Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 242 | A Lesson in Weakness | Novela.app

Lei Ting thought. But soon, his thoughts shifted again as that simulated, dim sensibility of his surged beneath the suppression of ‘Immovability.’ He began to employ a touch more of that simulated emotion and humanistic concern in his reflections. Consequently, he immediately realized that such a comparison was unfair to Kang Li. Much like that ‘playtime’ just now... The people being compared to Kang Li were the former top combat power of the Human Federation and the current top combat power of the Galaxy. Looking at it that way, he had indeed been a bit excessive. *I should be a good father,* Lei Ting thought. *Like the one I never fully had in my childhood, but always fantasized about possessing.* Even if the starry sky was inherently unjust, there was no need for this truth to be conveyed through the awe, harm, and excessive stimulation he imposed. There were better ways to make the boy stronger, or to allow him to become the person he wanted to be without enduring excessive agony. Compared to pure, cold, objective judgment, these thoughts leaned more toward those of a sentient being filled with emotion. But... He didn't know how. Lei Ting stared at the cold gold liquid in his cup, momentarily lost. He began to realize this was an unprecedented blind spot—a multifaceted domain that neither his sensibility nor his rationality, neither his experience nor his knowledge, had ever touched upon. He had no memories of his own ‘father,’ nor had he ever truly been a normal child. The only person in this world who had ever cherished him as a child also had His own ulterior motives; now, He was dead, transformed into a golden field of wheat—an eternal companion, an eternal departure. However, he knew that if he were a good father, or at least slightly less loathsome to the boy... ...His child wouldn't still be harboring such immense rage, nor would he be constantly referring to him as ‘that bastard surnamed Lei’ in that end-to-end private chat channel. Lei Ting felt no ripple of emotion regarding this and instantly formulated a solution in his mind: *Apologize, then change the subject.* “I’m sorry.” He gave Kang Li a steady nod, his expression carrying a sincere apology. That apology was in no way faked, for it was born directly from his sensibility. Kang Li froze. “You did well. Three seconds is already quite good,” Lei Ting added. These words were also entirely true. In terms of conventional human-sized martial arts alone, he currently held the top seat in the Galaxy— “...Son, you have a bright future,” Lei Ting said with a serious face. Kang Li stared back at Lei Ting in silence... ...And his expression gradually contorted. He whipped his head away in indignation, refusing to communicate further. Lei Ting blinked in confusion, realizing once again that his words didn't seem to sit well with Kang Li. But he couldn't spare any more mental energy to ponder the answer to this problem. At this moment, his unmanned fleets were spread throughout the entire Galaxy. While operating them, he also had to distract himself by adjusting the observation systems of various surrounding civilizations, striving to provide the maximum cover for those fleets—which were essentially funnels—with the minimum amount of modification. But at the same time... Even though the service drones had come by several times, Lei Ting could guarantee that within the entire system of this establishment, there was absolutely no record of consumption for the three people at this table. He only needed to make a few light, remote adjustments to scatter these expenses across the accounts of others; the revenue wouldn't be off by a single cent. No one would check. The Orionids wouldn't check themselves, and outsiders wouldn't dare check the Orionids. As for the reason, everyone knew. Lei Ting let out a soft sigh. He waved toward the distant street corner several hundred meters away. Kang Li turned his head following the gesture. His brow and the corner of his mouth twitched suddenly, as if he desperately wanted to warn those people not to come over... but he quickly controlled his emotional reaction, and his face calmed. At this moment, anyone who saw him would likely marvel at his striking resemblance to Lei Ting. A short while later, several people from the crowd watching outside walked in. They approached cautiously, appearing confused for a moment because they didn't feel the pressure of a death threat, yet their negative perception of Lei Ting didn't diminish in the slightest. When they drew near, Lei Ting kept his eyes fixed on Kang Li, calmly gesturing with an open hand toward the seats where he had sat earlier. “Sit.” Under Morgan’s look of utter resignation, the group stood or sat, fraught with tension. Kang Li remained expressionless, but the abnormal diffusion of mental energy caused by his intense emotional reactions still allowed Lei Ting to easily discern his feelings. Thus, Lei Ting realized that these people must have treated Kang Li very well over the years... And the vast majority of them