Or should we try a two-pronged approach again?
After thinking it over, Hayden figured he didn't know how many people would be screened out in the end, so he might as well try to recruit as many as possible. He casually wrote a job advertisement and sent it out, then set off to visit his next university. This time, it wasn't a visit to his alma mater, but a serious business trip!
Then, Hayden was taken aback by the reaction of the next university.
He was visiting a private university in New Jersey, and again, he sent an email to the principal before arriving. When the email arrived—wow! The principal was there with a group of students and teachers, lined up at the entrance to welcome Hayden, and they even had a banner!
[A warm welcome to the representatives of Flower Magic Co., Ltd. for visiting and exchanging ideas with our school!]
Even Hayden, with his extensive experience, was momentarily stunned by the scene.
Why did the principal not do this to me at my alma mater, but you strangers I've never met before are making such a big fuss about it?
Not only that, the principal and the teachers immediately surrounded Hayden and ushered him into the campus, showing him around and showering him with compliments and praise almost non-stop. Moreover, the way they looked at Hayden was like looking at a steak delivered to their door, with an insatiable hunger. This display was truly frightening.
(Oh my God)
Hayden glanced at the hungry ghosts around him, and even regretted not bringing Angela with him.
(What's wrong with this school? It looks like a shipwrecked place, as if it hasn't eaten for six weeks.)
In any case, it was just a metaphor. So Hayden walked with them around the campus, and as they walked, he brought up again that he wanted to sponsor the university on behalf of Karen's company, such as donating a building, and also hoped that the university could recommend some StarNet technology talents—basically, he said exactly the same thing he had said at his alma mater.
However, upon hearing Hayden's words, the principal and the dean of studies beside him nearly burst their eyelids. Their smiles were so joyful that their faces and jaws almost contorted. The way they looked at Hayden at that moment was as if they wanted to lick his shoes.
“Mr. Hayden, you are truly a great philanthropist to be willing to sponsor a school like ours at a time like this.” The president of the private university said with an almost bitter smile, “You must still be very willing to take care of students who are struggling even after you have achieved great success, right?”
No, no, no, is this really necessary?!
Admittedly, Hayden was genuinely terrified at this point, even more so than when he was at his alma mater. So, after quickly leaving the school, he found a secluded spot, created a protective barrier, and sent an encrypted message to Alastor: [Alastor, I just went to a private university in New Seattle to find new people for your engineering project, and they did this and that… Has something strange been going on lately?]
However, Alastair found Hayden's question strange and retorted with the exact same question as the old professor: "Comrade Hayden, how long has it been since you've paid attention to the recent job market?"
Hayden was getting increasingly agitated by the question: "You and the professor really aren't related by blood?! No! I've never paid attention to that!"
【No wonder.】
Alastor shook his head over the radio.
Don't worry, comrade, I don't mean to blame you.
[We both know some of the reasons behind the recent turmoil in the job market, so I'll keep it brief: Mitra Group's Americas branch started piloting educational chips three months ago and did a lot of promotion.]
……ah
Hayden wasn't stupid after all; after a moment of surprise, he immediately realized that this was indeed something they both already knew the reason for.
More than three years ago, Hayden's amazing adventure began when he and Angela discovered the dream chip.
Back then, before Alastor transformed into a dragon, he had told Hayden something...
—If the Mitra Corporation really had such an educational chip, which could be simply attached to anyone's forehead and instantly teach them all the skills required of a normal company employee, what would the world be like?
—From now on, Mitra Group will no longer need to hold any recruitment fairs for college graduates.
Hey, Hayden's joke from back then has finally come true!
Currently, educational chips are only being piloted; frankly, they're essentially using unsuspecting consumers as human test subjects, and haven't been officially released to the market yet.
Alastor said with a sneer that he had always hated these giant corporations the most.
However, the current publicity is already enough to cause panic among investors and in the market. Some industries have already begun to be impacted, such as real estate.
Real estate? Why is real estate being impacted...? Oh, right...
Hayden quickly realized what was happening.
