Epoch of Twilight

After lunch, Luo Yuan tried to be stealthy again and escaped to the sewer. He entered his Earth Stomp state once more to try to heal himself but the progress was very poor. It was not completely ineffective though as his external wounds had healed and the severity of his headache reduced. However, his hallucinations did not seem to improve.

He still could not describe the hallucinations in words as he could not even remember them. It was made up of everything readily available around him which included dizzying colors, a variety of sounds and shapes with an infinite amount of information swirling around. He felt dizzy every time it happened because it was too much for the human brain to process.

Luo Yuan realized that the duration for him to recover from his dazed state was increasing as the frequency of the hallucinations increased. His condition was now worse than what he could imagine. If it continues this way, he might not be able to think like a normal person anymore. Worse still, he could even fall into a coma.

He tried closing his eyes but it did not work. The hallucinations were not affected as it would still be there regardless if he left his eyes opened or closed. Luo Yuan tried other ways to reduce the impact of the hallucinations and finally, he realized he felt better when he applied pressure on his eyebrows.

This discovery was akin to finding light in a dark tunnel and gave him a glimmer of hope. It also proves that the hallucinations were not triggered by any damage to his cerebral cortex. He felt much relief knowing that he was free of any mental disorders.

As Luo Yuan had finally found the triggering factor, the next thing he needed to do was to carry out a few simple mechanical tests to try to control it. Just like how Thomas Edison conducted some experiments to discover the materials necessary for the creation of the filament, he tested every kind of material he could find. For example, he conducted experiments with hard cement, rotten wood, metals, skin, fur, and flesh from animals as well as many different plants. Luo Yuan found more things in a very short time and tested them too.

He learned a lot from his experiments on methods to reduce the frequency of the hallucinations. Firstly, inorganic substances were useless- regardless whether they were metal or soil. Secondly, flesh was more effective compared to plants. Thirdly, the higher level the meat, the more effective it would be. Luo Yuan tried all the materials he could find and he even used his own bulletproof jacket and his undershirt. He discovered something new once more. He realized that his plasma field undershirt was way better than the bulletproof jacket made from the Archelon’s egg shell in reducing the effects of the hallucinations. The difference between them was the quality. He felt there was a barrier from the hallucinations when he placed the plasma field undershirt over his forehead. He could finally see the hallucinations clearly.

He did not feel dizzy anymore and was able to think better now. The plasma field undershirt was a similar level to the bulletproof jacket made from the Archelon’s egg shells but the difference was the layer of plasma field on the undershirt. He was struck by lightning before when he fought early one morning but he did not even get hurt. Most of the current was blocked by the plasma field and part of it was absorbed by the undershirt. He linked the mutated beasts’ level to the effectiveness of the synthesized materials and was delighted that he had finally found the answer - it was energy! The level of the mutated beasts was categorized based on the amount of active energy particles inside their body. The more active energy they have, the higher their level will be. The plasma field undershirt was more powerful than the bulletproof jacket made from the Achelon’s egg shell due to its complementary power.

...

Luo Yuan quickly flattened the undershirt on the floor and pulled out his Zhanmadao. He then gathered his will and began to cut carefully when a layer of light appeared on the surface of the Zhanmadao. There were some sounds that could be heard in the sky followed by a blue lightning flash that disappeared. Luo Yuan cut the cloth into a few long strips and then wrapped them around his eyebrows. He felt better after that and the illusions could hardly affect him from then on. He then exhaled a sigh of relief and picked up his outer shirt. He put on his shirt and returned to his new base with his Zhanmadao.

...

Everyone looked at Luo Yuan as they saw him return with a strap wrapped around his forehead. The strap was glowing in the dark and it became more obvious as the night progressed. Everyone felt more and more curious about his new accessory. It was understandable if a young person did that as they like to try on new trendy things to attract attention. However, it was quite strange for such a powerful person like Luo Yuan to do the same thing. Wen Jieyu’s expression was especially shocked with her mouth left half open!

Luo Yuan felt helpless as he noticed that they were all looking at him awkwardly. However, the awkward feeling was better than having to suffer the pains caused by the hallucinations. In the end, Luo Yuan felt that it was probably better for him to explain the reason he was wearing this on his forehead even though he did not really care how people perceived him. Besides, he was not living alone in the area.

"Please stop looking at me like this. I had encountered some difficulties triggered by my training earlier. I could not adapt to it temporarily and needed something to help to soothe the pain." Luo Yuan said calmly.

"No wonder Mr. Luo was asking me about the power of my third eye. Now I know why." Zhang Wu immediately said to complete Luo Yuan’s explanation.

"Does this mean that Brother Luo has also mastered the power of the third eye? I thought you told us that different evolved men could not learn it?" Wen Jieyu was shocked and asked. Everyone felt intrigued and confused by the suggestion from Zhang Wu. However, it was true that Luo Yuan had made a breakthrough and successfully cloned the power!

...

It was now 11 pm and the light in the area had burnt off releasing a charred smell in the air. Everyone had fallen asleep now and an orchestra of snores occupied the entire space.

Although their new space was not considered to be on the outskirts, it was still dangerous as there were many different bugs, snakes and rats moving around. The place almost became infested by many poisonous beasts. Therefore, there must be someone on duty every night to protect the group. Xu Zhiqiang and Xiao Baihong were on duty together last night and tonight was Luo Yuan’s turn.

With Luo Yuan’s capabilities, there will be no danger during the nights he is on duty. Thus, everyone would be sleeping soundly with no worries. Luo Yuan leaned against the wall with his eyes half opened. During this time, Luo Yuan finally had the mood to explore the mysterious hallucinations he had been facing. He had an instinct that the hallucinations were not normal and there must be something unimaginable behind it to be able to affect him in this way.

He analyzed that the frequency of the hallucinations and noticed that its occurrence was irregular. Sometimes, it only occurred once every a few minutes and sometimes it happened once every 30 seconds. Besides that, it happened more often in the sewer compared to other places. Suddenly, Luo Yuan realized something strange. He noted that the hallucinations occurred every single time he looked at Xu Zhiqiang. He did not pay attention to it earlier as he felt dizzy but now that the night was quiet enough to allow him to think, more information started flowing in.

He then looked at Xu Zhiqiang who was sleeping to confirm his speculation. Indeed, it happened! It was a colorful light moving in his eyes and spinning rapidly just like a kaleidoscope! He got quite addicted to it for a moment. Besides that, it was different compared to his other hallucinations as it would not randomly appear or disappear. It was there constantly and it felt as though it was bonding with the physical body of Xu Zhiqiang.

He suddenly recalled that there was a layer of plasma over his forehead which meant that the effects were probably reduced. He hesitated for a moment but then unwrapped the plasma field strapped on his forehead. He immediately became pale after looking at Xi Zhiqiang again and quickly moved away. It took him some time to recover from the pain without relying on the plasma. He was having a very bad headache and could not remember what he had seen.

Luo Yuan put on the strap again and suddenly realized something. Since the sensory shock on his forehead had a reaction towards certain people, that should be considered as a type of power. He was not sure whether the system had any information regarding this power though.

He quickly opened the now-familiar status panel and scanned through the record. Finally, he found some details under ‘talents’. There was one more item under that category other than Earth Stomp. To prove that his thoughts were correct, he naturally read more about it. The descriptions made it sound like he had magical powers. This naturally made his heart beat rapidly!

"Four-Dimensional Vision!"