The system page in Lin Yu's mind turned into dots of starlight and shattered, reuniting into a white rune—squares, five-pointed stars, six-pointed stars, Taiji diagrams, and more... It seemed that all imaginable patterns were gathered in the white rune sphere.
[ The system theme setting is complete. ]
A prompt sounded in Lin Yu's mind. The blunt, mechanical voice of the system was gone. In its place, a calm, feminine voice resonated.
"Wow, it can really be changed. Your system is a fortress."
Lin Yu said.
The current system now resembled Shire, the Great Sage (King of Wisdom) from Mengwang. Lin Yu felt that this was what a proper system should be—healthy, harmonious, and beautiful.
"Excessive praise."
The white rune sphere rotated for a while, and the system replied in its previous mechanical tone, with the old-fashioned system page returning. The change in theme had drastically transformed the system—not just in appearance and voice, but in essence. It had become something almost... human.
"Since your name is 'Probability Control System,' I'll call you Xiao Shu from now on."
Lin Yu said.
["Okay."]
The system replied briefly.
"Then it's settled. Xiao Shu, please give me more advice in the future."
Lin Yu spoke, his heart light with happiness. His system was so much more humane, leagues ahead of the cold, robotic systems or those outdated ones that felt full of hidden agendas. No, this system wasn't one of those mysterious three-no systems with an aura of conspiracy. It came from the very mutation of the ability Lin Yu had carried since birth. No more worries, no more unknowns.
"This is the fourth dimension. Except for a little dizziness at first, it's nothing."
Only then did Lin Yu have the opportunity to check his surroundings. He wasn't merely "looking around" in the traditional sense. His current vision was in a 360-degree spherical state, without any blind spots. The gaze he had was just his perception—what truly changed was the focus of his own vision. In the fourth dimension, Lin Yu could see far more information than in the third dimension. However, due to the brain's self-protection mechanism, most of this information was filtered out. Only his consciousness could focus on the relevant details, where they mattered.
In Lin Yu's current vision, the structure of everything around him—the tables, chairs, beds, computers, ceiling, floor carpets, monitors, even the clothes on his body—was laid out before his eyes in meticulous detail. When Lin Yu looked at himself, he was suddenly taken aback. Although he had ascended to the fourth dimension, his fourth-dimensional vision could not penetrate his own body's internal structure. Yet this didn't hinder him.
Lin Yu could see every inch of his body's surface, and at that moment, it appeared extraordinarily clean— no dust, no dirt. His clothes, when unfolded in the visual state, were immaculate. Lin Yu didn't see a single thing on his clothes that didn't belong there.
He shifted his attention to the area beneath him—the original three-dimensional space where he stood—and found a thin layer of dirt on the computer desk, stool, and the floor. His expanded vision also revealed tiny bugs that were otherwise imperceptible to the naked eye, crawling through the dust, which itself now appeared unfolded before him.
"Xiao Shu, what's going on?" Lin Yu asked the system.
[ These are the dirt, parasites, and useless impurities that originally existed on the host's body surface and body. After being screened out by this system, when the host ascended to the fourth dimension, they did not ascend with the host. ]
The system explained.
"So there are so many dirty things on my body? That's disgusting."
Lin Yu was genuinely curious, his tone tinged with disbelief.
[ These are the impurities, dirt, and parasites that exist on all normal people, or on the surface of all Earth organisms. They are imperceptible to the naked eye. No matter how much a person cleans, whether they shower daily or maintain a healthy body, these impurities and parasites—especially mites—will always remain. Even the most beautiful people, the cleanest animals, all harbor these invisible invaders. About 97% of ordinary adults are infected with mites. ]
The system's voice was no longer blunt. It spoke more like an informed guide.
[ Of course, these are exceptions for beings beyond the scope of typical Earth organisms, such as superhumans, practitioners, magicians, monsters, elves, and elemental creatures. If technology reaches a certain level, these impurities can be fully isolated. ]
"So, that's what you meant. I understand," Lin Yu said, feeling a little disturbed by the image of parasites crawling on the floor.
