Chapter 2978: Transparent Brain
Xu Huo gave Tongtong a passive-trigger protective device. When attacked, the device would automatically generate a close-fitting defense barrier to ensure the holder would not be injured.
However, Tongtong preferred more interesting devices, like flashy ones he could show off to his friends.
Xu Huo didn't refuse and still gave him two passively triggered defensive devices, but these two had more colorful barriers that could somewhat block outside sight.
Additionally, he bought two entertainment devices that could perform simple magic tricks for children.
Tongtong returned fully loaded and immediately went to his room to share with his good friend. Even through the door panel, his cheerful laughter could be heard.
"Can't spoil him too much," Father Xu said. "Before, he used the devices you gave him to make his classmates run errands for him. If others wanted to borrow the devices to play, they had to bow to him. When their parents found out and came to us, it made your Aunt Yu and me run around apologizing everywhere."
"Others bow to him, you apologize to them—tit for tat," Xu Huo said.
Father Xu choked, understanding his meaning, and had to say, "I'll teach him properly later."
Xu Huo nodded. "I need to go out for a bit later."
"Can't you stay home a couple more days?" Father Xu asked. "Many relatives and friends want to visit and have been asking if you've returned."
"Just say I'm busy," Xu Huo said. "If they want to pull strings, tell them to go to Deputy Minister Ji."
"Calling him Deputy Minister sounds so harsh—better to just say Minister Ji," Father Xu shared his life experience. "You can't call him that to his face."
Xu Huo didn't comment and casually packed some fruit from the dining table into a bag.
"Going to see a friend?" Father Xu helped while asking. "Is that enough? I'll buy some more."
Xu Huo only picked a few casually, carrying the half-empty bag without much sincerity to Tang Guangbo's office.
The player building arranged by the Special Defense Department had guards both inside and outside, even two standing at the door.
"Mr. Xu." The two recognized Xu Huo and straightened their backs from afar.
"I've come to see Dr. Tang," Xu Huo said, lifting the bag.
The two players knocked on the door for him and, after receiving a response from inside, actively pushed it open. "Please come in."
When the door opened, Tang Guangbo was not visible, probably in the small inner room. However, as soon as the outer door closed, the room before Xu Huo suddenly transformed. The originally bright, sunny, and warmly decorated office instantly turned gloomy. An indescribable foul smell seeped from the mold-covered walls. With the constant flickering of lights, the small room's door opened automatically with a slow "creak," as if inviting someone in.
Xu Huo remained expressionless, walked over with the fruit, kicked open the half-open door, and stepped inside.
The small room still had no trace of Tang Guangbo, but another door appeared on the decaying wall, also opening with a "creak," half-hidden and revealing flickering red light, tempting people to enter.
Xu Huo placed the fruit on the small room's table and said flatly, "No time to play with you. I'll give you three seconds. If you don't come out, I'm leaving."
"One, two..."
Before he could count to three, he turned around. At that moment, the door he entered slammed shut, and the floor beneath him disappeared. All the furnishings and furniture, along with him, plummeted downward.
Because the descent was too fast, he couldn't see the surroundings clearly. Xu Huo seized a moment, jumped onto the nearby table, and opened a Spiritual Gate in the air.
Stepping through the gate, he returned to the small room.
This time, he didn't waste time and directly opened a new door at the original door's location. Outside was the office, but just as he was about to leave, a light cough came from behind him.
A gloomy-faced Tang Guangbo emerged from another wall, staring at him with a heavy gaze. "You've improved a lot."
Xu Huo leaned against the doorframe. "It's only been a short while. How did you end up like this?"
"Moving forward, one can't help but stray down the wrong path," Tang Guangbo said, raising his hand to rearrange the tables and chairs. He gestured for Xu Huo to sit. "I've recently found some new leads and experimented on myself."
"Did it succeed?" Xu Huo asked.
"Halfway," Tang Guangbo said with some regret. "The direction is right, but I estimate not many can withstand it. They might go insane before reaching the step of Mental Super Evolution."
"There aren't many talented people in this area in Country X, but I've heard there are abroad."
Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you come to Zone 014?"
There were so many game zones, and the number of talented Mental Evolvers was probably countless. Yet Tang Guangbo had come here at the beginning of Zone 014's evolution and had been screening targets here. Was it based on talent?
Tang Guangbo smiled gloomily. "A truly talented person—just one is enough."
"Besides, my goal is to create something from nothing. Those who have already begun Mental Super Evolution have their own cognition and evolution patterns. Intervening later makes it hard to achieve results." He paused, looking at Xu Huo. "Just like you."
"The last person I saw trying to make ordinary players undergo Mental Super Evolution was embedding chips in their brains," Xu Huo said.
"That's a lowbrow method," Tang Guangbo said, immersed in his academic pursuits. "The human brain is the most complex and perfect instrument. Violent intervention only disrupts its balance. Only when it's fully utilized can it have infinite potential."
This sounded somewhat familiar.
"May I ask why you're so obsessed with developing the human brain and spiritual power?" Xu Huo inquired.
Tang Guangbo didn't care who exactly "you" referred to and slowly said, "Have you ever seen someone subjected to torture and interrogation?"
"I once saw an ordinary evolved human who, after suffering both physical and mental torment, resisted the effects of the drug and didn't reveal any secrets."
"Under normal circumstances, he wasn't a player, his brain hadn't undergone special evolution, and the quality of the evolution drugs he took daily was poor. Under these conditions, even if he endured the interrogation, he absolutely couldn't have resisted the drug's erosion."
"I tested him. Before being caught, he hadn't undergone hypnosis or suggestion. His brain was quite smooth."
"But in a half-awake, half-asleep state, he fed the interrogator a piece of false information."
"At that moment, I truly witnessed the limits of human spiritual power."
"He was just an ordinary person, which means most ordinary people might be able to do the same."
"Human thoughts and imagination should not be passively shared. This goes against the principles of psychotherapy."
"People should not explore others' secrets without restraint."
"If even the brain's defense line is breached, then humans in the game world will truly become transparent."