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Throughout the entire process, they only listened and asked questions without offering any opinions, because even those few magicians who were merely affiliated with the group and lived a carefree life on their own could not fully represent themselves.
When people live in this world, even if they are only seeking resources that match their own needs, they still have to rely on others. If they want to control more, then they must no longer be just themselves, but a representative of a group.
Therefore, no one expressed their opinion, because in this scenario, one cannot have their own opinion.
In the royal study, only King Antoine III and his brother Philip were present.
Do you think there will be significant resistance going forward?
Antoine III asked his brother Philip.
This is why he is called a weak idealist. Before and after something, he always has to discuss it with others, even if it's just nonsense. He has to go through this step, otherwise he can't feel at ease and can't smoothly move on to the next step.
Philip took a sip of coffee and began his analysis.
"For now, you can simplify the people in the city into three categories: those who abuse power, intellectuals, and mobs. Intellectuals seem the most rebellious, always criticizing this and that, and having opinions on everything. If something really happens, they'll really cause a huge uproar. They're always talking about organizing and doing something. But actually, they're the most useless."
"Intellectuals do not pose an obstacle."
"Because they always talk about laws, morals, customs and other things, trying to solve problems within a framework, which is as ridiculous as someone locking themselves in a prison and then trying to discuss problems with the warden."
"And many artificial superhumans are intellectuals like this, so there's nothing to worry about."
“Power abusers may seem troublesome, but they are actually just like that. They are used to not following the rules and using the power they wield through violence and resources to directly accomplish certain things. They can eliminate a few and then distribute the benefits to the rest.”
"For us, the trouble is always the mob. If you don't let them have an easy time, they'll make sure you don't. If they can't do anything to you, they'll go crazy, tormenting themselves and others. They just can't be the only ones who have an hard time."
“It didn’t matter in the past, but in this day and age, many artificial superhumans are also mobs, and right now, many of them may have become ghosts.”
“They were able to behave themselves before, but they probably won’t be now. We must deal with this properly.”
The conversation ended for the moment, and Philip poured himself a cup of coffee, adding some…
Tang picked up her cup again and took a sip.
"So, give them benefits?" Antolo asked.
He knew very well who the mob his brother was talking about were. Thanks to transformation and transplantation technologies, there is now a group of people like this. They are artificial superhumans who come from some remote and uncivilized areas and whose education and manners are not as good as those of farmers in some villages and towns near big cities.
Whether they turn to the dark side and make money through criminal activities, or work hard in some marginalized areas to earn a living, they are all targets of extreme exploitation.
But ironically, they are violent.
Philip, the younger brother, quickly waved his hand. “My dear brother, interests are finite. Besides, some things, even if they have to be destroyed, shouldn’t be given to the mob, otherwise it will only embolden them.” “The real solution is to secretly encourage them to use patriotism as a pretext to attack the opposition. If we do nothing, let them loot.” “The first wave of mobs can get good things from those ‘traitors,’ but the later mobs won’t get anything. They’ll then have to escalate the situation, labeling more people as traitors and committing atrocities. In this way, they will incur the wrath of the masses.”
"At this time, we are stepping forward to severely punish these rioters, and incidentally, we are putting forward the slogan of rational patriotism, which is actually taking over the power to approve patriotism."
"In this way, we not only eliminated these lurking mobs, but also raised the banner of partisan strife."
"Brother, you don't need to worry about not having enough time or about things getting out of control. Riots are things that come quickly and go quickly."
"Those in power incite unstable elements to cause trouble and create chaos for the old forces, while they take the opportunity to reform the old system. Finally, they eliminate the so-called 'reform heroes' to soothe the wounds. This is what I learned from my elder brother's favorite biography, Ronan."
Philip continued to reassure his older brother, even bringing up the book "Ronan's Biography".
Although Antoine III hated France, he, like many ambitious rulers, admired Ronan, a man who could wield power while simultaneously pursuing his ideals.
“Good, that’s settled.” King Antoro III said with satisfaction.
He could sense that his brother's seemingly impulsive words were actually the result of a long-planned scheme, and that his brother was hiding many things from him. However, he wasn't worried that his brother wanted to usurp power. Firstly, the world wouldn't accept an artificially created superhuman in power, and secondly, Antoro III himself didn't care at all; he even felt that his brother was more suited for the position.
After a brief chat, Philip took his leave.
At the same time, in Chang'an.
It was already late at night in Chang'an, not far from dawn. A few breakfast shops were preparing to open, and Ronan was eating dumplings in one of them.
"Damn, who invented this mutton soup and mutton dumplings? It's amazing!" Ronan ate mutton dumplings and drank mutton soup, feeling incredibly satisfied. He even unconsciously picked up the local accent.
After finishing this meal of mutton soup and mutton dumplings, I'll need to have a morning fire before heading out.
The perspective shifts back to Austeria, thousands of miles away. Lavana, Louise, and Liz are preparing to sleep, as they need to get up early the next morning to visit Professor Noah at the Imperial University.
