Chapter 133 The Exploited
The lawyer and everyone else who came to visit Dai Zhourong told him one thing.
The heretical doctrine of sacrificing all relatives, friends and nobles was rampant. Not only did the public curse him for killing innocent people and wish he would die immediately, but even his relatives and friends who had originally protected him had begun to divide up his inheritance.
And sincerely wish him death.
The distance is too great. Even if they are all human beings, the nobles will look upon the lower classes as ants, and they will not have much empathy.
But it is different when it comes to themselves. If they personally experience the fear of being sacrificed to the evil god, then after escaping death, the hatred will make them rush forward and insist on killing Dai Zhourong first.
Nobles are just like this, majestic and arrogant, and no matter how many ups and downs there are, it seems that their foundation cannot be shaken. But if they really want to die, not even the sunrise and sunset can affect it.
Dai Zhourong absolutely did not believe this statement, and repeatedly denied that he had no intention of sacrificing his relatives, friends, and other noble families, but that seemed more like a guilty rebuttal.
Although the people who visited him said they believed in him, as time went on, fewer and fewer people came to visit him. Not only that, they also tried every means to ask him about how to deal with his inheritance.
I changed lawyers one after another, and the situation became worse and worse.
Although he was still alive, the shadow of death had completely enveloped him.
When there is no possibility of any turnaround in life, the only turnaround is death.
Abandon the dead body of this world and gain freedom of the soul.
At the end of his life, Dai Zhourongping insulted and cursed everyone he could think of. Gu Jiaying and Lin Guantang were mentioned by name many times. But after he was tired of cursing, the one thing he thought about in his mind was an organization called Eden.
The first time Eden came to him was many years ago. He was young at that time and was still grieving for his wife who had passed away not long ago. He wanted her to come back.
But he wasn't so heartbroken that he lost his mind. When the people in the Garden of Eden said they could reunite him and his wife in the virtual world and start a new life, Dai Zhourong refused without a second thought:
"Do I look stupid?"
"No, it's precisely because you're smart that I came to discuss this with you."
The other party gave him a perfect smile, left him some information, and said he would visit again.
From then on, he maintained an ambiguous relationship with the Garden of Eden for several years.
The Garden of Eden was like a clumsy salesman. Every time he visited him, not only could he not convince him of the eternal soul, but he was fooled into paying a lot of price.
For example, helping him deal with business competitors, or helping him find a better way to do human body sculpture...
For a long time, Dai Zhourong was extremely proud of this, thinking that he was quite sober and that his status was above the Garden of Eden. When he occasionally heard some speculation about the Garden of Eden - when people mentioned it in a tone that made it difficult to deal with, he would feel secretly proud, because he was not the one being controlled, but the one who was in a superior position and taking advantage of it.
But the influence of hypnosis day after day had completely permeated him without him realizing it.
For example, his interest in body sculpture was originally just a quirk that happened on a whim, but he didn't know when it started, but it became an obsession to find his deceased wife.
Although he still told himself that the freedom of the soul was an unrealistic lie, he firmly believed his wife's statement that she lived in an illusory world and could be resurrected.
And now, he finally understood that it was time for him to pay his own reward.
But he had already been influenced by the instigation accumulated over time. Even though his remaining clear consciousness told him that all this was absurd, more suggestions like waves still swept over him.
- Don't let your mortal body continue to imprison your soul. Make a decision. You still have a path of freedom to choose.
Finally, he opened the pendant of his deceased wife that he had brought in with him through compromise, and took out the item that allowed him to free his soul.
Half an hour later, the inspector found him dead.
***
Lin Guantang had never thought that Dai Zhourong would die, at least not suddenly commit suicide.
He instinctively felt that there was a conspiracy, but he felt conflicted, so he fell into deep thought.
The two members of the Huo family didn't take this matter to heart. At least from their tone, it seemed that Old Master Huo's focus was not on his death, but on how these two younger generations would respond after his death.
"If he dies, it will be very difficult for you to abandon the All-O Academy plan."
