A Candlelit Night Talk

"Can an 'Egg Pie' grow eight claws and eight eyes?"

Upon hearing the Little Chubby Girl's words, Xiang Kun instinctively wanted to say "Of course not," but various pieces of information from his previous examination of the "Egg Pie" suddenly surfaced, giving him a series of inexplicable thoughts. He vaguely found some ways to apply the abilities he gained from the "Mutated Parasite" combined with the "Super-Sensing Item System."

Strictly speaking, what the Little Chubby Girl said doesn't seem... impossible.

But now is not the time to talk about these things. Even if Xiang Kun had an idea, he couldn't possibly use "Egg Pie" as an experiment. He said, "It's not that it looks the same, it's the connection between us, it's like we're telepathically connected. Do you know what telepathy means? Hmm... For example, how do you get 'Egg Pie' to obey you?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Shiling said to "Egg Pie," who was still wriggling on the ground, "Egg Pie, come here!"

Upon hearing the sound, "Egg Pie" immediately stopped wriggling, turned its head to look at its little owner, and meowed, as if in response or questioning.

"Come here, Egg Pie ~" Liu Shiling said again.

This time, "Egg Pie" finally rolled up from the ground and moved to her feet, meowing.

Liu Shiling looked up at Xiang Kun triumphantly.

"Give it some more complex instructions," Xiang Kun said.

Liu Shiling didn't think much of it, patted "Egg Pie's" head, and pointed towards the living room, saying, "'Egg Pie,' I want shrimp chips!"

Following her finger, "Egg Pie" turned its head to look at the living room, then back at her, then at Xiang Kun, before meowing and slowly swaying out into the living room.

"Egg Pie" went out slowly but returned incredibly fast, rushing back to Liu Shiling's side like a gust of wind and placing the thing he was carrying in his mouth at her feet.

However, that wasn't the bag of shrimp chips on the living room table; it was a cat's nutritional paste.

As Liu Shiling picked up the nutritional paste, opened the lid, and fed it to "Egg Pie," she proudly told Xiang Kun, "'Egg Pie' may be a little slow, but it's still very obedient and well-behaved. I just tell it what to do, and it will do it. But sometimes it's a bit clumsy and doesn't do it well."

This wasn't just the Little Chubby Girl's wishful thinking; her summary was actually quite accurate. Xiang Kun could vaguely sense that when she was "communicating" with "Egg Pie," she did give "Egg Pie" instructions, and "Egg Pie" understood the instructions. However, its comprehension was limited, or the information it conveyed was limited. "Egg Pie" only knew to go to the living room to get something related to food, but it couldn't precisely understand that the Little Chubby Girl wanted it to get the shrimp chips on the table.

It's clear that the connection between the Little Chubby Girl and "Egg Pie" is very weak and rudimentary, far less strong than the connection between the Little Apple and "Gold Glitter."

Of course, this was something the Little Chubby Girl did all by herself, and she was completely oblivious to it the whole time. She still doesn't realize it herself, so it's already quite remarkable that she was able to establish the connection.

However, the direct connection between Little Chubby Girl and "Egg Pie" has not yet been restored; it is currently relayed through the "Super-Sensing Item System," so some specific details of the connection may differ.

However, from these few simple exchanges, it's clear that the Little Chubby Girl doesn't have any particularly special subjective feelings about her connection with "Egg Pie".

At this moment, Shiling's Mother came out of the kitchen with a plate of cut fruit and called the three of them to come to the living room to eat and chat.

Xiang Kun used the excuse that Liu Shiling wanted to ask Lao Xia some questions about physics and medicine to let the two of them continue to talk alone in the room, while he and Shiling's Mother went to the living room to chat.

Knowing that Ms. Xia was a highly accomplished student with two master's degrees and a doctor, Shiling's Mother already regarded her as a remarkable person. Naturally, she felt it would be beneficial for her daughter to learn from her and take her as a role model. Even if she was still young and couldn't learn much yet, interacting with intelligent people would surely have a positive influence, wouldn't it? There's that saying, "Those who associate with pigs eat them"... but that doesn't seem quite right...

