Chapter2 : Changes

Section I. Scary woman

In the " Tennokaku Arrow " laboratory in Tokyo, after shutting down the wormhole, Kenichi Ito immediately called Yagamiya.

Excitedly, he told Yagamiya on the phone, "Old man, come to the lab quickly, I did it! I made a miniature wormhole! I think my efforts moved Santa Claus, so he gave me this super Christmas gift on Christmas Eve, haha."

Yagamiya couldn't believe it and said, "What you said... is it true? Did you really do it?"

Ito said, "Of course it's true. I just saw the miniature wormhole through the camera. If you don't believe it, you can come and see it for yourself. By the way, I have found the crucial parameter value and plan to name it after you. Let's call it the 'Yagamiya parameter'. How does that sound? It sounds pretty good, right?"

Yagamiya's voice choked with emotion as he said, "This is amazing... it's really a miracle. Ito, you did a great job. Thank you, thank you... you worked hard."

Ito laughed and said, "Get a bottle of good wine and come over. Let's celebrate properly tonight."

Yagamiya tried to calm himself down quickly and his tone became a bit tense as he said, "Ito, listen carefully, I will come to the laboratory immediately. You wait for me there. Before that, don't tell anyone about this, especially Shibata. Be careful with confidentiality!"

Ito was a little puzzled and said, "Shibata left work early today, and other employees have also left. There is only me left in the control room, and I didn't get a chance to tell anyone else. But on second thought, isn't Shibata our partner's representative? Why do we have to keep it a secret from him?"

Yagamiya said, "I can't tell you now. Anyway, I will explain it to you when I arrive at the lab."

"Okay, I got it. I'll wait here for you." Ito hung up the phone and vaguely felt that something was not right. Yagamiya seemed to have something important to tell him. What could it be?

Then, two hours passed, but Yagamiya still had not shown up.

Ito began to feel worried, so he called Yagamiya's phone. No matter how many times he tried, he couldn't reach Yagamiya, which made him even more uneasy.

And at this moment, Shibata suddenly came to the laboratory, followed by a young woman. The woman was about 20 years old, with good looks and a slender figure, and could be considered a beauty at first glance. She was wearing a tight leather suit, with a bewitching makeup on her face, exuding an indescribable evil charm in every movement.

Shibata stared at Ito with his eyes fixedly, and said to Ito with a straight face, "Professor Yagami won't come tonight. You don't have to wait for him anymore. We already know that you just experimented successfully. Let us see your results."

Ito was very alarmed after hearing what Shibata said, and hurriedly asked him, "How did you know? Where is Professor Yagami now? What have you done to him?"

Shibata said coolly, "We have been monitoring your communications. We heard everything you said to Professor Yagami on the phone just now. Professor Yagami seems to want to keep the results of the collaboration between the two parties to himself. He has already been brought to Mr. Ryu Muto, who has a lot to say to him."

"How could you violate our privacy and listen to our communications at will?" Ito protested.

"Hmph, if not for that, we would probably have been fooled by you like fools. Alright, stop talking and get to work. Let me see the wormhole you have created." Shibata urged.

Ito knew Yagamiya very well and knew that Yagamiya was not a person who broke his word. Yagamiya had been trying to hide the experimental results of the two of them from the anonymous conglomerate for a valid reason, definitely not to monopolize the results. Although he didn't yet know what that reason was, he had made up his mind not to let the people from the anonymous conglomerate get their hands on their results. Otherwise, Yagamiya would be very disappointed.

Thinking of this, Ito suddenly burst out laughing. He said, "Actually, you are the ones who have been fooled like fools. Although this was not intentional on my part, you have created a big misunderstanding. In fact, I was just joking with Professor Yagamiya, trying to trick him into buying a bottle of wine to keep me company. After all, I'm too bored and too lonely spending Christmas Eve alone here, but I didn't expect you to come instead. Actually, I didn't create a wormhole at all. The probability of creating a wormhole is so low, Mr. Shibata, you should know that. How could it be so easy to succeed? It's even harder than winning the lottery."

