152: A new phase of training and attempts at "active resonance"

The warm and fulfilling time during the holiday acted like a complete "soft reboot" for the body and mind of Excellence. After returning to the daily routine, Su Mu, Evelyn, and Excellence himself could all clearly feel a positive internal change. The lingering shadows of terror left by the previous "Abyssal Resonance" attack had been largely diluted and replaced by the warm memories of the holiday. The mindset of Excellence had become more peaceful and stable, the rosy glow that should belong to a youth had returned to his face, and his eyes held much less anxiety, replaced by a touch of calmness and anticipation. This internal stability provided a crucial psychological foundation for the further development of his abilities.

Evelyn keenly captured this favorable shift. Under the overall framework of the preliminary research for the "bridge" project, she decided to push the training of Excellence into a new stage that was more proactive and constructive. Previous training had focused mainly on the "input" side of his abilities—that is, how to more clearly and controllably engage in "Perception" of external information, and "express" it through methods like "Resonance Mapping". This was more like polishing the intonation and sensitivity of a precision instrument.

Now, Evelyn began to guide him in attempting to touch the "output" side of his abilities—that is, exploring preliminary "Active Resonance" and "weak intervention". The goal was to let Excellence learn how to use his unique consciousness to extremely slightly and safely "touch" or "influence" some simple target systems and observe their reactions. The significance of this shift was extraordinary; it meant a transition from an observer to a slight participant. Evelyn had a vivid metaphor for this: it was akin to teaching a gifted child how to carefully control their newly budding power, to gently touch a butterfly's wings and feel their subtle vibrations, rather than accidentally crushing them due to improper control. Every step had to be taken with extreme caution to ensure safety and harmlessness.

To make this dangerous exploration process as safe as possible, Evelyn put a lot of thought into choosing the training subjects. They had to meet several stringent conditions: absolutely harmless, intuitive reactions, easy to quantify, and would not cause any adverse consequences even if things went out of control.

Eventually, she locked onto two types of targets:

"lcl cluster" (slime mold protoplasm mass): This was a single-celled biological community with a simple structure and a somewhat predictable behavioral pattern. It would move in the form of protoplasmic streaming in a petri dish, responding to extremely weak chemical gradients, electric fields, or possible changes in information fields in the environment. Its movement direction, speed, and degree of aggregation could be precisely tracked by high-definition cameras and image analysis software.

Fundamental photoelectric effect device: A set of specially modified phototube experimental equipment. Photons irradiating the photocathode generated photoelectrons, forming a tiny current. This equipment was exceptionally sensitive to electromagnetic fields, especially the extremely weak field changes that might be generated by conscious activity, and current changes could be measured with picoampere-level precision.

For this, Evelyn specifically designed a double-isolated petri dish system and a highly shielded signal acquisition environment, ensuring that any external interference was minimized, thereby allowing any observed tiny changes to be more reliably attributed to the "active intervention" attempts of Excellence.

The training took place in the newly arranged bio-physics interdisciplinary laboratory, filled with various precision instruments. The process was far more difficult than imagined, placing extremely high demands on the concentration, patience, and control of Excellence.

"Dialogue" with the "lcl cluster": Excellence sat outside the special isolation chamber, gazing through thick glass at the small, slowly wriggling yellow slime mold in the petri dish. Evelyn's requirement was to try to guide it to move to the left side of the petri dish by concentrating his attention and adjusting his breathing and emotions.

The result was often that Excellence would exert all his strength, his little face turning red, brows tightly locked, and fists clenched unconsciously, as if pushing a great mountain with his mind. However, the slime mold in the petri dish continued to go its own way, extending randomly at its own pace, completely unresponsive to his "mental commands". Sometimes, it even moved in the opposite direction, making Excellence feel incomparably frustrated.

"Game" with the photocurrent: Another task was to try to make the current output by the phototube stably increase by an extremely tiny amount (e.g., 0.1 microamperes) through a simple EEG amplitude control interface (not reading thoughts precisely, but monitoring the intensity of the brain electrical signals corresponding to his focus).

The fluctuating current readings on the screen seemed to be deliberately working against him. When he tried hard to concentrate, the readings might show no change, or jump around wildly like a startled rabbit, completely out of control. Long periods of failure caused Excellence to develop strong self-doubt.

"Why? Why won't they listen to me?" During a training break, Excellence slumped in his chair in annoyance, his voice filled with frustration and grievance. "I feel like I've been trying so hard to 'think' at them! But they are just like... like they're deaf! Am I just incapable of doing this? Like a fool chanting spells at a rock!"

