Chapter 130: Directions for Genetic Enhancement

Chapter 130: The Direction of Genetic Enhancement

Right from the start of their journey, Liu Shaoyu's fleet had separated from the Mind Society's fleet. Because the original plan was to keep a low profile and hunt down that particular guerrilla force, Liu Shaoyu and his people did not travel alongside the main fleet. Their strategy was to first enter the inner sector and then approach the battlefield by skirting along its outer perimeter to conduct a search.

"If you ask me, this is complete nonsense," Xu Meng said with a straight face. "In a place this huge, when are we ever going to find them?"

Hearing Xu Meng's complaint, Liu Shaoyu felt deeply perplexed as well, because the frontline was simply too vast! The battle lines stretched continuously for tens of thousands of light-years—wasn't this going to be the death of them?

"Aleqing, when will the intelligence Master Li mentioned arrive?" Liu Shaoyu asked via the command system.

"Master said we should head to Redka Star first, where there is one of our space stations. We can resupply there, and as soon as there is any new information, they will notify us immediately," Aleqing replied.

"Let's do that for now then. Xu Meng, follow the previous coordinates and proceed at full speed. Long Ruoyuan and I are going to rest. Once we arrive, have Ruoyuan head to that ship. I'll leave things here to you and Huaqiang." With that, Liu Shaoyu patted Xu Meng on the shoulder.

Xu Meng nodded to acknowledge the instructions and then busied himself at the command console.

Shortly after, Liu Shaoyu and Long Ruoyuan walked out of the command room.

"What is it? Something on your mind?" Long Ruoyuan asked as they walked.

"Indeed. Let's go to the lounge. There are some things I'd like to ask you." Liu Shaoyu quickened his pace.

Upon reaching the lounge, Long Ruoyuan looked somewhat puzzled. He had assumed Liu Shaoyu wanted to ask about Wen Yimin, only to hear him say:

"Do you know about S-gene awakening?"

Much like Wang Weifu's reaction, an expression of shock appeared on Long Ruoyuan's face. "Why are you asking about this... Could it be that your S-gene has awakened?"

"Why are you making such an incredible face? Is it really that difficult?" Liu Shaoyu asked. One person reacting this way was fine, but even Long Ruoyuan showed this expression. Was S-gene awakening not something anyone with an S-gene could achieve? Were there actually people who couldn't?

"Uh... Indeed. You could say it's extremely difficult. Although nowadays S-genes are as common as cabbages and just about everyone has one, only a true awakening means you can actually utilize that power. And the probability of such an awakening is... very small," Long Ruoyuan replied.

"Then have you awakened?" Liu Shaoyu figured that since Long Ruoyuan knew about awakening, it meant he must have awakened himself.

"Actually, I only found out not long ago—right around the time of your last test. Afterward, I was kept at home for training and various other things, which is why I'm late." Long Ruoyuan's tone turned somewhat gloomy as he spoke, because he felt responsible for what happened to Monkey. He should have set off for Dragon Cub Star long ago, but it just so happened that his S-gene awakened precisely at that time.

Liu Shaoyu caught the shift in Long Ruoyuan's emotions, but he had no desire to bring up that painful memory again. He simply pretended not to notice, believing it would make things easier for both of them.

"So what kind of ability does your S-gene grant you?" Liu Shaoyu asked, recalling that Wang Weifu had mentioned different S-genes had distinct manifestations.

"It's... precognition," Long Ruoyuan said.

"What! Precognition! That's amazing?!" Liu Shaoyu exclaimed in surprise, thinking this power was incredible. Precognition! If he ever hit rock bottom in the future, he could just rely on this ability to win the interstellar lottery a few times. Wouldn't he be set for life?!

If Long Ruoyuan had known what Liu Shaoyu was thinking at that moment, the shy expression on his face would have vanished instantly. However, collecting his thoughts a second time, Liu Shaoyu asked, "Does that mean you've already awakened as well?"

Liu Shaoyu replied, "Yes. I noticed some anomalies earlier, and Wang Weifu told me it was an S-gene awakening. But..."

"But what?" Long Ruoyuan asked, noticing Liu Shaoyu pause mid-sentence.

"Well, I don't actually know what my genetic ability is, nor what direction it belongs to." Liu Shaoyu answered with a somewhat awkward smile, thinking he was really quite pathetic. His genes had awakened and yet he had no clue what his power was; without any practical abilities, this S-gene was worth less than nothing.

Hearing this, Long Ruoyuan smiled and replied, "Actually, it's quite normal for an S-gene awakening not to manifest any abilities right away, or rather, not to show any specific specialized traits yet. And... this is actually a good thing. The period between genetic awakening and the manifestation of abilities is what we call the awakening phase."

"The awakening phase?" Liu Shaoyu asked.

"Yes, the awakening phase. This is the period right after the S-gene awakens, when the range of S-gene superpower manifestations begins to appear. During this time, your superpower-like phenomena will constantly and gradually strengthen. And this process isn't necessarily better the faster it happens. Take me, for example: my S-gene was detected when I was a child, and out of all possible aspects, only precognition manifested. So I underwent specialized training in that area right after waking."

