Four days passed very quickly, but the search notice sent through the Aquamarine Federationâs official news did not receive any response. Either no one saw the target, or the target saw it but decided not to come. There were also no witnesses.
Left with no choice, Han Xiao could only have his subordinates continue searching. He also used (Bold Explorer) on the portrait Aesop had provided, only to see some images, but he had no idea what they were supposed to represent -a bunch of string crossing cosmic space.
After another round of searching, spaceships returned to the Floating Dragonâs dock one after another. Many Black Star Army members walked out the hatch unhappily.
After searching for so many days and still not finding the target, continuously repeating a task that had a âresultâ long ago would make anyone frustrated and annoyed. The army warriors were not exceptions. Harrison was in the crowd too. Suddenly, he caught sight of Jenny. His heart skipped a beat. He hesitated for a moment, walked over, and found the courage to finally speak with her.
âJenny, Iâm Harrison. We meet again.â
Jenny was dealing with a group of financial group investors. Hearing someone call her name, she turned, casually nodded, and said, âItâs you. What is it?â
A few days ago, Han Xiao and Ames had hosted a small party that all the important officers attended. Han Xiao had introduced Harrison to her back then, but she did not have a very good impression of him. She only remembered that this was a talkative, curious, and immature kid.
âCa-can I speak with you?â Harrison stuttered.
âNow?â Jenny frowned slightly, waved, and said in a displeased tone, âIâm very busy now. Canât you see I have guests to attend to?â
Then, she looked away from Harrison and left with the investors. She was distant and cold.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Harrison opened his mouth but did not dare disturb her more. Dejected, he followed the others and headed to Dragon Emperorâs palace to report to Han Xiao.
However, when he was about to leave the dock, he suddenly saw that someone was lying on the floor not far away. This personâs clothes were ragged, and Harrison could not see his face. The pedestrians around did not notice him, as if they could not see him.
âThatâs odd. Is that person sleeping on the floor? Why isnât anyone doing anything about
it?â
Harrison was curious.
The Black Star Army warrior beside him heard his question and looked over in the direction he was looking. He then said with a confused tone, âWhere?â
âRight there... canât you see?â Harrison was stunned.
The army warriors around all stopped and looked over. They stared in that direction for a few seconds before turning around and looking at Harrison with the same weird expression. âBuddy, better go have your eyes looked at.â Harrison was lost. His overflowing curiosity instantly started burning. He left the crowd and quickly approached the person lying on the floor. He hesitated for a moment before giving this person a light push.
âWake up.â
This person did not react at all as if he had fainted.
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Harrison turned this person over.
The instant he saw the look of this person, his eyes widened with shock.
âYouâre saying that... this is the person weâre looking for?â
Half an hour later, Han Xiao rushed back to the base from the Dragon Emperorâs palace, came to a secret interrogation room, and looked across the table with a strange expression.
âYes, I found him on the dock. He seems to have fainted and still hasnât woken up.â Harrison stood by the side and pointed at the seat on the other side of the table.
Han Xiao looked at the empty seat with a frown. He then said with a serious tone, âYouâre not pulling my leg, are you? Thereâs no one here.â
Harrison scratched his head and said with a confused tone, âI donât understand why either. It seems like Iâm the only person who can see him, and no one else can. But I can assure you, he looks exactly the same as the target weâre looking for.â
âWhere did you find him?â Han Xiao wondered. âYou might not believe me but...â Harrison shrunk his neck and said, âI picked him up on the streets.â
Han Xiao was speechless.
What else can I say?
If not because Harrison happened to see this person, even if he was standing right in front of me, I would not have seen him.
No wonder you became an explorer. This is what talent is, able to find good stuff anywhere you go!
Doubtful, Han Xiao pondered for a moment and sent a message to Aesop and asked him to come over. Then, he told Harrison to describe what this person looked like.
Harrison took a step forward and looked down at what seemed to be empty space in Han Xiaoâs eyes. âHe looks very weak. Heâs so skinny that thereâs basically only skin and bones. His clothes are ragged and torn, and thereâs a lot of dust on his body like he hasnât cleaned himself for many days...â
Han Xiao told Phillip to draw out the appearance of this person according to Harrison. In comparison, what he described was much thinner than the portrait Aesop provided. One would not even be able to tell they were the same person if the two portraits were not placed side by side.
Aesop soon arrived. As soon as he entered, he looked at the empty seat, smiled, and said, âYou guys are quite efficient to have found him this soon.â
Han Xiao was frustrated.
Why am I the only one who canât see him? How does this even work? If not because he knew Harrisonâs personality, he might have thought that these two were working together to trick him. Thinking of that, Han Xiao reached out and waved at the space in front of him. He could not sense that he had touched anything at all.
âArmy Commander, your hand passed through his body...â While Harrison was explaining, he suddenly said with surprise, âWait, heâs suddenly twitching, like youâre electrocuting him.â
âQuickly wake him up.â
Han Xiao pulled his hands back, frowned, and brought up the surveillance footage of the room. He realized that no type of detection device could detect the existence of this person.
