I alone have my own laws; I start by fabricating myths and legends of mountains and seas.

Chapter 16 Su Fan's Troubles

"This..." Jiang Wenbai's forehead was covered in a fine sweat. He tried different accelerating voltages, beam currents, detection modes, and even changed the electron sources to tungsten filament and field emission, but the results were surprisingly consistent: it was unobservable under the electron beam.

"X-ray diffraction!" He was skeptical; X-ray diffraction was the gold standard for analyzing crystal structures. When a crystal is placed in an X-ray beam, its atomic arrangement produces a specific diffraction pattern.

A few minutes later, the diffraction pattern appeared—a flat baseline. No peaks, no broadening packets, nothing at all. This meant that either the X-rays had completely penetrated it without diffraction, or there was no periodically arranged atomic structure inside, or even… there might not be any “atoms” in the traditional sense.

"Atomic force microscopy!" Professor Jiang practically shouted. This was the last high-resolution surface morphology and weak force detection method he had on hand. AFM uses an extremely fine probe to approach the sample surface and images it by monitoring the interatomic forces between the probe and the surface.

The probe carefully descended. On the screen, the force curve showed that the probe encountered no resistance change at the expected distance, directly "passing" through the area where the sample should be, until it hit the sample stage at the bottom! Visually, it appeared as empty space.

AFM cannot "see" it, or rather, the probe cannot "feel" its surface!

Professor Jiang Wenbo staggered back a step, steadying himself on the lab table. His face was pale, and his eyes behind his glasses were filled with shock, confusion, and a hint of horror at the blow to his scientific faith.

"Optical microscopes can't see the surface structure, electron microscopes can't receive the signal, X-rays can't diffract, atomic force microscopes can't detect surface forces and morphology..." he murmured, his voice hoarse. "All microscopic observation methods based on wave-particle duality and interactions... have failed. Macroscopically, it's a tangible, movable entity, but at the microscopic level... it's like 'unobservable.' This... this goes beyond the cognitive boundaries of the existing physical framework."

Professor Jiang Wenbo staggered backward, his fingers, which had gripped the lab table, turning slightly white from the force. He took off his glasses, pressed them hard against the bridge of his nose, and when he put them back on, the shock in his eyes had not subsided; instead, it had settled into a deeper, sharp light, a mixture of horror and an incredibly intense thirst for knowledge.

He looked at his daughter again, but his gaze was no longer just that of a father concerned for his daughter; it was more like that of a researcher scrutinizing a key source of information when faced with an ultimate mystery.

"Xiao He," his voice was low but clear, carrying an unyielding force, "you must tell me now how this thing ended up in your hands."

He pointed to the crystallized emotion lying quietly on the experimental table, yet rendering all the cutting-edge instruments ineffective, and said in an almost stern tone: "This thing doesn't challenge a particular branch of theory, but rather the fundamental methodology of modern physics in observing the world. A macroscopic entity that doesn't interact detectably with electromagnetic waves, electron beams, X-rays, or interatomic forces... This is practically declaring that it exists outside the 'observability' of our universe!"

But it's actually something you can pick up and put here! This contradiction itself is the biggest anomaly! It's incomprehensible; you should understand what I mean. If I had said that out loud, people would have laughed at me, but such a thing truly exists; we even have samples.

Jiang He met her father's gaze, knowing that any attempt to conceal the truth at this moment would be futile, and might even lead to misjudgment and danger. She took a deep breath, suppressing the deep exhaustion within her and the dizziness of her worldview being repeatedly eroded, and began to speak:

"About a month ago, I started experiencing...an unusually vivid collective dream." She described it as objectively as possible, choosing the most neutral description, "In the dream, there were five people, including myself. We were in an environment that could not be explained by common sense, we could see each other, and we had a logically complete conversation. The content of the dream was coherent, and each time I woke up, the memory was frighteningly clear, far exceeding that of ordinary dreams."

Jiang Wenbo frowned, but did not interrupt, quickly noting down keywords: collective dream, extraordinary clarity, logical integrity, memory retention.

"I've had this kind of dream three times so far, with seemingly fixed intervals of ten days. Each time I emerge from that dream and return to reality, I experience three days of profound mental exhaustion, like... the exhaustion of my consciousness after a high-intensity activity." Jiang He pointed to her temples. "I can feel that right now. I've just experienced my third dream, and I'm bringing it out of the dream world."

"Conscious activity overdraft..." Professor Jiang murmured, his pen flying across the paper. "Similar to the physiological reaction after deep thinking or mental stress, but of an abnormal intensity and repetitive. Continue."

