Chapter 30: Evolving Traits
Chapter 30: Evolving Traits
“I am determined to obtain this information, and I am willing to risk even the emergence of Containment Anomalies for it!”
Bai Ge made the decision instantly because knowledge was critically important to him.
The practical knowledge explored in Reality had too many uses; merely enriching the Brain Hole, making it closer to Reality, was a necessary pursuit for Bai Ge.
He firmly believed that developing the Brain Hole to be on par with Reality was theoretically possible.
“I must realize a permanent trait. After all, I’ll need it not just this time, but often in the future.”
There were over two hundred encrypted items in the database alone; using disposable traits for all of them would be foolish.
And this was just the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; similar databases in the United States alone exceeded a dozen, not to mention globally.
Setting a permanent trait was Bai Ge’s necessary choice.
It solved the problem permanently with a single effort, resulting in only one Containment Anomaly.
“Random trait is useless against quantum cryptography. Universal Unlocking it is!”
Quantum cryptographic systems, prior to physical measurement, exist in a superposition of all potential states.
In other words, the quantum password essentially doesn’t exist! It is linked to a specific quantum-isolated system in Reality. Only when that system is externally interfered with and a quantum state is determined does a password exist.
Random unlocking could only open locks that had a password.
No matter how coincidental or random, it couldn’t crack this encryption method.
Being in China, Bai Ge couldn’t possibly travel to a secret American base, locate the quantum cryptography system, and stealthily activate the measurement mechanism just to unlock something.
Therefore, the only way to crack a quantum password remotely was through an Absolute Trait.
“Ling Dang, bring me my Appendix!”
“No matter what lock, as long as I can affect it, murmuring ‘Universal Unlocking’ in my mind would unlock it.”
He set this trait for his Earthling body within the Brain Hole, but upon manifestation, it failed without consuming any Energy.
“Failed… I have nine hundred thousand kilowatt-hours of electricity. Still not enough?”
Bai Ge thought for a moment and revised the trait.
“No matter what lock, as long as I can see it, murmuring ‘Universal Unlocking’ would unlock it.”
The result was still failure.
“Hmm… indeed still won’t work. The scope is too vast.”
Bai Ge pondered deeply; clearly, permanently realizing this trait still demanded too high a cost.
After all, this trait was a permanent Absolute Trait, and moreover, it involved a supernatural forced unlocking.
It could crack any lock on Earth, any lock in any corner of the Universe, even conceptual locks.
“Right, it probably includes conceptual locks too!”
“Exclude conceptual, metaphysical locks… try that…”
A few seconds later.
“Tsk, still not possible.”
Bai Ge sighed: “No choice then, only…”
“No matter what lock, as long as I can see it, and comprehend its mechanics, knowing how to unlock it normally, then murmuring ‘Universal Unlocking’ would forcibly bypass the actual implementation!”
“Success!”
Bai Ge felt the electricity within his Appendix vanish instantaneously. Of the over nine hundred thousand kilowatt-hours, only a few thousand remained.
The prerequisite he set for the Universal Unlocking trait was comprehension.
This drastically narrowed the scope of locks it could crack.
Locks he didn’t recognize, know, or understand became immune.
However… Bai Ge was technically exploiting a loophole here!
That was, this trait possessed growth potential!
Because theoretically, it could still crack any visible lock!
The range of locks it could crack depended on Bai Ge’s observational power! Depth of knowledge! Comprehension ability!
“The cost for such a trait was only nine hundred thousand kilowatt-hours. After all, compared to all possible locks in the vast Universe, the locks I currently know are negligible, just a tiny fraction.”
“But its future value will increase step by step with my expanding knowledge, far exceeding what nine hundred thousand kilowatt-hours could normally manifest.”
Bai Ge’s eyes lit up, followed by excitement.
“Turns out I can set evolving traits… such traits won’t become obsolete in the future.”
Evolving traits would become another major method of conserving Energy.
They could grow not only with knowledge but also with physical prowess… with resources…
There could even be traits that grew with the “number of trainings,” or “frequency of use”!
“Often, when I add some Energy consumption or cost to an Anomalous Trait, and increase its interaction with Reality, it becomes more readily acknowledged.”
“I should avoid making the ‘mechanics’ of Anomalous Traits too solitary.”
The Shadow Man was a clear example of an isolated trait.
Even adding something like absorbing solar Energy to gradually offset the “damage” absorbed by the Bow Tie would be better than its current state.
That’s why such a vast amount of mysterious Energy only manifested this “living target,” allowing Bai Ge to subdue it easily.
If that Energy had been given to Bai Ge, its uses would have been far greater.
…
“Universal Unlocking!”
Bai Ge naturally understood the principle of quantum cryptography and knew how to unlock it.
It required someone to physically go to the secret cabinet of the quantum cryptography system and activate the measurement mechanism.
