Humans Shrunk 100 Times

Chapter 81: Sensation of Time

Chen Mu came up with the idea of using the umbrella as a way to safely land at the last moment. In the past, this would have likely led to a tragic death, but after shrinking, it became a feasible option. The physics behind it was discussed by Chen Mu and Tang Jing, but they didn't dare to try it back then.

Completing the parachute action at the critical moment was a highly risky endeavor, and even he wasn't completely confident in it.

This was quite an adventurous decision.

Of course, he didn't do it just to show off.

First, he wanted to verify if this method would indeed allow for a safe landing. Second, and most importantly, Chen Mu recalled the situation when he unconsciously used his shield against those three strange enemies.

Perhaps when facing danger, people could truly bring forth extraordinary abilities.

He was well aware that even if he couldn't open the umbrella, he wouldn't die from the fall, but his fear of heights wouldn't be alleviated much psychologically.

There was indeed an element of risk, but it was worth it to confirm that fact.

As it turned out, Chen Mu's speculation was correct.

At that moment, it was as if his brain's processing speed had accelerated, his body became more agile, and the control of his abilities operated far more rapidly than usual. It was an effect that couldn't be achieved solely with adrenaline.

After retracting the umbrella and looking back at the height he had jumped from, he felt a bit scared himself.

"When did you practice this move?" He Ye, with her only advantage being surpassed, pouted and looked dissatisfied.

"I haven't practiced it; it was just something I thought of on the spot," Chen Mu replied.

He Ye: "..."

While everyone else sighed in admiration, Tang Jing looked up at the location of the observation tower, deep in thought.

Dong Junwei asked, "Is there something on your mind?"

Tang Jing said, "I suddenly thought of something..."

"What is it?"

"Do you know how much time it took for Chen Mu to jump down just now?"

"How much time? How would we know? It was like a swoosh, and he was already down."

"Alright, let me rephrase the question," Tang Jing smiled and said, "If an object, neglecting air resistance, undergoes free fall from a height of 80 centimeters, how long does it take to reach the ground?"

"I've done this problem before," Du Jiajia raised her hand first, "But without paper and pen, I can't calculate it."

The formula for free fall was taught in junior high school.

Tang Jing said, "Let me tell you directly, it's 0.4 seconds."

"So what?"

"Don't you find it strange?"

"It does seem quite fast..."

Chen Mu was the first to understand, "It's about reaction speed, right?"

"Yes."

Tang Jing nodded, "In reality, we do need to consider air resistance, but even then, it wouldn't exceed 0.5 seconds. This means, Chen Mu, you just completed a series of actions within 0.25 seconds."

"Very quick reaction," everyone marveled.

"No, that's not the issue," Tang Jing shook her head, "If it were just Chen Mu, that would be understandable, but all of us saw his actions clearly. Don't you find it strange?"

"Well..."

"Alright, let me give another example. Take He Ying just now, she didn't use any deceleration measures and solely relied on her agility to land. In other words, the entire landing process took less than 0.5 seconds. Everyone should understand what 0.5 seconds means, but the question is, did you really feel like it was only 0.5 seconds?"

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

After a while, Dong Junwei finally said, "It felt like two or three seconds."

"About right."

"Yeah, it seemed that way."

Tang Jing said, "2 seconds and 0.5 seconds are quite distinguishable, even for the slowest person."

Dong Junwei didn't understand, "Are you suggesting that our gravity acceleration has changed?"

"It's probably not that," Tang Jing shook her head. "The gravity acceleration hasn't changed; what has changed is our perception of time."

"Relativity?" Dong Junwei asked with some hesitation.

"Not to that extent," Tang Jing smiled. "It's just that our own perception has deviated, or you could say it's been corrected."

"Why do you say that? I think it might be more reasonable if the gravity acceleration has changed," Chen Mu didn't immediately agree with Tang Jing's explanation. "As we mentioned before, some mysterious force has influenced all of humanity, so it's not unreasonable to assume that it has made certain adjustments to the gravitational pull between us and the Earth."

Tang Jing said, "Based on what we've observed so far, all the modifications to humanity have been based on one principle: to let us survive. In other words, if these changes weren't made, humanity wouldn't survive. However, altering the gravity acceleration doesn't seem to be a necessary modification."

"Hmm..." Chen Mu frowned, pondering.

"Of course, if it were only this, I wouldn't be so sure. But looking back now, there were actually early signs of this phenomenon; we just didn't notice it," Tang Jing explained.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you all remember the incident when Luo Hui was carried away by a swallow?" Tang Jing looked around at everyone.

"Of course."

Even now, the experiences of Luo Hui and Gu Ping remained a shadow in everyone's hearts.

Tang Jing continued, "Back then, did any of you actually see that it was a swallow?"

"I didn't see it clearly; I only heard about it from Chen Mu."

"Same here."

"Yeah, it's true..."

"..."

Amidst the chatter of the crowd, Chen Mu felt a bit embarrassed and said, "But I did see it clearly; it was indeed a swallow."

Tang Jing smiled and said, "I'm not doubting you, but can anyone explain why only you saw it was a swallow? Keep in mind that all of us were focused on Luo Hui at that moment."

"Well..." Chen Mu hesitated a bit.

Tang Jing didn't delay and directly answered, "I speculate that it's because of your psychic power."

"Psychic power?"

"When Luo Hui flew outside the window and was carried away by the swallow in a split second, it means that we only had the width of a window's time to see the swallow. Under normal circumstances, it would indeed be impossible to see clearly."

"But you saw it clearly."

"That's because from the beginning, your psychic power has been stronger than any of us," Tang Jing asserted with confidence.

"Really?" Chen Mu felt a bit embarrassed by the compliment.

Tang Jing continued, "Up until now, you have shown the fastest progress in using abilities and possess the strongest psychic power among all of us. I believe there must be a reason for this, and natural talent should be a significant factor."

Chen Mu touched his nose and found it hard to respond.

Tang Jing continued, "At that time, all of us had awakened our abilities and gained psychic power, but yours was the strongest. Hence, only you were able to see the appearance of the swallow clearly."

Although the others couldn't refute her at the moment, they still felt something was amiss.

"So, does psychic power give us a sense of time dilation?" Dong Junwei asked.

"Not entirely. I think it's more like when we need it, our brains automatically adjust our perception of time to more accurately capture fast-moving things," Tang Jing explained.

"For example, when He Ying and Chen Mu jumped from the sky just now?"

"Yes, when He Ying and Chen Mu jumped from above, it instinctively focused our attention, allowing us to see more clearly, and thus, our perception of time also slowed down significantly."

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