Surviving in a Collapsed World, Is Something Wrong?

Chapter 420: Star Thoughts and Pretense

"invest?"

"Yes, the Fire Moth has restricted your genius in every way, but my vision is much broader than that of everyone in this world combined. There are secrets in the depths of the universe that you don't know about."

There was a gleam of light in Jiang Ming's eyes, emitting a strange glow.

"Like you said before, knowing the past and the future, I do know a little about the past, and I also know the future of this world's civilization, but how can I change this fate overnight? But blindly and forcefully interfering with this world is definitely not a good choice."

"A pioneer once said that whether it is the past or the future, it should be left to the people of this generation to choose. Besides, if we interfere too much and do too much, we will get tired. Proper rest and entertainment are also necessary."

"So although I can't interfere too much in your world, I can invest in you and let you try your best to defeat Honkai with your own strength. What do you think of this proposal?"

"......"

Mebius raised his lips slightly, revealing a suspicious sneer: "Why do you want to help me? What reason do you have to help me? What good will it do for you to help me?"

Jiang Ming told him everything he knew, "The reason I'm helping you is because you're Mobius, a genius. Everyone in the world who knows about Honkai knows you. You're almost the best candidate for me to invest in. The reason is naturally that people of your generation need to defeat Honkai. But as I said, this is an investment I'm making in you. Since it's an investment, it will naturally pay off. Just defeating Honkai itself is of great benefit to me."

"So what kind of investment are you going to give me? Or among all the various cosmic rules you have, are there any that are suitable for me? By the way, I am very interested in that life."

Mebius accepted it very quickly, probably because Fire Moth really had too many constraints on her, preventing this genius from performing freely, or maybe because it would be a fool not to take advantage of an opportunity.

"Haha, it's impossible to let you comprehend the rules of the universe directly." Jiang Ming saw that Mobius said this, obviously agreeing to the investment, so he explained with a smile.

"The rules of the universe are the creation of my school. Dr. Mobius, you are an outsider to me after all. How can I teach you such an important rule of the universe?"

"Then why can you give it to that recruit?"

"She's much more honest than you, isn't she?"

"........"

Jiang Ming smiled bitterly: "In the field you are good at, the rules of the life universe are indeed very suitable for you, but because they are too suitable for you, this investment is too huge and also has very dangerous and unstable factors."

"After all, all I have to do is to defeat Honkai. There is almost no difference between letting you defeat Honkai and me defeating Honkai. As long as we win in the end, it's fine. So how can I give such important rules of the universe to you, the unstable factor? Doctor, I believe in your talent, but I don't believe in your loyalty to me." The bitter smile gradually faded, and Jiang Ming said indifferently.

"Just in terms of strength, I am like a drop of water compared to the ocean, an ant compared to an elephant. Under such circumstances, even if I betray you, can you still do nothing to me?"

“When a drop of water mixes into the ocean, the ocean will feel very distressed because it cannot detect the whereabouts of the drop of water. Even an ant, if it has a huge foundation, can lift an object that is more than 400 times heavier than itself. What’s more... you are Mobius, I can’t bear to let you go.” Jiang Ming showed a meaningful smile, without any intention of danger.

"........What else can you give me?"

"this."

Several balls of light appeared out of thin air in Jiang Ming's right hand. The light balls floated in the air and gradually came into Mebius's hand.

The latter looked at the ball of light vigilantly. Jiang Ming seemed to have activated some means, and the ball of light gradually dissipated, revealing two poisonous insects.

"This is......?"

Jiang Ming explained: "This is a Gu worm, made by refining the rules of the universe. Each Gu worm contains different rules of the universe. Although I can't teach you the rules of the universe directly, it's still okay to borrow them like this. These Gu worms all have my will. If I want you to use them, you can use them. If I don't want you to use them, you can't use them. Therefore, as long as you don't do anything excessive, I won't stop you."

“Maybe what I said before is a little confusing, but as long as you use it once, you will understand it all.”

