Zhuang Li was lying in a rocking chair, basking in the sun, but his mind was not idle. He was using the supercomputer stored in his portable space to quickly search for all the information about the world.
Xuanming said that there are ghosts in this world.
However, he discovered that online, any posts or videos containing ghosts were immediately deleted. A massive force was secretly cleaning up related information, minimizing public exposure to such entities.
It is abnormal in itself to be so frightened when talking about ghosts.
The more it is covered up, the more it shows that something is really wrong with this world.
Zhuang Li frowned slightly, then dove into the dark web and continued searching. He discovered that content not found in the bright world was exploding here. Black magic, white magic, Maoshan Taoism, black magic, witchcraft, and sorcery all found fertile ground.
Many people regard themselves as wizards, sorcerers, black magicians or even demons.
More people buy and sell all kinds of strange and even bloody materials here, such as black donkey hooves, cinnabar, yellow paper, infant corpses, human bones, etc.
On the internet, the world is also polarized. A surface of calm meets a turbulent undercurrent beneath the surface, and it's unknown what kind of dramatic changes will brew. The surface and the inner world will one day merge into one vast world.
Darkness is quietly expanding, while light remains oblivious. This is clearly extremely dangerous. And when darkness finally descends, will that be the day of apocalypse that the Lord God desires?
Zhuang Li browsed around the dark web and soon realized that even this seemingly content-rich network was only the tip of the iceberg of the other world.
The so-called inner world should be a darker, more hidden, more desperate and terrifying world.
"I need to make up for my knowledge in this area." For the first time, Zhuang Li felt the feeling of lack of knowledge.
"What knowledge?" 7480 asked curiously.
It doesn't even know that its owner doesn't understand things.
"Black magic, white magic, Taoism, witchcraft, black magic, etc." Zhuang Li pondered, "I may not believe it, but I must understand it."
As he said this, he activated the dozen or so supercomputers in his portable space, letting them transmit relevant information about every world he had ever visited into his brain, while also collecting as comprehensively as possible all the information that could be found on the network of this world.
The volume of this information is large enough to build a parallel world.
All the bizarre, fantastic, magical, and even absurd and terrifying things are hidden in these incredible materials.
Zhuang Li continuously accepts, reads, analyzes and studies these materials, making every effort to prepare for the future.
Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle. Living in this world, it is impossible for him to never get in touch with the origin of this world.
And he vaguely felt that the origin of this world can be summed up in two words: horror.
This is a world where all horrors come together.
The despair of the end of the world makes it impossible to survive, and the horror of this world may make death a luxury.
Sensing his thoughts, 7480 shrank into a ball in fear.
"Heaven and earth, please bless the gods to come here quickly and save my master's life!" It knelt on the ground and prayed devoutly.
Yet Zhuang Li was completely absorbed in this bizarre world. This was a world he knew nothing about, a world he had never encountered before, and yet he had a premonition that it would be incredibly interesting!
---
Zhang Lijun took his grandfather for a walk outside before returning home. When they came home, they just happened to be in time for breakfast.
His mother came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of corn porridge and asked happily, "You're back? How was the fortune-telling? What did Zhuang Li say?"
Zhang's father poked his head out of the bathroom, mumbling as he brushed his teeth, "What else can I say? He's definitely praising our Junjun for his excellent grades and bright future. Junjun himself said he's definitely going to Jianzhong University this time. Junjun has always had the right ambitions. When has he ever failed to achieve his goals?"
Zhang Ma thought so too, and said cheerfully, "Zhuang Li also knows that our Junjun has good grades, so he will definitely not say anything bad."
"Of course not. If he says that our Junjun won't pass the exam, isn't he destroying his own reputation? This is a foregone conclusion." Father Zhang rinsed the foam from his mouth and walked out of the bathroom with a look of pride and confidence on his face.
His son is not only the most promising child in Zhangjia Village, but also the most promising child in the entire City C. There is no other child like him!
As Old Master Zhang walked along, his temper was already flaring. He snorted in annoyance, "He really said something unlucky! This kid is so heartless trying to cheat me out of my retirement savings! He actually said that our Junjun would definitely not be able to get into Jian University. This really pissed me off! I almost took out all the money in my pocket to help him out, but luckily Junjun stopped me!"
Zhang Lijun gently patted his grandfather's back and comforted him, "It's good that you've figured it out. Don't believe these scammers in the future. Isn't it better to buy yourself some delicious food and drinks with the money you saved than to throw it into the water? If I go abroad in the future, you must never associate with these scammers again, otherwise I won't be able to study peacefully there."
Hearing that his grandson couldn't concentrate on his studies, Mr. Zhang became anxious and swore that he would never go to Zhuang Li's fortune-telling shop again.
Aunt Zhang's cheeks flushed with anger as she spat, "Ever since Brother Zhuang and his wife passed away, Zhuang Li has become increasingly degenerate. He even cheated the neighbors out of their money! I was worried he couldn't take care of himself, so I even brought him meals a few times!"
Zhang's father slammed the table and said, "Junjun, didn't you say the school would give you a reply in the next few days? Hurry up and check your computer. What if Country Y has sent you an acceptance letter?"
Zhang Lijun thought the same thing and quickly brought the laptop over, placed it on the dining table, and opened his email while drinking porridge.
"I received the email!" His eyes suddenly lit up.