After a little thought, Lin Guantang understood the connection.
Dai Zhourong said he committed suicide, but just like Lin Guantang guessed that his death was strange, I am afraid that others would also think that he was forced, but their positions are different and their suspicions are different.
Lin Guantang suspected that he was murdered by his enemies, or by the people of the Garden of Eden - Lin Guantang did not know about the cult's theory of the entire ship being sacrificed.
In fact, Lin Guantang had no intention of involving Dai Zhourong's original wife at all. Considering that Chu Qiuqi said "I want to help him", it is easy to guess that this statement was made by Eden.
Perhaps Dai Zhourong's death was also part of their plan, so they didn't mind helping out, but the contradiction was -
Why did he have to help boost the reputation of the Imperial System in the end?
Shouldn't they be in an antagonistic relationship? However, the credit for finally resolving the ship's failure was given so easily to the Imperial System. It's hard not to speculate that there's some conspiracy involved.
On the other hand, regarding the death of Dai Zhourong, all other members of the O College Board of Directors are likely to attribute the cause to Huo Shizhen and others.
If at this time, they revealed that their goal was not only to abolish a rule, but also to abandon the entire QuanO Academy, it would be easy for these shareholders to think that Dai Zhourong's death was a warning to others.
It was impossible for him to support the abolition of the academy in the first place, but now, he might directly oppose the Huo family.
But if we don't abolish all O Colleges in one go, it will take a few years before we can find the next opportunity to take action.
Besides—
Lin Guantang became worried when he thought of the electronic ghost whose existence he didn't know, and he had a premonition that he probably didn't have much time to wait for the situation to calm down, to be influenced subtly, to endure for a few years, or even more than ten years before talking about abolishing the school.
Fortunately, although Dai Zhourong’s death was not planned, Lin Guantang had already thought of a solution for Quan O College.
"Then let's settle for the next best thing and rebuild another All-O Academy first."
"A place that truly teaches omegas what works, or perhaps expands to include all-O academies including betas."
Lin Guantang expressed his idea:
"The best way to solve the problem is to find a way out. If we don't first build a good habitat, then after breaking the original rotten cage, where will everyone go?"
This is a question that Lin Guantang had thought about a long time ago.
There are so many students in Quan O College. Even if Quan O College is turned into ruins and there is no place for students to study, the consequence will be that some people will have nowhere to go.
Moreover, if the abolition of the college is just a nominal move, it will inevitably be difficult to implement. The issue of the graduation certificate alone is enough to discourage people. They may even blame Lin Guantang for leaving them with no education to study and unable to graduate.
Lin Guantang did not expect everyone to be like him, holding the idea of not having a diploma and supporting the abolition of the entire O College.
He cannot force others to do something they don't want to do.
But at least he can give the next class of freshmen a better start from the very beginning:
“Similarly, if a comfortable and perfect new habitat has already been built, and there is an old, worn-out cage and a brand new habitat, you will know where to go just by looking.”
"Even if there's no forced eviction, if one or two people lead the migration, the others will spontaneously follow into the new world. Whether the old cages are abandoned or not is no longer a concern."
Because it will completely become unwanted garbage - but considering that it is a large building complex after all, if it is cleaned up, it can become a historical memorial site in a few years.
After listening to Lin Guantang's narration, Mr. Huo sighed:
"Seeing that you have already made all the preparations, it seems that you really are..."
Mr. Huo paused halfway through his words, then shook his head with a helpless smile.
After pondering for a while, he simply skipped over the unfinished words and sighed nonchalantly:
"You're only young people who would bother with such trouble. Forget it, while I'm still able to move, if you can really build a brand new college, you won't have to worry about convincing students to enroll, and matters like student status and employment."
There was a tone of helpless indulgence in his voice——
It's probably the kind of thing where the descendants are high-spirited or rebellious and cause trouble, and what else can the elders do? They can only help to clean up the mess.
And within a minute or two after Mr. Huo finished speaking, the butler appeared as if by telepathy, brought over some relevant draft documents, and then left quietly.
