Old days, dice and investigator's manual

The FBI cafeteria was past mealtime, with only a few agents scattered around.

Carlo poked at the pile of pale yellow mashed potatoes in the plate with his fork, then picked out a boiled potato with its skin on and arranged it neatly on the iron plate: "I suspect that the FBI's logistics were not only dumped, but also that they signed a betting agreement, the kind where if they don't finish the inventory, they'll send Parker to marry someone else."

Isaac and Li Jiehao sat down opposite him. Li Jiehao's eyes lit up as he looked at the food on his plate: "So much delicious food?"

"The cafeteria has no limit on food, you can eat as much as you want, provided you can eat it all."

Li Jiehao had already forked a piece of boiled potato and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing a few times: "It's actually quite delicious, much better than I expected. I thought it would taste terrible because you described it that way."

"If it's delicious, eat more."

"Potatoes can't be too bad no matter how you cook them, whether you roast them, boil them, fry them, or mash them..." Li Jiehao forked another piece. "And potatoes have been cheaper lately, so I can finally afford some decent food."

"A few days ago, we could only eat black bread, which had some unknown stuff mixed in it. It was so hard it could hit you, and we had to soak it in water to soften it. Occasionally, we would open a can of food, but as soon as we opened the lid, we would lose our appetite... Sigh, what kind of life was this?"

"That's true. Compared to dark bread and canned food, the FBI's potatoes are indeed a luxury."

"Black bread, canned food..." Isaac thought for a moment. When he was in Palmer, his adoptive father was a university professor. Although he wasn't particularly wealthy, his daily expenses were not a problem. He had seen those tin cans in the grocery store, but he had never bought them.

"These two are considered staple foods at the bottom of society," Carlo said. "Dark bread is cheaper than potatoes. After the northern trade routes were opened, large quantities of rye were imported from there, driving down the price. As for canned goods, Vista has several canning plants that specialize in buying ingredients that are about to spoil in the market and processing them into canned goods that can be stored for a long time."

Li Jiehao slowed his chewing: "Huh? Ingredients that are about to spoil. I knew it tasted awful, and it's barely shaped..."

"The advantage is that it can fill your stomach, has a long shelf life, and you don't need to cook. You can eat it right out of the can. For those who don't have a kitchen, this is a very practical solution. At the same time, Ta Kung Pao has laws to stabilize the prices of these protected foods, not only by setting price limits but also by recycling. You can take the empty cans to the recycling center and exchange them for new cans."

"Holy crap, I didn't know!" Li Jiehao's eyes widened. "I threw away all those tin cans... I was wondering why someone was watching me throw out the trash and even rummaging through my things..."

"On the bright side, you're also benefiting others."

"I think I'm the one who needs to be taken advantage of..." Li Jiehao pouted.

"Alright, let's get down to business. I've already spoken to Parker about your future arrangements. You're now considered an unofficial member of Section Nine, with access to the FBI building, the cafeteria, and basic equipment."

Li Jiehao nodded repeatedly: "So what exactly do I need to do?"

"Asa can skip physical training and start learning from spiritual vision directly. As for you, you'll have to work on your physical fitness while you're at it, to get this little body in shape first. Your constitution is 5, which is a bit below average. If something really happens, you won't even be able to run away."

Li Jiehao looked at his skinny arms: "8 o'clock... how long will that take to train?"

"Who knows? Some people can't get up even after training like crazy, while others' growth skyrockets as soon as their diet improves." Carlo shook his fork. "Run a short distance every day to get your cardiovascular system in shape, and once you're a bit stronger, you can do some strength training."

"I'm afraid I'll time travel again while I'm running..."

"Then take it easy. Nobody's racing you. If you really collapse, have Fenri do CPR on you."

"Are you serious?!"

Isaac tried to imagine the scene of Fenri performing CPR on Li Jiehao... well, he couldn't quite picture it.

"Anyway, I've found you a rehabilitation coach to get rid of your malnutrition first, and we'll talk about the rest later. I've already spoken to the FBI instructor; you'll go there every morning for two hours of training. But don't expect to see results in a week; you'll need to stick with it for at least a month or two to see noticeable changes."

"Understood, understood, I will definitely practice hard." Li Jiehao nodded repeatedly, then thought for a moment, "What about Spirit Vision? I want to learn that too."

Carlo glanced at him: "Spiritual vision puts a lot of mental strain on people. If someone with a weak constitution tries to activate it, they're likely to faint. But you can go with Asa to Moran for a basic lesson to understand the concepts."

Li Jiehao turned to Isaac: "Big brother, can you help me out?"

"I'll take you with me when I go," Isaac nodded.

"However, the foundation of clairvoyance is meditation, and the foundation of meditation is being able to calm your mind. See how long you can sit still first," Carlo said.

"No problem, I can sit all day while playing games!"

"Meditation and playing video games are not the same thing."

"Oh, so I can just daydream in class for a whole period of time!"

"Tsk, keep your voice down. Is this something to be proud of?" Carlo turned to Isaac. "And you, how was your meditation this afternoon? You didn't come out for ages to see me collapsed. I guess you only finished meditating when Jacob arrived."

Isaac touched his nose: "I accidentally fell asleep."

"Ahsa, oh Ahsa, you have fallen! How can you fall asleep while meditating?"

"Cough... But I did think about some things before I fell asleep, like where that court wizard's theory came from."

Carlo raised an eyebrow: "Have you come to any conclusions?"

"No, I just fell asleep while thinking about it." Isaac paused. "But I had a dream after I fell asleep, it was quite strange, but I can't remember it."

"I can't remember what you said."

"But I feel that dream wasn't an ordinary dream." Isaac pondered. "After waking up from this dream, it felt like something was left behind, or... it was always there and was suddenly discovered."

Li Jiehao, listening nearby, said, "Could it be a precognitive dream? I've seen this kind of plot in novels all the time, where people dream about things that will happen in the future..."

"Who knows?" Carlo shrugged. "But Asa's situation is certainly worth noting."

"Dreams are a complex field in mysticism. Some dreams are just byproducts of the brain processing memories, some dreams are the awakening of something on your spiritual level, and some dreams... are other things connecting with you through dreams."

Isaac frowned. "Boss, which category do you think my dream falls into?"

"If you can't even remember, how am I supposed to judge?" Carlo shrugged. "But since you care, next time you meditate, you can try to actively recall the details and see if you can grasp more of them."

"Active backtracking?"

"If this dream wasn't random, and it really has some kind of imprint on your spiritual level, then try to replicate the preconditions that led to this dream, and you might be able to have the same dream again."