Chris walked out of the hatch of the invisible starship with heavy but somewhat frivolous steps. At this moment, his mind was still like a level 12 storm, occupied by the Death Race he had just witnessed.
Whenever he gently closes his eyes, he can't help but think of the thrilling track. There, obstacles that can kill people are entangled like Demons, and if you are not careful, you may be hit Reducto; and from the stands, there are bursts of crazy and deafening cheers like crazy believers worshiping gods.
However, the most unforgettable thing for him was the ultimate winner who stood on the top of the mountain - O'Connell! O'Connell was clad in glow, stepping on the remains of everyone and marching forward until he ascended to the throne of Champion. At that moment, the supreme glory and ultimate sense of accomplishment emanating from him seemed to penetrate time and space and hit the depths of the soul, making it impossible for anyone to resist its charm.
O'Connell's ruthless and violent driving skills that completely disregard life and death, as well as his terrifying determination to win by any means or even sacrifice everything, are very similar to the drag racing style Chris once had in his frivolous years.
After experiencing this visual baptism of blood and the smell of engine oil, Chris felt that the engine fire deep in his heart, which had been completely buried by long years and cruel reality, was miraculously rekindled.
"Brother, if you are determined to return to that racing track that belongs to you, you can contact me at any time," Cruz patted his shoulder before leaving, with great temptation in his tone, "I know a top coach with extremely superb skills and rich experience. As long as you nod, I can introduce you to him immediately."
Chris was in extremely confused mood at that time, so he just nodded absentmindedly and perfunctorily, and then embarked on the way back to his small apartment in despair.
During the entire journey back, his brain was like an overloaded machine, repeatedly struggling with a fatal question that could overturn his life: Should he completely overturn his long-held beliefs and change his ultimate goal in life from "becoming a high-ranking Arcanist" to "becoming a racing chief Champion who enjoys the spotlight"?
Reason seemed to be constantly whispering to him: Instead of waiting like an ascetic for decades in humility and suffering to gradually accumulate the huge wealth needed to buy Potions, it was better to turn around immediately and embark on this shortcut full of excitement and huge profits. Once he reaches the top and becomes the king of the track, he can easily pocket all the endless wealth and supreme glory.
And when that time comes, he can completely squander the huge bonus he won from the life-and-death race to buy the bottle of Potions that changes his destiny with great ease, and in the end he can still become a powerful Arcanist as he wishes. Yes, this curved road to saving the country is like a perfect script tailor-made for him.
After making this seemingly unassailable decision from the bottom of his heart, Chris breathed a long sigh of relief. He felt an unprecedented sense of relief all over his body, as if a heavy mountain that had been pressing on his spine for most of his life had been lifted off in an instant.
After returning to the apartment, he took steps habitually, preparing to walk to the bathroom to wash away the fatigue and dust of the journey. However, at the extremely sudden moment when his footsteps were about to step into the bathroom threshold, his body froze in place as if he was electrocuted.
'No! Wait a minute! My most persistent and most desired ultimate dream in this life has always been to master the gorgeous and mysterious power of magic! I have paid so much for it, why should I give up halfway so easily and so absurdly at this juncture?!'
In an instant, long-lasting memories like a tide uncontrollably washed away the floodgates in his mind. Chris recalled with incomparable clarity the shocking day many years ago when the wizards finally took off their disguises and announced their existence to the world.
In that short night, the underlying logic of the entire earth and the entire world was completely overturned: the originally dull, dull, gray world tightly framed by rigid physical laws seemed to have been wiped clean again by a pair of invisible giant hands, becoming brighter and more vivid than ever before, and filled with shuddering magical miracles everywhere.
To this day, Chris can still vividly recall that when he, as an ordinary mortal with no power, looked up at those wizards who were high and powerful, the extreme desire and deep Envy surged deep in his heart that almost swallowed him up.
