Lucky billion players, you've never seen one before / I can accumulate my own luck

Suddenly, she realized something—she understood why something as beautiful as "true love" was also labeled as cruel in the background description of the dungeon.

Because according to the logic presented in this book, true love is indeed very cruel.

True love—In your life, is there someone who makes you happy the moment you see them, miss you when you don't see them, and feel joy when you think of them? And is there someone you'd be willing to do anything to make them happy, regardless of any personal gain? This person becomes the source of your joy and the root of your troubles... If so, you've found your true love—it belongs only to handsome men and beautiful women.

It has never been owned by anyone of average appearance.

It is indeed wonderful, for gene donors.

It is indeed cruel, for the donors.

Chapter 594 Professor Chen vs. the Troll

On the tenth floor of the library, there is a huge auditorium specifically for experts from various fields to hold lectures.

Fan Xiao and Ying arrived at the tenth floor, walked along the corridor for a while, found the hall, and chose a seat at the back.

To their surprise, Melissa, Élisabeth, and Malfoy arrived at the hall just one minute after they entered.

The two met up in a seat near the corner.

What a coincidence… Vanshaw suspected they were following him. He glanced at the three of them carefully and noticed that Melissa was holding a book—"The Selection of Genes."

"Oh my..." Fan Xiao asked with considerable curiosity, "You're from..."

"Where did you hear about this lecture? Do you also think there's something wrong with Professor Chen?"

Melissa asked first.

Fan Xiao: "..."

Ah... He didn't answer the question, but said thoughtfully, "Could it be that as long as we get closer to the library, we can obtain information related to Professor Chen and the book 'The Choice of Genes'?"

"I see..." Melissa realized as well: "It must be a hint design for the player in the dungeon."

She stopped dwelling on the issue, shifted her attention, and her gaze darted back and forth between Fan Xiao and Ying several times.

Then, she asked with great interest, "Mr. Fan and Miss Guard, do you perhaps know each other in real life?"

“I don’t know him,” Sakura replied. “It’s just a temporary team.”

"You're kidding me..." Melissa scoffed inwardly.

The Holy Maiden of Roman City is a figure not to be underestimated, and Miss Sakura, the guard who has always been by her side, has naturally done her research... This girl is not the kind of person who would casually team up with a strange male player.

Especially with a cunning player like Fan Jieqiang who seems a bit off, teaming up with him could lead to being betrayed, so the guard lady would never be so rash.

They must have a relationship with a woman!

"Really?" Melissa smiled and said, "Since we've run into each other, how about we act together? I have a feeling that Professor Chen is not simple. There might be some unexpected situations during his lecture."

Upon hearing this, Ying suppressed her instinct to turn her head to look at Fan Xiao for his opinion and replied directly, "Your Highness is overthinking it. That Professor Chen is just an ordinary person."

“Oh?” Melissa asked in surprise, “Why are you so sure? Judging from the current situation, the content of the books he created corresponds to the background introduction of the dungeon, which doesn’t seem like that of an ordinary person.”

"Your Highness, believe it or not."

Sakura started practicing Tai Chi.

She proactively asserted her authority, refraining from asking Van Xiao's opinion on such a trivial matter, lest Melissa guess her superior-subordinate relationship with Van Xiao... She had figured it out; this princess liked to fill in all sorts of gaps in her imagination regarding certain details.

"Where are the others?" Fan Xiao asked at this moment. "Where did that green tea lady and that simp go?"

"Hehe, what a fitting nickname... Wait, you didn't give me any nickname, did you?" Melissa suddenly realized.

Fan Xiao simply looked at her, smiled, and said nothing.

"..." Melissa: "We don't know their whereabouts either. How's your surveillance going? Are those two cannibalistic players still in the detention center?"

Fan Xiao sensed it briefly.

He then nodded and said, "Still in the same spot, and has temporarily stopped resisting. He probably realizes that he can't escape and can only wait for the punishment to end."

At this point, he laughed and said, "To be honest, I was quite surprised that you came to the library. I thought you would definitely start with the students, find their roster information, and then go door-to-door to search for the holders of the Ring of Love."

"..."

Melissa's heart skipped a beat... Had all their previous actions been foreseen?

This guy... we need to be more careful around him!

“We did do that after leaving school.”

