Yu Lian shuddered instinctively. He looked at Uncle Wang's still-thick, glossy black hair and felt a little more reassured.
But then again, Yu Lian had never heard of this so-called Gray Foothills Island Technical University, despite how well-traveled he was. It was probably just one of those countless city universities. By the standards of his previous life, it wouldn't even qualify as a third-tier institution—just a private vocational college.
He'd gone from the applied mathematics department at Red Mountain University, one of the top five universities in the galaxy, to a technical college in some city. No wonder even a poor student like Uncle Wang could feel his IQ reclaiming the high ground.
No wonder he'd graduated in just two years.
Whether that counted as a fall from grace depended entirely on Uncle Wang's own feelings. At least judging by his expression, he seemed rather proud of himself. He hadn't even lost any hair. He also seemed to have fully recovered from the blow of being outmaneuvered during the War God Festival.
...Fine, then. Programming it was. Programmers sacrificed their hair and their livers for the prosperity of the internet economy, and they were very good at reading the room, always remembering to enter themselves into the labor market at thirty-five. When it came to the self-discipline of being human ore, they were almost on par with assembly-line workers in electronics factories.
But Wang Jingyang, now nearing fifty, showed no dissatisfaction with his career plans. Instead, his face was full of hope for the future, like a college student in graduation season who still hadn't lost faith in life.
"I've still got a graduation project to do. I should be able to return home around March or April this year."
"Don't tell me your assignment after you get back is