The whole family quickly gathered around, waiting excitedly, their eyes sparkling and cheeks flushed, as if they had already determined that this was an acceptance letter.
Zhang Lijun originally thought so, but as he read on, the smile on his face completely disappeared.
His family members, who didn't understand English at all, pushed him on the back anxiously, asking, "How's it going? Did you get accepted?"
Zhang Lijun opened his mouth but couldn't say anything for a long time.
His silence was taken as tacit agreement by everyone.
Father Zhang said excitedly, "He must have been accepted! No, I have to go buy some firecrackers and set them off. I have to let everyone know that my Junjun got into Jianzhong University!"
Old Master Zhang shouted excitedly, "Right, right, right! Go buy some and put two strings in front of Zhuang Li's door to give that kid a slap in the face!"
Aunt Zhang rubbed her hands together as she walked towards the bedroom. Her voice sounded cheerful, "I'm going to the market to buy some good food. We'll have a good meal together tonight. Tomorrow we'll go to a big hotel in the city center and treat all our relatives to another meal!"
Mr. Zhang took out his cell phone and said in a remarkably loud voice, "I'll call Uncle Junjun right away to tell him the good news. We definitely have to treat everyone to a meal. This is a happy event for our entire family."
Just as his grandfather was about to tell everyone the good news that he had been admitted to Jianzhong University, Zhang Lijun, overwhelmed by extreme disappointment and embarrassment, spoke in a very dry voice: "Grandpa, I didn't pass the exam. I was rejected by Jianzhong University."
"What?" Mr. Zhang and his mother and father shouted in unison.
They were all stunned, with expressions of disbelief on their faces.
"Didn't you say you were very confident?" Aunt Zhang asked bewilderedly.
"I don't know what happened this time." Zhang Lijun pulled at his hair in frustration. His exceptional intelligence had prevented him from experiencing setbacks. It was no exaggeration to say that in the previous twenty-two years, he had never failed; he had always been successful.
That's why he is so confident that he will be admitted to Cambridge University. This is a mindset developed through a long period of smooth life.
He believes that he is fully capable of controlling his own destiny.
However, no one has ever experienced setbacks in his life, not even the president of a country.
His setback came a little late, but it came finally.
Zhang Lijun had no experience dealing with setbacks. Embarrassment, disappointment, self-doubt, and a collapse of confidence—these negative emotions suddenly flooded his mind, muddling his brain and plunging him into an unprecedented quagmire.
"How could this happen? Why?" He kept muttering this, then tapped away on the keyboard, replying to an email.
He wanted to know why he was rejected.
He knew that Professor Wilson might not see the email due to the time difference, but he had no other choice. He began to sit in front of the computer and wait, minute by minute, doing nothing, just waiting stubbornly.
He stared at the computer screen without blinking. In just a moment, his eyeballs were covered with red bloodshot, and he looked like he was possessed by a demon.
Zhang's parents were startled and quickly surrounded him, trying to persuade him not to take it seriously. "Isn't it just that Jianda rejected you? You can still take the exam again next year."
But Zhang Lijun was no longer listening. When he finally reacted, he pushed his parents aside, gathered a pile of materials, and began revising his paper word for word, muttering to himself, "What went wrong? Why? I can't be rejected."
His parents' words of comfort fell on deaf ears, and he could only see his own failure.
Zhang's parents quickly realized something was wrong with their son's thinking. He seemed trapped. He had always had smooth sailing, but now, after his first major wave in life, he was unable to recover.
It was not until this moment that Mr. Zhang suddenly remembered Zhuang Li's words - there is absolutely no chance that you will fail to get into Jianda University this time... This is the clear path I pointed out for you.
He was right. He really hit the nail on the head. Sun Zi was so confident, yet he was still rejected. Zhuang Li was not lying!
Grandpa Zhang pushed aside Zhang's parents, put his hands on his grandson's shoulders, and ordered, "Try to apply for a graduate program at Niu University and submit your paper to that so-and-so Dun! Didn't Manager Zhuang point out a clear path for you this morning? Do you remember exactly what he said? Hurry and do as he says!"
Zhang Lijun was stunned for a moment, and then a glimmer of light slowly gathered in his unfocused eyes.
Zhang's father and mother had no idea that Zhuang Li had pointed out a clear path, and they hurriedly asked about the cause and effect.
Old Master Zhang explained everything Zhuang Li had said and urged him again, "This place isn't working. Let's go to another one. Niu Da is just as good as Jian Da. Junjun, listen to Grandpa. Don't get carried away at this moment!"
Zhang Lijun finally came back to his senses from the devastating loss, and with trembling fingers, he sent an email to the school and Professor Norton respectively. However, when writing the specific content, he hesitated again and again and still did not tell Professor Norton that he had been rejected by Professor Wilson.
He still believed that doing so would completely ruin his chances of being admitted.
After the email was successfully sent, Mr. Zhang asked worriedly, "Did you do everything Zhuang Li said?"
Zhang Lijun hesitated for a second, but still nodded.
"Then let's wait for news. Zhuang Li said that if you do this, you will 100% be admitted to the University of North China." Mr. Zhang, who had previously said that Zhuang Li was not trustworthy at all, now regarded the other party's words as a life-saving straw.
Zhang's father and mother looked at each other, their eyes full of doubt, but they were unwilling to give up this last glimmer of hope.
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