The Power to Chase Lightning

Xiang Kun had a taxi take him to the mountainous area on the east side of the city, then got out of the car with the birdcage in his hand and climbed up the mountain.

This area is not in the middle of nowhere; it is still within the city limits. There are many buildings on and around the mountain, and several roads have been built, including highways for cars to go up the mountain and boardwalks and stone steps for tourists.

However, the weather was clearly about to change drastically, with a downpour approaching, so there were hardly any people on the mountain. Moreover, Xiang Kun wasn't taking the main road; he was deliberately venturing into side paths. If he weren't worried about getting his clothes and shoes too worn out and having trouble getting a taxi later, he would have simply used his body to "clear the way," just like he did in the Qinling Uninhabited Zone.

Xiang Kun found a rather rugged route to reach the top of the mountain. There was no path leading there; the area was overgrown with weeds and offered little scenery.

He randomly picked a tree, climbed up it, hung the birdcage there, and planned to come back for it when he was about to leave.

However, after climbing down from the tree, he thought for a moment, then climbed back up to take down the birdcage and hide it in a different place—although the chances were slim, if the tree were struck by lightning, "Gold Glitter" would be in real trouble.

Xiang Kun walked to the edge of the mountain, gazing at the dark, heavy clouds overhead, his attention highly focused, his brain calculating rapidly.

He now breaks down the various environmental elements around him, establishes multiple cognitive models, and then integrates them into a larger cognitive model of the atmospheric electric field. Through his own cognitive patterns, he perceives the changes in the magnetic and electric fields.

The intensity of the atmospheric electric field is constantly changing. The difference between the electric field on a clear day and this "disturbed weather electric field" is significant. Under the latter condition, it is easier for Xiang Kun to collect relevant data, which helps him improve his cognitive model of the atmospheric electric field.

This amount of calculation was already making Xiang Kun's head feel throbbing, but he was now quite aware of his limits, so he didn't stop immediately. Instead, he tried his best to control the intensity of his thoughts and maintain his current state.

The more complete his cognitive model of the atmospheric electric field, the better he can deduce what conditions are needed to imitate the flight of the mutated spider, thus establishing and improving his cognitive model of "Electric Flight".

As time went on, Xiang Kun became increasingly able to judge the changes in the atmospheric electric field. He was now focusing on several low-altitude thunderclouds. He knew that when the local electric field strength between the thundercloud and the ground reached the electric field strength required for atmospheric ionization, it would cause the air to ionize, forming a leader discharge channel—the first step in the generation of lightning.

Xiang Kun certainly had no intention of "receiving the lightning," since he was not a cultivator and was on the righteous path of tribulation.

Ninety percent of lightning strikes between the ground and clouds, with less than ten percent hitting the ground directly. The average current of these lightning strikes is 30,000 amperes, and the maximum can even reach 300,000 amperes.

The temperature generated upon impact with the ground can reach as high as 30,000 degrees Celsius. Xiang Kun does not have such strong heat resistance; on the contrary, according to previous experiments, this kind of high-temperature damage is more fatal to him than physical damage.

Those humans who survive being struck by lightning were almost never struck directly, but rather struck from the side.

Xiang Kun focused intently on the process of lightning, constantly refining his cognitive model.

Based on Xiang Kun's previous witnessing of the "mutated spider's" flight and the memory fragments of the "mutated spider's" flight he later obtained, it has a way to use the strong electric field changes during lightning strikes to "recharge" itself and gain stronger flight capabilities.

However, this method of "charging" doesn't involve directly going to get struck by lightning.

If we compare the "mutant spider" to a boat, and "flying" to sailing on water, then the electric field of thunderstorms is like deeper water, capable of supporting the boat's draft. On sunny days, however, the water is insufficient, making it easy to run aground.

The "recharging" following a lightning strike is like adding a propulsion system to a ship, allowing it to navigate the waterway more smoothly. However, sufficient water depth remains a prerequisite for setting sail.

As a flash of lightning illuminated the clouds, followed by a deafening rumble of thunder, Xiang Kun's pupils gradually deepened.

His vision was completely black, as if his eyes were blindfolded. Yet, within this darkness, countless tiny, almost imperceptible dots were changing and arranging. This was neither night vision nor infrared thermal imaging; it was a scene Xiang Kun himself had never seen before. However, he felt no sense of "blindness." He could still accurately determine his location and surroundings through those countless dots. More importantly, he could now relatively clearly sense the movement of a large number of electrical charges around him and perceive the specific changes in the electric field within the distant clouds.

