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

"In fact, my theory is correct, isn't it?"

"Professor Chen really knows a lot of things."

Fan Xiao did not answer the question directly: "I am indeed a player, I don't know if Professor Chen has anything to say next..."

I know your intentions.

Professor Chen said, "You're not the first player to approach me; many players have contacted me before. But... this is the first time I've encountered someone who comes up and starts by attacking me like you have."

“Some things always need to be verified,” Fan Xiao chuckled. “For example, the ability to see through lies. That should be considered a kind of superpower, right? Professor Chen, are you perhaps a player too?”

Even if he possessed such an ability, he shouldn't be able to use it in this instance, since the residents here are all immune to mental attacks—he didn't say this out loud yet.

“No,” Professor Chen shook his head. “Come find me after the Q&A session, and I can answer some of your questions.”

"Then... thank you in advance, Professor Chen."

Fan Xiao sat down again.

Inside the hall, many people cast curious glances at him.

Although the residents of the City of True Love are used to people with superpowers, they don't see them often, so they are still interested when they encounter them.

However... upon seeing Fan Xiao's face, which had an attractiveness level of 3, they quickly lost interest and averted their gaze.

Fan Xiao seemed to be deep in thought, and murmured to Ying sitting next to him, "The people here are indeed very different from normal people. They value appearance above all else."

"Logically speaking, even those who are used to people with superpowers shouldn't be so indifferent when they actually encounter them. But after seeing my appearance, they immediately lost all interest."

"This phenomenon happened once before at the school. So many teachers and students witnessed our battle, but afterwards, not a single person took the initiative to contact us out of great interest."

“Looks matter…” Sakura asked doubtfully, “But just now, a local resident acted like a troll and refuted Professor Chen’s theory.”

"What I mean is that they usually act like normal people, but when it comes to things related to appearance, they become exactly like Professor Chen's theoretical model, without even pretending."

Fan Xiao frowned slightly: "If that's the case... our mission might be a bit tricky."

"The mission only requires us to obtain the Ring of Love. According to the information we have gathered, we can get the ring as long as we establish a romantic relationship. We don't necessarily have to pursue true love."

Melissa suddenly interjected, saying, "Without the constraint of true love, we may not be gene donors, but we can be donors. In Professor Chen's theoretical model, major donors are never short of advances from the opposite sex."

“You’re talking about making money,” Fan Xiao said. “Then let me give you an idea. Did you see that rich kid who asked the question earlier? Try using a prop to change his appearance, make him handsome, and then charge him. He should be very generous. Although you can’t use the disguise prop on yourself, you can use it as an attack tool on others… Whether it works or not, we’ll have to try to find out. After all, the disguise ability of many props is only a side effect; they shouldn’t all be useless at once.”

“Why don’t you try it?” Melissa countered.

Because I think changing one's appearance is probably not very effective, but if you help me verify it, I will definitely agree wholeheartedly... Fan Xiao sighed and said, "You are the princess of Division 001, so you must have a lot of props with various functions, right? My disguise props only work on myself and cannot change other people's appearances. Even if you ask me to try it, I can't do it."

"...Why do I feel like you're trying to fool me?" Melissa asked suspiciously.

"Whoever lies is a dog!" Fan Xiao said with a serious face.

"..." Melissa: "Okay, I'll give it a try. If we can become a major donor, even if we can't handle the opposite sex at school, we should be able to handle those outside of school."

After all, once people graduate from school and enter society, they get a harsh lesson from it and realize that they can't make a living just by looking good.

At this point, their mindset will begin to change.

They realized that money was important.

……

The Q&A session lasted until 8:30 p.m. before finally ending.

Many of the lecture attendees expressed their gratitude to Professor Chen, their faces showing respect and anticipation.

Although Professor Chen did not provide a solution to the problem of appearance-obsessed mentality, his theory has genuinely helped many people—helping them recognize reality and shattering any lingering wishful thinking.

Social phenomena have always existed, but not everyone is able to clearly recognize them.

Some people will instinctively avoid it, some will deceive themselves... Professor Chen's seemingly extreme remarks, on the contrary, were like a wake-up call for them.

Fan Xiao and Ying walked against the flow of people in the hall toward the podium where Professor Chen was giving his lecture.

Melissa followed closely behind.

Fan Xiao glanced at the princess and reminded her, "Didn't you want to make money? That rich kid has left the hall."