Listening to Long Ruoyuan's words, Liu Shaoyu fell into deep thought. *If that's the case,* he pondered, *does it mean there's a possibility of having non-singular abilities with the S-gene? Yet I don't have even the slightest hint of a range so far. I can only vaguely sense brainwaves... It still feels rather useless.*

Seeing Liu Shaoyu's reaction, Long Ruoyuan said, "Don't worry, I'll mention your situation to my father. Your previous test records are still stored at the base. They should contain a prediction of your genetic ability's direction. Then I'll help you ask how you should train it."

"Hm... Alright then. Sorry to trouble you," Liu Shaoyu said gratefully.

After their conversation, Liu Shaoyu returned to his personal lounge. Although Long Ruoyuan had said those words, Liu Shaoyu still lacked a precise concept of the situation in his own mind. To him, these things felt a bit too illusory—or rather, Liu Shaoyu simply struggled to believe everything that was happening. He closed his eyes and tried to recall the sensation he had experienced earlier. Then, at that exact moment, Liu Shaoyu noticed that his visual field, which should have been pitch black, began to show faint points of light.

"Huh, what are these?" Liu Shaoyu thought in astonishment. At first, he assumed he had opened his eyes, but deep down he knew he hadn't. These points of light seemed to be glowing from inside his own eyelids.

Closing his eyes once more, Liu Shaoyu calmed his mind to sense these tiny lights. Slowly, the lights began to converge, gradually connecting into intermittent lines of light. These lines were intricate and complex, feeling as though they were winding all around him. Moreover, he could sense that these lines seemed to be transmitting something. This sensation reminded Liu Shaoyu of an electrical circuit.

Opening his eyes again and matching the directions he had just sensed, he confirmed there were indeed many sensors mounted on the walls, with a terminal located right by the door.

"If that's the case..." Liu Shaoyu calculated in his heart and closed his eyes once again to sense with his mind. "Just as I thought!" Liu Shaoyu exulted inwardly.

At the location of that terminal, the points of light were far more dense and numerous.

"I seem to have undergone some changes," Thomas's voice suddenly interrupted Liu Shaoyu's train of thought.

Thomas's words startled Liu Shaoyu, who immediately asked, "What kind of changes?" In his heart, however, he wondered if it was connected to the points of light he had just perceived.

"My reception system has suddenly started picking up some redundant data," Thomas continued.

"What kind of data?" Liu Shaoyu asked.

"This data appeared very abruptly. At first, it merely received some fragments, but later it began to strengthen into continuous signals. I attempted to decode them and found that these signals are formed by a novel algorithm. Utilizing my upgraded reading methods, I've determined that this data is massive. It encompasses numerous signals, including human biological signals," Thomas explained.

Hearing Thomas's words, Liu Shaoyu was utterly astounded! *What! Biological signals!* Liu Shaoyu marvelled inwardly. This meant Thomas's change was indeed related to him. Because the computer was connected to his central nervous system, once he received these signals, his personal computer theoretically became capable of reading such data. The new algorithm Thomas mentioned likely meant that the information conveyed by these signals was the same, but the primary information carriers were different.

"Are you acquiring these signals directly, or through some other medium?" Liu Shaoyu asked. Posing the question this way was primarily to verify his own hypothesis.

"Strangely enough, these signals are being transmitted through your central nervous system. However, these values are extremely unstable; I can only read a very small fraction of them. If I could receive them completely, I would be able to accurately read these messages," Thomas replied.

Liu Shaoyu nodded. It seemed it was indeed caused by him. As for Thomas's mention of incomplete signal reading, it must be because his own power was not yet strong enough—and given Thomas's statement that receiving more would allow him to read the messages fully, this implied that his S-gene ability was actually... mind reading! Liu Shaoyu suddenly thought of this flashy and formidable name.

"It looks like I need to ask how to train this ability. If possible, wouldn't that mean I can freely acquire all the information flowing through the universe?"

"Thomas, you said that as long as the signals are complete enough, you can read them. What about encrypted messages?" Liu Shaoyu asked with a note of worry, as this point was crucial. The only reason intelligence systems could remain secure currently was due to the employment of encryption methods. These methods involved massive and complex encryption algorithms, meaning that breaking them typically required a terminal dozens or hundreds of times more advanced than the other party's to even attempt a brute-force crack. However, the processors used for encryption already belonged to the highest tier.

"Yes, but this is a very open signal. I just tried classifying these signals and found that depending on the degree of reception, the difficulty of reading them varies as well. And interestingly, the reading difficulty differs greatly among the various types of signals," Thomas stated.

This news delighted Liu Shaoyu because Thomas had validated his conjecture: it was a relatively open signal, meaning that if his ability became powerful enough, he could intercept and read any signal whatsoever.

"Hahaha! I'm going to be rich!" Liu Shaoyu's mind was completely overawed by his own awesomeness.

"Open communication line, Wang Weifu," Liu Shaoyu commanded. Right now, he urgently needed to know how to develop and enhance this ability.