A little over a second later, Xiang Kun's vision returned. He quickly looked around and saw a lake below the opposite mountain wall. He began to back away, giving himself about six or seven meters of sprinting distance. Then he took his phone out of his pocket and casually tossed it into the grass next to him—it was his newly replaced Redmi Note 8 Pro, and he didn't want it to break or get wet later.

Then he lowered his center of gravity slightly and began to prepare.

A few minutes later, Xiang Kun seized the opportunity through his cognitive model and began to run and sprint forward with all his might.

Electricity surged within the clouds, accompanied by rumbling thunder. Lightning cleaved the air along its predetermined path and vanished in mid-air.

Almost simultaneously with its disappearance, Xiang Kun leaped off the mountainside.

With a loud "bang!", he turned into a ball of light, seemingly defying gravity and being thrown more than a meter upwards before continuing to fall downwards.

However, because of this change, he no longer headed towards the lake as originally planned.

"What are you looking at? Hurry up, it's going to rain soon, and we didn't bring any umbrellas!"

A woman who looked to be around thirty years old was carrying a child's schoolbag and walking quickly on the pebbled path. When she noticed her son following behind had stopped, she immediately turned around and urged him on.

"Over there, it looks like someone jumped off a cliff..." a boy who looked to be in the third or fourth grade of elementary school murmured, looking into the distance.

The woman followed her son's gaze and saw the cliff over there. She frowned and said, "Why would someone jump off that cliff? Are they stupid?"

First, the cliff over there isn't very high off the ground. Second, below it is either a lake or dense forest. It's not easy to die instantly from a fall, but being half-dead or paralyzed is highly probable. No one would be foolish enough to jump off a cliff from there. Besides, there's no path leading up in the direction her son was looking. How could anyone get there? Her husband works at the scenic area, so he knows these are all low mountains, and no one has ever come here to jump off, though a few have fallen by accident.

The woman initially suspected someone might have fallen off the mountain, and was about to ask a few more questions to decide whether to call the police and notify the scenic area management when her son's next words ignited her anger.

"That person seemed to turn into a ball of fire, no, into a ball of light, no, into the sun and flew away." The boy frowned and changed his words several times before finding what he thought was the accurate description.

But then his mother grabbed his ear and pulled it over. "Did you sneakily read those online novels on your dad's phone again?! Those books about ascending to immortality in broad daylight and turning your fighting spirit into a horse? And those light spheres and the sun? No wonder your test scores have been getting worse and worse, no wonder your homeroom teacher said at the parent-teacher conference that you often didn't finish your homework!!"

Xiang Kun was actually quite far from the mother and child. He was lying motionless on the ground, surrounded by a lot of broken branches and leaves that he had brought down.

He originally expected to fall into the small lake, but he didn't expect that after being "recharged" in mid-air, he could fly so far that he fell directly outside the lake.

Fortunately, the lakeside was surrounded by trees, Xiang Kun's descent after he was enveloped by the ball of light. Instead of falling downwards, he was thrown forward, and thanks to the cushioning effect of the tree branches, he didn't fall too hard.

Xiang Kun lay on the ground for a few minutes, waiting for his body to heal itself, while also recalling the feeling of his body condensing into a ball of light.

After the ball of light appeared, briefly lifting him up, it was immediately pulled down by his weight. Clearly, it could not support his weight or help him fly. At the same time, he could not feel how to actively condense the ball of light or control his direction.

The ball of light felt to him like a tingling sensation on his scalp, then it materialized on its own, like his own shadow; he couldn't perceive it in any concrete way.

Xiang Kun is essentially sailing a boat out to sea, but the boat sinks before it even leaves the dock...

But he was actually quite happy, after all, he had gotten to touch a boat and see the sea.

Although he knew there was still a long way to go before he could truly fly, Xiang Kun now knew at least that he did indeed possess flight-related abilities from the blood of that "mutated spider." However, to fully integrate these abilities into himself and make himself fly, he needed to undergo much more evolution and improvement, and continue to refine his cognitive model of "Electric Flight."

After recovering, Xiang Kun got up and climbed back up the mountain using the shortest route.

After venturing into the Qinling Uninhabited Zone, Xiang Kun is now much more adapted to the mountains and forests, climbing low hills with more agility than a monkey.

