"Come on!"
The countdown is about to end.
Qin Ming calmed down, stood alone by the riverbank, face expressionless, and flipped the bird at the sky.
In the next second, his figure blurred, vanishing into the air in an instant.
...
New York, United States
Big Bird Bar.
Inside the bar, dim lights danced across the bodies of men and women, venting with energetic music, moving their bodies, the air filled with the scent of tobacco and alcohol.
In an empty corner, Qin Ming held a glass of wine, quietly sitting on the sofa. Passing white people cast curious and surprised glances at him.
He knew this look well—that was the look people gave a foreigner.
A blonde, big-waved beauty noticed Qin Ming. His looks were striking—even as an Asian, he piqued her interest.
She sashayed over with her sexy and seductive figure toward Qin Ming.
"Hey, cutie, interested in a drink?" The blonde sat beside him, raised her glass, her blue eyes filled with curiosity.
Finally, here it comes.
Of course, not the beauty, but the person Qin Ming was waiting for.
Through the Telekinetic Field, he spotted a slouchy, scruffy young man entering the bar. The guy had classic Western pretty-boy features, only his hair was a mess—looked like a homeless guy.
The scruffy youth was Eddie Morra, the protagonist of Endless World.
Qin Ming had crossed into this world two days ago.
After crossing over, he gained Telekinesis—similar to powers in novels: psychokinesis and Spiritual Power.
The effective range of his telekinesis was about a hundred meters; he could only lift objects up to one kilogram—seemed pretty useless, but Qin Ming discovered that inside this range he could see anything, basically an all-map cheat.
The countdown ended, no Sophon, no death, and he landed in another world—the world of "Endless World."
This is a 2011 old film. It tells the story of Eddie, who, after taking nzt-48, unlocks 100% of his brain, goes from a loser who can't pay rent to a rich and powerful success story.
The medical science in Endless World isn't as advanced as Three-Body, so, obviously, the only way to cure cancer here is to rely on the brain-boosting wonder drug, nzt.
After he understood his situation, Qin Ming decided to find Eddie first, and through him, connect with his brother-in-law Vernon—the pharma consultant who gave Eddie nzt in the original plot.
This bar is Eddie's favorite spot in the original story. That's why Qin Ming came here.
The blonde noticed the Asian kid ignored her, felt bored, and walked away, but left a small note with her address and phone number.
Qin Ming kept his eyes glued to Eddie, with zero intention of making contact—he didn't want to mess up the chance encounter in the street later in the plot.
Two hours later, after finishing his last glass of whiskey, Eddie staggered out of the bar, Qin Ming carefully followed him.
He trailed Eddie all the way to his rented house. The drunk Eddie didn't notice he was being stalked.
That night, Qin Ming rented a room next door to Eddie; the cash came from the landlady's stash hidden in the wardrobe.
...
Three days passed quickly.
Eddie was stuck in a superposition of writing and submitting manuscripts—within just a few days, he'd been rejected five times! Ranking at the master level of Five Rejections!
Qin Ming kept monitoring Eddie's moves next door using the Telekinetic Field. Seeing the protagonist immersed in the pain of editorial rejection, Qin Ming couldn't help but facepalm speechlessly.
This guy's novel is so bad, even dogs wouldn't read it. He glanced at the manuscript—no words left to roast it...
Is that how a novel is written? Where are the opening golden three chapters? Where's the sense of anticipation? Cheaty power? No distinct characters, chaotic story, garbage writing—time to seize the moment and get a job in the factory!
In the afternoon, the scruffy Eddie got up and went out. Looked like he was heading out for another drink.
Qin Ming followed closely. Over these days, he'd recalled parts of the movie plot, so if he couldn't meet Vernon today, he'd resort to unconventional methods.
Risky, sure, but no choice—he only had a month left in this world.
In front of Qin Ming, there was a countdown only he could see, ticking away second by second.
720:21:12
Half an hour later, a
"Eddie Morra?"
"It really is you! We haven't seen each other in nine years, right?" A big-haired youth
"How've you been? Why do you look like a homeless guy? What's going on?" His sorry appearance sparked curiosity.
With his brother-in-law suddenly showing up, Eddie just wanted to crawl into a hole. He could only force out:
"I'm writing, wrote a lot..."
"Still dreaming of being an author?"
"I've already signed with a publisher." Eddie had trouble making up more, so quickly changed the subject, "Don't talk about me, what about you?"
...
After some small talk, the two went to a bar.
They continued chatting, and finally, Vernon pulled out a transparent pill and placed it on the table.
"What's this?"
"After research, we've located the activation receptors in the brain. As we all know, we only use 20% of our brain, but with this, you can activate the whole thing."
