Chapter 417 Virtual Body
90 SECONDS EARLIER
Right now, Alex was feeling alert as he waited for the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p that housed the aliens to descend.
He knew that the moment before this s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p lands will be his only chance to make a move, so he must use it to his fullest!
"With the precautionary measure that Emperor Litch could have placed in this world, the power that I can use without outing myself will be limited. But even if I still can"t use my full power for now, I can still do something against this s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p." Alex thought to himself as he ignored the scrutinizing look given to him by Wisteria. "Now, all that I wish to see is the model of this s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p…"
As he thought of these, Alex felt more inwardly worried, although he still kept up on smiling.
"As long as I am familiar with the model of the arriving s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, I am sure that I can do something against it." Alex thought as he waited for the arrival of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.
As long as the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p gets within 100 meters above Alex, Alex can surely observe the vessel, up until its very minute details.
This was of course a far cry from the supposedly ma.s.sive scanning range that Alex should have, but with the situation that he was in, being able to scan for 100 meters was already good for him.
Before, Alex was almost unwilling to scan his surroundings in this world because of the inherent danger that he can feel from doing it. But a few weeks of stay in this world has allowed him to fine-tune all the aspects of his power, specially the scanning portion.
Alex had realized that the way he scanned his surroundings was slightly inefficient, as some of his power leaks out while doing this process. This could be the reason why he was in danger when he tried sensing his surroundings before. Once he had this realization, Alex immediately exercised his power until it reached the point where he can safely scan a range of 100 meters without triggering his danger sense.
Whether this range in this world will still improve will depend on Alex, although the man himself is confident on improving it.
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"Yes, there it is!" Alex thought with tension as he saw the body of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p breaking through the clouds above the Inst.i.tute. "Now then, let me see what you really are!"
"Boom!"
Alex then silently released his Esper Power towards the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, which continued its descent towards the ground.
With Alex"s efficiency, his scanning only happened instantaneously.
"Bzzt!" Every piece of machinery inside the s.h.i.+p was scanned, including all the creatures that lived inside it. Their interactions were also recorded at that instant, along with the data stored on the s.h.i.+p itself.
Alex"s power converted all this info into electrical impulses which his brain quickly digested, giving him all this gathered info in one fell swoop.
He then quickly pulled his power back, making him return to his normal state.
Even though this process only took less than a second to happen, Alex was pretty satisfied with the results that he had obtained.
"Hehehe…. So this s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p is one of those vintage Arcus Models… No wonder they only visit rarely here. They"re actually cheap as f**k!" Alex thought to himself as he stopped his sudden urge to laugh. "And here I thought that these guys could be using the advanced Destroyer Models. But they are only riding this old type? Hahaha, this just makes my job easier!"
With his background as a former experimental subject of the Undying Empire, Alex naturally had great knowledge about everything on the Empire, especially on the Empire"s s.p.a.ce-related technology.
Alex had been living in the Undying Empire before the events that turned him into a Traveler had occurred. So for him to know a lot about the Empire and its s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps is just normal.
"The Vintage Arcus Models were originally Transporters that were only meant to transport goods. They"re not really fit for commercial transportation. The bodies of these s.h.i.+p models are round in shape, which makes it easier to stack things inside it. But for people to ride it? h.e.l.l no, that"s just too uncomfortable." Alex thought as he observed the pudgy body of the descending s.h.i.+p. "So since this s.h.i.+p was like this, then why the h.e.l.l are people riding it?"
Alex then looked around him, observing the reactions of the teachers and students alike.
To Alex"s disappointment, he saw that the teachers and the students were all looking at this s.h.i.+p with a serious look, as if they were treating the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p with respect. Upon seeing this, Alex resisted the urge to sigh as he realized that this people were just being led along here.
"These people… even if they were now a part of the Undying Empire, it"s obvious that there are a lot of knowledge that the Empire itself has not been sharing to them." Alex thought to himself as he felt some kind of pity for the people of the Four Moon"s World.
"Not only does this world have a level of technology that is still behind the Undying Empire, even the knowledge of its citizens about the normal things in the Empire is also limited! Hmph, from what way that the things look here, it appears as if the Undying Empire is still not treating this world as its real member. I am not sure whether I should be happy from that or not…" Alex inwardly thought as he suppressed his grimace.
"Hmm… the only thing that I can do right now is to accept that it is happening. After all, I"m already here." Alex muttered as he shook his head. "So what if this thing right in front of me is obsolete? That"s better than nothing!"
Even though he was slightly saddened that the s.h.i.+p that he saw was not part of the advanced models, Alex was still greatly happy as he knew that he will now have an easier time hacking this s.h.i.+p, especially with its old status making its more impervious to his power.
