Chapter 115: Mutual Understanding
"Different information received naturally leads to different worldviews. That's why people can never truly understand each other."
"I don't yet have the freedom to think as whimsically as you."
Bai Mo offered no further reply, continuing to review the materials uploaded to the database. The control room occasionally echoed with the clatter of keyboards.
At first, Chen Xi watched the computers "working by themselves" with great interest, but after a while, it didn't feel much different from any other office—it was just as if the clerks who should have been sitting at the keyboards were wearing invisibility cloaks.
Sometimes, to verify hypotheses within the uploaded data, Bai Mo would consult books. If even books couldn't provide a solution, he would simply head to the adjacent auxiliary laboratory for testing.
"Do you need me as an assistant?" Chen Xi, bored out of her mind on the sidelines, asked when she saw Bai Mo enter the laboratory.
"Your duties are external affairs, liaison, and coordination—those are your tasks. You may observe the experiments, but do not touch anything. My hands are already full; I don't need a lab assistant," he explained, his face devoid of expression.
A week later, inside the Great Hall.
"So, how is it? As compensation, my proposed plan should be acceptable, right?" Bai Mo stated, standing in the center.
"Overly strong radiation can turn humans into zombies, but too weak a catalytic effect is clearly inefficient. I want to explore the optimal range."
"We don't understand the technical details. Low-concentration materials and nuclear waste can be approved, but anything capable of producing atomic bombs cannot be handed over to you."
"At this stage, I have no interest in researching high-concentration materials. Even for me, such things are excessively dangerous."
"With sufficient technical safeguards, why would it be dangerous?"
"I intend to take them to the testing ground and perform bare-handed tests, to see what my limits truly are. I can feel myself growing stronger every day, but this pace is far too slow."
"You're obsessed with power? To actually consider using nuclear waste in such a crazy way."
"I am not someone who madly pursues power, but without sufficient strength, would I have the qualification to stand here and converse with those of you at the pinnacle of power?"
"Bai Mo, why don't you stay for dinner? Try the latest spirit sheep cultivated by the institute." Liu Zhen quickly tried to steer the conversation away.
"I saw this concept in the institute's database. I didn't expect results to be achieved so quickly."
"This world isn't just you alone conducting research, you know." Cheng Mu seized the opportunity to prod Bai Mo.
"That's why I requested the highest access privileges to the database," he retorted coldly.
"The banquet is already prepared over there. We're all familiar faces, so don't be too formal," Liu Zhen continued, playing the peacemaker.
"Regardless of the effects, at least the taste is indescribable." Everyone present was quite old, only recently having gradually regained their youthful physical states. Their diets, once bland due to various age-related illnesses, had suddenly undergone a drastic change, now filled with rich meats and fish.
"This is truly satisfying. No more high blood pressure, no more gout, no more diabetes—eat whatever you want!"
"You've all been eating like this lately?" Bai Mo asked.
"After the medical team confirmed our physical condition was comparable to that of young people, of course we had to make up for all those years of strictly controlled bland diets. What's wrong?" The group of old men, relaxed for a rare moment at the dinner table.
"Nothing. It's just hard to appreciate something you've never lost." Bai Mo picked up a piece of boiled spirit sheep meat, dipped it in soy sauce, and popped it into his mouth.
"How's this spirit sheep meat?" Liu Zhen, sitting beside him, asked.
"After consumption, it releases trace amounts of easily absorbed Spirit Energy, but for me, it's barely better than nothing. For you all, eating more can indeed promote spirit energy assimilation. I don't specialize in this area of research, so I can't offer a more detailed assessment."
"Come, come, raise your glasses!" A ruddy-faced Cheng Mu, holding his wine cup, toasted everyone present from his seat.
"In the news, you always appear so serious. I truly didn't expect this."
"We are but humans, not emotionless, desireless machines. It's a rare chance to start anew, so we should enjoy ourselves. If not for the undercurrents still surging below, we'd be even more unrestrained. But you, you don't look like a young person at all. What, Old Chen's granddaughter isn't your type?" After a few drinks, Liu Zhen began rambling, treating Bai Mo as one of their own. "Old Chen's granddaughter is considered one of the most beautiful among the younger generation in our circle. If I didn't only have grandsons, I would have introduced her to you."
"Are you all that eager to tie me to your ship?"
"Your power and the benefits you bring are simply too immense. Out of an old man's caution, we must do something to bind you more securely."
"Using my hands to eliminate rebellious grandsons, and now playing the family card with me?" Bai Mo mused inwardly. "As expected, the imperial family is truly heartless."
"Interest itself is the strongest bond," Bai Mo returned Liu Zhen's toast.
"What do you gain from all these plans?" Liu Zhen asked, somewhat perplexed.
"I don't know what I might discover. That in itself is the most exciting part. Paving the way is a very fun endeavor."
"You're doing all this just for fun?"
"Whether it's money or power, isn't it all pursued for the sake of happiness in the end? It's simply a form of pursuit."
"I can't understand that," Liu Zhen said with a laugh from the side.
"There's no inherent need for people to understand each other. Mutual respect is enough."
"Right, long live understanding! Another drink!"
"Mm."
For a time, host and guests reveled in the merriment.
The banquet ended, and the guests dispersed.
"Don't worry about the testing ground's construction progress. According to the plan, the first phase will be completed within a month, and experiments can officially begin then." Before leaving, Liu Zhen spoke privately with Bai Mo about the project. "We're more invested in this than you are. Time is running out. No matter how much external help we borrow, there's always a limit."
"One month? Can the quality be assured?"
"In an era without Ability Users, of course it would be impossible. But now we have Ability User engineering troops. As for quality, I believe no one in all of Huaxia would dare to skim profits from this. All our leaders are watching."
"That's good. Notify me when it's built. I'm heading back first."
"Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
"Why did his smile seem a little strange?" Bai Mo pondered, puzzled, but couldn't figure it out.
It wasn't until he returned home that he understood the reason behind Liu Zhen's enigmatic smile.
"This is why you came dressed like this?" Bai Mo didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Chen Xi, who was lying on his bed in lace lingerie.
"Do you think I wanted to lie here like some... thing? If it weren't for Grandpa giving me a death order to hook you within a month..."
"I need an assistant who can *work*, not a secretary who can *do*... Get up, quickly." Bai Mo looked utterly helpless. "It seems I still need to make them understand what the world looks like through my eyes."
"The world you see?"
"My ability lies in my eyes. The visible spectrum they perceive is far wider than a normal person's. I can see large amounts of infrared and ultraviolet light. The entire world, to me, is bizarre and kaleidoscopic, filled with colors that language cannot describe." Bai Mo habitually concealed most of his abilities.
"So?"
"Have you seen a thermal image? The world as I perceive it is somewhat like that, but far more complex. Every person, every object, appears to me as an amalgamation of countless colors and light. In any case, I have absolutely no interest in humans as they appear in my eyes."
"Can't you filter them out and return to normal human vision?"
"Can you make your eyes only unable to see green? It's the same principle. At least, I can't do it."
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