Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 232 The Connection Craze of the Academy

"Come on, connect!"

"You should join our network too, we have over a hundred people in our network!"

"What's a hundred-plus people? We have over four hundred!"

"Who's different from whom? They're all shared."

A week after the rules took effect, as the message of mind connection spread, students in the academy began to connect with each other.

Although the network devices are no longer usable, they can join a brand new "Mind Network," which is both novel and exciting for young people who love new things, and they all flock to it.

The college neither encourages nor opposes these connections; it simply posts notices in front of teaching buildings and dormitories, asking students to act cautiously on their own.

After all, nobody knows whether this kind of mental connection has any side effects or whether random connections will produce any bad results.

Some students who are naturally cautious did not rush into making spiritual connections with others.

Some people worry that if they connect, they will lose face if their dirty thoughts are revealed.

However, according to those who have already connected to the mind network, inner thoughts are not directly transmitted to other connected individuals; they are only transmitted when the desired message is determined.

Tracing back to the source of the leaked information about the mind connection, it was naturally Guan Tong who released it.

His method of spreading the message was very simple: he made some slips of paper with information written on them and used shadows to place them at gathering points of ordinary people.

Ordinary people are not subject to rules and can freely use the internet. If even a small number of them post a message online, it will spread rapidly.

It now seems that the situation is exactly as Guan Tong thought. In just three or four days, the relevant information has spread throughout the country and even abroad, and the "Mind Connection" activity has become very popular in the academy.

Because students generally take the course on the flow of mental energy, it is easier for them to connect with each other, so several large-scale mental networks quickly emerged within the academy.

With so many people providing data as "samples," Guan Tong quickly gained an understanding of how the Mind Network generally operates.

Firstly, it is both public and anonymous.

When someone is connected to a mental network, their words are audible to everyone in the network; there's no way to "privately message" them. Unless someone in the network is familiar with the speaker's voice, no one knows exactly who sent the message.

This single characteristic makes this mental network a paradise for social thugs, allowing them to publish sensational and outrageous statements with impunity.

Moreover, if someone's remarks are endorsed by the majority of people on this network, that person is likely to possess a decentralized appeal, enabling them to mobilize multiple people to do things simultaneously.

Secondly, the number of people connected in the mind network is unlimited, the distance is unlimited, and the two mind networks will automatically merge when members of the two networks come into contact with each other.

This characteristic is somewhat strange; it means that if two people belong to different mental networks, when they connect, their mental networks will also merge together.

In this way, if the time span is long enough, eventually all those who have transcended may find themselves in the same spiritual network.

But the question is, how much noise would there be in such a network?
Imagine being in a room; even just a few people talking at the same time would be chaotic. In a mind network, no one has the ability to "mute," so many people can speak... how chaotic would that be?
According to Guan Tong's understanding, the mental networks formed by students exhibited this phenomenon. Many people spoke simultaneously, causing a chaotic buzzing in the brain; in severe cases, it even led to vomiting, forcing some to leave the network.

That's right. If you want to leave a mental network after joining, you can successfully leave by severing the connection between yourself and the mental energy you initially used to connect with others.

However, from casual conversations among some students, he learned that some students had a strong ability to distinguish when multiple people were speaking at the same time, and their brains could process the meaning of multiple sentences simultaneously.

This intrigued Guan Tong, but unfortunately, he couldn't connect to the students' network.

Not only him, but all the teachers in the college did not have it.

This is because these students set a rule for the mental network: members can only connect with other students and cannot bring in the college's teachers.

It's probably similar to how schools don't invite teachers to their class groups. As you can imagine, many students will complain about or even rant about teachers they don't like in those groups.

However, at the suggestion of Dean Zhou Qinfeng, the college's lecturers also formed a network to facilitate communication in case of any issues.

There were about twenty people connected to this mental network. Unlike the students, the instructors certainly wouldn't be idly chatting away. Therefore, after Guan Tong connected, the voices coming from within didn't exceed twenty sentences in total. More than most people focusing on the mental network itself, Guan Tong was thinking about the purpose behind it.

Why did the fire-stealer tell humanity about the uses of psychic powers? What was its purpose in having humanity use this method for?

