what?
Although he felt quite bewildered, Hayden had always trusted Angela, so he immediately led the professor and Angela back to the conference room. When he pushed open the door—whoa!—the four gods were arguing vehemently inside!
Hayden finally understood once again what the true miracle he needed to create was.
238: The Miracle Creator
It's quite interesting, actually. Although everyone in the conference room except Hayden was a god, and even stronger than Hayden, the moment Hayden entered, the chaotic argument immediately subsided by seventy percent. Everyone turned to look, waiting to hear what Hayden had to say and whose side he would take.
So Hayden stretched out his hand and used his magic to take the plans that Karen had given to the other three people. He quickly read through the pages, and many ideas immediately flooded his mind. Then Hayden turned to look at the expressionless Karen and adjusted the ideas in his mind.
All of the above took less than ten seconds.
"Stop arguing, what's the point of this chaos? We need to solve the problem."
Then Hayden began to speak.
"A meeting should be conducted in a proper manner, with everyone taking turns to speak. Panya, you go first. What are your thoughts?"
This surprised everyone. Pania herself was the most surprised—why was she made to speak first?
But she still thought about the question seriously for a while, and then honestly answered: "Actually... I don't have any particular thoughts?"
Then why are you joining in the chorus and giving out bad advice?
However, Hayden certainly wouldn't voice his criticism directly. He simply raised an eyebrow, signaling Panya to continue.
"...You know I never wanted to do this kind of job. With so much time, wouldn't it be better to stay home preparing for a live stream, or play games and watch anime?"
Pania had no choice but to continue, her eyes darting away.
"Although I can multitask here and spare some time to slack off, it still wastes a lot of efficiency. That's why I thought it would be best to do something interesting, or find an opportunity to continue doing live streaming... But here I'm only asked to be a communication platform, which is so boring."
This foolish talk was quite disheartening for everyone. So, you're just trying to stir things up and cause trouble for us?
That being said, Hayden could understand Panya's attitude. Imagine you're at the office, eating fries and slacking off, living your usual life, and suddenly your boss wants to transfer you to some boring, uninteresting work that disrupts your life plans... Nobody likes that. And Panya has never had any ambition or fighting spirit to change the world. She's just a child, and at least she's sensible enough.
So Hayden reached out and actually pulled half of the text from Abigail's plan and put it on Panya's list.
This spell to transfer words from one piece of paper to another actually looked quite interesting. Pania was even stunned for a moment before reacting: "Wait, wait, wait! Are you asking me to do all this work?! I don't have any professional magical knowledge at all!"
So Hayden turned around, took a chicken sandwich from Angela's lunch basket, and stuffed it into Panya's mouth. She paused for a moment, chewed and swallowed, and immediately became much more obedient.
We're not starving you, we're just asking you to do things. Angela's cooking is so good even the gods can't afford it. Besides, this little girl's biggest dream in life is simply to eat happily.
"Didn't you want to find something fun to do?"
Then Hayden countered with a question,
"The jobs I've chosen for you are relatively simple. Although there are many of them, and they involve many different areas of magic, most of them are basic and won't be too difficult."
"Besides, you yourself said that since you've already been sent here, and the multi-threaded processing power is going to be wasted here anyway, you might as well take the money and broaden your horizons, and learn some interesting magic. You like this kind of magic too, don't you?"
Hayden, having said this, brought the redundant words to life on paper, letting them leap off the page. This strange magic, completely different from the existing arcane system, truly captivated Panya's attention. Upon reflection, she realized there was some truth to Hayden's words, and obediently ate the popcorn chicken he offered her.
Compared to the other gods present, Pania was just a real child, and Hayden managed to coax and deceive her.
The other gods were not so easy to deal with—but with Hayden easily dealing with Pania, the atmosphere and the winds of change had already shifted in his favor.
So Hayden immediately went to ask Alastor, "Alastor, what's the situation on your end?"
