362: In a primitive civilization, being an ordinary teacher

Lower District, Abandoned Block No. 74.

This place was known as the 'Forgotten Corner.' Above were tangled sewage pipes, and underfoot was stagnant acid rain that never dried up. The only way out for the children here was to sell themselves to a gang when they got older in exchange for a second-hand Mechanical Arm.

But today, the old warehouse in the center of the block, which was on the verge of collapse, now displayed a brand-new neon sign.

The sign only had four crooked characters: **[Hall of Truth]**.

"Brother Chen, aren't we being a bit too shabby?"

Wang Peng (Fatty), dressed in dusty work clothes and holding a large broom, was sweeping the accumulated water at the entrance with a look of disdain.

"When we built schools before, we used planetary modification directly. Now? This broken warehouse doesn't even have a window, and we still have to guard against rats stealing chalk."

"Shabby?"

Lu Chen stood behind the makeshift podium assembled from scrap engine parts, holding a steel rebar he picked up from a construction site as a Pointer.

He pushed up the pair of plain glasses he had just bought, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"A mountain doesn't need to be high; if a Celestial is present, it becomes famous."

"Water doesn't need to be deep; if a Dragon is present, it becomes spiritual."

"In a world where even 'Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division' are monopolized by the Company, this place..."

Lu Chen tapped the blackboard with the steel rebar, producing a crisp 'clang'.

"...is the only Sacred Ground."

"But..." Wang Peng still wanted to say something.

"Someone is coming."

Su Qingying, who had been reading in the corner, suddenly spoke. Today she wore a simple white shirt and a long black skirt, her hair casually pinned up, yet she was still breathtakingly beautiful.

In this slum filled with the smell of metal and engine oil, she was like a White Lotus blooming amidst the ruins.

"Rumble—!"

The harsh roar of a motorcycle was heard.

Immediately after, the old warehouse door was violently kicked open.

More than a dozen teenagers with Mohawks, half of whose bodies had been replaced with Mechanical Prosthetics, rode modified motorcycles roaring inside.

They waved chains and steel pipes in their hands, whistling lewdly.

"Yo! Heard a school opened here?"

The leader, whose half-face was made of metallic bone structure, had a red electronic eye flashing fiercely in the darkness.

"The thing I hate most in my life is studying!"

"Brothers! Smash it for me!"

"Wait."

Lu Chen did not move.

He merely raised his eyelids and glanced lightly at the group of youths.

"Class time. No noise allowed."

"Turn off your bikes and find a place to sit."

"Huh? Sit down?"

The leading teenager reacted as if he had heard the greatest joke, violently twisting the throttle. The front wheel of the motorcycle lifted high, aiming straight for Lu Chen standing at the podium!

"I'll make you sit in a wheelchair!"

Facing the fierce impact, Lu Chen didn't even raise his Pointer.

He merely extended one hand, seemingly slowly, but in reality, as fast as lightning... pressing down on the motorcycle's front wheel.

"Screeeech—!!!"

The engine let out a heart-rending roar. The rear wheel ground against the ground, producing billowing black smoke, even scraping sparks from the concrete floor.

But.

That motorcycle was held fast in Lu Chen's hand, as if it had been welded there.

It didn't move an inch.

"This... How is this possible?!"

The teenager's electronic eye flickered madly, a sign of data overflow. "That's a 'Wild Bull' class engine! Its thrust is a full two tons! You... are you a Cyborg?!"

"Two tons?"

Lu Chen shook his head, a look of disappointment crossing his face.

"The action of force is reciprocal."

"Friction force equals normal pressure multiplied by the coefficient of friction."

"Although your bike has great thrust, your center of gravity is too high, and your grip is insufficient."

"Besides..."

Lu Chen's wrist flicked slightly.

"Crack!"

That modified motorcycle, weighing several hundred kilograms, was actually... **dismantled** by his single hand.

The front wheel, shock absorbers, engine, fuel tank... with that one flick, they instantly disintegrated into a pile of parts.

The teenager fell to the ground with a 'splat,' still clutching a solitary handlebar, looking completely bewildered.

The entire place fell silent.

The dozen or so thugs behind who were about to charge forward all slammed on their brakes, nearly crashing into each other.

