Flender was not highly educated. He knew that himself.
He could read, keep accounts, and understand the mission briefs issued by the Soul Master Association, but asking him to sit down with theoretical books thick enough to serve as bricks, memorize them, write the material into an exam paper, and produce answers that satisfied the graders...
Just imagining it made Flender's scalp tingle.
He was silent for quite a while before reaching for the copy of Fundamentals of Soul Master Education Theory on the table and casually flipping it open to a page.
Dense text crawled across the paper like ants. After reading two lines, Flender felt his temples begin to throb.
He closed the book and put it back on the table, his voice carrying a defeated despondency. "With this many books, how long am I supposed to study? At my age, I still have to start learning all this from scratch..."
The more Flender thought about it, the more impossible the path seemed. He leaned back in his chair, his gaze settling on the grayish-white ceiling above. After a long silence, he said, "How about... we forget it? I'll just retire and live out my old age properly."
He said it lightly, as if he had truly made up his mind.
Yet the fingers tapping unconsciously against the tabletop exposed his hesitation. Their rhythm was much faster than usual, carrying an anxiety that had been repeatedly pressed down but could never be smoothed away.
Yu Xiaogang had known him for so many years that he understood him too well.
He did not rush to refute him. He simply picked up the book Flender had closed, turned to the page Flender had randomly opened, and looked it over. Then he turned his head and said in an exceedingly steady