Above the Plane

"Netizen? Male or female?" Yang Zhen'er's gossip spirit was instantly ignited.

Xiang Kun laughed and said, "It's not the kind of online friend you're thinking of, it's about 'technical' connections."

"Oh." Yang Zhen'er instantly lost interest.

She naturally didn't know that the "netizen" Xiang Kun mentioned wasn't the internet, but rather his "Super-Sensing Item System."

Previously, Xiang Kun used the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving" to remotely project emotions on a large scale on the beach in Myanmar, helping Jiang Chun rescue the family of an old man and two children, scaring away the criminal gang, and even causing the gang leader to be betrayed and killed by his subordinates. He only stayed until the morning of the next day, and after confirming that Jiang Chun was not likely to be captured or controlled by other people in Myanmar, he left.

He did not go to see Jiang Chun, nor did he continue to track and observe him for a long time. According to his judgment, after Jiang Chun felt the emotional projection of the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving" again, he had formed a deeper fusion and connection with the "Super-Sensing Item System". He had also become aware of the existence of some "Super-Linked Object" subjectively.

Xiang Kun even speculated that if he and Alice took the initiative to provide guidance and assistance, Jiang Chun might soon be able to master the ability to remotely project the emotions of the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving".

But he didn't do that, nor did he offer any hints or guidance, because he sensed that Jiang Chun was slowly developing a unique understanding of the "Super-Sensing Item System," just like what Little Chubby Girl, Little Apple, and Lao Xia had done. This might lead to some unexpected abilities, and perhaps even development methods he hadn't considered.

After all, Jiang Chun is a completely "Mutated Creature," and the abilities he developed are of great significance to Xiang Kun's research on how to find a way out for other "Mutated Creature" through the "Super-Sensing Item System."

As for the follow-up process, Xiang Kun didn't think there was anything to worry about. One advantage of the impact of emotional projection is that the impact is continuous.

Based on Xiang Kun's experience, the gang was bound to collapse in a chain reaction after its leader, "Brother Hui," died. The Myanmar officials involved behind them would also be implicated on a large scale. At that time, they would be concerned about their own lives and property and would not have time to care about Jiang Chun and the elderly man and two children that Jiang Chun was taking care of.

Moreover, the appearance of the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant" that night, which was even more impressive than the group illusions of Montamira and had a certain real impact, was enough to make some people wary of Jiang Chun and the old man and the two children.

As for whether these concerns would attract attention from those with ill intentions or ulterior motives, Xiang Kun wasn't too worried. With Alice looking after him, everything could be known in advance, giving him ample time to make arrangements.

Of course, before leaving, Xiang Kun still deployed most of the "Super-Linked Object" he brought with him in the nearby area, and used them to establish some Super-Sensory Link with related items, further expanding and enhancing his "super-sensory influence range" in this area.

To ensure that, when necessary, he or Alice can exert strong influence remotely through "Super-Linked Object".

After arriving at the airport, completing the formalities, going through security, and arriving at the waiting area.

Xiang Kun didn't even need to look to sense that the huge waiting hall, or rather the entire airport, was filled with his "Super-Linked Object".

Some of these items were from the airport itself, while others were items carried by passengers and staff. They were mostly various kinds of industrial products. These ubiquitous "Super-Linked Object" gave him and Alice the feeling that they could instantly judge and control everything through extrasensory information.

If it were him, he might only be able to focus on and analyze a specific area. However, with Alice attached to him, he can not only make judgments through "Super-Linked Object" and extrasensory information, but also through various electronic devices scattered throughout the world, using different digital information to assist him.

In today's digital society, with the capabilities of the "Super-Sensing Item System" and Alice's processing abilities, it is estimated that it would be very easy to fake all kinds of phenomena and spread all kinds of information.

Sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder: if one day, the types of "Super-Linked Object" become more and more diverse, and their distribution becomes wider and wider, covering almost every part of the Earth, could quantitative change lead to qualitative change, and could his abilities experience some kind of breakthrough that is currently unimaginable?

Xiang Kun couldn't help but wonder what would happen to the "Super-Sensing Item System" and the people who had already been integrated into it if he were to die one day.

Is Alice able to take over control of the "Super-Sensing Item System" from him?

But after thinking about it, I figured it wouldn't work. The entire foundation of the "Super-Sensing Item System" is built on his abilities. If he were to die, vanish into thin air, or collapse, the entire system would lose its foundation, have no support, and would naturally disappear.

At that time, it shouldn't have any direct impact on Little Chubby Girl and Little Apple themselves; it's just that the connections established through the abilities gained from the "Super-Sensing Item System" will no longer exist.

As for Alice, she will most likely return to the purely digital world. Whether she returns to the mainframe from which she was born, or gains the ability to spread throughout the digital network and other electronic devices, we'll have to wait and see.