Xiang Kun and Lao Xia didn't stay long. After chatting for a while, they agreed to pick up the Little Chubby Girl for lunch the next day with Tang Baona and Yang Zhen'er, who were flying over. Around 8:30, they said goodbye and left for the hotel they had booked in advance.

Xiang Kun booked two standard rooms, but he and Lao Xia stayed in one room that night because they had a lot to discuss.

Xiang Kun himself had a basic understanding of how the Little Chubby Girl combined with the "Super-Sensing Item System" and the abilities she developed, and he had told Lao Xia about these things before.

However, from Lao Xia's perspective, she also needs to use her own understanding within the "Super-Sensing Item System" to communicate with the Little Chubby Girl, to understand her way of thinking, and thereby update her own understanding.

Xiang Kun wanted to know Lao Xia's updated understanding after talking with the Little Chubby Girl.

The two sat on separate beds in the room. Xia Libing would occasionally take out fries or chicken nuggets from a bag next to her, Xiang Kun would occasionally nibble on a few roasted chicken wings. However, Xia Libing was eating KFC that they had packed on their way back—real food, a real late-night snack. Xiang Kun, was eating food that he had "created" for the occasion.

Although Xiang Kun was chatting with Shiling's Mother in the living room while Xia Libing and the Little Chubby Girl were "talking privately" in their room that evening, he could actually hear their conversation clearly.

So Lao Xia didn't repeat their conversation, but only shared her judgment. "In my understanding, 'Super-Linked Object' and 'Emotion-Infused Object' are more like tools, necessities used to achieve certain purposes;

"For 'Little Apple,' the 'Emotion-Infused Object' she can actually access in reality are, in her perception, 'channels,' while the other projections of 'Emotion-Infused Object' that she perceives through these 'channels' are 'monsters';

In Little Bell's understanding, there are two definitions of "Super-Linked Object": one is the medium through which she establishes communication with "magic," and the other is "partner."

Thinking of the names the Little Chubby Girl gave the two Coin, and the two silver-armored fat warriors with numbers on their chests and chrysanthemums on their backs that materialized in his dream, Xiang Kun nodded slightly.

Lao Xia continued, "What makes Little Bell so special, and what sets her apart from me and 'Little Apple,' is that in her mind, whether she sees 'Super-Linked Object' as 'magical mediums' or 'battle partners,' they are real entities."

Xiang Kun nodded again. That was indeed the case. The Little Chubby Girl had believed in the existence of "magic" from the very beginning. Ironically, all her "concepts" and "imagination" about "magic" were eventually proven by reality, which in turn reinforced her belief.

Whether it's Lao Xia or "Little Apple," they still need to use phenomena to fill in the gaps or make inferences, because they already have a relatively complete understanding of the world.

However, Xiang Kun had actually considered these things before. He asked, "Will knowing these things help you in applying your abilities?"

Xia Libing raised both hands, interlaced her fingers tightly, and said, "I think that Little Bell placed herself on an equal footing with the 'Super-Linked Object,' which should be the reason why she can deeply integrate into the 'Super-Sensing Item System.' Because she can integrate into it, when she calls upon those 'Super-Linked Object' in reality, they can also provide her with support 'equally,' bringing stronger effects."

"In reality, I can't treat 'Super-Linked Object' and 'Emotion-Infused Object' equally like Little Bell does, but in dreams, perhaps there's a way to find a way to simulate them through visualization, and use that way to explore my abilities more deeply."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Kun immediately recalled the "Little Lao Xia" that Lao Xia had constructed in his dream through the "Super-Linked Object" dream projection.

However, the "Little Lao Xia" in her dream seemed to be just a soulless projection. After she woke up, it was unable to appear in reality like other "Super-Linked Object dream projections".

Xiang Kun was also curious about what specific implementation plan Lao Xia had, so they discussed it for a while until after 1 a. m.