Gotta Be Fast

"So, you already know about the unspeakable horrors that are surrounding New York City?" Tang Zhean asked with a serious expression.

Lu Yuanming was even more surprised and quickly said, "You mean those Unnamable things outside? You've seen them too? What exactly are they!?"

After their first meeting, although Lu Yuanming had resisted Tang Zhean's enthusiasm, out of respect for talented experts, he agreed to a private meeting with Tang Zhean after dinner. It was meant to assess the true capabilities of the renowned genius, Tang Zhean. However, Tang Zhean's very first sentence stunned Lu Yuanming.

Tang Zhean chuckled happily, "I know, but I haven't seen them. I confirmed their existence through analysis and deduction. Is this why your disciple said you've been troubled recently?"

Lu Yuanming was even more astonished. He said excitedly, "I didn't expect you to be so amazing, Doctor! To have analyzed all this while still alive! Yes, I am troubled by this. Those things... they are too terrifying. Just knowing about them, just seeing them has harmed me. This is truly..."

"What!? You saw them!?" Tang Zhean's reaction was more exaggerated than Lu Yuanming had imagined. He took several steps away from Lu Yuanming and then said from a distance, "Cut open your blood vessel and let me see!"

"?"

Lu Yuanming had just begun to respect Tang Zhean, thinking he was indeed an amazing scientist. But when he heard that, a giant question mark almost materialized above his head.

Sometimes, when you draw a question mark, it's not because you have a question, but because you think the other person has a problem...

Tang Zhean then realized the problem with his words and immediately said, "No, I just need to see your blood. You can just prick your finger and get a little blood!"

Lu Yuanming's expression improved considerably. He picked up his Spear, pricked his finger with the tip, and a drop of blood immediately appeared. Lu Yuanming offered his finger to Tang Zhean. Tang Zhean looked closely from a distance before sighing in relief.

"No problem. Your Faith Power is truly amazing." Only then did Tang Zhean dare to approach Lu Yuanming. He circled the drop of blood on Lu Yuanming's finger, exclaiming.

Lu Yuanming's heart stirred. He had indeed consumed a lot of Colorless Light Particles after seeing those Unnamable things. So, Tang Zhean was not wrong. He immediately said, "Dr. Tang, can you tell me what those things are? And why can my Faith Power protect me from looking directly at them?"

Tang Zhean fell silent upon hearing this. He spoke carefully, "It's not that I don't want to tell you everything, but in this Dark Matter World, information itself carries great danger. So, I need to think about how to tell you..."

Tang Zhean remained silent and pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "Let me first explain what the Dark Matter World is and how it differs most from the Material World. Then you'll probably understand what those things are."

Lu Yuanming pulled over a large metal chair and sat down, saying, "I'm eager to hear it."

Tang Zhean nodded and sat down in front of Lu Yuanming. He said, "The Material World is the universe we live in. It's a world governed by physical laws. The Four Fundamental Forces – Strong Nuclear Force, Weak Nuclear Force, Electromagnetic Force, and Gravity – construct the Material World. Within it, whether it's Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, or Classical Newtonian Mechanics, they are all physical laws that inherently exist in the universe. Humans merely discover them, not invent them. They have always been there and won't change their nature because of how humans describe them. Do you understand these things?"

Lu Yuanming nodded. Tang Zhean breathed a sigh of relief, "Glad you understand these things, otherwise it would be a big problem. I estimate I'd have to start from the very basic scientific principles... In short, the Material World doesn't change because of human thoughts, descriptions, etc. When a Physics Experiment is conducted, that Physics Experiment can be repeatedly tested and performed because the Material World is a stable world supported by physical laws."

"The Dark Matter World is completely different. As far as we know, the Dark Matter World doesn't possess almost any of the physical laws of the Material World. Furthermore, we've discovered that Dark Matter is almost immune to all physical laws. Among the Four Fundamental Forces, only Gravity can have an extremely weak influence on Dark Matter; the other three forces have no effect on it. Dark Matter, however, reacts intensely to human thoughts and consciousness. Through extensive research, we've confirmed one point... Humans fundamentally have no souls!"

Lu Yuanming frowned at Tang Zhean's words and immediately retorted, "Then what are we? Aren't we like this because our souls fell into the Dark Matter World after death?"