Evelyn did not blame him but pulled a chair over to sit beside him, helping him analyze the cause in calm and clear language. Her explanations always pointed straight to the core: "Excellence, the problem may not lie in the magnitude of the 'force', but in the form of the 'force'. The 'commands' you are sending now are like a gust of chaotic wind, with uncertain direction and uneven strength, blowing across a lake; it can only stir up disorganized ripples and cannot push a boat in a specific direction. What you need to learn is how to converge your consciousness into a very thin, very stable, and energy-concentrated 'laser'. It's not about using brute force, but about precision and stability."

Su Mu's encouragement was more emotional and grounded in everyday life. She handed Excellence some warm water and said in a relaxed tone, "Hey, don't be discouraged! Think about when you first learned to use chopsticks to pick up food; didn't you feel like those two little sticks wouldn't listen to you at all, and you couldn't pick up the beans no matter what? And now? Isn't it easy and natural? Everything requires a process of practice! You've just gotten your 'mental chopsticks' in your hands; keep practicing, and you'll definitely be able to do it!"

Under Evelyn's scientific guidance and Su Mu's emotional support, Excellence gradually settled down and began to reflect on and adjust his methods. He no longer just blindly "exerted force" but paid more attention to inner calm and the focusing of his consciousness. He applied the meditation techniques Evelyn taught him, first letting his breathing become long and even, and his mind calm like a still pool. Then, he tried not to "shout" at the entire target but focused all his attention like a spotlight on an extremely tiny point—such as a specific cellular pseudopod at the forefront of the slime mold colony, or imagined his consciousness as an invisible and extremely thin probe, gently "touching" the cathode of the phototube.

This was a dull process that required great patience, accompanied by countless failures. But Excellence displayed the resilient side of his character.

Finally, during an afternoon training session, a turning point appeared. When Excellence entered that state of high focus and no distracting thoughts again, a miracle happened:

On the high-definition monitoring screen, the "lcl cluster" that was originally moving randomly showed a visible and sustained deflection in its forward direction, slowly but clearly moving a distance toward the left area that Excellence "hoped" it would go! The backend data of the image analysis software also confirmed that this deviation was statistically significant, ruling out the possibility of random fluctuation.

Almost simultaneously, on the reading screen of the photoelectric effect device nearby, the originally restless current value steadily rose by a step and maintained it for several seconds; the fluctuation amplitude significantly decreased, forming a clear plateau!

It was a success!

Although this influence was so weak that it could be completely ignored at a practical level—the slime mold only changed its path slightly, and the current only increased a tiny bit—for Excellence, this was a milestone and soul-shaking breakthrough!

He was stunned at first, staring tightly at the screen, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Immediately, immense joy erupted like a volcano! "Wow! It worked! They understood! They really understood!" He excitedly jumped up from his chair, rushed over like a little cannonball, hugged Su Mu, spun her around happily several times, and then turned to Evelyn, incoherent with excitement, just grinning foolishly, his eyes shining with unprecedented achievement and confidence!

At this moment, he was not just happy for the "success", but ecstatic for verifying that he possessed a previously unknown "output" ability. He was no longer just a passive receiver; he could use his own will to conduct an extremely weak but real "dialogue" and "interaction" with the outside world!

Profound Significance and Cautious Outlook.

This success marked the entry of the ability application of Excellence into a brand-new dimension. He was no longer just a simple information receiver and converter but had initially acquired an extremely weak but indeed existing "active output" and "directional interaction" ability. This laid the initial and most crucial proof-of-concept foundation for future possible and more complex "bridge" application visions—for example, non-invasive state fine-tuning or early warning for complex systems. Although this foundation was still so immature and weak, like a candle in the wind, it proved the existence of the path.

Evelyn carefully recorded all the data, including the EEG patterns, physiological parameters, and environmental conditions before and after the success. Her heart was filled with relief and pride, but even more so with an increasingly heavy sense of responsibility and a cautious attitude. Every advancement in ability was like opening a new door; behind the door could be treasure, or it could be unknown risks. She knew deeply that the more this was the case, the more she needed to be as cautious as walking on thin ice and have an unswerving ethical bottom line. She had to be like a gardener guarding a seedling, both providing sunlight and rain to help it grow, and constantly vigilant against wind and rain, ensuring that this weak but infinitely hopeful spark could burn and grow healthily within safe boundaries.

A new chapter had already begun, and the road of growth remained long and full of challenges. But with the encouragement of this success, Excellence would continue to explore the boundaries and mysteries of his own abilities with a firmer pace, under the protection of Evelyn and Su Mu.