In fact, the initial impact of the launch and promotion of educational chips was primarily on the real estate industry and other education-related derivative industries, such as tutoring centers. The impact of these educational chips on schools themselves was not as significant, or at least not as immediate.
Evergreen University, Hayden's alma mater, is the best university in the northwestern United States, a truly prestigious institution. Even with the introduction of educational chip technology by large corporations, such top universities remain vital research institutions, and at least won't suddenly disappear.
On the contrary, for mid-tier universities, even before the educational chip has been widely used, just the rumors and trial implementation are enough to make these mid-tier schools complain endlessly!
241: Welcome to an era where even hard work goes unrewarded.
Once educational chips are widely adopted, who will be the most unfortunate party?
The most unfortunate group isn't actually the impoverished who are forced to accept their fate. Those poorest people who can't afford even high school, let alone university, won't be significantly impacted by the widespread availability of educational chips. In fact, it might even increase their chances of survival. Because even poor people without any skills could potentially find employment by simply inserting a learning chip.
So the most unfortunate ones are actually those middle-class people who don't want to rot at the bottom of society and just want to climb up a bit.
Even in these terrible times, children from ordinary or even poor families like Hayden, if they have enough talent, can still have the opportunity to go to university and receive higher education—even if their parents face significant financial pressure, or they may need to apply for student loans from large companies, thus incurring heavy debt. In any case, as long as they acquire knowledge and skills through higher education, children from poor families have the hope of becoming decent office workers in large companies, earning decent salaries, and living a comfortable but not exceptional life.
To live a barely acceptable life, those children without family backgrounds, who have to rely on their own hard work and education at every step, have already sacrificed a lot for their studies. They have to spend money on tutoring classes, rent apartments near schools, and of course, put in countless hours of sweat and toil to study hard.
Now look what happened—snap! A big company has developed a chip that can instantly teach a new skill simply by sticking it on anyone's forehead!
What becomes devalued first at this point? It's the average person's education level, of course. If the difference between illiterate and skilled workers can be as small as a single chip, then the company's salary expenditure will naturally be greatly reduced. Why not hire someone to do the work?
As for the elite, such as the Protoss and enhanced humans, their talents are strong enough that educational chips are not enough to overturn their overwhelming advantage.
Similarly, Hayden's alma mater, Evergreen University, is a top-tier university, and its degree won't be so easily devalued. On the contrary, mid-tier universities, seeing Hayden investing, are practically beholden to him, wanting to kneel down and kiss his shoes.
Now let's look at this from another angle. Who is ultimately most benefited by this situation, this educational chip?
Are they the poorest people? At first glance, it might seem so, because poor people who can't afford to go to school can simply get jobs in big companies and make a living by getting a chip implanted. But in reality, at the same time, they also forever lose their channels for upward mobility, and their descendants will fall under the control of capitalists.
At that moment, Hayden rubbed his temples, his thoughts racing, and felt a wave of nausea.
Educational learning chips—what a wonderful technology this could have been! But in the hands of capitalists, they've turned it into a tool for exploiting the lower and middle classes and consolidating their power! Damn it!
Thinking of this, a surge of anger welled up in Hayden's mind like a high fever. With his current magical power, if this anger got out of control, he might even accidentally blow up several streets.
Fortunately, Alastor continued, "I obtained samples of the educational chips that are currently being piloted last month, and I've already done some research."
As expected of Alastor, he's always quick on the uptake. Hayden immediately asked, "Can you do something to hinder them with the current sample?"
[Comrade Hayden, I'm just a hacker, not a god... Okay, I am a god now, but even that's not enough.]
Alastor was speechless for a moment.
[You yourself are aware of this educational chip project and related technology development; Mitra Group has been pushing it forward for several years. This isn't something we can bankrupt by doing something underhanded.]
That's absolutely true. Hayden rubbed his temples, realizing he'd been a bit confused by anger.
As Alastor stated, although the educational chip has not yet been officially launched on the market, the Mitra Group has been planning it for a long time, and small-scale efforts cannot stop this massive undertaking. Moreover, strictly speaking, the chip technology itself is not a bad thing. If used properly, it is actually a very good technology.
So, do you have a way to copy it?
