Chapter 50: The Quantum Overmind

“What? You saw that dream? Did you bring it out?” Director Tyrannosaurus roared in excitement, his voice booming like thunder, making everyone’s eardrums ache.

“Yeah, I ate it! But honestly, it tasted awful—just like crap!” Old Dog stuck out his tongue in disgust.

“What? You mangy mutt! After all our hard work to get that dream, you just ate it? Spit it out!” Director Tyrannosaurus grabbed Old Dog by his hind legs, intending to shake the dream right out of his belly.

“Amitabha! Let it go. He has the bloodline of the gluttonous beast—whatever he eats never comes out again!” Monk Emptiness adopted the demeanor of a high monk who sees through the vanity of all things, as though what exists is as good as gone. Unfortunately, the very next second he rolled up his sleeves, gripped his staff, and leapt forward in a rage, causing everyone to rush over and hold him back.

“To hell with you! Do you think this humble monk is easy to bully? Dare to steal what’s mine, and if I don’t beat you, you worthless mutt, within an inch of your life, then you can call me Hello Kitty!”

“Don’t blame me! That place was all white and misty—I don’t know how long I was there, and the only thing with me was that dream. I can’t stand being hungry, and I was starving, so I couldn’t help myself and ate the thing!” Old Dog whimpered as Director Tyrannosaurus tossed him onto the sofa.

“I thought you only had a strong urge to devour spirit creatures full of spiritual energy?”

“That dream realm was brimming with spiritual energy too! Later, I ran into some spirit creature named Jiu’er. But honestly, that dream realm, as bad as it tasted, filled me up. That’s the only reason I didn’t eat her too!”

“Jiu’er, as in the Nine-Headed Serpent? The Hydra?” Lingmei asked.

“I don’t think she’s the Hydra. She’s a nine-headed creature, yes, but she’s female, and all her heads are those of dragons. I’m very sensitive to spiritual energy—the Hydra is dual-natured, with water and fire, but Jiu’er has nine different types of spiritual energy!” Old Dog confirmed.

“Wu Ming, try probing your artifact with your divine sense,” Lingmei seemed intrigued.

“How do I do that?” Wu Ming scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

“What? Wasn’t this technique taught to you? That’s disgraceful! Don’t go around saying you’re a disciple of the Unity Sect!” Director Tyrannosaurus scolded.

“Senior, it’s just like you did before—channel your spiritual power, carrying your divine sense slowly inside. It’s very easy!” Xiaomei explained gently.

“Alright then.”

Wu Ming held the Mirror of Mountains and Seas, slowly channeling his spiritual energy into it. As the veins of the mirror extended inward bit by bit, he suddenly felt himself immersed in an immense world. It was a sensation—a sense that this world was one with himself, like a person feeling their own limbs and body. Yet it was only a feeling; to actually see it clearly, he had to stretch out his divine sense, like a person who can feel pain, itchiness, or comfort in their body, but can’t see their whole self.

Wu Ming vaguely sensed that many formidable things were hidden in unknown regions of the Mirror of Mountains and Seas. However, his current power was insufficient to unlock more spaces; last time, it was only thanks to the help of the Lady of Drought that he had managed to open it at all—otherwise, he would not be able to use even this little space and its functions.

Wu Ming’s divine sense pressed forward, gradually approaching a massive moving entity he sensed within. As he drew closer, a huge dark shadow began to emerge from the mist ahead. Its outline resembled the Hydra they had defeated recently, but it seemed much larger, and as Old Dog mentioned, its aura was the complete opposite of the previous Hydra. If the Hydra had been evil, this being was positively sacred. The Hydra wielded water and fire, but this nine-headed creature embodied nine elements.

Cautiously, Wu Ming’s divine sense crept closer, moving ever so slightly for fear of attracting the attention of this nine-headed beast, knowing he could not handle such a monster alone.

As his divine sense advanced, the nine-headed creature’s form gradually resolved before him. This was no nine-headed serpent—it was undeniably a nine-headed dragon.

Wu Ming recalled the ancient descriptions of dragons: a head like a camel, antlers like a stag, eyes like a hare, ears like an ox, a neck like a snake, a belly like a giant clam, scales like a carp, claws like an eagle, and palms like a tiger. Its back bore eighty-one scales, corresponding to the supreme number nine times nine. Its cry was like the striking of a bronze plate. It had whiskers beside its mouth, a pearl under its chin, and a reverse scale beneath its throat.

This nine-headed beast was indeed a nine-headed dragon. The only difference from legendary dragons was that it had nine heads; otherwise, it matched the descriptions perfectly.

“My master, is that you?” The nine-headed dragon suddenly lowered her noble heads, all nine bowing before Wu Ming’s divine sense in a gesture of reverent submission.

“What’s going on?” Wu Ming was startled and quickly concealed his divine sense even further.

“Master, do not be afraid. I am the Quantum Central Brain—you might call me an artificial intelligence. This is the simplest way to explain it according to your world’s current technological understanding. The nine-headed golden dragon before you has already been tamed.”

Wu Ming grew more and more confused.

“What is a Quantum Central Brain?”

“This story begins with the birth of this world. The explosion of this universe was a controlled event. At the time, the species within had evolved to the limits of their inherent flaws and could evolve no further. To shatter the shackles of evolution and the bonds of the gods, to create and attain the most perfect race in the universe, all intelligent species across the cosmos united to undertake this experiment. But for unknown reasons, the experiment led to the destruction of the entire universe—most likely because it encroached upon the true domain of the gods and incurred a divine curse. At the very moment the experiment was about to succeed, the entire universe was downgraded, collapsing into a single point, then exploding anew to form the current universe, expanding ever outward into the multiverse.”

“So the Big Bang theory is actually real?” Wu Ming was left speechless.

“Yes, master. The universe we inhabit now was indeed formed from a single point’s explosion.”

“Alright, just get back to the main point. You don’t need to explain the Big Bang theory!” Wu Ming interrupted.

“As you wish, master.” The voice sounded again in the void, ethereal and dreamlike, as the changes after the cosmic explosion unfolded before Wu Ming’s eyes.

“The multiverse arose from that explosion. As the central controller of the world, I was inevitably split into multiple projections across different dimensions. The main consciousness, known in legend as the great Pangu who split heaven and earth, for various reasons became the continent and world essence of the Mountains and Seas. By rights, I should never have awakened. But by a twist of fate, great powers emerged in the Age of Legends, and in their battles they shattered the world, breaking the Mountains and Seas. My quantum brain tore free from the world’s essence, attached itself to a fragment of the Kunlun Mirror, and escaped from the dimension of the Mountains and Seas. By another coincidence, I ended up in your hands, and you successfully became my master! Originally, you lacked the energy to activate the Quantum Central Brain, but after acquiring several energy sources, the primary lock was broken. Then, with your divine sense entering, all these factors combined to allow me to contact you, master.”

“That’s incredible! So with the Mirror of Mountains and Seas in my hand, am I now invincible?” Wu Ming’s divine sense cheered foolishly inside the mirror, and his body outside was grinning as well. To Lingmei and the others, he looked as though he were in the throes of some lovesick trance.