"Super-Sensory Girl" Little Apple
Little Apple gently stroked the Minion Wooden Carving with her left hand, while playing with the CPU Wooden Carving with her right. She initially decided to use one of these two wood carvings as her "object of affection" for training.
In comparison, the CPU Wooden Carving is smaller and easier to carry. You can take it with you when you go out and train anytime.
But deep down, she prefers the Minion Wooden Carving.
Just touching the Minion's bald head made her want to laugh and feel happy.
Every night she would place the Minions by her bedside and hope to have a happy dream while she fell asleep.
However, compared to the CPU Wooden Carving, the Minion is larger and less convenient to carry.
After hesitating between the two wooden carvings for a while, Little Apple chose the Minion. Anyway, she wasn't going to school now, and she usually just went to sit in the small park outside the community when she went out, so carrying this palm-sized Minion Wooden Carving wouldn't be a big problem.
So Little Apple put the CPU Wooden Carving aside, held the Minion in both hands, and then, following the method Xiang Kun had taught her that afternoon, focused her attention on the Minion, imagining that she was using the Minion to perceive her surroundings.
But her mind kept wandering to Xiang Kun hadn't replied. Could something have happened to him? She even imagined hearing on the news the next day about a car accident on the highway, Xiang Kun being one of the victims. Or perhaps Xiang Kun thought he'd suddenly fallen ill and collapsed. Or maybe she worried he'd been kidnapped on the road and his fate was unknown.
The more she thought about it, the more worried and uneasy she became. Little Apple couldn't help but pick up her phone and use voice control to dial Xiang Kun's number.
Hearing the notification tone indicating that the phone was switched off, Little Apple became even more worried. She put the phone down and got up to go to the living room, but because she got up too quickly, she tripped over her chair and fell to the ground.
Hearing the commotion in the room, Li Yang, who was looking at lesson plans on his tablet in the living room, immediately ran in. When he saw his daughter lying on the floor, he was startled and didn't dare to help her up right away. Instead, he knelt down and asked Little Apple how she was.
Although she has been blind since childhood, Little Apple has a very sensitive sense of hearing and smell, as well as a good memory and sense of direction. She knows exactly where everything in the house is. Whether it's Li Yang, Li Sheng, or "Aunt Yang," they are all very careful to put things back in their place and won't let any sudden "obstacles" appear in the room. So, this kind of situation where she is knocked over by a chair or other things has not happened for many, many years.
Little Apple wasn't hurt. She quickly got up and, holding her father's outstretched hand, said anxiously, "Dad, Uncle Xiang might be in trouble!"
This statement seemed rather abrupt and left Li Yang completely bewildered. "Xiang Kun is in trouble? What happened?"
"After Uncle Xiang went to the station this afternoon, we chatted on WeChat, but then he suddenly stopped replying. I thought he was sleeping on the train, but judging from the time, he should have arrived at the station or even home by now. Even if his phone was out of battery, he should have already charged it..." Little Apple said anxiously.
Li Yang found it increasingly strange. He first comforted Little Apple, helped her sit down, and then picked up her phone to listen to her conversation with Xiang Kun that afternoon. They were discussing the "training method" of focusing attention on external objects. There was nothing strange about it, except that he didn't reply at the end. There was no indication that Xiang Kun might have "run into trouble."
He then called Xiang Kun's number with his own phone, but it was indeed switched off.
"Don't worry, even if Xiang Kun is home now, he probably hasn't been there long. Maybe he ran into someone he knew on his way back, or got stuck in traffic, or something else delayed him? Or maybe he charged his phone when he got home, but then took a shower, or fell asleep? All of those are very possible." Li Yang said, feeling a little strange himself. It wasn't that he was surprised that Xiang Kun hadn't replied, but rather that he was wondering why his daughter was suddenly so inexplicably worried and anxious, as if she were overthinking things. Usually, his Little Apple, is much calmer and more rational than him when things happen.
Little Apple was silent for a while, seemingly calming down, and her voice became much calmer. "Let's wait until ten o'clock and see. If we still can't get through to Uncle Xiang's phone at ten o'clock, we'll tell him to contact the property management of Uncle Xiang's apartment complex to check if he's back and make sure he's safe."
