Chapter 5: The Intelligent Brain Boutique—Breathing Life Into Technology?
Rehe City.
Liu Jun turned into a specialty store of Rehe Heavy Industries and made his way confidently to the intelligent brain counter.
Inside the shop, a few beautiful women occasionally clung to wealthy men, coquettishly seeking to buy the latest limited-edition luxury intelligent brains to flaunt before their less intelligent friends.
Rows of advanced intelligent brains were displayed in glass cases.
There were classic models in various styles: wristbands, anklets, headbands, and belly pouches.
Some uniquely shaped versions existed as well, such as the “strategist” model worn in special locations, granting even small heads astonishing wisdom.
It was clear that this era still upheld the scholarly spirit of old, valuing wisdom above all.
Liu Jun’s gaze settled on the store’s prized treasure, bearing a large sign: “This Year’s Top Leader.”
Name: Yu Nian Ting
Model: PB186
Origin: Rehe Sect
Rank: Third Rank, Thunder Realm
Description: The ruler of the Hot Carp seventy years ago; this intelligent brain was produced based on his Third Rank brain. Purchasing it grants trial qualifications to become a direct disciple of the Rehe Sect’s grand scholar.
Exclusive Book: Memories of cultivation before the Third Rank, autobiography of the Hot Carp.
Price: 99.88 million Mind Blades.
“Too bad, I don’t even have a fraction of that in my savings.” Liu Jun retracted his gaze.
The leadership of the Rehe Sect was distinctive.
Every codename was tied to aquatic life in Rehe.
The Hot Carp, the controller of Rehe Heavy Industries, was one of the city’s current leaders.
Thus, the “Top Leader” model was rightly popular.
As for the books within the intelligent brain?
Reading was the path to spiritual growth.
The mind cultivation classes at school involved extensive reading.
Most of Liu Jun’s cloud disk memories stored textbooks and learning materials from these classes.
Beyond downloading external books, intelligent brains typically included a personal life memory of the original prototype.
Of course, these “autobiographies” were beautified—though they claimed to be unfiltered, unedited video memories, would a big shot really show you footage of them going to the bathroom?
“Celebrity autobiographies,” those who know, know.
But the life cultivation experiences inside—the things heard, felt, and understood—were genuine. Though incomplete, they offered some insight.
To cultivate spirit, energy, and vitality through Confucian and Taoist practice was to read extensively.
Don’t think of reading as torture; in this world, reading was a pleasure.
No longer were scholars like the ancient pedants, spouting dry classical prose.
This was a new era, reading electronic books.
And not just any books—immersive cultivation novels of grand scholars and saints!
Immersing oneself in the memories of great figures, experiencing their growth and triumphs firsthand, was like living through an exhilarating story, crushing villains along the way and enjoying life to the fullest.
However, reading too many others’ life stories could cause some to lose themselves, even develop schizophrenia.
Liu Jun suspected that class monitor Li Chengshan might be a bit mentally unwell recently—perhaps he had been reading too many autobiographies of big shots, identifying too deeply with a domineering CEO’s life.
The class monitor seemed to be advancing quickly in realm, but if one fully drowned in the stories and lives within books, unable to recognize oneself or return to one’s true heart, one’s life would be stuck like that forever.
The essence of reading was:
To train spirit, energy, and vitality, to cleanse away the mundane, revealing a bright pearl within.
“Sir, what kind of intelligent brain are you looking for?” A beautiful saleswoman approached.
Liu Jun produced a credential card politely.
“I’m here to retrieve the intelligent brain I rented out.”
This was an inheritance from his parents—a First Rank intelligent brain.
He had no use for it after advancing to Second Rank, so he rented it out.
Li Feng and Zou Anmeng also each had a First Rank brain left by their parents.
Now that the three of them were Second Rank mind cultivators, they pooled their resources to co-rent a Second Rank brain, taking turns to cultivate.
As for the First Rank brain before him?
He planned to retrieve it now to cultivate fungal broth and conduct some small experiments.
“As a fungus, I dare not infect humans, but infecting a cloned... brain, I do have some courage.”
Liu Jun exhaled subconsciously, expressionless.
Clearly, he dared not bully living humans, so he humbly set his sights on intelligent brains instead.
“Please wait a moment.” The saleswoman took his card and scanned it gently.
Liu Jun waited quietly.
He glanced occasionally at the various intelligent brains on display; many new models had been released, each embedded with rare and exclusive books that were eye-opening.
But he could only admire them from afar.
After a moment, the saleswoman returned.
“The brain you rented out is a classic First Rank model, Amber Phoenix Butterfly.”
She smiled.
“Since you reserved to redeem this brain a few days in advance, I have already brought it for you.”
Name: Amber Phoenix Butterfly
Model: PC001
Origin: Rehe Sect
Rank: First Rank, Wind Realm
Description: The first generation model, the most basic civilian intelligent brain, and a great milestone in human history.
Exclusive Book: The complete life story of the Amber Phoenix Butterfly.
Price: 60,000 Mind Blades.
Because the rank was so low, the strong wouldn’t make this kind of First Rank general-purpose brain in their own image.