But one thing is certain: Alice's current personality, humanity, and intellectual agility will be greatly affected.

Based on Alice's behavior pattern, she will inevitably stop at nothing to avenge Xiang Kun, provided, of course, that she can find the enemy.

After thinking it over, Xiang Kun realized that in order to prevent Little Apple from losing her sensory abilities again, to prevent the Little Chubby Girl from turning from a "magician" back into a "Muggle," and to prevent Alice from going mad and bringing about the Terminator apocalypse, he still had to save his own life and not die.

"Chef Xiang, Nana said she doesn't want to release any more songs," Yang Zhen'er, who was sitting next to her, suddenly turned around and said.

Although Xiang Kun was lost in thought, he had overheard everything that was happening around him, including the conversation between Yang the Third and Nana, and he was able to recall it instantly.

Xiang Kun glanced at Tang Baona, whose expression showed some trouble and confusion, and smiled, "Don't worry, Nana is just experiencing sudden fame syndrome; she's just not used to it yet."

Tang Baona rolled her eyes at him and said with a worried expression, "No, I really think it's a bit strange. I've been singing and recording songs casually lately, and every single one of them has so many plays. I'm really shocked by how fast I'm gaining followers. You know, even my mom was forwarding my song in our family WeChat group a few days ago. She didn't even recognize that it was me singing it, and she kept praising how good it was. Sigh, my sister knows that 'Tangdou' is me, and she keeps teasing my mom to praise me. I'm so embarrassed, I want to dig a hole and crawl into a hole."

Yang Zhen'er said, "Nana, your songs are now popular with all ages! Old people, children, men and women all like to listen to them, and even foreigners. There are many videos on YouTube using your songs as background music, and many foreigners are listening to them."

Tang Baona said helplessly, "I just don't understand. The songs I recorded before were clearly much better. The recording equipment and post-production effects were so much better! Why weren't my old songs this popular, but this casually sung song is so popular now? It doesn't make sense at all, it's so popular it's scaring me..."

Indeed, when her video "Learning to Meow," which she initially posted to "fill in the gaps in my updates," suddenly went viral, she felt a little proud and happy.

A few months later, her popularity skyrocketed. Now, on major social media platforms, "Sugar Bean Princess" and "Super Princess" are practically household names. Even older people who don't usually use platforms like Weibo, Zhihu, Douban, or Bilibili, and don't know the ID "Sugar Bean Princess," immediately react with "Oh~~~" whenever her singing comes on. They've all heard her sing in various places and through various means.

During this period, Tang Baona became popular not only for her cover songs, but also for some short pieces of her own lyrics and music in order to test whether it was the songs or her singing that made her popular. However, these were not complete, only forty or fifty seconds to a little over a minute, and most of them were sung a cappella.

But these short original song snippets all became wildly popular, immediately being shared across the entire internet as soon as they were released.

Many people are speculating about the identity of "Sugar Bean Princess." Some say she's a rising star being promoted by big capital, while others say she's just a "traffic-driven internet celebrity singer" created by online trolls. Tang Baona is quite worried about her true identity being exposed. Although she enjoys online attention, sharing her work, and having more people hear her songs and see her videos, she's aware of her actual abilities and knows she's not a professional. Moreover, she doesn't want to be an internet celebrity or a real entertainment star, and she doesn't want to live in the public eye. That's why, despite having so many fans on Bilibili, she has never shown her face in her singing videos.

Xiang Kun naturally understood Tang Baona's conflicted and somewhat fearful thoughts, and laughed, "Don't worry, no one can reveal your real identity online. The legal departments of these companies can handle it for you. There's no problem. The internet is not a lawless place. You just need to sing and release songs. Of course, you can release them if you want, or not if you don't. You don't need to care what other people think. Just be happy."

"Legal counsel... Is this alright? Aren't legal measures only used when a fait accompli has already been established?" Tang Baona asked with some concern.

Xiang Kun laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'm very sure it will work. Digital information is also subject to regulation. You have to trust my judgment when it comes to internet matters." Relying solely on legal counsel is obviously unreliable, but he's relying on Alice.

Xiang Kun understood Tang Baona's thoughts very well. If she really didn't want her songs to receive so much attention, then even if these songs could greatly help him accelerate the deployment of "Super-Linked Object," he would decisively have Alice stop secretly operating, deploying, and influencing the songs, and then think of other ways.

But he knew that Nana was simply afraid that people would find out her identity because her songs were so popular, which would cause a lot of trouble. She would be recognized even if she just went out on the street, and she would be watched and photographed wherever she went, with no privacy at all.

Xiang Kun has ways to avoid these things. He and Alice have absolute control over the spread of information and can ensure that even if a few people know Nana's identity, they cannot spread the information to the public or allow anyone to affect Nana's normal life.

