“Of course, it’s the wind that the company has stirred up,” Adam replied with a smile. “You are probably aware of the tremendous technological advancements that the Mitra Corporation has brought to the education sector recently. And when it comes to higher education, if you were to look for an education master who spans many important magical fields, you wouldn’t find anyone better than you in the entire Americas.”
Skills education chips can implant knowledge and technology into anyone's mind, but ultimately, it still requires truly knowledgeable experts to implant that knowledge and technology into the chip. This is perhaps a kind of contradiction.
“Professor Albion, the future education market is destined to be dominated by corporations. Original educational technologies will be rendered obsolete, and the Mitra Group will rule the entire new education industry with its skill chips. Countless teachers, those so-called master professors, will lose their jobs—of course, you will not be among them.”
In any case, Adam always managed to say things very nicely.
"Today, I'm presenting you with a future throne as a gift. In the next generation of education, only you are fit to sit in the position of Chief Master. In the future, there will be one and only one magic school on the StarNet, the school of schools. All of humanity will learn through it and its educational chips. And you will become the principal of that school!"
He was a very eloquent speaker, and his magnetic voice was quite captivating. This was Adam's talent, a gift that had been further enhanced after he became a god.
However, after listening to Adam's words, Professor Albion sighed: "Let's be frank, Adam. Why did you suddenly come here today to recommend a job that you don't really expect me to accept?"
"I don't expect you to accept it?"
Adam immediately showed a look of surprise.
"How could you say such a thing? Of course, I very much hope you will accept this job. Because within a few years, educational institutions like Evergreen State University will all disappear. All educators will have to choose between changing careers or receiving a new-era education through the Mitra Group. And I know you certainly want to continue teaching and nurturing students—"
"Of course I would like to continue teaching and nurturing students, but teaching and nurturing students is not about stuffing all my knowledge into a chip and then using the chip to brainwash students."
The professor calmly interrupted him.
“Besides, you know I’m never worried about losing my job. Hayden and Karen have already decided to start a school in New Sprouts. The only reason I haven’t left New Yatu yet is because I still have my students here. I will only truly leave when they all give up on this school.”
"But you actually know all of this. So what brings you here today, Adam? Why can't you be honest for once? Aren't you tired of living like this?"
Adam's smile vanished.
But he wasn't displeased or angry. He simply raised his eyebrows, switching to a more formal and serious tone: "I'm not lying, Professor Albion. The company did indeed ask me to recruit top professors like yourself. However, I also knew beforehand that you wouldn't accept. That's just how it is working for a company. If you don't want—"
“Of course I don’t want to,” Professor Albion said, “and you didn’t expect me to. But you came anyway, coming to me to say all this. I know you have ulterior motives. Just say it.”
These words finally made Adam sigh.
Ironically, the old professor treated Adam even less politely than he had treated the fake Alicia. To this old professor, this former student was probably even less likable than a fallen angel.
Fortunately, Adam was self-aware enough to realize that the old professor was refusing to let him control the conversation. But that didn't matter; Adam was very adaptable.
“I have something I want to tell Hayden and Karen, but I’ve had a bit of a falling out with them lately. So I chose to come to you.”
But when he changed his attitude, he became very straightforward and efficient.
"The skills education chip has been undergoing practical testing in Evergreen for over six months, and the promotional effect has been remarkable. The whole world is watching the skills chip, anticipating or fearing it; it's practically a belief. In conclusion, the board has decided that we will launch the skills chip into the global market in one month. Within three months, all the world's banknotes will become worthless. In another year, the Mitra Group will embrace the world with its golden hands."
Adam spoke with great confidence and decisiveness.
Professor Albion shook his head: "The other major companies won't like this. They've been keeping an eye on your skill chips for the past few months. They're busy preparing their own countermeasures. They'll be waging a major war against the Mitra Corporation."
"Then they will lose."
Adam said his face was as calm as still water at that moment.
"Anyone or force that tries to stand in your way will lose, Professor. You have no idea how much the upper echelons of the Mithra Group value this matter. This is not just a decision made by a deity, a wrathful deity, or a bodhisattva. This is the final decision of the board of directors of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas. They want to end this enigma, to end the current chaos and business struggles in this world."
“The old order will always be broken. History always moves forward, and outdated things will inevitably be replaced by new things. Mithra has decided that the rules of the game need to be changed. He will create a new world order. To not accept this new order is to obstruct Him, and to obstruct Him is to die.”
Why would Adam say these things to Professor Albion, whom he had no intention of recruiting? Clearly, he wasn't really speaking to the professor. He was actually trying to indirectly convey a message to Hayden and his group:
The skill chip project I'm currently promoting is the Mithra Group's top priority, so important it's practically heaven-reaching. It's a grand plan that the Bodhisattva Mithra decided to use to change the world!
