An Abnormal World

When Liu Shiling's "runaway plan" to leave home, which was only a few hundred meters away, failed, Li Jun, Little Apple had been asleep for more than an hour, suddenly sat up in bed.

Her eyes widened as she stared ahead, her seemingly blind eyes gleaming like black gemstones.

Just now, in her sleep, she vaguely heard a rumbling thunder, and then she felt as if she were in the middle of a thunderstorm.

She had never seen lightning or a thunderstorm.

Previously, our understanding of this natural weather phenomenon relied solely on imagination, based on descriptions of thunder and various related languages or texts.

But the thunderstorm she perceived in her dream was very, very different from what she had known before.

She could even vaguely feel the vibration of the surrounding air after the thunder, the slight movement of her hand hair due to static electricity, and the tingling sensation on her skin.

Her dream wasn't just about the thunderstorm; it seemed to be a kind of initiation "ritual," opening a door for her in her dream world.

Next, she didn't know how it happened, but it was as if she had passed through a "passage" and arrived in another space, starting another "dream".

In that "dream," she sat in front of the computer watching all sorts of funny cartoons and TV shows, one after another, laughing out loud from time to time.

Not long after, she followed another "channel" into another dream. There she was, squatting on the ground fiddling with the components in a computer case. Based on the knowledge Xiang Kun had taught her, she could roughly determine that she was currently overclocking by unplugging and plugging in jumpers. After failing to power on and hearing the machine's beeping sound, she began preparing to modify the CPU's air cooling.

Then she escaped the dream again and entered the "passage." This time, she wandered in the "passage" for a long time before finally finding another "dream."

In this "dream," she transformed into a monster, not only enormous in size but also with many arms, being chased by many people, forced to instinctively run away. Fortunately, she was incredibly fast.

Amidst the fear conveyed by the dream, Little Apple awoke and sat up in bed.

Although the dreams, including the inexplicable thunderstorm, were very bizarre, and the last dream instilled a great sense of fear in her, upon waking, while she felt somewhat nervous and scared, she was also filled with excitement, joy, and curiosity!

During those three "dreams," she gained many perceptions she had never had before.

Just like sitting in front of a computer watching a movie or animation, she could not only hear the sounds, but also perceive some strange images.

The images were very different from her usual judgments and perceptions based solely on sound. They seemed bizarre and surreal, but that feeling was very novel to her, and for the first time, she had a real concept of images in her mind.

Although she didn't know how different the scenes in this "dream" were from the real world.

Besides the image in front of the computer, she also perceived two other "dream" scenes. She "saw" the computer case, which looked like a monster with its mouth wide open, and she "saw" the "people" chasing after her, who had turned into a monster. In her mind, those "people" chasing her could also be called monsters, because they looked really strange.

Little Apple sat on the bed, her mind replaying the things she had "seen" in those dreams. She didn't lie down to go back to sleep, not because she was afraid of having those dreams again, but because she was afraid that if she fell asleep right away, she would forget those "dreams."

Fortunately, she had a very vivid memory of her "dream" after waking up and could easily recall it.

As she was thinking, Little Apple suddenly had a feeling, and then bent down and touched it, accurately grabbing the Minion Wooden Carving placed on the bedside table.

After learning the "Object-Sensing" practice method from Xiang Kun, the Minion Wooden Carving became her constant companion, taking it with her wherever she went. Of course, she rarely went out and mostly stayed at home, at most going to sit in the park outside the community for a while each day.

Stroking the Minion in her hand, Little Apple suddenly felt that her connection with the wooden carving had become even deeper.

In fact, a day earlier, she had already noticed that she seemed to have established a special connection with the Minion Wooden Carving that was stronger than before. Not only could she use the Minion to make her more focused and sensitive when perceiving her surroundings and listening to sounds, but she also seemed to be able to more accurately judge the people or objects moving around her through the wood carving, giving her a sixth sense-like "subconscious reaction".

