Mind Shift

Gaoxin had fought to the death, blood for blood, and finally killed Daishan Beida.

Luo Yan jumped up in excitement. Even the other newcomers were greatly encouraged, unable to believe their eyes.

But just then, Daishan Beida's body crashed down, crushing Gaoxin beneath it.

Luo Yan's expression changed. The corpse was too heavy. Could it crush the barely living Gaoxin to death?

Gaoxin's hand fell limp. He did not move, truly seeming dead. The entire scene instantly fell silent.

Had they both died?

Luo Yan hurried forward to move the corpse, but someone got there first.

Sasaki looked extremely grim. He reached out and lifted Daishan Beida, then patted his face as if unable to believe he had really died.

However, Daishan Beida's pupils had already gone slack, and the blood gushing from his neck had dyed his entire body red.

"Trash!" Sasaki threw the body aside.

Gaoxin was in nearly as bad a state. Only the faintest rise and fall remained in his chest; he was probably already half buried.

"Tsk, he actually won." Sasaki looked at Gaoxin with disgust, unable to understand how that fellow had produced so much force in his final blow.

But things had reached this point, so he could only announce, "The winner... Gaoxin."

Only then did the Wa people come to their senses. They erupted into noise, whispering among themselves.

Seventy kilograms against one hundred fifty kilograms.

Inferior Glass Person against Superior Glass Person.

No fighting experience against a karate master.

How had Daishan Beida lost? And in a death match, no less—he had actually been killed.

On one hand, they were shocked. For this man to defeat a Superior Glass Person with an Inferior Glass Person's body, his fighting spirit was truly astonishing.

But on the other hand, they were extremely displeased. They felt it was nothing more than luck and an adrenaline surge, combined with Daishan Beida underestimating his opponent.

In full view of everyone, a Wa powerhouse from the Enforcer group had died at the hands of a newcomer, despite such a huge difference in physique. It was practically a slap to their faces.

The more happily they had laughed before, the more awkward they felt now.

"Save him quickly! He's not dead yet!" Luo Yan rushed to Gaoxin's side.

Gaoxin was clearly on the verge of death. If he was not rescued immediately, he would truly die.

However, the group of Wa people merely watched in silence. The scene became extremely awkward.

Luo Yan's heart sank. The newcomers, who had originally been encouraged, could not help losing the joy on their faces.

Fortunately, the inconspicuous, skinny youth Lin Fo stepped out from the crowd. "Lord Fúshé, Daishan Beida let this kid off several times. In the end, all this kid used were underhanded tricks—either poking his eyes or striking his groin..."

"Then his adrenaline surged, giving him strength comparable to a Superior Glass Person's full-power strike. His luck was also truly good."

"But luck can only work once. If he fought Daishan Beida again—even ten or a hundred times—Daishan Beida would definitely win every time."

His face was full of indignation, as if he deeply regretted Daishan Beida's death.

After hearing this, Fúshé sat back down, his expression returning to calm. "In a death match, luck is also part of one's strength."

Lin Fo still said coldly, "Someone like him is merely a fake powerhouse. Why not heal him, choose another person from the Enforcer group, and let them fight again? I guarantee he'll be beaten to a pulp."

The Wa people were speechless. Although finding another fighter and having him attack with all his strength from the start would certainly result in victory, after what had just happened, they no longer felt like watching a show. What if they lost again? It was better to let the matter pass quickly.

Fúshé waved his hand. "Enough. Since he won, he is now a Superior Glass Person. Take him to the Redemption Squad later."

Then he looked toward the fat woman greedily devouring her food. "Rou Si, help save him."

Seeing that he had spoken, Luo Yan let out a sigh of relief. Once Gaoxin became a Superior Glass Person, he could enter the Redemption Squad—and choose his own team.

Unexpectedly, Rou Si continued eating her meat as she said, "Can't you see that I'm eating? How many people have I saved for you already? You even want me to save a Glass Person?"

Fúshé curled his lips. Rou Si was his equal in rank, and he truly had no authority to order her around.

At that moment, Six Scars laughed loudly. "If Rou Si doesn't act, it'll be too late to save this kid."

"He's about to die anyway. Why not give him to my Prey Group? We can take advantage while he's still fresh."

The Wa people did not object.

Gaoxin was too badly injured. All his internal organs had been damaged, and medicine would no longer help. Sending him to Silver Tower would also be too late. As for the expensive nano-repair fluid, there was no way they would use it on a Glass Person.