If you try to obstruct us, it's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. If you're unwilling to join the Mithra Group, you'll be crushed by the wheels of history!
...That's roughly the feeling!
What an arrogant attitude! Does the Mitra Corporation really intend to confront the entire world? Or have they been preparing a plan all along, a plan to one day crush the entire world, including other giant corporations?
Clearly, the world is at such a crossroads. Mitra Corporation's attempt to use technology chips to drive an economic depression and deflation is essentially accelerating the shrinking of the poison circle, seeing who can't hold on any longer.
If it weren't for the saying "when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken," these capitalist gods' grand schemes wouldn't have been Professor Albion's concern in the first place. In truth, the professor has always only truly cared about one thing: innocent children—or more precisely, his innocent students. He only cares about what fate awaits and what ends for the children and students.
Of course, Adam had long since escaped the category of "innocence." However, Professor Albion couldn't help but ask, "Adam, today the Mitra Corporation allows you to pave their way to world domination by stepping on other people's corpses; tomorrow, after they control the world, they can also have others trample on your corpse. Have you considered this?"
“Your tone of voice is just like Hayden’s. He really is your most prized disciple.” Adam finally showed a slightly surprised expression, but he was not swayed at all. “But you are all wrong. As long as you don’t ascend to the top, whether you step on other people’s corpses or not, they can still turn you into a corpse. And there is only one way to climb to the top in this world.”
Adam spoke these words with such solemnity and confidence.
"Only the inherently weak would find this method cruel. Anyone who wants to survive must struggle; those who do not want to struggle, who do not want to stand at the top, do not deserve to live in this world of eternal struggle. Even if it is cruel, it is an objective reality."
He spoke with such seriousness that some people might actually believe he was speaking the truth.
Professor Albion certainly didn't find Adam's words to be very reasonable. But at this moment, the professor was still secretly surprised, because he realized that what Adam was saying was actually very similar to the question that the fake Alicia had asked him earlier—what exactly is the strongest driving force?
Strangely, however, the devil and humanity reached opposite conclusions on this issue. Adam clearly believed that this absolute selfishness, this primal struggle of the survival of the fittest, was the most objective truth and the most powerful driving force.
This is really strange, absolutely strange. To be honest, Professor Albion is now very curious; he really wants to know what this "couple" will eventually become—this devil and this human are truly a match made in heaven.
This curiosity is similar to the professor's desire to see what path Hayden and Karen (and perhaps Angela as well) will ultimately take.
After saying his last words, Adam stood up from his chair. He hadn't even touched the wine Professor Albion had poured for him.
"It seems we have nothing more to say."
The old professor shook his head; his voice was weary and tinged with sadness.
“You are very confident that you can climb to the top within the Mitra Group. I must admit, this kind of confidence is something Hayden doesn’t have.”
Ultimately, he gave Adam—his former student—this assessment, though it was unclear whether it should be considered a compliment.
At least Adam didn't take it as an irony.
"I do have a plan. With it, reaching the top of Ascension Company is not just a pipe dream."
He admitted it very frankly.
"And that's what I hope you can tell Hayden. Professor, do you believe it? I really wish Hayden could come and join me, although I know it's unlikely. But if he could become my right-hand man, it would be much easier for us to climb to the top—I've been trying to recruit him for years, but he just hasn't been willing. I really regret that."
After saying this, Adam turned and walked away. But just as he was about to push open the door, he suddenly turned back and said something strange: "Professor, if you're worried that someone might really make your students' lives impossible, you shouldn't be wary of me first, but rather be careful of my 'wife.' Pay more attention to your students who have already dropped out."
The office door was pushed open and then closed. This time, Adam was really gone.
Only Professor Albion remained, frowning as he pondered Adam's words... and the strange remark he had left behind.
A student who dropped out of school?
As a unique and outstanding public university in modern times, Changqing University's students are mostly from ordinary working-class or middle-class families. However, it is well known that after years of aggressive exploitation by major companies, middle-class and upper-middle-class families have suffered significant losses. Indeed, many university students have dropped out as a result.
Professor Albion did his best to help them, but even he couldn't help everyone—just as Hayden and Karen couldn't save every poor person in Evergreen.
Moreover, Adam also mentioned his "wife," that great devil, that fallen angel... What exactly was he trying to say?
--------------------------------
Actually, this matter is not that complicated.
Skills education chips have reduced job opportunities for ordinary workers and the middle class, reduced their income, and contributed to increasingly higher unemployment rates.
