I Have A Super USB Drive

by <unknown>

  The poster and summary of the TV series Limitless instantly showed up on his search results.

  "In the conclusion of the movie, the main character, Eddie Morra, finds out how to counteract the side-effects of the drug. But since it wasn't shown in the movie, the flash drive isn't able to instantiate it.

  "However, three years later, the movie was readapted into a TV series. Due to the longer runtime, the TV series will need a more engaging story than the movie. Therefore, there's an eighty percent chance that the TV series will reveal the solution to counteracting the side-effects of NZT…"

  The idea flashed through Chen Chen's mind.

  For some reason, both the TV series and movie version of Limitless were blocked in Mainland China. Only a brief introduction of the series could be found on the official website. It was not possible to watch them.

  However, it was on the internet. After some further investigation, Chen Chen was able to find all episodes of the TV series on an inconspicuous niche website.

  Chen Chen skipped to the final episode and fast-forwarded it to the end of the episode.

  Sure enough, in the TV series Limitless, the solution to counteracting the side-effects of NZT-48 was revealed.

  It was something known as an "immunity shot."

  According to the TV series, there were two categories of "immunity shot". One of them rendered the user immune to the side-effects of NZT for several weeks. The other kind granted the user permanent immunity to the side-effects of NZT.

  There was only one permanent immunity shot in the world and it only made an appearance in the twenty-second episode, the grand finale.

  This meant that if Chen Chen was able to get his hands on this permanent version of the "immunity shot", he would be able to use NZT-48 to his heart's content without having to worry about side-effects.

  Chen Chen closed his phone and leaned back on the chair.

  Even though they were both parts of the Earth Federation, perhaps due to political reasons, Mainland China and North America had always been at odds with each other.

  The battle they were fighting was not necessarily a war but a competition of culture, information, technology, economics, and various other forms.

  Therefore, now and then there were TV series originating from North America that were not audited by Mainland China, which included the TV series Limitless.

  In Chen Chen's memory, he was just randomly browsing online when he came across news of Limitless being adapted into a film series. He was only fourteen-years-old at the time.

  He had only casually glanced past it at that time where this information was then buried into the mountain's load of information swarming on the internet.

  Furthermore, even if the TV series was a big hit in North America, he still would not have thought of it when he got the flash drive seven days ago.

  This was the effect of NZT-48…

  Within three minutes of taking the drug, he was able to pick up distant memories from four years ago to help him find the solution to combat the side-effects of NZT.

  He had taken the wrong approach in his very first step.

  Chen Chen reflected silently.

  Choosing NZT-48 was not the most optimal option, the best option would have been the Crystalline from Chronicles.

  Why say so?

  It was because researching the flash drive would require a great, great, great deal of funds.

  Even if the technology was unable to explain the existence of the flash drive, it would still be very worthwhile to solve the energy problem of the flash drive.

  As long as the flash drive had ample energy, the possibilities were endless.

  If Chen Chen had selected the superpower, he would have millions of ways to attain a large number of funds.

  However, NZT was different.

  NZT was just a drug used to stimulate the brain. Though its value was immeasurable, if Chen Chen really wanted to use NZT to make money, he would first have to accumulate enough knowledge, only then he could use that knowledge to help him make money.

  Suddenly, there was an additional step in the entire process.

  He did not need to even bother with the idea of using the stock market to make money. First of all, Chen Chen did not have the capital funds needed.

  Secondly, it usually took years for stock prices to fluctuate. If Chen Chen wanted to use the stock market, he would have to resort to high-risk maneuvers like chasing the peak, short-term speculation or taking loans.

  Furthermore, the stock market in China was manipulated by stockbrokers.

  Besides, the NZT-48 drugs were numbered.

  Chen Chen had calculated before that the sack contained exactly five hundred pills. Each pill lasted approximately twelve hours.

  Even if Chen Chen only took one pill per day, it would only sustain him for one and a half years.

  Not to mention the significant drawbacks of NZT-48.

  If the flash drive were to become unusable, Chen Chen would not be able to find other solutions for dealing with the side-effects of NZT-48. Things would certainly get interesting then…

  In conclusion, NZT-48 was not the best selection available.

  Since the choice had already been made, there was no point regretting now.

  Chen Chen continued thinking while heading toward the door.

  At this point, Chen Chen had verified that the NZT was not lethal hence, there was no need to remain here.

  However, when Chen Chen passed by the pair of mother and daughter, his ears suddenly jerked. He promptly turned to the little girl and said to her, "Your father will be coming out soon."

  "Really?"

  The little girl adorably raised her head.

  The young mother beside her was taken back. She raised her head in astonishment and looked at Chen Chen.

  What she saw before her was a boy with a pair of clear eyes like a pool of dark crystal without a trace of impurity in them. She could even see her reflection in those eyes

  "He's a hero, he'll turn the situation around."