"Mitra Corporation put a lot of effort into designing this. I allocated 30% of my computing power to this, and after a month, I only have a rough understanding of a portion," Alastor replied, frowning. "Each educational chip has a different structure, and these are currently just experimental samples. To truly crack and copy it, you'd need the original master chip or development materials. Do you want me to find a way to steal them?"
Hayden opened his mouth, but then calmed down, thought about it carefully, and shook his head: "The risk is too great; it's unnecessary."
Since the Mitra Group has been planning this chip for a long time, no matter how talented Alastor is as a hacker, even though he is already a minor god, he may still fail in his attempt to steal the development data.
Even so, Hayden still vaguely sensed an ominous premonition of impending doom from the currents of fate and time.
[I can sense that this educational chip foreshadows more trouble to come. Alastor, you must prepare yourself. When we truly begin our conflict with the Mitra Group, only you will be able to deal with them on the StarNet.]
This only made Alastor laugh: "Comrade Hayden, when have I ever disappointed you? Don't underestimate me."
Indeed, setting aside the issues of strategy and ideology, Alastor's technical skills in information magic are impeccable. Hayden may not entirely agree with some of his ideas and propositions, but that's another matter. What Hayden truly needs is Alastor's ability and trust.
As for how to steer the ship and decide the course, that's something Hayden has to consider himself.
After hanging up the encrypted communication, Hayden rubbed his head and pondered for a moment.
Hayden was never tormented by the anxiety of not being able to find a job. Years ago, after discovering his company was unethical, he immediately quit, even going so far as to risk his life for money. But at the same time, Hayden wasn't without common sense. He knew his situation was exceptional; because his family had all died of illness, he was a lone wolf, an invincible individual, which was why he could do such a thing.
Even if someone with a family is exploited by the world, they wouldn't act as recklessly as Hayden.
However, Hayden had a vivid imagination, so he could picture the anxiety and horror of fearing unemployment. His imagination ignited his fury: how many students, who were about to graduate this year and had only managed to complete their university or college education thanks to their parents' hard work, were unaware that their diplomas might soon become worthless, and all their years of effort and money would have been wasted.
This isn't even the worst part. The worst part is that many students are borrowing money to go to school. They're already burdened with debt, but they still believe that as long as they go to school, they'll have a better future... However, nowadays, a good education can no longer guarantee that you won't be hovering on the poverty line.
What will happen to these children's future?
This thought made Hayden feel incredibly disgusted and angry.
So he shook his head and started emailing the next university. He was going to visit the next school, arrange recruitment for the graduating class, and resend a larger-scale recruitment ad.
The wheels of history are about to turn. How many people can Hayden help in this first, fierce wave?
It certainly won't help much.
But since he has some power, he has to do something.
...Huh? What?
Is Hayden being generous with other people's money? Using Karen's money to do good deeds?
Hey, isn't Karen's money his money too? Besides, Karen will probably be even angrier than Hayden if she finds out about this!
So, Hayden eventually visited every decent university in Evergreen that had talent they could potentially utilize. Then he posted job advertisements online, and then went home to sleep.
It's not time for recent graduates yet, and the school's research groups aren't that quick. As for regular recruitment, check back in three days; the number of applicants should be about right.
The next day, before noon, Angela excitedly ran to Hayden and said, "Master! A total of 62482 people have applied for the job! That's wonderful!"
Hayden was completely baffled: "What? We only plan to recruit five hundred people in the first batch?"
Karen's company was recruiting 500 people for technical work, so how did 60,000 people apply?
Heaven have mercy. Hayden was, after all, a lone wolf. He used to be single and had no family to worry about, and he was incredibly audacious, so he never truly experienced the fear and anxiety of job hunting.
For example, it's like when everyone is unable to buy bread today and is worried that they won't be able to buy bread in the future, and then a bakery suddenly announces that they're opening tomorrow. The next morning, hundreds or even thousands of people will be lining up in front of the bakery.
Even if today's bread is only enough for a few dozen people, this line can still form several times that number.
