Research Society

Ten thousand meters in the air.

The Geometry Design Group's building had been reduced to a wreck.

Half of it teetered on the verge of collapse.

The situation had been stabilized.

Employees were cleaning up the chaotic scene.

Meng Jihe stood at the edge of the fractured floor, his composure restored. The space beside him was empty.

Had that kid Qin Yiguan logged out of the Metaverse?

Just then.

Across hundreds of thousands of square meters, the blue sky ten thousand meters above the ground suddenly began to flicker.

The sky seemed to turn into a mosaic. First, translucent squares appeared one after another. Then those squares shed their background camouflage, revealing the enormous structure beneath.

It was a gigantic aircraft resembling a metal fishing net.

Its frame consisted of thick, dark-silver alloy beams, with thousands of meters between each intersection.

Dozens of high-precision detectors were integrated into those intersections: bioenergy sensors, thermal imaging, sonar, visual surveillance-everything imaginable.

At some unknown point, this enormous net had arrived under camouflage and remained floating overhead, covering an area hundreds of thousands of meters across.

"The Research Society?"

Meng Jihe narrowed his eyes, staring up at the immense structure looming overhead like black clouds over a city.

Among the powers in the Experimental Zone, there was always someone stronger.

The Research Society had originally been a private organization, but a powerful, mysterious sponsor backed it.

They were dedicated to studying the logic of the Metaverse and were fanatically obsessed with the Gemini Superbrain.

Yet the information the Gemini Superbrain had left humanity was exceedingly scarce.

The Research Society wanted to find order within this disorderly Metaverse.

Rumor had it that they were scientists with a tremendous spirit of exploration.

But Meng Jihe believed human nature was the same everywhere. The Research Society merely wanted to use that order to become the highest power of all.

Over the decades, they had published countless research findings.

They had even gradually become the Metaverse Government's theoretical advisers.

Meng Jihe hesitated. "What just happened really was bizarre. It even drew out the Research Society."

At the center of the gigantic metal net stood a technological fortress.

Though called a fortress, up close, the building looked more like a scientific research institute.

A round glass dome covered the entire complex.

At the top of its tallest building was an observation deck with an unobstructed, 360-degree view.

A dozen or so scientists in white lab coats, all in their forties or fifties, stood there silently.

The elderly man at their head had gray temples and an intelligent face. He slowly raised his head.

A massive curved screen suddenly appeared in the air above them.

It replayed footage from ten minutes earlier.

The old man mused, "That Iron Curtain was nothing more than a very common technology in the Metaverse. Anyone with money can buy it. But that half-mechanical bird that appeared out of thin air..."

Just then, several young researchers approached from farther away, holding floating screens filled with dense arrays of analytical data.

"Professor."

One young researcher stepped forward. "I've finished the detailed analysis of that strange bird. Please take a look."

"No need."

The elderly scientist waved a hand. "The monster's data isn't important. What matters is how it appeared."

The old man slowly clasped his hands behind his back. None of the dozen or so people present dared speak. They all remained silent.

"Although the Metaverse is a world of code..."

"And has broken free of the physical foundations of reality..."

"Still..."

The old man spoke slowly. "This is no daydream. This is a second home created by the Gemini Superbrain for humanity to live in. It has always maintained an underlying logic."

"Take that Iron Curtain, for example."

"Although it looks like the work of a god..."

"At its core, it is still an upgrade and modification of the Plasma Energy Shield, carried out by people in the Metaverse using technology beyond reality."

"And our airborne base was assembled component by component, too."

Everyone present nodded.

In these scientists' eyes, the Metaverse was an infinitely vast simulation sandbox, where everything that could appear was an application of some real-world theory.

"But that half-mechanical giant bird just now..."

The old man at their head narrowed his eyes. "It wasn't teleported here, nor did it come from a mechanical transformation. It transformed out of thin air, without any foundational matter or theoretical basis! And it even transformed across species!"

Silence fell.

