The students range in age from six or seven-year-old children to adults in their thirties or forties. A teacher with a youthful face but gray hair is giving a passionate lecture.
Even through the cabin door, the sound could be clearly heard by Wen Jing.
"... Every breath of air we take, every drop of water we drink, is not free; even our lives themselves are subject to a life loan."
Before the Great Cataclysm, survival was an inherent right, but in our time, survival has become a service that requires payment.
This is the 'alienation of the right to life'!
"The ten largest conglomerates have seized all of humanity's cosmic resources—planetary resources, energy, and even planetary orbits—and put prices on them openly."
"They tell you that if you want to live, you have to exchange your labor, your freedom, everything you have."
"When you are unable to pay, the Mastermind will label you as a 'negative asset population' and ruthlessly abandon you to the very bottom of the ecological cycle!"
"They create scarcity and anxiety, making you spend your entire lives struggling for the most basic right to survival... But think about it, the galaxies are there, the universe is full of energy, this abundant world has always existed, so who created this untouchable prison for us?"
Yan Sheng had been watching Wen Jing's expression closely, but unfortunately she just listened quietly and didn't show any obvious emotions.
People who usually come to the Ten Star Group will have different reactions when they hear these things.
However, upon further reflection, he realized that Wen Jing's achievements, status, and future prospects were so bright that it was impossible for her to even consider them.
After a long silence, Yan Sheng finally decided to stick to his original plan and communicate with her honestly and directly.
" Wen Jing, I have a question, if I may ask."
His tone was calm, yet unconsciously tinged with a hint of difficulty. "In the eyes of a chosen one like you, a powerful Awakened, are the lives of ordinary people like us who cannot awaken... meaningless?"
Although it's not explicitly stated, the basic consensus of this era is that ordinary people are simply playing the 'game experience' of the tycoons and the Awakened.
Sadly, even the vast majority of ordinary people think this way.
Unexpectedly, Wen Jing looked at him in surprise. "Why would you think that?"
"If the existence of ordinary people is meaningless, and they only believe in... cough, only in the law of the jungle, then there's no need for human civilization to exist at all. We might as well all regress to the Ancient Wilderness jungle law of antiquity!"
Yan Sheng, sitting opposite her, was taken aback; he hadn't expected her to give that answer.
"Civilization is the ladder of progress."
Wen Jing's words were a double entendre for her— the Skill Points she used for evolution were essentially the crystallization of civilization's wisdom.
Even in this era of Mastermind governance and technology-driven management, human thought, emotion, creativity... collectively known as wisdom, remain the source of progress.
"Don't even mention that the Mastermind's database was originally built on the foundation of pre-Cataclysmic human knowledge. Although it can now autonomously study many things in the material universe, most of its data still originates from humanity."
"Otherwise, what's the point of the Federation collecting data from all test takers every year for the joint entrance exam? If the Mastermind is omniscient and omnipotent, wouldn't it be enough for it to make the final judgment itself?"
Wen Jing didn't react when she heard about the 'alienation of the right to life' earlier because she had clearly recognized this point since early childhood.
Yan Sheng's eyes lit up with excitement. "Since you think so, then..."
The initial visits were just pleasantries; when the real intentions were revealed, the Ten Star Group naturally wanted to recruit Wen Jing.
"I will not join you," Wen Jing, refusing him first.
"If you have reservations—" Yan Sheng quickly tried to say something.
Wen Jing held an appreciative attitude towards these rebels, regardless of their specific reasons for resisting, but...
"No, I won't join you because I know you're unlikely to amount to anything."
"..." Yan Sheng choked up on the spot.
"Your uprising cannot succeed in this society."
Wen Jing's tone was cold. "Unless you awaken the entire population, making everyone like a dragon, with power belonging to each individual; or conversely, sever the connection between heaven and earth, preventing everyone from awakening, and completely stripping extraordinary power from this world."
"Otherwise, it's impossible to overthrow the current social system from the bottom up."
This world with the extraordinary is the opposite of the world without the extraordinary. In the world without the extraordinary, top-down reforms are full of drawbacks, and only bottom-up reforms can bring about a true social revolution.
However, in this world, all of this is impossible.
Because the gap between Awakened and ordinary people is a disparity in military strength that even advanced technology cannot bridge, and this is directly related to survival.