In other words, unlocking demanded simultaneous action both online and in the real world.
However, the power of the Universal Unlocking command lay in Bai Ge not needing to actually do this.
Knowing was sufficient; understanding equated to doing!
Bai Ge didn’t even use a computer; he merely glanced at the screen and silently recited the command in his mind.
He saw the quantum encryption program, which rejected all network attacks and would leave even the God of Hackers helpless…
Automatically unlock.
Even the real-world quantum cabinet hadn’t been touched; the undisturbed quantum state within remained an indeterminate state of Chaos.
This resulted in the classified files being opened, completely unbeknownst to anyone.
Only if someone, out of extreme boredom, cross-referenced the unlocking logs with the operational records, would they discover that someone had bypassed the quantum encryption perfectly.
Unilaterally cracking the quantum password was like…
Little Ming climbing a tree to pick apples, eating too many and getting stuck, then returning to his hometown to fetch a ladder, finally using that ladder to climb down…
A clear case of reversed causality, or defiance of the linear logic understood by Earth Humans.
“Hiss, such a massive volume of data, and this is just one encrypted project!”
“Truly worthy of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s database.”
Bai Ge grinned as he downloaded the enormous trove of information. He accessed it normally, and the unlock was “normal,” triggering no alarms whatsoever.
After downloading one project, he immediately moved on to the next.
The quantum passwords, deemed unsolvable by outsiders, opened obediently one by one, revealing their contents for Bai Ge to take.
It was as if he were the top brass of the Department of Defense – perhaps even more convenient, since top officials required layers of authorization to open quantum password locks.
“Quantum computing… hmm, still immature technology.”
“Laser anti-missile Satellite… surprisingly, this technology is mature already.”
“Non-lethal incapacitating weapon… described so mysteriously, isn’t it just a sonic weapon?”
“Electromagnetic railgun, researched for Forty years, yet still not battlefield-ready…”
Bai Ge continuously acquired data, deepening his understanding of the current US defense capabilities.
Overall, many technologies remained immature, requiring several more years of development.
Nevertheless, this research data was still immensely important to Bai Ge.
As for the mature technologies, with sufficient resources, Bai Ge could start production within the Brain Hole immediately!
After several hours, with nearly ninety percent of the database downloaded,
suddenly, a bizarre project appeared before Bai Ge.
“Mind-Wiping Shredder? What on Earth is this?”
The name alone suggested formidable technology. Unlocking it, Bai Ge was immediately dumbfounded.
Equipment Description: Externally resembles a standard shredder, 0.6m high, 0.4m wide, 0.3m long, brand Fellowes.
Origin: True origin unknown. Found in the office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Chicago Field Office Hostage Rescue Team. Possesses unified procurement documents dated three years prior.
Testing – Blank Paper: Shredded normally.
Courier Slip: Shredded normally. All Humans within 22 meters of the shredder completely forgot the paper’s content, and forgot all letters along with some numbers.
Paper with only the number “5”: Shredded normally. All Humans within 22 meters of the shredder instantly forgot the existence of the number 5. When asked to write Arabic numerals, they skipped ‘5’. However, they could pronounce “Five” normally and comprehend its meaning.
Portrait Sketch of “Agent T”: Shredded normally. All Humans within 22 meters of the shredder completely forgot the appearance represented by the portrait. Agent T himself also forgot what he looked like. Looking in a mirror, he stated: “I feel like a stranger to myself.” Agent T’s dog, also within the test range, did not exhibit unfamiliarity with its owner.
Paper with only a circular drawing: Shredded normally. All Humans within 22 meters of the shredder, including a gorilla, forgot the concept of a circle. They expressed surprise at all circular patterns around them yet remained completely familiar with spherical objects (like balls), and did not lose the semantic meaning of the word ‘circle’.
Test after bizarre test followed, documented extensively. Bai Ge grew more solemn as he read on.
Finally reaching the conclusion:
Test Conclusion: When any paper printed or written with text, numbers, symbols, or patterns is processed by this shredder, all biological organisms within 22 meters of the machine forget the corresponding content. Precision extends to specific forgotten symbols or shapes. Methods to restore forgotten memories have not yet been discovered.
“This is a Containment Anomaly!”
He didn’t need to think; simply reading the beginning sufficed for Bai Ge to recognize this as a Containment Anomaly object.
What surprised him was that one had appeared so far away, in the United States.
“This is the third Containment Anomaly I’ve discovered. They don’t necessarily appear only near me.”
“No wonder I haven’t found any strange local news after all these days…”
Bai Ge checked the project’s update log. It was first uploaded the day before yesterday.
Subsequent experiment reports were also only updated yesterday.
“This particular Containment Anomaly is fairly harmless by itself… provided no Human uses it.”
“It could perfectly well exist as just a quiet shredding machine.”