Chapter 14: The Super Ninja in the Living Room and the Silent Orator
In Leonard and Sheldon's apartment, the intense electronic sound effects of "Ninja Gaiden Black" filled the entire living room.
This action game, notorious for its extreme difficulty and demanding controls, was currently being mastered by David.
He was focused, fingers flying across the controller, and the on-screen character, Ryu Hayabusa, performed a series of astonishing maneuvers—extreme dodges like dancing on a razor's edge, frame-perfect "Izuna Drop" cancels, and brilliant "Izuna Drop" finishing moves unleashed in brief combat lulls.
Leonard, Howard, and Raj watched from behind, completely engrossed, their breathing seemingly synchronized with the on-screen rhythm.
"My God! That reaction speed is inhuman!" Leonard adjusted his glasses, which had slipped down his nose, and muttered.
"Whoa! Did you see that? The timing on that UT (Ultimate Technique)! Perfect dodge on the explosive shuriken!" Howard excitedly pointed at the screen, as if he were controlling it himself.
Raj was swept into complete frenzy. His eyes gleamed, clutching an unopened bag of Doritos like a cheering pennant.
When David controlled Ryu Hayabusa to defeat the final boss flawlessly with just a sliver of health remaining, and the giant "Master Ninja" rating appeared on screen, Raj's emotions peaked.
He sprang from the couch, throwing his hands high, the chip bag flying aside, and shouted in a dramatic, almost sports-commentator tone: "Bravo! That was spectacular! This is the Battle of Midway of video games! MacArthur returning to the Philippines!
A textbook-perfect operation, creating the impossible from impossible odds! David, you are the Super Ninja of this living room! That precision! That fearlessness! Impeccable!"
He waved his arms, passionately "orating," completely immersed in his adoration of David's gameplay, oblivious to the apartment door being gently pushed open.
Penny poked her head in. She'd intended to say hello first, but seeing Raj with his back to her, loudly cheering and delivering a "victory speech," she raised an eyebrow in surprise. She didn't speak immediately, instead leaning curiously against the doorframe, quietly observing the man who usually couldn't utter a single syllable in front of her.
Raj remained completely unaware, continuing his impassioned speech: "...Look at that enemy prediction! Look at those split-second life-or-death decisions! This requires not just muscle memory, but extraordinary composure and insight! This is worthy of being recorded in..."
Just then, perhaps wanting audience affirmation, he casually turned, and his gaze met the smiling eyes at the doorway watching him.
In that instant, it was as if a high-speed precision gear had been suddenly jammed with a crowbar, or a bird singing at full volume had its throat instantly choked.
All of Raj's movements and sounds ceased. The excitement on his face instantly froze, then was rapidly replaced by extreme terror and panic.
He let out a short, sharp, strangled cry— "Gak!" —then his mouth opened and closed uselessly several times, unable to produce any meaningful sound. His entire face quickly turned crimson, as if about to burst.
Penny watched the scene, her expression clearly disappointed. She sighed and walked in. "Oh, come on, Raj! Don't stop! I was hoping that maybe you'd keep talking after seeing me, and your problem with speaking to women would be cured! What a shame!"
Raj looked as if someone had pulled a gun on him. He waved his hands frantically, backing away repeatedly, finally collapsing onto the corner of the couch, his face terrified.
Leonard and Howard were already used to this and just looked at Raj sympathetically. David also put down his controller with a helpless smile.
Penny shifted her attention from the dejected Raj, clapped her hands, and addressed everyone. "Alright guys, let's get down to business.
I need your help. I have an audition tomorrow for a role—a cheerleader in a low-budget horror movie. Even though it's the kind of part that doesn't last more than ten minutes on screen, I'm still really nervous. I need someone to help me run lines and practice."
No sooner had she finished than Sheldon began in his academic-report tone: "According to the 'Emotional Preparatory Layer' theory proposed by Ivan Popov, a late branch of the Stanislavski acting system,
any line rehearsal an actor undertakes before a specific scene—even with text unrelated to the script's emotional tone—helps activate neural network regions in the brain responsible for emotional simulation and language output, thereby enhancing performance fluency and emotional authenticity.
Simply put, practicing lines in advance, even if it's reading from an 'Appliance Repair Manual,' is theoretically beneficial."
Penny listened, bewildered, but caught the key information: "practicing lines is beneficial."
She immediately brightened, turning to Sheldon. "Wow! Sheldon! You're amazing! You even know that! Great, then you can help me practice! And guide me with that Popov theory you mentioned!"
Sheldon refused without hesitation. "Absolutely not! Providing theoretical support is one thing; personally participating in such an 'acting' activity lacking any scientific rigor is another. Simply put, I don't want to."
But he paused, then added, "However, I can tell you the book title—'Popov on the Neuroscience Basis of Performance Art.' You can find it in the library yourself. But if you ever want to study physics, I'd be delighted to guide you."
