Duan Mingyuan had long realized that his experience was not applicable to the general public. New recruits who took him as a reference would undoubtedly lose their lives in vain on their first mission.
For him, interns and senior-rank specters didn't make much difference; to this day, he had never encountered an opponent who could make him break into a sweat, so he was unable to divide the various ratings in detail.
And this heavy burden naturally fell on Tang Qianqian's shoulders.
The clearer the eyes, the better, Duan Mingyuan firmly believed that, in the near future, this girl's "glorious deeds" would become a source of inspiration for countless others.
If even Tang Qianqian could stand on her own, what reason did you have not to be up to a person who carried four negative labels and could even print the Shiba Inu meme into a report and submit it to the division chief?
"First, the measuring instrument shows that your energy is at 1 point. You are currently at the 'intern' stage, which means you can only deal with specters at this level. The most important thing in this line of work is to have a clear self-awareness. Once you realize the opponent is beyond your range of ability, your first choice must always be to retreat."
Duan Mingyuan felt like he was back to training interns, an area in which he had ample experience.
The lesson he learned was to never apply one's own common sense to interns and to explain everything in painstaking detail. Otherwise, their highly imaginative operations could deliver a fatal blow in unexpected ways.
To put it in simpler terms, if you encounter something you can't beat, run.
It's a fact understood by three-year-olds, but recent events had led Duan Mingyuan to suspect that members of the organization in certain respects might be inferior even to three-year-olds.
The pursuit of the Night Disaster was undoubtedly tragic.
Many people with aspirations in the organization had sacrificed their young and precious lives to unravel the true face of the Night Disaster.
But if one viewed this problem from another angle...
The first group to track the Night Disaster sacrificed themselves and brought back the message that pursuing it could lead to misfortune and untimely death.
The second group, upon hearing this, cheerfully proceeded and, predictably, met with an annihilation, confirming with their lives the rationality of the first group's message.
The third group, building on this, used vehicles, thus delivering the significant intelligence that hiding in cars was futile.
Then came Mr. Da Jiang. Hearing that the Night Disaster might be in Yunlong City, he, as Yunlong City's liaison, took the lead and, by dying at the hands of the Night Disaster first, set an example for the other members.
Even the Calabash Brothers couldn't match your ability to sacrifice!
This was Duan Mingyuan's view on the matter, not surprisingly, the industry's workforce was dwindling and becoming less prosperous.
"At all times and places, ensuring your own safety should be your top priority,"
Duan Mingyuan emphasized again the importance of fleeing, as he did not admire this kind of senseless behavior.
If there was something most needed for reform in the industry, it was this habit of exchanging information through the piling up of casualties. Under such a trend, the new recruits just entering the industry became expendable materials.
Duan Mingyuan never thought so.
To assess a person's talent, one must consider various perspectives. Some people might simply not be good at fighting specters. If they switched positions, they might become excellent intelligence analysts, outstanding logistics personnel, or even psychologists and mentors who could quickly familiarize the rookies with the industry.
Even Tang Qianqian could potentially become a pioneer inspiring countless people in the future.
But once dead, a person's value is forever halted, and there are no more possibilities for the future.
"Remember, Tang Qianqian, only the living can create value. If you throw away your life for some foolish reason, I will not respect you, nor will I mourn for you,"
This was the third time Duan Mingyuan stressed the importance of this matter and was the most familiar interaction pattern between him and Tang Qianqian.
Because he knew very well, if you don't emphasize something three times to Tang Qianqian, she could turn around and forget to show it to you.
Mistakes at work can be remedied, but life does not offer a second chance.
"I understand, senior!"
Tang Qianqian nodded earnestly.
"Then, please listen to the question."
"Huh?"
"Tonight, on his way home, Xiao Ming realized he was being targeted by an evil spirit that followed him onto the subway, seeming to wait for him to be alone. If you were Xiao Ming, what would you do?"
"Ah? Um..."
The question came quite unexpectedly, but after pondering for a moment, Tang Qianqian gave her answer, "Get off at the busiest commercial center subway station midway, enter the restaurant with the highest foot traffic, and then call my senior's phone."
She just wanted to coast through life, not to actually be foolish.
She never intended to sacrifice her self-interest for the future of the industry from the beginning.
Living is the only way to have a future, and even if the industry has no future, she could always change careers.
"Correct answer."
Duan Mingyuan nodded in approval, as this was exactly the response he had in mind.
"Senior..."
Tang Qianqian thought of something.
The notebook was filled with records of evil spirits, which could be considered an encyclopedia in the industry. However, Miss September said that all the knowledge in here was recorded by the senior through his own efforts.
Suddenly, she somewhat understood why her senior emphasized the importance of escaping so seriously again and again. It must have been a lesson taught by example. If the senior had not chosen to escape at the beginning, but instead faced the enemy head-on like a passionate youth, perhaps this extremely important encyclopedia would never have come into existence, and all the information would have ended with the first evil spirit he encountered.
Then, just like the outcomes mentioned in the notebook, he would forever become one of the missing, his search notice posted on telephone poles.
"These must be heartfelt words from you after dealing with so many evil spirits."
Duan Mingyuan paused, his gaze also passing over those familiar records in the notebook.
Memories from high school surged forth like a tide.
"That's right."
After a while, Duan Mingyuan nodded, "Nothing is more persuasive than this notebook. Evil spirits are different from humans; regardless of whether they are intelligent or not, they are a group that once they set their sights on a target, will never retreat. They will follow you to the ends of the earth until the moment of your death."
"Huh? Then senior, you are..."
It was Tang Qianqian's turn to be taken aback, as the senior's reply was somewhat different from what she had expected.
She had thought that he would offer her some specific strategies for escaping.
"This is a negative example, precisely illustrating the dangers of overconfidence," Duan Mingyuan said with a tone full of regret. "If they had understood the importance of adaptability and retreat at the time, they wouldn't have been recorded in it in such a manner."