Alastor shrugged and replied simply, "Basically, it's what I told you before."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Furthermore, I oppose making the Life Network operate completely independently of the StarNet. If we don't imitate the StarNet's structure at all, this Life Network will not be able to connect to or influence the StarNet in the future. We won't be able to use the StarNet's power during the construction process and in the early stages of its completion. We will only be able to rely on our own power, which is very uneconomical."
“I see.” Hayden nodded. “Then that’s another matter.”
He lowered his head and read the plan Alastor had received again, this time carefully examining it word by word. After reading it, Hayden said, "Alastor, you said that relying solely on an independent ecosystem network is difficult to leverage and not cost-effective, but that's not quite right. Your thinking is still limited to the habits of human hackers, ignoring the true nature of your current power."
This surprised Alastor as well: "I believe you wouldn't speak carelessly, but how exactly do you mean it?"
Hayden often spoke off the cuff, but this time was different. This time, he spoke with reason and evidence: "You think you can leverage the power of the StarNet, the great source, and that's the most cost-effective way—but in reality, you are now a nature god. As long as you change your mindset and attitude, you can draw even greater power from nature than you originally could."
"Besides, don't you like to exert influence on both sides at the same time and check and balance each other? Nobody's stopping you from doing it yourself. Just don't connect the two networks directly."
Alastor did take a moment to process Hayden's words, but he still frowned and said, "You make it sound so easy, but the cost is no small matter. If you do it this way, we'll need to increase start-up costs, invest in two different pieces of equipment, and we might not have enough technical personnel. It will cost more money upfront."
That's true, but once the issue gets to this point, things actually become much easier to handle.
Hayden tilted his head and gestured to Karen behind him: "She'll pay. I have the authorization letter."
Karen immediately retorted with a "Hey."
Would you say something like that to my face?
But Alastor paused for a moment, looked at Hayden and Karen, and then chuckled, "Alright, I'll keep you company then."
Strange, what kind of spell did Hayden use? Why is Alastor suddenly so agreeable?
After speaking with Alastor, Hayden sighed, then turned to look at Abigail.
Panya is actually very obedient.
Alastor was able to reason with him.
On the contrary, Abigail has many troublesome aspects. She usually pretends to be a rational person, but in reality, she might explode if pushed too far. Trying to reason with her only makes her a little unhappy. Convincing Abigail is extremely difficult.
However, Hayden suddenly remembered what Professor Albion had said earlier and had an epiphany. He then asked, "Abigail, do you find this farce interesting?"
The witch, who was propping her head up with her hand and leaning on the conference table, laughed when she heard this: "Is that even a question?"
The old witch, who had lived for over four hundred years, naturally found this farce incredibly boring.
So Hayden shook his head and actually bowed to her first, apologizing: "Abigail, I'm sorry to have dragged you into this. It's actually caused you a lot of trouble."
This surprised everyone, including Abigail herself. She was taken aback for a moment before chuckling and asking, "When did you start saying things like that?"
"I should learn to respect my elders."
Hayden answered calmly.
"So I promise that I won't let this network project cause too much trouble for you. I will also study your proposal carefully. I will take care of these troublesome things for you."
So Abigail nodded, picked up the list of miscellaneous tasks Hayden had helped her remove half of, and then turned and walked out of the meeting room.
Panya and Alastor didn't stay long either. They briefly discussed a few more details, then left with the revised plan. Everyone went about their business as usual, with no objections. Panya waved to Hayden before leaving.
How strange! Just five minutes ago they were arguing in the meeting room, how did Hayden change the situation with just a few words?
Actually, this is not surprising at all.
The gods who just gathered in this conference room have different personalities and paths, and they may not necessarily get along with each other; rather, they each have their own ideas. The only thing these gods have in common is that they all have some kindness, albeit to varying degrees.
For example, Panya, although she has compassion for the poor and has worked her way up from the middle class, she will try her best to help those in distress. However, if asked to sacrifice her life for the poor, she would definitely not do it—Panya is, after all, a rather ordinary person with no grand ideals, a kind-hearted petit bourgeois.
In contrast, Alastor had truly risked his life a few years ago. Such a person is clearly very different from Panya in terms of will and way of doing things.
