"Programming"

Upon seeing Officer Chen's message, Xiang Kun was naturally completely bewildered.

However, Officer Chen quickly replied, "Haha, just kidding."

Officer Chen: "It's quite a coincidence, we're currently handling this case. We've received numerous reports from the public about that consulting firm, and we've been monitoring it for some time because it might be linked to an organized criminal gang. So we've been collecting evidence."

Officer Chen: "However, an unexpected situation arose this morning, and the case has made significant progress. I won't tell you the specifics, but in short, almost everyone who needed to be arrested has been apprehended. I estimate that you'll see reports about it on the news soon."

After finishing his casual conversation with Officer Chen, Xiang Kun began to speculate about what the "sudden unexpected situation" was.

Based on the information I just got from chatting with Tang Baona, the extremely impactful and "heavy" dream I experienced last night was probably from the person in charge of that consulting firm.

Last night I had that dream, and this morning there was immediately a "major development in the case." Xiang Kun has reason to believe that this major development is related to the influence that the person in charge has been affected by.

After all, that dream... was indeed too impactful, and coupled with the eeriness brought by the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster, it would likely give the person in charge even more to think about after waking up.

When Xiang Kun searched online before, he saw the photo of the person in charge and knew from his birth date that he was over seventy years old.

Perhaps what elderly people of this age are thinking about and fearing is no longer just death?

Did he have a dream and then rush to turn himself in first thing in the morning?

It's unlikely to be that extreme. It's probably not entirely due to the dream. Maybe there was already conflict with his accomplices, or he had already realized he was being watched by the police?

Xiang Kun didn't think too much about it. He grabbed his phone and keys and went out to buy groceries, preparing the menu for entertaining Tang Baona and Yang Zhen'er that evening.

In the supermarket, Xiang Kun pushed a shopping cart while buying groceries, pondering how to use "Emotional Injection" to establish the function of specially associated items.

Judging from the process of creating the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving and the two calligraphy pieces, as well as their subsequent functions, "Emotional Injection" establishes a special connection with the objects. It should be a variant of the ability "Emotional Assimilation," which can be simply understood as the influence that "Emotional Assimilation" exerts on the objects.

Xiang Kun now believes that, although he doesn't know whether it's due to his own training and guidance or the root characteristics of vampire mutations, after a series of mutations, his consciousness now seems to be able to "program" the things around him to a certain extent.

Humans, or other living beings, possess consciousness, memories, emotions, and thoughts. They can be understood as having their own "operating system," "applications" that perform various functions, and a large amount of "data."

Therefore, whether Xiang Kun uses "Mental Intimidation," "Emotional Assimilation," or "Projection Manifestation," he can exert real-time influence, establish contact with stand-alone systems that should not be connected to the internet, give them certain instructions, and obtain certain data feedback.

For inanimate objects, such as tissues, Coin, or boxwood, he needs to first format them with his consciousness and then "program" the functions he wants onto them.

Therefore, when influencing inanimate objects, whether through "Super-Sensory Link" or "Emotional Injection," it is much slower than influencing living beings, and both require a period of "blood-drinking" before they "take effect."

Perhaps after the blood-drinking period is over, the background applications in one's brain that control and receive the "programmed" functions on those objects will be "compiled" and ready to "run".

These "programs" and "functions" generally do not have any intuitively visible impact on the external structure of objects; they can either communicate and transmit data with Xiang Kun's consciousness or connect with the consciousness of other people.

The inability of "Super-Sensory Link" and "Emotional Injection" to coexist on the same object may be due to their incompatible formats and different operating environments.

Of course, these are just ideas that Xiang Kun with to facilitate his own thinking and understanding.

According to this plan, Xiang Kun wants to do now is to figure out how he "programs" objects through "Emotional Injection" and whether there is a way to "decompile" it, understand how it is applied, and then improve it.

There are two problems that need to be solved:

1. Do items that have "Emotional Injection" have the ability to Emotional Assimilation of a conscious person? If so, what were the reasons why they didn't have an effect before, and how can this be addressed?

2. How can we extract and utilize the emotions gained from "Emotional Injection" items?

Regarding the first question, Xiang Kun currently has two ideas. One is to extend the production time, that is, to increase the duration of "Emotional Injection." However, he has already spent more than ten hours making the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving, which is quite a long time. He can't possibly use more than a hundred hours of lucidity during a blood-drinking cycle to make one item, can he? That would be too much of an investment, and it would probably be difficult to maintain the same emotion for such a long time at once.

Another solution is to increase the quantity. Using the "Emotional Injection" method with the same emotion, create more related items and see if you can increase their impact within a certain space, affecting others remotely.

