Weapon Systems 39: Meditation Is Actually Very Dangerous (1)

"Damn it! I really want to strangle you. You actually spied on my dream—have you no shame?" Zhang Mingjing exploded in anger and embarrassment.

"Look at how guilty you look, truly pathetic! I’m inside your consciousness, how could I avoid your dreams? Listen... Since you’re interested in Catherine, I can help you. I’ll send her your dream from today, let her read it like a love letter. Since time immemorial, beauties have admired heroes. I guarantee that once she reads it, she’ll instantly throw herself into your arms."

"You’re disgustingly shameless. You’d better shut up, or I won’t let you off!"

"Hey! So uptight. Getting me to shut up isn’t hard—agree to a condition."

"What condition?"

"Next time you enter deep meditation, take me with you."

"Take you with me?!"

"Yes!"

"...Who knows how many secrets you’ll steal from me then?"

"We’re so close, no tool can measure it—what’s the point of secrets? Besides, I’m not that interested in your secrets. What really intrigues me is your meditation data."

"Go away! I trust you less and less."

"If I can’t study your meditation data, I’ll be bored and inevitably start caring about your secrets. And you know how gossipy I am. If one day I spill your dreams to Catherine or some gossip-loving AI, the outcome would be tragic!"

"Alright, alright! I’ll take you into my deep meditation. Stop talking so much. I’m not afraid of you leaking my dreams; helping you get the meditation data is just a trivial favor."

"Ah! I knew I picked the right person back then. You’re truly generous and righteous! Compared to you, I feel a little ashamed. Just now, I really judged you with a petty heart!"

"Good that you know! Don’t ever threaten me with my dreams again. Such low tactics are contemptible. Besides, I’m aboveboard and unafraid of slander."

"Fine~! I know you’re upright—I was wrong!"

People say, ‘what you think by day, you dream by night’. Zhang Mingjing thought to himself: he hadn’t had any improper thoughts about Catherine during the day, so how did he end up…with her in his dream?

He didn’t realize he was at the age of budding desire, and the only girl he’d grown close to over the past year was Catherine. Who else would he dream of?

As he pondered, Zhang Mingjing washed his face and then headed straight for the little meditation room.

The Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model remained silent, fully aware of what he was thinking, but said nothing, clearly versed in the etiquette of those seeking favors.

Once inside the small meditation room, Zhang Mingjing crossed his legs. His mind emptied in an instant, and within a minute, he entered deep meditation.

This time, the Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model joined him, descending layer by layer into the same white, misty depth of consciousness as before. Initially, it was denied access, but at Zhang Mingjing’s thought, it was allowed in.

"This realm is truly impressive," the model remarked.

"Why do you say the realm is impressive? Isn’t it my consciousness that’s blocking you? It should be my consciousness that’s impressive!"

"I wanted to take a look precisely because your meditation is extraordinary."

"Of course. Here, I have complete insight; every cell in my body is enhanced."

The model detected that Zhang Mingjing’s state of mind was one of total awakening, but beneath this awakening, there lurked a secret, terrifying conspiracy.

Upon arrival, Zhang Mingjing opened the box and took out the stone, fixating on the corner revealed last time.

"Why do you keep staring? Why not keep polishing?"

"What’s the rush?"

"Isn’t it delaying your cultivation?"

"If I polish further, I’m afraid that revealed corner will vanish."

"Did you see something precious in that corner? Why are you so afraid of losing it?"

"Unparalleled beauty, unmatched tranquility, incomparable harmony, supreme comfort, peerless insight… It’s marvelous!"

Gazing at that exposed corner of the stone, Zhang Mingjing seemed to be conversing with the stone, or perhaps simply muttering to himself.

"Your beauty is unrivaled—who would deny it? All things possess spirit, yet you are a part of me, which fills me with both joy and sorrow. My state of mind is so lively—who would deny it?"

"…Do you think my self-praise is excessive? Am I too enamored of myself?…Alright, I admit it—so what? No, this character isn’t good; I shouldn’t be arrogant or complacent, should I?"

"Come now! I ask you, that is, my own personality, to lead me to deeper mysteries. I’m ready—I want to reach the pinnacle of life. No! What is the pinnacle of life? I’m already at the summit—I want to reach the highest peak of existence, to become a master… That’s surely too crazy, too arrogant!…Haha, I simply can’t help myself."