Melissa sighed, "But we soon discovered that the gadgets that could read people's minds didn't work on the local residents of this city... Their mental defenses were impenetrable."

“Mind reading is impossible; relying solely on verbal probing... if the other party doesn't want to reveal anything, the search is simply too difficult.”

"Furthermore, we need to make a lot of preparations in advance to justify our visit, so as to avoid the other party calling the police directly..."

She shook her head: "At this rate, we probably won't even be able to finish investigating a hundred students in one night. It's too inefficient. We still can't be sure if they're lying or not, so it's not worth the effort."

"Moreover... whether there will be any danger at night is unknown."

"So we changed our approach and decided to come to the library first to learn about the city's history."

"And then, as soon as you got here, you heard about the lecture?" Fan Xiao speculated.

“Yes,” Melissa replied, “We overheard a lot of people talking outside the library and found that what they were saying was very similar to some of the content in the background introduction of the dungeon, so we decided to come and take a look.”

She waved the book "Selection of Genes" in her hand and smiled, "Mr. Fan, could you tell me about the contents of this book? I haven't had a chance to read it yet."

“Then you’d better be mentally prepared,” Fan Xiao laughed. “This book puts forward a universal theory that ignores gender. However, Professor Chen, who created it, is a man, so when arguing the theory, the perspective is from the male side. Women who read it… well, they might feel offended and take it personally.”

"Oh?" Melissa's curiosity was piqued, and she asked, "What exactly is the theory?"

"You're a sucker for good looks," Fan Xiao replied, his honesty practically off the charts.

Melissa: "..."

"That's what the book says, not what I said." Fan Xiao shrugged. "The book says everyone is a sucker for good looks."

"..."

Melissa sat down and, taking advantage of the few minutes left before the lecture began, quickly read the book in her hand, preparing to build a general impression in her mind so that she could better understand the lecture.

Fan Xiao and Ying also sat down, quietly waiting for the lecture to begin.

A short while later, Professor Chen, who had the air of a scholar, walked in from the entrance on the right side of the podium.

Behind him was a large screen displaying the PowerPoint presentation used for the speech, which contained all the content and concepts mentioned in "The Choice of Genes".

Professor Chen smiled warmly, his voice gentle and unassuming, and said slowly, "I know everyone has come with questions, and quite a few may even be here purely to challenge me, but... as is customary, the Q&A session will be held at the end. Now, let me first briefly introduce the theoretical framework in my book..."

The 20-minute teaching session began.

At the back of the hall, Melissa put down her book and listened attentively.

After listening for a while, her brows furrowed slightly, and she felt a lot of resistance.

"Too explicit!"

She made a comment in a low voice.

At the same time, she also understood the meaning behind Fan Xiao's earlier teasing.

This book actually advocates for a form of appearance-obsessed ideology... or rather, it exposes the reality of appearance-obsessed ideology, which severely challenges people's ethical values, yet it doesn't offer any solutions. It only exposes the problem but doesn't solve it.

The importance of appearance – in fact, everyone is more or less aware of this, but out of the instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, people are unwilling to mention it in their lives.

"It is indeed a bit explicit."

Two seats away, Fan Xiao responded to Melissa's words: "But personally, I think this theory is quite interesting."

"Many people don't really understand themselves, and their thinking is biased towards the values ​​they've been taught since childhood. For example, the idea that inner beauty is true beauty."

"Most people treat this as a beautiful aspiration and an ideal state, believing that they can definitely do and practice this morality. However, in practice... well, instinct from genes will most likely override moral ethics, and there is always a discrepancy between theory and practice."

"When an ugly person possesses inner beauty, looking at that face, can you confidently say you could fall in love with them? Love is always intertwined with sex, inseparable. When you don't care about the other person's genes, and you don't have the thought that sleeping with them is a bonus... do you think that counts as falling in love?"

"Are you just talking about simple desires?"

Melissa curled her lip, seemingly disdainful.

“If that’s what you think,” Fan Xiao laughed, “then I think you’re quite suited for Platonic love. I’m just afraid you’re hypocritical and say one thing but do another.”

"Platonic love?" Melissa asked.

"I was just saying, don't take it too seriously," Fan Xiao said. "In this instance, I advise you to treat the views advocated in the book 'Selection of Genes' as truth and follow that pattern to complete the game."

