Soul of Negary
chapter-121

"Have you always been so eager to learn?" Chang Xia asked as he watched Negary continue reading his book.

〖 Ah, in the previous world, I had to spend a lot of effort to gather knowledge 〗Negary answered seriously: 〖 Knowledge can change one's future, that isn't just empty talk 〗

〖 For anybody of any class, learning was always the easiest way to change and improve themselves 〗Negary continued honestly: 〖 This society has its flaws and problems, but I truly believe it has a lot of advantages compared to my previous one 〗

〖 Like knowledge for example, most of your knowledge is in an accessible state that allowed even the people at the bottom to change themselves through learning 〗Negary praised: 〖 In the previous world I was in, this was something that many people couldn't even think of 〗

When he was still Wang Yuan, the only thing he managed to achieve was a college diploma, the final thesis was something he half-assed to pass, after getting his diploma, it was like he never actually went to college at all. He was a young man with many shortcomings, he couldn't afford a car or a house, and he definitely couldn't afford to fall in love. Even if he wanted to travel, he couldn't do so without working to support it.

He was locked in his life tightly by reality, slaving away at his factory job while reading online novels to imagine himself as the protagonist, obtaining some sort of golden finger and finally reaching the peak of his life.

People who are locked in their lives would not refuse an opportunity.

That was the reason why when that System appeared out of nowhere, Wang Yuan agreed to it without any doubts. Although, with how that System distorted language, Wang Yuan wouldn't have necessarily been able to refuse.

In the past, Wang Yuan regretted not studying harder when he could. More knowledge couldn't give him any supernatural powers, but at least he could broaden his horizons. Unfortunately, by the time he realized that, his personality was already formed and matured, even if he wanted to change, he didn't have the courage to.

That was, until he became Negary. The death of Wang Yuan caused him to become incomplete, but it was also a chance, he now had the ability and opportunity to change himself.

However, it was still a fact that Wang Yuan attracted the System that started everything because he had the [Protagonist Aura]. How many people actually had such a thing in real life? And how many people lived their lives aimlessly while waiting for a miracle to occur?

〖 Whether there were drawbacks or not, learning is indeed a great way to change one's destiny 〗Negary said with a slightly apologetic expression on his face: 〖 Forgive me for being so emotional 〗

Negary's remarks weren't actually because he was sentimental, but rather to give Chang Xia and the people behind Chang Xia an 'impression'. The first impression of him not being a shameless scum who would never pass on an opportunity, but rather, one that truly loved to learn.

Negary was essentially saying that it didn't matter if you drank, smoked or even fought in public, as long as you loved studying, they could be friends.

If this impression stuck, whenever Chang Xia thought of doing something against Negary, 'knowledge' would naturally become a bargaining chip in his mind. Not only would this allow Negary to gain access to knowledge more easily and purposely create a fake weakness for himself, but it would also set the foundation for if and when he turned on them in the future.

A person who was obsessed with knowledge would definitely leave people more at ease compared to a person who was impeccably mysterious and secretive.

As for whether or not this little trick would work or not, someone smart like Chang Xia who was already suspicious of Negary would definitely doubt his intentions, but even if he doubted it, Negary would still have planted a seed of impression in his heart.

And as long as Negary continued to deepen this impression, it would eventually become effective, and this was only one kind of precaution.

Negary had many little tricks of similar nature, all of which were applications of psychology. Psychology wasn't simply the observation and reading of another person's heart, but it was also leading others on through small, insignificant details of daily life.

This way, when the time came, even if Negary wasn't anywhere near Chang Xia, he would be able to predict the probability of some actions that Chang Xia would take in response to encountering something Negary did.

This was also a kind of manipulation. Little by little, he guided their thoughts so that in the end, even if they were the ones who made their own choices, it was actually under his control from the start.

After reading a large amount of psychology books in this world, Negary had begun to experiment with these techniques.

〖 In the end, knowledge is always a good thing 〗

His registration was swift. Information of the [Otherworld Invasion] Authority Holder 'Wang Yuan' had already been recorded, so they only needed to take his blood sample, his Disasforce reaction signature, his overall physique and body conditions into their database.

From now on, whenever he generated or used Disasforce, as long as the reaction wasn't too great, it wouldn't raise an alarm, but would still be recorded.

At the same time, he could also obtain a bit of monetary support from the D.E.R division every month. This was put in place in order to prevent Authority Holders from resorting to crime when they aren't able to take care of their own livelihoods.

The damage that Authority Holders are able to cause was unpredictable, even with their understanding and experience. For example, after Wan Heng Yang's death, his [Loneliness] Authority affected the households within the area of the meteorite strike, and caused several heart attacks that resulted in the people of those households becoming 'lonely' permanently.

This was the danger of Disaster Authorities. Any Disaster Authority could go out of control, either through their Holder actively causing disasters in order to strengthen their abilities; or Authorities acting up after their Holder's death. An Authority Holder could either be the one who restrained or the one who promoted a disaster.

The great Yue Bu earthquake was an eternal pain in many people's hearts. When that man who always had a smile on his face went out of control, he actively exercised his Authority in order to promote it to [Continental Sinking] and become a Disaster King. Although he failed to become a Disaster King, the aftermath of the earthquake he caused was more terrifying than the damage that any previous Disaster Kings were capable of.

The sight of the broken streets and land, the multitudes of collapsed buildings, the shaking of heaven and earth, all those apocalyptic scenes remained clearly in Chang Xia's mind even today.

As he watched Negary leave, Chang Xia sighed with a deep look in his eyes.

As Negary pushed the door open, he saw the woman called Seven waiting right outside, still with the same mature and capable appearance that she seemed to always maintain.

〖 It must be tiring 〗Negary actively spoke up with a smile: 〖 A huge rock seems to be constantly pressing down on his heart. If he keeps this up, one day, he would either be crushed by it, or thoroughly driven to madness by it 〗

〖 And you've always been worried about him, haven't you? 〗Negary's gaze seemed to be able to pierce through anybody's heart, causing Seven to reflexively take a step backwards.

〖 After all, he was the one who brought you out of Yue Bu all those years ago 〗Negary took a step forward that carried oppressive pressure.

His words made Seven involuntarily recall that time 16 years ago, when everything she knew had fallen to become rubble on the ground, and her 7-year-old self was staring at her parents buried under the fallen rocks in despair.

At that time, it was Chang Xia in his youth that brought her out.

With the information he had managed to dig up as well as his observations of them, Negary drew this conclusion and used it to temporarily break through Seven's guard, then told her in a soft voice: 〖 If there is ever a time when you feel helpless, feel free to come to me 〗

After saying so, Negary swiftly left after planting another hidden card away, perhaps one day it might pay off.