Ke Feijia's Busy Schedule

Wei Keng knew that Ke Feijia was much busier than he was. The five groups who had arrived in this spacetime region were operating along different Historical Lines.

Along the Historical Line shared by the five groups Wei Keng belonged to, there were Shengyang, Soviet Russia, and the Western Alliance. As for Shenzhou? That wasn't certain. For example, on another Historical Line, there was the "Heavenly Dynasty," whose ruling organization was called the Central Revolutionary Alliance. Ke Feijia's research into Meson-Macro Particles wasn't just work for their own plane; he was also tasked with sharing data with their companions on other Historical Lines.

Supernatural technology! That was something shared by the several Historical Lines that this batch of Transmigrators had reached.

When the Time-Space Management Department determined that supernatural phenomena had appeared in this region, it had to establish how many dimensions of spacetime separated the affected areas. That way, they could cut out this spacetime region, which had originally been classified as an Adjacent Plane, and reclassify it as a Near Plane.

At Wudang Mountain, beneath the surrounding pines, a helipad marked with a Taiji diagram awaited. Ke Feijia clasped his hands in greeting as three Daoist masters were escorted aboard the plane.

Getting them to come along had been no easy task. Besides renovating the entire Hall of True Warrior, he had built a scripture repository on Wudang Mountain where everything could be searched electronically. To show his sincerity, Ke Feijia had personally copied the Dao De Jing and other Daoist classics forty-nine times, without missing a single word, and observed a seven-day fast before Emperor Zhenwu. Only then had he earned the right to work with these accomplished masters—or rather, to seek their guidance. After all that, Ke Feijia had become a lay disciple of Wudang. When they met, they had to address him as junior or senior uncle.

In the laboratory, they used all manner of precise human-measurement equipment to examine the Meson-Macro Particles within these people who possessed True Qi. Then they brought their plans to their masters for guidance, asking whether they could proceed with the next step and continue seeking the Dao.

"Supernatural abilities" was a modern term. Shenzhou had an extremely long history, with even early texts on blacksmithing and iron smelting. So people who awakened supernatural abilities had, to varying degrees, left records of their powers in Daoist, Confucian, Buddhist, and other classics.

From a modern perspective, then, Ke Feijia's research could draw on a wealth of ancient texts to develop its approach. By working within the culture, he could also find gifted individuals and conduct proper, methodical experiments with them.

In the West, by contrast, cultural traditions had been severed several times, and monotheistic religions had little tolerance for outsiders. There had been several large-scale witch hunts throughout history. For a long time, the few people with supernatural abilities had to hide in the shadows; they couldn't discuss the cultivation of vital energy or the arts of longevity openly with ancient rulers, as Chinese Daoist priests had.

After entering the age of technology, the West acknowledged that supernatural phenomena objectively existed. But these foreigners acknowledged things from a modern perspective; they wouldn't overturn judgments about past conduct.

There wasn't much they could do about that. If they really overturned every judgment throughout their history, where would it end? The West talked about human rights today to tout its modern civilization. Could it go back to the age of colonial expansion and talk about massacring Native Americans or trading in Africans? Wouldn't that end up condemning its own civilization outright?

Western philosophers even judged themselves this way: "All history is contemporary history."

And the West's core advantage in the Industrial Age—"remaining ruthless"—was built on the ability to calmly sever emotional ties with the past. They could view the past only as outside observers, rather than projecting their present-day morality onto ancient times and empathizing with people there. Instead, they could sum things up objectively.

So in modern Western science, "supernatural abilities" were a system developed in the modern era!

Historically, the subject had been cleanly separated from ancient sorcery. Western researchers would only acknowledge that modern scientific equipment had revealed it, perhaps drawing inspiration from ancient witchcraft—but they would never say it was a modern version of ancient witchcraft.

In the East, if various fields refused to acknowledge certain things from the past, then no one could hope to inherit them in the present.

In the West, they refused to acknowledge that their modern work had descended from a branch oppressed by monotheism. They would only say that this was a great discovery by the civilized world they represented today. So there was no "burden of sin." Even when their methods resembled those of ancient times to some extent, they could chalk it up to the unintentional oversight of modern people who "knew nothing" about it.

In the West's current field of supernatural research, people were being sought out to "sacrifice themselves for science." The methods used were far cruder than Ke Feijia's approach of visiting prestigious schools to discuss "how to carry on and develop the tradition."

Wei Keng didn't know what kinds of accidents might occur in modern Western supernatural research departments. But according to the Western news reports he'd gathered, incidents like "mentally ill person goes on armed rampage" and "gas pipeline explosion" had been happening frequently in the Alps and in Lincoln County, southern Nevada. By the way, Wei Keng had also paid special attention to a small town in Shengyang called Tanabe.

In the blink of an eye, the summer of March 1969 on the Western Calendar had arrived.

Among the apprentices studying computer science at the industrial park's information academy, some could already design simple programs, while a few promising ones had shown an aptitude for this hair-loss-inducing line of work.