Lin Guantang's eyes lit up and he quickly thanked him - to be honest, he had come here to ask Mr. Huo for help in smoothing out relationships, but he didn't expect that Mr. Huo agreed before he even opened his mouth.
Even preparations were made in advance before Lin Guantang's visit, so how could Lin Guantang not be surprised.
As for the premise of everything——
There is no need to worry about whether the school can be successfully established.
Because the plan has been made.
Then we can’t do without Huo Shizhen’s support.
In addition to the support of the Yuan family, Thorn Moon, and all the students in the All-O Academy, there were also people in the Central Military Academy who were willing to lend a hand. For example, Wen Tiange, Shao Qingbai and others were happy to provide some support when they learned that Lin Guantang wanted to rebuild an All-O Academy, whether for personal purposes of supporting their friends or for selfless reasons.
In addition, there is support from the public.
Lin Guantang did not hide his desire. With his own influence, and with the help of others, and the empire itself actively promoting it, more people smelled the benefits and flocked to it.
Like snowflakes that grew bigger and bigger - at least when it came to establishing the new Healthy All-O College, it was the general trend. The board members who were dissatisfied with even the abolition of a rule were nothing more than a small group of old stubborn stones making a last-ditch resistance in the entire empire.
In short, it would be too tedious to list all the various types of support one by one, but roughly speaking, all the resources needed in the early stage are already in place.
Now that I have received Mr. Huo’s promise, everything will be fine and I will owe nothing.
Lin Guantang felt that he had gained far more than he had imagined from visiting Elder Huo this time, and he respected him even more.
It seems that their relationship is better than that with Huo Shizhen, their real grandson. At least they have completely changed their address to grandpa.
So much so that when I left, I still felt a little reluctant to leave.
Before saying goodbye and leaving, Lin Guantang couldn't help but ask one last question about that person:
"Grandpa, have you really forgotten him? Even his name?"
Mr. Huo looked at him with a frightening scrutiny in his eyes, but it didn't last long before he withdrew and became very tired.
"Xiao Lin, you're a good kid. You understand some things without having to explain them. Don't ask any more questions about him. When you leave here, just pretend we didn't talk today."
That's impossible.
The evasive answer implies the tacit acceptance of the fact.
Lin Guantang pursed his lips and asked softly:
"So actually, you still think he's alive and will come looking for you?"
In fact, what Lin Guantang wanted to say was that in the past sixty years, he is still the fear that you cannot escape, and you are still afraid of him.
But it was too rude to say such words, so he chose to greet her in a tactful way.
Although it may not be very subtle.
Old Huo looked at him, chuckled in an ambiguous manner, and closed his eyes to pretend to be asleep. He really didn't intend to say anything more about this topic.
"If you want to find it, come here."
Huo Shizhen put his arm around Lin Guantang's shoulders. Perhaps he was tired of this fruitless conversation, and whispered in his ear as if bewitching:
"I would be happy to kill a genius who transcends his time."
A chill tinged with murderous intent lingered around him. Lin Guantang glanced at him sideways, only to see the corners of his mouth raised and the red pupils flashing beneath his hair.
In a trance, it seemed as if Huo Shizhen's pupils had turned into a strange vertical shape, like a snake whose hunting desire had been aroused.
Lin Guantang's heart skipped a beat. Thinking that the target he was going to hunt had the same face as his, even though he knew that he would not be harmed, he couldn't help but shudder.
This sentence made Mr. Huo slowly open his eyes and sneer, with a hint of disdain in his tone:
"You are so arrogant, you will suffer bitterly sooner or later."
"grandfather."
Huo Shizhen looked down at the old man in front of him from a high position.
To the common people of the empire, the Huo family, like other noble families, is a general symbol representing the upper class of the empire. To the noble families, the Huo family is a layer of clouds hanging over their heads.
Although everyone was in danger after Huo Shizhen's sudden appearance, before Huo Shizhen's return, it was his grandfather who supported the Huo family. Even though he was old, people still dared not look him in the eye.
