5 Chapter 3 The Golden Finger Arrives Just Before the End_1

"Come on!"

The countdown was about to end.

Qin Ming calmed down, standing by the deserted riverside with a nonchalant expression, and gave the sky the finger.

The next second, his figure blurred, then suddenly vanished into thin air.

...

New York, America

Big Bird Bar.

Inside the bar, dim lights danced over the bodies of men and women, as they moved to the thumping music, surrounded by the scent of tobacco and alcohol.

In a secluded corner, Qin Ming held a drink and quietly sat on a sofa, attracting the curious and astonished gazes of passing Caucasians.

He was familiar with that look—the way people looked at foreigners.

A blonde bombshell noticed Qin Ming because his features stood out so much, piquing her interest even though he was Asian.

She swayed toward Qin Ming with a sexy and enchanting gait.

"Hey handsome, fancy a drink?" The blonde sat beside him, raised her glass, and her azure eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Finally.

Of course, it wasn't the beauty he was anticipating but the person Qin Ming was looking for who had appeared.

Through the Telekinetic Field, he could see a slovenly youth walk into the bar—a young man with the typical good looks of a Westerner, just with unkempt hair, resembling a hobo.

The disheveled youth was named Eddie Morra, the protagonist of Endless World.

Qin Ming had been in this world for two days now.

After crossing over, he had acquired Telekinesis—similar to Psychokinesis or Spiritual Power from novels.

His telekinetic range was about a hundred meters, and he could only lift objects up to one kilogram, which seemed rather inconsequential, but Qin Ming discovered that within his range, he could see everything as if he had a full-map cheat.

When the countdown ended, there were neither Sophons nor death, and he had crossed into another world— the world of "Endless World."

It was an old movie from 2011 about the protagonist Eddie, who, after taking NZT-48, utilized 100% of his brain capacity, subsequently living life on easy mode, turning from a rent-defaulting loser into a successful and wealthy figure.

Medicine in Endless World wasn't as advanced as in Three-Body; undoubtedly, if he wanted to treat cancer, he had to rely on the miraculous, intelligence-enhancing NZT.

Understanding his situation, Qin Ming decided to find Eddie first and then through him, locate his brother-in-law Vernon, the pharmaceutical advisor who provided Eddie with NZT in the original plot.

Eddie frequented this bar in the original story, which was why Qin Ming was here.

The blonde, finding the Asian youth unresponsive, left feeling bored but not before slipping him a small note with her address and phone number written on it.

Qin Ming's gaze was fixed on Eddie, with no intention of making contact; he feared disrupting the serendipitous street encounter that happened later in the plot.

Two hours later, Eddie staggered out of the bar after his last whisky, oblivious to Qin Ming cautiously following him.

Qin Ming trailed him all the way to Eddie's rented place, with the inebriated Eddie completely unaware that someone was behind him.

That night, Qin Ming rented a room next to Eddie's, the cash sourced from the landlord's wife's hidden stash on top of the cupboard.

...

Time swiftly went by, three days had passed.

Eddie was stuck in a loop of writing and submitting drafts, getting rejected five times in just a few days—he'd become a grand master of rejection!

Next door, Qin Ming monitored his every move using the Telekinetic Field, and upon seeing the protagonist mired in sorrow after being rejected by editors, he couldn't help but facepalm in silence.

This guy's writing was too awful, not even a dog would read it. He glanced at the draft and could only express indescribable disdain...

Was that how you write a novel? What about the golden three-chapter rule? The sense of anticipation? The plot armor? Where were the character development and coherence in storytelling? The prose was atrociously bad; maybe it was better to seize the moment and find a factory job instead!

In the afternoon, the dispirited Eddie got up and left, seemingly on his way to have a couple of drinks.

Qin Ming promptly followed. He'd also remembered parts of the movie's plot over the past days, so if he didn't meet Vernon today, he would resort to unconventional methods.

It was risky, for sure, but he had no choice—his time in this world was dwindling to just one more month.

In front of Qin Ming, an invisible countdown nobody else could see was ticking away, second by second.

720:21:12

Half an hour later, a

"Eddie Morra?"

"Is that really you? It's been what, nine years since we've seen each other?" a young man with a buzz cut

"You managing okay? Why do you look like a homeless guy? What's going on?" The shabby appearance sparked his curiosity.

Eddie, suddenly confronted by his brother-in-law, wished he could vanish into thin air. He managed to muster up a reply:

"I'm writing, I've written quite a few..."

"Still dreaming of becoming an author?"

"I've already signed a contract with a publishing house." Eddie struggled to continue the lie, swiftly changing the subject, "Never mind me, what about you?"

...

After some small talk, the two headed to a bar.

They sat and continued their conversation until Vernon pulled out a translucent pill from his pocket, placing it on the table.

"What's this?"

"Research has found receptors in the brain that, when activated, can access specific areas. As you know, we typically only utilize 20% of our brain. However, this will let you activate the whole brain."

