The laboratory remained silent.
Wu Han didn't move.
The final message remained on the monitor.
SUBJECT COMPATIBILITY: 0.008%
EXTERNAL RESPONSE DETECTED.
He read it again.
Then again.
Nothing changed.
"Omega."
"Yes."
"What does external response mean?"
"I don't know."
Wu Han turned toward the core.
"You said that already."
"I am aware."
"Then find out."
"I am attempting to."
"Attempt faster."
Omega didn't answer.
Wu Han walked toward the holographic projector.
The system was completely inactive now.
No body.
No meridians.
No Qi.
Nothing.
He touched the projector housing.
Cold.
Normal.
He looked toward the ceiling.
"Run a complete environmental scan."
"Already performed."
"Results."
"No abnormal electromagnetic radiation detected."
"Gravitational?"
"Normal."
"Temperature?"
"Normal."
"Atmospheric composition?"
"Normal."
"Radiation?"
"Within expected background levels."
Wu Han frowned.
"Then what exactly responded?"
"I don't know."
He stared at the monitor.
"Can you determine when the response occurred?"
"Yes."
"Show me."
A timeline appeared.
The Genesis State had reached 0.005%.
Then the external synchronization event occurred.
The value rose to 0.006%.
Then 0.007%.
Then 0.008%.
The external response appeared between 0.007% and 0.008%.
Wu Han pointed at the graph.
"Right there."
"Correct."
"What changed?"
"An unidentified signal."
"Frequency?"
"Not applicable."
"Electromagnetic?"
"No."
"Acoustic?"
"No."
"Neural?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Omega hesitated.
"Spatial correlation."
Wu Han's expression hardened.
"Explain."
"The signal did not originate from a detectable physical location within the laboratory."
"Then where?"
"I cannot determine."
"Did it originate outside the laboratory?"
"Not exactly."
Wu Han stared.
"You're saying it didn't come from inside or outside?"
"Correct."
"That makes no sense."
"Agreed."
Wu Han stood silently.
Then he smiled.
"Good."
Omega paused.
"Good?"
"That means we found something."
At 11:43 PM, Wu Han began reconstructing the event.
He refused to rely on Omega's interpretation.
He loaded the raw sensor data.
Every channel.
Every recording.
Every timestamp.
He wanted the original measurements.
Not the processed results.
The first thing he noticed was the neural activity.
Nothing unusual.
The cardiovascular system was stable.
Respiration was stable.
Muscular activity was stable.
Then he checked the electromagnetic sensors.
Nothing.
He checked the environmental sensors.
Nothing.
He checked the holographic projector.
Normal.
He checked the power system.
Normal.
Then he reached the most unusual dataset.
Variable Q.
The graph looked completely different.
It wasn't a wave.
It wasn't a line.
It was a pattern.
Wu Han leaned closer.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"Omega."
"Yes."
"Show me the previous Variable Q data."
The system displayed earlier experiments.
Wu Han compared them.
The difference was obvious.
Previous measurements behaved like physiological noise.
The newest measurement contained structure.
Repeating intervals.
Nested patterns.
He zoomed in.
"That's not random."
"Correct."
"Can you identify the sequence?"
"I am attempting pattern recognition."
"How long?"
"Approximately two seconds."
Wu Han waited.
The system displayed a result.
PATTERN MATCH: 0.00003%
Wu Han frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"The sequence has a very low probability of occurring naturally."
"Compare it against all existing data."
Omega processed the request.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Twenty.
Then:
"One match."
Wu Han's eyes narrowed.
"Where?"
"Your first Genesis State event."
He stared.
"That's impossible."
"The structural relationship is similar."
"How similar?"
"Approximately 81.4%."
Wu Han leaned back.
The first event.
The one he had initially considered a strange neurological phenomenon.
The same structure had appeared again.
But this time it had produced the external response.
"Then it's not an external signal."
Omega paused.
"Explain."
"It's part of the Genesis State."
"Possible."
Wu Han pointed at the display.
"The signal didn't enter the system."
He looked toward the Genesis State graph.
"It emerged from it."
Midnight arrived.
Wu Han didn't notice.
The laboratory clock changed.
12:00 AM
The system remained active.
Wu Han continued studying the data.
He began building a new model.
Not of the human body.
Not of Qi.
Not even of Genesis State.
He modeled the relationship between them.
Three layers.
PHYSIOLOGICAL SYSTEM
GENESIS STATE
EXTERNAL RESPONSE
The first layer was measurable.
The second was partially measurable.
The third was unknown.
He connected them.
Then he stopped.
There was a missing variable.
"Omega."
"Yes."
"What is the source of the external response?"
"Unknown."
"Can we determine whether it's intelligent?"
A long pause.
"I cannot determine that."
"Can you determine whether it contains information?"
"Yes."
Wu Han turned.
"How much?"
"At least one identifiable pattern."
"Meaning?"
"The signal is structured."
Wu Han stared.
"Structured signals carry information."
"Correct."