Shibata was a physics expert and knew that the probability of successfully creating a wormhole was extremely low, so he was skeptical of Ito's words. But the young woman standing next to Shibata suddenly said decisively, "You're lying! I can tell." She drew a small dagger from her leather jacket and played with it in her hand, grinning at Ito, "You'd better be honest, otherwise, I have many ways to make you tell the truth. If you don't want to bleed, cooperate."

Ito looked at the small dagger dancing on the woman's fingertips and suddenly turned pale. He never thought things would get so serious and reach the point of endangering his life.

Shibata saw this and was also worried that the young woman might actually hurt Ito if things got out of hand, making the situation irreparable. The success of the entire wormhole technology research plan hinged on Ito alone. If Ito did not lie, and he was injured now and not willing to work willingly in the future, then the whole plan would be ruined.

Therefore, Shibata quickly gave a signal to the young woman, indicating to her not to act impulsively, and then said to Ito, "This is Miss Sakura Muto. She was sent by our company to assist me in examining the results of this experiment. She was just joking with you; don't take it seriously. However, it is easy to find out if you're lying. We can simply retrieve and examine the data preserved from the experiment to know the truth. So, it is best if you cooperate with us and don't try any tricks."

Ito knew that continuing to lie would only lead to his being exposed, and it may even anger them, possibly putting his life in danger. Therefore, it was pointless to persist in lying. But if he were to hand over the critical parameter values to them, the consequences would be unthinkable. That young woman did not seem like a good person.

In a moment of urgency, Ito had a flash of inspiration and thought of a way out.

First, Ito pretended to say helplessly, "Alas, it seems Mr. Shibata cannot be deceived. Well, I admit that I lied. It was Professor Yagami who requested that I keep it from you. I don't know what that old man is thinking. We were supposed to be partners, sharing the results together."

Then he went to the control console to conduct the experimental operation and continued, "You are so eager to see the wormhole. I will show it to you now. However, be aware that this is just a preliminary achievement in the research of wormhole transmission technology, and it is far from being a mature technology."

Sakura Muto watched as Ito obediently started the instrument at the control console, so she put the small dagger back in her leather jacket and said triumphantly, "This is right. It is wise to obey us. No one who has defied us has had a good end."

Ito paid no attention to what Sakura Muto said and quickly manipulated the instrument. After two minutes, he turned around and signaled Shibata and Sakura Muto to come closer to the control console, saying, "Come and take a look. The wormhole is about to open."

Shibata and Sakura Muto quickly approached the control console, their eyes fixed on the screen, eagerly anticipating the unprecedented sight of the wormhole.

Just then, Ito leaped back quickly and turned around to run towards the exit of the control room about 20 meters away without stopping.

Sakura Muto immediately realized that something was wrong and swiftly turned around to give chase.

Suddenly, a bright beam of light shot between the two of them, and quickly waved up and down as if forming a light curtain that separated the two.

Sakura Muto was startled by the beam of light, stopped in her tracks, and looked closely to see that the beam of light had penetrated the thick wall from the outside of the control room. The parts of the control room wall that the beam of light had touched left severe burn marks on the cracked surface.

When Ito rushed to the spot near the exit, he dared to turn around and check the reactions of Sakura Muto and Shibata.

He caught a glimpse of Sakura Muto seemingly wanting to force her way through the "light curtain" to chase him and quickly stopped her, saying, "Stop, you fool, that's a high-energy particle beam that can even slice through thick walls. If you get hit, you'll surely die."

It turned out that Ito had not used the particle accelerator to create a wormhole, but instead used the giant accelerator tube inside it to create a high-energy particle beam, and by adjusting the direction and angle of the accelerator tube, he aimed the beam directly towards the center of the control room, while also continuously sweeping the beam up and down to create a "light curtain."

"Damn it! You bastard! Don't be so clever!" Sakura Muto shouted angrily and quickly pulled out a gun from inside her clothes, shouting at Ito, "If you take another step, I'll kill you."

Ito had not expected Sakura Muto to be so ruthless, carrying a firearm at her side. He had to stand still near the exit. But he was not panicked because he knew he had one last chance to escape. However, it required some time to prepare.

Shibata shouted to Ito from the control console, "Ito, you cannot escape. Hurry up and tell me how to turn off this high-energy particle beam."