Then "the idle man," Wei Keng, received a message from Ke Feijia saying that his research project needed Wei Keng's help. Wei Keng understood "help" to mean that he'd get to acquire supernatural abilities too, and hurried over with eager anticipation.

This time, Wei Keng had landed in a safe position as a Transmigrator. He could simply settle down and be a capitalist.

But the chair he sat in was also part of the position he was building here. He had enough capital to move the world—but it was a little unsafe.

As the van headed for the Lingyuan Microphysics Laboratory, Wei Keng leaned back in his seat, adjusted his official cap, and drawled, "With supernatural abilities and capital, can I get things done safely?!"

At the supernatural testing facility, Wei Keng realized he'd been worrying too much.

"Greetings, Daoist master!" Before meeting Ke Feijia, Wei Keng greeted the Daoist priest beside him with exaggerated courtesy. But the priest merely addressed Wei Keng as "layman" in a matter-of-fact tone and said nothing more. Wei Keng, who had hoped to seek the Dao, felt rather awkward.

As far as the Daoist sect was concerned, Wei Keng had no aptitude, had a family and career, and was much too worldly. His eagerness to obtain supernatural abilities was painfully obvious. If he wanted to seek the Dao, he should at least spend a year or two carrying water up the mountain to demonstrate his character.

The Daoist tradition wasn't meant for Wei Keng—not yet, at least.

Ke Feijia saw Wei Keng's reluctance and smiled. It was normal, in his view. This was Wei Keng's first transmigration, and he'd encountered the wondrous abilities of a Near Plane; it was only natural that he lacked composure. Ke Feijia gestured that it was time to get down to business and led Wei Keng along.

Ke Feijia took Wei Keng aboard an armored vehicle. Once it left the base, it joined a convoy. At the same time, the screen inside Wei Keng's vehicle displayed scenes from the other cabins in the convoy, where people were also meeting.

Ke Feijia introduced one of them to Wei Keng. "This is Bai Jingqi, the technical director at the Huining Mechanical Design Research Institute of the Fenghou Group. He's also known as Shopkeeper Bai."

The senior executive from the Fenghou Group greeted him. "Master of the Wei Family, a pleasure, a pleasure. You're well known in the industry for keeping a low profile. If Mr. Ke hadn't introduced us, it really would have been difficult to meet you."

Ke Feijia pointed out that the Fenghou Group had provided the testing grounds they were headed to.

After politely responding to the Fenghou Group's management, Wei Keng glanced at the convoy of heavy vehicles and fully armed soldiers on the exterior screen. He quietly asked Ke Feijia, "Are we going to an armed forces testing ground?"

"Yes," Ke Feijia replied.

After driving through the testing grounds for a few minutes, they saw a Dragon Flame Individual Mech undergoing tests. It was powered by mechanical systems, and the shoulder-mounted cannon at its rear could lock onto a target using the helmet's visual aiming system. The equipment was a product of the Suhu Joint Industrial Group. Gear of this kind could greatly enhance the combat effectiveness of raw recruits.

The clank of its cannon deploying and the crack of rapid-fire guns hitting their targets drew several more glances from Wei Keng.

Bai Jingqi explained, "The Soviet Russians to our north are a thoroughly militarized nation. We have to arm ourselves to the teeth with technology."

Ke Feijia added, "But it's too expensive for now, so the military hasn't decided whether to make large-scale purchases."

"Experimental equipment is developed in anticipation of future production conditions," Bai Jingqi said. "Electronic hardware has been improving rapidly in recent years."

Wei Keng nodded as if he understood. Through the system, Ke Feijia told him, "The Fenghou Group is showing you its capabilities."

Wei Keng replied, "Hmm? Oh." He acted as though he didn't care.

Wei Keng knew the Fenghou Group was showing off its Dragon Flame Individual Combat System to warn him that it had ample technical reserves in individual mechanical equipment, and that the Luoshui Group would be better off not competing in that area.

But Wei Keng had already made up his mind. Aside from aviation, vehicle and ship engines, Electronic Control design, and electronic components, the Luoshui Group would gradually shift its machinery manufacturing toward civilian use while maintaining ties with the military. He would cultivate his own markets and build a self-contained cycle, rather than have the various groups tear each other apart competing for military contracts. He had already taken charge of the family's investments and quietly acquired shares in the White Dove Intelligent Workshop, preparing to enter the civilian drone market.

Wei Keng's current goal was to seize the lead in the software industry.

In the future, this heavy industry would need to ensure its equipment was sufficiently intelligent. The Luoshui Group could collaborate with them on operating systems and related fields.

Wei Keng remarked casually, "The technical requirements for new military equipment keep getting higher. Our factories are developing a new generation of lithium batteries, along with supporting electric bicycles and clean energy buses."

The Fenghou Group executive felt as if he'd punched a wall of air. He found the conversation a little pointless.

