The eye in the middle of Hood's forehead opened for a split moment, peering all around for a moment like a newborn, before closing again.
The slit then disappeared after, as if it was never there.
But Mu'en had clearly seen the intruder grow a third eye right after his failed attempt to extract Boss Lin's knowledge.
Only the heavens knew exactly what he had seen in the Boss' soul.
There were only two people involved in this invisible confrontation and it was Hood himself crying out his defeat. Nobody else would know whether there had been any extraction at all.
If he were successful in obtaining knowledge, then was this still the original Hood after having such an abnormal phenomenon occur to his body?
Anyone else in her position would have probably been scared witless by this scene.
However, Mu'en herself had been 'baptized' by a huge amount of knowledge before. Even though she knew the horrors of her boss more so than others, she no longer felt that surprised by this scene.
She turned away pretending that she hadn't seen anything. Her boss' desire for revenge was very strong indeed. Even though the other youth was many times weaker than herself, the boss had still toyed with him in such a nasty fashion.
Hood picked himself up, dusted himself off, then sat back obediently onto his original spot.
Lin Jie was pleased. His 'Chunnibyou Kungfu' had been on the mark indeed.
Indeed, wanting a teenager suffering from 'Chunnibyou-ism' required striking from their perspective, making them deeply aware that their actions had no real meaning.
Only this way would it be a truly mind-blowing lesson.
Haa... Saved yet another wayward youth today.
"Do you understand now? What exactly is all this extracting knowledge and Truth-seeking nonsense?"
Having heard the 'Truth-seekers' term and joining the dots from Claude's seemingly troubled reply, Lin Jie knew that this was surely an especially mischievous and disruptive academic group that was difficult to deal with.
And seeing from the conduct of Hood and his friends, Lin Jie could tell that this bunch was deeply obsessed.
Hood had a look of reverence and determination as he looked Lin Jie in the eye. Clenching his fists tight, he exclaimed, "I understand! All I have seen and known was false! They have deceived me all along, twisting whatever I knew to be true! I was wrong, I was entirely wrong!"
A Chunnibyou could be completely cured when what he firmly believed in was utterly shattered.
The results were surprisingly good.
A gratified Lin Jie preached, "You can change for the better if you know your mistake. "Remember, don't do such meaningless and illegal things in future. Breaking in and thievery is wrong. Even if you are stealing books, you are taking something that isn't yours. Do you understand?
"You are still young, with a young and bright future ahead of you. Don't think about reaping without sowing and learn to savor the joy of pursuing knowledge.
"True satisfaction can be gained only when you obtain something through your own efforts.
"This is something you've never felt before."
Hood nodded his head firmly. "You are right," he mused. "The ideology of Truth-seekers is just building castles in the sky. The high it goes, the more unstable it is. I need to have a more solid foundation and find my own way."
Lin Jie felt there was something he could impart to this youth. "Then go forge your own path. Being able to think this way means that you are a wise person.
"And Wisdom, is even more important than knowledge. You can create new things with knowledge. But with wisdom, you can create new knowledge!"
"Wisdom... create knowledge..." Hood repeated these words, his eyes lighting up by the minute. The way he gazed at Lin Jie now was almost fanatical.
Lin Jie eventually remembered the motive for his doling of chicken soup this time around.
He cleared his throat and said with a smile. "But you will need to take time to understand it. Let's talk about Rupert first."
Hood nodded without hesitation. "Rupert did not die of natural causes. It is rumored that he went mad after discovering a forbidden secret from studying the history of the transition between the Second and Third Era and killed himself.
"After his suicide, a number of archaeologist scholars tried digging into Rupert's cause of death and ended up dying themselves. Afterwards, nobody dared touch the relevant resources, and they were extremely fearful of information pertaining to that period. Panic spread and there were rumors that the 'Great Pestilence' from thousands of years ago would return. In order to stop this panic, the archeology department was abolished."
A series of deaths pertaining to research material was strange indeed. But there's also a possibility that information from that period subverted the understanding of these academics, which they found unacceptable.
Lin Jie pondered for a moment, then asked. "Are all the relevant resources sealed away?"
"Yes, they are. There's still one last complete copy of Dark Ages, Rise and Fall of Alfords in the Truth Union. It is said that this book caused Rupert to go mad and therefore it is highly restricted."
Without any hesitation, Hood continued enthusiastically. "I can bring it to you if you want."
Lin Jie was a tad surprised. "You can get it?"
Hood nodded, his eyes glowing with delight. "Chairman Maria of the Truth Union is my aunt. She's currently in seclusion and gave me borrowing rights."
Well, I guessed that this fellow's parents had some status in the Truth Union, but I didn't expect this high of a level.
With such a massive pillar behind him, it's no wonder he dared to break in and steal.
Lin Jie didn't forget to remind him. "Only if it's within your ability. Do not go out of line."
"Got it." Hood grinned.
At this time, a few of the other intruders started to wake up with dazed faces and drooling mouths, similar to dementia patients.
Lin Jie got Mu'en to help untie them as they all got up unsteadily. Fortunately, they still recognized Hood, and after meeting his gaze, the others in the group collectively bowed in apology towards Lin Jie, promising to no longer steal knowledge and to not believe in the Truth-seekers.
When Claude arrived, he saw the Truth-seeker youths as docile as lambs and at once understood that these fellows had asked for it and suffered.
As there was already a 'private settlement', Claude only asked a few token questions before letting them go.
After leading his group some distance away from the bookstore, he turned around to his gang. "You've all seen it for yourselves, right?"
The others had feverish looks on their faces and chimed in together.
"Yes!"
"The real truth is in the book!"
"That's right, how great it is!
"How beautiful!"
"I was shocked!"
"I feel so full inside and still want to do it again!"
"The books are gospels of wisdom, it's truly wonderful!"
With a huge grin showing all his pearly whites, Hood looked towards the group and spread his arms wide. "Well, from now on, we no longer believe in truth, alright?"
With infatuated expressions, the group shouted out in unison,"Yes!"
Hood went on. "So who do we believe in?"
The group of youth exchanged glances at each other and said gleefully, "Mr. Lin says that Wisdom creates new knowledge. We will believe in wisdom!"
———
Back in the bookstore, Claude hadn't left yet. After some hesitation, he asked Lin Jie, "Mr. Lin, have you heard from Wilde recently?"