Earlier, after the King's speech, the three of them went to the school, but they didn't see Noah there. However, they learned that Noah's teacher had been invited to attend a small meeting convened by the King.
It's easy to imagine that Noah knew a great deal.
In that case, we should go find him even more.
The next day, the three of them went to the school and met Noah. Noah then recounted the key points of what he had seen and heard the day before to the three of them.
The three of them now had a much deeper understanding of ghost-like transformation.
“By the way, the existence of the three of you is very precious. You’d better find a place to hide.” Noah suddenly spoke up to advise, “You’re not infected, but he should have a way to give you the ability to become ghosts.”
“What’s there to hide from?” Louise retorted.
Noah smiled helplessly. Louise was sometimes surprisingly clever and quick-witted, and sometimes surprisingly silly. "Although the masked man didn't mention it, since he dared to spread this ghost disease indiscriminately, he must at least have the means to control people who can become ghosts. If they are valuable enough, he could probably achieve a control effect by going to great lengths."
"We can consider hiding, but we're not afraid of ghosts."
Chapter 1235 The scope is too narrow; social care; a church is a good place.
Noah remained noncommittal about Louise's words.
He added very seriously, "It's best not to come looking for me again, and don't go looking for Sigrid either. We're both being watched."
Noah wasn't worried about Lavana and the others; he was worried about himself.
After all, theoretically, the masked man's fighting power is not as strong as the three of them combined, and he is probably no match for the masked man. If he gets involved, the mask and the others will be fine, but he might be killed.
As for not seeking out Sigrid, that's because this woman most likely knows the masked man, and her stance is hard to predict.
“Ha, water skiing,” Louise said irritably.
"Then I won't bother you any longer." Liz took her leave.
Lavana nodded slightly in greeting, then turned and left with Louise and Liz.
Meanwhile, in another corner of the university, in the old school building.
The masked man sat in a dilapidated rocking chair missing one armrest, one elbow resting on the armrest, his palm supporting his chin, the other hand tucked into his trench coat pocket. He swayed slightly, the chair creaking and rocking like a restless child. Opposite him, a woman sat on a sofa. She wore an eyepatch over her left eye, her left leg was clearly a prosthetic, and her right hand was gloved. The masked man pulled a silver box from his pocket, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, snapped his fingers to create a flame, took a drag, lit the cigarette, inhaled deeply, and exhaled a large cloud of smoke. "Lisa," he said, "finally, our plan has taken its first step."
Lisa, who appeared to be sickly and disabled, spoke in a cold voice, "Ryan, you're not in good shape. You're a bit too excited. We're still a long, long way from success. Now is not the time to be complacent."
“I know, I just couldn’t help saying a few words,” the masked man Ryan replied. “You understand, only you and I know the real objective, so I can only speak to you.”
As a researcher with an outgoing personality who particularly enjoys being admired, having to constantly conceal his lofty true purpose and present himself as a mask is an extremely stifling and even painful thing for him.
He certainly didn't genuinely want to help Philip and Antoine III achieve their personal ideals.
Philip and Antoine III were well aware of this.
However, both of them thought he wanted power and authority, which shows their narrow-mindedness.
His goal was to change the form of human existence.
Long, long ago, when he and Lisa were still working for Gus and Ahriman, he gradually realized a problem: the vast majority of people in this world, whether powerful or powerless, intelligent or foolish, devoted their limited lives to almost endless struggles. This ubiquitous struggle promoted the progress of civilization to some extent, but it wasted resources even more.
The masked man wore an eye patch, his left lower leg was clearly a prosthesis, and his right hand was also covered by a black glove. He pulled a silver box from his pocket, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, snapped his fingers to create a flame, took a drag, lit the cigarette, inhaled deeply, and exhaled a large cloud of smoke. "Lisa, finally, our plan has taken its first step."
Lisa, who appeared to be sickly and disabled, spoke in a cold voice, "Ryan, you're not in good shape. You're a bit too excited. We're still a long, long way from success. Now is not the time to be complacent."
“I know, I just couldn’t help saying a few words,” the masked man Ryan replied. “You understand, only you and I know the real objective, so I can only speak to you.”
As a researcher with an outgoing personality who particularly enjoys being admired, having to constantly conceal his lofty true purpose and present himself as a mask is an extremely stifling and even painful thing for him.
He certainly didn't genuinely want to help Philip and Antoine III achieve their personal ideals.
Philip and Antoine III were well aware of this.
However, both of them thought he wanted power and authority, which shows their narrow-mindedness.
His goal was to change the form of human existence.
Long, long ago, when he and Lisa were still working for Gus and Ahriman, he gradually realized a problem: the vast majority of people in this world, whether powerful or powerless, intelligent or foolish, devoted their limited lives to almost endless struggles. This ubiquitous struggle promoted the progress of civilization to some extent, but it wasted resources even more.
However, this situation cannot be changed through any reform or revolution, because society was originally created to organize human beings into struggles; external and internal struggles are the original attributes of society. To abolish this original attribute, society itself must be abolished.