Moreover, she discovered that when she was communicating with others, she seemed to be able to sense their emotions and intentions more clearly through this wood carving.

Because she had only just started having this feeling, Little Apple wasn't sure if it was just her imagination. She consulted Xiang Kun on WeChat but didn't receive a response.

But at this moment, holding the Minion Wooden Carving in her hand, she was absolutely certain that her perception had indeed been significantly enhanced.

She could even sense the CPU Wooden Carving, Motherboard Wooden Carving, and Memory Wooden Carving in the drawer through the Minion Wooden Carving.

She could clearly sense the general environment around the table, and then, through the three wooden carvings, her thoughts wandered, vaguely sensing that in some distant place, there was a monster with many arms, gazing longingly at her from afar.

She could sense that the place where the monster was located was a completely enclosed space, as if it were locked up!

Thinking back to the several vivid dreams I recently had, in which I could sense inexplicable emotions, could these dreams be related to this wood carving?

Little Apple's first reaction was that the monster she perceived was just a psychological effect, a hallucination caused by her focusing too much on recalling the details of her dream.

After all, both the image of the monster and its act of looking at oneself from afar are perceptions automatically constructed in the mind, but there is no sensory information to arrive at this perception, whether it is sound, smell or touch. Objectively speaking, such perceptions without sufficient basis can only be "hallucinations".

She was already seventeen, no longer at an age where she could easily believe in the existence of monsters and magic. In fact, perhaps because her father was an associate professor at a university, she had never had many such fantasies since childhood. Compared to magic, she preferred to use scientific methods to think about various phenomena.

But this time, she really hoped that what she was perceiving was not an illusion.

Or perhaps, after accepting Xiang Kun's theory of "Object-Sensing," she began to anticipate the appearance of some miracle that transcends current human understanding.

If this wasn't a hallucination, if the Many-Armed Monster she had been projected into her dream and had just vaguely sensed truly existed, then was the previous dream a deliberate attempt by the monster to enter her dream, to attract her attention, and to ask for her help?

The reason the monster could affect her might be because the "Object-Sensing" technique Xiang Kun taught her unexpectedly worked? Or perhaps it was also related to the wood carvings themselves?

If that monster truly exists, does that mean she has already made contact with some abnormal world?

In that abnormal world, perhaps there's a way to allow her to truly see things?

Just like in the three dreams she had before, where she could "see" those bizarre and fantastical scenes?

Little Apple clutched the Minion Wooden Carving tightly, a sense of hope slowly rising within her.

If such a world truly exists, would Mom be there too?

In the mountains and forests, barefoot and dressed in dirty and tattered clothes, Xiang Kun stood in the rain and snow, looking up, maintaining that "stargazing" posture for more than half an hour.

He suddenly sensed something, so he tried to locate the two Coin belonging to the Little Chubby Girl Liu Shiling. To his surprise, he not only sensed the location of the Coin but also another entity.

This is a very special and strange sensation, quite different from other objects that have established "Super-Sensory Link" and objects that have been "Emotional Injection." It can not only sense the location of the object, but also its current state—but this state is not an emotion or a form, but rather a form similar to energy.

Although he couldn't be certain, based on normal reasoning, Xiang Kun instantly deduced that the suddenly added sensory presence should belong to the Little Chubby Girl Liu Shiling.

In terms of the intensity of the sensor feedback, it is indeed comparable to the sensor intensity that is missing in Coin and A4 paper.

He not only sensed the Little Chubby Girl, but also perceived a kind of energy-level "communication" between Little Chubby Girl and one of the Coin.

Although he couldn't see any images, nor could he perceive any sound or smell, he knew from the flow of energy that the Coin was being controlled by a magnetic force and had moved a certain distance.

The source of this force is actually very complex. Even though Xiang Kun can sense the energy transformation between the Little Chubby Girl and the Coin, he cannot make a very accurate judgment. It can be said that it comes from the surrounding electric field force, or it can be said that it comes from the control of the Little Chubby Girl, but its root should be Xiang Kun's ability.

