Chapter 501: Sixth Sense and the Price of Knowledge

Seeing Yang Jin show up in a Level 3 Wilderness Protective Suit, Xia Qing couldn’t help but want to complain.

The Iron Rooster is ruthless to everyone else, but when it comes to himself, he’s downright generous. Ever since he got his hands on the Special Protective Suit, he hasn’t worn a Level 3 out in the wild even once.

Yang Jin had no clue about Xia Qing’s silent grumbling. He walked over briskly, eyes bright, and lowered his voice. “Rested up?”

Xia Qing nodded. “Captain Yang, do you think the mutant bear will come back?”

Yang Jin speculated, “Mutant animals have incredibly sharp magnetic and olfactory senses. They’ll instinctively avoid contaminated danger zones. Until all the hazards left behind by the poison gas bombs are gone, that mutant bear won’t be coming back here to look for food.”

Third Brother once said it would take at least half a year to fully eliminate the risks here caused by the poison gas bombs. Xia Qing felt a little more at ease and asked earnestly, “That magnetic sense you mentioned—is that an evolved ability too?”

Magnetic sense was a term Xia Qing had never heard before. But since Yang Jin had named it alongside familiar senses like smell, Xia Qing figured it was probably a type of evolved ability she’d just never come across.

“That’s right. Magnetic sense is a kind of evolved ability too. It was only officially named last month.” Yang Jin unlocked the iron gate with his key and ushered Xia Qing into the command room. “It’s basically a heightened sensitivity to changes in the environment. This ability allows animals to detect potential threats and take action to protect themselves, actively avoiding danger.”

Impressive!

Xia Qing seized the chance to ask, “Captain Yang, is magnetic sense something only high-level evolved animals have, or is it common to all animals?”

Yang Jin saw the hunger for knowledge shining in Xia Qing’s eyes and didn’t hold back in his explanation. “Honestly, we’re still not sure if all animals have it. For now, we know that most mammals do—including humans. The research is just getting started, so whether it’s part of Brain Evolution or a type of tactile sense, no one’s really decided. You can think of magnetic sense as what people mean by ‘sixth sense.’ In Buddhism, they call it ‘mind consciousness.’”

After taking off his protective mask, Yang Jin poured Xia Qing a cup of water and kept on explaining, “Before the catastrophe, researchers called it ‘extrasensory perception.’ That’s because this sense isn’t gained through the usual channels like sight, hearing, smell, taste or touch.”

Sixth sense? Xia Qing also removed her mask and gloves, took the cup of hot water in both hands, and asked, “After Blue Star’s evolution, are humans generally worse at magnetic sense compared to mutant animals?”

Yang Jin nodded. “That’s true. Humans are weaker in magnetic sense, and that has a lot to do with the kind of environment people live in.”

“Back in agrarian times, people depended on nature and coexisted with it. At that stage, human magnetic sense wasn’t all that different from animals. But when we entered the industrial age, we began clashing with nature and rampantly exploiting resources. Now, in the digital era, we’re mostly lost in worlds we created ourselves, drifting further from nature with each passing day.”

“Humans have huge brains and have step by step built up an environment that’s several times safer than what animals have. Most people spend their entire lives surrounded by safety, so their alertness has faded.” As he spoke, Yang Jin took out some Green Lantern Jerky from his backpack, placed it on the table and gestured for Xia Qing to try it instead of just drinking water.

“Thank you.” Xia Qing took a piece and pressed on. “Why call this ability magnetic sense instead of just alertness, extrasensory sense or mind sense?”

Yang Jin explained, “There’s still no widely accepted theory about exactly what the sixth sense or alertness really is. Psychologists believe alertness resides deep in our subconscious. Now, though, researchers have found that this sense is connected to magnetic field detection—so they named it magnetic sense. You can think of magnetic sense as the one kind of sixth sense or alertness that’s been proven to exist. As for other possible types, we’ll need more research to confirm them.”

“Magnetic field detection?”

Xia Qing tried to recall her old lessons from before the disaster—those faint memories of sitting in a bright, tidy physics lab as the magnetic needle rotated to follow different wires. That was a lifetime ago, and the world since then had turned upside down.

Yang Jin did his best to break it down simply. “Magnetic field detection means humans can sense magnetic fields and react to them. Magnetic fields are generated by magnets or electrical currents. Every living thing carries tiny bioelectric currents. For example, blinking produces around 5–6 millivolts of voltage, a heartbeat gives off 1–2 millivolts, and when you’re thinking, your brain creates 0.2–1 millivolts.”

“People with evolved magnetic sense can sharply pick up on changes in their surroundings, including the bioelectric magnetic fields given off by other people, animals and even plants—as well as the magnetic fields that come from electromagnets. Xu Pin from the Sufeng Squad likely had this kind of evolved ability.”

The reason to say ‘likely’ is because Xu Pin had already been blown to pieces. There was no way now to confirm whether he truly possessed magnetic sense.

Everything clicked into place for Xia Qing: so the reason she notices when plants act strangely is because their internal bio-magnetic fields have changed!

So both she and Yuan Yan are magnetic sense evolvers. Yuan Yan is a dual-attribute evolver, and Xia Qing herself possesses four attributes!

Trying hard to bottle her excitement, Xia Qing offered an honest, heartfelt compliment to her well-informed ally. “Captain Yang, you’re amazing. You remember every detail—down to every kind of bioelectric current the body generates.”

Yang Jin laughed, the corners of his eyes tilting up like a sly, handsome fox. “That’s because I’m a Brain Evolutionary.”

Pfft…

Where’s my Old Goat? Would someone get over here and show this fox how to act like a proper human?!

That cunning fox and Iron Rooster, Yang Jin, noticed how interested Xia Qing was in magnetic sense. He stood up, refilled her cup so she could keep warming her hands, and made an offer. “I have research material on this. Want a trade? But I warn you, it won’t come cheap.”

Pfft…

Xia Qing took a big swig from her cup, tamping down the urge to punch him, only to be surprised by the familiar taste of the water. “Wait—is this…?”

Pure Spring Water?!

Yang Jin nodded. “It’s not quite as good, but it’s drinkable. Just make do.”

He made his point clear: this wasn’t from her own territory’s spring.

If it wasn’t from Xia Qing’s territory, that meant Yang Jin must’ve hauled it from the Death Sea. Looks like he’d already locked down that Pure Spring for himself.

“You’re too modest, really. The water’s great.” Xia Qing took another sip and seriously started negotiating with the Iron Rooster. “I want to trade for all your research materials and any other knowledge you’re willing to share. Name an honest price.”

Xia Qing had been pulled into a brutal survival game at fifteen before she ever had a chance to study science deeply. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to learn—she just never had the opportunity. Now that things were a bit better, Xia Qing wanted to soak up as much knowledge as she could to improve her survival skills.

“Fifty pounds of walnuts.” Yang Jin was bold with his opening bid.

“Seventy.” Xia Qing not only didn’t haggle, she raised the offer by twenty pounds—but with conditions attached.

“Twenty pounds in exchange for your existing stash. The extra fifty pounds will buy any future knowledge or research you’re able to share. By the end of the year, we’ll have our own surface mobile communication base station installed, so we’ll finally have local network access. It’ll be a lot easier to send files than it is now. When you get new information you’re willing to swap, all you’ll need to do is hit send. How about it?”

She was sharp and quick, going straight for what mattered. Yang Jin grinned again and raised his tea cup. “So it’s a deal?”

“Deal.”

Xia Qing raised her cup and drained it in one go.