But to Huo Shizhen, he was just an aging elder.
Especially at this moment, Huo Shizhen felt clearly that his grandfather was no different from all other old people.
Huo Shizhen sighed, and this time, he expressed his regret with genuine emotion:
"You are really too old."
After a long silence, Mr. Huo spoke again, but he sounded much older:
"You are no longer alone. If you do something uncontrollable again, have you considered Xiaolin's feelings?"
Huo Shizhen did not answer the question directly, but looked at Lin Guantang and threw the question to him:
"What do you think?"
They looked at each other, their gazes conveying their shared feelings. Some choices did not require any hesitation or worry about ruining each other's relationship, because they already knew the other person's answer.
"grandfather."
Lin Guantang stood up straight and said seriously:
"I will not be afraid of his next visit. If this is the fate I need to face, I am ready to face it at any time. I will do my best to cut off the fear brought by the ghost."
After finishing speaking, he bent down towards the old man:
"Sweet dreams."
This is the final farewell.
After saying this, Lin Guantang and Huo Shizhen turned around and left, passing through the flower-filled courtyard, and soon their figures disappeared outside the corridors.
"Young people...you are truly ignorant and fearless."
Old Master Huo let out a sigh. Although he felt that the two juniors were full of youthful vigor and a little arrogant - Huo Shizhen, needless to say, never took other people seriously. As for classmate Xiao Lin, although he looked gentle and obedient, he also had a tough and courageous heart.
The sudden ghost visit did not scare him, and today's conversation did not make him retreat in fear or choose to avoid the facts.
Instead, it aroused his desire to try it out.
This is obviously the recklessness of a young person, and it is easy to run into trouble.
However, Mr. Huo did not think that such arrogance was a bad thing, nor did he want to suppress or correct it. On the contrary, he was quite satisfied with the two people's fearless spirit.
Let's see if you can completely eliminate this nightmare that has haunted the empire for sixty years.
***
The journey was silent until we returned to our residence.
It was already late at night.
Huo Shizhen was not like what the eldest young master of the Yuan family said, that he relied on nutritional supplements to survive, but he was indeed not very particular about his meals.
After telling Lin Guantang that someone would deliver the meal in a few minutes and asking him to pay attention to the instructions on the food cabinet at the door and remember to pick up the meal in time, he took a few pieces of bread from the refrigerator and left.
By the time Lin Guantang finished his meal and packed up his things, more than half an hour had passed.
Then he simply stayed in the living room and wrote the application materials related to the parliamentarian for a while. Feeling tired, he stretched his waist and went to the study to find Huo Shizhen.
But he didn't open the door and say hello.
Lin Guantang leaned against the door and looked at him for a while, then suddenly said:
"What's the way to kill me in an instant?"
Huo Shizhen looked up at him, without making any comment on this sudden question, and let Lin Guantang continue to talk.
"In my head, or—"
Lin Guantang stretched out his hand and pressed his solar plexus, then stretched out his hand and pressed his heart, and said:
"Or perhaps installing a remotely controlled explosive in my heart? If it's a system, it should be easy to do this silently."
What Lin Guantang was talking about was of course what happened while he was unconscious.
In the underground research institute where the origin of the system is stored, it is not difficult to transplant some explosives into his body while he is unconscious.
But no matter what, on the surface, Huo Shizhen took him to visit the underground research institute out of good intentions, and he shouldn't have such malicious speculation.
Even if you know what is being said, you cannot point it out directly.
Huo Shizhen simply gave up what he was doing, turned his chair around, and faced Lin Guantang. He stared at him for a long while, smiled, and asked seriously:
"When did you develop paranoia?"
Lin Guantang thought he was pretending to be stupid:
"Whether I'm delusional or whether this really happened—I don't think anyone would really feel comfortable taking someone who scares them into their home."
Ask yourself, if Lin Guantang had encountered a murderer as a child and met him again when he grew up, he would either move away overnight or call the police immediately to have this person arrested.
Or—just kill him.
