Forge a path to success.

Chapter 93 Basic Personality Questionnaire (Part 1)

Life, the world, and values—the summation of one's understanding and reflection on these three elements is what people often refer to as "worldview, values, and beliefs." In recent years, there have been broader interpretations of this definition, but the fundamental premise of the concept remains unchanged. It encompasses one's understanding of the external world, one's understanding of oneself, and the self-affirmation made regarding the reasons why one can live and should live.

How should life unfold? What does the world look like in our eyes? What should be elevated and what should be despised? The general public holds a set of universally accepted views on these questions, and those who go against these views are simply seen as outcasts by others.

Unable to live an optimistic and positive life. Operating within a dark and filthy environment. More concerned with meaningless scraps of paper than with treasure. Such a person is truly outrageous. This is simply an oddball lacking common sense. But conversely, are others' definitions always correct? Should the consensus of the majority be followed?

That doesn't seem right. Something's gone wrong. The person walking on the road is yourself, and the person striving to think is also yourself. When the perception of others, rather than your own, is used as the standard, the moment this fact is established, what the person experiencing encounters is something else entirely—

Nothingness.

"—Welcome to the Dragon City Roundtable. I am Haurhardt, the good detective of Dragon City. Today, I will once again bring you a logical dialogue that strikes at the heart of the matter!"

A small round table, a high stool, a tentacle-wielding man with an expressionless face, and a black-haired girl wearing round glasses. The girl, who had launched into a rapid-fire 371-word outburst, pounded her fist on the table. The man opposite her rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply.

“No, you are Ji Huaisu,” Chu Hengkong said.

"And today's guest is none other than... the city's most famous and popular celebrity, Detective Chu, who has transformed into the Iron-Bone Master after returning from his adventure!" The black-haired girl ignored the other person's statement with an air of indifference. "I'm sure everyone in front of the water screen is just as excited as I am for the insightful opinions he will bring us!"

Detective Chu silently extended his tentacles and grabbed Miss Haurhart's black wig.

“No, you are Ji Huaisu,” he repeated.

"Would it kill you to go along with the atmosphere?"

"Your series of outrageous remarks have brought the atmosphere to a freezing point." Chu Hengkong put his wig back. "So what's going on here?"

Having just returned and barely rested for a few days, the captain dragged him into this interview room, which was clearly hastily set up. Posters of the famous black-faced poet's tour adorned the walls, while eye-devouring dolls, which had recently become inexplicably popular, sat on the table. In the corner, a potted plant resembling an eel's head wriggled eerily. The atmosphere in the room was more than just unpleasant; it was downright unpleasant.

Miss Huaisu, however, remained oblivious to all of this. She flipped through the manuscript in her hand, saying casually, "There will be a basic personality survey after your transformation, followed by a practical test. Originally, it was supposed to be a questionnaire, but I found it too boring, so I changed it to a Q&A. Just treat it as a regular chat radio program~ By the way, I asked Vande to help me write the opening remarks."

No wonder there's so much poorly written nonsense.

"Cooperate properly and don't lie, or your salary will be reduced." Miss Ji... Hagihart flashed her little fangs menacingly. "Continuing from our previous topic, what's Detective Chu's opinion?"

"The comments are as biased, narrow-minded, and harsh as those of the contributor, but they cannot be said to be entirely without merit."

Detective Chu picked up his teacup, which contained lemon tea that was half ice. He took a sip and said calmly, "Values ​​are indeed important, but they can't be called necessary. The most obvious manifestation of this is one's understanding of the world."

"Oh, Detective Chu made a statement that was unnecessary for his worldview," Miss Haurhart added fuel to the fire.

"For example, the earth is round, the sea is finite, and the stars are lifeless wastelands far beyond. That's how I used to perceive the world. What does Haurhart think?"

Miss Haurhart looked at me like I was a fool.

"Ah Kong, what are you talking about? First of all, the earth is definitely square."

“Very interesting.” Chu Hengkong nodded repeatedly. “Continue.”

“The sea is boundless, and the stars in the sky are all gods. These are basic common sense, just like how squid can grow out of the ground!” Miss Haurhart slammed her manuscript on the table.

“This is natural for someone like you who grew up in Huilong City, but for people from my hometown, it's a fantasy. However, this difference in worldview doesn't actually affect our lives.” Chu Hengkong tapped the table. “I still believe the world is round, and this doesn't affect my ability to work and earn money in the city or my normal cultivation, because my activity range is limited to the small city of Huilong. I only need to know the rules within the city to easily survive. So, what meaning does a 'worldview' about the world outside the city have for me?”

