Chapter 1299: Interstellar Grand Stage (23)

"... I know, the courses you've taken before might have told you that this is just a simple armed conflict, so simple that you only need to perform two actions—draw your weapon and fire, taking down all those rioters who dare to attack the police."

"Yes, you could also say that to the symbiotes in your heads: charge forward, strike down every enemy, slaughter them all, and let no one stand in your way."

"Looking at the expressions on your faces, I know what you're thinking: is there anything wrong with that? Air-Space Transport Technology is so beneficial, it brings so much good to ordinary people; why would these protesters oppose it?"

"And if an agent performs duties beyond those of the police, killing all the resistors and devouring their brains, wouldn't the problem be solved?"

"When this thought crosses your mind, you might feel that it must be these evil, brutal alien creatures—the symbiotes—exerting influence on your thinking. Only aliens would disregard human life and follow only their instincts, wanting to devour others' brains."

"But I want to tell you, that is not the symbiotes' thought, but your own—you can understand the symbiotes as an echo chamber; they are merely amplifying a certain thought of yours."

"If you are violent, they are violent; if you are gentle, they are gentle. The influence the current host exerts on them is far stronger than the influence left behind by previous hosts."

"Attributing all their violent behavior and negative emotions to previous hosts is wrong. I have learned this through deep personal experience."

A somewhat hoarse male voice came from the classroom. As Xu Shangqi walked to the door, he saw a man wearing glasses standing in the center of the room, lecturing to a classroom packed with trainee agents.

The male teacher pushed up his glasses and said, "I only discovered this after traveling to their homeland. After I calmed down and separated from my previous symbiote, I realized that when facing the protesters against Air-Space Transport Technology, I was far from calm, so I couldn't expect the symbiote to be calm either."

"When I saw the reports about the protesters, anger welled up inside me, because my proximity to these technologies was closer than that of ordinary people. I had personally heard their inventor tell me every detail."

"The genius researcher Peter Parker is my friend. When he went to visit Matt, I was occasionally there too. He was so innocent and kind, believing that as long as he developed technology good enough, it would make everyone feel happy. The anticipation and hope in his tone deeply infected me, so I felt the same."

"But he is a scholar in an ivory tower, a young man who has just stepped into society, while I am a reporter who gave up a respectable job to choose to delve into the slums. He can maintain such beautiful fantasies for a lifetime, but I cannot."

"And I am absolutely unwilling to indulge in fantasy. Seeking truth and dispelling illusions is a reporter's vocation."

"I witnessed with my own eyes the lack of understanding those people had for these new technologies. No one explained it to them, no one told them about the safety, no one went to tell those who lost their jobs where their future lay..."

"And the reporters and media who should have been doing these things were not popularizing the truth for them, but rather fanning the flames on one hand and mocking their stupidity on the other, rejoicing that smarter people were leading the country."

"When I realized this, boundless anger engulfed me. What prompted the symbiote's violent behavior was not its own anger—that had nothing to do with it at all. Whether or not things were flying in the skies over New York had nothing to do with the Klyntar race in the Andromeda Galaxy."

"These angers came from myself, and they will also come from you. They come from your own views on every matter. The symbiote is merely a mirror, reflecting the ugly parts of yourself."

"You will feel pain because of this, but the pain does not come from the symbiote; it comes from you, looking particularly ugly in front of the mirror."

"Inability to make rational judgments, having no solutions for the status quo, dull thinking, unable to come up with any good ideas, lacking the ability to ease the atmosphere, and having no power to change the situation... these pains come from the inferiority of recognizing the reality."

"So, don't blame them. They are just letting you face your own emotions more directly. And if you lack emotional self-control, you cannot master a symbiote; you will only make both sides suffer."

Xu Shangqi didn't understand what he was talking about, but the cadence of his tone and his standard English pronunciation made him somewhat fascinated, as if he were at a listening comprehension exam.

Suddenly, the standard, listening-exam-like English speech stopped. In the process of Xu Shangqi being stunned, he felt a pair of hands pushing his back forward. After he reacted, he was already standing in the middle of the classroom.

Xu Shangqi immediately felt nervous, as if he were a student called to the front by a teacher to demonstrate. At this moment, the male teacher standing in the center of the podium looked at him from over the top of his glasses and asked, "You are the new teaching assistant? What is your name?"

"My name is Xu Shangqi. You can call me Xu."

"Hello, Xu Shangqi." The male teacher, who clearly didn't know Chinese, struggled to pronounce the Chinese syllables, then repeated them a few times to get the pronunciation as accurate as possible.

Xu Shangqi found that most foreigners he met would try to figure out the pronunciation of his name, but because the letters 'x', 's', and 'q' themselves violate English phonetic rules, their efforts weren't very effective. To Xu Shangqi's ears, it sounded like "shoo-shoo-shoo."