Doing so would invite scorn from peers and make one a target.
High-rank brains produced from personal prototypes were used to establish a lineage of teachings, recruit Confucian and Taoist disciples, and build factions.
By cultivating another’s Confucian and Taoist ideals and accepting their instruction, you naturally became part of their school and faction.
The world had long since stratified.
Without kneeling to join a faction, how could one climb higher?
Nowadays, most First Rank prototype brains on the market were archaeological finds.
They were obtained through amber, ancient fossils, tombs, mummies, and various supernatural means preserving ancient remains.
In that ill-fated era, these prodigious talents were pioneers researching and pioneering the future.
They were born First Rank but didn’t understand cultivation; they remained First Rank until death.
One scientist’s brain, envied for his wisdom and talent after death, was soaked in solution, sliced, and sold at exorbitant prices... now a classic First Rank brain model.
The Amber Phoenix Butterfly was even more special.
It came from the distant past, tens of millions of years ago, excavated from an amber fossil.
It had been a Jurassic-era giant butterfly with psychic abilities.
That was an ancient age before humanity, full of ferns and conifers.
Some even said this giant butterfly was the very first psychic life in history.
All psychic life that appeared later descended from it, inheriting some psychic genes, including modern human civilization.
Of course, besides the “Amber Giant Butterfly Origin Theory,” other popular theories included the “Fossil Trilobite Origin” and the “Crystal Skull Origin.”
Long before humanity’s birth, psychic talent was widespread among animals.
After a short while, Liu Jun left carrying a black briefcase.
The lowest-priced Third Rank brains at the counter were in the tens of millions—beyond his current means.
If he followed the normal path, after breaking through Third Rank, he could find new income sources that might be ten or even dozens of times greater.
But that was just following the old route of loans, joining factions of Rehe Heavy Industries, becoming a Third Rank brain stall strongman, and continuing to read and grow.
In the language of the cultivation world, Rehe Heavy Industries was like a large sect, with each high school below it serving as a training base.
But Liu Jun decisively chose to be a rogue cultivator.
Because he was impure, he dared not meet big shots.
Moreover, rather than using intelligent brains produced by Rehe factions and living under their thumb, cultivating their Confucian and Taoist spiritual reading doctrines and methods, he’d rather try his own way... cultivating a whole new series of intelligent brains.
It was just a brain, after all.
Drop in some fungal broth, stir the pot, and watch the brains grow.
...
Night.
In his rented room.
Liu Jun finally took out the PC001 brain, examining it carefully.
It was a finely crafted metal rectangular forehead protector, adorned with a flying butterfly that held an unusual beauty.
After a thorough inspection, he took out a blue reagent.
After leaving the specialty store, he had stopped by the black market.
Using his own First Rank brain as collateral for a high-interest loan, he exchanged for 10,000 Mind Blades worth of resources and a vial of 30,000 Mind Blades worth of Level 8 intelligent brain reverse engineering reagent.
Yes.
One vial of reagent cost nearly half the price of an intelligent brain!
What was intelligent brain reverse engineering reagent?
Many companies secretly purchased competitors’ intelligent brain products to reverse engineer them—from carbon crystal circuit boards back to flesh-and-blood brains—then cloned these flesh brains for secondary mass production.
This was what people called pirated brains or second-hand “water” brains.
However, these pirated brains were inherently unsafe.
Since they were imitations of prototype brains, their effectiveness was much reduced, and due to copyright issues, they only circulated in black markets.
Now, Liu Jun’s plan was to conduct such a flesh restoration experiment.
After all, if his own brain didn’t revert to a flesh clone form, how could he infect the intelligent brain?
Bubble, bubble!
The PC001 brain revived its flesh, being replaced by fungal structures.
“As the walking plague, the fungal king of apocalypse, the cause of pandemics, possibly the zombie king... the first life form I ever infected is a cloned assembly-line intelligent brain. What a disgrace to my peers!”
Liu Jun murmured softly, tossing the flesh brain into the fungal broth.
Splash!
The colorful fungal liquid churned, and the brain began to fungalize, activating and returning to life.
Liu Jun closely observed the broth, even stirring it back and forth with a broomstick handle.
“Sure enough, this brain was instantly infected by bacteria, parasitized by fungi.”
“It's not even a brain, but a complete fungal lifeform called a brain.”
“Interesting.”
“A First Rank brain is useless to me now, but this living, natural saint fungus brain, cultivated in the fungal broth, might grow to Second Rank, Third Rank...”
“This plan really has no problems.”
As various thoughts collided in his mind, a faint smile tugged at Liu Jun’s lips, and a glimmer of anticipation sparked in his eyes.
“Only one element remains—the intelligent brain is a clone, it has no soul.”
“If I use my own ‘Low Intelligence’ gifted mushroom, it might make me a low IQ individual, but if applied to the brain, it should fully revive it from dead fungus to life.”
“This is... giving life!”
Though somewhat incredible, the key was experimentation.
He was going to plant a wisdom mushroom into this brain!
If ‘Low Intelligence’ really worked, then this would be his hidden strongest talent.