Observation and Control

From the moment he entered the room, Xiang Kun was already building cognitive models for the people inside. This process was continuous, especially for people like Xie Peng and Linlin, whom he didn't know much about, or people like Qin Ping, whom he was meeting for the first time. A single word, action, or expression from them could change Xiang Kun's cognitive model.

By integrating and incorporating all information through a cognitive model, Xiang Kun can make judgments more freely and quickly in multi-person social scenarios.

Just like now, sitting to his left is Chang Bin, who is smiling and introducing their wedding preparations to everyone along with Wang Han.

However, based on his cognitive model, Xiang Kun immediately concluded that Chang Bin was actually quite tired, not very enthusiastic, and even a little irritable. Judging from his physical reactions when discussing certain things, the main reason was probably related to wedding preparations. There were likely too many tedious details to discuss, plus he also had to handle company matters, which made him quite exhausted.

In contrast, Wang Han, sitting on Chang Bin's other side, seemed much more energetic, and her body responded much more positively when discussing these matters. Moreover, her tastes were very similar to Tang Baona's, so she praised most of the dishes on the table, frequently picking at her food.

Wang Han then passed over to Tang Baona's older sister, Bao Ting. She and Gao Yao had already begun discussing marriage, so she was very interested in Chang Bin and Wang Han's wedding preparations, and she was the one asking most of the questions. Her interest in the topic was even greater than Wang Han's; judging from her body language during the conversation, her focus was on the choice of the wedding venue, the decoration style, and the style of the wedding photos.

However, Tang Baoting's fiancé, Gao Yao, was relatively quiet. Unless mentioned or directly asked a question, he mostly ate or scrolled through his phone, not actively participating in the conversation. But according to Xiang Kun's perception of him, this didn't mean he had any issues with the wedding or Tang Baoting; rather, it was just his usual behavior. He wasn't used to or knew how to participate in topics he wasn't good at, afraid of saying the wrong thing or causing an awkward silence—something he was actually quite similar to Xiang Kun in the past.

Beside Gao Yao were Xie Peng and his wife Linlin. As the only couple present with "marriage experience," they frequently answered questions from the two soon-to-be-married couples and offered their advice. They had previously gone through a divorce, even exchanging their divorce certificates. Although they reconciled not long after, Xiang Kun, based on his cognitive model of the two and comparing it to their first meeting in the KTV room, could still conclude that this recent incident still had a significant impact on their relationship.

In comparison, Linlin was more enthusiastic, while Xie Peng, although he seemed very talkative before dinner, showed some resistance when wedding-related matters were brought up at the table, according to his physical condition. The feelings between them were also far less intense than they had been two months ago.

Next to Linlin was Qin Ping, Yang Zhen'er's classmate. She was an ordinary-looking, petite girl, but very cheerful and seemingly interested in everything. Although she was meeting most of the people at the table for the first time, she could participate in any topic and keep up with the conversation. According to Xiang Kun's cognitive model, she wasn't deliberately trying to please them, but genuinely interested. Initially, her attention was on Gao Yao, after all, he was a handsome guy. Later, her attention shifted mainly to Wang Han and Xie Peng, because their way of speaking was witty and humorous; even when talking about the same thing, they could make it more engaging and entertaining.

Next to Qin Ping was Yang Zhen'er. Aside from enthusiastically recommending the dishes at the beginning, once everyone started eating, she focused on the food, especially the two dishes Xiang Kun had specially adjusted and prepared for her taste; most of them ended up in her stomach. Of course, true to her lively personality, she still chimed in on every topic, but this time she was eating a crispy pork knuckle while filming a video on her phone, clearly intending to send it to tease Lao Xia.

To Yang Zhen'er's left and to Xiang Kun's right sat Tang Baona. Needless to say, of all the people in the group, she was the Xiang Kun had the most complete cognitive model of.

Now she's holding the chopsticks that Xiang Kun has used to "Emotional Injection," Xiang Kun to perceive her emotions in real time through the chopsticks, making the already sophisticated cognitive model even more comprehensive and efficient.

Xiang Kun didn't even need to look at her or pay special attention; he knew what she was doing, what she was going to do next, and what she wanted to do...

Xiang Kun even felt that if Tang Baona didn't lift a finger, he could serve her food without her having to say a word, perfectly executing her will. He knew which dish she liked best, when she wanted to eat it, when she wanted to stop for a drink, when she wanted red wine, and when she wanted water.