"Did you discover something?" Melissa asked. "That Professor Chen...could he be the boss of the dungeon?"

“He didn’t pose any threat to me; he’s undoubtedly an ordinary person,” Fan Xiao said. “At least for now.”

At this point, Professor Chen's lecture came to an end: "We have to admit that if humanity achieves communism, and everyone receives social resources equally, is well-fed and clothed, no longer worries about money, and can decide their own lives... in such an equal social model, there will be extreme inequality."

"Because the donors will disappear."

"Most people with average looks have a very small chance of having a relationship or marriage. Just like in school, only a small number of students can experience love. Most students are just background figures for others to enjoy their youth."

After pausing for a few seconds, he ended the first segment and moved on to the second: "Next is the Q&A session. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will try my best to answer them within my theoretical framework."

"Professor Chen!"

A young man suddenly stood up and said loudly, "Your theory has serious logical problems! Handsome guys and beautiful girls are not necessarily liked by everyone! One of my buddies is a living example. A girl in school who was known for her high looks pursued him for a month, but he never agreed and always kept his distance from her."

Could this be another nitpicker...? Professor Chen stared at the young man for a moment, feeling somewhat uncertain.

His lectures are often visited by trolls, which he's used to.

He replied, "Young man, could you answer a question for me first? Is your friend... handsome?"

“...He’s very ugly!” the boy replied.

"Hehe..." Professor Chen smiled slightly: "Young man, everyone knows I have the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood, which is the basis for my ability to organize question-and-answer sessions several times. Don't you know that? If you're not sincere, is there any point in continuing our conversation?"

“…I was just testing you,” the boy replied. “He’s very handsome.”

"Then," Professor Chen asked again, "was the girl who pursued him pursued by many ordinary-looking men?"

"……Have."

Did she even acknowledge them?

"……No."

Has she ever mentioned her ideal type?

"Uh... I posted it on social media, saying that I like to treat her well and make her happy..."

The boy's voice trailed off as he spoke.

Professor Chen smiled and said, "It seems you really like that girl, otherwise you wouldn't be so concerned about her. I can sense that you have strong feelings for her, but she... most likely hasn't paid any attention to you, right?"

He shook his head slightly: "Many people have misunderstood my theory and think that handsome men and beautiful women will be liked by everyone."

"Gene providers... that is, handsome men and beautiful women, must be those who conform to mainstream aesthetics. But they are not necessarily liked by all members of the opposite sex; they just don't lack female admirers. There is a big difference between the two."

"I think your friend doesn't dislike beautiful women; he just hasn't met the type that makes his heart flutter yet."

"Let me ask you another question... Has your friend ever explicitly expressed any particular celebrity he likes?"

“...Mitchell”.

“Mitchell Sinderson”.

Professor Chen smiled and said, "They are the benchmark of mainstream aesthetics in the City of True Love. Young man, do you still have any doubts?"

The boy sat down and stopped talking.

They were probably hit hard.

At this moment, a young man with a slightly square face stood up and asked, "Professor Chen, how can I determine if I am a gene donor?"

"What conforms to mainstream aesthetics is what matters. Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that some people are extremely narcissistic and think they are very handsome or beautiful. So, I have another criterion for judgment."

Professor Chen replied, "I mentioned in the book that the donor can only get a compromised, castrated romantic relationship at best, which is not true love. This applies even to the biggest donors."

“A major provider… Take Alpha men as an example. They occupy abundant social resources and possess astonishing nurturing value, so they are never short of women. There are so many women willing to approach them that they could line up and let them choose. But these women are after their nurturing value and do not have true love in their hearts. Therefore, a major provider can only have those women who have “matured” minds and know that you can’t make a living by your looks.”

"Women whose thinking is not mature... or girls, are mostly young, so we can switch our perspective to the campus."

"From the time you start school until you graduate, if you frequently, very frequently... note, frequently receive advances from the opposite sex, such as love letters, confessions of love, gifts, etc., then you are very likely a gene donor. Conversely..."

At this point, Professor Chen sighed softly, “I know that words that expose reality are often brutally honest and will provoke instinctive resistance from many people because they harbor wishful thinking. But... reality is reality. Simply denying the conclusion will not change reality. The right path is to actively embrace it and then change ourselves.”

Soon, the third questioner stood up.