Returning to the spot where he had jumped off the mountain, Xiang Kun accurately located where he had thrown his phone. But as soon as he bent down to pick it up, his fingers stung, and then the phone exploded with a crack, sparking as he instinctively flung it away.

"Holy crap!"

Xiang Kun shook his hand, looked at his slightly charred fingers, then at his phone, which was clearly dead, not far away, and felt like crying.

Clearly, there was still a large amount of electrical charge around his body that had not been completely released.

Although the phone was ruined, Xiang Kun couldn't just leave it there. After waiting a while to make sure it wouldn't catch fire, he picked it up and put it in his pocket before going to find Gold Glitter again.

Xiang Kun's clothes were dirty and torn. If he tried to hail a taxi, he would probably be refused service. Fortunately, this wasn't a remote mountainous area, so he decided to walk to find a place to change his clothes first.

At eight o'clock in the evening, in the drizzling rain, Xiang Kun walked into a shopping mall.

"Huh? I'm disconnected! Holy crap, no signal! What the heck?!"

"Ha! It's a matter of character... uh, I fell too..."

"Hehe, you guys use Apple, but my Huawei... wait? I dropped it too?"

"Okay, the internet is back."

After entering the mall, Xiang Kun kept hearing similar sounds. People within 2 meters of him would immediately lose their cell phone signal after he passed by, whether it was 4G or WIFI. He was like a mobile source of interference.

He wasn't surprised by this. He was well aware that he was still suffering from the "aftereffects" of that "orb of light." When he was walking on the road before, the streetlights on both sides would even flicker as he passed by.

In a few more hours, the "charging" effect of that light orb should completely disappear.

For the time being, he hasn't found a way to control this ability, but just like the ship has already been bought and is sitting there, learning how to sail it is only a matter of time.

Based on the characteristics already displayed, Xiang Kun was quite certain that this ability wouldn't be like that of the "mutated spider," which could only "take off" during thunderstorms or glide while jumping off a cliff. In human society, he could develop many more related abilities, which, in terms of practicality and influence, would likely be even more powerful than flight.

Fortunately, Xiang Kun's phone had broken twice before, so he never dared to go out without cash. Otherwise, if his phone had died, he wouldn't have had money for his train ticket home or a change of clothes.

8:37.

Hearing the mechanical female voice coming from the phone, Little Apple frowned slightly, feeling a little worried.

After Xiang Kun left in the afternoon, I chatted with her on WeChat for a few minutes, discussing some details of training methods for "entrusting attention," but then she stopped responding.

She initially thought Xiang Kun was asleep on the bus, but judging by the time, he should have arrived at the station by now, and there was still no reply.

Little Apple knew Xiang Kun's habits; if he was busy and couldn't reply, he would definitely let her know and temporarily end the chat, instead of just disappearing without a trace. If he had fallen asleep in the car, he would definitely reply to the WeChat after arriving.

So Little Apple guessed that Xiang Kun might have run out of battery, and he would probably reply after he got home and charged it.

Little Apple put down her phone and focused her attention on the wooden carvings she had placed on the table. She slowly touched them with her hands, imagining the feeling she had experienced that afternoon.

Xiang Kun went to great lengths that afternoon to make Little Apple subconsciously feel that the Coin was somewhat special, and then guided her to mainly use the Coin in subsequent exercises, helping her to establish her own understanding that the Coin had magical functions and was unique. Judging from the cognitive model he built for Little Apple, this should be correct.

But what Xiang Kun didn't expect was that while Little Apple did feel that the Coin was vaguely different from the other Coin, she also had something she thought was more suitable as a place to focus her attention—the four wooden carvings that Xiang Kun had given her before.

Xiang Kun did know Little Apple very well, but he underestimated the impact of the dreams he had triggered on her perception over this period of time through several wood carvings. After Little Apple, when she discussed these dreams with Xiang Kun, she basically only mentioned the content of each dream and did not involve the wood carvings.

In all her dreams, especially the happy ones, the Minions always appear. But in her dreams about researching and learning about computers, she always sees one of those three wooden carvings. So, Little Apple has always had a special feeling about these carvings; she feels that they have some kind of spiritual connection with her, as if they can communicate with her.

However, she couldn't bring herself to say it to either her father, who was an associate professor at a university, or to Uncle Xiang, who gave her the wood carvings, because it seemed a bit childish.

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I recommend "The Divine Dragon System of All Realms," which already has 11 chapters and over 2.4 million words—a substantial and satisfying read.