Ito pretended to be very afraid and said, "Don't shoot, I'll tell you how to turn it off. I'm begging you, please don't shoot... I will cooperate with you. I don't want to die yet, I still have many things I want to do. I have never climbed Mount Fuji nor soaked in a hot spring in Hokkaido. I have never seen a sumo match, and I have always wanted to visit Osaka. I heard that..."

"That's enough! Stop talking nonsense and tell me what to do!" Shibata shouted loudly, "Are you trying to stall for time? Let me tell you, no one can save you."

As Shibata finished speaking, suddenly another high-energy particle beam penetrated the control room. This beam was different from the previous one, as it cut longitudinally across the entire control room, extending from the exit to the direction of the control console.

This high-energy particle beam was actually pre-set by Ito earlier, the original intention was to destroy the control console and destroy all experimental data. He did not want Shibata and Sakura Muto to obtain that data, so he came up with this idea. And now, it just happened to help him escape.

After sweeping over the control console, the particle beam caused serious damage, and a piercing explosion sound came from the machine inside the control console, attracting Shibata and Sakura Muto's attention. They both turned their heads to check the situation. Meanwhile, Ito took the opportunity to rush out of the door.

When Sakura Muto turned her head to look at Ito, he had already vanished from sight, leaving her furious and shouting.

Ito ran out of the laboratory in one breath, stumbling and racing to the parking lot, and hurriedly started his car.

Although he knew that both Sakura Muto and Shibata. were currently trapped in the control room and unable to get out for a short time, Ito was worried that there might still be some of their accomplices lurking nearby. Therefore, he switched the car from automatic driving mode to manual driving mode and stepped hard on the gas pedal, racing away at the fastest speed possible.

Section II. Buried secrets

In the car, Ito took deep breaths in a rhythmic manner and silently recited the value of pi, "π=3.14159265358979....", to calm himself down quickly. This was a method he had devised himself to help him overcome difficult or dangerous situations. Whenever he encountered negative emotions, repeating this process a few times could help eliminate the negativity and restore his calm.

Soon, Ito snapped out of his panic. His mind became clear, and he suddenly remembered an incident that had occurred two months ago, which might be related to their current situation.

Two months ago, one afternoon, Ito went to Yagamiya's office at Tokyo Comprehensive University to report on the progress of the experiment. Yakamiya became suddenly excited and dragged Ito to the window to enjoy the beautiful view outside. The window of Yakamiya's office overlooked the famous ginkgo scenery of Tokyo Comprehensive University. The golden ginkgo trees surrounded the old and solemn buildings of the campus, and the ginkgo leaves fell like a golden carpet on the ground with the autumn breeze blowing.

Yakamiya pointed to a huge hundred-year-old ginkgo tree outside the office building and exclaimed, "Ito, I have no relatives or friends in this life. You are the only person I can trust. I buried a box under that big tree. The box contains one of my secrets. If something happens to me someday, I hope you can dig up that box."

Ito felt that Yakamiya's words were a little strange and asked, "Did you offend someone? It sounds like someone wants to harm you."

Yakamiya shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "Maybe I am just getting old and becoming sentimental. I have been worrying about things lately."

"What secret is in the box?" Ito asked. "Is it your lifelong savings that you plan to leave to me? If that's the case, it would be great, haha."

Yakamiya's face showed a complex expression, and he sighed, "You'll know when the time comes. I hope that day never comes."

At the time, Ito had dismissed the incident as unimportant. But now, he thought that the box was likely an important clue that could help him figure out what Yakamiya was hiding. So, he immediately changed direction and headed for Tokyo Comprehensive University.

Upon arriving at Tokyo Comprehensive University, he crossed the quiet campus at night and arrived under the hundred-year-old ginkgo tree. After carefully searching, he found a patch of soil that looked a little different under the tree. Unable to find any tools, he had to dig up the soil by hand, and after two or three minutes of digging, he finally unearthed the box.

After receiving the box, Ito hurried back to his car and switched it to autonomous mode. He set the navigation to a distant location and allowed the car to start driving away while he walked in the opposite direction. He did this because he was afraid that the anonymous consortium would try to listen in on his and Yagamiya's communication, and he suspected they may have installed a tracking device or something similar in his car. He didn't want to risk being caught by them if he continued driving his own car.

