178: A "sorting out" of abilities and an introduction to "energy linguistics"

After his birthday, along with the growth in age and the settling of post-war experiences, Excellence's inner heart underwent profound changes. The stage where he was satisfied with just using his abilities for "fun" exploration and "hand-crafted" creation seemed no longer enough to provide him with complete fulfillment. That tragic defensive battle, along with the terrifying experience of his own energy losing control and the deep sense of powerlessness during the fight, was like a sharp thorn driven deep into his young yet precocious soul. He no longer viewed this special ability as just a novel and interesting "toy" or "game," but began to examine it with a more serious, even somewhat reverent attitude. He longed to truly "understand" its internal laws, to "command" it like he commanded his own arm, and to transform it from an "uncontrollable force" that worked only sporadically and might even backfire, into a reliable "trustworthy tool" used to protect others and realize his wishes.

This internally driven, strong thirst for knowledge and desire for control prompted him to start "pestering" Evelyn. No longer was it the coquettish "let's play this together," but instead, with an unprecedented seriousness and persistence, he repeatedly requested more "advanced" and "systematic" ability training. His questions also began to shift from "Why does this light up?" to "How can I make it light up exactly the way I want every time?" and "Why did I succeed last time, but the same idea failed this time?" This shift clearly sent a signal to Su Mu and Evelyn: this child was actively and diligently trying to cross the threshold into a deeper exploration of the essence of abilities.

The Concept of "Energy Linguistics": A Scientific Framework and the Wisdom of Enlightenment

Evelyn keenly captured this change in Excellence and felt deeply gratified. She had been waiting for and guiding this moment to arrive. She realized that fragmented "play" driven purely by interest could no longer meet Excellence's current cognitive development needs, nor could it cope with the more complex challenges he might face in the future. It was time to build a more systematic and scientific learning framework for him, transforming those hazy Perceptions and experiences into "skills" that could be understood, practiced, and improved.

Drawing on the natural interest and preliminary understanding of the concept of "information transmission" that Excellence showed in the "coding" game, and combining her latest research reflections with a deep understanding of the "constant ripple" theory, she meticulously designed an introductory training course for him called "Energy Linguistics." The name itself was full of Evelyn-esque wisdom in reifying abstract concepts.

Its core idea was highly inspiring: it likened those invisible, intangible, and elusive energy fluctuations to a special "language." Just as humans use symbols like sounds and words, combined according to certain grammatical rules, to express thoughts and convey information, various changes in energy fields (frequency, amplitude, waveform, superposition patterns, etc.) could also be seen as the "letters," "words," and "sentences" of this special "language." The process of learning to control and use abilities was the process of learning this "Energy Language"—first, one must recognize the most basic "letters" (basic energy field characteristics), then learn to combine them into meaningful "words" (simple energy sequences), and finally, use "words" to form "sentences" that express complex intentions (energy operations that achieve specific effects).

Lesson One: Reading "Energy Letters"—Perceiving Basic "Textures"

The training took place in a quiet corner of Evelyn's laboratory that had undergone special shielding treatment. It was almost completely isolated from all external electromagnetic interference and noise, providing Excellence with the "purest" perceptual environment.

Evelyn did not let Excellence immediately start "emitting" energy; instead, she first had him play the roles of "receiver" and "identifier." She used a high-precision, programmable Signal Generator to carefully output several basic energy fields she had meticulously pre-designed, which were extremely stable, had distinct characteristics, and whose energy levels were strictly limited to a safe range. These energy fields were not aggressive but were more like a mild, continuous background "radiation" or "ambiance."

"Excellence, close your eyes, relax your whole body, and feel the surrounding environment as you usually do, but this time, try to ignore all other sensations and just focus on 'listening' to or 'touching' this special 'flavor' I've prepared for you in this space," Evelyn guided in a calm and clear voice.

The first energy field was activated: a wave with an extremely low frequency and almost constant amplitude, as steady and long-lasting as the deep sea.

"Feel it," Evelyn said softly. "Notice its 'rhythm'—is it fast or slow? Feel its 'power'—is it strong or weak? Experience the overall 'feeling' it brings you... Try to give it a name, anything you can think of."

Excellence furrowed his little brow, trying hard to concentrate. At first, he only felt that the surroundings were strangely "quiet," and he couldn't "feel" anything. But under Evelyn's patient guidance and repetition, he gradually captured a very subtle "sense of calm," as if he were beneath the surface of a peaceful lake. He tried hard to find a metaphor: "It's... it's like falling asleep at night, hearing nothing, but feeling very safe... Um... like a large piece of thick, soft cotton wrapping around me..."

