Chapter 405: The Seven Steps of Transformation

When studying, you must focus.

Regardless of whether an increasing number of Death Flowers surround you or of what’s happening in this wasteland.

Because that is the attitude toward learning.

Of course, mostly because Mom is watching.

……

“So, this time, the main point of studying is to find your position on the steps?”

Lu Xin thought to himself.

No wonder Mom seemed less enthusiastic this time—it turns out she considered this learning opportunity too rare.

During the third family meeting, he had already decided to take a journey along the steps.

Of course, he had indeed worked hard on it…

He had reviewed the Seven Steps Theory countless times. Isn’t that a pretty good attitude?

But Mom felt it wasn’t enough and kept pushing him to learn more…

…It almost felt like being forced to do homework under constant surveillance.

……

He glanced at Mom, catching only her gentle, exquisite smile.

Now, Lu Xin could see that the Death Flowers surrounding Mom and her ethereal singing seemed to belong to another world—a sudden, unbearable pain that had inexplicably vanished and receded from him…

So, he might as well take a look…

He took out his communicator, found a round stone, cleaned it, and sat down.

After meeting with Dr. An from the Research Institute, Lu Xin learned about the existence of the Seven Steps Theory.

Since then, whenever he had a spare moment, he began searching for materials on the theory.

But this Steps Theory isn’t as simple as categorizing mental alterations by abcd levels or ranking them by psychic power; it relates to the thirteen mental entities, seven different mutation directions, and depends on the abilities’ stability and development—a complex new mental framework.

Previously, when he checked this system with Doll, it always put him to sleep.

Now, in this setting, at least he couldn’t fall asleep…

……

Opening the database, Lu Xin searched for “Seven Steps” and once again a slew of files and materials popped up.

He clicked on the first file, or rather, the overview, and continued reading from where he left off:

From the first to the seventh step, according to this theory, they are the steps to divinity.

A person who climbs all seven steps reaches the top of the pyramid and becomes a god.

Lu Xin couldn’t grasp the complex arguments in the theory; he skimmed through the parts he could understand, starting with the simplest angle to see what changes each step represented for an Ability User.

According to the theory, every step has its own manifestations.

The first step is the mutation of the mind.

Ordinary people, when affected, undergo a mental transformation that typically displays two characteristics:

First, an increase in psychic power, and second, the emergence of a particular mental trait.

That trait becomes their core power.

And with that trait, ordinary people take the first step, becoming Ability Users with mental alteration.

The first stage is represented as a triangle with three decisive factors.

First, the trait; second, the level of psychic power; and third, stability.

Psychic power determines how well the trait can manifest, the trait affects the user’s stability, and stability, in turn, determines the degree of ability development.

Ability Users in the first stage might vary between levels D and A.

Among different ability types, there can be stark disparities due to these levels.

But in theory, they are equal.

The differentiation from D to A is merely how ordinary people perceive them.

Ordinary people have a superficial understanding of mental alteration, so they only care about who can beat whom and who has greater destructive power.

S-rank, however, isn’t in this category.

Because S-rank represents the unsolvable—another level, described as ‘unknown.’

Anything beyond the ordinary human understanding falls into S-rank.

……

Lu Xin noticed that within the explanation of the first stage, several documents were cited.

One red-marked link led to an article speculating on ability types.

It mentioned that after the Red Moon incident, various mental alteration cases emerged. People quickly reacted and started categorizing the abilities of the altered, and dozens of different ability types had been recorded.

But this record is far from complete.

Because no one knows if there are other abilities under the Red Moon that haven’t been documented or even witnessed.

Relying solely on records to determine how many kinds of abilities exist in the world would take an eternity.

Yet, theoretically speaking, one can deduce a hypothesis.

All abilities likely originate from the thirteen special mental entities.

Each of these thirteen mental entities can affect people in seven different ways.

These seven effects are the seven inherent human flaws.

From shallow to deep: perception, emotion, cognition, instinct, memory, and self.

……

Each mental entity affecting a different flaw constitutes an ability.

Thus, in theory, there should be 91 abilities in existence.

These 91 abilities form the first layer of the Steps Theory.

They are the foundation of the pyramid.

……

The second layer of the Steps Theory reflects an Ability User’s stability and their ability to enhance their powers.

Now, all the major Water Buffalo Cities have methods to externally boost an Ability User’s psychic power.

However, these boosts often cause those who were stable at the first step to lose control or deepen the negative effects. So, an Ability User’s stability becomes one of their greatest advantages when entering the second step.

Take Gecko, for example—his stability made him a favorite target among many researchers, who were eager to study him.

The hallmark of the second step is the extension of abilities.

A prime example is the Spider-type. At the first step, a Spider-type can only affect themselves.

But at the second step, a Spider-type can influence others.