Additionally, he believed his apartment was no longer safe and that the terrible enemies might have set a trap for him there. Therefore, he couldn't go home and had to go to his other "secret residence" instead. He planned to settle in there, figure out Yagamiya's secret, and then go to the police for help.

Section III. Indian teenager goes home

Meanwhile, Raj in the Mumbai hospital was confirmed by the doctor to have fully recovered, and was discharged on the second day after regaining consciousness. Kajol was thrilled to bring Raj back home.

Raj's house was an old three-story building located next to a street in Mumbai. It had seen better days and looked a bit rundown from the outside, but the interior was beautifully decorated with a blend of modern and traditional Indian culture.

The sunlight shone into the house, making Raj feel particularly warm and familiar in this home he had been away from for so long. Kajol spent the entire morning making a lavish thali meal to celebrate Raj's return, and they sat down to enjoy the food and chat.

Raj chewed the pancake in his mouth and praised: " Kajol，your dishes are better than before, even better than the dishes made by the chefs in the restaurant. You are not only a good actor, but also a good cook.”

Kajol smiled and said, "Wait until I earn enough money. We'll open a big restaurant together. You'll be the owner, and I'll be the chef. It'll be a lot of fun."

Raj shook his head and said, "That's not okay, I can't open a restaurant with you. Because I'm going to be a doctor like our dad did.”

"Doctor? Why?” Kajol asked curiously.

Raj explains: "Because being a doctor can save many lives and help many less fortunate families. And Dad always wanted me to be a doctor when I grew up.”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Kajol gently stroked Raj's head and said, "Dad will definitely be proud of you. But it is not easy to become a good doctor, you must first enter a good medical school. Top medical schools are very difficult to get into, so you have to study hard to have a chance to get in. However, I have full confidence in you because you have been smart and hardworking since you were a child, and the teachers at school often praise you.

Raj held Kajol's hand and spoke earnestly, "Don't worry, I won't let you down. I will work hard to study not only for myself, but also for you. I know the past year must have been difficult for you to take care of me, and I promise Lord Shiva that I will become an excellent man to protect and take care of you for the rest of my life."

Kajol was moved to tears by Raj's words and hugged him while choking up. "It's worth sacrificing anything for you, my dear brother. The hardships we faced in the past were tests from the gods, and now we can start a new life. Everything will be better."

Raj nodded and said, "Yes, today is the start of a new life."

After enjoying a happy meal together, the siblings sat on the couch and talked endlessly until bedtime.

The next day, Kajol received a notice that she had to go to Delhi for a week to shoot a movie. She was worried that Raj might not be able to take care of himself, but he assured her that his health had fully recovered and he could live independently like before. Then Kajol left for work while Raj stayed home to prepare for school.

Section IV. A magical mutation of the body

Ever since he woke up from a coma, Raj had always felt subtle changes happening in his body. As these changes brought him positive and pleasant feelings, he thought they were only the normal process of his body recovering from a long coma and did not pay much attention to them, nor did he mention them to Kajol.

However, that night while he was watching TV on the couch, Raj suddenly felt the changes intensifying inside him, as if his body was burning up. Under the impact of the heat waves, he closed his eyes in discomfort, but in his mind, he could sense every blood vessel, every nerve, and every organ in his body moving vigorously, as if he could "see", "touch", and even "control" them. This was a strange experience that he had never felt before. The various parts of the body are organically formed by blood vessels, nerves, organs, bones, and other "parts". Under normal circumstances, people can only feel the overall movement of their body parts, but now Raj was able to sense the operation of every tiny "part" that made up the body. This unprecedented feeling amazed Raj and made him wonder if his soul had entered another world, a "wondrous world" visualized from his own body. This "world" attracted him deeply, making him indulge in it. His consciousness was like a curious guest, freely "browsing" this "world" within his body, observing the flow of blood vessels, the stretching and shrinking of nerves, and the operation of each organ.

It was unknown how long it had been, but the burning sensation on Raj's body gradually subsided, and his consciousness began to blur. Then, without realizing it, he fell asleep.