Inside the Fenghou Group's large base, in a testing ground sealed off by four layers of security,

Wei Keng saw the enormous mechanical structure and sprang to his feet, his blood quickening with excitement.

"Is that a mech?" Wei Keng asked.

What he saw was a twenty-meter-tall humanoid mech, with its metal joints exposed and its mechanical muscles still lacking armor.

A vehicle pulled up beside it, and a lift slowly extended to the cockpit on the mech's back. Ke Feijia climbed up carrying a bottle of alcohol. After entering the cockpit, he set the bottle on the platform on the mech's shoulder.

Watching from the side, Wei Keng suddenly thought of something. "Wait, how are you controlling this thing electronically?"

With a click, a glass canopy like a crystal coffin lid dropped into place. Ke Feijia raised his hand inside the cockpit, and the robot's hand rose almost in perfect synchronization. The movement was precise, and not a drop spilled from the bottle on its shoulder. Wei Keng's mouth fell open. "I really can't imagine how it's staying balanced."

The mech stood up and moved as nimbly as a person.

Over the loudspeaker, it was instructed to "take two steps forward," "take two steps back," and "turn around." The hulking machine carried out each command.

Then it balanced on one leg, leaning twenty degrees to the side without toppling. The bottle of alcohol on its shoulder didn't fall, either.

Wei Keng fell silent, staring fixedly at the mech as he tried to find its control circuitry. The balance system controlling every part of this seventy-ton humanoid steel giant was beyond the limits of what current technology could achieve.

A few minutes later, the cockpit opened, and Ke Feijia climbed down. "Curious, aren't you?"

Wei Keng nodded.

Ke Feijia raised his hand. True Qi shimmered in his palm. A light flashed through Wei Keng's mind as he understood. "Meson-Macro Particles!"

"You guessed it," Ke Feijia replied.

True Qi was a wondrous energy. For hundreds of years, wandering martial artists had leapt across rooftops and scaled walls. But in the Firearm Era, no matter how fast a sword was, it couldn't outrun a bullet. Even a first-rate martial artist with more than twenty years of internal cultivation could be ambushed with a pistol by some dishonorable young punk. Unless they reached the Innate Realm and could use True Qi to form a shield, even a master like that couldn't withstand the forces of a nation's military.

So was Martial Dao truly useless? One had to think flexibly. Flesh and blood couldn't withstand steel, so why not command the steel instead? Masters of True Qi could hear a pin drop within a hundred meters. Even with their eyes closed, they could sense the movements of every blade of grass, leaf, insect, and flower around them. That meant True Qi could provide sensory input and control signals.

Ke Feijia's design combined Meson-Macro Particle sensing with optical and electronic components. Six thousand synchronized devices were connected directly to the large machine across its body. Once the human meridians were connected to the artificial meridians in the combat machine, the technology would give this massive artificial war machine genuine combat potential.

Half the cost of modern equipment came from Electronic Control, so the greatest modern use for ancient martial arts was to match the derivative control ability known as qi-sensing with suitable industrial weaponry.

After completing the test, Ke Feijia discussed with the Fenghou Group staff what needed to be improved in this kind of equipment. Their discussion covered many industrial details, and Wei Keng was left out. However, he could listen to the entire conversation through the system access Ke Feijia had granted him.

Throughout the whole process, it seemed as if Wei Keng had only been brought along to make up the numbers. But the Fenghou Group didn't see it that way. After Ke Feijia finished discussing all the technical details, he left with Wei Keng.

Bai Jingqi frowned as he watched Wei Keng and Ke Feijia leave in the same vehicle.

A technician beside him couldn't hold back any longer and asked the question on his mind. "Young Master, the Golden Armor Guard Project is supposed to have our side handling all the mechanical technology, while the Southern Style Museum handles the sensing and control components. So why invite the head of the Luoshui Group this time?"

The Fenghou Group executive glanced at the technician. "That's not something you need to worry about."

Halfway along the road, Wei Keng and Ke Feijia's armored vehicle pulled over. They got out and found a quiet spot.

Ke Feijia patted Wei Keng on the shoulder. A wave of True Qi traveled from Wei Keng's shoulder through his entire body. Then Ke Feijia motioned for him to take off his jacket and calmly destroyed the listening device attached to the third button.

"Your state of consciousness is being measured," Ke Feijia said. "Once the measurements are complete, the system will tell you how to use Daoist techniques to control your mind and circulate your energy, so you can slowly cultivate your qi." He was reassuring Wei Keng not to rush. He would get his supernatural abilities in time.

Wei Keng nodded, then changed the subject to the Po Jun Golden Armor. "Is the threshold for using this equipment very high?"

"Meson-Macro Particles have to undergo enough cycles of vibration before they can produce a stable signal conversion in the components. In other words, anyone who can sense their inner qi needs at least ten years of cultivation before their True Qi is of any use. So—" His gaze shifted to Wei Keng.

"I know," Wei Keng said. "In the future, we'll still need to rely on specialized chips and automated systems to assist."

"That's right. Keep working on your own projects."