A Song That Breaks the Heart (Part 2)

The instant noodle bowl in front of Tang Baona was completely dry. The instant noodles, which had just been soaked in hot water, had become dry and hard again, though their shape had become quite loose.

Tang Baona took off her glasses and wiped them with the hem of her clothes, observing the dissipation of the mist around her as she did so.

It seems there's nothing wrong with it; it's just evaporating moisture. The room was dry just now, but now it's humid again.

After the steam dissipated, Tang Baona boiled another kettle of water and then rinsed the bowl of instant noodles again.

This time, however, she didn't try anything funny, because her stomach was already rumbling; she was genuinely hungry.

While eating her noodles, Tang Baona pondered the melody and rhythm she had just heard. Although she hadn't verified it with Alice, she could clearly sense that Alice was more relaxed and at ease when manipulating the water.

After slurping down a bowl of instant noodles, Tang Baona got up and went to the kitchen. She took out various bowls and basins, filled them with hot water, and placed them around the living room. She also took out the bags of rock slab residue that she had just put in the bedroom cabinet and placed them behind the sofa.

Next, she brought out the electronic keyboard she used when she was learning piano as a child, checked it, found it still worked, and then set up her phone to start filming.

Tang Baona sat on the floor by the door, crossed her legs, placed the electronic keyboard on her lap, put her hands on the keys, and got into position.

She closed her eyes, sighed, and then slowly recited, "A song that breaks my heart, where in the world can I find a kindred spirit..." As she finished speaking, her fingers pressed down on the keyboard, but the keyboard had no batteries and was not plugged in, so no sound came out.

Even without sound, Tang Baona played very seriously, her expression very focused, and she even hummed softly "deng deng deng deng deng deng" to accompany the music.

As she pressed the piano keys and began to hum, wisps of white mist suddenly appeared around her, filling the entire living room within seconds.

Sensing her view was blocked, Tang Baona immediately stopped her "fake piano playing," got up from the floor, ran to the side, dragged out several bags of rock slab debris from behind the sofa, poured them in front of the electronic keyboard, then crouched down behind the sofa, feeling the bracelet on her wrist, composing a new melody in her mind, and whispered, "Alice, add it!"

The moisture in the room quickly dissipated, and behind the electronic keyboard appeared a dusty... artificial hill?

Tang Baona waited a while before getting up from behind the sofa, running to get her phone to check the footage she had taken.

Because she hid the water containers out of the camera's view, using various furniture and decorations in the living room to conceal them, when the steam and mist rose, it looked as if they appeared out of thin air.

When the fog quickly dissipated, the "artificial mountain" that suddenly replaced Tang Baona sitting in front of the electronic keyboard was visually striking. After all, when the fog dissipated and the scene could be captured, the parts that made up the "artificial mountain" could be clearly seen wriggling and combining rapidly.

Tang Baona first went over and broke the "artificial mountain" into smaller pieces again, put them in a bag and took them to her room. Then she took her phone to her father's study and used his computer to edit the footage.

While downloading several of her usual video editing and audio editing software programs, Tang Baona found a piece of paper and arranged the melody she had created in her mind during the first segment. She then used the software to simulate playing it. If the effect was good, she would record it herself with an instrument later and put this background music into the video, which would definitely look very cool.

She was very satisfied with the first half of the video. The rhythm of the fog dissipating was also pretty much as she had expected, and the transitions were very good. The only regret was the reassembly of the pile of rock fragments. She had hoped that it could be formed into the shape of a person sitting cross-legged. Even if it couldn't look like her, it would at least have a rough human-like shape. In the end, it just looked like a small "artificial mountain" less than half a meter high.

It seems that Alice is far more skilled at playing the role of water than at the composition of the rock slab.

Fortunately, at least it didn't turn into the shape of excrement like before.

Although it was gradually getting light outside, Tang Baona was still wide awake and working on what she thought was a super cool video. However, halfway through, she suddenly remembered something, frowned, and looked up. "Wait a minute, I definitely can't post this video online. Who's going to show it to?"

However, this problem didn't bother her for long, because she immediately realized that showing it to Xiang Kun was definitely an option, and then she could also show it to Yang the Third, Lao Xia, and Little Bell. Little Bell would definitely be very excited, hehe, and um, she could also let Little Apple listen to music. Hmm, then it seems like she could just send it to the group chat.

While Tang Baona was researching how to edit videos and what background music to add, in a relatively remote mountain forest in Australia, Xiang Kun was sitting on a hillside, holding a standard tablet that was clearly from "Shenxing Technology," watching a video on it and laughing as he watched.