After a brief flow of energy, the sensation on the Little Chubby Girl disappeared, leaving only a deep sense of the Coin's location.

Xiang Kun then obtained a connection similar to "Emotional Injection" from Little Apple, and had very clear sensory feedback. Then he sensed the Minion Wooden Carving and CPU Wooden Carving at Little Apple's place, and they all showed abnormal feedback. Even the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving that was placed at home at this time also reacted.

This time, Xiang Kun also sensed the flow of energy, but this flow was different from what Liu Shiling sensed, and it was much more difficult to figure out and understand.

The Little Apple, the Minion Wooden Carving, the CPU Wooden Carving, and the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving at home seem to be connected by some force, transmitting that special energy.

Upon closer examination, Xiang Kun realized that he was the source of that energy that established connections.

Then he suddenly discovered that, under these circumstances, he could simultaneously perceive multiple items that had been "Emotional Injection." Previously, he could only perceive one "Emotional Injection" item at a time; to perceive another, he had to stop perceiving the previous one. Therefore, he could not conduct simultaneous activation experiments with his "Twelve Minion Formation."

Xiang Kun could sever the connection between several items and Little Apple at any time, but naturally he wouldn't do that; the current situation filled him with curiosity and anticipation.

He began to focus his attention on the energies that were being exchanged, and then he vaguely felt like he was "entering a dream." He realized that the Little Apple was likely triggering the emotions he had attached to the wooden carvings during his "Emotional Injection," and he "actively" began to enter the relevant dream.

It's like how before, Little Apple, as a gamer, was passively pulled into the game while she was sleeping, but now, she's actively entering the game; she's already found the game client.

After a while, Xiang Kun suddenly had a strange feeling. He sensed that the CPU Wooden Carving was in a very oppressive place, with flat obstacles on all sides, and they were very close together. He sensed that the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving was surrounded by "walls" on all four sides. He sensed that the Minion was tightly wrapped up by a layer of obstacles.

He knew very well that the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving was currently in a cabinet at home, so it was surrounded by "walls." Judging from the surroundings of the CPU Wooden Carving, it should be in a drawer. As for the Minion Wooden Carving, based on his previous conversation with Little Apple, it was possible that she was holding it in her hand or pressing it under a pillow—judging from the basic coverage of the obstacles, the former was more likely.

This result of perception made Xiang Kun very happy. Although he could not perceive images, sounds, or other normal sensory information, he could only judge the approximate location of the nearest obstacle around the object, seemingly by some kind of wave emitted by the object itself.

The sensations on Little Apple quickly disappeared, and her sensations with other objects returned to their previous state.

Xiang Kun's mind was still racing. He knew that Liu Shiling and Little Apple would develop a special connection with those items and experience abnormalities around the same time. This was likely related to his mutations and evolution after drinking blood several times, as well as his nighttime flight and the resulting lightning storm.

Xiang Kun felt that the simultaneous generation of that kind of energy from the two of them was related to the evolution of some kind of ability he possessed. Tonight, while flying, he had pushed that ability to its limit, which triggered certain characteristics that already existed in them, and these characteristics took effect through the items that had established a connection.

Moreover, although some of the things they accomplished were achieved by "calling Xiang Kun's abilities, the methods and results were things that even Xiang Kun himself could not do.

He is like a server and a platform. Liu Shiling and Little Apple are no longer just ordinary users or players, but have become developers involved in the process.

The abilities they displayed tonight through "Super-Sensory Link" and "Emotional Injection" items are precisely what Xiang Kun desperately needs but has been struggling to achieve.

Xiang Kun withdrew his gaze from the starry sky and sighed softly:

"The ancients were right after all: 'Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me; three cobblers with their wits combined are equal to one Zhuge Liang...'"

Even Liu Shiling, a child who is still in kindergarten, has brought about a significant breakthrough in his ability system.