Wishful Casting Heart

Luo Yan stroked his chin. "I think I'm starting to understand what Dark Logic means. It's like explaining advanced mathematics to an Australopithecus."

"No, you wouldn't even need an Australopithecus. It'd be like discussing Bell's inequality with an ancient shaman. His head would be full of yin-yang and the five elements. If you used strict mathematical logic to derive Bell's inequality, he'd still think everything you said was completely illogical..."

Gaoxin asked in return, "What's Bell's inequality?"

Luo Yan curled his lip. "I'll tell you later. It's not important..."

"So right now, your cognition is on the same level as Little Ran's AI? You can create technology humans can't understand?"

Gaoxin said, "Dark Logic isn't a realm, nor is it any single logic. It encompasses everything, with countless possibilities. I merely happened to summarize one of them."

"But Little Ran definitely can't understand this one. I'm certain that AI isn't a child of the universe. It was created by humans, and it has no soul."

"So this is a form of Dark Logic that humans have difficulty understanding and AI can never understand."

Luo Yan waved his hand. "Enough. I don't care about your metaphysics. I only need to know what it does."

"You said earlier that human talents are actually equal. So can't you simply imagine yourself becoming a Radiation User?"

Gaoxin spread his hands. "I'm willing to believe I can, but... what exactly is a Radiation User?"

"..." Luo Yan froze, beginning to understand.

Gaoxin could make his arm seem to burn spontaneously because he completely understood how the body reacted after being burned.

But how was he supposed to become a Radiation User? They only had a vague understanding of N-Type, R-Type, and nano-genes, all of it hearsay.

Imagination Embodiment wasn't blind imagining.

"Can't you just imagine yourself flying through the sky and earth, with bulging muscles?" Luo Yan asked.

Gaoxin immediately felt insulted. "No, do you still think I'm talking to you about magic?"

"I was just asking. I really don't understand," Luo Yan said.

Gaoxin thought for a moment before saying, "If all humans could fly through the sky and earth, then I could too. But the bodies of Radiation Users, including all their abilities, aren't innate. They're acquired."

"Besides, our bodies and those of Radiation Users aren't even the same species."

Luo Yan pondered. That was true. Radiation Users weren't 'Homo sapiens,' and their recombined genes were caused by nano-drugs acquired later in life. They weren't born mutants.

Without Gene Protectant, the death rate after human genes underwent collapse was... one hundred percent!

That was the result of Little Ran's AI technology and had nothing to do with humanity.

Gaoxin continued, "But Radiation Users are still transformed humans. Perhaps I can directly attempt Wishful Casting Heart."

"Wishful Casting Heart?" Luo Yan asked, confused.

Gaoxin said, "When I made myself get burned and made myself see illusions earlier, those both belonged to Imagination Embodiment. They let me controllably realize functions my body already possesses. That isn't actually what it means, but you can understand it that way."

"Wishful Casting Heart, on the other hand, is the phenomenon of me drinking your blood and then developing my potential. You can understand it as a super-amplified placebo effect."

"It requires a specific medium. For example, suppose there's a potion I don't recognize, but I wholeheartedly believe it's Gene Protectant. When I drink it after my genes collapse, my body will undergo Gene Recombination, heal the collapse, and then become a Radiation User... I don't actually need to understand the essence of a Radiation User's genes."

Luo Yan pressed him, "Does it have to be a potion you don't recognize?"

Gaoxin smiled. "Imagination Embodiment only needs to deceive the body, but Wishful Casting Heart needs to deceive the heart of the self."

"If what I gave you just now had been cola, you almost certainly would have failed, because you'd know it was cola after tasting it or even looking at it."

"The body itself has a powerful memory. It isn't so easy to deceive."

Luo Yan laughed awkwardly. "Even though I didn't recognize it, it still didn't work just now... Speaking of which, what exactly did you give me to drink?"

Gaoxin glanced left and right. "It might have been that rat's bodily fluid. It was specially extracted and placed in the corner. It didn't even freeze in the cold storage, so perhaps it really has some special effect."

"Ugh..." Luo Yan immediately began dry heaving.

Gaoxin patted him and said, "I'm completely confident that I can become a Radiation User. For example, with the Black Medicine the Wa people obtained, if I drink it in the Radiation Chamber, it'll be equivalent to drinking Gene Protectant worth ten thousand points. It already has the effect of Gene Recombination; its death rate is simply very high. But for me, the result is the same either way."

Luo Yan frowned. "Mm, my advice is... you should still work hard to collect Redemption Vouchers in the game and buy a real one."

Gaoxin tilted his head. "For you to use?"

"Not for me, brother. I mean, you should use real Gene Protectant and become a Radiation User." Luo Yan's expression turned solemn.

Gaoxin looked at him. "You still don't believe I can do it?"

Luo Yan said seriously, "It's not that I don't believe you. I just think there's still a chance of failure when you believe in this sort of thing. Even if you say it's some kind of technology or technique and that it's very stable, even a new car might fail to start!"

"The death rate from Gene Collapse is one hundred percent. If something goes wrong while you're drinking the 'fake medicine,' you'll die!"

"Can you really claim that your method is 'absolute'?"

"Listen to me. Don't put yourself in a situation with no way back. As long as you become a Radiation User and gain a new body and new potential, your ability will almost certainly let you take off!"

Gaoxin said seriously, "That's why I said I'd directly drink the Black Medicine with a nine-tenths death rate. It was diluted from real medicine in the first place, so I can be absolutely certain."

Luo Yan shook his head. "This isn't about how confident you are. It's that we can't accept that outcome."