Of course, such a comprehensive and efficient cognitive model cannot guarantee that its efficiency will always remain the same. If the environment changes drastically in a different location, the accuracy of prediction and judgment will decrease accordingly.

"Ah Bin, last year or the year before, didn't you mention in the group that a card game was really fun? I think that game is a product of Brother Xie's company." Xiang Kun seized an opportunity and casually mentioned it to Chang Bin.

"Which game... Oh, the one Zicheng recommended? That one is really good. Is it made by Mr. Xie's company?" Chang Bin asked with considerable surprise. He only knew that Xie Peng was the art director of a game company when Tang Baona introduced him, but he had no idea about the company's name.

Xie Peng paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Brother Xiang, the game you're talking about isn't made by our company. But we do have similar games, and the graphics are actually a bit better."

Xiang Kun laughed and said he probably remembered it wrong, then casually brought up some game-related matters, which led Xie Peng and Chang Bin to start discussing game-related topics as well.

Although Chang Bin wasn't as fond of playing games as Xiang Kun and Zi Cheng since college, he clearly wanted to change the subject and didn't want to continue discussing the wedding details, so he and Xie Peng hit it off quite well.

When Xie Peng talked about a new game that their company had just launched and was currently in closed beta testing, Xiang Kun also discovered through the feedback of the cognitive model that Gao Yao, who had been looking down at her phone, was now focused on the game that Xie Peng was talking about, even though her gaze was still on the phone.

Even the ladies who were just enthusiastically discussing weddings and wedding photos were drawn to this topic. These days, girls play games just as much as boys; there are plenty of female players of games like Honor of Kings, PUBG, and League of Legends.

Xiang Kun hadn't misremembered the card game's developer; he had said it on purpose to steer the conversation in a certain direction.

Judging from the current results, it's quite good.

If there were a numerical value for each person's emotional comfort level, then Xiang Kun believes that the change in topic can significantly improve the overall emotional comfort level at the dinner table.

"This game takes place in a fictional wasteland setting, oh, you mean post-apocalyptic ruins. Everyone can create their own skills by combining different attributes and collecting items and resources. Our game framework is very free; it doesn't necessarily require combat, and the professions aren't very fixed—you can choose freely. The key is in the synthesis and combination of skills," Xie Peng explained, introducing their beta game.

"What if I don't want to fight, but someone else wants to hit me?" Tang Baoting asked.

Yang Zhen'er immediately said, "Then let's team up and beat him up!"

Tang Baona laughed and said, "My sister doesn't like fighting in any games she plays; she just loves farming, raising pets, and gathering resources."

Xie Peng laughed and said, "We have a safe zone. Inside the safe zone, no one can touch you. The system's protection is the strongest."

Then the group of people began to have a heated discussion about how to match their attributes and how to develop their own skills. The one who was having the most enthusiastic discussion was actually Gao Yao —yes, he was no longer looking down at his phone, but discussing with shining eyes, and even gesturing a little excitedly.

Tang Baona whispered to Xiang Kun beside her, "If it were you, what skill would you want to create?"

Without any hesitation, Xiang Kun said directly, "The ability to open the entire map and see the location, attributes, and skills of all players in the vicinity."

Tang Baona was stunned for a moment, Yang Zhen'er next to her was stunned for a moment, and the others at the table who heard this answer also turned around to look at him strangely.

People who usually play this kind of game are pacifists like Tang Baoting, who just like to stay home and farm, raise pets, and mainly focus on improving their own skills or enhancing their farming and pet skills. Who plays this kind of game purely for reconnaissance?

However, after a moment of surprise, Gao Yao's eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Brilliant! This skill would be amazing!" Then he looked at Xie Peng and asked, "Lao Xie, is it possible to combine such a skill?"

Xie Peng laughed, "This isn't a skill, this is a cheat..."

The conversation then shifted abruptly from the game to "If you were to gain superpowers in real life, what superpower would you most want?"

The answers varied widely, and some were quite bizarre. For example, Wang Han wanted the ability to make her cat, Arthas, speak human language.

Yang Zhen'er wanted a superpower that would make her words and requests impossible for anyone to refuse or refute. After everyone agreed that this superpower was too strong and too overpowered, they had to change it to something that others couldn't refute or refuse in front of her, but couldn't influence what they did.

As for Tang Baona, after she revealed the superpower she wished to possess, even Xiang Kun, who had already developed a relatively comprehensive cognitive model of her and thought he knew her well, couldn't guess it beforehand. The superpower she wished to have was to gain double the time. Because with this, she could handle her work more calmly and have more time to learn new things, watch dramas, read comics, and make videos.