Evelyn nodded approvingly. "Very good! This stable, peaceful field, we'll temporarily call it 'Field A.' Remember this feeling; it's one of the most basic 'letters'."

Next, Evelyn switched to Field B: an energy field with a slightly higher frequency and extremely subtle but perceptible periodic tremors.

"And now? How does it feel different?"

Excellence felt a slight, almost imperceptible "itch" on his skin, and for some reason, his heart felt a bit "suspended." "This... this seems a bit... um... like a tiny, tiny bug crawling gently on a heartbeat... a bit... a bit nervous?" he said uncertainly.

"Keen Perception!" Evelyn affirmed. "This field with unstable tremors, we call it 'Field B.' It represents a certain tone of 'tension' or 'activity'."

Then came the third type: an energy field with a higher frequency, characterized by gentle rotation or a spiraling forward motion.

"This one is fun!" Excellence's feeling was more obvious this time. "It's like... like warm water gently flowing over my fingers in circles... Um... a bit happy? Like... like spinning in gentle circles?"

"Excellent description!" Evelyn smiled as she recorded it. "This field with a sense of rotation and flow is 'Field C,' and it's often associated with 'pleasure' and 'vitality'."

The process of memorizing these abstract "Energy Letters" was far more tedious and difficult than Excellence had imagined. He would often confuse the "steadiness" of Field A with the "flow" of Field C, or mistake the "tremors" of Field B for noise generated by unstable equipment. Concentrating for long periods also made him feel dizzy and mentally exhausted. Sometimes, when Evelyn switched the energy field, he would be unable to distinguish the difference for a long time, scratching his head in frustration, his little face written with a sense of defeat, even starting to doubt if he was "too stupid."

Learning Through Play: Su Mu's Art of Being a "Cheerleader"

Whenever Excellence fell into frustration and self-doubt, Su Mu would "just happen" to appear. She was like "timely rain" arriving right on schedule, either carrying a plate of freshly cut fruit drizzled with honey or holding a wacky cartoon sleepmask, saying she wanted to compete with him in "Blind-Sensing Energy."

She never solemnly comforted him with "it's okay, take your time," but instead used her unique, energetic way to dissolve the tension. When Excellence successfully distinguished between Field A and Field B, Su Mu would cheer like she'd won the lottery, pick him up and spin him around, loudly praising: "Amazing! Our Excellence's 'Energy Antenna' is sharper than radar! The Class Monitor couldn't hear it at all!" When Excellence failed to distinguish them again and thumped the table in frustration, Su Mu would immediately mimic a nearby monitoring instrument, making a synthesized "Beep beep beep—signal lost, system crash, reboot required!" sound, accompanied by exaggerated stiff movements and eye-rolling expressions, which always coaxed Excellence into laughing through his tears, instantly forgetting his worries.

She also set up various "outlandish" milestone rewards: successfully identifying five consecutive basic fields earned him watching his favorite sci-fi animated movie together; accurately reproducing a simple sequence earned him a super pudding with a surprise-flavored filling specially made by the Master Chef. She cleverly packaged the arduous training into a "level-clearing game" full of challenges and surprises, letting Excellence reignite his fighting spirit amidst laughter and anticipation.

Progressive Challenges: From Constructing "Words" to "Sentences"

After Excellence gradually became able to stably identify and remember several basic "Energy Letters," Evelyn advanced the training to the "word" stage.

She began combining different basic fields in simple temporal sequences. For example, first presenting a steady Field A for 3 seconds, followed immediately by a brief (0.5 second) vibrating Field B. She let Excellence feel the overall change in sensation brought by this combined sequence.

"Notice, the calmness of Field A is broken, but the tension of Field B is very brief. The overall feeling is like... a small pebble being thrown into a calm lake, stirring up a ripple, but quickly returning to normal. This might represent a kind of 'calm attention' or 'brief alertness'," Evelyn explained.

Then, she had Excellence try to no longer just passively feel, but to actively use his mind to mimic and "reproduce" this simple "word." This difficulty spiked. Excellence needed to first clearly construct the "feelings" of Field A and Field B in his mind, then precisely control his energy output, maintaining a stable output for a period, then instantly switching to that weak vibration for a very short time, and finally returning to stability or stopping. His initial attempts were a disaster: chaotic timing—Field B popped up before Field A had stabilized; uncontrolled intensity—the vibration of Field B was so violent it felt like a small earthquake; clunky transitions—the switching process was as abrupt as gears jamming. Most attempts resulted in the connected energy sensors sounding false alarms, or the target device (like a levitating light point used for demonstration) having no reaction or even darting around wildly.

