Chapter 84

The world unfolded before Chen Ang's eyes. The gentle breeze that brushed against his face stirred the most subtle reactions of his skin. The cold steel beneath his feet and the crackling electric current in his ears were all real and unfeigned.

Standing opposite Chen Ang, in front of the Earth King, was another 'Chen Ang,' just like a mirror reflection. This Chen Ang took a step forward with a smile, and his body suddenly began to ripple like water. His face contorted, and when he reappeared, it was in the form of Professor X.

"Surprised?" The voice that came from Professor X was that of Magneto.

Professor X rose from his wheelchair with a manic smile and said, "Humans are such fragile creatures, don't you think? They rely on their senses to understand and observe the world. This so-called real perception is so fragile. Their thoughts, personalities, and everything about them depend on this fragile, ridiculous, and erroneous sensory perception!"

"What shapes a person's inner existence is the information they receive, and the source of this information is limited to human senses. We understand the world and shape our personalities through the information we see and hear. Conversely, information can shape a person, and it can also destroy a person, as long as one is smart enough!" Chen Ang smiled.

"You are a smart person, so you are the Master of Illusions, not a manipulator of the five senses."

"You are absolutely right!" Jason said manically. "I am the master of illusions, the master of psychology. I shape people into the way I want to see them. I am their master!"

He withdrew his trembling hand and looked at Chen Ang, saying, "You are a unique person. Among all the people I have met, you are the only one who uses these strange things to perceive the world."

Jason, disguised as the professor, sighed and said, "I think you understand me. My father, ha! He was also a fool. He tried to shape me into a weapon, to control me. But there was a problem. Who created his extremism, his madness, and his ridiculous ideas?"

"It was you!" Chen Ang said calmly. "Of course, it was you. His madness and anxiety, his hatred and extremism, are your greatest works. You must be very satisfied because you didn't just manipulate a person; you created a personality, shaped a person. His hatred and love, his persistence and dreams, must feel great, right?"

"Too wonderful. His madness, his alienation from the world, his complex feelings towards me, are such a contradictory and great existence! People are the most beautiful works of art, great, despicable, passionate, and unforgettable. This was originally God's work, but now another great artist has joined in the process of creation." Jason's voice suddenly became low.

"He is my father, he gave me life, he created me! I am his father, I recreated him. What a beautiful cycle." Jason stared at his hands in a daze, waved them towards the sun, and shouted, "I am the sun!"

Chen Ang saw the sun in the sky melt and fall, merging with Jason's disguised Professor X, transforming into a faceless, formless being of light.

"Real or illusion, true or false, a brain in a vat, the Master of Illusions."

Chen Ang sighed, "I thought you were a scientist, but I didn't expect you to be an artist."

Chen Ang was somewhat disappointed. Although Jason had truly developed his abilities, it was not what he had expected. Chen Ang hoped Jason would be a calm, objective psychologist, a master criminal who manipulates human nature. By studying the human heart and human nature, he could destroy and reshape people through their senses.

Unfortunately, he only saw a madman who used his powers like a drug. He viewed madness and insanity as normal, using his abilities crudely, like a mental drug. He did not explore the mysteries of the human brain or delve into the human heart, which even fascinated Chen Ang. Instead, he infected others with madness and chaos.

So, people should not play with art. Once they get involved in art, they become useless, at least half-mad. Once they delve into philosophy, they go completely mad!

"Jason, your perspective is interesting, but..." Chen Ang said calmly, "If that's all you can do, you're just a clown of illusions. You don't deserve the title of Master of Illusions!"

Jason's voice fell silent. The sunlight in the air suddenly turned dark, and a hoarse voice, Jason's real voice, echoed in the air, "I thought you could appreciate my art. Now it seems you only deserve to be my artwork!" The light gradually disappeared from the world, and sulfur and flames began to scorch the space.