When people lose their jobs and income, they easily fall into a state of fear and anxiety, and may even recklessly commit crimes. Therefore, since ancient times, unemployment and crime rates have been inextricably linked. Desperate and fearful people will do anything to survive, and will try to believe in and rely on anything.
Panya could help some of them, but not all… far from all. Even with her best efforts, even though she had actually done her absolute best, her work was only a drop in the ocean.
So those who have nowhere else to turn naturally huddle together for warmth. Sometimes they form gangs, which is relatively mild. Some, driven by despair, even seek out and embrace something darker.
Throughout history, dark forces have thrived in the lower classes due to poverty and unemployment. Who would want to trust a seemingly dubious devil if not out of despair? If the gods could bring happiness to people, allowing them to work only eight hours a day and eat steak, who would pray to the devil?
Strangely enough, ever since that fake Alicia went to Professor Albion to discuss and seek his guidance, the members of these gangs, those street thugs, and even those devil believers hiding in the slums—all suddenly began to disappear, as if they had vanished from the face of the earth!
...This should be a good thing, right?
275: The Trouble-Making Kids
Professor Albion was very busy lately.
After all, he needs to teach his students as much as possible, so he naturally needs to prepare lessons.
Hayden and his colleagues also needed the professor's help with some design work for life networks, which was no small matter.
Besides, studying upper-world magic is indeed one of Professor Albion's great hobbies, just as he also enjoys studying alchemy and chamber music... With so many things to do and so little time to allocate, he has been so busy lately.
And then, ironically, because of Adam's strange remark before he left, the professor had to find a way to investigate whether the students might be in any danger—there was no other way. After all, his biggest worry and concern was always for these students.
Hayden and Karen were, in a sense, students the professor cared about. However, they weren't the only ones the professor worried about. After learning of Adam's message from the professor, the young couple felt immense pressure, but they also said to him, "Professor, if Adam or the devil really is going to start pushing forward with some grand plan, New Jersey will definitely be the first to be affected. For safety's sake, you should really come back to Newbud City first, shouldn't you? Our school in the city is almost finished."
But the professor shook his head: "With you all protecting New Sprout City, why should I worry about its safety? On the contrary, in New Asia, Pania alone is clearly not enough. I want to stay in New Asia and do some more things."
He smiled slightly as he said this. This seemed to convey that the professor was very satisfied with and had great confidence in the achievements of his two students, Hayden and Karen.
However, on the other end of the call screen, Hayden keenly sensed something else—his intuition had become increasingly sharp lately: "Professor, you're not planning to do something dangerous, are you?"
"What in this world isn't dangerous these days? Even if you're lying at home, trouble can still strike from the sky. Does that mean you should just give up on life?" The professor calmly replied, "Don't worry, I certainly won't do anything I'm not confident about or haven't planned for."
Hearing the old professor say this, Hayden and Karen looked at each other and reluctantly accepted the decision.
...But after the call ended, Professor Albion closed the window and opened the student files he had obtained from the school, covering the past six months. Ever since Adam had spoken to him, Professor Albion had been meticulously investigating the students who had recently had to drop out due to family financial difficulties. Frankly, the number was staggering. And most of them were in dire straits.
Professor Albion couldn't just leave them alone. Neither Panya nor Hayden could help so many unfortunate children. But then again, how could he possibly help so many people?
The old professor sighed, moved the file aside, and pulled out a blank sheet of paper. He then took a pen and wrote some Kabbalah calculations on it that most people couldn't understand, frowning as he stared at the result. Afterward, he took a white cloth bag from the drawer. Inside the bag were twenty wands, each engraved with an Ogan rune symbolizing one of the twenty Celtic magical trees, each tree representing many special prophetic meanings.
Professor Albion casually pulled five wands from his bag and let them fall to the ground.
Foreknowledge of the future is something only bodhisattvas and a few deities can achieve. However, since ancient times, mortals have long desired the same ability and attempted to develop similar technologies. From the age of mythology, an ancient belief has persisted, gaining widespread acceptance across all nations and cultures, thus firmly establishing itself.
This ancient belief holds that some form of divination technique exists among humankind, allowing mortals to predict and understand the future. The ancient Greeks called it mantiki, because through this technique, mortals could gain a very close connection to the power of the gods.
Professor Albion just used Kabbalah to calculate something only he could understand. As for his wand tossing now, it's a divination method somewhat similar to Tarot cards but even rarer. This is an ancient Druid technique for predicting the future. Ancient Druids would randomly draw five wands from their bags and drop them on the ground, interpreting the meaning of their arrangement based on the direction and pattern of their landing.
“Fern, Chinna, Nitur, Ula, Iyu.”