“I don’t need to do this kind of verification myself,” Melissa said. “I had Malfoy take the props over there.”

Only Élisabeth was with her; Malfoy was indeed nowhere to be seen.

Fan Xiao didn't pay any attention, turned his gaze away, and looked ahead.

Soon, the four of them arrived in front of Professor Chen.

The people who had gathered to express their gratitude have gradually left.

Professor Chen looked at Fan Xiao and the other three, and said with a mix of emotion and admiration, "It seems you are all players without a doubt. The looks of players are as good as ever... Hehe, an eyesore."

"Professor Chen, previous players must have told you about the appearance stats, right?" Melissa suddenly asked.

"Looks-to-face ratio...is this the real reason why you're all so visually offensive?"

Professor Chen shook his head: "Perhaps someone told me before, but I must have forgotten... or rather, forcibly forgotten."

"Oh?" Fan Xiao asked in surprise, "You seem to be aware of some of your own unusual condition?"

"It's just a guess based on some details; it's not a clear understanding."

Professor Chen sighed and said, "The residents of the City of True Love are all shrouded in a fog of cognition, and they will subconsciously ignore many things that defy common sense."

"For example, this is clearly an isolated city, so why does the history recorded in the library depict a vast and complete world?"

"For example, the cemetery records the death dates as being 50 years ago. No one has died in this city for 50 years, but no one has noticed or paid attention to this."

"Then...why are you the exception?"

Fan Xiao asked, "You not only noticed your own abnormality, but also, like the players, possess special abilities... You can see through lies, why?"

"This question... is like asking a cat why it can move so nimbly." Professor Chen shook his head slightly: "I can only tell you that these special characteristics have always been with me. There is no reason why, and I don't know why either."

"Then... how do you achieve your ability to see through lies? Through mental interference?"

Fan Xiao continued, "We also have the ability to interfere with minds, but it's completely ineffective against the residents of this city. Why is yours effective?"

"I can't answer that question either," Professor Chen said. "I can only answer questions within my field of expertise."

Upon hearing this, Fan, Xiao, and the other three exchanged glances, unable to determine whether Professor Chen was lying.

Judging from his expression and eyes... he's probably telling the truth.

The heartbeat didn't change much either.

Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that the other party is an award-winning actor.

Melissa asked, "Professor Chen, do you know how to obtain the Ring of Love?"

"Given your looks, the most likely way to obtain the Ring of Love is to become a donor."

Professor Chen replied, "In other words, you need to have money."

"If you want to obtain multiple rings of love, then you must be very rich."

"Other than that?"

Melissa gave an example: "For instance... can our appearance be improved? We were originally quite good-looking, but because of the number 3 on our foreheads, we are forcibly categorized as ugly in your perception."

"Since this restriction is presented in numerical form, does a number... imply that it can be increased or decreased?"

"As I just said, I cannot answer your questions outside my area of ​​expertise." Professor Chen shook his head. "Your current doubts can probably only be answered by yourselves."

"Then let's talk about things within our professional field."

Fan Xiao suddenly asked, "Professor Chen, the book you wrote raised a difficult problem, but did not provide a solution."

"Simply summarizing phenomena, naming them, and spreading them to the public will only increase unnecessary anxiety."

"Most people who create anxiety are after money, but I don't think that's your real purpose, is it?"

“I am definitely not a money seeker.”

Professor Chen glanced at the large screen behind the podium, which was still displaying content from "The Choice of Genes," and he hadn't had time to process it yet.

After looking away, Professor Chen sighed and said, "The book 'The Choice of Genes' has brought more than just anxiety. It has also made some people realize human instincts and no longer have too many expectations for love, which is a luxury."

"It helped many people clarify their previously perplexing emotional issues, gain a clearer understanding of their own position, and what they should do in the future."

“If non-gene donors want to fall in love and get married, they can only take the initiative to become donors—the key here is taking the initiative, so that they can control the situation and at least have the power to take the lead.”

"The change in mindset may still have a small impact on reality, but it is indeed exerting an influence."

“Yes, I admit it’s a positive change,” Fan Xiao nodded. “But it doesn’t solve the problem at its root.”

"I am also researching and searching for a fundamental solution, and so far I have only made some progress."

Professor Chen said in a somewhat complicated tone, "The donor mindset is different from genes; it is not innate but rather forced out by acquired experiences."