Although he felt his daughter was making a mountain out of a molehill, Li Yang still agreed.
After Li Yang returned to the living room, Little Apple sat down and slowly calmed down. She realized that she might have overreacted. She took a few deep breaths, deliberately relaxing herself, and imagined the scene in the park that afternoon, hearing the various birdsong and insect chirps. She then held the Minion Wooden Carving in her hand again.
After buying the clothes, Xiang Kun used his enhanced senses to search the area and found a private car offering fares. He negotiated a price with the driver. Of course, it was many times more expensive than taking the bus, but at this time, there were no more buses running, and he didn't want to run back—not that long-distance running no longer improved him, but the cost-effectiveness was too low compared to the time spent.
Xiang Kun sat in the back seat, placing the Gold Glitter birdcage as far away from him as possible on the other side. Ever since he brought the Gold Glitter back up from the mountain, the canary had been in a state of constant fear and trepidation.
Xiang Kun knew that Gold Glitter had sensitively detected the change in his magnetic field, which was why she seemed somewhat afraid and at a loss.
He had no other choice. He tried various methods to eliminate static electricity, such as grounding, washing his hands, and touching metal, but none of them could completely eliminate the residual effect. He could only wait for it to dissipate on its own.
Just like in the car, the driver was listening to the radio, but after Xiang Kun got in, the radio kept cutting out and intermittently. He tried changing the station several times but couldn't find a clear one. The driver had no choice but to turn it off while cursing, and then apologized to Xiang Kun, saying that although his car radio was terrible, the car's mechanical quality was still very good, and that Xiang Kun shouldn't worry.
As they neared their destination, Xiang Kun suddenly felt a stirring in his heart, a vague and inexplicable thought that he should sense a certain wooden carving.
Although he was puzzled and confused, and couldn't confirm whether the thought was real, Xiang Kun still followed the feeling and sensed the Minion Wooden Carving he had given to Little Apple.
Upon sensing each other, a perceptual connection was immediately established. Xiang Kun clearly felt Little Apple's emotions, a strong sense of tension and worry.
Xiang Kun was somewhat surprised. Since he acquired the "Emotional Injection" item, it was normal for him to perceive other people's emotions through these items, but this was the first time he had such a clear perception. The clarity of this perception was about three to five times stronger than normal.
At the same time Xiang Kun was also a little worried, wondering why Little Apple had such strong emotions. He suspected that it might be because he hadn't replied to her messages after getting off the bus, making her worry about his safety. But he felt that probably wasn't the case, because it had only been a few hours since he last visited, and even if he couldn't contact her, she shouldn't have such strong feelings of tension and worry.
If they were still in the city where Little Apple lived, Xiang Kun would probably choose to go to the vicinity of Little Apple's home to check and confirm the safety of Xiao Pingguo and her father.
But now he's only a few kilometers from home, and it would take too long to get there now, so he needs to check the situation first.
However, he soon sensed a change in Little Apple's emotions, from tension and worry to calm and peace, just like the feeling he had in the park near her house that afternoon.
Moreover, this perception of emotion is becoming increasingly clear, as if it has been amplified.
This feeling made Xiang Kun suspicious, and he had some vague guesses.
After driving to the entrance of the residential area, Xiang Kun paid the fare with all the cash, went home first to drop off "Gold Glitter," then took his bank card and went straight to the mobile phone store that he remembered staying open relatively late.
He brought back the wreckage of his Redmi Note 8 Pro, but it was clearly beyond repair, so he decided to go directly to a physical store and buy a new Honor phone for around 1000 yuan.
Of course, before buying the phone, he had already confirmed that the residual effects of "charging" around his body had almost dissipated, and even the phone signal would no longer be affected. Otherwise, if he "blew up" another phone, he would really be in tears.
After inserting the SIM card, Xiang Kun logged into WeChat, replied to Little Apple's previous message, and then explained, "My phone broke in the car earlier, so I just bought a new one."
"Oh, I'm so glad Uncle Xiang arrived safely!" Little Apple replied via voice message. She didn't mention her previous worries, because now that she thought about it, it seemed like she had been a bit too anxious.