After calling his name twice, the male teacher turned to introduce him to the other students: "This is the new teaching assistant. From now on, your homework and after-class Q&A will be handled by him. Oh, right, Lan Ling..."

Xu Shangqi thought the professor was calling him, so he turned his head and responded, but the male teacher waved his hand and said, "I wasn't calling you."

The male teacher stood in the center of the podium for a while, then waved his hand at Xu Shangqi and said, "Alright, without a comprehensive physical examination, it's indeed impossible to determine if you are suitable for symbiosis. Just an assistant, no symbiosis needed..."

"Xu, you can go sit in the back row first, or you can go visit other places. My class ends at about 11:30; come over then to tidy up the lesson plans."

"Alright, Professor." Xu Shangqi replied very politely.

"Alright~ Professor! Eddie must be thrilled right now! He's actually become a professor, humph!"

A low, deep voice suddenly appeared in Xu Shangqi's mind, scaring him so much he almost screamed. He heard that evil, demon-like voice say in a sour tone:

"'Separating will make both of us better!' Yes, he has become better, completely forgetting me, throwing himself into the arms of that bunch of damn cosmic agents, and even becoming a professor!"

"Who are you?!!" Xu Shangqi shouted at the air in terror.

"You idiot with the intelligence of a dung beetle! Don't you wonder why Captain America doesn't even wear his uniform and insists on carrying a shield? Who told you to touch the shield with your hands?"

"Listen well, I am the greatest genius of the Andromeda Galaxy—Venom! Now, go to Eddie's office immediately. I want to see if he's been crying because he misses me!"

"Venom??!!!" Xu Shangqi almost screamed. Countless movie scenes flashed through his mind instantly. He shouted, "Why aren't you parasitizing Eddie instead of me?!! You aren't going to eat my brain, are you??!!"

"Shut up, you idiot! To me, your brain can be considered health food. That's right, just like all health food: small portions, tasteless, and completely unable to fill my stomach, because you don't have a shred of wisdom—you're no better than a head of iceberg lettuce!"

"You..." Xu Shangqi had just recovered from the shock of being parasitized by Venom when he said very aggrievedly, "When did Venom become so talkative and have such a poisonous tongue?"

"Less nonsense, hurry up and take me to see Eddie. I want to see how he's crying!" Venom urged incessantly.

Xu Shangqi stood where he was, hands on his hips. He thought for a moment and then said, "So, you broke up with Eddie and now you want to win him back, which is why you found me, because I'm his teaching assistant?"

"Very good, your brain has a few more folds than a head of iceberg lettuce! Since I just complimented you, hurry up, you idiot! While he hasn't returned to the office yet, go flip through his phone directory and find the number for that damn editor-in-chief!"

"You want me to steal something?!" Xu Shangqi raised his voice. "No, I won't do it. And are you looking for someone's number to kill them? No, absolutely not, you evil alien symbiote!"

Venom sighed deeply and could only explain, "Haven't you heard about the protest incident in the Bronx? We are going to solve it now. This is justice; we are going to save the world, understand? I'm taking you to be a superhero, a great hero!"

Xu Shangqi opened his mouth, but he still asked with some hesitation, "Then can you help me solve the problem of the Qi flowing chaotically in my body? I haven't gone to find Iron Fist yet, but I don't think I'm cut out for it even if he teaches me the cultivation method. Can you solve this?"

"Let me see..." Venom dragged out the sound and then said, "Small problem. Done! I've repaired your internal organs. As long as you don't use that power, they won't break again."

Xu Shangqi let out a long breath; a hidden danger that had been there all along was finally resolved. But Venom started urging again: "Hurry up, let's go to the office, grab the materials, and leave immediately."

"No." Xu Shangqi refused again. "Captain America just invited me to lunch, so I have to go eat first, then go to the Logistics Department to pick up my uniform and badge, then go to the Personnel Department to report, punch my time card for the day, and then help Eddie tidy up the lesson plans. And after the students finish class, I have to collect the homework."

"Can you wake up!!!" Venom roared. "We are going to save the world! Is saving the world really less important than punching your time card at work?!"

"Can't I punch my card first and then save the world?"

"Then why do you have to punch your card?!!"

"Because there's a salary, and performance bonuses. If I don't have perfect attendance, my pay gets docked. And I'm currently in my probationary period. Missing work during probation is a big taboo. Even if this is an iron rice bowl, I can't be absent on my first day. That's too much."

"Oh my god! Hurry up!"

"Don't pull at me, it's useless! Being a superhero is cool, but you have to punch your card before you can be one! Don't pull me, I'm not going! No one is going to smash my iron rice bowl; I'm going to ask where the time clock is!"

Venom's screams echoed in Xu Shangqi's mind.

"Help me!! Why are humans so crazy?!!!" ===== CHAPTER 1300 =====