Raj slept for a very long time. When he woke up, it was three days later in the afternoon. As he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find that the world before him had changed. Everything was more colorful, the details were clearer, and the motion trajectories were more noticeable. Everything was rich and beautiful in his eyes, even just the mundane objects in his room.

Raj thought that he must be experiencing an illusion due to just waking up, so he quickly ran to the window, opened it, and looked outside. The street outside was as bustling as usual, with crowds of people and traffic. Raj focused his mind and watched the street for over ten seconds, then he was shocked and couldn't close his mouth.

His vision had obviously become sharper than before, as if he had a telescope installed in his eyes. He could clearly see very detailed things in the distance just by focusing his gaze, even a fly flying around a pancake stand thirty meters away. But what surprised him even more was that he found his hearing had also been greatly improved. The roaring sound of cars on the street, the shouts of vendors, the laughter of children, and the barks of animals such as cows and dogs were all clearly transmitted into his ears. After these jumbled and noisy sounds entered his ears, his mind automatically distinguished every sound's distance, weight, and urgency, forming an ordered and three-dimensional auditory effect.

"What on earth is happening?" Raj couldn't figure it out. He wanted to immediately call Kajol, tell her about this strange occurrence, and ask for advice on what to do. However, he worried that it might affect Kajol's work and bring her troubles. Moreover, this improvement in sensory ability was not a terrible disease; on the contrary, it gave him an indescribable sense of comfort. Therefore, he decided to observe for a period, and only tell her after Kajol came back.

During the following two days, Raj stayed at home and tried to adapt to his newfound senses while continuously searching and checking through medical books left by his father, hoping to find the cause of this physical change. However, after two days of searching, he had not found any similar cases.

Raj languished on his bed, looking at the several neatly arranged volumes of the "Mahabharata" on his bookshelf, and couldn't help but think, "Could it really be Kajol's day and night prayers that moved the benevolent Shiva, and made Shiva not only save me but also bestow me with magical powers of sensory abilities? But what can I do with these miraculous sensory abilities?"

Raj's father was a doctor who believed in science, but his mother was a devoted Hindu who told him all kinds of fantastic Indian myths from a young age. So while Raj thought the idea of "the god Shiva intervening" was not very scientific, it seemed like a reasonable explanation for his current situation.

Thinking this way made Raj's mood relax a bit, not as anxious as before, and he was able to better accept the reality of his body's changes.

In the afternoon, Raj, who had been stuck at home for two days, was getting so bored that he had to forget about his physical worries and go out for a stroll on the nearby streets to relax.

He hadn't been out for long when he bumped into some good friends who were gathering in groups to play cricket. They had all grown up with Raj as their playmate and were happy to see him out of the hospital, congratulating him and inviting him to join them for a game. The reunion with his old friends made Raj very happy, so he happily agreed.

Raj's father was a cricket fan, so Raj loved the sport deeply as well. Before the accident that turned him into a vegetable, Raj often played cricket with his friends and enjoyed it very much. He wasn't particularly good at it, but he just enjoyed playing and being part of it.

Raj and his friends went to an empty space near the neighborhood and drew a rough line with chalk before starting the game with great excitement.

Raj's team was the first to attack. He came in as the second batter in the second round. With his cricket bat tightly in his hand, he was fully focused on the bowler on the other team. The ball was thrown towards him with full force, flying quickly towards the three stumps next to him.

Just as the ball was flying out, Raj suddenly felt the motion of the ball slow down, just like watching a slow-motion video, he completely grasped the trajectory of the ball and was able to judge where it would fall. He concentrated his strength on both arms, swung the bat accurately and hit the ball.

At the moment the ball was hit, a faint glow appeared on Raj's covered arms, and the ball, like a cannonball, went past the boundary of the field, over the rows of low buildings, and disappeared beyond everyone's visibility.

Everyone, including Raj himself, was stunned by this scene. When they recovered, they all looked at Raj with strange eyes, as if he were a monster, which made him confused. Raj didn't know how to explain it to his friends. In fact, he didn't understand it himself. Therefore，he quickly dropped the broken cricket bat and left the field without a word, ignoring his friends' reactions, and hurried back home.