Wen Jing's gaze fell upon the young faces in the classroom. "Moreover, even if this world doesn't have extraordinary abilities, class differences will still exist in other forms such as wealth, power, and knowledge."
"A world where everyone can equally obtain happiness is merely a theoretical social construct."
Yan Sheng's expression changed several times. He had never expected to discuss such an in-depth topic with her at this time.
Of course, this doesn't mean that he was persuaded by Wen Jing and his views were completely changed.
After all, only idealists knowingly do the impossible—without sufficient awareness, who would rebel?
This is also where Wen Jing admires them.
However, her words undoubtedly brought a lot of shock and reflection to the leader of the Ten Star Group who was in charge of ideological education.
Yan Sheng carefully considered her words, remaining silent for a while before finally asking, "Then what would an ideal society be like?"
"Have no idea."
Wen Jing shook his head, then continued, "However, I believe the most basic form of civilization is ensuring that even the most vulnerable members of society can live with dignity."
"Yes... who doesn't want to live with dignity?"
Yan Sheng lamented that, without a doubt, ordinary people in this era are a vulnerable group.
That's a lack of even the dignity of survival; the existence of life loans is the most blatant contempt.
The tour had been going on for almost an hour, Wen Jing wanted to make a trip to the Chess Game World before the night ended, so he said, "Commander Yan, I'm a little tired. Could you take me to my room?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, please follow me!" Yan Sheng composed himself and quickly led the way.
However, he couldn't help himself and asked again, "Sorry, one last question."
"Go ahead and ask."
Wen Jing couldn't help but laugh, recalling his previous conversation with Dean Bai. It seemed that the Ten Star Group lacked self-control.
Yan Sheng quickly organized his thoughts. "As mentioned before, in this era, the influence an individual can exert is far greater than in non-supernatural eras. Without a doubt, you—no, perhaps you already possess the power to shift the balance of power..."
So what are your thoughts?
He was certain that Wen Jing was dissatisfied with the current state of the world, but he wanted to know what she would choose to do.
Wen Jing shrugged and, as he opened the door, gave Yan Sheng an answer that surprised him.
"Me? I don't have any thoughts."
She could be said to have had no 'ideals' in this life.
Ideals are those that are desirable but unattainable.
For her, changing the world involves two steps: first, gaining the ability to change the world; second, changing the world.
"I'll think about it when I'm able to do it."
Chapter 154
While Yan Sheng was deep in thought because of this conversation, Wen Jing, who had come to the guest room, familiarized himself with the surroundings, left a gravitational afterimage, and then entered the Ancient Wilderness.
This action was not necessary; it was merely out of habit.
Once outside the academy's premises, Wen Jing no longer needed to worry about anything.
Whether or not the Ten Star Group were secretly monitoring her, it wouldn't have any impact at this point, when the assassination had already occurred and Dean Bai was wreaking havoc because of her 'disappearance'.
After all, intelligence leaked from an officially certified terrorist organization is less credible.
The world changes in the next moment.
Wen Jing returned to the chessboard and saw the familiar chess pieces and layout.
Although not much time had passed since the assassination attempt, she inexplicably felt as if she had lived through another world.
After regaining her composure, she charged towards the nearest target piece.
After three consecutive nights of focused planning, the chess pieces in the third palace, just like in the second, all became Wen Jing's subordinates.
However, unlike the second palace, the pieces in this third palace are indeed more likely to surrender, but their loyalty is generally lower than that of the pieces in the second palace.
When it came to the last force, there wasn't even a direct confrontation; the opposing side simply bowed down in submission.
Furthermore, due to [ Summon Flint Fire ], the Priestess pieces still cannot be gathered together, resulting in a fight to the death. Therefore, her subordinates consist of Warrior and Craftsman pieces, with no Priestess pieces.
But this efficiency is undoubtedly much higher than that of the second palace.
However, when Wen Jing tried to step onto the central platform, he found himself still 'without a way to go'.
"What's going on? It's still not working?"
The bronze tripod and three mythological chess pieces are located in the center of the chessboard, which has a greater height difference than the basic chessboard.
In previous games, Wen Jing had passed through the central area many times but was unable to challenge the three mythical pieces. The rules had always only allowed Wen Jing to move on the bottom plane, which she thought was because of the presence of a large number of hostile forces.
Now she has captured all the pieces on the board, but the result is still the same.
Whenever Wen Jing tries to leap up the nearest step, no matter how high she flies, that step will always be in a higher position.