Penny was baffled by the sudden turn. "Why would I want to study physics?" She looked at Sheldon as if he'd just suggested she learn rocket science.
Leonard, meanwhile, asked the question everyone wanted answered. "Wait, Sheldon, why would you read a book on acting theory?"
Sheldon replied as if it were obvious. "What's strange about that? At one point, it happened to be in the most convenient spot on the bathroom bookshelf, perfectly suitable for short-term reading material—the content itself wasn't important; what mattered was its accessibility met the needs of a specific environment."
This answer was so "Sheldon" that everyone was speechless.
Penny rolled her eyes, ignoring him, and glanced at the others. "Alright, Sheldon's out. So, who among you has some free time and can be kind enough to help me run lines?"
David was first to speak, his tone apologetic. "Sorry, Penny, Leonard and I have to head to the campus lab later, so I'm afraid we can't help."
Leonard quickly followed with an explanation, clear excitement in his voice. "Yeah, Penny. Inspired by David's latest Physical Review Letters paper, I've designed a new experimental verification scheme for my field. I have to go to campus tonight to run an experiment that might take all night."
Penny listened, a mischievous smile forming, and gently nudged Leonard with her elbow. "Oh? What kind of experiment requires two people to sneak off late at night? Are you planning to... create Frankenstein's monster? Or put brains in potatoes or something?" She thought her joke was quite funny.
However, there was a moment of silence. Everyone wore confused expressions that said, "That's not funny at all."
Only Penny herself chuckled twice, then awkwardly stopped.
Sheldon even gravely pointed out the error. "Penny, your joke is based on completely erroneous scientific understanding.
First, 'Frankenstein's monster' is a fictional concept from Mary Shelley's novel, involving multiple ethical and technical impossibilities. Second, grafting animal neural tissue onto plants violates basic biological principles, and its complexity far exceeds your imagination. This analogy is utterly illogical."
Penny was rendered speechless, and could only say exasperatedly, "Alright, alright, pretend I didn't say anything. So you two have to go out tonight, right?"
Leonard sighed, trying to explain more simply. "Penny, here's the thing. We need to use the physics department's superconducting magnet, which applies a precisely controllable parallel magnetic field. It's our department's 'star equipment'—huge and expensive, and everyone wants to use it.
During the day, its schedule is completely booked with quantum computing, superconductivity, semiconductor research... We simply can't get a long enough continuous time slot."
The more he spoke, the more invested he became, his voice growing excited. "And our 'dual-parameter' experiment—that is, simultaneously fine-tuning the magnetic field and gate voltage for scanning—requires extremely long, uninterrupted machine time to complete massive data collection!
Only late at night until early morning, when everyone else has gone home, can we monopolize this precious equipment and perform those lengthy yet extremely precise scanning measurements!"
His voice even carried anxiety. "And honestly, I'm a little scared. This method is so new, a completely groundbreaking idea proposed in David's paper,
and I'm half-believing, half-doubting it myself. I'm terrified that after staying up all night, not daring to blink, I'll end up with a pile of meaningless noise data, worse than garbage! With David beside me, since he's the one who proposed this method,
he can at least give me confidence, tell me when to continue and when something might have gone wrong."
After finishing, he looked at Penny expectantly, hoping she'd understand the importance and anxiety involved.
Penny tried hard to follow Leonard's explanation as if it were ancient Greek, her brows furrowing tighter. After several seconds of blank staring, she suddenly waved her hand as if enlightened, cutting Leonard off. "My God, Leonard! You could've just said 'we both have to go out tonight'! You don't need to explain all those magnets, and knobs, and all-night scanning to me!"
Leonard sheepishly closed his mouth.
At this point, Leonard seemed to remember something and asked Penny in return, "By the way, why don't you ask your boyfriend Doug to practice lines with you?"
Penny pouted, somewhat unhappily. "Doug seems really busy lately; the gym always has endless classes. And..." She hesitated, lowering her voice slightly, "I don't think he could smoothly read long script lines without stumbling, even if he had time." Her tone revealed a hint of helplessness and disappointment.
Howard, who'd been listening quietly nearby, now felt his opportunity had arrived.
He immediately put on what he considered a charming smile and said smoothly, "Hey, Penny, don't worry! Howard's free! I'd be delighted to help you 'deeply' practice your lines... We could start with 'emotional immersion,' like practicing a hugging scene? Or... any part requiring physical contact? I promise to fully commit to guiding you..." He even winked as he spoke.
Penny looked Howard up and down disdainfully, visibly shuddering. "Ugh... Thanks, Howard. But no thanks, I'd rather go back to my room and practice in front of the mirror alone."
After speaking, she turned to leave this increasingly unreliable help-seeking scene.
Just as Penny's hand was about to touch the doorknob, David suddenly spoke. "Penny, wait."