He remembered that not long after the magical enlightenment that swept the world, the first generation Magitech product that subverted human cognition came out: it was a magic flying broomstick that any ordinary person could fly on, regardless of whether they had magical talent. In order to personally touch the miracle that once only belonged to myths and legends, he waited in a crowded queue for more than eight hours before finally buying it.
The moment he stepped firmly on the magical broom, an indescribable power surged into his heart. As his body gradually rose into the sky, he finally got rid of the fetters of the earth's gravity, like a vigorous eagle spreading its wings and flying high!
At this moment, he was in the vast blue sky, and everything he could see was a magnificent scene. The breeze blew gently on his face, bringing a hint of coolness; the sun shone on his body, warm and bright. He enjoyed this unprecedented and wonderful feeling - a pure ecstasy and unparalleled freedom that made his soul tremble!
This peak experience made him intoxicated and unable to extricate himself. Every wave of his wing-like arms, every light and agile turn, was so smooth and refreshing. He seemed to be integrated into this vast universe and became Overlord in the sky.
As time rolled forward ruthlessly, he witnessed with his own eyes those aloof wizards, with an unstoppable attitude, extremely quickly integrated into and completely controlled human society; their god-like figures filled all the news headlines and media screens overwhelmingly.
And during that turbulent transition period, as negative news exposing the cruel truth of Old Era and the bloody history of Wizarding World broke out like a blowout, the vast majority of ordinary people who could not bear the collapse of their worldview chose to be like ostriches and could only stare closely at the very few moderate channels that were still whitewashing peace and showing a positive and glorious image of wizards.
Later, Chris personally experienced the Dementors full-scale invasion of Cataclysm, which was like the end of the world. It was during those dark years when rivers of blood flowed and victims were everywhere, that he truly and deeply understood the ultimate darkness and ruthless cruelty of magic hidden under its gorgeous coat.
However, what is incredible is that after witnessing the terrifying destructive power of magic, his desire for this absolute power has not diminished at all, but has burned even more crazily and hotly! Those civilian Magitechs that he once couldn't put down, have now become boring and cheap toys in his eyes, and can no longer fill his greedy appetite like a bottomless pit.
The flow of time never stops. When all mankind finally deeply understood the cold cruelty of this vast universe and the despairing horror of the laws of magic, the magnificent and boundless Arcane Empire rose from the ruins.
Immediately afterwards, the top-secret news about "Universal Mage Program" began to be quietly released among the people in an extremely secretive manner, which injected a crazy shot in the arm to countless mortals with humble ambitions like Chris. For this illusory hope, he struggled for more than thirty years, and finally waited for the great moment when this heaven-defying project was announced to be completed.
But fate played an extremely cruel joke on him: in the final national qualification test, he was ruthlessly pronounced by a cold instrument as "having no magical talent." The complete failure of the test shattered the hopes and dreams he had guarded for more than thirty years.
After that devastating blow, Chris's spirit was almost on the verge of collapse, and half of his feet had stepped into the dark corner of extreme depression and despair. But in the end, with an extremely tenacious will that far exceeded ordinary people, he crawled out of the quagmire and gritted his teeth to survive the most difficult years;
Because he blindly believes that as long as Arcane Empire, which is powerful enough to subvert the common sense of the universe, still exists, one day, Empire will definitely develop some kind of heaven-defying method that allows ordinary people like him to touch the power of magic!
Therefore, he continued to hibernate and suffer.
When the technology "Gate of Truth Alchemy" was fully popularized and once again gave him a chance to master extraordinary power, he rushed forward desperately as if he had grasped the last life-saving straw. However, reality gave him another chance A heavy blow: After careful testing, his affinity for energy control was shockingly low, which meant that he could not use Gate of Truth to become a superior Arcane Warlock.
Despite this, even if he can only use this incomplete technology to perform the most superficial and basic material refining and transformation, he still feels satisfied and happy, because in his opinion, no matter how inferior it is, it is still another form of manifestation of magical power.