Xiang Kun then brought up their earlier conversation from that afternoon, discussing the method of practicing the object-giving technique.
As Little Apple chatted, she naturally mentioned her idea of using the wooden carving Xiang Kun gave her as a keepsake, and said that she felt it was particularly effective to practice with the Minion Wooden Carving.
Xiang Kun quickly confirmed his earlier guess— Little Apple could now enhance her emotions through his "Emotional Injection" wooden carvings.
In this way, if she is concentrating on perceiving her surroundings, like the tranquil and peaceful mood she experiences in the park in the afternoon, the wood carving will enhance this feeling, allowing her to concentrate better, eliminate distractions, and indirectly improve her sensory abilities.
Clearly, it was only after Xiang Kun visited today that Little Apple was able to obtain this ability by using the wood carving.
Xiang Kun guessed that by going there today, he had psychologically accepted Little Apple, which was equivalent to "granting her access".
Although, under Xiang Kun's guidance, she subconsciously believed that the Coin had a special tendency, what she genuinely felt was the several wooden carvings that Xiang Kun had given her before.
By a twist of fate, Little Apple actually deviated from the Xiang Kun had designed for her, but ended up on the most correct path.
Clearly, Little Apple's ability to enhance her emotions using the Minion Wooden Carving was also a result of "calling upon" Xiang Kun's abilities. However, Xiang Kun felt that the "Emotional Injection" wood carving should have more than one function. Perhaps as Little Apple gained a deeper understanding and became more proficient, she would find and develop even more ways to use it.
Whether it was the Little Chubby Girl who connected with the Coin through "Super-Sensory Link" or the Little Apple who connected with the Minion Wooden Carving through "Emotional Injection," Xiang Kun was full of anticipation. He even felt that the game he had painstakingly developed had finally welcomed two players, and that the two players had even played in ways he had never imagined.
However, Xiang Kun Little Apple a few more instructions, telling her directly that the "object-giving" practice method might amplify her emotions, so she must practice it when she is calm.
Xiang Kun didn't want Little Apple to use the "Emotional Injection" wooden carving to amplify her negative emotions when she was scared, depressed, or sad; that would be a bad thing. He believed that with Little Apple's intelligence, she would gradually realize where her excessive tension and worry came from, and after his reminder, she would pay more attention.
After ending his chat with Little Apple, Xiang Kun took his new phone home.
He summarized the unexpected "recharging" process of the day, inputting some of his speculative data into the "Vampire Mutation Model" through Alice, and then letting Alice analyze it and give some suggestions.
In fact, Xiang Kun knew that the cognitive model of "Electric Flight" that he had built in his brain by integrating various data and cognitions was definitely much stronger than the "Vampire Mutation Model" in the computer, even if the latter had been greatly improved by Alice.
After all, his new cognitive model can be improved by directly referencing his perceptions, while the computer model requires him to quantify the specific situations. However, he is not entirely clear about many situations and perceptions, so it is impossible for him to summarize accurate data. Moreover, some perceptions simply cannot be quantified.
But Xiang Kun knows that sometimes you need "others" to offer opinions from different perspectives. Those opinions don't have to be accurate or correct; just having them is enough. Often, they can provide insights and give you a sense of sudden enlightenment and finding a new direction.
Alice's two "views" on mutation patterns are good examples.
Just like last time, Alice did not give an immediate answer, Xiang Kun got up and went to the balcony to sense the atmospheric electric field outside.
The biggest takeaway tonight wasn't actually "recharging," but rather the comprehensive refinement of the cognitive model of "atmospheric electric field."
During thunderstorms, when the atmospheric electric field is greatly enhanced, he can accurately and clearly judge the movement trend of the electric field and most of the surrounding charges, just like a surfer who can accurately judge the wave situation and know when to ride.
In fact, he didn't know how to "recharge," and he couldn't control the process. Whether it was "recharging" or the subsequent "flight," it felt like he had been kicked in mid-air.
He simply sensed the changes in the atmospheric electric field and knew that at that time and place, he could receive a "boost" simply by appearing.
To "recharge" him and create that ball of light, he still needs to further decompose and fuse it.