Chen Ang raised his head, his gaze as calm as a deep blue sea. Around him, countless mad, bloody, cruel, and dark, terrifying things that struck at the depths of the human heart were ignored by him.

The scorching lava, the endless abyss, pain, and screams were all terrifyingly real, but they could not elicit any reaction from Chen Ang. He still controlled his body and actions, as if everything in his eyes did not exist. He firmly moved in one direction.

Jason's voice suddenly came, with a hint of madness and surprise, "How did you overcome your subconscious?"

Human consciousness is not enough to control the body; most activities are completed by the subconscious. Even if you realize it's an illusion, your subconscious can still be deceived. Feeling pain will make you pull back your hand, feeling stimulation will make you react, and these are not under conscious control. Being scorched by flames, feeling heat and pain, the subconscious will think the body is injured and breathing is difficult.

This is an instinctive reaction of the human body, not under conscious control. Now, Chen Ang walked through the lava, stepped into the air, and let the world change in countless ways, but his body showed no reaction at all, which was not normal.

"I don't have a subconscious!" Chen Ang smiled.

"Impossible? Humans cannot lack a subconscious!" Jason's voice, rare, carried a hint of anxiety. He could accept death, but he could not accept his failure. Once immersed in the feeling of omnipotence, he could no longer accept the feeling of helplessness from before.

"Nothing is impossible. Once your consciousness can control your body, control your breathing, reactions, and handle complex information, even control those intricate biological instincts, is there any need for a subconscious?" Chen Ang smiled. "The human mind is very interesting. Some thoughts and information in the subconscious are quite fascinating."

Chen Ang lightly waved his hand, and the world fell back into darkness.

"How is this possible? How do you control this world?" Jason was completely astonished, like a child whose forbidden zone had been invaded, seeing his secret base, which originally belonged to him, being intruded upon by an adult, feeling helpless and terrified as his territory was violated and his fantasies trampled.

Chen Ang had no intention of caring for Jason's fragile psyche. He plunged the world into darkness and, when it lit up again, he was back on the steel throne, standing in front of Jason. In reality, Jason was just a pale, thin young man. His face was pale, and he trembled as he looked at Chen Ang.

Chen Ang took a step forward, and Jason, unable to stand, fell to the ground.

"In the subconscious of a person, there exists a collection of information called concepts. What are concepts made of?" Chen Ang looked at Jason and smiled. "They are made up of attributes that humans perceive, such as weight, color, shape, smell, touch, and texture. These attributes form a concept, and the reality that concept represents is even more vast. In the unseen world, in the real world, there is always a vast truth."

"All this talk actually has one meaning: our understanding of things, our concepts, are just one side of the truth. Clearly, Jason, you tried to control my brain, but in the realm of the brain, you are far from it. You can only describe my world with your concepts."

Chen Ang lightly tapped Jason's head and smiled, "Now, let's see the world as I see it, my understanding and concepts of the world!"

"Aaaaaah!" Jason felt a sharp pain in his head as countless complex and intricate pieces of information flooded his mind. He saw the world expand infinitely, with warped gravitational folds and spatial distortions spreading throughout. He saw the Earth condensed into a tiny point, then expanding infinitely. Every inch of space was in that point, yet it was everywhere.

Chen Ang took him into that point, and they appeared before Striker, removing his hat. They appeared before Magneto, leaving a piece of iron on the plastic. They appeared before the Professor, who nodded gently at Chen Ang. They were in the White House, the pyramids, the Great Wall, Red Square, the Eiffel Tower, and the Colosseum.

At the same time, in countless places, Chen Ang expanded the entire spatial dimension, bringing Jason to countless places simultaneously. In the next moment, these places collapsed into a small point, and they were back on the steel throne.

The place had already changed. Countless wondrous, indescribable existences filled every inch of space. Jason could see waves permeating the space around him. A special will was fighting Chen Ang's will in these omnipresent waves, and he saw the countless pieces of information carried by the waves.

At this moment, the world unfolded before his eyes again.

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