“I really want to say that you’re just making excuses…” Miss Haurhart gritted her teeth. “It’s true that even if you treat the world like a football, it doesn’t stop you from doing your job as a detective. But people will say you have no common sense if you do that.”

Chu Hengkong put down his teacup and shook his tentacle: "Is common sense useful?"

"Two questions have been raised in a row."

"Tomatoes are both vegetables and fruits. Snow actually has no color. The original Gundam was only 18.5 meters tall. These common sense facts and essential knowledge are two different concepts. To survive, you just need to know how to eat and breathe; to become stronger, you just need to learn martial arts and how to kill. I've lived with this kind of thinking until now and haven't found anything wrong with it. People who constantly complain about 'lacking common sense' may not actually value common sense that much; they just want to show off that they know more."

He started talking big, pontificating and offering his opinions, completely unlike his usual silent self. If it were just casual conversation, the assassin wouldn't be so talkative, but since this was a questionnaire to assess his mental state, he didn't mind saying a few more words.

Ji Huaisu scribbled notes in her notebook, nodding frequently: "Detective Chu is the so-called 'necessityist,' someone who operates at the lowest possible level and survives at the lowest possible level."

"That's a good word."

"Yet this detective spends his time fishing and playing games!" Ji Huaisu pointed at the guest with one finger, her tone as if she were accusing someone in court. "Not only is it a waste of time, but it's also completely unnecessary. You're just trying to create a persona of being unconventional!"

Chu Hengkong propped his chin up with one hand, staring at his fingertips for a few seconds: "You've been playing Ace Attorney X-Case lately, haven't you?"

"That game is so much fun!"

"Fun games bring joy, and that's their necessity." He pointed out sharply, his tentacles clenched. "What's the point of a life if you can't even experience joy?"

Ji Huaisu gasped: "Wow, there's actually such a legitimate statement about indulging in frivolous pursuits and wasting one's life."

"You should distinguish between legitimate interests and being addicted to games. I have my own set of standards for games." Chu Hengkong became serious. "I am very selective about game genres, only playing high-quality games, and ensuring that I can pause the game at any time without interfering with my work. I never touch mobile games or competitive games, and I only dabble in visual novels for a basic understanding. I always finish my basic work for the day before playing games, and my continuous gaming time never exceeds one hour. I only relax in games and never let games accumulate stress. My boss says I'm very normal."

"What is gal?" Miss Ji blinked.

"A rather uninteresting game genre." Chu Hengkong coughed twice. "Anyway, what I want to say is..." "So what is that gal game?" Miss Ji asked, eagerly approaching.

Oh no, I've clearly hit a nerve. Why is this girl, who loves outdoor activities, fixated on this particular word? I feel like her gaze isn't just genuine interest, but more like she's caught a mouse by the tail... no, like she's got something on her hands! This detective's intuition is a bit scary.

Chu Hengkong stopped his chaotic thoughts and said calmly, "It's a text-based game where you interact with virtual female characters..."

"Ah Kong, you, you, you actually tried to have a romantic relationship with a little person on a screen?" Miss Ji covered her mouth in astonishment. "Oh my god, how disgusting..."

"Shut up! I rarely play this kind of game to avoid being misunderstood by others, so why are you nagging me about it today?!"

Ji Huaisu wrote furiously: "Important developments today. Detective Chu after his transformation, the girl he likes, the girl on the screen... suspected influence of the Ultimate Body True Machine..."

"What does this have to do with the promotion? I don't really care, but I feel like my spine is throbbing with anger."

"Ahem, enough with the pranks, let's get down to business." Ji Huaisu twirled her pen with a smile. "Detective Chu just mentioned a very interesting point: 'To avoid being misunderstood by others.' As a necessityist, are the opinions of others also necessary?"

"The degree of severity needs to be discussed in different categories, but overall it is necessary."

"reason?"

"Feelings. Being admired, praised, respected, and needed—even though I'm an assassin, I'm still human. Enjoying positive treatment makes me happy. If I'm misunderstood, I need to find a way to clear my name; if I'm hated, I need to resolve the hatred as soon as possible. Only by doing these things can I have a good environment and live happily."

Half of the lemon tea had been drunk during the conversation, and after being refilled, the cup turned an eerie green, tasting remarkably like mint. Ji Huaisu downed half a cup of mint tea in one gulp, seemingly lost in thought: "At this point in the conversation, simply stating the facts isn't quite enough, so..."