As for Abigail… her “kindness” is basically only at the level of a kind-hearted gentleman. She doesn’t gloat over others’ misfortunes, and she’s willing to help those who suffer. If a poor person owes her money and can’t repay it, she often lets it go. But if she’s asked to do something particularly troublesome, she generally lacks the motivation—Abigail is just that kind of “good person.” She’s unlikely to truly sacrifice her own interests for others, and has never even donated money. Except for the time Hecate forced her to choose between two options, and she impulsively flipped the table, but that wasn’t a normal situation.
Why would these three gods with completely different personalities and ideas, and the forces they are connected with, gather here to help Karen build the life network?
Everyone knows that it's basically all because of Hayden—after all, they have almost no connection with Kallen, at most only with Abigail and the Peacock King. They've gathered here almost entirely because they trust Hayden or want to help him, further assisting Kallen in building her life network.
These are three gods, and three gods with different personalities, thoughts, divine powers, and magical inclinations. They each have different understandings of what is right, yet they are all willing to believe in Hayden, willing to come and help him based on a single word, and trust him from the bottom of their hearts.
What is a miracle? This is a true miracle!
Hayden had the wisdom to create and harness such a miracle.
"...Aren't you afraid of problems arising from entrusting so much work to Panya?"
After the three gods had left, Karen spoke to Hayden.
"It won't be a problem."
Hayden replied,
"To put it nicely, Panya has a very adaptable personality; to put it bluntly, she's easily friendly and easily influenced by her friends. At the same time, she doesn't really realize that she's been influenced by her friends; she just thinks that's what she thought from the beginning. So as long as she still trusts me, I can be sure she won't go astray."
"As for her magical attributes, it's the same principle. No matter how complex or theoretically demanding the magic is, she can get started as long as she's interested and easily cross the threshold under external influences. With her intelligence, it's difficult for her to truly master any particular field; she's likely to be a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. But... at least she can certainly be a jack-of-all-trades."
Hayden had worked as Panya's producer for a few months, so he knew her "characteristics" very well. With any external influence, Panya could easily manipulate and imitate anything, adapt quickly to anything, and was naturally friendly with both people and magic, making her easily controlled. Rather than letting her idly come up with ideas and cause trouble, it was better to send her to the grassroots level for broader application.
Besides, Pania is an idol after all, and she can boost morale among the people at the grassroots level, right?
As for Alastor, the problem is actually quite simple. He used to be a student involved in social movements and a hacker. Using superior numbers to fight against overwhelming odds and leveraging external forces is almost instinctive for him. Moreover, he has a strong drive to take action and change society. Hayden's words just now made him realize—even if the investment costs increase, Hayden has a way to get Karen to come up with enough money! He won't cut off the research funding halfway through!
Since that's the case, and since Alastor has no lack of confidence in Hayden, he's happy to make full use of Karen's money to do something that can balance the power between the two sides. Because Alastor doesn't trust Hayden, but rather Karen. He's pleased to see Hayden and Karen balance this enormous power.
"Finally, Abigail, she's actually lazier than Pania."
Hayden continued to explain,
"Don't let her current use of Hecate's name and body fool you; her personality is nothing like that of the Dark Moon Goddess. Lazy, inactive, and not one to stand out... these are more in line with her habits of the past four hundred years. Moreover, she is actually not decisive at all, and her impromptu judgments are quite emotional."
"Professor Albion just talked to me about dealing with elders. To put it bluntly, if you want someone's pride to give way to yours, you have to consider their pride first, save face, and not put them in a difficult position. I gave her enough face, gave her a way out, and promised not to cause her any trouble, reduce her workload, and would seriously consider her proposal. In return, she gave me face in return."
After Hayden finished speaking, he shrugged and explained in a matter-of-fact way how to reconcile the different ideas of the three gods, as well as their respective personalities and divine tendencies.
However, the fact that Hayden was able to gain the trust of so many people and even win the favor of several other gods who were willing to unite their strength for him was Hayden's most amazing ability, and that was the miracle he truly created.