Seeing that Gaoxin still could not receive treatment, Luo Yan's eyes reddened. Sule and Meimei also felt immense sorrow. Just how little did these people regard Glass People?

"Rou Si, please save Gaoxin. You only need to make the slightest effort, and he'll survive!"

Luo Yan had no choice but to rush to Rou Si's dining table and beg.

"Bastard!" Seeing this, Sasaki was about to come over and drag him back.

Unexpectedly, Rou Si threw out a bone, striking Sasaki's head and smashing it open.

Then she looked at Luo Yan with interest. "You said you've read a lot of books. Is that really true?"

Luo Yan hurriedly said, "It's true, it's true. I really did graduate from vocational school."

"And my crime was spending two million book coins on the Emperor Penguin platform. I read a great many books."

Rou Si smiled, the fat on her face squeezing her eyes completely shut. "Then you must be very good at telling stories, right?"

What else could Luo Yan say? Remembering that this woman had taken a liking to him yesterday, he could only try desperately. "I am. I know lots and lots of stories."

"If you want to hear them, I'm willing to tell you stories every day. Please save him."

Rou Si turned to Fúshé. "Hey, I want this newcomer. I like cultured people best. Hee-hee."

Fúshé nodded lightly. "No problem. Pick a few more. You can take the one on the ground too."

Rou Si chuckled. "No need. That little fellow on the ground clearly isn't an obedient toy."

As she spoke, her hand had already grabbed Luo Yan, as if she were picking up a doll.

Luo Yan's whole body was pressed against her rolls of fat. He could not break free, and he did not dare to try.

He could only force a bitter smile. "Please save him. I promise I'll behave."

Rou Si grunted twice, then stomped over to Gaoxin and sat down heavily beside him.

She infused him with Vitality Fat and soon finished treating Gaoxin's injuries.

"The little fellow will be lively and kicking again tomorrow."

Fúshé smiled. "A mere Glass Person with ruptured internal organs is naturally no challenge for you."

Rou Si rose and left. "I'm going back to try out my new toy. I won't watch."

"Take care, Rou Si." Everyone present said this, watching her leave.

Sule clenched his fists, unable to imagine what fate awaited Luo Yan after that fat woman took him away.

"Heh..." Luo Yan's face was pressed against her flesh. Unable to struggle, he could only force himself to look back, his eyes full of helplessness and misery.

"Vocational School Brother..." Sule had no way to help. He could only watch Luo Yan being taken away.

The following morning, at dawn.

Gaoxin woke with a splitting headache.

He had been unconscious for an entire day and night. Now, he sat up groggily.

Before he could figure out where he was, he heard Sule's voice. "Brother, you're finally awake."

Gaoxin froze, then immediately recalled what had happened.

In order to fight to the death, he had used the Mind Shift No. 1 he had bought with thirty Redemption Vouchers.

That thing had a truly massive side effect. He had directly lost his mind.

However, his emotions, intuition, and inspiration had indeed improved tremendously. His emotions in particular had become unbelievably rich.

He could look at a patch of grass by the roadside and end up moved to tears.

The farther it progressed, the less he could think. Even his language abilities had gradually vanished, leaving him unable to express his feelings in words.

His consciousness seemed to be shifting from rational understanding toward emotional experience.

Hearing, vision, bodily sensation, and all the other ways he received external information gradually skipped the logical processing stage and struck directly at his consciousness, giving him the most emotional experience possible.

As a result, the world he saw became increasingly unreal. Everything around him, along with all its sounds and colors, seemed to be changing.

All his ability to recognize things was transforming into the ability to feel. All his logical ability was transforming into the ability to experience. All his deductions were transforming into imagination.

Understanding how to operate things became appreciation of craftsmanship. Understanding language became appreciation of music. Understanding observation became appreciation of images.

The sun was like a huge, dazzling vortex...

He imagined every person as a spirit controlling energy...

Every person's face was vivid, filled with restless lines, and wrapped in wisps of color... Oh, those were clothes...

Gaoxin recalled what had happened before he passed out. The more he thought about it, the crazier it seemed.

Thankfully, he had defeated Daishan Beida before completely losing his reason.

"Sule... where am I...?"

As Gaoxin recalled everything, he looked around. This seemed to be a hospital.

He was lying on a hospital bed, with a delighted Sule beside him. The clothes on his body had also been changed.

"Brother, this is the Redemption Squad's medical station. How are you feeling?" Sule helped him up.