Tang Zhean shook his head, "Is it truly a soul? What is a soul made of? Matter? Dark Matter? Or some kind of force? No, there has never been a soul. Apart from Protein, Amino Acids, and all other material structures, the only thing that can be called a soul is our consciousness and thoughts. This is actually the source of our current bodies. Our consciousness and thoughts reacted with Dark Matter, and through a series of complex changes, Dark Matter gave us this Dark Matter Body. It seems we have flesh and blood now, but in reality, our current bodies have undergone immense changes compared to bodies in the Material World... You should know that in the Dark Matter World, gunpowder turns into Grit, and all technologies above electrical energy are ineffective, right?"

Lu Yuanming immediately nodded. This was also a key point he wanted to inquire about.

Tang Zhean chuckled, "It's not just gunpowder. It's that almost all known Chemical Reactions in the Dark Matter World don't hold true. Furthermore, electrical energy can no longer be generated through scientific means. All these are testable situations. These alone already indicate one thing: that our Dark Matter Body shouldn't exist at all."

"Why!?" Lu Yuanming asked, bewildered.

Tang Zhean ignored him and continued, "It's a simple principle. Our human bodies exist because of Chemical Reactions. You eat, you breathe, your blood, all your cells and survival – without Chemical Reactions, all of this would vanish. At the same time, your Nerve Conduction, your Brain Thinking – without electricity, you'd become a Vegetable State, no, you wouldn't even be able to become a Vegetable State. But in reality, our Dark Matter Body can exist like a body in the Material World, and we can eat, move, get injured, and die, performing all activities that seem no different from when we were alive. This relies on the reaction of Dark Matter to consciousness and thoughts."

"The Dark Matter World and the Material World are two completely different worlds. If the Material World follows a Materialist Worldview, then the Dark Matter World follows an Idealist Worldview. The breadth and depth of thought, consciousness, and civilization all determine the composition and power of the Dark Matter World. Therefore, your Faith Power possesses all sorts of great abilities. At the same time, when you see those Unnamable things, you are instantly harmed the moment you see and know them, just like facing the Great Old Ones in the Cthulhu Mythos. And this is the truth of the Dark Matter World."

Lu Yuanming stared blankly at Tang Zhean. Many doubts in his heart suddenly became clear. He immediately asked eagerly, "Dr. Tang, if that's the case, can we shield ourselves from those Unnamable things from an information perspective? Does this count as a method to deal with them?"

"Impossible." Tang Zhean flatly rejected him. "There are very complex calculation formulas involved. To put it simply, an ordinary person has an Information Volume of 1KB. You probably have 1MB now, but those Unnamable existences have an Information Volume of at least 100TB and above. What will you use to shield yourself? That's why you die instantly just by looking at them, or even undergo Information Metamorphosis Assimilation. The difference in scale has reached a qualitative change, and not just once, but multiple times. So, shielding as you described is impossible, unless..."

At this point, Tang Zhean suddenly wore a thoughtful expression.

Those Unnamable Monsters were the greatest source of doomsday for Lu Yuanming. When he heard Tang Zhean say "unless," he immediately asked eagerly, "Unless what?"

"...No, it won't work. Even achieving Spirit would at most allow one to barely escape. The best outcome would be to protect a few Fanatic Believers connected to you by information. This still boils down to the issue of scale. The depth of Human Civility is insufficient to contend with those Monsters that have existed in the Dark Matter World for millions, tens of millions of years. Although they are also Spirits, they are far more powerful than the Spirits that Earth's Civility can achieve. So the only way..."

Tang Zhean's expression turned serious. He looked at Lu Yuanming and said, "Can you really go back to the Living World? Do you really have a body in the Living World?"

Lu Yuanming nodded. "Yes, I'm not lying. This is indeed the truth. And as my soul strengthens in the Dark Matter World, my vegetative state body in the Material World is gradually able to feel and is slowly waking up."

Tang Zhean's eyes lit up. He immediately said, "Then you truly have a sliver of a chance to fight those Unnamable things. This might also be the only chance of victory for our Human Civility... Dimensional Reduction Strike!"

"Crush those Unnamable things in the Dark Matter World with the scale of the Material World!"

"You need to wake up from your vegetative state quickly, quickly!"

Saying this, Tang Zhean wore a smile that seemed like that of a charlatan. He said, "Perhaps you don't know yet? You are walking on a perfect Path of Order. Now, let me tell you what Order is, and how to ascend through Order and ultimately become a Spirit."

"Of course, this is the path to power for everyone except you. You are different. Your path to becoming stronger is perfect, and it is the greatest gift from the Material World to you. Therefore, your Order can be called..."

"Order of Matter!"