Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 619 - 263: Establishing Connection

Chapter 619: Chapter 263: Establishing Connection

"What’s going on?" Lu Xuanyu felt very strange. He seemed to have an invisible arm... or rather, a "Ghostly Arm" that was holding an "Invisible Ghostly Sphere."

If this were a fantasy novel, Lu Xuanyu might think he had awakened some supernatural power like the "Invisible Hand" or something like that.

But the place he was in was exactly the least fantasy-like place on Earth.

Lu Xuanyu looked at his own hands, puzzled. That "invisible hand" in his spatial perception should be superimposed on his normal hand, yet capable of performing different actions.

Emilia’s voice remained serious, "This is normal, Mr. Lu. Please try to describe your feelings."

"I feel like I have an extra hand... additional... I don’t know how to describe it. It’s as if the soul of my arm has left my body," Lu Xuanyu said, perplexed.

"The soul of the arm has left the body? Do you have a clear sense of where that arm is?"

"Arm? No, only the hand... no, that’s not right, this..." Lu Xuanyu hesitated for a moment, "It seems there is... I’m not sure."

"The movements of your actual hand and that ’extra hand’ are not consistent, right?"

"Yes."

"Could you briefly describe what you’re feeling now?"

Lu Xuanyu hesitated, "It’s awkward..."

"You can try to let go now."

Lu Xuanyu followed the instruction and slowly released the grip of his clenched fist. Initially, Lu Xuanyu felt the "other hand" still tightly holding onto the invisible object. However, as the span of the hand opening exceeded a certain limit, the "two hands" merged back into one.

Then, the object held by the "invisible hand" fell down.

Immediately after, a scrambled Rubik’s cube rolled out from the darkness and fell beside his chair.

Lu Xuanyu’s attention was suddenly captivated by the Rubik’s cube.

Then, the lights gradually brightened.

Chen Feng stood nearby, making an "upward pushing" gesture with both hands near his ears.

Lu Xuanyu took off his headphones, and Chen Feng began to applaud.

Behind him, a curtain slowly opened, revealing an unusual apparatus.

It consisted of two hands. Two arms attached to a metal support, the width of which was roughly the same as Lu Xuanyu’s shoulders.

The two hands appeared bewildered, held up in the air.

They mirrored Lu Xuanyu’s stance, almost like a reflection...

No, not quite. Although those two hands faced Lu Xuanyu, their orientation was not a mirror reflection.

Curious, Lu Xuanyu stretched out his left hand.

The left hand of the pair of mechanical hands also reached out.

Lu Xuanyu clenched his fist, released it, clenched his fist again.

The mechanical hand did the same.

Lu Xuanyu reached one hand forward while the other kept guard.

That pair of hands had made motions completely identical to his, assuming a very standard Martial Arts Stance.

"How does it feel to use the Prosthetic Body?" Chen Feng asked.

"Very... very magical?" Lu Xuanyu looked at his own arms, constantly rotating his wrists, "This..."

Chen Feng picked up the Rubik’s cube and placed it on the palm of one of the prosthetic hands.

Lu Xuanyu instinctively clenched it.

"How about now? Do you still feel that ’Invisible Ghostly Hand’ attached to your shoulder?"

"It’s really magical..." Lu Xuanyu said, "Suddenly, it felt like the sense of touch was coming from somewhere else. This hand didn’t seem attached to my shoulder anymore. But I do feel a bit... uncomfortable. Slightly nauseous."

"That happens often," Chen Feng nodded, "Your brain is receiving abnormal sensory signals, and there’s a huge conflict between your vision and your touch. In nature, this often means ’poisoning’. Your body is trying to induce vomiting to expel what might contain hallucinogenic toxins."

Lu Xuanyu asked, puzzled, "Is that also considered ’common’?"

"Every time our experiments cause this ’conflict between prosthetic and natural senses,’ there’s this reaction," Chen Feng looked rather regretful, "I personally believe that humans can adapt to all this. Once you overcome the initial discomfort, you can obtain even stronger senses. But most people are completely unwilling to face this challenge..."

Lu Xuanyu continued to move his arm, "It’s indeed quite uncomfortable, just like being seasick..."

"But whether it’s carsickness or seasickness, both can be overcome," Chen Feng continued, "You just need to ride frequently in cars, and anyone can overcome the troubles brought by motion sickness... Ah, do you need to disconnect from these hands now?"

Lu Xuanyu nodded, "Thank you."

Then, that pair of hands suddenly stiffened and stopped moving.

Lu Xuanyu felt as if he had suddenly lost connection with that pair of hands.

Lu Xuanyu turned to Chen Feng, "What I need more actually are legs... "

"This is part of the experiment," Chen Feng explained, "Do you remember we had you cover your eyes and imagine movements of your hands or feet?"

Lu Xuanyu nodded.

"Actually, at that stage, you had been connected to the prosthetic hands several times already, but back then we had turned off tactile feedback. One reason was to verify whether the movement signals we read could correctly map to the built-in Command set of the prosthetic limbs, and the other was to lay the groundwork for the next stage of the research."

Lu Xuanyu was stunned.

Chen Feng made a gesture, "Do you remember what we told you when we were discussing the protocol? For research and prosthetic calibration purposes, we might connect you to a prosthetic body without prior notification, just like this situation."

Lu Xuanyu complained, "Then I wish it were legs."

"This kind of ’connecting you to a prosthetic body without you knowing’ opportunity only happens once," Chen Feng explained, "Just during that very short moment earlier, you were connected to those hands without being aware of the existence of the prosthetic body. After that instant, we can no longer record such data. You would instantly realize, ’Oh, it’s the prosthetic body again.’ And human hands, being more complex and sensitive than feet, elicit a more prominent response in the brain."

Then, Chen Feng stepped back, revealing the machine behind him, "Moreover, we have also prepared legs for you."

It was a three-dimensional frame with some straps that could suspend Lu Xuanyu in the middle of the frame.

Below were a pair of legs.

Identical to those used by soldiers and firefighters.

With Chen Feng’s help, Lu Xuanyu was secured. Then, when the remote connection was established...

Lu Xuanyu didn’t remember much more. But he was sure, he had cried.