du, what did you think of today's visit to Guosheng Battery?" the professor asked.

"Professor Tao, I feel this company doesn't live up to its name. It's just a contract manufacturer." Du Ke spoke honestly. His relationship with Professor Tao had also been bought with money, so there was no need to hide anything.

Professor Tao smiled. "Exactly. It's a contract manufacturer. Luzhou has many supporting businesses, and raw material costs are low, so assembly plants get plenty of orders. Unfortunately, Guosheng is a subsidiary of Guoxuan Group. The group spends all day studying real estate and has no interest in investing in high technology, so Guosheng has no ambition to pursue research and development either."

After saying that.

Professor Tao sighed, perhaps frustrated by their lack of ambition. But that was the state of most industries. When they could lie back and make money through contract manufacturing, who would still study new technology? As a professor at Xiake University, Professor Tao possessed nothing but grand ambitions, yet now he could only earn a little lousy money from Du Ke.

After all, everyone had to eat.