had no idea of Kang Li’s true identity. During these years, they had truly treated him as a child worth nurturing, a junior worth anticipating, and a warrior worth trusting. This made the current situation even more complicated to handle. Lei Ting didn't rush to discuss business with anyone. Instead, he said to Kang Li, “You shouldn't be nervous. Because you cannot change the status quo.” “?” Kang Li clenched his fists and glared over sharply. “I am stronger than you, stronger than all of you combined. If I wished it, you would all die here. Whether you leave behind intact corpses depends primarily on my mood.” Lei Ting spoke without expression, stating a cruel fact. “In the face of such a situation, what you need is not nervousness, nor a blind display of hostility. Without powerful strength to back it up, that will likely make you appear fierce of visage but weak within, strong on the outside but hollow inside. “Therefore, you need to show weakness to the enemy, lull their vigilance, probe them, and build a psychological model of their personality in your mind to find weaknesses and wait for an opportunity to strike back. “In this process, you must learn to control your mental energy. You are an A-rank esper—at least for now—which makes your mental energy easier to project than that of lower-tier espers. If you cannot control it well, sooner or later, you will cause trauma to yourself or others that is sufficient to destabilize everything.” Kang Li pursed his lips and didn't answer. Under the lights, his gaze flickered for a moment. After a few breaths, he actually did slowly retract his projected mental energy. “Good.” Lei Ting’s evaluation of his learning ability went up a notch. “Now, recall the mental energy fluctuations from when your mindset was weak and prone to openings. Adjust your mental energy signature to simulate it, and mimic that state through body language and facial expressions.” After another few breaths, the surrounding people were surprised to find that Kang Li’s entire persona had transformed into... something that had absolutely nothing to do with being tough. He now looked fragile and helpless, his body devoid of strength. He leaned back into his seat with his head lowered, picking at his fingers, radiating an indescribable sense of loneliness and world-weariness. “It seems you’ve been through a lot over the years,” Lei Ting said suddenly. His words remained flat, but anyone with eyes could see that he had successfully pinpointed the ‘low point’ of Kang Li’s psychological baseline. “You need psychological counseling,” he stated the fact plainly. “Being righteous, kind, caring for others, and knowing how to be flexible—these are good things. But you severely lack companionship and deep psychological communication.” “...” Kang Li took a deep breath, still maintaining that seemingly fragile appearance. He lowered his head and murmured, “Perhaps... can you be that counselor?” “You could think of it that way.” Lei Ting’s voice was low and cold. “If you have the need, I can indeed serve as your psychiatrist.” Lei Ting naturally perceived the fleeting thoughts of the crowd, but he didn't react. He knew their thoughts were correct. Even though he had once been the ‘Big Brother’ most suited to be a confidant among them all. In the brief silence, Lei Ting squeezed his firm, powerful arm through his clothes under the table. That arm, encased in armor, was completely sealed beneath metal, but he knew very well that its surface had begun to turn into a pitch-black, tough, hardened substance with metallic properties, wreathed in faint black mist. *It’s not far off,* he thought. *I don't have much time left to waste on conversations like this.* He ended the conversation with Kang Li calmly and abruptly, even though it looked like it shouldn't have ended there. “No need to try and repair your communication system; it isn't broken,” he said. “It just isn't working for you anymore. But rest assured, after the talk is over, I will return control of it.” In the back of the crowd, ‘Tita’ sheepishly lowered her hand. She wasn't quite sure if her actions over the years had been discovered by the man in front of her, so she hadn't dared to sit directly near Lei Ting... but even so, he had noticed her. The next moment, her expression froze on her face. Along with everyone else’s. “In the underlying data of almost every artificial intelligence in the Galaxy, there is something hidden. Something very dangerous,” Lei Ting said. “To speak frankly, if this problem cannot be solved, the average technological level of the Galaxy will inevitably regress by more than eight hundred years.” Morgan snapped his head up, looking at Lei Ting with utter horror. He didn't doubt whether this was a lie, because Lei Ting had no need to tell such a lie to anyone... ...Then the problem was truly massive. Morgan slowly shifted his gaze back, his expression incredibly solemn as he met Lei Ting’s eyes. At this moment, he thought of many things. And most of them revolved around a core issue: the heavy reliance of the Galaxy’s major civilizations on artificial intelligence.