Hayden was completely dumbfounded when Angela brought him in the resumes of over 60,000 people: This was only the number of applicants on the first day, right? How many would there be in two days?! How could there be so many?!
"Because you pay them a normal salary, provide employee medical care, employee meals, overtime pay, and two days off per week."
Angela tilted her head as she answered.
“Master, because the Mitra Group is heavily promoting educational chips, the labor market has already driven down salaries and benefits in almost all industries. If you offer normal wages and higher employee benefits than usual at this time, and given your and Miss Karen’s good reputations, of course people will flock to you.”
Who doesn't understand this principle?
However, Hayden felt even more bitter upon hearing this. After all, no one willingly wants over 60,000 people competing for 500 jobs. Aren't they all forced into this situation?
"Master, would you like me to take a look at the resumes of these applicants?"
Angela then asked with an expectant look on her face.
Hayden, of course, could only nod.
Without Angela's ability to handle such a large number of resumes, Hayden clearly couldn't have reviewed over 60,000 resumes in three days, and the number would continue to grow. Although he didn't want to rely on Angela, what did Hayden's pride matter compared to the interests of so many people?
In reality, Hayden probably thinks that even this wouldn't solve the problem.
After all, despite the long lines, Hayden couldn't provide an unlimited supply of bread... no, that's not right either.
Thinking of this, Hayden turned to look at Angela and was immediately overcome with sorrow.
Damn it, he does have a way to provide an unlimited supply of bread, but only if other capitalists don't find out, otherwise the trouble will only get worse.
How should this be resolved?
——————————————————————————————
There was a time when the word "work" meant something wonderful.
It means you can get married and have your own children. It means you can own a house, not necessarily a big one, but your own. It means you can leave work on time on weekdays and spend weekends with your family.
Unfortunately, that era seems to have passed. The word "work" has become something entirely different for modern people. Mid-life unemployment has become the norm. Even without unemployment, people struggle to have normal working hours, let alone have a "life" after work.
For people in this era, the rewards of "work" are far less than they used to be.
...So, what will the next era be like?
Most people probably wouldn't dare to think about this issue in detail. After all, no matter what, they still have to find a way to get through these tough times.
So three days later, as many as 40,000 people from Evergreen State and several other surrounding states came to request online information jobs from Flower Magic Company.
Fortunately, the buildings in New Sprout City were mostly formed from plants, so a few adjustments to the magic were all it took to prepare a huge venue in advance. Angela conjured up something like a super stadium specifically to accommodate so many job seekers who needed to take the exam.
Over 40,000 people are crammed into the same massive stadium. It's the hottest time of the year, the sweltering heat of summer, and the throngs of people are huddled together like ants searching for food. Fortunately, New Sprout City's protective barrier has a way to regulate the temperature. Having experienced the superiority of this workplace, and knowing that only 500 people are being recruited, the job seekers are almost always eyeing each other with wariness and even hatred.
Among them were middle-aged people who had lost their jobs due to the turbulent labor market, and young students about to graduate and face unemployment. Of course, some were drawn by the inspirational stories of Hayden and Karen, or hoped to secure better employment here. The job seekers were a diverse bunch, with a wide variety of reasons. Angela helped Hayden filter out most of them, but today more than 40,000 people still flocked to New Bud City.
Mr. Bolin was one of these job seekers. He was thirty-five years old and wore a pair of bookish black-rimmed glasses, with tape wrapped around the left temple. The glasses had been broken for several months, but he couldn't afford new ones. In order to make a good impression during the job interview, he still tried to dress up, wearing a second-hand suit jacket he had found at a thrift store.
As a part-time professor at a vocational college in Beaver State, Professor Bolin currently had only $55 left in his bank account and owed 3000 federal gold coins on his credit card. His two-bedroom apartment cost 975 gold coins a month, and he was already a month behind on rent. Next to the apartment was a railway track, with a train rumbling past every twenty minutes.
He has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in star network communications. Although Professor Bolin never aspired to be an academic star—after all, his alma mater was only a second- or third-rate university—he used to genuinely believe he would have a stable job and a decent salary. Ten years ago, when he was a student, he never imagined he would end up like this.