Chapter 147: The Acrobat Trigger

Upon hearing the question, Instructor Gu was momentarily stunned.

"For fish living in the deep sea..."

"For two-dimensional creatures..."

"Then, what makes us so certain that the world we are in now is real? What is true reality, and what is the true world? What lies beyond this realm? And how do we appear to beings in higher dimensions?"

Lin QiYe mimicked Merlin's tone, throwing out a series of questions. After the last word left his mouth, the entire classroom fell into an eerie silence...

Lin QiYe stared into Instructor Gu's eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately:

"Have you ever considered... that we might be creations of beings in a higher dimension?"

Instructor Gu stood frozen in place.

After a long pause, he spoke uncertainly, "I... don't think so…"

"Why not?" Lin QiYe's eyes brightened with interest. "Do you have any evidence that could disprove my theory? Do you have any proof to confirm the authenticity of this world?"

Instructor Gu was at a loss for words.

Lin QiYe had never forgotten that there was a madman in his psychiatric hospital who constantly babbled about the world being fake. Merlin had been released some time ago, but despite Lin QiYe's many efforts, he couldn't make any progress in his treatment.

As of now, Merlin's treatment progress still stood at 0%.

Although Merlin appeared to be a normal person when he wasn't obsessing over the authenticity of the world, whenever he was left alone in peace, he inevitably began studying the reality of the world. After some time, he would transform into a pink starfish, running around wildly with a fishing net, and Li Yifei couldn't even catch him.

In comparison, Nicks, who quietly sat in the yard sunbathing and occasionally muttered about children, was the epitome of a well-behaved student.

Setting aside the troublesome aspect of it, it was frustrating to have such a legendary magician under his care without being able to extract any of his powers. Lin QiYe could only watch helplessly...

He knew he couldn't make any useful progress on his own and could only place his hope on the outside world. Since Instructor Gu seemed so knowledgeable, surely he could disprove Merlin's theory, right?

Once that first step was taken, the rest would be easy.

Instructor Gu lowered his head, brow furrowed, seemingly deep in thought as his gaze shifted from calm, to suspicion, to shock, and then to confusion…

After about five minutes of contemplation, Instructor Gu finally raised his head and took a deep breath.

"Lin QiYe, your question… is good, but right now, I cannot provide an answer. Please give me some time to think about it and I'll get back to you."

He then emphasized once more, "Inquiry and dialectics are things every learner should engage in, myself included. Don't worry, I won't avoid this question. Give me some time, and I'll give you an answer!"

Instructor Gu's gaze was filled with determination.

Lin QiYe nodded and returned to his seat.

The rest of the theory lesson proceeded as usual, though some of the more perceptive individuals noticed that Instructor Gu seemed somewhat distracted today…

As soon as the class ended, Instructor Gu packed his things and hurried out of the classroom, walking briskly while deep in thought.

"Yo, Old Gu, class over?" Instructor Hong came down the hallway and greeted him with a smile and a wave.

"Ah? Hmm, yeah."

Instructor Gu didn't even look at Instructor Hong, responding briefly before hastily walking away.

Instructor Hong stood in place, feeling a bit confused as he watched Instructor Gu's retreating figure, scratching his head.

"What's up with Old Gu?" Instructor Han Li happened to walk by and asked in surprise.

Instructor Hong shook his head. "I don't know. He seems… possessed? Never mind, whatever."

Training Field

"Training with Forbidden Objects."

"In the process of using Forbidden Objects, the most important evaluation criteria can be divided into three categories!"

"The first is the power and lethality of the Forbidden Object itself. This factor is mainly determined by the Forbidden Object itself and cannot be influenced by humans."

"The second is how well the user can synchronize with the Forbidden Object. Do you truly understand your Forbidden Object? Do you know how to use it to bring out its full potential? This can only be achieved through prolonged interaction with the object—no one can help you with this."

"The third is the duration and coverage of the Forbidden Object's effect. In simple terms, this is about controlling your mental energy accurately! This is the goal of our training!"

On the martial arts platform, one of the instructors opened two large cardboard boxes behind him and pulled out a silver wristwatch.

"This device is called ACE, or as we sometimes affectionately call it, the Acrobat Trigger. Once you wear it on your wrist, it will output a continuous stream of mental energy for twenty-four hours. This energy won't be deadly or harmful, but it will stimulate your muscles and make you perform some acrobatic moves that you wouldn't otherwise do…"

"Your task is to continuously use your mental power for 24 hours to resist this mental energy, keeping a balance between your mental output and the energy. If you don't output enough mental energy, the current will flow through your body, but if you output too much, ACE will trigger a response and send an even larger current through you."

"And the intensity of the current is irregular, meaning you must constantly adjust the amount of mental energy you output in response to the energy flow. You can't do too much or too little, not even when you sleep or eat. If you fail…"

A smile tugged at the corner of the instructor's mouth. "Let's just say, you must train your mental energy control to become instinctive. From now on, ACE will be with you until the training ends."

"Don't even think about trying to remove it, or there will be serious consequences."

"Now, come up by squad and collect your wristwatches!"

Under the curious gazes of the new recruits, each person went up to collect a silver wristwatch and began fiddling with it.

"This watch is ugly. It's nothing compared to a Rolex," Bai Li Pangpang muttered, giving the watch a disdainful glance as he sighed.

Lin QiYe: ...

At this moment, Cao Yuan silently put the wristwatch on.

Whoosh—!!

The moment the watch closed around his wrist, Cao Yuan's body visibly shuddered, and then—he suddenly flipped backward, performing a textbook-perfect backflip!

Lin QiYe and Bai Li Pangpang stared, wide-eyed, unable to believe what they had just seen.

Cao Yuan stood up, glanced at the wristwatch on his wrist, and after a brief moment of silence, spoke slowly, "Don't look at me… try it yourself, and you'll do the same."

"Heh, you're overthinking it," Bai Li Pangpang chuckled wickedly, slowly putting the watch on his wrist. "With my build, there's no way I could—"

Whoosh—!!

Before Bai Li Pangpang could finish speaking, his rotund body shot up from the ground, twisting in the air for a 720-degree spin, and landed gracefully before immediately launching into a series of backflips.

One, two, three, four...

In full view of everyone, Bai Li Pangpang's body spun farther and farther away.

"Ahhhhhh!!! Help me! QiYe, save me!!!"

Lin QiYe watched in silence as Bai Li Pangpang continued his backflips, now racing toward the cafeteria with lightning speed. He fell into deep thought...