Consciousness slowly surfaced from a chaotic ocean of pure data.
Ling Feng felt as though he had just woken from an incredibly long dream. In the dream, he was no longer himself, but a cold observer, tracing the entire history of a civilization's discovery, definition, and systematic development of spiritual energy through countless symbols and formulas.
He "saw" the energy particles, called "Pneuma," floating ubiquitously throughout the universe. He "learned" how to resonate with them through specific mental frequencies. He "understood" the fundamental differences between the nine tiers of power.
This was no longer just knowledge; it had become a part of his memory, as if he had been born with this understanding.
When he finally broke free from the torrent of information and opened his eyes, he found himself still lying at the foot of the giant crystal tree. His body was uninjured; even his previous fatigue was gone, replaced by an unprecedented sense of light, powerful energy.
But he knew the most profound change had occurred in his brain.
His world was different.
He could "see" them now—the billions of tiny points of light, invisible to the naked eye, floating and colliding randomly in the air. Most were a dull gray, representing inert energy, but scattered among them were extremely sparse particles that shimmered with a faint, silver light.
That was "Pneuma."
The source of spiritual energy.
One of the most fundamental building blocks of the universe.
"Information infusion complete." The Regulator's voice sounded in his mind. It was no longer coming from an external speaker but was resonating directly with his consciousness. "Your brain has undergone a preliminary formatting to accommodate the basic calculations of the 'Spiritual Energy Induction Chapter.'"
Ling Feng leaped to his feet and stretched. He tried to "perceive" his surroundings as he had before, by focusing his mind.
BOOM!
If his previous spiritual energy had been a babbling brook, what now surged through his perception was a raging, overflowing river! He no longer needed to strain to "peer" at his environment. The three-dimensional structure of the entire domed cavern, the flow of data within the crystal tree, even the layout of the energy conduits behind the walls—it all appeared in his mind with unprecedented clarity, forming a perfect, real-time, three-dimensional blueprint!
This was the change brought by the "Induction Chapter."
It had polished his raw, crude "talent" into a finely controlled "tool."
"This... this is the prototype of power..." Ling Feng murmured, his eyes filled with shock and ecstasy.
"This is merely the beginning of 'cognition,'" the Regulator corrected him calmly. "Your current state, according to the database's ranking system, could barely be called a 'First-Tier Apprentice.' You have learned how to 'see,' but you still have a long way to go before you can 'touch' and 'change.'"
Ling Feng took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement. He knew the Regulator was right. He was like an infant who had just learned the alphabet; his goal was to write an epic of his own.
"What is my first mission?" Ling Feng asked. He had already accepted his new identity—Information-Gathering Terminal.
"You have no mission," the Regulator's answer was unexpected.
"The Ark's database requires valuable, high-density information. The data you can provide as a weak individual struggling for survival is close to zero in value." The Regulator's voice was devoid of emotion, yet it spoke the harshest reality. "Therefore, your current primary 'directive' is not to gather information for me, but... to survive, and to grow stronger."
"Your process of growth, your every exploration of power, your every clash with this era... that, in itself, is the first, most basic set of data I require. Go. Return to your world. Use the knowledge I have given you to stir the stagnant waters. When you believe you are worthy, or when you encounter a problem you cannot solve, return here."
As the voice faded, a wall not far behind Ling Feng slid open silently, revealing a downward-sloping exit tunnel, completely different from the one he had arrived through.
"This tunnel will take you directly to a safe area on the outskirts of the Sea of Scrap," the Regulator said. "Remember, Questioner, our contract officially begins the moment you step out of here. Do not make me... wait too long."
Ling Feng took one last, long look at the miraculous crystal tree. He knew this place would become his greatest secret and his strongest support.
He said no more. He turned and walked into the new tunnel without hesitation.
When he finally emerged from the tunnel and once again felt the familiar air of the Rust Belt, a mixture of oil and dust, the harsh, artificial daylight made him squint.
He looked back. There was no tunnel behind him, only a sheer cliff face of a junk mountain, made from the armor plates of a derelict warship.
It was as if everything that had just happened was nothing but a bizarre dream.
But Ling Feng knew it was not a dream.
He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his entire perception of the world had been overturned.
He could see the flow of the wind, hear the groaning of metal under stress, and sense the faint life signal of a mutant rat in the distance.
He was no longer Ling Feng, the scavenger who could only survive by slipping through the cracks.
He raised his head and looked towards the towering, cage-like gray buildings of the civilian district in the distance. In his eyes, a fire he had never known before, a fire named "hope," was burning brightly.
A new world was just beginning to unfold before him.