But can abolishing the social system itself and returning to primitive disorder solve the problem? No, anarchism is meaningless.
Therefore, the only solution is to change people.
This conclusion is absurd; how can people change?
But later, an experimental project showed them this possibility as a ghost.
--
Ghosts that evolve to a new stage, like Ryan himself, will have a lifespan of at least two hundred years, remaining forever young, but that's not important.
Importantly, the ghosts will no longer reproduce like the old humans. Once the plan is complete, the newborn will be born from the "base bed" after one of the old ghosts dies.
When the parent-child relationship no longer exists, socialized upbringing is the only option.
There will be no longer any distinctions between people based on race, nationality, family background, etc., and people can even change their appearance and gender.
Another point is that ghosts that have evolved to a new stage can transmit pure consciousness, which is a more efficient way of transmitting information.
Human knowledge will be able to be shared.
"It's a pity that Mr. Gus and Mr. Ahriman are dead." The masked man, Ryan, couldn't help but sigh. In terms of creativity, technology, and their own extraordinary power, they were still far behind those two geniuses. If it were them, they might have already pushed ghostification to a higher level, instead of spending decades and only reaching this level. Moreover, with their strength, they wouldn't have needed to be so timid in carrying out their plans. To be honest, Ryan still couldn't understand how those two people could have died.
“And thankfully they’re dead,” Lisa, who is disabled, added.
Gus and Ahriman cancelled and shelved the Ghost project because they believed it was a path to self-destruction.
But Ryan and Lisa didn't think so. As long as pure scientists like themselves, like philosopher-kings of an ideal state, led the new world, everything would develop in a positive direction. Even if things turned bad in the future, it would still be better than the current so-called spiraling world.
“We are lucky; our Heavenly Father has sent us excellent tools,” Ryan exclaimed.
The excellent tools refer, of course, to Lavana, Louise, and Liz III. These three individuals have broken through the limits of artificial superhumans and are expected to achieve even greater heights as ghosts, making them excellent tools for their fight against the old forces.
The old codger from G&A Company, and the god-like Amandina, are both above the average seventh rank, and are opponents they are not yet 100% confident they can defeat.
Lisa sighed. "If we can't persuade them successfully, we'll have to resort to force, and we have to be quick about it."
Lavana seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Louise and Liz were products of G&A, but she had no idea who had created the three of them in their current state. She couldn't understand what unknown force possessed such technological capabilities.
"So, shall we move out now?" Ryan asked.
“Now,” Lisa replied, her voice soft but firm.
In her view, Ryan had simply lived long enough; in truth, his nature remained that of a scholar much like a teenager. She, however, was different. She was a politician among scholars, a warrior among politicians. Ultimately, some things had to be accomplished by her. "What about the others?" Ryan asked.
Of course, their group wasn't just the two of them. How could two people conduct experiments and produce practical results? Pure theoretical research couldn't be accomplished by just two people.
“The two of us are enough,” Lisa replied.
Combat doesn't need unnecessary embellishments.
At this moment, Lavana, Louise, and Liz had already taken refuge inside a church.
As the former center of the Empire of Will and the old stronghold of the Seven Saints Church, Austeria has countless small chapels in addition to its magnificent cathedral.
In this city with a population of over one million, without special means, even though the three of them are quite conspicuous, they would definitely not be found in a short period of time.
"The bread at this church is awful. Let's find a hotel tomorrow," Louise said, dissatisfied.
Chapter 1236 Barbecue, Battle, If You Can't Win, Use Your Brain
Night, the cemetery next to the chapel.
Louise, Liz, and Lavana sat on small stools around a small charcoal grill, grilling skewers and drinking beer.
"I didn't expect the church's homemade beer to be so good," Louise said. "Quite good" was a high compliment for a young lady from high society like herself.
"It's a pity the beef is a bit lacking, it's too lean," Liz said regretfully.
Barbecue should sizzle and drip oil.
Louise pouted. "I told you, we should have borrowed some pork sausages. Those damn German sausages are still pretty good." "We could also borrow some sauerkraut," Lavana added. She quite liked the sauerkraut here, finding it better than Ross's pickles.
Just as she was about to skewer it, Louise's hand froze in mid-air. "Hmm, it seems someone's coming."
Liz's eyes sharpened, and she put down the bottle of wine in her hand. "It's not just a possibility, it's true."
"Flee or fight?" Lavana asked.
Her perception of special beings was stronger than Louise's and Liz's; she was certain that the newcomer was not a normal person.
Louise stood up, ate a piece of beef from the skewer, chewed twice, and swallowed. "Considering how generously this church has treated us, let's escape to the deserted suburbs first," she said.
Even in megacities like Paristo, the capital of France, and Luoyang, the capital of Serres, there are uninhabited areas within the city limits. Vienna, on the other hand, has groves of small woodlands on its outskirts.
“Agreed,” Liz agreed.
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