If we interpret this with malice, Guan Tong thinks the fire thieves might be trying to further divide humanity.

This network is accessible only to those who have ascended to higher realms, and its decentralized nature goes even further than Guan Tong's "House of Ascended" website.

The website, managed by him as the administrator, does not allow the posting of inhumane content such as promoting the worship of the Firebringer cult. However, this kind of spiritual network has no "management" whatsoever, nor is it capable of any management.

This makes it easier for people with shared goals to connect and communicate. If the goal is good, that's fine; but if it's bad, it undoubtedly becomes a black cocoon that breeds evil.

If we consider this from a well-intentioned perspective...

(Attention, lecturers.)
Suddenly, Zhou Qinfeng's voice rang in his mind. Guan Tong, who was sitting on his dormitory bed, snapped out of his thoughts. He knew that the dean was using the mind network to speak.

(The college's first month of discussion will be held in one hour in the conference room on the 5th floor of the faculty and staff building. Please be on time.)
After Zhou Qinfeng finished speaking, another lecturer's voice rang out from the mental network: (With this network, I think we can hold meetings without even leaving home.)
Zhou Qinfeng: (Don't joke around, many non-lecturer faculty members are also participating in this meeting. They're not on this network, and it's not suitable for a large meeting like this.)
(Received. I was just saying it casually, so please don't take it seriously.)
Several other speakers also said "Received" in the Mind Network.

Guan Tong didn't say anything, but went to the conference room when the time was up.

This was a large conference room with three long tables, each occupied by several people. He casually found a seat and looked up to see Fang Qian sitting at the corner of the next long table, looking at him.

The moment their eyes met, Fang Qian immediately looked away guiltily, her expression very unnatural.

It seems she's different from Xiaotian; she's a graduate who stayed on at the university.

Guan Tong had heard Xu Xiaotian mention before that some of the first graduating class of the college would stay on as faculty or staff members, such as counselors. Since Fang Qian was here, it meant that she was one of them.

But that doesn't mean much to him. What's past is past. He didn't take action then, and he won't bring it up again now. Even if they meet again, they won't have any further interaction.

After all the faculty and staff of the college had arrived, Dean Zhou Qinfeng gave a speech.

He summarized the various situations since the start of the semester, the improvements compared to last year, and the current shortcomings... Perhaps it was a common problem for former university presidents, but he spoke a lot of platitudes, which made Guan Tong drowsy, her thoughts already wandering far away.

He didn't come to his senses until Zhou Qinfeng brought up the matter related to the rules.

Zhou Qinfeng said, "As everyone knows, the students have built a mental network that excludes us faculty and staff, which is definitely problematic."

"We must understand that these students are the future pillars of the nation, and if they collude and cause any problems, it will be our responsibility, and we will have failed the trust placed in us by the higher-ups. Therefore, some of our faculty and staff must be able to connect with the students' inner network and know what they are saying and thinking."

After Zhou Qinfeng finished speaking, many faculty and staff members expressed their agreement.

"That's the right way to do it."

“These students are no pushovers; we really need to keep an eye on them.”

"However, coercion might not be a good idea. How about we find a top student who has a good relationship with the teacher and have them recruit the faculty and staff?"

“Hmm, forcing them is definitely not appropriate. It would be best if someone could sneak in on their own.” Zhou Qinfeng looked around and then at the graduating students from last year who were serving as counselors.

"Is any of you capable of completing this task? You are graduates from last year, and as senior students, it would be easy for you to connect with this year's students. I think it would be most convenient for you to connect to the students' network."

The counselors exchanged glances, all looking towards Fang Qian, who seemed to be the most capable among them. Although Fang Qian's expression showed some resistance, she still reluctantly raised her hand: "Dean, I can do this."

　It's the end of the month, and Xiaocao has updated 180,000 words this month, averaging 6000 words per day, which is a far cry from last month's daily update of 10,000 words...

　　The reason is that my work schedule was adjusted due to changes this month, and I also neglected my duties. I feel ashamed for letting down the support of my superiors.

　　Next November, once things stabilize, I'll resume updating more frequently, three times a day again. Please keep an eye on me, dear readers!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)