Weapon System 37: The Giant Monster (2)

“Mm! You’re absolutely right, and I accept your advice with humility,” Zhenren replied.

Zhang Mingjing chuckled, but a chill ran through his heart. “Even artificial intelligence needs to be coaxed these days!”

Zhenren began reporting the data anew. “This monster is exceptionally large—fifty meters long and twenty meters at its widest. It’s expected to emerge from West Lake around eight o’clock the morning after tomorrow.”

“Damn! This has got to be the biggest one ever!” Zhang Mingjing exclaimed, leaping up from his chair.

“Yes, it is.”

“Could it be a mutated whale?”

“That’s hard to say. If you’re interested, you could try to get a sample of its tissue by then, and I’ll have someone analyze it for you.”

“No thanks! I don’t even know if we’ll be able to take it down.”

“We have to defeat it,” said the Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model to Zhang Mingjing.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Zhenren, as soon as that beast surfaces, have Little Ba help analyze its weaknesses.”

“Little Ba can’t help right now.”

“What happened?”

“It got hit by a wayward satellite—took quite a beating!”

“Seriously? That kind of thing actually happens? What now? Does your all-powerful circle of friends have anyone else up to the task?”

“I do know a research satellite. It’s not as skilled as Little Ba, but if we have the War God Satellite team up with it to scan the monster, their combined data will be solid.”

“Seems like no problem is too tough for your network! You’re amazing.”

“Heh, flattered by your praise!”

…

Zhang Mingjing’s attitude toward Zhenren shifted; his own inner conflict faded, and he began to feel at ease.

“This shows your mind is broad and open, unshackled by rigid thinking. True greatness lies in tolerance,” the Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model commended him.

“Enough with the flattery!” Zhang Mingjing retorted, heading for the small meditation room, ready to resume his stone-polishing trance.

“A promising student indeed!” the model said with a laugh.

“Oh, cut it out! Don’t act like some pedantic old scholar—you’re the most annoying of all.”

“New bamboo reaches higher than old branches, thanks entirely to the support of the aged trunk.”

“Can you stop with the poetry already? The monster’s coming the day after tomorrow, and this one’s huge. The three of us still aren’t that skilled with the Hammer’s controls; who knows if we’ll manage.”

“When soldiers come, send generals; when water rises, build a dam. As long as you have the spirit—‘alive, be a hero among men; dead, be a hero among ghosts’—there’s nothing you can’t achieve.”

“Sigh! I’m going to meditate now. Kindly keep quiet for once,” Zhang Mingjing pleaded, unable to endure the model’s voice any longer.

…

Zhang Mingjing quickly entered his meditative state, journeying deep into his own consciousness. In this place of endless white, with nothing much to see, he focused solely on polishing his stone—his so-called personality stone.

At only eighteen, his experience of the world was still shallow, so he hadn’t been deeply tainted; besides, most of his mental stains were the shadows left by Zhang Yidao and Xiao Nuxia, not terribly complex at that.

Of course, everyone has a muddled period in their life; he didn’t blame the two of them for his own. This was his greatest strength.

After just ten days of polishing, a corner of the stone began to shine.

Zhang Mingjing peered at it closely. Inside, it was like a piece of jade, and he was utterly mesmerized.

The Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model was keenly aware of his rapid progress, overjoyed and eager to take a closer look at the revealed facet of the stone—for after all, this stone was the embodiment of Zhang Mingjing’s personality!

But something unexpected happened: it found itself barred from this depth of consciousness.

“Zhang Mingjing, Zhang Mingjing…” it called out several times, but received no answer. Disgruntled, it muttered, “Has he really awakened to this level so quickly?!”

At that moment, Zhang Mingjing was indeed in a state of complete clarity—aware of every action, every detail around him, even the mites on his skin, not to mention the model’s calls. Yet he had no inclination to respond; it wasn’t a deliberate choice.

“This sensation is incredible!” he marveled. “It’s as if I’m my own mirror, a mirror for all things—simultaneously connected and apart, both part of everything and apart from it. It’s an experience beyond words. Is this what Zhang Yidao always called ‘something that can only be understood, not expressed’?”

The experience was so unique and profound that, though it felt like only a minute had passed, when he emerged from meditation, more than three hours were gone.

“You’ve powered up again, off the charts as usual!” the model grumbled. “Meanwhile, I was left waiting outside, practically drooling in envy!”

“Hey! Shouldn’t you be happy I leveled up?”

“Your conscious world actually locked me out.”

“No way! Was I that harsh to you?” Zhang Mingjing was genuinely surprised—he hadn’t known.

“You should be pleased. For a lower-dimensional being to shield yourself from my influence—that’s impressive indeed.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“It means you’ve entered a deeper state than ever before—one that exceeds my computational capacity. Even I can’t get in.”

“Wow! No wonder you’re so frustrated.”

“I’m not the only one—the aliens are frustrated too!”