Eddie shook his head, obviously not buying it.
"Don't be ungrateful, you know how much this stuff costs on the street?"
"800 dollars! Each!"
"No need to thank me."
After leaving Eddie a pill, Vernon didn't hesitate, turned and left. Qin Yun, who was watching from the shadows, wasn't about to miss this golden opportunity.
He followed and found Vernon's current address—a luxury apartment.
At night, after careful prep, using the Telekinetic Field, Qin Ming bypassed surveillance and prying eyes, reaching Vernon's room.
"Hello sir, Eddie sent me to find you."
Eddie?
So quick, wants to buy more pills?
Vernon was a bit surprised, but didn't think anything was off. He stood up to open the door.
When he opened it, a stranger was at his door. Vernon quickly saw the kid pointing a black object at his head—a black pistol.
"Oh my god! Don't shoot, don't shoot!"
Scared half to death, he raised his hands, voice trembling.
Qin Ming stared at the terrified Vernon and said slowly, "Mr. Vernon, hand over all your nzt."
Seeing Vernon staying still, he threatened again: "If you don't do as I say, you'll be seeing your own brains."
Facing a death threat, Vernon could only comply. He went to the kitchen oven, pulled a bag full of transparent pills out from a gap.
Qin Ming just glanced at the bag of pills and looked away. "Now, I have another question."
"Who manufactures this drug?"
His gaze fixed on Vernon, gun pointed right at him.
"Eiben Pharmaceuticals, it's produced by Eiben Pharmaceuticals."
Facing the black muzzle, Vernon was apparently terrified, directly giving up the company name, then pleaded miserably, "Please, don't kill me! You can take the money and the pills."
As he spoke, he quietly approached Qin Ming, holding the bag with his left hand. "I'll hand over the pills right now."
Qin Ming seemed careless, reaching out for the bag. Vernon took advantage of his momentary slackness, snatched the gun from his hand in a flash, instantly putting distance between them.
"Hahaha."
Vernon laughed like a maniac, right hand gripping the pistol, immediately pointing it at the kid: "You wanted to kill me? Now the gun's in my hand, you're the one who's gonna die!"
"Speak! Who sent you!"
Contrary to his expectation, the kid didn't panic. Instead, he showed a playful smile:
"Mr. Vernon, how about we make a bet first?"
"Bet what?"
"I bet there's no bullets in your gun."
"You're just asking to die!"
Provoked, Vernon reflexively pulled the trigger, but there was no gunshot. He looked closely and realized he'd been scammed.
What? Why is this a replica toy gun!
When it comes to threat level, in America, a toy gun is no less dangerous than a real gun.
Besides the toy gun, Qin Ming had bought a few other little things—a couple sharp steel needles.
At that moment, a steel needle was rotating slowly beside Qin Ming, and Vernon was about two meters away.
Plug in the kinetic energy formula w=fs=1/2mv², given f=1kg×9.8=9.8N, steel needle mass m is 1g.
Ignoring air resistance, the speed v comes out to roughly 198m/s.
Then, a steel needle shot into Vernon's brain at nearly 200m/s, the cavitation effect instantly shattering his brain!
This attack was silent—yet extremely lethal.
In a flash, Vernon collapsed, eyes wide open in death, filled with confusion and daze.
Though it was his first kill, Qin Ming felt nothing.
He stepped over the corpse, picked up his toy gun and the bag of pills, took one nzt out.
The pill was transparent; under the light, it shimmered with brilliant colors, truly dazzling.
He didn't hesitate, swallowed it straight away, then left the scene.
It was around eight at night, the sun setting in the east, sky growing darker.
Qin Ming stood on the street. As the drug kicked in, he felt everything was different.
To his eyes, time suddenly slowed down; his brain became exceptionally clear.
He felt unprecedented ease, as if a shackled man gained freedom, a blind eye saw the world.
His Telekinetic Field spread out, centered on Qin Ming's brain, and hundreds of meters of information flooded in. His billions of brain neurons recorded, processed, and analyzed complex data.
On the road thirty meters to his right, a dump truck driver was driving fatigued; calculating speed and distance, in about ten seconds he'd crash into the car ahead.
Fifty meters behind, on a high-rise, a flowerpot wobbled on a balcony edge; using gravity and height, it'd drop on a little girl passing below after five seconds.
So, he gave the dump truck driver a smack with telekinesis, and pushed the flowerpot off course with a nudge.
Seconds later, the dump truck driver braked in time, and the flowerpot didn't hit anyone.
Qin Ming flashed a brilliant smile.
He had gained the power to control his own fate!