Lu Xin readily accepted this theory because he had a clear comparison.

Long ago, he noticed that his Sister’s Spider-type ability differed from Gecko’s.

Gecko had developed his ability well—his agility was nearly superior to his Sister’s—but he could only distort and fully control his own body. In contrast, his Sister not only controlled herself but could also manipulate others by touch.

That is the key difference between a Spider-type Ability User at the first and second stages.

Other ability types might differ from the Spider-type.

But once they reach the second stage, some form of extension will certainly appear.

Lu Xin’s biggest hypothesis centered on two individuals: Xia Chong and Chen Jing.

Xia Chong’s first stage might only involve entering the abyss through a contract.

But at the second stage, he could lead others in and out of the abyss.

Chen Jing’s first stage might just be about face-to-face hypnosis of her opponent; at the second stage, she could extend her ability by using the body of the one she hypnotized to intermittently affect other individuals, rapidly expanding her influence.

Back in Water Buffalo City, she had once demonstrated a similar ability.

That was indeed a manifestation of the second stage.

It was only because Lu Xin wasn’t familiar with the Steps Theory before that he couldn’t notice the subtle differences.

……

Continuing his reading, Lu Xin encountered the explanation for the third step.

Unlike the first two steps, the first two were supported by numerous materials and had many researchers expressing findings with experimental data.

But the third step was supported by few documents, mostly speculative with no concrete cases.

Or rather, any related cases and documents were already classified as top secret.

Even the Research Institute wouldn’t casually allow such information in the communicator’s database for public browsing.

In short, the presentation of the third step made Lu Xin pause in thought:

Each step intensifies one’s original ability and expands new powers.

And the keyword for the third step has only one word:

Mental Plague!

……

A phenomenon where one’s ability spreads limitlessly, no longer restrained by psychic power, wreaking havoc like an uncontrollable epidemic.

Before seeing these four words, Lu Xin had been in a daze, struggling to grasp the essence of the third step.

But those four words suddenly imprinted themselves in his mind.

He suddenly understood the principle behind that confrontation in Water Buffalo City with the ‘God’ created by Black Table.

At that moment, he had simply relied on instinct to kill that ‘God.’

He never really understood any theory at the time.

Yet the Seven Steps Theory immediately explained why he was able to kill that ‘God.’

……

That ‘God’ was undoubtedly one with the Mental Plague ability.

It could disperse its mental power limitlessly, contaminating nearly everyone.

Ordinary Ability Users couldn’t do that, as their psychic power was limited.

But that ‘God’ had broken through that limit.

Its influence on the surrounding people wasn’t merely about depleting its own psychic power—it was replenishing it through contamination. The more people it infected, the stronger its ability became.

And that was Black Table’s proudest achievement, wasn’t it?

They had created an organism with infinite, controllable psychic power.

Whether it was controllable remained uncertain, but achieving infinite psychic power seemed real…

Imagine if, back then, he hadn’t used his Father’s ability to cover the contamination of that ‘God’ and severed it—allowing it to infect one hundred thousand drifters in Water Buffalo City. Its psychic power might have reached unimaginable levels.

Lu Xin shuddered silently, thinking, “That’s terrifying.”

……

Meanwhile, Lu Xin realized another problem regarding the trait of boosting psychic power through contamination.

No matter how one looked at it, it bore a striking resemblance to a Pollution Source.

Could it be that the higher one climbs on the steps, the more one’s characteristics mimic those of a Pollution Source?

If the hallmark of the third stage is Mental Plague,

then what does Doll belong to?

She too seems to have nearly infinite mental power—the essence of the third stage.

But therein lies the complexity of the Seven Steps Theory.

Although Doll exhibits traits of the third stage, she lacks one fundamental element of the first stage: stability.

She seems caught between the third and the first stages.

Similarly, consider the Queen of Happy Town and other S-rank Forbidden Zone creatures. They can create an entire Forbidden Zone, with detectable psychic power so immense it’s terrifying. Does that mean they, too, have the ability to spread their influence limitlessly? As soon as they so desire, their effect can effortlessly extend infinitely?

Then why has no Forbidden Zone ever shown such unrestrained expansion?

Is it because some factor limits them?

Lu Xin furrowed his brow and, after a long pause, looked up at Mom:

“So many people have the potential to reach the third stage, yet…”

“Why does the Research Institute appear so desperate?”

“……”

Seeing Lu Xin ask the question, Mom’s face lit up with a satisfied smile:

“Reaching it is one thing, but being able to come down from it is another…”

“Have you ever seen anyone who reached the third stage and still roamed around like an ordinary person?”

“……”

Lu Xin agreed with Mom. Just look at Doll, who still thinks of joining him for a stroll…

That’s clearly impossible!