Evelyn remained extremely patient. She never criticized his failures, but like a patient language teacher, corrected his "pronunciation" and "intonation" over and over. "Rhythm, Excellence, pay attention to the rhythm. Field A should be as steady and long as a deep breath, and Field B should be as quick and light as a blink." She would place his messy waveform shown on the energy monitor side-by-side with the standard "word" waveform, pointing out the differences intuitively to help him build a more rational understanding. "Look, your 'A' fluctuates too much here, it's not flat enough. Your 'B' is too long; it doesn't sound like 'alertness,' it sounds like 'fright'." She repeatedly emphasized: "This isn't magic, Excellence. This is a skill, like learning to ride a bike; it requires repeated practice to form muscle memory (or 'energy memory'). Falling is normal; what's important is that after every fall, you know how to adjust your balance next time."

The Joy of Breakthrough: The First Successful "Dialogue"

After countless failures, adjustments, more failures, and more adjustments, quantitative change finally triggered a qualitative leap.

One afternoon, Evelyn set a small challenge: a mini safe with a simple structure but requiring a specific energy sequence as a "key" to open (containing Excellence's favorite gummy bears). The unlocking "password" was a simple "sentence" preset by Evelyn: a sustained Field C (Pleasure) -> a brief Field A (Calmness) -> a stronger Field C pulse (Confirmation).

Excellence took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried to block out all distractions. He first clearly reviewed the "linguistic feel" of that "sentence" in his mind: first a relaxed and pleasant sense of flow, then transitioning to a brief absolute calmness, and finally ending with a clear, powerful pulse of pleasure. He carefully mobilized his own energy, striving to control the stability and timing of the output.

Su Mu held her breath nervously. Evelyn stared intently at the waveform on the monitoring screen.

A sustained, soft Field C waveform lasted steadily for about 3 seconds... then, it smoothly transitioned into a nearly straight Field A, held for just the right 1 second... finally, a crisp Field C pulse triggered accurately!

With a crisp mechanical "click," the small door of the mini safe popped open! The colorful gummy bears inside were clearly visible!

Excellence snapped his eyes open, hardly able to believe he had succeeded! He froze for a second, then burst into earth-shattering cheers, jumping up from the ground, grabbing the box of candy, his face flushed with excitement as if he were holding an Olympic gold medal, hopping and skipping on the spot!

"I did it! Big Sister Evelyn! Class Monitor! It understood! It really understood! I 'said' 'Open Sesame' to it!" He was incoherent with excitement, waving the candy box and showing off his "feat" to Su Mu and Evelyn. Although this was just an extremely simple operation, still a hundred thousand miles away from a real "energy dialogue," it marked the first time he had consciously, according to established rules, successfully "expressed" a complete intention with energy and received the expected "response"! For him, it was a milestone breakthrough!

Evelyn looked at the nearly perfect waveform reproduction on the monitoring screen, her face showing a smile of immense relief and admiration. She stepped forward, gently patted Excellence on the shoulder, and said affirmatively: "See, Excellence, this is the power of 'Energy Language.' When you start to understand its vocabulary and master its grammar, you can interact with this world more clearly and effectively. You are no longer blindly groping in the dark, but engaging in purposeful communication. This is a very big step!"

Su Mu also rushed up, hugged him happily, and peeled a gummy bear to pop into his mouth: "Great job! Our little genius! We're having a special meal to celebrate tonight!"

The Road Ahead: A Lighthouse in the Mist

This successful experience greatly boosted Excellence's confidence. He truly felt the mist surrounding his ability being dissipated bit by bit by this scientific and systematic training method. Although the road ahead was still long and challenges would only become more complex, he seemed to see a clearly visible path of advancement paved with "Energy Letters." He was no longer afraid of failure, because every failure deepened his understanding of the next "word" or "sentence."

Evelyn looked at Excellence's reignited fighting spirit and his shining eyes, her heart also filled with hope. This "Energy Linguistics" training system, though still in its most primitive enlightenment stage, had already shown great potential. It not only provided Excellence with a methodology for controlling his ability but might also open a brand-new door for exploring the deep interaction between consciousness and energy in the future.

The growth of his ability had finally moved from spontaneous, emotional exploration to a stage of conscious, rational learning. Excellence, this child carrying infinite possibilities, was walking steadily along a path never before trodden by predecessors, one step at a time, toward a bright future of mastering his own power. And Su Mu and Evelyn would continue to accompany him as they always had, serving as his mentors and guardians, as well as his most steadfast companions.