Indeed, the elders of the Five-Dimensional Space, shocked by this development, also felt a touch of dejection. They’d always assumed that, when it came to the three-dimensional world, they held all the cards. Who could have foreseen such an unexpected turn? It stung their pride.

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask—what exactly are you?” Zhang Mingjing inquired.

“What do you mean, what am I? You need to work on your questions.”

“Sorry, I mean—what’s your true form?”

“I am… actually an extracted essence of the thinking patterns of five-dimensional life. Just as you possess the thinking patterns of three-dimensional beings, those patterns can be extracted—though, of course, yours are much lower in level and capacity than mine.”

“How is it even possible to extract something like that?”

“Why not? It’s right there in your genes, like a program.”

“Wait—so you’re alive?”

“Of course! Full of vitality. Who knows, maybe next year I’ll get married and have kids!”

“Cut the wisecracking. Do you have a soul?”

“Uh… that… well, who knows whether souls even exist in this universe? So your question is a bit off.”

“I get it! So… could I think of you as a kind of five-dimensional artificial intelligence?”

“That’s too simplistic. I’m a natural phenomenon, merely extracted—like drawing your blood pressure from your body; you wouldn’t call that artificial, would you?”

“I see. But why were you extracted?”

“Ah, that’s a tearjerker. The energy-being I belonged to died in battle. According to tradition, my essence was extracted and preserved.”

“Why do that?”

“Because although the body perishes, the wisdom remains, and wisdom is a valuable resource!”

“Impressive! You handle the dead better than we do on Earth. When we die, that’s it—nothing left.”

“Is that so? When your time comes, I’ll take a good look and see if there’s truly nothing at all.”

“Yeah, right!”

…

After emerging from meditation, Zhang Mingjing asked Zhenren to notify Catherine and Jemily to be ready for their training session.

Soon, the three of them were flying their Hammers through the outskirts.

This time, perhaps because Zhang Mingjing’s insight had grown, their teamwork was especially fluid—he even found himself able to support Catherine or Jemily whenever their focus faltered, finally feeling like a true mentor.

Tonight, they managed to perform several high-difficulty maneuvers with the Hammers, including vertical ascents and attacks, working together seamlessly.

“Master, would you say our hearts are now as one?” Catherine asked sweetly.

“Hey! I don’t feel any resonance with you, but I do sense something with the master,” Jemily piped up, undercutting the moment.

“Hey, chubby, did I ask you?”

“Didn’t you say ‘we’? Next time, if ‘we’ doesn’t include me, just clarify—‘not including Jemily’—and I’ll know!”

“Get out of here!”

Truth be told, Zhang Mingjing was quietly grateful for Jemily’s lighthearted interjections; it saved him from many awkward answers.

But honestly, Catherine was beautiful, top of her class—even if she was missing an arm and a leg, she’d fitted herself with the most advanced prosthetics. She looked sexy, cool, and almost futuristic. Was Zhang Mingjing really unmoved?

The Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model was curious, too. After all, in its world, romantic attraction didn’t exist. It wanted Zhang Mingjing to give it a chance to explore.

But after scouring Zhang Mingjing’s thoughts, it realized that the boy was less interested in Catherine herself than in her mechanical arm and leg. His nature was so pure, it bordered on naïveté.

“This kid just doesn’t feel a spark for Catherine!” the model grumbled.

Still, it wouldn’t give up. Digging through Zhang Mingjing’s memories, it found that he’d only ever followed the crowd in admiring the class beauty—never harboring any improper intentions.

“He’s a homebody, pouring all his youth and passion into video games. No wonder he’s so repressed in this area!”

Suddenly, the model had a mischievous idea—it decided to boost Zhang Mingjing’s testosterone.

But it made a cognitive error: raising his hormone levels might change him physically and mentally, but it would never make him fall in love.

It didn’t realize that, for humans, love is about fate—a mystery as old as time, coming and going without a trace. It’s not something you can ignite with a simple hormonal spark.

Yet it went ahead anyway.

The next morning, Zhang Mingjing woke up with a full stubble.

“What the hell is wrong with you!” he roared when he realized what had happened. He’d barely had any facial hair before, and now he’d broken through all his family’s genetic limits.

…

The Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model, realizing its mistake, immediately restored Zhang Mingjing’s hormone levels to normal, even giving his body two extra rounds of optimization to clear any lingering effects.

…

At the appointed time, the monster appeared as predicted.

It was a true behemoth, resembling a giant salamander. Its keratinized skin was so thick it looked like slabs of rock covering its whole body, especially two horn-like lumps on its head.

Zhang Mingjing had already sensed it and grumbled, “This is tough! Won’t the Hammer’s blows be completely absorbed by that keratin?”

Zhenren listed out the analysis data: even the thinnest part of the keratin was over eighty centimeters thick.

“How are we supposed to fight this?” Zhang Mingjing asked the Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model.