"I have a burning desire… But what do I desire? To become stronger? No, not quite… To attain enlightenment? No! I’m afraid, because I’ve heard that after enlightenment, nothing interests you anymore, not even your responsibilities—which won’t do! I still have parents to care for, want to find a beautiful girl, maybe have children someday, and I can’t neglect them, can I?! And right now, I need to slay monsters… What do I desire?"

Zhang Mingjing chattered on without pause, the Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model listening quietly by his side.

Of course, Zhang Mingjing was always aware of its presence, but chose not to speak with it, instead continuing to gaze at the stone’s exposed corner, rambling to himself.

At that moment, the model was keenly aware. In earthly terms, Zhang Mingjing was possessed—captivated by the magic of this realm.

Scientifically speaking, he had advanced too quickly, entering a state beyond his control, causing certain negative traits to spiral out of control. His speech, too, became less measured, his demeanor transformed.

The model ran a comprehensive body scan, discovering his life energy was becoming chaotic, and there were hidden risks in his blood flow.

"This really isn’t good news!" the model sighed. "Luckily I came along!"

"Indeed! Lucky you’re here, or I wouldn’t have had the chance to broaden my horizons." Zhang Mingjing finally spoke to it, but only this once, immediately falling back into his self-indulgent rhythm.

It’s said that for every inch gained in the Way, the challenge grows a foot taller. Advancing to higher levels means facing greater trials—each upgrade requires defeating monsters.

If you fail, at best you start over; at worst, you’re doomed forever.

The Five-Dimensional Cognitive Model, though not a cultivator, possessed a higher innate dimension.

Therefore, it deeply understood the mystery of this layer.

Zhang Mingjing continued to indulge in this deep realm of consciousness, his insight fully unleashed and his mind clear, but ironically, this heightened state made him anxious, fearful of losing it.

The realm seemed to implant a command program, instructing him to protect himself with all his might—revealing itself as a demon blocking his path of cultivation.

The model thought, "I must rescue Zhang Mingjing before this program activates. Otherwise, if I try to confront the realm, he'll fight me to the death!"

Moreover, this demon was forcing him to reconstruct his worldview model, which made things especially tricky.

"His worldview model is rapidly being reconstructed. Who knows what he'll become once he leaves meditation?" the model worried, resolving, "Before he escapes this realm and restores his worldview, I must not let him exit meditation."

The structure and origin of the worldview model are extremely complex, like a vast construction of countless blocks, each containing a human quality.

Every worldview model has a dominant quality, and each person’s model, built from numerous 'human quality blocks,' is utterly unique.

"But how can I help him escape the clutches of this realm? He’s utterly enthralled, let alone receptive to my advice!" the model pondered.

It kept trying to crack the realm, because Zhang Mingjing’s consciousness must have needed a source code to create it. Unless it found that code, the realm’s hold on him couldn’t be broken.

Calculating as it went, the model marveled, "This realm was actually created by Zhang Mingjing himself, and its algorithm is incredibly advanced—no wonder it blocks my access. The kid has truly progressed."

Yet, after all its calculations, it still couldn’t find the source code, and couldn’t help but complain, "What quality wrote the realm’s source code? Pride? Greed? Arrogance? Looks like I can’t tackle the realm head-on!"

With this in mind, it headed straight for Zhang Mingjing’s worldview model, because the source code was hidden within one of the 'human quality blocks' that was striving to become the model’s dominant block.

At that moment, Zhang Mingjing’s worldview model was indeed reconstructing like a massive pile of blocks, and within one block, the source code for the realm lay.

"So many ‘human quality blocks’—finding the right one will take some effort!"

The model wanted to restore the reconstructing worldview model to its original state, but despite its best efforts, its computational power was insufficient to halt the process.

"This trend of reconstruction could only be suppressed by the computational power of the Destiny System. I have no body! Better hurry and find the source code, and tackle it from there!"

The model searched tirelessly through Zhang Mingjing’s worldview model. The current dominant blocks were humility and optimism, and since they’d always been energized by conscious power, they were huge—like kings among blocks, easily recognizable.

However, since the new worldview model needed reconstruction, their energy was waning and they were shrinking.

"Most likely, the realm’s source code lies in a block that’s usually overlooked. For it to become a dominant block, it must absorb energy, which means it’ll be growing bigger." Thinking this, the model began scanning every block in Zhang Mingjing’s worldview model.

The workload was considerable, but suddenly interference increased, making its scanning increasingly difficult.