Chapter 5: After the soul swap, I switched back.

This is an era of technological explosion, but also an era of incredibly distorted class relations. Technological monopolies have led to the consolidation of extraordinary power by tycoons, widening the gap between the rich and the poor, and causing social resources to converge endlessly on a select few.

After mechanical prosthetics were mass-produced, the situation spiraled completely out of control. Anyone could become a formidable fighting machine through technology, and anyone could become a slave driven by money, offering their loyalty to the powerful corporations behind them.

Under the pressure of these forces, official institutions quickly became mere shells, and society lost its most basic fairness.

Aside from a small number of wealthy individuals, it's difficult for ordinary people to afford exorbitant tuition fees for advanced academic research and to make a living through knowledge. The majority of society consists of people at the bottom, earning wages through manual labor.

Physical labor requires sufficient strength and a robust body, making mechanical prosthetics an indispensable tool for workers; otherwise, even if they were to carry bricks, no one would be willing to hire them.

But buying a prosthetic limb costs money, and so does amputation surgery. After the surgery, the regular replacement of batteries becomes an expense that they can't escape for the rest of their lives; otherwise, without the prosthetic limb, they would become completely disabled "wastes."

The most common lifestyle for ordinary people today is that after their bodies stop growing, they replace their limbs with prosthetics to meet the minimum requirements for finding a job. Then, they spend most of their monthly salary on batteries from stores owned by conglomerates to ensure they can continue working the following month. Only the extra money can be used for living expenses.

Therefore, rather than making money for themselves, they are essentially offering up their wealth to the chaebols.

For ordinary people, the only way to change their future is to grit their teeth and save money to send their children to school. If their children can graduate from prestigious universities and work for wealthy families, becoming outstanding members of the middle class, they can change their lives and achieve the legendary "class leap."

This gives you an idea of ​​how intensely students in this world study. There's a saying, "Four hours to rise, five hours to fall," which means that students who sleep five hours a day will definitely fail their exams, while only those who sleep four hours a day can advance to higher levels of education.

They truly studied with all their might, willing to gamble everything, sacrificing more than a decade of their youth for that tiny possibility.

If you win, you can squeeze across the narrow bridge and go to those days where you'll still be exploited, but things will definitely get better.

If he loses, he becomes so desperate that he wants to kowtow to his parents to apologize, just like his ancestors did, cutting off his own limbs and replacing them with mechanical prosthetics. Like an ant, he numbly performs endless physical labor without any hope, tormenting himself with regret for the rest of his life.

As for relying on one's own knowledge and education to start a small company after graduation, that's a joke. The slightest possibility of making money will only lead to endless suppression and attempts to kill you.

The idea of ​​getting rich through patents is a pipe dream. This is an era where the law is written by conglomerates. Power, wealth, and the best of everything belong only to the conglomerates and have nothing to do with ordinary people.

There have been instances of resistance among the people, but resistance requires technology and violence, and the chaebols have no shortage of these two things besides money.

Therefore, after several bloody crackdowns, this inequality continued and became a rule that everyone in society tacitly accepted.

The Si family, to which Si Qi belongs, made their fortune through machinery manufacturing. At least 70% of the adults in the province rely on purchasing their prosthetics and batteries for a living, which shows how powerful and influential the Si family is here.

If it were anyone else, they would definitely have to expend a lot of effort to deal with the Si family.

However, Si Qi happened to have the advantage of his status and knowledge.

No one doubts that their family's heir would want to turn against their family, and a company that rose to prominence through technology can't just rely on past successes. If it doesn't make technological breakthroughs, outdated technology will eventually be superseded by better alternatives, and the market here will be seized by conglomerates from other provinces, cities, or even other countries.

Father Si had been looking for an opportunity to break through and continue the glory of the Si family.

Fortunately, Si Qi was able to provide him with this opportunity.

Si Qi selected blueprints from his consciousness space; these were data he had stored in other worlds. There were even dozens of versions of the same type of machinery. There were too many to handle, so Si Qi simply called over the system, which was playing a game nearby, and asked it to select a suitable blueprint for him.

The system is named Xiuxiu because it makes a "xiuxiuxiu~" sound when it laughs, so that's how it got the name.

Upon hearing its owner's call, Xiu Xiu pressed the pause button on the game and, as usual, disguised itself as a little golden dragon and plunged into the blueprints.

Even though it could be done in a second with a scan, he insisted on making a busy face with his little paws scrambling around, making "heave-ho, heave-ho~" sounds like a boatman pulling a boat, which made Si Qi chuckle.

