Dinner Hadn't Been Filling Enough

Xia Libing asked Xiang Kun to sit down at the dining table, then went to her room to retrieve her laptop and her black softcover notebook.

"The child in the dream is different from the 'manifestation' cake and pork knuckle in a few ways." Xia Libing sat opposite Xiang Kun and began to say, "First, the feeling when it manifests in the dream is different. It doesn't have the same sense of domination as when it manifests the cake and pork knuckle. The degree of control is different."

"Secondly, the cake and pork knuckle arose in response to the emotions evoked in the dream, while the child's did not;"

"Third, the abilities I have after waking up are probably not enough to 'manifest' the child."

Although it was just a nickname, Xiang Kun still felt a little strange when Lao Xia referred to her childhood self in the dream as a "child".

But if we don't call him "kid," there doesn't seem to be a more suitable name. Should we call him "Xiao Xia"? "Little Xia"? We can't exactly call him "Little Lao Xia" like he did.

Xiang Kun pondered Lao Xia's words and said, "According to you, even if one has enough 'control ability,' it's not necessarily possible to fully reveal the 'children'?"

"Yes." Xia Libing nodded in affirmation. "That's how it is from my perspective."

"Could you describe the 'ability to control' you mentioned in detail? Are you referring to the Coin I gave you?" Xiang Kun asked.

Xia Libing took the laptop to the side and then Xiang Kun the nine Coin Xiang Kun had given her in three rows of 3x3 in the middle of the table, which looked quite neat.

"Do you have any Coin on you now?" Xia Libing asked, looking up after arranging the Coin.

Xiang Kun took out a ball and placed it on the table. "This works the same as Coin." He had already explained the process of establishing "Super-Sensory Link" to Lao Xia, so Lao Xia naturally knew that the ball and the Coin used to establish "Super-Sensory Link" were essentially no different.

Xia Libing took the bead, examined it in her palm for a while, then took a tissue and laid it on the table before placing the bead on top to prevent it from rolling.

Next, she stared at the side of the table Xiang Kun, and a few seconds later, a Napoleon cake appeared.

Xiang Kun glanced at it and immediately realized that this Napoleon cake was slightly different from the one that Lao Xia had "appeared" at noon.

He slowly picked up the cake, observed it for a while, smelled it, and said, "It is indeed a bit different. The details are more 'rich.' Is it because there are six more Coin that can be controlled?"

After the cake disappeared, Xia Libing said, "I tried it last night. Before going to sleep, when 'All Manifests,' I could only connect three Coin. After waking up, I could use nine Coin."

As she spoke, she pointed to the bead on the tissue again. "I can feel it, but I can't use its abilities right now."

Xiang Kun understood what she meant. In other words, if Lao Xia wanted to use "Super-Linked Object" to "manifest" objects in his dreams in reality, he first needed to project the "Super-Linked Object" into his dreams to establish a deeper connection. Only after waking up could he "call upon" the abilities of these "Super-Linked Object"Super-Linked Object to manifest a certain item in reality.

Indeed, when Lao Xia "manifested" that cake, he could only feel the nine Coin using his abilities, while the orb he had just given Lao Xia did not react at all.

Xia Libing continued, "I didn't use the 'powers' these Coin to specifically 'construct' any items. The process of the cake and pork knuckle 'appearing' was more like using the Coin's power to create a channel to 'invite' the cake and pork knuckle into reality. The Coin are the intermediaries for the appearance of items, and I am the intermediary of the Coin."

Xiang Kun nodded thoughtfully; he understood what Lao Xia meant.

In other words, although Lao Xia's ability to "Fantasy Manifestation" originated from the Coin that established a "Super-Sensory Link" with Xiang Kun, to use them to achieve "Fantasy Manifestation," he first needed to "import" and "project" them into a dream, and then use the projected power to construct items in the dream. Only after waking up could he use those "Super-Linked Object" to "manifest" the items constructed in the dream.

Just as Xiang Kun had thought before, Lao Xia's dream was a self-contained little system. For a new "Super-Linked Object" to establish a connection with her, it needed to first enter the dream to "format" it?

In dreams, using projections of those "Super-Linked Object" to construct items is like programming these "devices." Upon returning to reality, one can only run the "programmed" program from the dream.

As for the "Little Lao Xia" that appeared in the dream, it was an "advanced program" that the equipment could not yet support; it could not run, or even be installed at all.

Of course, this is Xiang Kun's perspective from the viewpoint of "Super-Linked Object" applications.

Judging from Lao Xia's description, the ability she gained through those "Super-Linked Object" in the process of "manifestation" acts more like a door or a bridge, "inviting" the items from the dream to come out.

That means the dreams Lao Xia had before might not have completely disappeared or disintegrated after he woke up?

"I want to confirm this again," Xia Libing said, explaining why he had called Xiang Kun over.

Xiang Kun nodded, "Okay." Then he added, "After you enter the dream this time, try eating the Napoleon cake and crispy pork knuckle that you created in the dream. Then use 'Super-Linked Object' to create more things. You can start with the simple ones. As for what they are, you can decide."

Xia Libing naturally understood what he meant, nodded, then got up, gathered the nine Coin and the ball, went into the room, untied her ponytail, let her hair down, and lay down on the bed to go to sleep.

Xiang Kun sat at the dining table in the living room, flipping through the black softcover notebook that Lao Xia had left on the table, and saw the simple little figures, owls, and spiders drawn on it.

"Lao Xia's drawing skills... aren't very good..." Xiang Kun couldn't help but mutter.

He didn't immediately try to sense the chopsticks that were now placed next to Xia Libing's pillow, because even if Xia Libing was in the bedroom and he was in the living room, he could still clearly determine whether Lao Xia was asleep or not using various sensory information.

Five minutes passed.

Ten minutes passed.

Fifteen minutes passed...

Xiang Kun couldn't help but ask, "Lao Xia, are you having trouble sleeping?"

The sound of Lao Xia sitting up in bed came from the bedroom. She came out and looked at Xiang Kun: "Maybe you didn't eat enough tonight."

Xiang Kun naturally understood what she meant, so he got up and went into the kitchen to look for the leftover ingredients he had brought to make lunch that morning.

At this very moment, in another city hundreds of kilometers away.

Li Sheng, accompanied by a female colleague, his brother Li Yang, and his niece Li Jun, said goodbye at their doorstep, then walked to the community parking lot to get his car.

Li Sheng, a criminal police officer, was still on duty yesterday, New Year's Eve, without a break all night, let alone going to his brother's house to celebrate the New Year together.

I finally had some free time today, so I brought my female colleague, with whom I've basically confirmed our relationship, out for dinner.

After finishing my meal, I have to rush back to work.

The female colleague wasn't particularly pretty, and she had a noticeable scar on her forehead. She wasn't wearing much makeup, but she was tall and had a rather heroic air about her. Standing next to the bespectacled and refined Li Sheng, they actually had a good sense of being a couple.

"Liu Ying, what do you think? My brother's a good guy, isn't he?" Li Sheng said with a smile as he started the engine after getting into the car.

The policewoman named Liu Ying nodded and said, "Professor Li is very knowledgeable and speaks with great wit and humor. Chatting with him is really interesting. If I didn't have to go back to the station, I would love to chat with him longer. However... what impressed me more was your niece, Little Apple."