He turned his attention back to his apartment. In the fourth dimension, walls and doors were meaningless. His vision could pass through all obstacles, and the principles of perspective had no bearing on him. Everything was visible, irrespective of size or distance.
Opposite Lin Yu's apartment lived a college student. Today, she had slept in because of the holiday.
"Holy shit," Lin Yu muttered for the third time today. For some reason, he felt he would be saying this word often in the future.
His vision pierced through the walls, the door, and every structure between him and the girl's room. He saw her, just waking up, groggy from staying up late the night before to watch shows. She was brushing her teeth, her hair a mess. Little did she know, her morning routine was being observed in high-latitude vision.
Lin Yu saw more than he had expected. Beyond what an ordinary person might see, his heightened perception uncovered the hidden details—the dirt and mites on her pale skin, the remnants of facial cleanser on her nose, the blackheads in her pores, and the bacteria clinging to her teeth. He even saw the parasites accumulated beneath her skin.
"Ahhh, that's too much! I was wrong! I shouldn't have looked!" Lin Yu gagged, overwhelmed by the disgusting realization. "I won't stare at girls again in the future... it's a crime."
He quickly shifted his focus, feeling a surge of self-disgust. He was determined not to linger on such thoughts, fearing they would skew his perspective of the opposite sex.
"Xiao Shu wasn't wrong... No matter how beautiful someone seems, we're all the same under the surface." Lin Yu reflected, feeling like he was about to lose his innocence.
To distract himself, he refocused on his room, and the mess around him came into view. The floor hadn't been cleaned in days, and the low table, the bottom of the bed, the couch—everything was coated with dust, dirt, and bugs like cockroaches and moths. The table, un-wiped for days, was covered with bacteria, and his leftover food from earlier was still on the surface. The garbage bags that had been there were gone, taken by the delivery boy.
"Xiao Shu, how do I go back?" Lin Yu asked, anxious. The longer he stayed, the more he felt his outlook on life would change. He wanted to return to the third dimension as quickly as possible.
[ As long as the host thinks about it in his heart, it's the same as the way you came to the fourth dimension. ]
"Oh, that's simple," Lin Yu said, then remembered something. "Wait, won't I still be sitting at my computer when I return?"
Lin Yu was slightly worried. After all, his desk and chair were covered with dirt that had been removed from his body. He didn't want to touch them after seeing their *unfolded* state.
The system responded calmly.
[ The host is now in the fourth dimension and can freely choose the landing place when returning from the fourth dimension to the third dimension. ]
"Isn't this just like teleportation?" Lin Yu said, excited. "I might never need transportation again."
[ You want to use this ability for travel? While this isn't technically teleportation, it can indeed achieve the same effect. ]
The system paused before adding,
[ However, when descending back to the third dimension, the host can reach any corner of the universe without consumption or restriction. Unlike space-type ability users, teleportation users, or magic, there are no physical, visual, or energy-based restrictions. ]
The system continued,
[ And if the host can observe other three-dimensional universes, you can also descend to any place in those universes. ]
"When you put it that way, I feel almost invincible. I can go anywhere, and no one will catch me," Lin Yu joked.
[ The host can indeed think so. ]
The system responded, almost matter-of-factly.
[ Everything in the third dimension is but a cloud to the fourth dimension. The host can manipulate it like a painter with his canvas. ]
"That's insane! But... let's just go back first." Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, intrigued, but his current state made him reluctant to continue asking. He quickly focused on returning to the third dimension.
"The dimension descends back to the third dimension."
Lin Yu's figure disappeared from the fourth dimension and reappeared in the third. In his room, his body emerged from the void—standing between the bed and the desk.
"Ouch!" As soon as Lin Yu returned, dizziness and a suffocating pressure overwhelmed him. He dashed to the bathroom at *15 m/s*, barely managing to vomit.
Minutes later, Lin Yu stumbled out of the bathroom,
weak, and collapsed on the sofa.
"It's time for some cleaning..."
Finally, after recovering from the dizziness, Lin Yu stood up. He surveyed his single apartment, which now felt like a *kennel* compared to what he'd seen in the fourth dimension. He grabbed his phone and keys, locked the door, and walked downstairs.