"If the advanced model s.h.i.+p was the one that arrived here, then I will have a harder time hacking into their main framework from this place. It might take me around…. 10-20 seconds just to hijack that kind of s.h.i.+p." Alex suddenly thought as his eyes twitched. "But for this s.h.i.+p? Hehe, I can certainly say that I can hack it within a second! This n***a doesn"t even have a virus protection, so how can it defend itself against me? Hahaha, you aliens, just blame yourselves for meeting a powerful Esper like me!"
After Alex"s Esper Ability had stepped in to reach the Sixth Stage of Power, everything related to Alex"s Esper Ability had undergone an evolution.
Right now, Alex can use his Esper Ability to manipulate all the Four Fundamental Forces of the Universe, with his EM and Gravity Manipulation reaching a much higher state. As for his newly acquired Weak and Strong Force Manipulation, they were still at their budding stage, although Alex was able to use them for some special applications.
If these were the only changes in his power, then it will already be great for him. However, these were not the only changes that his power has gone through.
Alex"s Mind Power, which was the fuel source of this Esper Ability, astonis.h.i.+ngly had its changes too after his evolution!
Before, his Mind Power only resided inside his Brain, as this was the only place that can house this power. But that has changed after Alex and Alina formed a connection with Sierra(a World Soul).
Due to the power obtained by Alex from Sierra"s ma.s.sive consciousness, his Mind Power was bolstered up to its peak, with his Mind Power supplied with an almost endless amount of sustenance from Sierra"s ma.s.sive soul.
This supply of sustenance induced a change on Alex"s Mind Power, making his Mind Power suddenly gain a material form.
This sustenance allowed his Mind Power to copy both the structure of his soul and body, which then led to his Mind Power emulating i its own form.
This resulted on the creation of a new body, which existed alongside Alex himself.
This new creation was called a Virtual Body, which is the benchmark needed by any Espers who wanted to reach the Sixth Stage.
Without a Virtual Body, it will be impossible for Espers to reach the Sixth Stage. After all, the benefits that the Virtual Body gives to an Esper is enough to give that Esper abilities to fight against other Sixth Stage Being.
In Alex"s case, his Virtual Body acted like both a soul and material body at the same time, giving Alex new capabilities as an Esper which he is unable to do before.
One of these new capabilities was of course enhanced fighting abilities, as Alex has now more options on how to use his power. Aside from that, the amount of Mind Power existing inside his Virtual Body was ginormous, allowing his powers to strike at a much more ferocious rate.
Aside from that, the connection that his Virtual Body had on his soul has also allowed Alex to create more esoteric applications for his ability.
Whether Alex uses these applications will depend on his situation, although right now, he certainly was itching to put his Virtual Body into use.
But "itching" was not the right word, as Alex was fully serious on using his Virtual Body right now. After all, he had been brewing over his plans over the last month already…
"Hmm… now that the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p is within my currently acceptable range, I can already start my plan!" Alex thought to himself as his Virtual Body appeared behind him. "Now let"s see if this plan of mine will really work…"
His Virtual Body"s radiant blue skin and smooth appearance seemed to be invisible to others, which made Alex nod his head in relief. n.o.body seemed to be able to notice his virtual body right now, even though his Virtual Body was already making noises unbefitting of its appearance.
"Good. So it"s just like what I expected. As long as I willed my Virtual Body to be invisible, n.o.body can just casually notice it." Alex thought as he narrowed his eyes. "Now that I have established that fact, it is now time for me to make an action!"
Alex"s Virtual Body then looked up to the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p as it pointed its index finger at the s.h.i.+p"s main body.
The Virtual Body stayed still like this for a second, before it suddenly let out a low groan.
"PIsk!"
The nail on the Virtual Body"s pointed finger suddenly shot up straight into the sky, entering the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p"s main body directly.
This happened in an instant, and before Alex could even take a breath, the nail that his Virtual Body had shot out had already entered the computer system of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.
"Hong~" n.o.body from the pa.s.sengers of the s.h.i.+p noticed what happened, and right under their unsuspecting eyes, numerous blue tendrils materialized from the nail, which then proceeded to occupy every wire and machinery that existed inside the s.h.i.+p.
This made Alex smile wider in delight, especially when the s.h.i.+p"s tendrils had reached the engine room.
"Good! Good! Now that"s my nail!"
One second later, and the nail had already taken over the whole s.h.i.+p itself, with its crew still not knowing everything. Once this point has been reached, Alex stifled his laughter as he activated his nail.
"Now then, let"s stop the s.h.i.+p from moving, shall we? After all, leaving it on the air will be better than letting it land…"