Eddie shook his head, clearly skeptical of his claims.

"Stop being ungrateful, do you have any idea how much this thing sells for out there?"

"800 dollars! Per pill!"

"No need to thank me."

After leaving a pill for Eddie, Vernon didn't hesitate. He turned and left. Of course, Qin Yun, who had been watching in the shadows, couldn't let this rare opportunity slip by.

He followed and found Vernon's current residence: a high-end apartment.

At night, after making preparations, Qin Ming used his telekinetic field to bypass the surveillance and avoided being seen as he arrived at Vernon's room.

"Good evening, sir. Eddie sent me to see you."

Eddie?

So he wants to buy more pills already?

Vernon was surprised but didn't sense anything wrong, so he stood up to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, a strange young man stood outside. Vernon quickly saw that the youth was holding a black object pointed at his head. Taking a closer look, it was a black handgun.

"oh my god! Don't shoot, don't shoot!"

Scared out of his wits, he raised his hands, his voice trembling.

Qin Ming stared at Vernon's terrified face and slowly said, "Mr. Vernon, hand over all your NZT."

Seeing that Vernon didn't move, he threatened again, "If you don't do as I say, you're going to see your brain matter."

Faced with the threat of death, Vernon could only obediently comply. He went to the oven in the kitchen and took out a bag full of transparent pills from a crevice.

Qin Ming just glanced at the bag of drugs and then looked away, "Now, I have one more question."

"Who manufactures this drug?"

His gaze was fixed on Vernon, the muzzle of the gun pointed steadfastly at him.

"Eiben Pharmaceuticals, it's a drug produced by Eiben Pharmaceuticals."

Facing the dark muzzle of the gun, Vernon seemed very afraid and directly revealed the company behind it. Then he pleaded desperately, "Please, don't kill me! You can take the money and the drugs."

As he spoke, he stealthily approached Qin Ming, holding up the bag with his left hand: "I'm giving you the drug right now."

Qin Ming seemed unwary, reaching out to take the drug. Vernon seized the moment of his distraction, struck like lightning, and snatched the handgun from his hand, quickly increasing the distance between them.

"Ha ha ha."

Vernon laughed maniacally, his right hand clutching the gun tightly, as he pointed the muzzle at the young man in front of him, "You think you can kill me? Now the gun is in my hands, and you're the one who's going to die!"

"Speak! Who sent you?"

Contrary to what he had imagined, the young man wasn't panicked at all. Instead, he revealed an amusing smile,

"Mr. Vernon, how about we make a bet first?"

"Betting on what?"

"I bet your gun has no bullets."

"You're asking for death!"

Vernon, emotionally charged, was provoked and subconsciously pulled the trigger. However, no gunshot rang out. On closer inspection, he realized he'd been deceived.

What? Why is this a replica toy gun!

In terms of threat level, in America, toy guns are not much different from real ones.

Besides this toy gun, Qin Ming had also bought some other little things, several sharp and pointed steel needles.

At this moment, one steel needle slowly rotated beside Qin Ming; Vernon was about two meters away from him.

Substituting into the kinetic energy formula w=fs=1/2mv², given that f=1kg️9.8=9.8N, and the steel needle's mass m is 1 gram.

Ignoring air resistance, the value of v can be calculated to be approximately 198m/s.

Then, Vernon's brain was penetrated by a steel needle traveling at nearly 200m/s, and the resulting cavitation effect instantly smashed his brain!

This mode of attack was silent and yet highly lethal.

In an instant, Vernon fell to the ground, his eyes wide open with confusion and incomprehension, even in death.

Although it was his first kill, Qin Ming felt nothing.

He stepped over the body, picked up his toy gun and the transparent bag full of the drug, and took out a pill of NZT.

The pill was transparent, shining with an alluring, iridescent color under the light.

Without hesitation, he swallowed it and then left the place.

Around eight in the evening, the sun set in the east, and the sky gradually darkened.

Qin Ming stood on the street corner, and as the drug began to take effect, he felt everything was different.

Time seemed to slow down in his eyes, his brain extraordinarily clear.

He felt an unprecedented ease, as if someone who had been shackled had gained freedom, or as if the eyes of the blind had been opened to the world.

The telekinetic field opened. With Qin Ming's brain as the center, information from a hundred-meter radius flooded in. Billions of neurons in his brain recorded, processed, and analyzed all sorts of complex information.

Thirty meters to his right, on the road, a dump truck driver was driving fatigued. Calculating the speed and distance, he would collide with the car in front of him in about ten seconds.

Behind him, fifty meters away, a flowerpot on a high-rise balcony teetered on the edge. Calculating with the force of gravity and the height, it was expected to fall and hit a little girl passing below in about five seconds.

So, he slapped the dump truck driver with telekinesis and pushed the flowerpot off the edge.

A few seconds later, the dump truck driver braked just in time. The flowerpot fell without hitting anyone.

Qin Ming revealed a radiant smile.

He had gained the power to control his own destiny!