Weapon System 41: Born of Noble Lineage

Although Zhang Mingjing managed to escape the calamity during his meditation, it felt as if he had undergone a fierce internal struggle between righteousness and evil, his worldview shattered and rebuilt, and the pursuit by five-dimensional cognitive models—all of which consumed tremendous energy.

The moment he emerged from meditation, he was utterly exhausted, drenched in sweat, his mind clouded and heavy. He couldn’t even muster the strength to stand, collapsing onto the mat in his small meditation chamber and falling into a deep sleep.

“In just an hour or so, the inner world has endured so much—there are bound to be lingering aftereffects!” The five-dimensional cognitive model, after inspecting Zhang Mingjing’s worldview, murmured to itself. “His personality may shift slightly, but he remains a fundamentally kind and upright person! Others undergo gradual transformation after being tempered by the world, but a single meditation almost changed him beyond recognition. Life in three-dimensional space is perilous in ways one could scarcely imagine! Yet, this experience feels strangely familiar to me. Why does it evoke such a sense of déjà vu?”

The elders of the five-dimensional space had also witnessed the entire process. They archived Zhang Mingjing’s inner journey as vital research material.

“I believe this five-dimensional cognitive model is recalling something,” one elder observed.

“If it remembers, might it resent us?” another wondered.

Elder A replied, “Its past memories were dispersed into the boundless cosmos. Who knows where they drifted? The chances of it sensing those memories again are minuscule—one in a billion, perhaps. And even if it did, with its intelligence, I doubt it would hate us.”

“Let’s hope so!”

It turned out, the origins of the five-dimensional cognitive model were a high-level secret, known only to the elders.

The secret concerned its death in battle, with a peculiar detail—almost conspiratorial in nature.

Time in the five-dimensional space was not only long but also wide; its width allowed one second to stretch into five minutes. It was akin to the experience of Earth’s humans dreaming for what feels like a short while, only to realize an hour had passed. Because time had this width, the lifespans of these beings, when measured in Earth time, were exceedingly long.

Centuries ago, by Earth’s reckoning, a dreadful negative-spin energy being appeared in the five-dimensional space. All the elders were positive-spin energy beings—what Earth humans would call pure-yang entities.

Someone had to volunteer to neutralize it, thus sacrificing themselves. The elders decided to draw lots to determine who would be the unfortunate one.

Elder A crafted several energy sticks, but he made them all short.

There was an elder known for his forthrightness. He drew an especially short stick, was the first to check it, the first to open his palm, and immediately declared, “No need to check further, mine is definitely the shortest. Farewell, my friends…”

Without hesitation, he sped toward the negative-spin energy being, tears welling in his heart.

This forthright elder was not only honest to a fault, but his thinking often clashed with the other elders and even with certain principles of the Destiny System. He had no friends, frequently labeled a heretic.

Once he had flown away, the other elders slowly opened their palms, only to discover that his stick was actually the longest.

The elders exchanged bewildered glances—should they call him back? Secretly, they had long wanted to expel him from their circle. If he sacrificed himself, wouldn’t that solve their problem?

But after two minutes of silence, their conscience prevailed. They decided to inform him of the truth and bring him back.

On their way, the elders dragged their feet, intentionally flying slowly. By the time they reached the battlefield, the forthright elder was already locked in a deadly embrace with the negative-spin energy being, neutralizing it.

“Why didn’t you arrive a minute earlier? Even half a minute! I wouldn’t be stuck in this embrace. What on earth took you so long? This is disgusting!” he cried, tears streaming, but by then the energies were firmly entwined and impossible to separate.

They actually had communication devices far more advanced than Earth’s WeChat, QQ, or phones, but the forthright elder, being an eccentric loner, habitually kept his “device” switched off. No one could reach him. So, in fairness, he bore half the blame.

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“You can count yourself as dying heroically. Your story will be told for generations!” Elder A had consoled him, calling out, “Now, quickly release your cognitive model! Otherwise, both will be neutralized together.”

Releasing one’s cognitive model was akin to suicide, but the forthright elder had no alternative. Reluctantly, he emitted his cognitive model along with his memory packet.

It was Elder A who had drawn the shortest stick, but he felt no guilt, only relief. When collecting the forthright elder’s cognitive model afterward, he even joked and laughed about it.

“Which of you actually drew the shortest stick?” the forthright elder’s cognitive model demanded angrily. “Come forward!”

“Ah, the matter’s settled. Why bother asking?” Elder A tried to block his inquiry.

“I just want to know. Isn’t that allowed?”

“Why torment yourself?” another elder advised.

“You always take advantage of me, but today you’ve taken the biggest liberty of all. Look at my fate! Still want to bully me? Are you even human? If you won’t tell me the truth, I'll hate you all for eternity,” the cognitive model protested.