"Master, why did you send blueprints to that scumbag father and mother? These are valuable items." Xiu Xiu pulled out a structural diagram from the mountain of paper and handed it to Si Qi, asking.

Si Qi glanced at it, confirmed it was suitable, and then asked Xiu Xiu to upload the data to his personal network, saying, "Without my explanation, people in this world won't understand this."

After thinking for a moment, Xiu Xiu understood, and with a mischievous grin, she said, "Master, you're so naughty~~ Xiu Xiu loves it~~~"

Si Qi smiled and gently rubbed the little guy's head with the palm that his consciousness manifested.

The school bell rang just then, and Si Qi used the class time to open the blueprints.

First, erase some of the data, then modify some of the data. By the time all the data was modified, it was just time for school to end.

Si Nan, who was obsessed with her brother, had already run to the classroom door to wave to Si Qi, calling out to her brother with a smile to go home together.

"Bro~ We played volleyball in PE class today, and I was really good at it!"

The only private schools that can afford to send students to are those that include physical education classes on their precious schedules, Si Qi thought listlessly as he reminisced about the living conditions of ordinary people in this world not long ago.

He walked towards the parking lot without saying a word. Si Nan vividly described to her brother how well she played volleyball, but her brother didn't react at all. His indifferent attitude made Si Nan feel a little disappointed. The little girl pouted and said, "Brother, you're so cold today. Are you unhappy?"

Si Qi made up a random excuse: "Si Ding came to see me."

"What?!" Si Nan immediately bristled: "He actually dared to come looking for you!"

No wonder Si Qi seemed unhappy. Her brother is so kind, always so gentle with that guy, and he kept advising her not to target him. Today, he probably listened to that guy's provocation and thought she had done something wrong, which is why he was so cold to her.

Si Nan quickly explained, "Brother, I didn't! That guy is talking nonsense and deliberately trying to sow discord between you and frame me!"

"So you didn't see him today?" Si Qi asked.

"..." Si Nan lowered her head and muttered sullenly, "He came to find me first."

“If you don’t like him, you don’t have to have any contact with him,” Si Qi said.

A threatening text message has limited effect in the face of excruciating pain, and Si Qi felt it would be more effective to talk to Si Nan directly.

“Okay, I’ll turn around and leave next time I see him,” Si Nan promised.

Anyway, there are ways to bully without physical contact. She doesn't have to do it herself, but she can send someone to cause trouble for Siding. That guy just talks too much and doesn't deserve to be taught a lesson.

The two reached a tacit understanding. Feeling that her brother had discovered her misbehavior, Si Nan behaved exceptionally well afterward and stopped bothering Si Qi to talk.

Si Qi finally got some peace and quiet. After returning home, he sent the information to his father and waited quietly for the other party to take the bait.

Si's father replied quickly, probably after reading the information, he immediately contacted Si Qi, his tone filled with excitement: "Where did this come from?"

Si Qi: "Mine."

Si's father was surprised: "You?"

“Yes,” Si Qi said, “Do you need me to explain the details?”

"Okay! No, wait, I'll be right back!" Seeing that Si Qi was at home, Si's father stood up without hesitation: "Remember, these blueprints must never be given to anyone."

“Of course.” Si Qi smiled. “These blueprints were prepared specifically for ‘our’ family.”

"Good boy." Mr. Si smiled with satisfaction, hung up the call, strode out of the company, got into the flying car, and flew straight towards the villa.

When Si's mother returned home that evening, she found Si Nan sitting alone at the dining table and asked in confusion, "Where are your brother and your father?"

The "brother" here refers to Si Qi, not Si Ding, who has long been forgotten. Si Nan replied, "After my brother came home from school today, Dad also came back from the company immediately. As soon as he got back, he took my brother to the study to discuss something. I just went to call them for dinner, but they refused to come."

Mrs. Si asked curiously, "What are you discussing?"

"I don't know, it seems to be some kind of research project at the company." Si Nan shook her head, her tone cheerful: "But judging from Dad's expression, it seems like my brother has come up with something amazing! Dad has been listening to my brother talk the whole time, and he keeps praising him, saying how amazing he is and stuff."

Si's mother was itching to try it herself. She had spent the whole day bragging about her son to her girlfriends, and the genuine joy she felt made her incredibly happy. Now that her son had come up with something that even his father thought was amazing, she couldn't resist and went straight upstairs to her study.

The study door wasn't locked for family members. As soon as Mrs. Si arrived at the door, the biometric system outside opened it for her. After walking in and turning a corner, Mrs. Si saw the father and son sitting on the sofa. Opposite the sofa was a projector, shaped like a human figure, but entirely made of mechanical material.

