Chapter 1918: The Use of Super Evolution Power
Time passed quickly, and soon it was lunchtime. Someone came to knock on the laboratory door, saying they were inviting Xu Huo to the cafeteria for a meal.
Xu Huo had been to the laboratory's main cafeteria last time. At this hour, there were also many staff and players eating, most of them wearing clothes marked with the Platinum Eye insignia. He stood out quite a bit among them.
Bai Kou did not come for lunch. The staff member who had brought Xu Huo over got him a meal tray and said, "That laboratory is vacant. Mr. Xu can use it after your meal as well."
"Thank you." Xu Huo sat down to eat. Perhaps because outsiders from other zones were rarely seen in the laboratory, two female players sat down beside him. Amidst their chatter, they casually and intentionally probed about his origins, though the conversation only revolved around him personally, completely avoiding any mention of Bai Kou.
Xu Huo gave brief, perfunctory replies, finished his meal quickly, and headed into the laboratory.
Whether it was due to his attitude or not, not long after he entered the laboratory, someone knocked again. Three young men asked if he was done using it. They said he had been in the laboratory for too long; normally, even using the activation instruments wouldn't take this much time, especially since he had no laboratory personnel accompanying him.
They practically said outright that he shouldn't be hogging the laboratory.
Xu Huo didn't mind. He picked up his coat and prepared to leave.
"What's your problem?" One of them stretched out an arm to block his path. "Looking down on us?"
"Who do you think you are? Just because you managed to get in through Miss Kou's connections, you think you can throw your weight around? The laboratory isn't for a waste like you to squander! If you had any sense, you would have come out on your own by now!"
Unlike the situation when Xu Huo had come last time, today there were many people waiting in line to use the laboratory. Over at the city government, the stronger players always got priority. Therefore, they were very dissatisfied with Xu Huo, who had cut in line through connections and was occupying the lab.
It was clear the three only wanted to verbally harass him, with no intention of starting a physical fight. Their core aim was to humiliate him into backing off and not lingering there. Of course, they wouldn't say these things in front of others or Bai Kou. In fact, when a laboratory staff member came over to check on the commotion, they even smiled and said proactively:
"Our new friend says he's finished and is giving the lab to us."
The staff member looked at Xu Huo suspiciously. Although it felt a bit odd, Xu Huo was wearing a smile, showing no sign of reluctance or any other intention. The staff member had to say, "Miss Kou said this lab is temporarily for Mr. Xu's exclusive use. The lab's data system is also shut down. You'll have to queue for another lab."
The three surrounded the staff member, sweet-talking him into reconnecting the data. "Anyway, he's not using it anymore. Isn't it a waste to leave the lab empty? Besides, everyone's busy. If we finish early, you can knock off early too."
The staff member had no choice but to look at Xu Huo again.
Xu Huo was indifferent. "I also think they need this lab more than I do. If Miss Kou asks, I'll explain it to her."
With that, he picked up his clothes and walked out. There were two small lounges near the laboratory entrance, and he planned to wait there.
The staff member had to arrange for someone else to guide him, also to prevent him from wandering around the laboratory.
Work and rest should be balanced, so Xu Huo spent the next while reading.
At three in the afternoon, Bai Kou walked out of the laboratory on time. She knew Xu Huo was waiting at the door and came straight over.
The two left together in a vehicle and returned to the Mechanical Castle for training.
Xu Huo had felt good after practicing in the lab that morning, so he was much more relaxed during the afternoon sparring session. Without relying on "Angel's Eyes," he managed to complete the step of causing a resonance between time rays. However, connecting to the time rays of other spaces would require continued practice.
Bai Kou also sensed this. She asked Xu Huo to open his Spiritual Realm and demonstrate the specific state of controlling the time rays within it.
Xu Huo did as instructed. Within the black Spiritual Realm, he created crisscrossing lines, simulating the state of the time rays as he perceived them. On the surface, these lines appeared to be straight, but upon zooming in, one could see faint undulations. These undulations represented the speed of time.
Of course, this was just his own interpretation.
The two stood amidst the flowing rays. Xu Huo pointed to a spot where a horizontal and a vertical ray intersected, then reached out and gently tugged.
As the node was pulled, the surrounding time rays also moved, though only slightly.
Then he let go. Still facing the same node, but without touching it, he gently pushed his palm forward. From a certain distance, the two intersecting rays beneath his palm suddenly trembled violently. Following that, the other rays connected to these two also began to vibrate. These rays, in turn, drove even more rays. In the blink of an eye, all the white lines within the black space were shaking.
These lines originally had relatively wide gaps between them. Standing in the middle, they looked like a series of "well" characters pieced together. But as the rays vibrated, the entire space seemed to be hit by a heavy downpour. These rain-like lines grew denser and denser, instantly filling the entire space, becoming as ubiquitous as real time itself.
This was not just an illusion within the Spiritual Realm. What Xu Huo simulated was the current state of the time rays he could control. Although Bai Kou was not a Temporal Evolver, her Evolution Rate was very high. Even without evolving, she could sense abnormal forces in her surroundings, just with varying degrees of intensity.
Even though players' perception of time power was far weaker than their perception of space power, this level of intensity was enough to make Bai Kou feel uncomfortable.
"This is the level I can currently achieve," Xu Huo said. "I haven't figured out the specific application of time rays yet."
Bai Kou looked at the white lines, which were alternately dense and sparse, and smiled. "The application of time power is far more extensive than you imagine. Don't be fooled by those Super Players who casually freeze time or use time speed differentials to kill. Those are actually advanced uses, very difficult for those at the beginning of their evolution."
"If you can already manipulate time rays, you can use them to affect items."
"Time-space items have the characteristic of mutual incompatibility. However, time items in the game are very rare. People know little about them, so they aren't aware of the more basic uses."
"Have you ever used a Space Ray Barrier to interfere with a Space Teleportation Item?"
Xu Huo nodded. "For short-range Space Teleportation Items, yes."
"Space Teleportation Items essentially use space power to instantly open a relatively safe and sturdy space channel, allowing players to pass through quickly. But if a Super Evolver reaches a level where they can perceive the direction of a space item's function and intercept it at high speed, they can potentially render the space item ineffective."
"It's a manual deactivation of the item, not using a similar item to interfere with it."