The second question, based on previous tests, requires that both "Mental Intimidation" and "Emotional Assimilation" Xiang Kun to first enter a certain emotional state.

The emotional state to be achieved through "Mental Intimidation" is easier to find because there is a clear target. However, if the emotion is intense and violent, it can easily backfire and cause one to lose their rationality. In comparison, "Emotional Assimilation" is much more difficult to enter into an emotion, but it is less likely to lose one's rationality while in an emotion, and one will still act according to their existing habits and personality.

Xiang Kun once visualized Giant Owl overlooking its territory from the air at the flower and bird market, and then simulated that feeling of ruling the world. But the source of this feeling did not come from the owl's memory; ultimately, it was something he "experienced" himself through those memory images.

Therefore, the emotions extracted from related items cannot be directly applied to "Mental Intimidation" and "Emotional Assimilation." A "data transformation" process is needed to convert those extracted emotions into the individual's own.

As for how to transform it, that requires a case-by-case analysis.

Just as Xiang Kun was trying to understand his abilities through the lens of "programming," his phone vibrated in his pocket. He picked it up and saw a message from Tang Baona. She said that her sister and her fiancé had heard from Yang Zhen'er that Xiang Kun's cooking was "super delicious," and they wanted to come over for dinner that night. She wondered if that was possible.

To be honest, Xiang Kun instinctively resisted. Although his ability to communicate and interact with people is much better than before, deep down he is still not someone who enjoys excitement or meeting many new friends.

I'm already quite familiar with Tang Baona and Yang Zhen'er; we're friends, so I feel very comfortable with them. But when it comes to their family and friends, even though I know they're all good people, I still feel a little awkward.

Moreover, Yang Zhen'er and Tang Baona already knew and were used to many of his habits, and he would have to explain them all over again when he was with other people, which he found troublesome.

However, there wasn't a suitable reason to refuse, so Xiang Kun hesitated for a second before replying:

"Of course, no problem! What kind of flavors do they like?"

"No need for special preparation, your original flavor is already fantastic! Thank you Chef Xiang!" Tang Baona replied with a wide grin.

She clearly didn't realize that every time Xiang Kun cooked for them, he made very targeted adjustments to each dish to suit everyone's taste.

Since he didn't know the tastes of the two new diners, Xiang Kun didn't think too much about it. He just followed the established plan and cooked according to Tang Baona and Yang Zhen'er's tastes, as long as the quantity was increased to four people.

At 5:30 p. m., Tang Baona and her group of four arrived at Xiang Kun's house.

Tang Baona's older sister, Tang Baoting, looks about five or six parts like her, but is taller and fuller-figured. She has a smiling face and seems to be a friendly person.

Her boyfriend, or rather her fiancé, Gao Yao, is a handsome guy who is over 1.8 meters tall, has fair skin, and a boy band idol vibe.

"Xiang Kun, hello there! I'm Nana's older sister, Bao Ting, and also Xiao Han's classmate. I'm also quite familiar with Chang Bin; he often mentions you," Tang Baoting greeted him with a smile.

After a brief greeting and introduction, Xiang Kun ushered them into the house, saying with a smile, "Please sit in the living room for a bit. I'll go back to the kitchen to get busy. Dinner should be ready in about twenty-five minutes. The Wi-Fi password is ****, and the drinks are in the fridge, please help yourselves."

"Don't worry! We won't stand on ceremony with you. Come on, show off your fancy cooking skills to this old man! I want to film it!" Yang Zhen'er excitedly followed Xiang Kun into the kitchen.

"Go away! If you dare to come in, I won't make your favorite dishes for dinner, you believe me?" Xiang Kun threatened directly.

Yang Zhen'er was indeed intimidated, and she pouted as she walked back to the living room. "So stingy! The video I filmed was already posted online..."

Tang Baona, on the other hand, saw the Canary Wooden Carving next to the computer in Xiang Kun's open bedroom door. She walked over in surprise and carefully picked it up to examine it.

Tang Baoting and her boyfriend also came over, praising the Canary Wooden Carving. Especially when Tang Baoting placed the carving next to the birdcage in the living room, the striking resemblance to "Gold Glitter" was truly astonishing.

If this wood carving weren't unpainted, it could probably be mistaken for the real thing if placed in a birdcage.

Tang Baona then placed the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving she had brought aside and exclaimed, "Xiang Kun's wood carving skills seem to have improved again."

--

I recommend "I Really Didn't Want to Be Reborn," a book with an exceptionally well-developed female lead. It's the kind of book that will make you want to subscribe even while cursing the scumbag male lead.