The most glorious and greatest day of dawn that he has ever experienced in his life was the day when Empire officially announced the existence of "Dragon Potion" to the entire universe!
At that moment, he was extremely convinced that the ultimate turning point that he had been waiting for for most of his life had finally arrived. All he had to do was just one thing: wait. He gritted his teeth, worked hard, squeezed every drop of sweat from himself, and then morbidly grabbed every gold coin and merit he had saved in his hands.
As long as he can persevere and endure until the day he accumulates enough merits, he can truly achieve that amazing and amazing act of changing his destiny, and usher in his own beautiful future that shines with endless light and glory.
In order to achieve this almost crazy and unswerving ultimate goal, even though he is now an octogenarian, he still remains alone. He has never had the slightest idea of getting married, starting a family, having children, and other things that ordinary people pursue. Because a long time ago, he made an extremely vicious vow to himself:
Unless he can completely ascend to the top of the magic temple that symbolizes supreme power and status, and achieve unprecedented achievements and unrivaled absolute victory at this moment; otherwise, he is determined not to allow any form of emotion or family relationship to become a stumbling block in his progress or even a heavy burden that drags down his entire career development process!
In the few short seconds just now, Chris felt that most of his ups and downs life was like a movie that had been pressed on the fast forward button, flashing back and replaying crazily in front of his eyes. He absolutely did not believe that he, who had been able to deny his relatives and suffer for decades for the sake of magic, would so contemptuously and without hesitation abandon the belief that he had spent his whole life to defend just because of a moment of enthusiasm!
"This is definitely not normal... Is it because I have been under too much pressure recently, which has caused a serious decline in my mental health?" He murmured to himself in a low voice with a pale face, and then turned his eyes to the robot maid Angela, who was standing quietly aside.
He frowned and pondered whether he should immediately activate the maid's built-in "Deep Psychological Analysis Module" to conduct an emergency assessment of his mental state, which seemed to be in serious trouble. In this highly developed Empire, all magic robots distributed to citizens are forced to have this top-notch psychological counseling and treatment mode built-in to monitor and maintain the master's mental health around the clock.
'No, relying on a cold machine to analyze is too hasty. I'd better talk to a real living expert directly,' Chris made up his mind. He immediately issued the highest priority instruction to Angela, asking her to immediately connect to the Empire's "National Mental Health Service Center" network and urgently apply for an interview with a top psychotherapist with the highest license.
Empire's response system can be called Godspeed. In less than a few seconds, a notification popped up on his magic terminal, confirming that he had successfully made an appointment for an online consultation in an hour.
Chris went to the bathroom and rinsed hard with cold water, then connected his consciousness to the boundless virtual network world and prepared to participate in the consultation. As the scene changed, he found himself in an extremely warm psychological consultation room. He was sitting on a sofa, and opposite him, a young lady with dark skin and curly hair was sitting, holding a traditional pen and paper in her hand.
"This lady, your appearance seems very familiar," Chris couldn't help but say.
"You've most likely seen my face on TV," the woman responded with an extremely gentle smile.
"I remembered! You are... Shanice Doctor Jin! The 'spiritual arcane master' recognized by the entire Wizarding World as the top Arcane Empire, and also the most authoritative Defenders in the field of the Empire's psychology and mental health!" Chris blurted out in shock.
Chris has not only witnessed the grace of this legendary woman on major heavyweight news channels, but has also read in-depth reports about her. She is not only a terrifying Arcanist with Sixth Tier strength, but also a magic tower master who is in charge of the supreme Authority! As early as the early days of the Arcane Empire's rise, she was already famous throughout the world.
Her tireless figure is always active in the most influential official networks, and she strongly promotes and advocates more complete mental health bills and social policies. She once made a core conclusion: in the context of explosive and rapid development of technology, magic, and the entire social form, the maintenance of national mental health must become an indispensable core in the Empire development blueprint Cornerstone; she pointed out extremely seriously that this is a necessary means to help citizens better adapt to this new era.