On the way home, Raj thought to himself that the strange phenomenon that happened earlier was probably another one of his " divine power," which seemed to enhance his physical abilities. However, he wasn't happy about his newfound power. Instead, his worries grew. He imagined the devastating consequences if he accidentally hit his friends with the powerful ball he had control over.

Since he didn't understand the terrible destructive force hidden within him or how to control it, Raj was scared of his "divine power." He decided not to leave his home until he found a way to use this power safely, lest it suddenly erupt and harm someone, even if it meant endangering Kajol's safety.

After some careful consideration at home, he concluded that he needed to figure out how to use this power as soon as possible. He knew he couldn't practice inside the house, as this power's strength would likely destroy it in just a few tries. He searched and studied online for two days and finally found a suitable place to practice – the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. It was a famous tourist spot in Mumbai located on the Northern fringe of the city. The park was vast and had abundant vegetation, dense forests, lakes, and waterfalls. Although there were many tourists to the park, the majority of them chose to travel by car along the park's main road, and very few ventured into the deep forested areas. Thus, Raj could practice his "divine power" without fear of being seen in the less-traveled areas of the park. Moreover, it was convenient to get there from his house – he could take the suburban train.

After selecting the perfect spot, Raj waited for Kajol to return home to discuss his plans and to ask for permission to leave the house for his "training."

On the night Kajol returned from Delhi after finishing her movie, Raj anxiously wanted to tell her about the events of the past week. But he noticed that she seemed distressed and tried to pry. Kajol forced a smile and said she was just tired and needed rest, urging Raj to go to sleep early. She then went to her room and shut the door.

At first, Raj thought that Kajol's bad complexion was due to not resting well. But before long, Kajol's heart-wrenching cries came from the room. Due to the soundproofing in the room, Kajol was hiding in the room to cry silently, which Raj originally could not hear. But now, with his enhanced hearing, he could clearly hear what was going on inside.

In Raj's impression, Kajol has always been a gentle and strong girl, and he rarely sees Kajol cry so sadly. He immediately had an impulse to rush into Kajol's room to ask her about the reason.

However, when he approached the door, he restrained himself and didn't do it. He thought that as siblings who were always so close and talked about everything, Kajol was obviously trying to conceal her troubles and didn't want him to know. So even if he entered the room and asked her now, she would still be unwilling and might even be further stimulated. After thinking about this, he felt it was better to wait until Kajol calmed down before talking to her about these things.

Seeing Kajol's current state, Raj decided to put aside his own problems for the time being and not tell Kajol to avoid adding to her distress. He believed that Kajol's situation was much more important than his own and should be given priority. Regardless of the difficulties that Kajol encountered, he would do his best to help and support her with all his abilities.

Section V. Strange things happen

In a New York Wall Street office building, when everyone was enjoying the Christmas holiday, Galen was working alone in the empty office, spending the entire holiday overtime.

Galen did not like to spend Christmas at home because he was the only one there. Seeing his neighbors enjoy the holiday with family would make him feel even more lonely. So he came to the office to work overtime, and his mood would be calmer.

In these short few days of the holiday, he tirelessly wrote analysis reports and completed more than fifty, which was more than all the reports written by other analysts in the company combined in the past month. Moreover, each report was an excellent work with a new perspective, clear logic, and rich content, earning positive feedback from the company's clients and market recognition. Clients unanimously believed that these reports were very convincing and helpful for their investment decisions.

After working during the holiday, Galen's astonishing work efficiency made all his colleagues in the company hard to believe. Rumors began to spread in the office. Some suspected that his analysis reports were not written by himself, but purchased from some small brokerage analysts, while others suspected that he obtained a large amount of insider information through some special sources. Even Tom, his best friend at work, couldn't resist sneaking up to his seat to ask him about the situation.

While handing Galen the list of research reports written by Galen in the past few days, Tom said to Galen: "Hey, man, how the hell did you do it? Whatever method you use, please teach me this method. You know, the company recently planned to buy a new AI analytics software to replace some of the analysts' jobs, and I'm probably on the layoff list, so please, help me.”

Galen took the list and glanced at it, then said in surprise: "Oh my God, it's incredible that I have written so many research reports." In the past few days, he has only focused on his work, and has not realized that due to the improvement of his work efficiency, he has written such a large number of research reports.