"What do you mean?" Melissa asked with interest.

After the lecture, she put aside her prejudices and became quite interested in Professor Chen's theories.

Perhaps it's also related to the fact that she's now considered "ugly".

This was the first time in her life she had experienced being treated like a stranger.

"Let's clarify a concept first—not everyone who isn't good-looking is a provider; only those who aren't good-looking but crave love become providers."

Professor Chen replied, "Material factors determine consciousness—people who are not good-looking will not be favored or confessed to by the opposite sex from childhood to adulthood, and will not enjoy the nourishment of love. In addition, handsome men around them are always surrounded and pursued by many women. This phenomenon leads to comparison and competition... Under the influence of many factors, they will more or less be in a state of lack of love, so they are eager to find a girlfriend... Well, I am using men as an example here."

"Because of a lack, they will instinctively pursue it, but women don't care about their genes. In order to win women's favor, they can only use other methods, such as elegant conversation, humorous style, thoughtful care, etc., to provide emotional value to women, thereby gaining the right to interact with women. If they don't do this, they can't get love. That's why I say that the provider mentality is forced out of them."

“Gene donors are completely different. They don’t need to do anything special. They just need to be themselves to receive the admiration of a large number of women unconditionally.”

“From childhood to adulthood, they have received an excess of love. They are showered with affection and don’t need to think about how to find a partner because love is as simple as eating and drinking for them. Therefore, they will never fall into the mindset of a provider.”

At this point, he sighed softly and said, "The solution I'm considering is to take the noble path of self-redemption."

"Know yourself, love yourself, let go of obsessions, and don't get married... Life is not just about love. Besides love, there are many other things we can do: be filial to our parents, strive for our careers, study science, explore the truth... Giving up love as a luxury can still make life wonderful, even more wonderful than being trapped in love. This is the solution I believe in."

"Ironically, gene donors, having enjoyed an abundance of love since childhood, are more likely than donors who lack love to let go of their obsession with love and focus their attention on other things."

"Perhaps, unfairness is the essence of the human world."

"..."

Fan Xiao seemed lost in thought: "The noble path of self-redemption..."

—Could this be the solution for clearing this dungeon?

Yes, he was trying to extract the hidden solution to the challenge from Professor Chen.

The background information of this instance corresponds to the content in Professor Chen's book. Add to that the numerical values ​​related to physical appearance, the interference of monetary perception, and the excessive reactions of the instance's inhabitants to physical appearance… Fan Xiao has reason to suspect that this instance might be operating according to the theoretical model proposed by Professor Chen in his book.

In other words, this is a city in a "diode" state.

In the face of love, there is only the provider and the gene donor; nothing else can be accommodated.

Trying to complete a highly difficult task within the framework is bound to be very strenuous.

If we can step outside the box and then solve the problem... wouldn't it become much simpler?

However, to his disappointment, Professor Chen did not provide a solution that could break out of the existing framework...

"Wait! Although Professor Chen's solution has nothing to do with obtaining the Ring of Love, it might... be related to completing the third dungeon quest?"

Fan Xiao thought of the third dungeon mission—to restore the twisted city to normal.

The City of True Love gets its name from the city lord's longing for true love.

Taking this intelligence a step further... could the current anomalies in the City of True Love be caused by the city lord's desires?

Did the city lord's values ​​become the values ​​of all the residents of this city?

So, if we lead the city lord onto the noble path of self-redemption, will we be able to undo the city's distortion and complete the third instance quest?

"Hmm... the possibility is very high, it's worth a try."

"If this conjecture is true... the city is actually an ugly thing? A provider?"

As Fan Xiao pondered a solution to pass the test, he also harbored some malicious grumbling in his heart.

"Thank you for clearing up our doubts."

After stopping his mental activity, Fan Xiao said to Professor Chen, "By the way, Professor Chen, do you know anything about the city lord? For example, what kind of person is the city lord?"

“The information I have is the same as that of the other residents,” Professor Chen said. “The city lord has a transcendent status in the City of True Love. We never go near the city’s central area to disturb him. We don’t even know what the city lord looks like, we only know that he is a man.”

“Well… let’s not talk about the city lord anymore, let’s talk about Mitchell Sinderson.” Fan Xiao asked, “Professor Chen, what conditions do you think are necessary to gain Mitchell Sinderson’s favor and obtain their Ring of Love?”