In fact, the "Deep Psychological Analysis Mode" loaded in the robot maid of Chris's house was made by Doctor Jin! Even the relevant core subroutines in Tower Spirit used by those tower owners who are proud of themselves were all created by her.
"You are exaggerating, I can only be regarded as one of the top ones," Doctor Jin responded humbly with a gentle smile that made people feel like spring breeze.
"I just find it a little unbelievable... Shouldn't a big shot like you be busy hosting academic research or delivering speeches at some high-level meetings?"
"I have always stubbornly believed that every patient should be treated personally. Moreover, as a therapist with power comparable to that of a god, I have a great advantage: I can split my consciousness into millions of clones to do my best to help as many people as possible."
"It must feel great."
Doctor Jin relied on her keen insight to instantly capture the flash of Envy in his tone. "So, Chris, what happened today that prompted you to take the initiative to come to my clinic?"
Chris hesitated for a moment, and finally told everything that had happened in the past few days in detail - even the dark side of his extremely audacious participation in the illegal underground activities that violated the Empire law. No details were concealed. He emphatically described to the doctor the serious crisis he had just experienced that could change his life: how he suddenly changed his mind and completely abandoned the dream he had held on to for decades as if possessed by an evil spirit.
Doctor Jin immediately felt that something was extremely unusual. She directly used her highest access authority and instantly retrieved all the top-secret data on Chris collected by the official government of the Empire, including the extremely detailed in-depth character analysis report.
The comments on the report are extremely eye-catching: strong-willed, extremely goal-driven, hard-working, extremely patient and tolerant, and full of ambition.
'It is absolutely impossible for a person with such a character to undergo such an abrupt change.'
"If you don't mind, can you change to the mode of 'Soul Link' and log in to this virtual network again?"
"What's wrong? Is something wrong?" Chris asked in a panic and hastily.
"It's possible."
Chris hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and exited the current network, then abandoned the conventional neuron access and switched to the highest level "Soul Link" to go online again.
The moment he came back online, Doctor Jin immediately activated her extremely professional attainments and launched an in-depth analysis and scan of Chris's soul.
"It's just as I expected."
"What exactly did you find?"
"Someone... or some unknown existence has extremely maliciously implanted a very compulsive 'spiritual Divine Power psychological suggestion' deep in your soul."
"Psychological suggestion?! Why is this happening?"
"I don't know the specific reason yet. However, judging from the mechanism of this suggestion, its purpose seems to be to forcefully influence and change your choice of career."
"They went to great lengths to do this just to force me to become a racing driver?! This doesn't make sense at all logically!"
"It is indeed extremely abnormal - especially when you consider that the casting intensity of this spell has actually reached a level of terror comparable to Fifth Tier Archmage. But that's not what fascinates me the most. What is shocking and truly incredible is that you actually broke through the control of this spell by yourself!" Doctor Jin analyzed with great amazement. "How did you do it?"
"I don't know either."
"Is it because you hide some extremely special secret, or is it because something happened to the caster who cast the spell in secret?" Doctor Jin said while conducting an extremely fast scan on his soul again, but still no other abnormalities were detected.
"I think it must be the former, definitely because of my own reasons."
"Maybe," she gave a noncommittal answer. "I will report your special situation immediately."
"Am I going to get into big trouble?"
"No. Those bookmakers who were manipulating that illegal event behind the scenes are in big trouble this time, because they blatantly trampled on the iron laws of the Empire and must be completely shut down. As for you, nothing will be implicated in your head."
"Thank God for that. I finally breathed a sigh of relief."
"Okay. Next, let's continue the research and guidance that we just interrupted."
At the same time, in an extremely secretive half-dimension of darkness, two strange dark shadows were having a secret communication. One of the shadows was kneeling on one knee, lowering his head deeply towards the other figure.
"Master, our plan for Chris Qiu... failed."
"Tell me something I don't know, you useless waste," the figure standing proudly in the darkness let out an extremely cold and biting snort.