Chapter 3

2008年的纽约与几年后的基本一样，看不出有什么不一样，在纽约这个寸土寸金的地方，几乎不会有什么大的房屋变动。

Yi Xiao modified the hotel registration information and left again. He had long been fascinated by the mysterious power of magic.

In the original world, Yi Xiao had studied alchemy, magic, and even pill refinement and qi cultivation, which was why he joined the Mensa Club. However, for some unknown reason, none of these things worked well in the original world. Whether it was communicating with magical elements or dispersing his mental energy, Yi Xiao had never succeeded.

However, there was some progress in alchemy and pill refinement, but these had already fallen under the category of chemistry, and many alchemical materials seemed to exist only in fairy tales.

Last night, Yi Xiao tried a mental energy exercise based on his original knowledge and found that he could actually sense a trace of mental power that he had never felt before.

This made Yi Xiao very happy. Although he didn't know why, he attributed it to his Law Body. This opened the door to a new and very interesting world for him, so he was determined to obtain the Merlin Ring today.

Yi Xiao recalled the plot of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." The chosen successor, Dave, didn't have a particularly impressive performance in the movie. In terms of offensive capabilities, he was not as good as Mordred, the half-baked hippie Drake Stone, who was Balthazar's chosen successor.

Moreover, during the ten years Balthazar was sealed in a jar, Dave did not undergo any magical training, and he had even discarded the Merlin Ring at home. Therefore, Yi Xiao was not worried about any danger in this operation.

As for the Merlin Ring, Yi Xiao judged it to be a mental power amplifier. In the movie, Dave could block Mordred's energy attacks after just a few days of training, which indicated that Dave had great talent. Therefore, the Merlin Ring must serve to amplify his abilities rather than grant him the ability to use magic.

Replacing it with a fake ring would be just as effective, given Dave's talent. This was Yi Xiao's dark thought.

Yi Xiao was also very interested in the magic book in Balthazar's possession, but that would take a long time and was quite dangerous to obtain. He couldn't waste this time. Yi Xiao already had a good plan in mind for acquiring magical knowledge.

...

...

Before long, Yi Xiao arrived at Dave's residence. In the movie, there was a black guy named Bennett living with him. Yi Xiao had already checked their schedules last night, and fortunately, both were not at home today.

Standing at the door, Yi Xiao casually took a piece of wire from his pocket. He always carried interesting things with him. He inserted the wire into the lock and felt the internal structure with his hand. After a night of practice, Yi Xiao had successfully used his mental power to touch things, thanks to his extensive theoretical knowledge, which he couldn't use in the original world.

It was a very magical feeling, like having invisible hands to touch things, the same sensation, but with mental power.

"Click." Yi Xiao pushed the door open and casually pulled the wire out of the lock. "Wow." A smell hit him, indicating that even American boys' dorms had the tradition of stinky socks.

Yi Xiao scanned the room and focused on a bookshelf. He remembered that in the movie, Dave had placed the ring on one of the shelves. He wasn't sure if it was still there.

"Looks like my luck is good." Yi Xiao easily found the ring in the last drawer of the bookshelf. He placed the prepared fake Merlin Ring in its place and put on the real one.

Instantly, Yi Xiao understood what the book meant by the world becoming clearer. His thoughts became faster, and he could hear the ticking of the watch more clearly. He could faintly sense movement and a black person approaching the dorm.

"Damn." Yi Xiao came to his senses. "Looks like my good luck is over. How did he finish class so quickly?" Yi Xiao had no place to hide. He quickly looked for something to use and grabbed a towel to cover his mouth. At that moment, the black boy Bennett pushed the door open.

"This stupid Dave forgot to lock the door again." Bennett complained, then saw Yi Xiao standing by the bookshelf. "Hey, buddy, who are you? How did you get in?"

"I'm here to fix the pipes," Yi Xiao shrugged. "Looks like your roommate didn't close the door."

"Okay, fine." Bennett muttered. He looked at Yi Xiao's neatly dressed suit with suspicion. "Plumbers are so rich. Where are your tools?"

Yi Xiao smiled. "My tools are over there." He pointed to the bookshelf.

Bennett instinctively looked up at the bookshelf. At that moment, Yi Xiao used his mental power to knock the bookshelf hard, causing the books to fall and hit Bennett.

"Hey, what did you do!"

Ignoring Bennett's complaints and angry shouts, Yi Xiao quickly ran past him and out the door, tucking the towel into his pocket. He disappeared around the corner of the building.

"Damn thief, I'll catch you." By the time Bennett finally broke free and chased out, Yi Xiao was long gone.

...

...

That night, Yi Xiao stayed at a hotel near the airport. He didn't care if Dave and his friends would report to the police, as the police wouldn't put much effort into identifying a thief who entered a boy's dorm, especially since they only lost a towel.

"Great, the ring is in my hands." Yi Xiao carefully examined the dragon-shaped ring. When he put it on in Dave's dorm, it had automatically adjusted to fit his finger perfectly.

The Law Body indeed allowed him to use it, which was very convenient. Yi Xiao felt the amplification of his mental power, which was indeed much stronger. Now he could use his mental power to move small objects like a cup.

He believed that after a few more days of practice, he could soon pin someone to the ceiling like Balthazar in the movie, as he had not yet felt any mental power bottleneck.

Thus, Yi Xiao continuously practiced his mental power in the room, using the most basic method of controlling small objects.

Since it was a hotel, Yi Xiao couldn't use energy attacks or draw a Merlin Circle.

A week later, Yi Xiao could successfully use his mental power to throw someone without making any physical movements, as he had experimented with a hotel staff member, of course, without anyone noticing.

"I should leave here." Yi Xiao checked out of the hotel room, planning to search for books on magic in this world. He took one last look at New York. "Suddenly, I remember that there probably aren't any owls for sale in America."

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