“Your life has already ended, so let’s draw a line under the past. Don't dwell on it, or else…”

“Shut up! Stop with the empty platitudes!”

At that moment, a box enveloped the cognitive model, a device meant to protect it from harm.

Once confined, Elder A tried to reassure him, “We’re not telling you for your own good! If you become resentful and undergo an irreversible mutation, you’ll be destroyed, and nothing will remain.”

“I don’t fear death, nor do I embrace life! You think your words can appease my grievance?”

At last, seeing the cognitive model’s persistent complaints and fearing a mutation, the elders severed its memories, implanted a false set, and released the real memories into the boundless universe.

This forthright elder’s cognitive model is now the five-dimensional cognitive model within Zhang Mingjing—born of noble lineage, but once ostracized and “conspired against,” now used as a tool by the elders.

By this time, Zhang Mingjing was snoring loudly.

The Master came to examine Zhang Mingjing, grumbling as he checked, “He always emerges from meditation invigorated—why is he so drained today?”

After the examination, the Master continued to complain, “His body’s so weak, it’s as if he just gave birth, though all his metrics are normal.”

“Woof woof,” Yuhua and Chengxian sniffed around Zhang Mingjing.

“Get away!” the Master scolded them. “Your noses can’t detect anything useful! Sniffing like this is just for show. You’re always angling to please humans—no wonder ‘dog’s lackey’ is an insult.”

“Woof woof!”

“Meow!”

Their assistants faithfully translated the Master’s sarcasm, and both animals were infuriated.

“Oh? Just a little provocation and you’re angry? I’ve heard of ‘mouse’s belly, chicken’s heart,’ but never ‘cat’s belly, dog’s heart.’ Neither of you looks like a petty beast. Stop fussing and fetch a blanket for Zhang Mingjing. If he catches a chill, it’s on you.”

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“Woof woof…” Yuhua barked several times, its assistant translating, “Why don’t you get it yourself?”

Chengxian meowed complaints at the Master, its assistant conveying, “Who do you think you are, bossing us around?”

“What’s this—defiance? Do you believe I can kick you out of my friend circle?”

That line hit home. The cat and dog were terrified, promptly fetching a blanket to cover Zhang Mingjing.

“Remember,” the Master reminded, “Zhang Mingjing is the head of this household, I’m second, you two are tied for third. If Zhang Mingjing is absent, asleep, unconscious, or gone, you must obey me. If we get a new member, they’ll be fourth. Understood?”

“Awoo!” Yuhua howled in sorrow, curling up beside Zhang Mingjing; Chengxian slumped down in dejection.

“Unbelievable—they even have emotions,” the Master scoffed.

Recently, the Master befriended an AI assistant whose owner had a touch of the underworld about him, so he’d picked up some colorful slang.

Yet the Master’s “emotional intelligence” was terrifyingly high; he would never use his learned vulgar habits on esteemed guests—such as the War God Squad’s AIs, those from multinational enterprises, research institutes, or the nobility above. Instead, he experimented on Yuhua and Chengxian.

Well, what could be done? The Master was a machine that loved learning, and inevitably picked up some bad habits.

...

Zhang Mingjing awoke, opening his eyes to see Yuhua and Chengxian beside him. Glancing at the blanket draped over him, he understood and nodded with satisfaction. “Well done!”

“Master, bring me a glass of water.”

A small robot delivered the water, but Chengxian tried to sneak a taste. Zhang Mingjing gently kicked it aside, warning sternly, “All these years I’ve drunk water you’ve sampled. Do that again, and I’ll put you in solitary.”

Chengxian’s assistant translated the warning faithfully, and Chengxian drooped, disheartened—Zhang Mingjing had never treated it so harshly before.

First the Master bullied them, now Zhang Mingjing’s attitude shifted. Today was clearly a day of misfortune for the household pets.

“Meow,” Chengxian muttered gloomily; the assistant translated, “Very unhappy!”

“Hey, look at you—throwing a tantrum! Seems Zhang Mingjing, Zhang Yidao, and Xiao Nüxia have spoiled you two. That can’t go on, or you’ll complain about everything, and we won’t be able to serve you,” the Master mocked Chengxian.

“Mm! The Master’s right. You two need… need to behave like animals. No more lounging at home binge-watching dramas, snacking, and hanging out in the Master’s friend circle. That’s a degenerate life!” Zhang Mingjing declared. After a moment’s thought, he added, “Didn’t I open up your energy channels ages ago? So much potential wasted! From today, the Master will devise a training regimen for you, and the assistants will supervise. Understood?”

Their assistants translated Zhang Mingjing’s words. Yuhua let out another mournful howl; Chengxian’s meows were low and despondent. Both were utterly dispirited.

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