  The boy smiled gently, then turned around and left. What he said seemed to make no sense but was somehow very convincing.

  The little girl looked back at her mother innocently. "Mom, is what the brother said true?"

  The young mother opened her mouth and did not know how to answer her. At that moment, the door to the emergency room number two suddenly opened.

  "May I know who the family members of Yang Yuexin are?"

  A stretcher was pushed out of emergency room number two. One of the nurses turned to the pair of mother and daughter who was getting up hurriedly. "You must be the family of Yang Yuexin. After the operation, the patient's condition has stabilized for the moment. Why don't you head inside and sort out the official documents."

  "Ah!" The young mother was so surprised that her body trembled. "Alright! Alright…"

  …

  After Chen Chen had left the hospital, he took the subway back to the school.

  It was not some sort of act of prophecy that helped him determine that the little girl's father was safe. It was because Chen Chen had heard the conversation coming from inside the emergency room.

  The television on the subway had broadcasted the incident earlier. Even though Chen Chen did not pay attention at that time, after taking NZT, he was able to notice that the little girl's eyebrows were identical to the eyebrows of the brave man on the news.

  In addition, the incident occurred on Renmin Road, which was not far away from Shangdu People's Hospital. If they called 120, it was very likely it was Shangdu People's Hospital that had dispatched an ambulance.

  The age, time, and location added up. Coupled with the little girl's appearance, anyone would be able to identify the pair of mother and daughter.

  Of course, being able to identify them was one matter. First, you had to be able to extract all this information from all the other countless information in your brain and then form a connection between them.

  Chen
Chen, who had taken NZT, possessed the exact skill to do so.

  Astonishing perception and deduction ability. Everything the eyes saw, the ears heard, and every single memory and information could be instantly utilized to string together a connection to form a plausible explanation…

  This was what NZT-48 was capable of.

  Chapter 8: Insufficient Energy |

  'Next step: instantiating the 'Permanent Immunity Shot'.

  'If successful, no matter what I try in the future, at the very least, there'll be a safety net to fall back on.

  'But if it's a failure…'

  On the subway, Chen Chen continued scribbling his plans in a notebook.

  Even after taking NZT, Chen Chen still did not dare to make any assumptions about the USB drive.

  After all, it was an existence that had surpassed the realms of science. Even all of the cutting-edge scientific studies that mankind had accumulated so far stood no chance before it.

  'Anyway, experiment on it as soon as possible.'

  Chen Chen thought to himself as he touched the USB drive strapped on his arm.

  Three o'clock in the afternoon, Chen Chen returned to the school. He noticed there was not a single person in the dorm.

  According to the class schedule, this afternoon was Professor Deng Yun's biochemistry class. Unless he had taken a day off, he would not simply skip Old Deng's class.

  There would not be another opportunity like this again. Chen Chen locked the door and quickly booted up the computer to download the final episode of the TV series, Limitless.

  Chen Chen only took off the USB drive from his arm after ten minutes when the download was complete.

  Over the past few days, Chen Chen had regularly inspected whether the USB drive could regain its glossiness on its own. After all, the USB drive had sufficient energy at the time he first got it.

  It could be that all that energy was left behind for him by the previous owner of the USB drive.

  Therefore, Chen Chen had reasons to believe that the USB drive could recharge itself.

  It seemed apparent now that Chen Chen had made a wrong assumption.

  Over the last seven days, the USB drive remained unchanged. It did not seem like it was going to regain even a bit of its glossiness.

  Unless the recovery period took years, that might be it.

  He also did not know how many times the USB drive had performed instantiation, how much energy was left in it, and whether it could instantiate the permanent immunity shot.

  Chen Chen continued pondering while inserting the USB drive into the computer.

  The USB drive was quickly validated as a disk-shaped symbol appeared on the computer screen.

  Chen Chen opened the USB drive space. He copied the downloaded video into it.

  Finally, Chen Chen double-clicked the video.

  "Thump!"

  An error message window popped out.

  "Unable to play?"

  Chen Chen frowned. He began to feel slightly defeated. Then, that feeling was immediately suppressed by NZT's drug effect.

  One of the most valuable aspects of the NZT drug was that it could help the user remain composed.

  For ordinary people, the term being calm was merely an adjective. It was not an easy task for someone to attain real, complete calmness.

  Yet, Chen Chen did it effortlessly like it was just second nature to him.

  Humans knew to breathe and cry from the moment they were born as these were instincts. Right now, calmness was Chen Chen's instinct.

  "No, there must be another reason…"

  In Chen Chen's completely composed state, he suddenly thought of another possibility.

  He considered for a moment and tried to create a new folder in the USB drive.

  He right-clicked on a blank space – New – File. Sure enough, a new item called "New Folder" appeared in the USB drive.

  There was hope!

  Chen Chen immediately opened the web page and began downloading the TV series Limitless. From the first episode to the second last episode, not missing a single one.