Look at those precise and smooth lines, and the ergonomic design. Even a layman can see its extraordinary features at a glance, let alone Si's mother, who is involved in the industry herself.

Mrs. Si's attention was drawn to the projection, and she took a few steps forward to ask, "What is this?"

Having just listened to Si Qi's explanations for several hours, Si's father could not hide his excitement. With a radiant face, he said to Si's mother, "This is the full-skeletal mecha that my son created!"

"Full skeleton? Do you mean the exoskeleton type?" Unlike prosthetics that involve amputation and then attaching a limb, an exoskeleton is a mechanical device that covers the surface of the human body. It was popular for a while, but it was later replaced by more convenient and flexible prosthetics because it was bulky and difficult to operate.

The full-skeletal mecha projected in the study now looks completely different from the exoskeleton device of yesteryear. The latter was as bulky as a mechanical tank, while the former resembled a stylish and lightweight suit of armor. The superiority of the former is immediately apparent.

Si's mother sat down next to Si Qi and asked him affectionately in a soft voice, "Son, did you make this?"

Si Qi nodded: "Yes."

Mr. Si couldn't wait to introduce it to Mrs. Si: "This thing is amazing! Its performance and controllability are far superior to any prosthetic limb!"

Because Si's mother's family were also experts in the mechanical field, she could understand the relevant technical content. Si's father explained the excellent aspects of it to Si's mother one by one. Soon, Si's mother's eyes lit up and her hands unconsciously clenched. She looked at the projection in mid-air as if she were looking at a treasure!

"The technical hurdles here have been overcome?" Mrs. Si said in disbelief.

Father Si puffed out his chest and proudly declared, "Yes, it's solved!"

The blueprints Si Qi gave him, though called blueprints, were essentially a program. Users could use the program to disassemble, assemble, and test-run the mecha, clearly seeing every part and every circuit path. The assembly and control steps could be practiced through simulation, achieving a 100% realistic effect. Basically, if the mecha in the program could run successfully in the simulation, then a mecha accurately replicated in the real world based on the data would also run successfully.

When Si Qi quietly produced such a powerful item, Si's father speculated that it might be someone's research result, which Si Qi then snatched and claimed as his own.

Such acts of stealing others' research results are not uncommon in wealthy circles. Si Qi's father would only praise Si Qi for his good eye and quick action in bringing such a treasure home. After praising him, he would then help Si Qi complete a series of tasks, such as concealing the truth and silencing witnesses, without letting Si Qi worry about anything.

Therefore, when Si's father explicitly asked Si Qi whether the creator of the blueprint was someone else, and if so, Si's father would help resolve the issue, Si Qi did not directly answer that he had researched it himself. He only confidently stated that the blueprint would not have any hidden dangers and currently belonged solely to him, which completely reassured Si's father.

Si Qi wouldn't lie to him in a place like this. The real creator was probably tricked by Si Qi into giving him all the research cores, and then Si Qi disposed of him.

That's good. This is the kind of child he can be proud of, who has inherited all his good qualities.

Whether from a subjective or objective perspective, he only had one son, Si Qi. Si Qi had his blood flowing in his veins, and his knowledge, abilities, and thoughts were all personally taught by him.

Before the age of six, he was not familiar with Siding, and later he was not raised by him. Siding was a stranger to him with some connection but only a slight connection. He was not even as good as an illegitimate child. At least an illegitimate child was his descendant and was raised by him little by little, while Siding had neither.

Not to mention that Si Qi is healthy, excellent, ambitious, and has a wide social circle; while Si Ding is mediocre in every way and doesn't have long to live.

Anyone with a modicum of sense knows who to choose as their successor.

He had told Si Qi more than once that the future of the Si family belonged to him and had nothing to do with Si Ding. The father and son were on the same side and were the closest and most trustworthy people in the world. Even his wife was far inferior to Si Qi, and sometimes she would even argue with him about interests for the sake of her family's interests.

Therefore, no matter who Si's father suspects, he would never suspect Si Qi.

He was certain that Si Qi had produced the blueprints for the good of the Si family. Even if he didn't know exactly when Si Qi had obtained the blueprints and mastered them completely, it didn't matter, since the blueprints now belonged to the Si family.

Thinking about how much the Si family could grow thanks to this blueprint, Mr. Si couldn't help but praise Si Qi once again. Hearing this, Mrs. Si proudly raised her chin and said, "He truly is the precious son I raised!"

Si Qi smiled but remained silent, thinking to himself that at this time, the good son you raised should be screaming in agony in his dormitory, living a life worse than death.

A note from the author:

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