Chapter 343: Knowledge That Won't Stick and Trouble (Part 1-2 Combined)

Morning sunlight filtered through sparse clouds, spilling onto clean, tidy streets.

Gao Jie Ming walked between Amy and Victor, his ears filled with Amy's crisp, chirping voice discussing her new university life, punctuated by Victor's occasional brief and calm responses.

A perfectly measured smile rested on his face, matching the anticipation and slight nervousness expected of a young student stepping onto a university campus for the first time.

Yet deep within his heart, cold reason raced frantically, sorting through the suffusing predicament.

"Suppression—comprehensive suppression of all extraordinary powers." Gao Jie Ming felt the power within his body stagnate, as if trapped in deep-sea silt.

Whether it was the surging spiritual power of a Nascent Soul cultivator in his dantian, the level-three wizard's spiritual power in his sea of consciousness, or his body, tempered a thousand times by the Body Tempering Method to possess terrifying strength, all now lay silent as if they had never existed.

He was now thoroughly an ordinary person; indeed, due to the dissonance of habitual thought, he felt even weaker than a normal human.

This plane was bizarre beyond imagination.

It was not an illusion—the protective magic treasure, the Profound Yang Red Dust Barrier, showed no reaction, proving this was no mental hallucination.

Yet it was absolutely not real either.

Amy and Victor walking shoulder-to-shoulder beside him, companions long confirmed dead in his memory, and the "parents" at home whose appearance and temperament were identical to his parents from his previous life, all silently proclaimed the falsity of this place.

"Is it forcibly implanted identities and memory overwrites? But why didn't the Profound Yang Red Dust Barrier take effect? That artifact should handle thought-interference type situations—"

Gao Jie Ming speculated that his awakening was likely the result of multiple factors converging.

First, the mysterious "adaptive evolution" capability granted by the Body Tempering Method, after long-term erosion by this memory overwrite, finally generated resistance, much like an immune system eventually identifying and beginning to clear a virus.

Second, the appearance of Amy and Victor created a conflict with his true memories so violent it was like hurling a massive boulder into a calm lake, violently shaking his obscured cognition.

"This is big trouble." Gao Jie Ming's heart felt heavy.

The most troublesome point lay in the distortion of time perception.

The ten-year deadline set by the level-eight Expeditionary Army Commander outside hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles.

He had absolutely no certainty how much time had actually passed between his entrapment in this plane and his breaking free from the false memories.

One year? Three years?

Or even longer?

Instinctively, he tried to connect with his internal space, where his preset timing devices, automated factories, vast army of Black Giants, and the level-five large-scale Elemental Pool serving as an energy core resided.

If he could merely sense his internal space, the problem of time would be instantly resolved.

However, this plane sealed all extraordinary powers; his connection to his internal space was completely severed, as if the signal were fully jammed.

Yet, not all hope was lost.

Gao Jie Ming could faintly feel an extremely weak, barely perceptible pull emanating from the location of his dantian.

That sensation was like a drowning person spotting a sliver of light filtering down from above the water's surface.

He understood that if he could mobilize even a wisp of spiritual power to that spot, he might use it as a fulcrum to pry open a crack and re-establish contact with his internal space.

The difficulty lay in the fact that mobilizing spiritual power now was akin to turtle speed.

Spiritual power that once surged like a river at a mere thought now felt obscure and viscous.

Pushing even a thread of it felt like moving a mountain range.

Compounded by the seal on his spiritual power, he had lost the ability for fine control and could only rely on his most primal will to clumsily guide it.

"Gao Jie Ming? Why are you so distracted today?" Amy's slightly puzzled voice interrupted his thoughts; she tilted her head, her eyes filled with concern.

Gao Jie Ming instantly snapped back, a slightly embarrassed smile appearing on his face: "It's nothing, probably just... first day of university, a bit excited, didn't sleep well."

He grew inwardly alert; not only his power, but even his computational thinking ability had degraded to the level of an ordinary person.

He could no longer multitask as before, processing vast amounts of information in parallel.

Just now, merely thinking deeply had nearly caused him to reveal a flaw to the outside world.

Beside him, Victor pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose and spoke calmly: "No need to worry; you were admitted with the top score, so your foundation is very solid."

His tone was exactly as Gao Jie Ming remembered, calm without the slightest fluctuation.

Gao Jie Ming smiled, went along with the conversation, and simultaneously began rapidly extracting the "common sense" and "settings" forcibly implanted in his mind.

According to the "common sense" provided by his false memories, this world was a rare "galactic-type plane."

Stars, planets, galaxies—the structure was astonishingly similar to the universe of his previous life.

According to this "common sense," this plane was boundless, containing at least several galaxy clusters the size of the Milky Way.

"If this setting is true, and not a false background simulated by the plane—" Gao Jie Ming felt a chill, "then the physical scale of this plane has already reached the standard of a super-large plane, or perhaps even larger."