"Then you might as well just say you don't need to sleep, eat, drink, or use the restroom," Yang Zhen'er said. "Sleeping for about ten hours a day, plus time for meals and bathroom breaks, that's about half of the time, right?"

"That won't do. We still need to sleep, and we need to eat, otherwise we wouldn't be human," Tang Baona said.

Xiang Kun next to him, casually touched his nose.

Naturally, no one noticed his reaction.

Gao Yao continued, "So what mechanism do you need to use to make this ability work? Is it to make your own movement speed faster and others slower to gain double the time, or is it to reconnect you to a 24-hour period where everyone else is frozen after 24 hours?"

Tang Baona was stunned for a moment, then said, "This... is too strange, isn't it? Whether it's me becoming faster or everyone else not moving, uh... forget it, I don't want this ability anymore. Give me the ability to stay young forever, haha!"

"Hey? Stay young forever? I want that too!" Yang Zhen'er exclaimed immediately.

"No, you already have a special ability!" Tang Baona pointed out immediately.

Yang Zhen'er glared at her. "See, you're refuting me! So that proves I don't have that ability, so I can choose another one..."

Tang Baoting was both amused and exasperated. "Why are you two acting so childish again? There are so many people watching..."

Feeling the lively atmosphere of the conversation at the dinner table, Xiang Kun was quite satisfied with his little adjustment. Next, he helped to adjust the topic according to everyone's real-time state. For example, knowing that Yang Zhen'er's classmate Qin Ping was interested in music and anime, he mentioned a few details of "One-Punch Man" to Tang Baona, and then extended the conversation to the production of domestic and foreign animation music, bringing Xie Peng, Linlin and others into the topic as well.

After a while, the discussion shifted to wood carving and handicrafts, which brought Gao Yao and Xie Peng into the conversation. Chang Bin also mentioned some interesting anecdotes from previous game and anime-themed events.

Each time he steered the conversation, Xiang Kun would only participate for a few sentences, prompting others to talk about sex. Once more people joined the conversation, he would skillfully "exit" and stop interrupting, becoming an observer and maintaining the ability to engage everyone's emotions as much as possible.

Xiang Kun pondered that if he provided each person at the table with a pair of chopsticks that could "Emotional Injection," it would probably make it easier for him to build a cognitive model of each person at the table, and also allow him to more accurately perceive and grasp each person's emotions in real time, making it easier for him to influence the conversation more efficiently.

The meal lasted exceptionally long, not only because Xiang Kun's cooking was delicious, but also because everyone was having a very pleasant and lively conversation. Since the ladies had all had some drinks, the atmosphere was quite lively, so naturally they didn't leave immediately. Instead, they quickly cleared the table together and sat down on the sofa to discuss whether they should play a game.

With ten people, there were quite a few games to play, but not many. However, after some discussion, and with Xie Peng and Linlin's strong suggestion, the others started urging Xiang Kun to sing a song.

Chang Bin had heard Xiang Kun sing once before at a bar and knew that he was really good at singing now. He had also told Wang Han about it when he got home, so he wanted Xiang Kun Wang Han that he wasn't bragging. At that time, Xiang Kun did indeed sing so well that the whole bar applauded.

I recommend a very unique new book, "I Possessed the Sun God," a behind-the-scenes mastermind story about possessing a sun god from another world and then traveling between the two worlds.

Thank you to the master, Mr. Mo Wen, for the sad past, to my book friends, Shang Yuanshuo, Xingkongxingkongxian, Azadas, Yuanzai who loves to drink ice and ice, Dafa Fa Lao ***oby, Milk and Milk Buy Milk, Chumo Yuge, Book Friends 20181128083111429, Qidian Reading iOS, hello_thank you, licking a dog does not get a house, first two, then the next, rainbow x, rainbow x, book friend 20180620142815262, Zhang Yangming, 03141043wlw, Zhang Yuelu of the book wasteland, Mo Yi Shuguang, Black Cloud Battleship, Qidian Reading iOS, Feng Yaoqi Chen, Qidian Reading iOS, Book Friends 20181026165208098, Rebirth of Jueji, Qidian Reading iOS, Liyi, Flowers Bloom in Pinellia That Year, Book Friends 20170602144355838, No Regrets for a Small Life, Squinting Cats, Flarma, Zha Zhahui, Pan Lu Xiaoxian, Purple Moon Cat, Qidian Reading iOS, idateyou, Hao_Wai, book friend 20190525173512074 reward.