Chapter 466 A Glimpse into the Future of Extraordinary Society
In the past, I witnessed demon hunters being abused by ordinary researchers from the Humanitarian Division, but now I see ordinary people being abused by the extreme supernatural demon hunters of Luoshan. Saying that "fortune has turned" is probably not quite accurate, since these are not the same groups of people anymore.
Similarly, the goals of extreme superhumanists are not entirely to torture ordinary people as renewable materials; there are clear signs of social experimentation in their work.
Based on my observation, a small number of the kidnapped mortals were assigned to management positions at the branch base, acting like "accomplices" to the extreme superhumanists, who in turn oppressed the other kidnapped mortals and became the grassroots managers of this "human pasture".
Some "low-level materials" that were originally scheduled to be disposed of seem to be given as rewards, becoming slaves and tools for the "Chang Gui" to vent their anger.
I think I understand why this branch base was designed like a prison. I don't know which movie said it, but a prison is actually a miniature society; conversely, society can also be seen as a large-scale prison. For the sake of secrecy, extreme metaphysicians couldn't immediately conduct large-scale social experiments in nearby cities. By scaling down their experiments to a "prison," they could put into practice countless ideas they had learned from social science books.
The mortals who are kidnapped and tortured naturally want to "escape," to unite and break free from endless torment. However, their resistance is futile against the witchers who possess countless spells.
Moreover, I also noticed another fact that might make them even more desperate.
Liu Shuying had obviously noticed this fact as well.
“Liu Shuying, your information is wrong,” I said. “There is a Grand Completion level cultivator here.”
"Ah... I see it." Liu Shuying said helplessly, as if she had been tricked. "In the original intelligence, this person should be at the Cheng Realm... Cheng Level."
Inside the branch base's director's office sat a man dressed in a black Wuchang uniform. Although he did not display any magical power fluctuations, Liu Shuying and I could see through his true nature at a glance.
Just as Liu Shuying said, this man's original level should have been only at the completion level, but I found a blue Heart Seed in his body. This Heart Seed was obviously of a higher grade than other Heart Seeds, capable of bringing much greater power to the host, so much so that it forcibly raised this man to the Great Completion level.
There have been examples in the past of people using Heart Seeds to advance from the Initial level to the Advanced level, and Chenlong is one such example. Achieving this is not easy. Even if one was originally at the Initial level, a normal demon hunter would not be able to withstand such a high-level Heart Seed. Chenlong was able to withstand it because his ability was originally self-enhancing, and he had a high tolerance for enhancement from external objects. In addition, with the key cultivation of the Twelve Gods Project, he finally reached the Advanced level.
It is very likely that the special case of Chenlong provided Ying Lingyun with special experimental data, which led to a qualitative change in the Twelve Gods Project. In the end, this project was inherited by the Lord of Taoyuan Township, which is why he has the current advanced stage that evolved through the Seed of the Heart.
Ying Lingyun's devilish wisdom seemed to further shake up Luoshan's hierarchy.
At the same time, the ideas of this great-level transcendentalist also flowed subtly within this branch base.
A powerful soul can influence a weak soul, and a high-level demon hunter can make those around him ignore him with his own thoughts. So what can a "demigod" at the highest level do?
Those of the Great Impermanence level and those qualified as Great Impermanence can influence the "natural climate." While those at the Great Completion level cannot achieve this, they can influence the "social climate." The social order of the society they inhabit will be altered on a vast scale, from a single city to an entire province. Changing even a small society within the boundaries of a branch base is effortless.
He can make all the witchers here more cruel and violent than usual, and all the mortals more cowardly and pessimistic than usual. With his conscious instigation, he can even make some plots that would only happen in illogical adult novels play out in reality.
For example, women who have suffered unimaginably cruel crimes might inexplicably experience intense pleasure and happiness here, easily fall into a brainwashed state, worship their perpetrators, and even actively assist them in their criminal activities. Such inexplicable things can happen as if it were perfectly normal here. All of this might simply be because the man sitting in the supervisor's office is thinking, "That would be quite interesting."
The high level of secrecy surrounding this branch base is likely due to the existence of this Great Completion level.