"This crystal," Jiang He's gaze fell back on the emotional crystal, "appeared in the most recent dream, which ended early this morning. In the dream, there was someone... perhaps someone who had been in the dream world longer than us, who called this crystal 'emotional crystal' or 'soul crystal,' and claimed that it could nourish the spirit and even... stabilize a consciousness detached from the body."

She omitted Luo Jiuchuan's arrogant attitude and the conflict with Chen Yang, not wanting her father to worry, and focused only on the information itself: "At the end of the dream, he gave each of us, including me, one of these crystals. Then I woke up and found it on my pillow. I checked the bedroom surveillance camera I had installed, and the record showed that it appeared there without warning at some point before I woke up, without any transmission process, without any external intervention, just like... it was pasted directly from another layer into the real scene. I copied a video to my USB drive."

"A gift from dreams...transcending boundaries to materialize..." Jiang Wenbai's pen stopped. He looked up, his gaze complex as he looked at his daughter. "A crystallization of emotions? Nourishing the spirit? Stabilizing consciousness detached from the body?" The combination of these words was no less impactful than the experimental results from before. "What else did that person say? About the nature of dreams? About other properties or uses of this crystallization?"

Jiang He shook her head. "His words were vague and somewhat arrogant; they sounded more like a declaration than an explanation to us."

A brief silence fell over the laboratory, broken only by the low hum of the instruments. Professor Jiang Wenbai walked to the window.

"Collective structured dreams, fixed cycles, aftereffects of consciousness depletion, dream creations becoming real, and these creations possessing abnormal physical properties..." He traced the clues, his voice low, "Xiao He, do you know what this points to?"

Jiang He knew, of course, that this pointed to a complete "abnormality," beyond the scope of explanation by psychology, neuroscience, and even current physics. "I asked Uncle Liu before, and found that his psychology simply couldn't explain the dreams I was having."

He walked back to the lab table, gazing at the crystals: "Whichever it is, it means that you, and those who entered that 'dream' with you, have been caught up in a storm far beyond imagination. The person who gave you the emotional crystals... did they show any clear intentions? Were they benevolent, malicious, or did they see you as... test subjects or resources?"

Jiang He recalled Luo Jiuchuan's cold, disdainful gaze and the condescending manner with which he tossed out the crystal, and a chill ran through her. "It wasn't exactly goodwill. It was more like... a condescending trader or observer. He possessed rules and resources we didn't understand."

Jiang Wenbai's heart sank. He walked to his daughter, placed his hands on her shoulders, and looked at her with unprecedented seriousness and worry: "Xiaohe, listen. This matter ends here. For now, do not reveal the tests we have conducted and the conclusions we have reached to anyone in that dream. This emotional crystal... its research value is immeasurable, but its risks are equally enormous. I need to contact a few absolutely reliable friends."

"Dad," she said softly, her voice weary yet resolute, "I understand. I'll be careful. But I also want to participate in the research. I know my skills might not be up to par, but I need to know... what all this is all about."

Looking into his daughter's eyes, which mirrored his own unwavering pursuit of the truth, Jiang Wenbai felt both gratified and worried. Finally, he sighed and nodded.

"Yes, but it must be under my strict control. Now, you should go back and rest, get a good night's sleep. Leave the rest to me. You don't need to go to school during this time; I'll take care of things there." He paused, then added, "Remember, safety first. Notify me immediately of any new anomalies, whether in the dream or in reality."

Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story. Leaving aside Jiang He's situation for now, Su Fan also began to worry.

His idea was simple: create the persona of Luo Jiuchuan and turn Jiang He, Wang Jianguo, and Chen Yang into workers who collect his emotional crystals.

Such a concept is certainly good, but there are still a few problems. The cost of one of these rare items, the Seven Emotions Gourd, which collects emotional crystals, is five years of lifespan.

Three items would only give him fifteen years of lifespan. Besides that, how could he possibly deliver these rare items to them? He couldn't very well just send them by courier! Although Su Fan had a very low profile, he still couldn't possibly rely on courier services to deliver them!

Although it's unclear why the Emotion Crystals can appear in the dream world, the real and authentic Seven Emotions Gourd certainly cannot be given to them through the dream world.

This would require another artifact capable of teleporting items. And how can we ensure the other party won't renege on their promise after collecting the emotion crystals? Would a contract-type artifact be necessary?

By that calculation, he would have at least twenty years of lifespan, and there were only ten days left until the next time he entered the dream.