Gao Jing and Zhou Hanxiang, lost in their grief, failed to notice the subtle signs, but Zhou Junguo, who remained composed, caught on. He stepped forward to stop the mother and daughter from chasing after them, giving Natarle a meaningful glance.
Understanding his cue, Natarle swiftly moved past them and headed upstairs.
The sound of an argument drifted up from below.
Soon after, Zhou Tianming and Natarle descended, each carrying several stuffed paper bags filled with documents.
The commotion in the living room instantly died down.
Gao Jing and Zhou Hanxiang tried to approach, but Zhou Junguo blocked them with outstretched arms. He glanced back at Zhou Tianming and said, "Go."
Realizing his grandfather had already guessed the reason, Zhou Tianming nodded. Turning to Zhou Hanxiang, he said, "Mom, there's a notebook on my bed—it's about my condition. I'm leaving it to you. Thank you for everything over the years."
At his words, Zhou Hanxiang's eyes lit up. Her gaze flickered between Zhou Tianming and the staircase before she steeled herself and dashed upstairs without another word. "Tianming!" Gao Jing's voice trembled with tears. "Grandma will wait for you to come back!"
Zhou Tianming was momentarily moved but chose not to respond. Steeling his heart, he turned and walked away.
Behind him, Gao Jing collapsed into Zhou Junguo's arms, sobbing.
Black Tortoise Repair Dock, Temporary Quarters
Zhou Tianming checked the date—December 16.
Eight days remained until the Zero Point. He had to complete the imagined device before coming of age, or his body would collapse beyond repair. [Iron Wall] and [Unyielding] could buy him some time, but not much.
If the future meant languishing as an invalid on a sickbed, he'd rather make a clean, dignified exit—no lingering attachments.
Lying on the bed in the room, Zhou Tianming closed his eyes and sank into his Consciousness Space.
Beside him, Natarle, though puzzled, tightly gripped his hand, staying by his side.
Within the Consciousness Space, Zhou Tianming clenched his fist, sensing the warmth.
A firm squeeze.
Time to go all out!
First, he checked his Mindpower value—higher than before. Tracing the source, he found it came from Kira and Athrun's [Trust]. Though modest, it was still a boost, allowing him to use [Iron Wall] a couple more times to mitigate damage.
A promising start!
The immediate task was deciphering [Iron Wall]'s damage-reduction mechanism—how it used Mindpower to offset harm. Without cracking this, all efforts would be in vain.
On the first day, he dismantled the mental defense helmet salvaged from the Satellite wreckage, using [Analyze] to swiftly grasp its structure.
Its technical content was actually quite low, merely using alternating layers of two types of [Psycommu Alloy] stacked like a water filter to block Mental Power.
In other words, the other party hadn't truly delved into the research of Mental Power—they had simply utilized the material's properties to achieve the desired effect.
Zhou Tianming was utterly disappointed by this.
Undoubtedly, his goal of using this to study Mental Power had failed.
The next day, attempting to solidify the [Iron Wall] effect by replicating the imprint model of [Iron Wall] from the Consciousness Space—complete failure.
The fifth day.
Zhou Tianming's downturned lips twisted bitterly. He had been too naive.
After the simplest method failed, he had no choice but to delve deeper into the principles of [Iron Wall].
But he had overestimated himself. Despite exhausting every possible approach over these days, he still couldn't figure out why [Iron Wall] could use Mental Power to block damage. [Iron Wall] was like a magic shield from a fantasy world, using mana to negate harm, but the judgment mechanism and conversion method remained entirely unknown to Zhou Tianming. Or rather, he hadn't even taken the first step—he couldn't observe Mental Power.
He wasn't a Newtype. To him, Mental Power was illusory, intangible.
Though he could utilize it through Mental [Sense], that was all he could do—he couldn't study or measure it.
Even when a piece of [Psycommu Alloy] theoretically infused with Mental Power was placed before him, he couldn't distinguish between the Mental Power and the physical material. Five of the remaining eight days had passed with no progress, and Zhou Tianming's mental state was reaching its limit.
He grew taciturn, his temper unpredictable. Once, in a fit of madness after an experiment failed, he accidentally injured Natarle. Only her quick thinking saved him from a complete breakdown—the moment she noticed his expression shifting, she knocked him out cold.
But after this incident, Zhou Tianming's spirits sank even further.
Natarle watched helplessly, anxious but unable to assist with the research. All she could do was stay by his side, offering constant encouragement. With her support, Zhou Tianming recovered slightly and threw himself back into his work.
Meanwhile, at home—
After reading Via's notes, Zhou Hanxiang had indeed gained many insights, advancing her research significantly. Yet she remained stuck at the most critical juncture—how to perform adjustments on a living person.
Moreover, the question of how to splice gene fragments was a completely unexplored field. This step alone might take ten, even twenty years.
The more Zhou Hanxiang researched, the more despair she felt. The goal seemed impossibly distant.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting pale light across her face. She looked up—though it was winter, the world outside still teemed with life.
Rage and hatred surged in her heart.
Why did her child have to suffer like this?
She wanted to vent, but there was nowhere to direct her fury.
In the end, she couldn't bring herself to blame the world.
Tears welled in her eyes as Zhou Hanxiang knelt before the window, the sunlight enveloping her in a radiant glow.
Clasping her hands together, she bowed her head in prayer.
This was all she could do—placing hope in something so intangible to mask her powerlessness and despair.
Silently, silently...
Within her mind, Mental Power began gathering around the pure white SEED planted by [Friendship].
It swirled around the seed, the trails of its movement forming a mental imprint.
[Blessing] activated!
Suddenly sensing something being drawn from her mind, the unfamiliar sensation jolted Zhou Hanxiang awake. Yet moments later, her instincts reassured her—don't fear, this is a Blessing.
As the Mental Command [Blessing] activated, Hanxiang's Mindpower rapidly depleted, her face growing paler by several shades.
In an unknown underground laboratory—
Within a cylindrical cultivation pod, a small brain began emitting white light as the adjacent machine's readings skyrocketed.
In a realm invisible to ordinary eyes, torrential Mental Power surged skyward.
It pierced through layers of earth, converging in Earth's orbit.
The translucent figure of a young girl with pale blue Long Hair materialized.
Her crimson eyes gazed downward, traversing tens of thousands of kilometers to rest upon Zhou Tianming.
In the next instant, she appeared beside him.
Tian Ming's research progress had been sluggish despite Natarle's encouragement, his confidence steadily eroding.
His mind swirled with chaotic, negative thoughts.
This caused his research to regress rather than advance, with half-formed hypotheses dissolving into mental turmoil.
The more his work regressed, the more demoralized he became—a vicious cycle that gradually extinguished the light in his eyes.
Just then, he suddenly felt his hair stand on end, his breath catching as if plunged into deep-sea pressure. "What—?"
Zhou Tianming leapt from his chair, the screeching furniture toppling behind him.
His frantic gaze swept the empty room, yet it felt oppressively crowded.
An enemy?
Why strike now?
He tensed to resist, then slumped with bitter laughter at his own condition.
What point was there in fighting?
He had mere days left to live anyway.
But why come for him now?
He needed to leave information for Natarle.
[Sense] activated as his Mental Power swept the room like radar.
Still, nothing.
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