Chapter 403: Chapter 352: Testing the Waters

After that exchange at the technical seminar, Jeming and Reks exchanged a knowing glance.

They didn’t immediately reveal themselves, just naturally exchanged personal contact codes like ordinary technology enthusiasts after the event.

A few days later, Jeming received a message from Reks on his communicator, inviting him to "deeply discuss technical issues" at his residence.

"This guy once called me crazy, yet he’s crazier than me when he bets his life."

Looking at the text on the communicator, Jeming took a deep breath, appearing somewhat nervous.

After calming his nerves a bit, Jeming raised his head, gazing at the luxurious villa before him.

This was Reks’ residence, located on the outskirts of the capital city on Anvil Star in a high-end community.

It was a mansion with an independent courtyard, simple yet filled with a sense of design.

Following the guidance, Jeming entered, finding the interior spacious but peculiarly minimalist, even somewhat harsh.

"Welcome, Jeming." Reks stood in the center of the living room.

He had already removed his work clothes and changed into comfortable casual wear, still wearing glasses on the bridge of his nose.

But something in his gaze had changed—it was a kind of suppressed excitement and sharpness.

"Reks, long time no see." Jeming nodded, his gaze sweeping across the corners of the room, vaguely sensing some weak energy field fluctuations.

It wasn’t extraordinary energy, but technology-based equipment used to shield from conventional surveillance and signal detection was in operation.

It was clear this was a carefully crafted safe house.

Without much small talk, the two sat at the table covered with metal panels and dove straight into the issue.

"How did you wake up?" Jeming asked first.

Reks pushed up his glasses, a trace of relief flashing in his eyes: "With this." He pointed to his temple, "The ’Weaver’ nanotech brain chip I implanted in myself. This thing... is not suppressed in this damned place."

Through his explanation, Jeming understood that the "Weaver" brain chip was Reks’ masterpiece in mechanics.

At the moment Reks plunged into this world, the "Weaver" detected huge environmental parameter anomalies and memory logic conflicts, continuously issuing alarms in the depths of his obscured consciousness.

This alarm, like constant background noise, continuously bombarded for years.

Finally, five years ago, it broke through the dam of false memories like water dripping through stone, allowing him to regain consciousness.

"Can your extraordinary power still be used?" Jeming asked, deeply shaken.

He instinctively introspected his Dantian, finding that the Five Elements Rainbow Transformation Mirror and the Profound Gang Red Dust Barrier surrounding his body remained silent as lifeless objects, with no response.

Why could Reks’ brain chip function?

"I’ve been researching this world’s ’rules’ all these years," Reks seemingly read his mind, continuing to explain, "and I discovered a key point: as long as a thing’s manufacturing process and final form can be understood and replicated by this world’s current technological level—in other words, hypothetically, given blueprints and materials, this world’s factories or labs could produce it—then it can operate normally here, uninfluenced by ’extraordinary rejection.’

He paused, emphasizing: "My ’Weaver’ chip, although processed and bound with wizardry for precision, its core structure, computation logic, and even most of the nanotech components’ manufacturing principles can be understood and partially realized in this world’s top laboratories. So, it’s recognized by the ’rules.’

"Recognized by the rules..."

Jeming froze on the spot, stunned.

He suddenly realized this was the blackout under the lamp!

Because he hails from a purely technological world, then experienced both the Cultivation Immortality and Wizard extraordinary systems after traversing.

So when faced with such situations, Jeming instinctively opposed "technology" to "extraordinary," thinking this world’s suppression targeted all "extraordinary power."

But in truth, the foundation of Wizard Civilization is knowledge!

Numerous witchcraft, alchemy, rune systems are based on profound understanding and utilization of universal rules.

A vast portion of this knowledge can be reproduced purely technologically in different forms!

Reks’s chip precisely exploited this loophole—it essentially is a condensation of "pure mechanical knowledge," its existence form fitting this plane’s "physical rules."

"It feels like... I too, due to the same blind spot, overlooked something else..." Jeming suddenly fell into thought.

A vague intuition told him this principle of "rule recognition" likely pointed to a more crucial truth, one he had consistently ignored.

But the inspiration was fleeting and couldn’t be grasped yet.

However, Jeming didn’t linger too long on this matter, soon beginning to exchange intel with Reks.

Both were already aware of some basic information, while Reks supplemented a point Jeming hadn’t discovered:

"After dying unexpectedly, intelligent beings on this plane are reborn after erasing memories, but it seems naturally dying intelligent beings don’t resurrect..."

Reks here was an orphan, so had more contacts and encountered more special situations: "However, due to too few samples, it’s uncertain if this widely exists or is a unique case."

"I see..." Jeming hadn’t noticed this point either.

At the same time, he shared with Reks a part of his discoveries, including verifying that control methods were neither illusion techniques nor mental domination, but some more special power, and information about this world’s exceptionally vast and real worldview.

After the exchange, both fell into a brief silence.

They had pieced together more fragments than isolated individuals, yet the puzzle remained incomplete—the most critical core—the true identity of the mastermind behind the scenes, the specific purpose, and how to break free from the cage—still shrouded in mist.

After waiting a moment, Jeming suddenly let out a long sigh, sinking into the chair’s backrest, showing a slightly self-deprecating smile: "Seems like the mastermind... or that entity, doesn’t care much about us two slightly active ants."

Reks also nodded, his gaze behind the lenses flickering with cold analytical light: "Since discovering the world’s intelligent beings can be reborn, I speculated the hidden presence of this plane should be relatively ’benevolent,’ and now this guess is a bit verified."

Indeed, both were aware from the start that this meeting was fraught with risk.

Reks’ room could shield conventional surveillance, but both Jeming and Reks understood this shielding had no real effect against the hidden presence.

This meeting between them was essentially a probe, testing the hidden presence’s attitude toward them as awakened individuals.

That’s why Jeming hesitated before meeting.

However, despite not previously observing the rebirth of intelligent beings, Jeming made a similar speculation as Reks.

Judging from his fake parents and old acquaintances, the mastermind wasn’t driven by killing intent, hence he chose to gamble today.

And judging by their probe’s results, they both bet right.