Clearly, he was not simply invisible. It seemed like only some people were able to see and touch this person. What similarities did Aesop and Harrison have? If he really had to say, it seemed like both of them were quite lucky... Could it be that only those whose Luck was high enough could see this guy?
Then Iâd better wash up and go to sleep.
While he was making guesses, Harrison suddenly yelled, âHeâs awake!â
Han Xiao regained focus and forced himself to talk to the seat. âTell me who you are.â
The atmosphere became silent. Han Xiao did not receive a response even after a few seconds, but he did see Harrison and Aesop listening closely to something.
âDid he speak? Looks like I canât hear him either.â Han Xiao sighed. âTell me, what did he say?â Harrison scratched his head and repeated, âHe said his name is Rody Anchor, born on Planet Aquamarine...â
Hearing this, Han Xiao quickly connected to the Aquamarine Federationâs database and did a precise search of documents under this name. However, the result was still that no such person existed.
âNow this doesnât make sense at all. Since heâs a resident of Planet Aquamarine, thereâs no way there arenât any documents at all about him. Either they were wiped by some kind of abnormal power, or something is stopping me from finding out his identity. Could it be that anyone who canât see him wonât be able to find out any information about him in any form? But I can still hear what Harrison is saying about him...â
Han Xiao searched through his memories. Suddenly, he thought of a special form of existence.
This situation looked like the traits of a High Dimensional Information Form!
The explored universe had limited knowledge of the term âinformation formâ. Their theories remained unproven and unclear. It was said that any and all individuals carried various forms of information such as height, weight, smell, mass, and so on. These forms of information fused into the conditions that made the individuals detectable.
âHigh Dimensional Information Form represented a specific form of existence, where physical attributes of something were removed and only the âconceptâ of this information was left. These âconceptsâ formed a certain kind of existence, similar to physical life forms, energy life forms, and so on, becoming a new form of existence... Whether it existed or not depended on the observer.
To those special groups of people who could sense and observe this cluster of information, it would be something that had a physical form and could be touched. However, to those who could not observe it, they could not obtain any information on High Dimensional Information Forms through any channels, as if it did not exist. Like spirits that roamed the world, they would not be able to have any information exchange with each other. There were many names for this phenomenon, such as âInformation Closureâ, âInformation Isolationâ, and âUnobservable Entityâ.
At the same time, âInformation Closureâ was not limited to the senses of life forms. It was also effective on technological and magical methods of observations. This was why some documents that were supposed to exist could not be found.
This was because, including Virtual Technology, all these detection devices were also carriers of information, tools to obtain and save information. At their roots, they were no different from life forms using their organs to sense the world. âInformation Closureâ worked on both life forms and these tools... This was also the reason it had the âHigh Dimensionalâ prefix.
However, after those people who could observe High Dimensional Information Forms obtained the information, the information they obtained would become their own information, so they could describe the existence of High Dimensional Information Forms to others. This was the only form of information flow. However, even if others obtained this information, they would still not be able to sense the High Dimensional Information Forms.
Looks like heâs still not a complete High Dimensional Information Form, or he would not have to consume food...
His situation feels like heâs only half transformed, causing the information he carries to mutate and his âexistenceâ to be wiped. However, he has yet to completely become a High Dimensional Information Form, which is why he can still interact with some objects... These traits are more similar to him awakening a related Esper Ability but temporarily being unable to control it.
Why would a totally normal person suddenly become like this?
There has to be a cause, and maybe thatâs why Aesop saw him in his prophecy!
Han Xiao tapped the table and said with a deep voice, âTell him to tell me everything that happened.â
For now, the only thing he could do was have Harrison and Aesop relay Rodyâs situation. Han Xiao understood the situation very quickly and explained what had happened to this person with the Information Form Theory.
This personâs name was Rody Anchor. He had always lived on Planet Aquamarine. Some time ago, he mutated and gained some traits of a High Dimensional Information Form. He tried to communicate with others in many ways, but everything failed, so he had no choice but to do nothing for a few months.
A few days ago, he had seen the search notice that the Black Star Army had put up. Overjoyed, he had sent countless messages to the armyâs mailbox but never received any replies. He had no choice but to board a spaceship and come to Floating Dragon, hoping to find Han Xiao.
Every time a life form passed through his Semi High Dimensional Information Form body, he would passively read part of the information of that life form, bringing the illusions that felt like foresight, which led to him fainting. With his current body, if he wanted to do anything to someone, it would be equivalent to him trying to rewrite someone elseâs âform of existenceâ on the information level, interfering with reality using information state disturbance, which required more energy than he could afford. Hence, he would faint halfway every time. It was a self-protection mechanism. Therefore, he dodged all passersby on the way there. However, when he arrived at the Floating Dragonâs dock, even without coming into contact with anyone, he suddenly had foresight visions again, so he passed out. This was how he appeared in Floating Dragon and was coincidentally discovered by Harrison.
