A philosopher who once put a black underwear over his head said, fear is the most effective weapon against villains.
The more you lack something, the more you need to compensate for it.
Villains are called villains because they bully the weak and fear the strong. The joy they get from bullying others is as much as the pain they suffer when they are bullied by others.
Under Wang Yunxiao's carrot-and-stick approach, Liu Jinfa spilled everything he knew about Third Master Ding, not leaving out a single detail.
Even the things he didn't know, Wang Yunxiao could piece together a clearer answer from the clues in his speech.
Don't ask why, ask and it's because of playing murder mystery games.
Sometimes Wang Yunxiao couldn't help but wonder where he learnt these skills that seemed "innate" and as natural as breathing.
But his memory hadn't recovered, and there was nothing to check.
It might be that he didn't drink the Meng Po Soup clean last reincarnation, or maybe he was rapidly frozen in hibernation, and his brain neurons hadn't fully thawed yet. Or perhaps, after dying in battle with the enemy, only half a chip was left, which his comrades picked up and smuggled into someone else's lab to freeload resources and reconstruct his body...
In the end, he thought better of it, since his soul had already transmigrated, there was no need to fuss over these details.
What matters most is living in the present.
Wang Yunxiao had no intention of playing the hero, single-handedly breaking into a gang's lair to fight evil and restore peace to Mortal World.
That's not very realistic.
He chose to go back to the school and compile the intelligence he had gathered into a report, which he handed over to Principal Zhou.
Some people are more suited for this kind of work.
And if everything went as expected, Third Master Ding's gang should be wiped out after his fling Xiao Baili was arrested.
If everything went as expected…
Principal Zhou called Huo Qingyang to the school again and talked with him for half an hour.
For twenty-five minutes, Huo Qingyang was on the receiving end of a lecture.
When Huo Qingyang walked out of the principal's office, Wang Yunxiao felt that his look was as if he wanted to eat him alive.
"Come, let's go up and talk."
The principal's office was located at the top floor of the teaching building, just below the roof.
Wang Yunxiao seriously considered the possibility of Huo Qingyang throwing him off the roof, but in the end, he obediently followed him up.
The wind was strong on the rooftop, and Huo Qingyang, hands in his pockets, looked gloomy.
Wang Yunxiao felt like any second he would open his mouth and say, "Give me a chance, I want to be a good person…"
"Why do you like to meddle so much?"
Hearing these words from Huo Qingyang's mouth, his likeability in Wang Yunxiao's eyes instantly dropped by 5.
Looking straight into Huo Qingyang's eyes, Wang Yunxiao said expressionlessly, "Our class girls are being dragged into ghost marriages, and you think this is meddling?"
Huo Qingyang did not answer him and took out a folded sheet of paper, shaking it slightly. "This report is well written, with clear organization and rigorous logic. Who taught you to write like this?"
Wang Yunxiao raised an eyebrow and said, "I have always been good at Chinese."
"What about your history grades?"
Wang Yunxiao had nothing to say.
As a transmigrator, he was least familiar with the local history.
Especially when it was a world line twisted beyond recognition.
"Come here!"
Huo Qingyang beckoned him over to stand by his side and cast his gaze toward the distant cityscape that stretched as far as the eye could see.
He pointed forward and said softly, "You cannot see the ocean from here, but this street can extend all the way to the seaside. Do you know how large Tianmen City is? Do you know its population? The local permanent population of Tianmen has nearly reached one million five hundred thousand, with over three hundred thousand immigrants from overseas, and that does not even include the surrounding counties and the transient population."
Where did these overseas immigrants come from?
Wang Yunxiao was profoundly shocked. What have you been doing overseas to bring back three hundred thousand immigrants? What color are they?
Huo Qingyang, unperturbed by his expression, continued, "But do you know how many people we have at the Special Service Bureau? The total of civil servants and special operations forces combined is less than eight hundred. These eight hundred people are responsible for handling all of Tianmen City's supernatural phenomena, paranormal events, international disputes... and all sorts of troublesome issues caused by all kinds of bizarre creatures. Do you think I just sit in the office every day, drinking tea and reading newspapers?"
Wang Yunxiao was put on the spot, suddenly unsure of how to respond.
In his subconscious, he had long become accustomed to trusting and relying on official powers.
It could be someone else's problem when disasters struck, chemical products leaked nuclear contamination, no matter how many died.
But even a slight issue at his own home would be unbearable.
He, or people of his time, had grown accustomed to the sensation of being protected, even taking it for granted as a basic life fact.
Even now, although he could understand the meaning of Huo Qingyang's words and sympathize with his difficulties, deep down, he couldn't help but entertain a wicked thought—Why not just hire more people if there aren't enough? What's there to fuss about? Isn't it your duty?
Wang Yunxiao silently slapped himself mentally.
"No people, no useful people."
Apparently seeing through Wang Yunxiao's thoughts, or perhaps because Huo Qingyang understood the crux of the issue, he stated frankly, "The new government has been established for less than two years, post-war numerous sectors need revitalization, and there's a shortage of high-quality technical personnel in all professions. The Qilin Army needs to expand, but there's no one; the Structure Factory needs to start operation, but there's no one; it's not just the Special Service Bureau that cannot find people, even schools like yours don't have enough teachers to fill all positions..."
"Tianmen City ranks as the fourth largest city in the country in terms of population and economic scale. Do you know what the illiteracy rate here is? As of the end of last year, it was about 65%, perhaps even higher. Less than one-tenth have graduated from elementary school. The education department wants to organize a literacy campaign, but they can't even find enough teachers!"
"You might not know... Mr. Zhou originally came to Tianmen to be the deputy mayor, to oversee the city's development plans. But when he arrived, he realized that all professions and industries depend on education first. Without improving the educational level of Tianmen City, all those seemingly splendid plans and blueprints are just fanciful tales, utterly impractical."
"There are many who can govern, but too few who can teach. That's why he resigned from his official position to focus solely on education. Qinghe Middle School is a test field, and all of you are the seedlings in this field. Only when you grow up can Tianmen City truly get on the right track."
Huo Qingyang turned to Wang Yunxiao and said solemnly, "I'm telling you all this because I want you to understand, there are no messiahs in this world, and the Special Service Bureau does not have spare manpower to deal specifically with trivial matters at Qinghe Middle School. I am Mr. Zhou's student, and I cannot ignore his calls. But the time I waste coming here and going back could delay more important matters."
"I understand you're upset about a girl from your class being taken for a ghost marriage. But right in the dark corners of this city, even as we speak, who knows how many girls her age are not only deprived of education but are also enduring fates far more tragic than a ghost marriage."
"Aren't they human too?"