While it was just dawn in China, the sun was already high in the sky in Australia. However, the area was sparsely populated, and Xiang Kun had made prior arrangements, deploying a large number of "Super-Linked Object," with Little Radish in charge and Alice overseeing everything, which basically ensured that no one could get close to this place.

Behind Xiang Kun was a huge depression more than ten meters in diameter, with a patch of broken soil in the middle. Mr. Liang was lying on that broken soil, in the blood-drinking slumber period—of course, still in an invisible state.

Their trip to Australia this time was naturally for "hunting".

Their target was actually beneath the large crater behind them, a slender, network-like creature that combined characteristics of plants and animals, spreading throughout the underground of this mountainous region.

This Mutated Creature exists for an extremely long time and can move secretly and over a wide area underground. When needed, it can also sneak out to hunt. Plants and animals alike become its prey during its blood-drinking phase, including humans. After being bloodied, the carcasses are buried deep underground to hide and decompose.

Just a few months ago, three Australia youths came to camp in this forest and became one of its "blood sources".

Aside from the camera they were carrying, which was left on the ground, all traces of the three individuals were erased. Their entire bodies were taken underground, leaving no remains. It wasn't until about two weeks ago that someone found the camera and notified Australia officials and media. The authorities organized a new round of search and rescue, but of course, nothing was found.

However, several video clips from that camera triggered Alice's monitoring capabilities, catching her attention. She then mobilized resources to deploy and connect with some "Super-Linked Object" in that forest. After further confirming the presence of "Mutated Creature" hidden underground, she directly allowed the "Little Radish" seeds to spread rapidly in that area. Because it was nearing its limit, the Little Radish's expansion area was mainly concentrated domestically, within the activity range of Lao Xia, Tang Baona, Xiang Kun's parents, and other family and friends. Overseas deployments were targeted, and "Little Radish control zones" were only established when there was a need and a clear objective.

Alice has been working on similar tasks, such as investigating and locating the positions of "Mutated Creature" around the world. It is a "long-term mission" assigned to her by Xiang Kun. In fact, it is also a task carried out simultaneously with the large-scale deployment and association of "Super-Linked Object" to establish a comprehensive "Super-Linked Object association network".

Once enough "Super-Linked Object" have established sensory anchors, Xiang Kun can enter a "Hyper-Sensory State" and determine the state of nearby "Mutated Creature" through the analysis of cognitive information.

To be honest, if Xiang Kun or Mr. Liang were to deal with this "Mutated Creature," it would indeed take a lot of effort. It's not that it's particularly powerful, but rather that it hides underground, is extremely agile, and has a very wide range of movement. Catching and eliminating it without causing significant harm would be very troublesome.

But coincidentally, dealing with underground creatures with plant-like characteristics was "Little Radish's" specialty. So after a period of stealthy development, distributing and transforming enough "seed plants" both above and below ground throughout the area, "Little Radish" suddenly launched an attack when Xiang Kun and Mr. Liang arrived, confining the underground "Mutated Creature" to its spot.

After Xiang Kun provided the accurate location coordinates and replaced the corresponding underground "Biological Component," Mr. Liang directly burrowed underground to complete the hunting and blood-drinking. It was very simple, and the whole process took less than ten minutes. Of course, "Little Radish" contributed 90% of the effort, which made Xiang Kun reassess the strength of this "Little Radish - Mutated Creature."

It's a bit like sending out scouts before a battle to gather intelligence, draw maps, and determine coordinates for the main force. But before the main force arrives, the scouts just snap up and capture the entire enemy.

Upon arriving in Australia and heading to their target location, Xiang Kun received a report from Alice that Tang Baona's father had developed a heart problem. This was actually an extremely rare event, as Tang's father had annual checkups and his heart was fine. It was simply that a combination of specific conditions had come together, causing the problem to flare up. For Tang's father, it was extremely unlucky, but because Xiang Kun and Alice were there, it could also be considered extremely lucky.

With Alice's current application and control of the "Super-Sensing Item System," she can already perform emergency treatment in this situation on her own, without needing Xiang Kun to enter "Hyper-Sensory State" to operate it.

Moreover, she doesn't need to manifest herself; she can directly perform emergency treatment and restore Tang's father's heart function through Tang Baona's bracelet, the several "Super-Linked Object" she carries, and the many "Super-Linked Object" previously associated with and placed in her home.