In short, it is absolutely impossible to welcome someone into the home with a smile and say welcome to join the family.
Unless you're crazy.
"Why don't you think about it from another angle?"
Huo Shizhen didn't seem to think this was anything worth thinking about, but since Lin Guantang asked, it wasn't impossible to explain:
"If your resemblance to him is just a coincidence, there's no point in killing an innocent person just for a face. If you really have a direct bloodline with him, then—"
"Given the fear in his heart and his unwavering belief in a genius beyond his time, I doubt I can kill that electronic ghost. Only you can end that fear."
So Lin Guantang finally understood what Mr. Huo was thinking.
——He doesn't mind Lin Guantang's existence, welcomes Lin Guantang to become a member of the family, and supports Lin Guantang's career, only because he wants Lin Guantang to become a weapon to deal with the source of fear.
And this was not something he forced Lin Guantang to do, but he had long been aware of Lin Guantang's words and actions, and predicted that he would make this decision after knowing everything.
Just like even if Lin Guantang didn't bring it up, Mr. Huo made a promise in advance, even if Mr. Huo didn't ask for it, Lin Guantang would definitely take the initiative to cut off his fear.
In this case, there is no need to waste time saying unpleasant things. It is so nice to be happy together, why make things unpleasant.
It’s better not to underestimate the elderly, right?
But knowing that he had already become an important part of Mr. Huo's plan, Lin Guantang felt not anger of being used, but... a kind of sadness.
And it wasn't that he felt sad that he was being used - seriously speaking, what happened between him and Mr. Huo should actually be considered a deal. This even made Lin Guantang more confident that Mr. Huo's promise was true, and he accepted this gift with peace of mind.
Because it was his reward in exchange for dealing with the ghost.
So what really made Lin Guantang feel sad was the person in front of him who was smiling at him.
"Is that the case with you?"
Lin Guantang tilted his head and looked at Huo Shizhen, remembering the rumors about his so-called imperial weapons, his voice was as light as a feather:
"You have been treated as a weapon of the empire from the beginning to the end, so you are indulged endlessly."
Huo Shizhen raised his eyebrows in surprise, realizing that Lin Guantang had some kind of pity for him.
It was a look that disgusted him, but when it came from Lin Guantang, it just made him feel a little helpless, a little funny, and a little unbelievably novel.
It was because Lin Guantang's reaction was too sensitive, which exposed his sincerity so easily, and it was also because... Lin Guantang actually felt such pity for him.
If others knew that someone would feel sorry for Huo Shizhen, he would probably be considered crazy.
Huo Shizhen himself also didn't feel that he needed sympathy.
Being used as an imperial weapon seemed to be his innate mission.
There's nothing to judge as good or bad, or feel sorry for—
Just like people have to work to make a living, although there are good and bad jobs, the fact that "people have to work" is a process that everyone has to go through.
He just got a more troublesome public office ten or twenty years earlier than others.
But then again, being pitied - specifically being pitied by Lin Guantang - was actually a nice and novel experience, which suddenly piqued Huo Shizhen's interest.
Although I won't just go along with it and play the victim, I don't mind enjoying the fun that comes with it.
Huo Shizhen just opened his arms slightly, and Lin Guantang really walked towards him.
Then, after hesitating for a moment, he took the initiative to sit on top of her, put his arms around her neck, leaned over her chest, and threw himself into her arms quite actively.
In the silent night, the wind and the moon were blocked out by the heavy curtains. Hugging each other like this, it was as if they were the only two people left in the world.
"Having sympathy for an alpha is terrible, it will make you fall into it and unable to extricate yourself, but—"
Huo Shizhen was already accustomed to stroking his back and speaking warning words, but that subtle smile did not arouse anyone's vigilance, but instead made Lin Guantang feel that -
The red thread of fate has deeply connected them.
He snuggled up to the cold chest beneath him, feeling that Huo Shizhen's voice seemed to resonate through his chest and reach his heart.
Then it finally came into my ears:
"However, I am happy to witness it and even look forward to it."
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