Ironically, Hayden had never really noticed this before. But after what happened today, he finally understood.
In fact, Hayden's current realization has even made him aware of another problem.
"Karen, this time the trouble started because you were too domineering."
Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was around, Hayden turned around and spoke directly to her.
"When you deal with people, you always try to unilaterally impose your will. This domineering attitude might work for dealing with enemies or leading subordinates, but it won't be appreciated by friends who are equals."
He had thought Karen would be unhappy to hear this, but to his surprise, Karen simply crossed her arms and sighed.
"Hayden, do you really think I don't understand social etiquette? I worked in Mitra's personnel department for seven years."
Halfway through her sentence, a self-deprecating smile appeared on her face.
"I didn't speak to them politely, is it because I didn't know I could compromise with them?"
"The answer is no. The answer is—because I don't want to do it. Do you understand what I mean?"
Faced with Karen's overflowing dissatisfaction, Hayden simply shrugged: "If you don't want to, then I'll do it for you."
239: Coffee that's unbearably sweet
At first glance, Karen seems quite tolerant, but in reality, her personality and her magic are both incredibly domineering.
Hayden knew this several years ago.
Her ideal was to purify the earth, arrange all living beings in an orderly manner, and create a world where all people could live in peace and prosperity, without fear or worry.
Her divine power, the [Dream Flower] which forms the basis of her enlightenment, is a supreme divine technique that can separate and recombine all things, transform and purify them, and return them to their original form.
At first glance, Karen's ideals and divine power seem as benevolent and all-encompassing as Mother Earth.
But from another perspective, this is a kind of absolute domination from a superior position, a domineering attitude of being the only one who is supreme in the world, and a one-way declaration of pure will.
Such domineering power and divine might be sufficient to lead mortals and lower-ranking gods. Humans, to some extent, have an innate tendency to admire the strong. Kallen can demonstrate various overwhelming powers to solve problems. She can establish corporate cities; as long as their demands are followed, the thousands of employees under her command need not worry about any unrest, disease, hunger, housing, or even marriage and childbirth.
So, of course, the employees idolized her, because capitalists of this era were indeed gods. After all, most of the fears of mortals stemmed from worries about basic necessities. And Karen could free them from those worries.
Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? But to achieve such beauty, Kallen also needs to ruthlessly control everything, making everyone and everything obey her decisions and commands. This is a control even more domineering than destruction.
Over the years, Hayden has gradually come to realize a very important truth: only between equals can there be equal relationships and communication. If you want someone's self-esteem to give way, you must first consider their self-esteem. However, Karen's tough attitude makes those who are supposed to be her equals feel oppressed, their self-esteem is not satisfied, and thus, they become very unhappy.
However, does Karen really lack emotional intelligence?
Speaking to people in a human way and to ghosts in a ghost way is common sense in modern society. Is Karen some kind of social idiot?
That's impossible. She worked in the human resources department of the Mitra Group for seven years.
Therefore, there is only one reason for this situation: because Karen is unwilling.
Because she was unwilling to compromise even a little, unwilling to speak in accordance with others' opinions. Karen was determined to carry out her resolve and refused to let her own thoughts be obstructed.
Having the ambition to change the world, how could she lack the resolute fighting spirit to control that ambition? If Karen wanted to change the world according to her own ideas and was determined not to be influenced by the current capitalist gods, then of course she could not compromise with the other gods in any way, and she could not show any weakness.
Hayden could understand all of these points. Although he didn't know whether Karen's actions were right or wrong, he had no intention of interfering.
That's why Hayden said to her now, "Of course I know you don't want to. But saying the right thing to the right person, so that they can understand and accept it, is a necessary approach in this world."
"Since you're unwilling, I'll do it for you from now on. Okay?"
These gentle words were simply unbelievable coming from Hayden. Even Karen was stunned for a moment. Her wide-eyed, half-open-mouthed expression as she stared at Hayden was truly adorable, something even Hayden rarely saw. Although Karen's surprise only lasted a moment, just seeing that face made Hayden feel that all the trouble he had gone through was worthwhile.