Han Xiao captured the key information and pondered. âHe awakened foresight... Maybe his information form mutation came from his sudden ability to see the future?â
âMaybe,â Aesop said with a deep voice. âThe ability to see the future can be seen as the ability to sense, process, and deduce information. The terms us foreseers use are strings of fate, cause and effect, and so on. This is because foresight ability requires one to connect with a lot of strings of fate, so itâs not impossible for it to cause someone to undergo Information Form mutation.â
Now, this is the blindspot of my knowledge... Han Xiao had a slight headache. âOld man, your prophecy says I crossed paths with him long ago. Is this referring to me saving his life because I resolved the Mutation Disaster?â
According to Rodyâs past, Han Xiao thought of this possibility.
âHow would I know?â Aesop shrugged. âIf prophecies were that accurate, do you think Iâd have been caught by you in the past?â
Han Xiao was hesitant.
He did have an idea regarding how to find out what was going on with Rody, which was to activate the combat information, but he first had to be able to touch this person.
In order for a normal person to observe a High Dimensional Information Form, it looks like one has to have a strong information connection with the target... He seems to be able to touch dead objects. So, itâs not as impossible as real High Dimensional Information Forms... Hmm, I canât see the clothes heâs wearing either, which means his clothes are assimilated too. Maybe I can start from there...
After some pondering, Han Xiao took out a mechanical suit, linked with it using Mechanical Force, and tried touching Rody. However, Rody passed through it without any difficulty. Since this mechanical suit was connected with Han Xiao through Mechanical Force, it was like Han Xiao was touching it, so it could not touch Rody.
Han Xiao then deactivated the Mechanical Force link and let Rody try to touch it again, but it still failed.
âArtificial intelligences are observers too,â Aesop hinted.
Han Xiao then pulled out the artificial intelligence controlling the mechanical suit too. After several experiments, when all connections including the virtual links, fundamental authority, and everything else were removed, Rody finally successfully wore the mechanical suit.
The next moment, the mechanical suit disappeared right under Han Xiaoâs nose.
Seeing this, Han Xiao tried finding the mechanical suit using methods such as Mechanical Force, Virtual Technology, and so on, but everything failed. This mechanical suit just disappeared into thin air.
Then, Han Xiao told Rody to take off the mechanical suit, and it appeared on the floor again.
After running a few more tests, Han Xiao sighed and said, âHeâs basically an information black hole... Iâm almost out of ideas.â
Aesop crossed his arms, frowned, and asked, âAre there really no other ways?â
âItâs too difficult to find a flaw.â Han Xiao was a little frustrated.
Those who could not observe Rody had no way of creating any information link with him. Combat was a form of information exchange too, but even if he attacked him, he would probably still be completely unharmed. He would only take damage from a weapon that was completely unaffected by any observer, a âneutralâ weapon.
If not because this guy canât influence any other life forms who arenât able to observe him, heâd be a terrifying infiltrator...
Han Xiao clenched his teeth, looked at Harrison, and gave it his last try. âAsk him, does he have anything that he wants me to help him do?â
Harrison nodded, listened to Rody for a while, and said, âYour Excellency Black Star, he hopes you can help him to get out of this state.â The moment he said that, Han Xiaoâs heart skipped a beat.
A notification popped up on the interface.
You have triggered the mission (Destinyâs ChildâSub-body Transformation)! Mission Introduction: Rody Anchor, an ordinary man who lived an ordinary life, has undergone a unique mutation. He hopes you can help him to deal with this problem...
Mission Requirements: Solve Rodyâs mutation and find the root cause of it.
Reward: 2 Random Rewards, +80 Rody Favorability, 2 Character Summon Cards.
Before he could take a closer look at the mission, a skinny and weak middle-aged man appeared in Han Xiaoâs sights, sitting on his chair and looking at him with a face filled with hope.
It was indeed Rody, and he appeared all of a sudden.
It-it worked?
Han Xiao was surprised.
He did not have much hope initially and did not expect this method to really work. Being able to see Rody meant that he now had an official information connection with him, and the source of that was definitely not just Rodyâs request.
Han Xiao was absolutely certain that if a mission was not triggered on the interface, even if he knew about Rodyâs request, he would still not have been able to see him.
Therefore, the interface became their connection!
However, this was not what shocked Han Xiao the most. It was the name of the mission.
Destinyâs Child!
Isnât this one of the trump cards of the Germinal Organization in Version 1.0? Although Iâve never seen it, I once got his Character Summon Card.
How is this related to Destinyâs Child? Isnât that guy dead?
So, this is what Aesop meant when he said we crossed paths before!
Han Xiaoâs mouth twitched. Thousands of words were at the tip of his tongue, but they all became one word. â...Damn!â