The old professor began to softly chant in an ancient language. The Celtic Old Gods were a pantheon that had been eradicated by the Wotan Corporation long ago, and most of their magic had been lost. Even Hayden didn't know this wand divination method.
However, the professor's results were far from optimistic.
Alder, holly, reed, heather, yew—these are the five wands the professor threw. The first tree represents the warrior, the most explicit yet also the most ambiguous rune. The other four trees all represent imminent dangers befalling the warrior. Holly represents challenge or trial, reed represents fear, heather heralds the unexpected, and yew foreshadows death.
Moreover, the Yew Wand lay horizontally on top of the Alder Wand. This signifies that the warrior will fight against death, but will ultimately perish.
This prediction is not a good omen. It really isn't. Worse still, Professor Albion has actually tried many different divination methods today, and each time the result is roughly the same, just manifested in different ways.
However, Professor Albion examined this ominous sign closely, as if he were facing a very interesting antique.
The prophecy the professor received can be summarized as follows: "The warrior will face challenges/trials, will encounter fear, will face accidents, will fight death, and will ultimately perish." However, this "warrior" may not actually refer to him… which makes things more complicated. This uncertain prophecy forces Professor Albion to intervene. Because this warrior could refer to anyone—it could be him, one of his students… or even Hayden or Karen.
The prophetic magic of mortals is always so elusive and mysterious.
So the professor sighed, pulled out a second sheet of white paper, and wrote a few lines on it. Then he picked up his wand and cast a somewhat complex, ancient spell on it. The paper vanished instantly.
"Sigh, I'm already so old, I'm really destined to be a hard worker."
The old professor sighed for a moment, then turned and left his office.
--------------------------
Evergreen State University is the only remaining public institution of higher education in the state. Its students are almost entirely from working-class or middle-class families in the state and surrounding areas. This is because, with the exception of Karen, Protoss rarely attends public universities; they have their own superior educational opportunities.
However, it is common knowledge that in recent years, middle-class families, ordinary working-class families with relatively good living conditions have been heavily exploited by large corporations. This was already known to everyone when Karen had just opened her flower shop.
Even after being severely exploited, these families could still barely afford to send their children to school—after all, education is the last thing you can cut back on. But then the Great Depression hit. The already depleted middle class became even more decimated, and their children were forced to drop out of school as well.
Moreover, even after dropping out of school, they still have expenses and need money. However, they didn't complete their studies in the first place, and their diplomas are worthless now. What should they do? Are they supposed to become slaves of the Mitra Group, like the homeless people on the streets and the illiterate slum dwellers, with skill chips implanted and earning a daily wage of 20 yuan?
Clearly, not many people were willing. They were, after all, once graduates of prestigious universities; they had their pride!
As for other companies in Evergreen, they are now facing fierce competition from skilled chip companies, cutting costs, laying off employees... they're too busy doing all that, let alone recruiting new staff. Furthermore, dropouts from prestigious universities don't have real degrees, so other companies are even less likely to hire them.
...If it were a typical major, these dropouts might have stopped there. However, a small problem arose at this point—not having a diploma didn't mean these dropouts lacked magic.
Even if a student at a prestigious magic university, in their second, third, or fourth year, or even halfway through their graduate studies, has to suddenly drop out due to family circumstances... the magic they've already learned won't disappear along with their diploma!
Evergreen University, a top-tier higher magic school, is notoriously competitive. Its students, even before graduation, sometimes possess astonishing magical abilities. Many ambitious students also diligently pursue self-study—Hayden and Alastor are prime examples. Alastor hacked into the servers of a giant corporation before even graduating. While Hayden wasn't quite as skilled, he was still a strong individual who dared to become a street mercenary right after graduation and survived. Both were exceptionally talented in their respective fields and possessed a certain arrogance.
Now imagine a large group of these high-achieving students dropping out of school, and obviously most of them can't find jobs after dropping out... What will they do then?
Would they willingly insert a chip to receive a daily wage of 20 yuan from Mitra Corporation?
Don't they know who to blame for their actions?
Of course they know. And they also know that some jobs in the world don't look at academic qualifications but only at ability.
Soon, gangs began to spring up on the streets—gangs made up of (former) college students who possessed magical abilities. No longer in school, unable to find jobs, and filled with anger, arrogance, rebellious spirit, and a sense of individual heroism… these hard-hearted, ruthless, brilliant, and exceptionally talented young people donned leather jackets, fitted themselves with modified parts, and began doing things that their parents forbade and the law prohibited, but which were sure to make them money, on the increasingly chaotic streets of New Seattle.
For example, seizing territory.
For example, stealing.
For example, smuggling.