Mind Reading

Lu Zhiyu slept for an entire day and night. When he got up the next day, he felt as though the whole world had changed. He seemed to have become far more sensitive to everything around him. He reached toward a disposable cup beside him, intending to pour himself some water, but before he even touched it, he saw the cup topple onto the floor.

He then looked at the Universe Scroll and found that the battle within had grown even fiercer. With the Insect Queen's appearance, it seemed that the other insect swarms had begun evolving as well. Their battles, along with the various bizarre Zerg Race forms created through evolution and catalysis, were a dazzling sight.

Lu Zhiyu was starving. Though he desperately wanted to keep watching, he decided to go downstairs and get something to eat first.

After wandering around for a while, he sat down at a restaurant across from Carrefour. It was afternoon, and quite a few people were out having afternoon tea.

"Sir, are you alone, or..."

He looks pretty handsome, but he doesn't seem very rich. Ah, I'm so tired today!

"Ah!" Lu Zhiyu stared at the waitress. Why was she saying something like that right in front of him?

Why is he staring at me? Does he have a crush on me...?

"I'm alone. I'd like a..."

Lu Zhiyu picked up the menu and began ordering. Once the waitress had written it down, she immediately turned and left. Lu Zhiyu watched her retreating back, his expression shifting with uncertainty and surprise. He had clearly not seen anyone speak, yet he kept hearing strange voices. It sounded like that waitress was talking, but he had not seen her lips move.

When his food arrived, it was delivered by another waitress. She had a round little face and wore a uniform, giving her an adorably sweet appearance.

I want to get off work early. Zhou Hao asked me to see a movie with him tonight. Should I say yes?

"Don't agree. A man asking a girl to see a movie at midnight definitely has bad intentions. He's surely made a whole series of plans and is just waiting for you to take the bait!"

The waitress immediately raised her head and looked at Lu Zhiyu, her mouth falling open. "Eh? Sorry, did I say that out loud just now?"

The waitress was utterly embarrassed. She hurried away in a panic, and as she fled, she cautiously glanced back at Lu Zhiyu, her face filled with strange confusion and doubt.

Lu Zhiyu lowered his head and ate. As he ate, a smile spread across his face, then he began laughing continuously, unable to suppress the joy in his heart.

"Mind Reading? It's actually Mind Reading! I can sense what other people are thinking. This is incredible!"

Lu Zhiyu immediately connected it to what had happened to him before. His consciousness had connected with that strange alternate-dimensional space while in the low-dimensional world, drawing upon the bizarre energy within it and giving rise to this power. It was like the Insect Queen, who could control all insect swarms through her consciousness. But he had only just begun and was nowhere near the Insect Queen's level. For now, he could only sense the thoughts of people nearby.

On his way back, he happened to run into the evening rush. He brushed past all sorts of men and women along the way, their voices constantly flooding his mind.

I still haven't finished today's report. I have to get it done as soon as I get home tonight!

Xiao Le should be out of school by now. I wonder if my wife picked her up!

The boss is too much. I have to go on another business trip tomorrow. I've spent over half this month flying around outside.

I need to send my parents living expenses tomorrow. How much should I send? Maybe I should send more!

...

Countless voices echoed through Lu Zhiyu's mind. His head immediately began to buzz, as if it were about to explode. He hurried out of the crowd and headed home along a side path, only then feeling somewhat better.

"It really is Mind Reading, and it has a range limit—probably no more than two meters. But this ability is a real headache. If I can't turn it off, that'll be a huge problem!"

Lu Zhiyu returned home brimming with excitement. He had actually gained a supernatural ability. He immediately thought of the Insect Queen's transformation. She could produce different offspring through the secretion of pheromones. Could he use this ability on himself? Perhaps he could even cure his cancer.

"That's right. Maybe it really can work?"

Lu Zhiyu was thrilled. Although he had already come to terms with his terminal illness and let it go, without blaming fate or anyone else, being able to avoid death would naturally be best.

Over the following days, Lu Zhiyu constantly observed the situation within the Universe Scroll. Gradually, he discovered that the scroll was likely an entrance to lower dimensions. His Painting Space had originally been a two-dimensional world, but once he injected factors and concepts from the three-dimensional world into it, the Painting Space had begun to rise in dimension.

However, it had not reached the concept of three dimensions. Instead, it had become a dimensional world between two and three dimensions. That was why the space within was so strange, carrying a completely unfathomable quality.

The long passage Lu Zhiyu had sensed when his consciousness entered before should have been one-dimensional. Two dimensions were already merely a plane; one dimension left only a single line. Under such circumstances, it was even harder than in two dimensions to contain living beings or give rise to life. Even basic matter could hardly exist there.

As for that final alternate-dimensional space, Lu Zhiyu guessed that it was Zero-Dimension World: an infinitely condensed point. Nothing could exist in that world. Only the primordial power of the world could exist there—not matter, but origin, a conceptual form of existence.

If life in a two-dimensional world could still exist in a planar form, then what about one dimension? What about zero dimensions? In such low dimensions, perhaps only conceptual things like consciousness and souls could exist.

And within the Universe Scroll, there was such a passage leading to lower dimensions. The lower-dimensional a creature was, the closer its life form came to its essence. Life in zero dimensions could be called Source Energy, existing as consciousness entities—that was, souls. Both he and the Insect Queen had used the Universe Scroll's authority and its low-dimensional passage to come into contact with zero-dimensional existence, thereby drawing upon its primordial power, strengthening their consciousness, and giving birth to something akin to spiritual power.

The higher-dimensional a life form was, the more complex it became, and the harder it was to touch the essence of life. Life below two dimensions had already begun to make use of Source Energy, and their souls had begun to awaken.

Lu Zhiyu called this primordial power Source Substance. He began imitating the Insect Queen, using the Universe Scroll's authority and the dimensional passage to send his consciousness into Zero-Dimension World, absorb Source Substance, and strengthen his consciousness and spiritual power.

However, his consciousness could not endure for long in Zero-Dimension World. After absorbing a small amount of Source Substance, he had to withdraw. Later, Lu Zhiyu used meditation and visualization to maintain the structure of his consciousness in Zero-Dimension World, allowing him to improve the situation slightly.

Lu Zhiyu also began reading a great deal about foreign meditation practices and domestic Taoist scriptures, especially materials related to visualization and cultivation, hoping to gain something from them.