Perhaps over the past few years, my thoughts have subtly influenced society. Moreover, given my past status as a person of great unpredictability and my inherent potential for such behavior from the beginning, the scope of my influence will not be limited to Saltwater City but will continue to radiate throughout society. The increasingly popular culture of ghost stories over the past few years is probably not only due to the increasingly frequent strange events, but also to the unconscious influence of my thoughts on social and cultural order.
Faced with such an unreasonable spiritual force, the probability of ordinary people resisting the "superhumans" becomes extremely low.
It's not impossible to become immune to such subtle influences. I've seen examples in the past of ordinary people becoming immune to the mind spells of witchers through sheer willpower. As long as one possesses an unwavering and noble spirit, even living under the rule of the Great Unpredictable, mortals can maintain the "purity" of their thoughts.
Perhaps there were a few ordinary people with high-density spirits in this branch base. They would probably try to get into the position of grassroots manager first, and on the surface endure humiliation and hardship, but in secret they would be plotting to unite the victims to rebel together.
Unfortunately, this is futile. Demon hunters possess methods such as hypnosis, lie detection, mind reading, and dream entry, rendering the acting skills of ordinary people useless. The only thing unwilling to submit is death. Even the most impregnable spirit, if inhabited by a vulnerable mortal body, will be reduced to ashes under overwhelming violence.
The ordinary people remaining in this branch base today are either hopelessly mentally broken and seeking nothing but death, or despicable individuals who, after rigorous selection, are deemed worthy of death. This miniature society could not possibly be overthrown from within by ordinary people—at least that's my assessment.
I seem to be able to see the world after extreme transcendence has taken hold, and at the same time, I have once again become strongly skeptical of the prophecy of the divination master that "ordinary people will one day be able to overthrow the transcendental world with the creativity that bursts forth from the minds of millions of people".
Did the fortune teller overestimate the possibilities of ordinary people, leading to such naive ideas? Or am I short-sighted, and the naive one is actually me, while the fortune teller who has lived for countless years is the truly mature one?
At the same time, another question arose in my mind. If a level of attainment can influence the hearts of those around them, a higher level can influence social and cultural order, and greater impermanence can influence the order of natural phenomena, then to what extent will it influence things after opening the third door? And what will happen after opening the fourth door?
Could it be that the power of the divine seal is actually the manifestation of this influence reaching its extreme in both breadth and depth?
"So they were researching science after all... but it seems they're leaning more towards biological sciences right now." Liu Shuying noticed this as well. "I see. So studying physics would affect their original worldview and might shake the foundation of their magic, so they've put it aside for now..."
"So, if a supernatural world were to emerge in the future, and ordinary people wanted to overthrow it, they would have to vigorously develop physical sciences?" I asked.
“Hmm? That’s hopeless. Although it’s not easy for Witchers to learn physics, it’s not difficult to overcome this level of friction as long as they are willing to spend some time finding a compromise,” Liu Shuying said. “They might not even need to find a compromise; they might be able to recreate a completely new worldview that is compatible with physics in the future.”
"Ultimately, what is truly incompatible with Witchers is not physical science, but materialism. However, physical science does not necessarily have to be bound to materialism; it can also choose objective idealism. Most Witchers are objective idealists to begin with, and in this case, physical science can actually become one of the major paths for Witchers, allowing them to evolve rapidly along this path."
"What mortals can do, demon hunters can only do faster and better."
"If I had to pinpoint a problem, it would probably be the 'quantity.' The development of technological civilization still requires the collision of countless brilliant ideas and a sufficient number of 'different perspectives,' while a supernatural society is ultimately a society of a few elites. The rapid progress these witchers are making in biological sciences is based on their digestion of the creativity of countless mortals in the past through the witcher's worldview. After reaching a certain limit, this 'chemical reaction' will slow down."
"So what if future extraordinary individuals leave behind the scientist class in today's society?" I asked.
"That won't work either. To maintain a large number of scientists, we need to vigorously promote basic education. Do you think it's possible to provide a sufficient amount of basic education when the vast majority of ordinary people are reduced to mere resources? Such a society..." Liu Shuying thought for a moment, "Hmm... in the context of a science fiction story about a future society, it doesn't seem entirely impossible..."
After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, "Although this is an interesting topic, we're not here to talk about it. Let's focus on the problem at hand first."
"Did you sense... something unusual about the space there?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com