Ruling this planet, and indeed the surrounding star regions, was human civilization.

Its technological level was slightly higher than that of his previous life, roughly reaching the stage capable of large-scale outer space colonization.

His current identity was that of a freshman who had just entered university to major in physics.

The version of himself in this world possessed clear, complete family memories and a growth trajectory—of course, now that he was awake, these memories felt distant, as if viewed through frosted glass.

Amy and Victor were his childhood playmates, who had also entered this university together with him.

A streamlined hovercar slid silently past them, the breeze it generated stirring the tips of his hair.

Gao Jie Ming looked at that vehicle, a creation of technology, with undissolvable doubt deep in his gaze.

"Too real—and why this kind of environment?" he pondered silently.

The core of illusions—or various mind-manipulation techniques—lies in passing off the fake as real; they typically construct an environment most familiar to the target to reduce feelings of incongruity.

Yet while the world before him bore shadows of the sci-fi works from his previous life,

its details and atmosphere were not the "familiar" he had personally experienced.

Why would the plane construct an environment that was not "absolutely familiar" to him?

Was it to reduce the risk of detection caused by "déjà vu," or did it hold some deeper intent?

Amidst their conversation, the magnificent university gate appeared before their eyes.

Maintaining an outward demeanor of excitement mixed with nervousness, Gao Jie Ming flowed with the crowd into the campus.

After parting ways with Amy, he followed his memories to find the tiered classroom where his upcoming lecture would be held.

The familiar tiered layout made him feel disoriented for an instant.

He found a seat in the middle-back rows, a spot not too conspicuous.

Before him was a smooth desk surface, inlaid with an LCD screen.

Almost by bodily instinct, the moment he saw this screen, his hand subconsciously pressed onto the area designated by the display.

Hum————

A soft curtain of light instantly unfolded before his eyes, listing functions such as course information, personal accounts, and campus navigation.

Gao Jie Ming, however, jerked his hand back as if scalded, his heart contracting slightly.

It was not because of the light curtain itself, but because that previous motion had been so fluid and natural, entirely muscle memory and conditioned reflex formed by this body's long-term life!

"The situation is worse than imagined—" Gao Jie Ming forced himself to calm down, casually browsing the information on the light curtain while his heart sank, "My body, my subconscious, has already deeply adapted to life here. The time I have 'lived' here is probably not short—"

Time!

Time is the most critical factor!

The pressure of the ten-year deadline from the outside world, and the uncertainty of time flow within, coiled around his heart like two icy vipers.

Once the deadline is exceeded, those Level 8 Wizards at the Headquarters will not care about the specific circumstances of us fallen ones.

Although theoretically, if a Level 8 Wizard acts, they would immediately rescue many of the trapped wizards, this uncertainty is simply too high.

With intelligence on all fronts unclear, heaven knows what will happen the moment they make their move; he might very well perish together with this plane.

"I must resolve this issue as quickly as possible." Gao Jie Ming took a deep breath, his eyes regaining their determination.

Gao Jie Ming no longer paid attention to the noisy new students gradually arriving in the classroom; he leaned slightly back against the chair, closed his eyes, as if resting them.

Yet his entire consciousness sank into his body, directed toward that dead silent dantian sea of qi, toward that faint yet crucial sense of attraction.

Mobilize spiritual power!

It was like a mortal using every ounce of strength to push a truck stuck in a swamp.

Slow, arduous, with almost no perceptible progress.

Moments later, the faint chatter in the classroom and the soft sounds of operating light curtains ceased abruptly.

This sudden silence brought Gao Jie Ming, who was immersed in the difficult mobilization of spiritual power, back to his senses.

He raised his head and saw two young men wearing simple yet well-tailored teacher uniforms enter the classroom.

Both possessed a steady demeanor and sharp eyes; though they did not look old, they gave off an air of rich experience.

Gao Jie Ming subconsciously scanned the classroom, his heart skipping a beat.

He hadn't paid much attention earlier, but now he realized the entire tiered classroom was empty; counting himself, there were barely ten students!

"This number————is too abnormal." Gao Jie Ming's doubts deepened.

According to the "settings" of his false memories, the university he had been admitted to was a top institution in the field of physics, extremely popular; there was no reason for a major class to have so few people.

This seriously contradicted his cognition of a "popular university" from his memories.

He suppressed his doubts, quickly adjusted his facial expression, and put on an appearance of listening attentively, full of anticipation for the new course.

Gao Jie Ming knew clearly that his immediate priority was to maintain the persona of an "ordinary new student" and not attract any potential attention.

Based on his earlier attempt, he estimated that if he concentrated fully, it would take roughly two to three days to barely manage mobilizing that wisp of spiritual power and opening the rift connecting to the space within his body.

Before then, he must integrate here like a true student.

Although he held no expectations for the course content—in his view, this was merely false information constructed by the plane based on his own knowledge base—Gao Jie Ming still forced himself to listen.