Lu Chen patted the engine oil off his hands and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe them clean.

"Now."

"Can we start class properly?"

...Ten minutes later.

The warehouse was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

A dozen unruly Cybernetic Youths were sitting obediently on Small Stools, quiet as quails.

The leading youth (named Jack) sat up straight, not daring to even breathe heavily.

"Today, we won't talk about literature, nor history."

Lu Chen stood in front of the blackboard and drew a complex circuit diagram on it with a steel bar.

"We will talk about..."

"How to crack the Primary Access Lock of the Metaverse Company."

"Boom!"

These words exploded in the minds of the youths like a bomb.

"Cr-crack the access lock?"

Jack shot up, his electronic eyes trembling, "Teacher! That's a capital crime! If the Company catches us, they'll excise our Frontal Lobes!"

"Scared?"

Lu Chen glanced at him.

"N-no, it's not fear!"

Jack gritted his teeth, a flicker of longing in his eyes, "We dream of getting in! We heard the Upper District has real sunlight, air that doesn't need filtering... But the Company's Firewall is insurmountable!"

"Insurmountable?"

Lu Chen scoffed.

He turned and wrote a line of code on the blackboard.

It wasn't the programming language of this world, but... **C Language** from Earth.

"In this world,"

"there is no wall that cannot be torn down."

"As long as you understand..."

Lu Chen pointed to his head.

"**Underlying Logic**."

The next hour.

For these youths who had never received systematic education and only knew how to solve problems with violence, it was nothing short of a miracle.

Lu Chen didn't use any profound theories.

Using the simplest analogies and the most direct deconstruction, he took apart the 'Company Technology' that the masses regarded as sacred and inviolable, reducing it to a pile of scrap metal.

"Do you understand now?"

Lu Chen tossed the steel bar onto the podium.

"This so-called 'Quantum Lock' is actually just a complicated Nine Linking Rings Puzzle."

"As long as you find that node, even a piece of iron wire can pry it open."

Jack stared at the blackboard, his eyes glazed over, then gradually became fanatical.

He reached out tremblingly, fumbled through the pile of motorcycle parts, and pieced together a simple decoder.

Then, he pressed it against his Mechanical Arm, which had been locked by the Company to only operate at 30% capacity.

"Beep—"

"Permission unlocked. Power output: 100%."

Buzz!

The Mechanical Arm instantly erupted with a dazzling red light, and a powerful force filled his entire body.

"Un-unlocked?!"

Jack looked at his hand in disbelief, "The Core Lock that troubled me for three years... was undone just like that?!"

"Thud!"

Without hesitation.

Jack knelt directly on the ground and kowtowed heavily to Lu Chen.

"Teacher!"

"Accept my bow!"

"Please teach me! I want to learn! I want to go to the Upper District! I want to see the real sun!"

"We want to learn too!"

"Teacher, please teach us!"

The youths behind them also knelt down, the flame called 'hope' burning in their eyes.

Lu Chen looked at these children.

He seemed to see his younger self, and countless civilizations struggling in the darkness.

"Good."

Lu Chen nodded.

He walked down from the podium and helped Jack up.

"Since you called me Teacher,"

"then I will give you..."

Lu Chen looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through the dilapidated roof toward the Aerial City suspended in the clouds.

"A different way to live."

Just then.

Wang Peng, who had been keeping watch at the door, suddenly ran in, looking somewhat nervous.

"Brother Chen! No, Teacher Lu!"

"A car is outside! A black Hovercar! That's... the Company's Enforcement Team!"

"Enforcement Team?"

Jack's face changed drastically, "It must be because the energy fluctuation just now was too big! Teacher, run! If they catch you, it's over!"

"Run?"

Lu Chen straightened his collar, showing no panic at all.

Instead, a smile appeared, like a fish had finally taken the bait.

"Why should I run?"

"I was waiting for them."

Lu Chen turned and said to Su Qingying, who had been silent all along:

"Assistant Teacher, keep my 'Lesson Plan' ready."

"The second half of this class..."

"It's time to change to a 'bigger' classroom."

"For example..."

Lu Chen pointed to the Aerial City high above the clouds.

"In there."