Gaoxin got out of bed and moved his body. He felt strength throughout his entire body.

"I'm fine..."

As he spoke, he continued recalling what had happened.

Gradually, that feeling of detachment returned, and he froze in place.

What was happening? Had the drug's effects not worn off?

The more he recalled yesterday's condition—that emotional, direct state without logical embellishment or analytical processing, filled with emotion and experience...

The stronger that feeling became, as if he was about to enter that state again.

"How long was I unconscious?" Gaoxin wondered if the drug's effects had not worn off. After all, they were supposed to last three hours.

Unexpectedly, Sule said, "You were unconscious for an entire day, Brother."

"A day?"

Gaoxin was astonished. He hurriedly shook his head, trying to dispel that bizarre, fragmented worldview.

And sure enough, when he forced himself to think rationally and escape that state, the feeling truly faded again.

This reminded him of Mind Shift No. 1's description: "Transfer consciousness to the right brain."

So did that mean the right brain was responsible only for emotion, while the left brain was responsible only for reason?

"But that was a single-use drug. How is it still effective after so much time?"

"And now, it seems I can enter that state again at any time, switching my consciousness between the left and right brains whenever I want..."

"This is mind shifting... Have I gained the ability to mind-shift without taking the drug?"

Gaoxin pondered. He was certain that Mind Shift No. 1 had clearly stated it was single-use and that its effects lasted only three hours.

The AI would not make such a low-level mistake, so the problem had to lie with him.

Could it be because his true sense of self was perfectly compatible with that emotional state?

Indeed, that feeling was very similar to the feeling he had discovered in childhood—the feeling of using his heart—except the drug had made it more intense.

Back then, his father had constantly told him to think, to think more, and to think with his heart.

He had been told to contemplate the principles behind all things in the world, but his father had never told him what was right or wrong.

At first, he had not understood what he was supposed to do. What did it mean to "use his heart"?

Until one day, he had accidentally fallen into the water. After struggling and suffocating in the water, he had finally grasped the feeling of the current as death approached, and then learned to swim without a teacher.

From then on, he had begun to understand what it meant to use his heart.

When he used his heart to look, listen, think, observe, experience, and appreciate all the phenomena of the world, it felt much like the state after mind shifting, only not as intense or complete.

So it seemed he had already mind-shifted before—if transferring his consciousness to the right brain was the comparison.

The feeling he had found in childhood should have been his consciousness shifting to the space between the left and right brains...

Now, combined with the drug, he had completely shifted to the right brain. In other words, he had connected the left, middle, and right, and could now control mind shifting freely.

He tried it once. He could control the degree, sacrificing a little reason at any time to strengthen emotion, or sacrificing a little emotion to strengthen reason.

However, if he became completely emotional, he was not sure whether he could switch back...

"Brother, Brother! What's wrong?"

Sule shook Gaoxin, not knowing why he was standing there in a daze like an idiot.

Gaoxin came back to himself. His eyes were now filled with the charm of reason.

"Nothing... So after I won, I entered the Redemption Squad, right? Have I been assigned to a team?" Gaoxin asked.

Sule shook his head. "Not yet. Only Meimei was randomly stuffed into a team."

"You, Luo Ban, and I are Superior Glass People. Every team is fighting to recruit us, so they're still arguing outside."

"The Wa people are happy to let them compete. Besides, your injuries were too severe and you were unconscious, so they put us in the medical room first."

"Oh, right. Luo Ban has already accepted one team's offer and left. Now only you and I remain."

Gaoxin nodded slightly. At last, he had returned to the proper course of his plan.

Tomorrow and accidents—who knew which would come first...? The sudden rule change and the drug's terrifying side effect had nearly caused all his efforts to go to waste.

Many twists and turns had arisen along the way, but fortunately, the result was the same. He had even unlocked his own potential.

Thinking of this, he felt increasingly grateful to Luo Yan.

Suddenly, he sensed that something was wrong and asked, "It's only me, you, Meimei, and Luo Ban?"

"What about Luo Yan? He... didn't pass?"

"Even if he didn't pass, Meimei was sent here. That means Fúshé kept his word. There's no way he sent Luo Yan to the Prey Group, right?"

At these words, Sule's lips drooped. With a mournful expression, he said, "Vocational School Brother... was taken away by that fat woman. She said he was going to become that woman's toy."

"What?" Gaoxin's expression turned grave.

P.S. Sorry.