Alice knew that Nana, like Lao Xia, Little Apple, and Little Bell, was an important participant in the upcoming "Ultimate Predator" plan. Xiang Kun was preparing to integrate Nana more into the "Super-Sensing Item System" and reveal more information, so she "incidentally" applied for the Manifestation.

She didn't actually think Xiang Kun would agree, but to her surprise, Xiang Kun did. That's why she was able to appear directly in front of Nana, press on the back of her hand, and complete the first aid procedure.

After Tang Baona returned home from the hospital, Mr. Liang had already finished drinking blood and entered a deep sleep. Xiang Kun was keeping watch by her side, and since he had nothing else to do, he kept an eye on Tang Baona's condition in his "Hyper-Sensory State".

Then he discovered that Tang Baona seemed to have found the special rhythm of the "Super-Linked Object" and could even sense the existence of the entire "Super-Sensing Item System". So after she fell asleep, Xiang Kun contacted Lao Xia and began an operation that was originally planned to be carried out in the later stage - entering Nana's dream and trying to "wake her up".

Staying conscious in a dream is extremely difficult, especially in the special dream triggered by "Emotion-Infused Object." Currently, only Xiang Kun and Lao Xia have been able to do it.

Xiang Kun is the foundation for the existence of all dreams, all "Super-Linked Object," and all "Emotion-Infused Object," so he can always remain clear-headed and rational in dreams.

As for Lao Xia, that's pure "talent." Xiang Kun once read a saying, "He who does not dream in his sleep has a settled mind; this is what is meant by a perfect person who has no dreams." Even if he hadn't met him, Lao Xia would have already reached the state of mind of a "perfect person," naturally able to forget himself and the world around him.

Others, however, find it difficult to escape the shackles of emotions. Even the Little Chubby Girl, who possesses a strong "Super-Linked Object" control and dream assimilation power in her dreams, only acts on instinct and is not in a lucid dream. Although she can remember the experiences in her dreams after waking up, her subconscious mind is still in control at the time of the dream.

In Tang Baona's dream, the reverse input of the melody by Lao Xia Alice successfully made Tang Baona aware of the existence of her own dream, thus making her "awake" in the dream.

This step is crucial for Xiang Kun to deal with the "Ultimate Predator" and rely on the strength of Tang Baona, Lao Xia, and others.

After Tang Baona woke up, she suddenly realized that she could use Alice to call the "Super-Sensing Item System" and reverse edit the Item Melody, which was also beyond Xiang Kun's expectations.

It wasn't that this ability itself was unexpected for Xiang Kun—he already knew it could be used in this way the moment Tang Baona could perceive the Item Melody. Because Nana derived Emotional Melody from human emotions, and after creating music from them, she could influence the emotions of others. This proved that as long as the Item Melody were compiled through "extrasensory information," they could also affect the existence of the objects themselves.

Xiang Kun originally intended to guide Tang Baona step by step to "develop" her abilities in this direction, but he did not expect that Nana would find the method on her own so quickly.

Seemingly "awake" in her dream, her conversation with Lao Xia and Alice made her feel like she had found her "organization." Anything she couldn't handle herself, she would simply hand over to Alice, trusting her completely.

In the task assigned by Xiang Kun, Alice spent a long time compiling the Item Melody and Emotional Melody perceived by Nana. After developing a complete decoding and encoding system, Alice was able to easily fulfill Nana's ideas, converting the melodies she created into "hypersensory information" and influencing and editing objects at the "hypersensory information" level.

If it were Xiang Kun himself, developing the ability to edit "super-sensory information" for specific items would require a lot of preparation and steps. For example, with that rock slab, he would first have to break down its components, understand the details of the natural clay, silica, feldspar powder, and other components that make up the rock slab, as well as the corresponding "super-sensory information," and then, based on the correspondence between changes in the "super-sensory information" and changes in the real-world state, he would be able to make specific influences and operations.

Of course, with this kind of ability, Xiang Kun's operations would be incredibly precise; he could mold or shape the rock slab however he wanted.

However, Tang Baona's achievements in developing melodies directly at the application level, just like what Little Chubby Girl and Lao Xia did before, can give him direct application capabilities, and then use these application capabilities to improve his underlying research.

Of course, what he didn't expect was that after gaining such an amazing ability, Nana's first reaction was to film a funny video of "heartbreaking sorrow".

Xiang Kun laughed heartily as he watched the video of Nana reciting poetry without background music, which Alice had sent him on the tablet.