She took out a letter from behind her back, unfolded it, and read aloud: "Now we will begin the citizen mailbox mailing segment!"

Is this questionnaire, which involves sitting and chatting without doing anything, not going to end yet?

"A letter from Mr. Floating Dumbbell, a citizen." Ji Huaisu imitated the uncle's accent: "My daughter can only live near the safe because of her race, and it's inconvenient for her to go out. Recently, through continuous training, I've finally been able to carry the safe on the street, but my daughter said this week that she wants to go to school. As a father, I'm very gratified to hear this, but I'm also worried that my daughter will be ostracized if I carry the safe to accompany her to school. What should I do? Please advise me, Detective."

"Um……"

After reading the letter, Miss Ji remained silent for half a minute before saying, "Compared to the opinions of his classmates, this father seems to have more things to care about, such as safes, safes."

Chu Hengkong praised, "You've trained yourself to the point where you can carry a safe in just six months. Well done."

"Is this the focus? Is it a muscle issue? Am I the only one who thinks it's strange that my daughter lives in a safe?"

"This father's dilemma, to put it bluntly, is the fear that parents often have when they first send their children to school." Chu Hengkong tossed the Eye Demon doll up with his tentacle. "I suggest that you still send your child to school."

Miss Ji threw out a small, fragment-like speck of light, knocking the eye demon doll back into the air: "You haven't considered your daughter's feelings at all. She wants to be respected by her classmates, wants to be friendly with everyone, wants a peaceful school life. If she comes to school with such wonderful dreams, but is ostracized because of the safe, how heartbroken would that girl be? That's why Father hesitated."

This girl's control over the power of glimmering light has become even more refined... She wasn't this adept when she first joined the company. She's twisted a perfectly good shield into a light dart, and if she can't find a way to upgrade it, she feels like she's going to drive herself crazy...

Chu Hengkong dismissed his habitual strength assessment, took out a paper straw from his cup, and casually cut, unfolded, folded, and pieced it together to make a paper stool as thin as a cicada's wing. The eye demon doll in mid-air landed precisely on the paper stool, its expression like that of a king being held high.

“This is the kind of life my father envisioned,” he stated.

"Although the visuals are a bit absurd, they are generally correct."

“Then you haven’t understood the feelings of children.” Chu Hengkong laughed. “Elders always hope that children live in a carefree environment, but children who want to go to school don’t crave the treatment of being the center of attention. They want to interact with their peers, communicate with people other than their parents, and experience group life in unfamiliar environments… I have had similar experiences, so I know very well that these elements that parents overlook are the feelings that children value most. To give up out of fear of difficulties is, from a child’s perspective, completely reversing priorities.”

Ji Huaisu flicked his finger at the paper stool, and the stool leg broke on the spot. The eye demon doll rolled from the stool onto the table, and then from the table onto the ground, making a rather pitiful thud.

"But even innocent children can harbor malice, discriminating, gossiping, ostracizing, and bullying without considering that they themselves will be the ones who get hurt. What should we do if things escalate to that point?"

"Then go and think, communicate, fight, and make the most of your strengths to solve all these problems and enjoy a pleasant college life. That's the meaning of going to school."

“Children don’t listen to reason. What if your daughter eventually finds that violence is worse than communication, according to your theory?”

“Then use violence. Since violence can solve problems decisively, why not use it? Including the ‘degree’ of demonstrating power, these are the abilities that can be learned in school, experiences that are more valuable than knowledge.” Chu Hengkong used his tentacles to hook up the eye demon doll. “Therefore, the decision rests with the daughter, not the father. Afterwards, you might as well ask your daughter if she has the confidence to overcome these difficulties and take control of herself.”

"It's so pitiful for a father who can't help..."

"Don't consider accompanying your daughter to school. Just put the safe down and go to work. From your daughter's perspective, this is the best way to handle it."

Ji Huaisu crossed his arms over his chest: "Cruel. Ruthless. Cold-blooded. Utterly devoid of humanity! It's unbelievable that this is the insight we're offering!"

"Would you have liked Mr. Hime to accompany you when you were in elementary school?"

"What are you talking about? Get home and have some tea right now."

Chu Hengkong sighed heavily: "I heard these kinds of things every day back then, that's why I understand..."

Ji Huaisu naturally ignored her partner's ramblings—it was obvious that they were about his experiences on missions around campus—and then took out the second letter.

Is this bizarre reader letter section going to continue? What channels are these opinions being collected from? Or rather, when are they going to finish this basic personality survey?
(End of this chapter)