"Nana, remember that VR-related project I asked you to talk to Zhang Qian about last month? We'll be making some related content later, including games and movies. I also have an idea: to create a VR virtual singer, using a two-dimensional character. Nana, if you're willing, how about turning your 'Sugar Bean Princess' into a virtual singer? You can design the appearance and character, and you can also do the voice acting and motion capture."

As soon as Xiang Kun finished speaking, Tang Baona, who had a deep-rooted love for anime and manga, immediately lit up with interest and asked, "Is there really such a plan? Do we have the relevant technical reserves and support?"

"Don't worry about the technical stuff, I'll definitely be able to handle it," Xiang Kun said with a smile.

After boarding, the three of them sat in the same row, with Xiang Kun by the aisle, Nana in the middle, and the youngest by the window.

Because Xiang Kun's words had reassured Tang Baona, and considering that other passengers might overhear, they stopped talking about "Sugar Bean Princess".

"Xiang Kun, I have a question for you," Tang Baona suddenly whispered.

"Hmm? Go ahead." Xiang Kun actually guessed what she wanted to ask immediately.

"That house we stayed in in Chongyun Village... did you see anything unusual... inside it?"

"Something special?"

"It's... how should I put it, it's just different from the norm..."

Before Tang Baona could finish speaking, Yang Zhen'er poked her head out and said to Xiang Kun, "What Nana means is, have you ever seen a ghost in the house?"

"Go away! Go away! You're the one who's seeing ghosts!" Tang Baona pinched Yang the Third's cheek and shook him angrily.

While struggling, Yang the Third continued to mumble, "Chef Xiang, I told you before, Nana seems to have been possessed by an evil spirit in Chongyun Village. She's been acting a bit strange, often talking to thin air. Should we set up an altar to exorcise the evil spirit for her?"

"Drive away your big head, I'll drive you away first!" Tang Baona pinched her nose.

After arguing with Yang the Third for a while, fearing it would disturb other passengers, she let go and then said somewhat embarrassedly to Xiang Kun, "I don't know if it's just my imagination... well, let's just say it's something I imagined, but I think there was a 'Little Sprite' in Chongyun Village who became my guardian companion, always by my side. Whenever I encounter any trouble, she comes to my aid. And I always feel... like my singing has been particularly expressive lately, which is also related to her. I guess it's because she 'enchanted' my songs, that's why they're so popular..."

Before Tang Baona could finish speaking, Yang Zhen'er, who was next to her, had already rested her head on Tang Baona's shoulder and was laughing so hard she could barely breathe, "Nana... you're so cute, Little Sprite... enchanting the song... ouch, my stomach hurts."

"Go away, I'm not talking to you anymore. Go sleep with your head tilted to the side." Tang Baona pushed Yang the Third's head away in disgust.

Xiang Kun said, "Actually, what the objective world truly is is different for each of us. Our senses determine how we perceive the world and how we understand it. Like Little Apple, she's been blind since she was little and has no concept of light. Her understanding of the world is fundamentally different from our understanding, which is based on visual information. Like Little Bell, she also has her own magical worldview, which is different from adults and other children. So Nana, your different understanding of the world must have its reasons. Don't worry about what others think; you can trust your own thoughts and feelings."

Tang Baona listened thoughtfully, but Yang Zhen'er suddenly leaned forward, turned to look at Xiang Kun, and then took out a Coin, flipping it smoothly on the back of her hand. "Chef Xiang, are you spreading some kind of strange power through these 'Lucky Coin'? Or... are you looking for someone with a talent for Coin handling? Finding an owner for these magical Coin?"

Tang Baona was thinking about Xiang Kun's words when she was suddenly amused by Yang the Third's words.

Xiang Kun laughed and said, "I don't just spread strange power through Coin, I also spread divine power through erasers! Didn't you receive it too, Miss Eraser Hero!"

"Go away, you're the one who's Mantis Shrimp! Oh, right, you gave Little Bell a Magic Carpet... no, a crumpled A4 sheet of paper. Can you give me one too? I think that paper is kind of magical. That tattered paper, the paper airplanes it makes fly better than those made of cardboard. And I think I have a special feeling for those paper airplanes..." Yang Zhen'er said to Xiang Kun across Nana.

"Take a feel for the plane we're on," Xiang Kun said.

"What?"

"Do you have any special feelings? If so, this plane is yours for the taking," Xiang Kun said with a smile.

"Hey, I'm serious, Chef Xiang!"

"Do you think I'm lying? Take a good look and feel it for yourself..."

Chatting and laughing all the way, the plane flew over Jianzhou City and began to descend.

Suddenly, Xiang Kun stopped arguing and joking with Yang Zhen'er, and frowned as he looked ahead.

"Sit still." Xiang Kun suddenly took the tablet computer from Tang Baona's hand, straightened Yang Zhen'er who was leaning against Nana with her head sticking out, and checked their seat belts.

The plane suddenly jolted violently.