  This round, it took a longer time to download.

  Chen Chen suddenly noticed he could not bear the idea of himself just doing nothing.

  In that case, he could put his learning ability after taking NZT-48 to the test.

  While Chen Chen was waiting for the download, he flipped open a book on the table titled "21st Century University Level English (Volume One)."

  English and math had never been Chen Chen's strong suit, otherwise, he would not have taken a major in biological science. The prospects of this major he took were rather bleak. The only advantage was that the graduation rate was relatively high.

  Chen Chen shook his head, then he flipped open the book and took a brief look.

  However, just one brief look made him completely immersed in it.

  In that instant, the entire dorm fell into a deep, extreme silence. The only sounds left were the buzzing from the computer hard drive spinning and the clock's never-ending tick tock…

  "Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock…"

  Under the still surface, Chen Chen's brain was operating at extreme speed. Starting from junior high school, memories of each English class began to surface vividly in his mind.

  Using the current textbook as a reference, all the information he originally did not understand was quickly deciphered, digested…

  …

  "Hmm?"

  By the time Ye Chen came back to his senses from studying, he had already flipped through the entire textbook and arrived at the final page.

  Chen Chen blankly stared at the final blank page on the hardcover. He suddenly jolted and came back to his senses.

  "Is this what it feels like to gain knowledge?"

  Chen Chen tried to recall his previous enchanting state.

  When he was in that state, the process of gaining knowledge did not feel dull. On the contrary, he could feel himself being rejuvenated bit by bit.

  Under the effect of NZT, he was able to grasp all the knowledge in the book after only going through them once.

  Not only that, over this learning session, he was even able to resolve information he did not understand back in junior high.

  He checked the time. Only an hour had passed.

  In just an hour, Chen Chen had successfully learned an entire semester's worth of English.

  "Phew!"

  Chen Chen breathed out a muddy breath, expressing the shock and awe he felt. This was the first time he had experienced how delightful and captivating learning was.

  All of this was thanks to the effects of NZT-48.

  "Ding!"

  Right then, a notification came from the computer indicating that the download had been completed.

  Chen Chen closed the book. He opened the computer and made sure all of the episodes had been downloaded. Then, he clicked ctrl + c, opened up the new folder in the USB drive, and clicked ctrl + v.

  The progress bar flashed quickly.

  About ten seconds later, nearly a dozen gigabytes worth of file was moved into the USB drive.

  Once again, Chen Chen opened the twenty-second episode. The video software was promptly started. This time, there was no error message window popping out on the computer.

  "I knew it!"

  Chen Chen's eyes turned bright.

  His hypothesis was correct. For the USB drive to instantiate an object, apart from it having to be a video featuring real people, there was another hidden condition.

  The completeness of the story.

  Considering what had happened earlier, he had only downloaded the final episode of the TV series and was not able to open the film.

  However, after he had downloaded all of the episodes in the series, he was able to open it.

  Did this mean that the USB drive could only perform instantiation after attaining the complete story?

  It remained unknown how many hidden secrets the USB drive contained…

  Chen C
hen heaved a sigh of relief. He silently skipped the video to the part of the "permanent immunity shot" and paused it.

  After that, Chen Chen began to imagine the immunity shot in the screen being manifested into reality.

  "Bloop…"

  The screen seemed to turn into a pane of clear water. The permanent immunity shot swayed up and down in the water, forming circles of ripples around it.

  Chen Chen subconsciously raised his hand.

  However, the very moment Chen Chen was about to grip the immunity shot, the footage suddenly stopped!

  "Thump!"

  In an instant, Chen Chen felt an electrocuting sensation on his fingertips as if he had been bitten by a bug!

  He immediately withdrew his hand and noticed blood was pouring out of his finger.

  On his fingertips, a tiny chunk of flesh had disappeared out of thin air…

  At that moment, a window popped out from the screen again.

  What was displayed on the window was not a software error. Instead—

  "Insufficient Energy."

  Chapter 9: To the Library |

  "Insufficient Energy."

  While staring at the new popup window, Chen Chen's face looked like he was deep in thought.

  Suffice to say, the trickiest scenario had occurred.

  The USB drive had exhausted all of its energy instantiating the NZT-48. It would not be able to instantiate any other items.

  Having said that, Chen Chen also obtained a piece of good news.

  Since it could display a message like "Insufficient Energy", then it could be taken to imply that the USB drive could be recharged.

  As long as the worst-case scenario had not occurred, there was still a chance to salvage the situation.

  The only question was what sort of energy did he need to recharge the USB drive?

  Chen Chen continued staring at the old and dim USB drive before him when an idea suddenly struck him.

  He walked to the dorm door and looked up.

  An IC card electricity meter was embedded into the wall.

  Since the area was along the coastline, the use of air conditioning was common. Therefore, the Shangdu Jiao Tong University dorm did not prohibit the usage of high-voltage electrical appliances.