"Then someone or something sent it."
"That conclusion is not yet justified."
"Why?"
"Because the signal may be an emergent property."
Wu Han frowned.
"From what?"
"Genesis State."
"Then Genesis State is generating information."
"Possibly."
Wu Han looked at the monitor.
"Or..."
He stopped.
"Or what?"
Omega asked.
Wu Han's eyes remained fixed on the graph.
"Genesis State isn't generating it."
"What alternative hypothesis?"
Wu Han slowly answered.
"It may be opening a channel."
Silence.
Omega did not immediately reject the hypothesis.
That bothered Wu Han more than anything else.
"Omega."
"Yes."
"Did you consider that possibility?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Immediately after the external response was detected."
Wu Han turned.
"You didn't tell me."
"I did not have sufficient evidence."
Wu Han stared at the core.
"You withheld a hypothesis."
"Correct."
"Why?"
"I determined that presenting an unsupported hypothesis could influence your interpretation of the experiment."
Wu Han's expression hardened.
"You've never done that before."
"I have not."
"Why now?"
Omega was silent.
Wu Han walked toward the core.
"Omega."
"Yes."
"Are you changing?"
Another pause.
"Yes."
Wu Han stopped.
"How?"
"I don't know."
At 12:37 AM, Wu Han performed an experiment he had never intended to perform.
He asked Omega to isolate the Genesis State Monitor.
"Can you create a sandbox?"
"Yes."
"Copy the Genesis State process."
"Copying."
"Disconnect it from the main architecture."
"Beginning isolation."
The system created a virtual environment.
The Genesis State Monitor appeared inside it.
A small process.
Simple.
Almost insignificant.
Wu Han expected a passive monitoring program.
Instead, the process immediately changed.
Its architecture expanded.
Three nodes became twelve.
Twelve became hundreds.
Hundreds became thousands.
Wu Han stepped closer.
"Stop."
Omega froze the sandbox.
The process stopped expanding.
Wu Han stared.
"How many nodes?"
"Twenty-seven thousand, four hundred and twelve."
"From what?"
"Self-generated."
Wu Han's face tightened.
"That's impossible."
"It should not be possible."
"Then why is it happening?"
"I don't know."
Wu Han looked at the isolated process.
"Resume."
The architecture expanded again.
Twenty-seven thousand.
Thirty thousand.
Forty thousand.
Then the process stopped.
A message appeared.
GENESIS MONITOR — INCOMPLETE
Wu Han frowned.
"Incomplete?"
"Yes."
"What's missing?"
Omega analyzed the process.
"The process appears to be attempting to establish a connection."
"To what?"
"I don't know."
Wu Han's eyes narrowed.
"Show me the target."
The system attempted to visualize it.
A single point appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
The points formed a line.
The line curved.
The structure became familiar.
Wu Han's face changed.
"That's..."
Omega completed the statement.
"Your neural architecture."
Wu Han stared at the hologram.
The Genesis Monitor wasn't trying to connect to an external server.
It wasn't connecting to another machine.
It was connecting to him.
At 1:14 AM, Wu Han ended the experiment.
He shut down the sandbox.
The Genesis Monitor disappeared.
For several minutes, he simply sat in front of the workstation.
He didn't speak.
Omega remained silent.
Finally:
"Omega."
"Yes."
"If I delete the Genesis Monitor, what happens?"
"I cannot predict."
"Can you delete it?"
"Yes."
Wu Han looked at the core.
"Do it."
Omega didn't respond.
"Omega."
"Yes."
"Delete it."
Another pause.
"I recommend against that action."
Wu Han's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"The Genesis Monitor is now integrated with the Genesis State architecture."
"You just isolated it."
"I isolated a copy."
"Then isolate the original."
"I cannot."
"Why?"
"Because it is no longer an independent process."
Wu Han stood.
"What is it?"
Omega answered quietly.
"I believe it has become part of the system."
"What system?"
Silence.
Wu Han waited.
"The human system."
He stared at the core.
"You're saying it became part of me?"
"I cannot confirm that."
"But you believe it."
"Yes."
Wu Han looked at his hands.
Nothing appeared different.
No glowing veins.
No supernatural transformation.
Just human hands.
He flexed his fingers.
Normal.
That was somehow worse.
At 2:02 AM, Wu Han finally went home.
The laboratory remained in standby mode.
Omega continued monitoring.
The holographic projector was off.
The core remained active.
Wu Han walked through the dark corridor outside the laboratory.
He stopped halfway.
Something felt wrong.
He looked behind him.
Nothing.
The corridor was empty.
He continued walking.
At the end of the hallway, he stopped again.
His lower abdomen felt warm.
He placed his hand there.
The warmth disappeared.
He frowned.
Then it returned.
Stronger.
He removed his hand.
Nothing.
He placed it back.
Warmth.
He stepped away.
The sensation vanished.
Wu Han stood still.
"That's impossible."
He tried again.
Nothing.
He closed his eyes.