However, as he listened, his pupils suddenly constricted, and a trace of shock flashed across his face, impossible to suppress.

The spacetime curvature perturbation model under a specific nebular gravitational lens effect expounded by the lecturer, involving several key parameters and derivation formulas, was actually————knowledge he had never encountered!

"This is impossible!" Turmoil surged in Gao Jie Ming's heart.

He was very certain he was not currently under an illusion, but even with higher-level mind-domination abilities, the "materials" used to construct a world must inevitably originate from the target's own cognition and memory bank.

Theoretically, it is absolutely impossible for this world to produce real knowledge that he is completely unaware of yet logically self-consistent!

Unless————this false world is not false!

He quickly lowered his head, using the desk's light curtain as cover to conceal all outward emotions, but his heart began beating violently within his chest.

He rapidly recorded these unfamiliar knowledge points on the light curtain before him, forcing himself to calm down.

"I cannot confirm anything yet————I must verify the truth of this knowledge; I will verify it immediately after class!"

Thinking thus, Gao Jie Ming focused his attention and began listening carefully, occasionally taking notes on the light curtain.

Once immersed in the exploration of unknown knowledge, time seemed to accelerate its flow.

The morning session of classes ended quickly.

The schedule indicated that there were two hours of free time next.

Gao Jie Ming did not leave the classroom immediately but eagerly brought up the content he had just recorded.

Utilizing the calculation module and logical deduction functions built into the light curtain, he began to verify those unfamiliar formulas and theories.

As the verification deepened, his expression grew increasingly grave.

The results clearly and unmistakably indicated that this knowledge was real, effective, and logically rigorous!

It was absolutely not the casually fabricated false information he had initially anticipated.

A massive sense of impact swept over him again.

Illusions or mind domination cannot create something real that is unknown to the target out of nothing.

Then how did this "false" world achieve this?

Was it knowledge possessed by the person manipulating things behind the scenes?

Or was the world he currently faced itself————not false?

The problems of this world were far more complex than he had imagined, and also more————dangerous.

Just as he was pondering whether to return to that "home" to search for clues or stay at the school library to consult materials, a crisp voice called out from outside the classroom door: "Gao Jie Ming! Let's go, time to eat!"

Gao Jie Ming reined in his thoughts, gave a reply, and joined Amy and Victor waiting outside the door.

The three of them naturally headed toward the school cafeteria.

Sitting down with plates of variously shaped meals, Gao Jie Ming casually remarked, "There aren't many people in our major; the classroom feels quite empty. How about yours?"

Amy tilted her head, thinking for a moment. "Not many? The numbers should already be considerable; there are far more of us than in our Biotechnology major. Still, my major is quite popular too; there are—nine people in the class! Victor, what about you?"

Victor pushed up his glasses and answered calmly, "Information Engineering became a popular major this year; we also have nine people—of course, that still can't compare to your Physics major."

In his heart, Gao Jie Ming pondered: whether in Amy's or Victor's class, the number of students was extremely small; neither class exceeded ten people!

Using the motion of bowing his head to eat, Gao Jie Ming concealed his deeply furrowed brow.

Was the entire student population of the school abnormally small?

This created a serious contradiction with the macro-setting of a "vast population" for this plane in his "memories."

This looked like a massive flaw—

but Gao Jie Ming dared not let his guard down.

In a plane so bizarre that it could silently trap nearly two million elite wizards, any seemingly unreasonable aspect might conceal a deeper logic beneath the surface.

The scarcity of students might not be an oversight in design, but rather a manifestation of some rule he had yet to comprehend.

Just as the three finished lunch and prepared to leave the cafeteria, a considerable commotion suddenly erupted at the distant entrance.

Amy, brimming with curiosity, immediately pulled the two to a halt and stood on tiptoe to peer over.

Gao Jie Ming had no intention of meddling and intended to walk around it, yet that commotion seemed guided by an invisible hand, rapidly moving toward their location.

The crowd automatically parted to form a path; several young people dressed differently from the student uniforms, with stern expressions and agile movements, led by a tall man with a gloomy complexion, walked straight toward Gao Jie Ming and his companions.

A bad premonition surged into Gao Jie Ming's heart; instinctively, he wanted to step back and blend into the crowd.

But it was already too late.

The tall man leading the group swept his gaze across like a hawk, finally locking firmly onto Gao Jie Ming; a shout filled with anger and brooking no argument exploded through the somewhat empty cafeteria: "Are you Gao Jie Ming?!"

In an instant, the gazes of everyone in the cafeteria, including Amy and Victor's looks of shock and suspicion, focused entirely on Gao Jie Ming.

Gao Jie Ming's body stiffened, and he came to a stop.

He could sense that the several young followers had subtly formed an encirclement, blocking off all his possible routes of retreat.

Unexplained trouble had suddenly come knocking at his door.