"Hmph, I really hate constraints like this." Mebius' tone sounded obviously dissatisfied.

"That depends on your style, doesn't it? Dr. Mobius, as for restraint, as long as you don't disturb the actions of me and my companions, and don't disturb the lives of other lucky sons of this world like you, I will never disturb you from using the insect." Jiang Ming said in a solemn tone.

"Child of Destiny?"

Judging by Mebius's expression, she wanted to know more.

"Well, the children of destiny I mentioned are people like you who will have important influence on the future. Don't be confused about how many there are. There will be at least two digits. Alicia is one of them. You will meet each other in the future. This is fate."

Mebius narrowed his eyes slightly: "Huh, you said you wanted to change your fate, but now you say this is fate's arrangement?"

Jiang Ming shook his head and said calmly: "Doctor, everything has its destiny - like insects looking for food, clouds floating, earthquakes and tsunamis, meteorites falling, life and death. In the eyes of most people, these may be taken for granted, but they are all based on the destiny of heaven and earth."

"You see the sun rise and the moon set, and then the moon rises and sets. This is their fate. Can it be changed? Of course you can, but how difficult do you think it will be?"

"Each of us, every life, even a river, a mountain, a drop of water, a fire, a thunderbolt... they all have their own meaning and value."

"And in this collapsed world, humans and the collapsed are in a state of the jungle. There is no right or wrong, only positions. So this does not mean that fate is necessarily right. What I have to do is to change the fate of this civilization being defeated by the collapsed."

Jiang Ming observed Mobius's expression, paused, and continued: "Doctor, I observed the past and the future. You are indeed defeated, and I am a person from the future. Don't worry about my identity. No matter what, I will not tell you. Perhaps after you defeat Honkai, my identity will no longer need to be concealed."

"Doctor, no matter what, this is a cooperation that is very beneficial to you."

After a moment of silence, the girl asked casually: ".......What are the names of these two poisonous insects?"

Jiang Ming's smile grew wider, which meant that Mebius had agreed to cooperate with him.

"Haha, if we really want to talk about names, I haven't given them any yet. Let me introduce them to you first. They are both poisonous insects of the Zhidao universe rules, but the effects are different between the two."

"One of them is used to create a considerable number of ideas in your mind out of thin air. The collision of ideas can help you think quickly. If you encounter any difficult problems in the future, please use it."

"As for the other one... You should remember what I said before. The Way of Wisdom emphasizes three elements: thought, intention, and emotion. Thought refers to the idea, which is equivalent to the brain cells in the human brain. The collision can speed up thinking, but the efficiency is definitely much faster than the collision between brain cells."

"Intention is will. When multiple thoughts are mixed together, will is formed. For example, strong intention is formed by strong thought, which represents persistence. For example, special intention means that you will only do certain things specially. If you don't complete specific things, you will not do other things. Another example is poetry, which can make people feel inspired and sing beautiful poems." Jiang Ming patiently explained to Mebius.

"And emotion is the first of the three elements. When multiple wills merge together, emotion will be generated. Emotion is emotion. Emotion is the most complex and the most difficult to deal with."

"The first insect I gave you, when you activated it, it could generate star thoughts in your mind, making your thinking extremely fast. So let's call it the Star Thoughts insect. As for this second insect...it can generate a kind of will - false will."

"Pretense can get into other people's minds and pretend to be their thoughts, causing them to make decisions that don't fit their own situation, thereby interfering with their actions. Hmm... let's call it Pretense Gu. You can use it to deal with people who affect your experiments. No matter what they do, it won't affect their fate, so their survival has nothing to do with me."

"...I accepted it."

Mebius closed his eyes slightly, held the two poisonous insects in his palms, then opened his eyes and looked at Jiang Ming. When he was about to try to get some information out of him, he heard Jiang Ming speak first.

"Very good, since you have accepted my sincerity, let's talk about it in depth now. There may be many things in the future that will require you to trouble."

Mebius: ".......Huh?"

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