Lin Wuming felt that he had died.
Well, that was just his self-mockery—after all, Lin Wuming had never died before, so he wasn't very clear about what true “death” felt like.
But Lin Wuming knew that his current state was absolutely not normal!
If he had to describe it, it was probably like sinking into a lightless deep sea, or falling into boundless space… there was only nothingness around him.
Just a moment ago, he was still busy in the kitchen, with a group of hungry girls behind him…
But he didn't know what happened, suddenly, he arrived in this place without any warning.
It took Lin Wuming a little time to confirm that he hadn't encountered "Space Movement", or more accurately—Lin Wuming couldn't even feel his "body."
So Lin Wuming knew that this was probably the "space of consciousness," he had a similar experience during the "Imaginary Hand" incident before.
After grasping the current situation, Lin Wuming immediately felt much more at ease.
—He thought his nightmare had come true, that he had truly "woken up" suddenly and transmigrated back.
Lin Wuming thought, after all, the wicked humor of life is that what you fear most is what happens. What Lin Wuming worried about most was suddenly "leaving" this world, and now this sudden, unannounced occurrence really made it hard not to draw connections…
After exhaling a sigh of relief, Lin Wuming's spirit tightened again—the worst-case scenario could be ruled out, but what exactly had happened to him?
—By the way, did I offend anyone recently? In the original plot, who could do such a thing?
Lin Wuming was very familiar with his physical condition, so he knew very well that it was absolutely impossible for him to faint and lose consciousness for no reason.
Someone… it must be an enemy who attacked him!
Fortunately, Lin Wuming's "Nen" had not disappeared.
esper ability is a power that exists based on the brain's computing power of the ability user; theoretically, as long as the brain's thinking does not stop, the ability can continue to be activated.
So even though Lin Wuming currently had no physical body, and was just a pure consciousness… or rather, a "soul," it didn't prevent him from continuing to wield his Nen as usual.
But what made Lin Wuming despair was that no matter how he drove his Nen, he couldn't reach the boundary of this space—if this damned place really had such a thing as a "boundary."
Lin Wuming is a Level 5 Telekinetic User. Even excluding the cheat factor of "Bullet Time," he is currently the strongest Telekinetic User in fact.
In terms of pure "amount of Nen," perhaps only Sogiita Gunha, that unreasonable raw stone ability user, could surpass Lin Wuming?
But such a vast amount of Nen, when released in all directions, was like a clay ox entering the sea, producing no reaction whatsoever!
Not only that, besides not finding a "boundary," Lin Wuming's Nen didn't even touch any other existence.
—This was truly "nothingness" in the literal sense; besides his own solitary consciousness, there was no other existence whatsoever.
After a long silence, Lin Wuming even began to doubt whether "he" truly existed.
Everything is relative; without "external things" and "others," the concept of "self" also loses its meaning.
—So, what exactly is this place?
Originally, Lin Wuming thought it was another special realm like the "Ocean of Consciousness," similar in nature to the collective consciousness ocean he entered during the "Imaginary Hand" incident.
But now it seems they are two completely different concepts!
There is no other existence, so "self" also ceases to exist; this is not a real space, and the concept of "time" has lost its meaning…
In a daze, "Lin Wuming" suddenly remembered a crucial… no, perhaps it should be said, an irrelevant question?
—How much time has passed?
—From when "Lin Wuming"… I arrived in this damned place, how much time has passed?
—Was I "asleep" just now? It feels like a long time has passed in a blur… By the way, how was "time" originally defined?
Lin Wuming was startled and suddenly realized—he might indeed have "died."
As long as he continued to sink into this chaos, the final outcome would be self-evident.
Because he had never truly died, Lin Wuming wasn't very clear about what the true form of "death" was like.
But from another perspective, he also couldn't be sure that he "hadn't died."
In any case, what was certain was that if he continued to sink in this damned place, even if it wasn't true death, it would be close enough.
"I!" Lin Wuming opened his mouth and made a sound, "I must do something!"
He still had an obsession with "living," a deep bond with that world and the people in it. How could he just die like this?
"Cannot fall asleep, cannot lose consciousness!" Lin Wuming muttered to himself, "Right, find something to do, keep the mind active…"
In order to stimulate his consciousness and keep his mind active, Lin Wuming consciously and actively thought about processing some complex information.
Coincidentally, in his memory, there was a sufficiently complex database that could be used to pass the time…
The "ability catalog," a database he had privately retained for himself during the "Imaginary Hand" incident.
However, due to the enormous and difficult-to-understand data volume, Lin Wuming could only seal it. He had to use a "Necklace Electrode," with the auxiliary computation of the "Misaka Network" and the "Tree Diagram Designer," to interpret the data within.
Because, theoretically, no ability user can master a second esper ability; the brain function of "humans" dictates that they cannot do such a thing.
But now, Lin Wuming no longer even possessed an organ like a "brain"; he was merely a pure consciousness. Coupled with extreme boredom, he could naturally try to forcefully interpret the data within the "ability catalog."
Even if it ultimately proved that he still couldn't directly use a second esper ability, it didn't matter.
After all, this was originally just a "mind game" to pass the time…
In a sense, Lin Wuming's feeling was not wrong—he was indeed close to "dying," and he had indeed lost the concept of "time."
Because of "Bullet Time," in the face of a fatal crisis, his subjective time was infinitely stretched until the crisis was resolved…
This formed a paradox—in a state of "already dead," Lin Wuming also gained "infinite" time.
Therefore, the current Lin Wuming had ample time to process and understand the data in the "ability catalog," without worrying about any side effects.
After all, he was already dead.