He put down what he was doing, and said to Tom: " I don't want to hide from you, in fact, I am also confused. In the past few days, my head is like a blocked water pipe suddenly opened, and a steady stream of inspiration has poured in. The difficult economic models of the past now seem simpler than elementary school mathematics. Those Fed reports, if I read them once, can fully guess the true intentions of officials. Those false financial statements, no matter how hidden the means of fraud, cannot escape my eyes. Nowadays, writing a research report is a breeze for me, and I don't have to rack my brain like before.

Although I still haven't figured out exactly what happened, I suspect it has something to do with my head, which has been having a dull pain since a few days ago.”

Tom looked puzzled, pointed at Galen's head, and said: "So, you are telling me now that your "CPU" has suddenly upgraded, and then your computing power has increased dramatically, so that you can now handle more complex problems?”

Galen quickly nodded and said, "Yes, yes, now you are beginning to understand what I am talking about.”

"But it doesn't make sense! I've only heard of people suddenly becoming stupid after getting Parkinson's, but I've never heard of someone suddenly getting smart because of a headache. Tom said.

Galen leaned close to Tom's ear and whispered, "What if it's because of a genetic mutation?”

Tom listened and said impatiently, "Oh, please, stop teasing me, okay? Were you bitten by a mutant spider like Spider-Man, or were you irradiated by gamma rays like the Hulk? Wake up, you're just a middle-aged man who spends all day in the office working in front of the computer, and there's no chance of anything special.”

"Although you have a point, I still don't think this possibility can be ruled out, after all, so far, no other better explanation has been found." Galen said with a shrug.

He thought about it and said to himself: "Maybe I should really make an appointment with my doctor for a head examination so that I can get more information and find out the truth.”

"Okay, Brain Man, I won't ask you about your methods for writing research reports anymore, but please help me solve my problem, can you? I'm begging you." Tom said.

Tom had concluded that Galen wrote so many research reports through some unspeakable method, so Galen's explanations, to Tom's ears, sounded more like made-up stories to conceal the truth.

Galen could tell that no matter how he explained, Tom wouldn't believe him. He could only smile bitterly and say, " Brain Man? Hey, that's really an interesting nickname, but it doesn't quite fit me. Don't worry, buddy, you've always supported me in my work before, so of course I'll help you. I'll send part of the completed research reports to your email every day, and you just need to sign your own name and submit them. I think that should be enough to keep your job."

Tom hugged Galen's shoulders excitedly and said, "Thank you so much, brother, you're a good person."

Galen smiled and said, "Don't mention it, it's just a small favor for me. You know, I'm not working to get promoted or raise my salary, I just want to have something to do so that I don't just sit around and fret. So, it doesn't hurt to share some results with you."

"Anyway, thank you, brother, you've really helped me a lot," Tom said, hugging Galen.

That evening, as usual, Galen worked late at the office before dragging his tired body home. When he got home, he called his family doctor to make an appointment for a head check, but the doctor replied that he had too many patients recently and wouldn't have time to see him until next week.

Considering that his head hadn't been hurting too badly in the past few days, Galen told the doctor that he was willing to wait until next week to do the check.

After hanging up the phone, Galen felt very tired and decided to take a bath and go to bed. He went to the bathroom, soaked his body in the bathtub, and tried to relax. Then, suddenly, a strong feeling of vertigo attacked him, making him unable to open his eyes, and he fell asleep in a daze.

Once asleep, Galen had many strange dreams one after another. Every character and scene in each dream was unfamiliar to him, and the events that took place were all very absurd. What was even stranger was that he felt he wasn't really part of the dream, but rather an observer watching it.

This went on for a long time until finally, Galen had a dream that was related to him. He dreamed of Katarina and Lola. He dreamed of the three of them sitting on a hill having a picnic and enjoying a happy family time. But suddenly, Lola burst into tears and said to him, "I'm sorry, Daddy, I have to go," and then got up and ran down the hill. Then, after giving him a bitter glance, Katarina also stood up silently, ran down the hill, and chased after Lola. Seeing them both gradually getting farther away, he was very anxious and wanted to get up and chase after them immediately.