Only after a long while did the old man speak again. "It seems my earlier inference was correct."

The young student beside him widened his eyes slightly, seemingly startled. "Professor, do you mean...?"

"Someone can alter the logic of the Metaverse through their own brainpower!"

"The logic that only the Gemini Superbrain could control!"

The old man gazed out over the vast world. "Everyone knows the Metaverse is intimately connected to the human brain. All our perceptions act directly upon our brains in reality."

"Likewise, the power within our brains can influence the Metaverse in return."

"But."

"Apart from Gemini Technology, which has already vanished..."

"When it comes to that organ inside our skulls, weighing roughly fourteen hundred grams and having the consistency of tofu..."

"Who would dare stand up and claim to truly understand it?"

The old man turned and swept his gaze over the scientists behind him. Their faces were filled with awe.

"The human brain is the most sophisticated instrument of all, without exception."

"In fact."

"It may be the most complex and mysterious system in the entire universe."

"Some have called the human brain the last black box in the universe to be unlocked."

A light flickered in the old man's eyes. "Although all these years of research have yet to unveil the brain's mysteries, today, I am certain of one thing."

"The human brain has always possessed extraordinary powers of simulation and logic."

"It is simply that, before the Metaverse appeared, those godlike abilities of the human brain had no opportunity to manifest."

"Today's incident is irrefutable proof."

"The brain possesses functions we have never known."

"For now, I will name it-the Dark Zone."

Silence held for a long time, while everyone's thoughts raced endlessly.

"Draft a document."

"Then contact the Metaverse Government immediately. This time, we will redefine the Metaverse's power system."

"The central point."

The old man enunciated every word. "Thirteen minutes ago, a user unlocked his Brain Restricted Zone."

"The observed phenomenon is that the human brain and the Metaverse can produce... a reaction that defies belief."

"It is a power we have never known."

"One that surpasses the previous 'Reality Enhancement.'"

"But since this ability has no identifiable origin and cannot be traced..."

"For now, we can only put forward two hypotheses."

"First, this user possesses a unique brain structure in reality. Previously, he was restricted by his login equipment and could not enter the Experimental Zone. I suspect he comes from a Rust City."

"Second, this user was originally an ordinary member of the Metaverse, but the Experimental Zone's third update an hour ago, order -50%... freed him from some kind of restriction."

"As for..."

"What the Brain Restricted Zone is, how it is activated, what that man's integration level is, and what integration level is required to activate the Brain Restricted Zone..."

"We have no detailed data for the time being."

The scientists rapidly recorded his words using floating keyboards.

The old man at their head drew a deep breath and continued, "The individual responsible for what happened just now is very likely the 'consciousness anomaly' the Superbrain mentioned."

"One possibility is that this update by the Gemini Superbrain will alter the world's balance. Large numbers of people who have unlocked their Brain Restricted Zones will emerge in succession, and then the structure of the entire virtual world will begin to change."

"And the other possibility..."

"Is that this man is the only person to have unlocked his Brain Restricted Zone."

"Like a dragon entering water, he will use his unique ability to unleash a tremendous upheaval and create an era belonging to him alone!"

The room suddenly fell utterly silent. Even the tapping of keyboards stopped.

One question lingered in everyone's mind-who exactly was that man?

Then a student asked, "Professor, what should we call this person who has unlocked his Brain Restricted Zone?"

The old man considered for a moment. "For now, designate him-Brain Restricted Zone No. 001."

Silence fell once more.

Then the old man at their head spoke calmly, his gaze resolute. "At the end of the document, make this pledge: our Research Society will continue to follow this project, do everything in our power to collect data, continually refine this framework, and make it public to the world!"

The scientists behind him all nodded, a flame kindling in their hearts-a yearning and obsession with the unknown.

A gleam flashed in the old man's eyes.

"Next."

"Ask the Metaverse Government to provide the Nutrient Pod distribution records, and investigate every user who logged in for the first time within the past two hours!"