"I know you need to maintain your faith, brother. You don't need to prove anything. I also believe you'll definitely succeed, but you don't have to do this. Just consider it wasting ten thousand Redemption Vouchers for my sake."

Gaoxin knew Luo Yan was worried about him. It wasn't as though he had to do this simply because he was confident he would succeed.

He nodded. "All right. I'll use the real thing."

Gaoxin eventually said goodbye to Luo Yan and left Rou Si's residence.

Sule and Qiao Long were waiting outside anxiously, worried that Rou Si might suddenly return.

Even if they stood watch, they had no idea how to notify Gaoxin.

Fortunately, Gaoxin came out.

"Why were you inside so long? Was everything all right?" Qiao Long asked.

Gaoxin shook his head. "Nothing happened. We just talked for a while."

Sule asked with concern, "How's Vocational School Brother?"

Gaoxin pursed his lips. "He's doing all right, I suppose. He's even gained a lot of weight."

"Let's go. We'll talk after we get back."

As they headed toward the Redemption Squad camp, Gaoxin told them about Luo Yan.

Qiao Long mused, "Compared to the other Black Hands, Rou Si is indeed fairly easy to talk to. At least she doesn't constantly threaten to kill people. She just can't stand skinny people and wishes everyone were as fat as her."

"Since Brother Luo Yan managed to win Rou Si's favor, his days won't be difficult."

Sule asked curiously, "Is gaining weight bad? Whether they're Glass People or Radiation Users, the greater their weight, the greater their strength."

Qiao Long laughed helplessly. "Brother, 'gaining weight' and 'bearing weight' aren't the same thing."

"If your weight consists of a bellyful of food or a bodyful of fat that can't be refined into controllable muscle, how is that any different from carrying something heavy?"

"If you increase your weight mindlessly, you'll actually be weakening yourself."

"Rou Si is special. It's rumored that she can control her fat as easily as muscle, so she can eat and drink without restraint, raise a body covered in fat, and still be incredibly strong."

Gaoxin frowned. "Do you know what level Rou Si is?"

Qiao Long said confidently, "Cub Tiger!"

"Cub Tiger?" Gaoxin froze. "Can you explain the island's power levels to me?"

Qiao Long smiled. "That's simple. You know the limit of us Glass People, right? Three times. Once you surpass the human limit and possess strength equal to four times your body weight, you count as a Little Wolf."

"To become Sub-Wolf Level, you need to reach at least fifteen times your body weight in strength... Anyone who hasn't reached that is a Little Wolf Cub."

"A True Wolf has strength thirty times its body weight. That physique is also the limit of an N-Type Radiation User."

"R-Type Radiation Users can break through that limit. Breaking through even a little means entering Tiger Level, and you can be called a Cub Tiger."

"Only when you reach one hundred and fifty times can you become a Sub-Tiger. Three hundred times makes you True Tiger Level... That's another limit. R-Type can only reach this point and cannot surpass it."

He continued speaking, and Gaoxin's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

"If someone isn't the corresponding type of Radiation User, is it absolutely impossible for them to surpass the limit?"

Qiao Long said firmly, "Absolutely impossible."

"Genes determine the Upper Limit. Without Gene Protectant, a Glass Person can't become a Radiation User, and the death rate from Gene Collapse is one hundred percent."

"An N-Type Radiation User can never become R-Type, and R-Type can never become SR-Class. It's like the ancestors of humans and the ancestors of chimpanzees. Once you enter one branch, the possibility of switching branches is... zero."

"Tianshe is powerful enough, right? He's the leader of the Enforcer group and the strongest Black Hand under Fúshé. In terms of effort, comprehension, willpower, techniques, and even his talent for learning and adapting to various Gene Modules, Tianshe surpasses Fúshé by far."

"But there's one point where he loses to Fúshé: he's only an N-Type Radiation User."

"That determines that Tianshe can at most reach Wolf Level. At best, he can become a Wolf King. That's all the genetic potential an N-Type has."

Gaoxin scratched his cheek, feeling that the future remained as murky as ever.

Radiation User was merely a vague collective term in ordinary people's mouths. In truth, N-Type, R-Type, SR-Class, and SSR were four different species, four complete levels of bloodline suppression—equivalent to four major species evolved from the common ancestor known as 'Homo sapiens.'

A Glass Person could become a Radiation User through Gene Protectant. But N-Type becoming R-Type, or R-Type becoming SR-Class, was completely impossible. The possibility was zero.

If he became N-Type, would he only be able to reach Wolf Level at most in this lifetime?

"What's a Wolf King?"

Qiao Long explained, "A Wolf King doesn't differ fundamentally from a True Wolf in physical qualities. Its strength is also thirty times its body weight, but its combat power stands in a league of its own."

"Those who can crush other True Wolves through the support of various Gene Modules and Combat Awareness techniques are Wolf Kings. It's said that Wolf Kings are fiercer than many Tigers."

Gaoxin nodded. He could completely understand. Hadn't he killed Daishan Beida while fighting above his level?

Rou Si weighed at least one ton. Even if she were only True Wolf Level, she could still lift thirty tons.

Meanwhile, a person weighing one hundred kilograms would only have thirty tons of strength even upon reaching True Tiger Level.

That was the difference in tonnage. Body weight was an extremely important measure of combat power.

"Does the Redemption Squad have a training ground?"

Qiao Long smiled. "Of course. We train regularly too, and everyone does their best to become stronger. Are you thinking of gaining weight?"

Gaoxin nodded. He currently had strength equal to three times his body weight, which was already the limit. Unless Gene Recombination enlarged the basket again, he could only grow stronger by building muscle.

I need to test the effects of Imaginary Training as soon as possible.

P.S. Sorry.