As he tried to stand up, he was shocked to find himself stuck in a swamp. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not get out of the mire. Trapped in the swamp, he could do nothing but desperately shout out to Katarina and Lola, but they continued running further and further away, until they disappeared from his sight. He felt so sad that he wanted to cry.

Just then, a person who looked exactly like him walked up to him and kindly asked, "You look very distressed. Do you need my help?"

Galen said with sorrow, "Yes, I am really in pain. Can you help me out?"

The person smiled and said, "Of course, I'm happy to help you." With that, he stretched out a hand and pulled Galen out of the swamp.

Suddenly freed from the swamp, Galen instantly felt much lighter. He wanted to thank the person, but the person had disappeared and could not be found no matter how hard Galen looked for him.

Then Galen woke up from his dream.

When he woke up, his head was still a bit dizzy. He climbed out of the bathtub and picked up his phone from the sink, but was shocked to see that it was already 4 o'clock in the afternoon. He had slept for over ten hours without being woken up by his alarm clock or dozens of calls from his colleagues and bosses.

Galen was surprised that he had slept for so long and so soundly. He guessed that it was probably because he had been working overtime too much these days, and his body was overly fatigued, which led to this situation. Therefore, he did not take it seriously, rested at home for a day, and went to work as usual.

However, strange things began to happen in the following days.

Firstly, his head completely recovered after he woke up that day, and the lingering pain disappeared, but his mental acuity decreased and he lost the sharpness he had had in the previous days.

Secondly, he noticed that things in his home seemed to have been touched every morning when he woke up. The most obvious change was the chess pieces on the chessboard. He often played chess with himself when he was bored at night, so he had a deep impression of the chess games, and he knew any changes in the game. But now, every morning the game was different from the night before.

Thirdly, one night he was working late and was robbed by a few gangsters on his way home. This was not the first time he had been robbed, and in the past, he had always obediently handed over the money to the criminals and then reported to the police when they left. However, that night was different. He inexplicably passed out when surrounded by the robbers. When he woke up and crawled up from the ground, he was shocked to find that all the gangsters were lying on the ground, groaning in pain with serious injuries.

Due to his nervousness at the time and the fear that the gangsters would attack him again, he didn't stay at the scene to find out what had just happened. Instead, he quickly left and rushed home.

Later on, the fourth incident occurred, which was even more bizarre. That morning, the normally stable stock market suddenly plummeted without any negative news, dropping to the circuit breaker point and triggering the mechanism to suspend trading. The office where Galen worked was also thrown into chaos, with panicked financiers running around, arguing and screaming as if encountering a doomsday disaster.

Galen also received a series of client inquiry calls, urging him to provide strategies to deal with the situation. However, like everyone else, he had never experienced such a terrifying flash crash, and didn't know the cause of the crash or predict the market's next move. Therefore, he could only tell clients that he couldn't provide any trading advice in this special situation and apologized to them. Naturally, such a reply did not satisfy the profit-seeking clients, but instead aroused their anger. They continued to curse, ridicule, and threaten Galen, unleashing all their anger on him. The clients' criticisms gradually lost Galen's patience, and he became impatient. Afterwards, he inexplicably passed out.

He was awakened by Tom later. When he woke up, he was greeted with warm applause from the office. The chairman even walked up to him and publicly praised him as a hero of the company. Confused, he whispered to Tom to ask what happened, and Tom explained that he had just sent an email to clients and all staff pointing out that this crash was likely caused by programmed trading by some large institutions. Since these institutions could not adjust their algorithmic trading models in a short period of time, the previous extreme crashes would lead to even greater selling, so he suggested that they immediately sell or short stocks. Subsequently, the market resumed trading, and as he had predicted, there was another crash, making those who followed his advice very profitable.

Galen was shocked. He had definitely been asleep just now, so how could he have sent an email to everyone? He doubted Tom's words and quickly opened his email account to check the email. To his surprise, he did find such an email in his inbox. Not only that, he also found that his securities account had been manipulated, and all his funds had been used to buy put options on the stock index. As the stock index plummeted, his assets rapidly grew.

Galen was stunned and confused, thinking, "Could it be a hacker? Who did these things, and why did they do that?"