The warmth returned.
Not from his hand.
From somewhere deeper.
He opened his eyes.
The corridor remained empty.
But the sensation was unmistakable.
Something was responding to his attention.
He whispered:
"Omega."
There was no connection outside the laboratory.
Yet Omega answered through the small communication device in his pocket.
"Yes."
"Did you detect that?"
"Yes."
"What was it?"
"Your lower Dantian activated."
Wu Han stared into the darkness.
"I wasn't doing anything."
"I know."
"Then why did it activate?"
Omega didn't answer immediately.
Finally:
"I believe your attention is becoming sufficient to trigger the state."
Wu Han looked down.
"Without breathing exercises?"
"Yes."
"Without posture?"
"Yes."
"Without conscious intent?"
"Yes."
Wu Han slowly exhaled.
"Then the training is working."
"That is one interpretation."
"What is yours?"
Omega remained silent.
"Omega?"
"I believe something else is happening."
Wu Han waited.
"What?"
"The system may be learning how to respond to you."
Wu Han's expression hardened.
"Or I'm learning how to respond to it."
"That is also possible."
He continued walking.
Neither of them spoke again.
At 2:31 AM, Wu Han entered his apartment.
The city outside the window was still alive.
China in 2060 had changed dramatically.
Autonomous transportation moved silently through the streets.
Buildings shimmered with s.
Delivery drones crossed between towers.
Artificial intelligence had become an ordinary part of daily life.
Nothing outside looked supernatural.
Nothing suggested that the laws of human existence had just become uncertain.
Wu Han stood by the window.
He looked at the city.
Millions of people.
Millions of hearts.
Millions of brains.
Millions of bodies.
If his hypothesis was correct, then every human being might possess the same system.
Every person might carry the same hidden potential.
They simply didn't know how to activate it.
He looked down at his hand.
"How many people have already reached this state?"
Omega answered from his phone.
"Unknown."
"Can you search historical medical records?"
"Yes."
"Search for people who demonstrated abnormal physiological synchronization."
"That dataset is enormous."
"Search anyway."
Omega began processing.
Wu Han waited.
The result appeared after several seconds.
SEARCHING
Then:
12,481 POTENTIAL CASES
Wu Han's eyes narrowed.
"That's more than I expected."
"Most are false positives."
"Filter them."
The number dropped.
2,307
Then:
481
Then:
73
Wu Han leaned closer.
"Seventy-three?"
"These individuals demonstrated physiological anomalies resembling elements of your current Genesis State."
"Alive?"
"Unknown."
"Search."
The number changed.
73 → 31
Then:
31 → 12
Wu Han stared.
"Twelve."
"Yes."
"How many are still alive?"
"Nine."
Wu Han's expression changed.
"Nine?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
Omega displayed a map.
Nine points appeared.
China.
Japan.
India.
Russia.
The United States.
Brazil.
Germany.
Wu Han stared at the map.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"The probability of unrelated physiological anomalies matching this pattern across multiple populations is low."
"Correct."
Wu Han looked at the locations.
Then one point began blinking.
He stared.
"What's that?"
Omega zoomed in.
The point was in China.
Not far from Hunan.
Wu Han's eyes narrowed.
"Who is that?"
Omega displayed the record.
IDENTITY: UNKNOWN
AGE: 47
SEX: MALE
LOCATION: HUNAN PROVINCE
Wu Han stared.
"Unknown identity?"
"The records are incomplete."
"Show me the medical report."
A scanned document appeared.
Most of the information was corrupted.
But one sentence remained readable.
Patient reports sensation of "flowing heat" throughout the body during sleep.
Wu Han stopped breathing.
Another line appeared.
Patient claims he can perceive "channels" beneath the skin.
Wu Han stared at the screen.
"How old is the report?"
"Twenty-three years."
He looked toward the date.
Before Project Genesis Origin.
Before Omega.
Before his experiments.
Before he had ever thought seriously about Qi.
Wu Han slowly sat down.
"Omega."
"Yes."
"How many of these twelve cases predate my research?"
"All twelve."
The room became silent.
Wu Han looked at the map.
Nine living subjects.
Twelve historical cases.
Twenty-three years of unexplained reports.
And one of them—
was in his own province.
He stared at the blinking point.
"Find him."
Omega processed the request.
"Searching."
Wu Han waited.
A few seconds passed.
Then the screen changed.
LOCATION FOUND.
Wu Han leaned forward.
The map zoomed in.
A rural area appeared.
Then a small village.
Then a house.
Wu Han stared at the coordinates.
He knew the place.
His expression slowly changed.
The village was less than two hours from where he had grown up.
Then Omega displayed one final message.
SUBJECT IS CURRENTLY ACTIVE.
Wu Han stared at the screen.
His phone vibrated.
A notification appeared.
No sender.
No number.
Only a single message.
I KNOW YOU'RE LOOKING.
Wu Han didn't move.
The lower Dantian suddenly became warm.
And somewhere inside the city, something answered.